God’s Work is Finished - Ezekiel 44-48

Ezekiel 44:1-2 (ESV Strong's)
The Gate for the Prince
1 Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east. And it was shut. 2 And the LORD said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has entered by it. Therefore it shall remain shut.

God’s Work if Finished

In this section of Ezekiel we have the description of a Temple, designed by God, built by God, to be used for God’s purpose and to be to the glory of God.  The description is given to Ezekiel by a holy angel.   He is once again, as the start of the book did, guided by an angel to understand the visions he is seeing and writing about for us.   The Temple that is being described is some time in the future.  Some might say it is the 1,000 year reign of Christ on the earth.   The point Ezekiel is making in the section is that their is going to be a Temple and God’s people are going to enjoy living in it.   In the above two verses we see that the “east” gate of the Temple is shut and not to be opened back up again.  There are as many interpretations as to the meaning of the Temple as their are commentators one would wish to read.   The text is not that clear to get a definitive meaning.   When this happens we ought to simply stick with wha the text does say and not try to read out theology into it.   What the text plainly stats is that the reason the gate is left closed is because the “God of Israel, has entered by it.”   The clean implication is that since God entered by it and it is not to remain shut, God has no plans to leave.   That is the point of the text.   This “city/temple” that is being built is built for God and His people.   God is saying in this text, “I will enter the Temple with you via the east gate and you can lock it behind me, since I am not leaving.  What Ezekiel is recording for us is the future relationship with God.  That is the ultimate plan of God.  God is establishing a place and a time for us to enjoy Him and a relationship with Him.   This “closed” gate is an assurance for the people of God.   It is not meant to lock someone out, but to assure the people of God that He is not leaving them.   Take heart that God has designed a place for us to be with Him.  Praise God that He has stated He will not leave that place.

What is an Abomination to the Lord? Proverbs 14-15

Proverbs 15:8 (ESV Strong's)
8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD,
but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.

Proverbs 15:9
9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD,
but he loves him who pursues righteousness.

Proverbs 15:26 (ESV Strong's)
26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD,
but gracious words are pure.

What is an Abomination to the Lord?

In the above proverbs we see three parts of the nature of the wicked that are an abomination (disgusting) to God.  

1.  Their “sacrifices” are an abomination.   God is disgusted by those who attempt to worship Him, but inwardly they are wicked.   Inwardly they do not really recognize God as King and fear Him in righteous awe.  God takes great pleasure in even the smallest “prayer” of the upright, however.  The wicked can beat his chest and give thousands, but it the small prayers of the righteous God notices and listens to.  Note how Jesus said it:

Mark 12:41-44 (ESV Strong's)
41 And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. 43 And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

2.  The “way” of the wicked is an abomination.  God hates the places and the purpose and the pleasures the wicked seek.   We read throughout Scripture that God watches our ways.   He delights in the fact that the His followers pursue righteousness.  Christ said it this way:

Matthew 5:6 (ESV Strong's)
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

3. The very thoughts of the wicked are an abomination.   God knows our thoughts and intents.  God sees them.  He knows what the wicked are planning.  He despises the very inward thoughts of the wicked.  Why?  Because thoughts lead to words and their words are not full of grace.  God loves those who speak grace to others.   God is full of grace and truth, so God loves who are His children and speak words of grace.   God knows the thoughts of the wicked.  Note:

Hebrews 4:12-13 (ESV Strong's)
12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

There are many who believe God is LOVE and simply does not hate or see sin as an abomination.   But, these things are an abomination to the Lord.   They ought to be for us, as well.

God Should Satisfy Us!! - Psalms 90-92

Psalms 90:14 (ESV Strong's)
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

God Should Satisfy Us!!

I have a quote that goes off on my phone each day at noon. It is a quote from John Piper that many know and are refreshed by:

“God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him.”

The above verse might be a good theme for that thought.  Yet, there are many more like it:

Ps 36:8
They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

Ps 65:4
Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!

Ps 103:5
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Jer 31:14
 I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
declares the LORD.”

Psalms 92:1-2 (ESV Strong's)
1 It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,

Being satisfied is wonderful thought.  Most people today are seldom satisfied. They are not satisfied with the jobs, their spouses, the service they get from the local coffee shop, their government, etc.   But, the one thing believers should be is satisfied.   God has gone to great lengths to satisfy us.   His abundant and steadfast love should satisfy us completely.  The consumer world we live in bets that we will NOT be satisfied.  It hopes that version one of the produce will wear out and we will not be satisfied until version two of the product is available.  God, on the other hand, completely satisfies us each morning with His steadfast, remains and abiding love.   We ought to be satisfied in Him. That brings glory to God.  

God Punishes Those Who Disobey - 2 Kings 21-25

2 Kings 21:11-15 (ESV Strong's)
11 “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, 12 therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, 15 because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.”

God Punishes Those Who Disobey

In today’s Church we might find ourselves often quoting Romans 8:1, which reads:

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

That truth should never be undersold or failed to believe.   At the Cross, Jesus paid our complete debts.  That is total assurance.  When we sin we ought to come boldly to the throne of God to find grace in times of need.  God TOTALLY took away our condemnation.    So, how do we handing passages that “warn” us about God judgement on those who neglect or drift away from their faith:

Hebrews 2:1-4 (ESV Strong's)
1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

God is totally sincere about His covering our sins, but also totally sincere about His disciplining us and expecting us to be steadfast in our salvation through faith in His Son.   In the Old Testament the abominations of Israel and Judah did not go unnoticed.   God is a God of perfect “justice!”   When the nation of Israel rejected God’s commands, God was “just” to discipline them.  He is still “just” today.  If we neglect our faith or drift away from our faith, God will correct us. That correction is done in perfect justine and perfect love.   But, it will be done those who correct their course as a result of God’s discipline can be counted as those who can claim Romans 8:1.  Those who don’t correct and continue to drift away are those who never had God’s grace to begin with.  They may have claimed it, but didn’t have it.  Only those who are true sons will respond to God’s warning.  Those who do not respond are not God’s children.  You can’t walk away from God and claim to be His child.  Judgement comes to those who are His children who begin to walk away.  That judgment corrects them and puts them back on course.

A Feast in Booths!!! - Leviticus 22-24

Leviticus 23:33-43 (ESV Strong's)
33 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, On the fifteenth day of this seventh month and for seven days is the Feast of Booths to the LORD. .... 42 You shall dwell in booths for seven days. All native Israelites shall dwell in booths, 43 that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”

A Feast in Booths!!

In these chapters of Leviticus, Moses is outlining the many feast and festivals that were given to the nation of Israel.  Each one of them had special significance to the message of the Gospel.  One of the feast they were instructed to celebrate would be the last feast of the fall, the Feast of Booths.  The Feast of Booths might be like our Thanksgiving.  The nation was actually supposed to leave their houses and go live in huts made out of straw and sticks and leaves. They were to live in them for seven days.   The reason? Moses gives them the reason: To remember it was not their own strength that got them where they were, but the grace, mercy and power of the Lord.   Once they secured the promise land and began to live in houses they did not build or cities they did not construct, God did not want them to have pride and arrogance.   The Feast of Booths was a time for them to remember that it was God that brought them where they were.    We ought to begin each day with a Feast of Booths mentality.   We ought to end our day with a Feast of Booths mentality.  And, in the middle we out to live our day with a Feast of Booths mentality.   We ought to be in constant praise and thanksgiving for the grace and mercy God has demonstrated to us.  Notice how Paul ends the first eleven chapters of Romans and begins the more practical side of living out our faith in chapter twelve:

Romans 12:1 (ESV Strong's)
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

We can only present ourselves as living sacrifices if we understand it is only possible by the “mercies of God.”   This is the point of the Feasts of Booths.

Take Advantage of Opportunity for the Gospel - 1 Thessalonians 1-3

1 Thessalonians 3:1-3 (ESV Strong's)
1 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this.

Take Advantage of Opportunity for the Gospel

In the above passage the Apostle Paul is writing a letter back to the Church of the Thessalonians about what he heard about them.  He was in much persecution having been run out of every town where he preached the Gospel.   To make sure the church he started was growing he was willing to be left alone in Athens (the center of Greek thought) while Timothy was sent back to the Thessalonians to see how they were doing. Timothy will report back that they were indeed growing a very positive way.   However, while Paul awaited this news, what was he to do.  Being left alone and under extreme persecution, most of us with shelter in place.   We would seek a place to be low key and what for our friends in the ministry to return.   But, not Paul. Paul was in Athens.   When in Athens, you do what the Athenians do.  Not the story from Acts 17 about Paul’s conduct:

Acts 17:16-18 (ESV Strong's)
Paul in Athens
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.

This is what you do when you wait!!  Paul created a ministry to the Greek thinkers.  He was not afraid of the Gospel of Christ and he believed in the power of the resurrection.   Remember what he had already stated about the “wise” of this world (and the Athenians considered themselves the “wise” of this world):

1 Corinthians 2:14 (ESV Strong's)
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

The wisdom of God is foolishness to the “wise” of this world.   Paul, however, did not allow that to stop him.  Even in the midst of being alone and persecuted Paul preached the power of the resurrection; the truth of the Gospel.   When we are in a foreign place we need to make sure those who live there are not foreign to the Gospel.  

The Suffering was Necessary!!! Luke 23-24

Luke 24:25-26 (ESV Strong's)
25 And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

The Suffering was Necessary!!

In the preceding verses and chapters we have the story of the crucifixion of Christ.  Although Luke is a medical doctor, he says little about the actual crucifixion.   The other gospels focus on some of the specific details.  To say the least, the person who was crucified in the first-century Roman world would suffer great pain before they actually died.  Crucifixion is one of the most painful ways to die.   Hanging on a “cross” with nails through the bones of your hands and feet is suffering.   As the weight of your body began to succumb to gravity, your lungs would collapse and you would struggle to breath.   To get air you would have to push yourself up with your legs and pull yourself up with you arms.Yet, you legs and wrist had nails through them to secure you to the cross.   On top of all this pain, they pierce Jesus’ side with a spear and drove a ring of thrones around his head to mock His royalty.   The place of the crucifixion was filled with death.  The stench and the flies and they maggots would have made it their living room quarters.  The suffering was real and the suffering was long.   If the subject was still alive by pushing themselves up to breath they would come back and break their legs.   Jesus was already dead before this added suffering was administrated to Him.  No human being should have to suffer in this way.  Yet, Jesus HAD to suffer.   He explains it Himself, after He arose from the dead, to these to men on the road to Emmaus.  The above passage are the words of Jesus as two of His disciples inquired about what had just happened.  They were blind to the truth of the suffering.   Jesus opens up the scriptures and teaches them the truth of Jesus’ need to suffer.  He had to suffer and die so that He could rise from the dead and give us new life.   He HAD TO SUFFER that HE MIGHT BE GLORIFIED.   That is the Gospel Story!!!

Nations Will Know!! - Ezekiel 37-42

Ezekiel 37:24-28 (ESV Strong's)
24 “My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. 25 They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. 26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 28 Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore.”

Nations Will Know!!

In the above passage we have the prophecy of Ezekiel about the end times.   It is in the context of the famous prophecy about God and Magog, the end time battle.   In this exact passage we have the words of the prophet that God is going to set up His Kingdom and His servant David, will be the King.  He is not talking about the actually King David who died centuries before.  He is talking about the Messiah, from the tribe of David.  Jesus was that King.  He did raise from the dead and He will return to provide peace and set up a Kingdom.  He will rule that Kingdom.  When that happens, the nations will know that God is the God who rules. He “sanctifies” His people.  We do not “sanctify” ourselves.   The word means to be made holy.   Not only will Jesus rule the earth, but He will rule those He has made holy.  Our sin will be wiped away and He will establish a Kingdom of Priest.  Note how John said it in his letter to the early churches:

Revelation 1:4-7 (ESV Strong's)
4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

God will let the nations of the earth know that He is King and His Son, Jesus Christ, will reign forever.  

Prudent vs Folly - Proverbs 13:16

Proverbs 13:16 (NASBStr)
Every prudent man acts with knowledge,
But a fool displays folly.

In a time of crisis, in a time when pressures mount, people say the most foolish things.  Tongues wag when the heat mounts.   In this proverb Solomon is telling us that when times get tough the prudent man acts with knowledge while the foolish one simply allows his tongue to reveal the folly of his heart.   The "prudent" man will act with knowledge, according to Solomon.   However, he also told us the following about the prudent:

Proverbs 12:23 (NASBStr)
A prudent man conceals knowledge,
But the heart of fools proclaims folly.

In this proverb we read that the prudent will conceal knowledge.   So, sometimes the prudent acts with knowledge by concealing knowledge (refer to how many times Jesus withheld knowledge from the Pharisees).  When we are prudent we are believing in Christ and following Christ and acting on His Word.   The foolish simply proclaim the evil in his heart.   The prudent proclaim God's Word.   You don't have to be around people too long to know who are the prudent and who are the fools.  As we walk through this world we can rest assured the fools will reveal themselves to us.   God's people, however, will reveal the truth in their hearts, sent there by God.   If you want to know where you are in relationship to God during tough times, when the pressure is on, just listen to your mouth.  See also, the following:

Proverbs 12:16 (NASBStr)
A fool’s anger is known at once,
But a prudent man conceals dishonor.

Remember, O Lord, ... - Psalms 87-89

Psalms 89:49-52 (ESV Strong's)
49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations,
51 with which your enemies mock, O LORD,
with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.
52 Blessed be the LORD forever!
Amen and Amen.

Remember, O Lord, ...

Psalm 89 is a powerful song written to acknowledge God’s supreme rule over the earth (vss 1-18) and to celebrate the everlasting covenant that God made with King David; to establish His kingdom forever throughout generations (vss 19-37).   God would ultimate establish David via Christ and the Kingdom of God ushered in when Christ became man and die and rose again.   In the remaining verses, however, we have a lament of the writers (vss 38-52).  The writer switches from the things he knows about God and that God has fully promised and begins to talk about his defeat and his need for God to come through for him.   The writer has suffered some large defeat.  To call upon God during this time he recounts God’s promises to King David:

Psalms 89:33-35 (ESV Strong's)
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
or be false to my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once for all I have sworn by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.

With these words flowing from his pen, the writer pivots to:

Psalms 89:38 (ESV Strong's)
38 But now you have cast off and rejected;
you are full of wrath against your anointed.

This apparently is a leader (hence the phrase “your anointed”).   Having established God’s rule and word, he asked God to “remember” His “faithfulness” to David.   It could be assumed this is a king, of David’s linage, who is in trouble.  The key thought is that he cries out for God to remember.   In our prayers, one of the most powerful tools we have, is to claim the promises of God.  God does not lie.  God keeps everyone of His promises.  We might not see how He is keeping them.  We might, at times, which He fulfilled them in a different way in our lives.   But, God does not fail to keep His many promises.   We ought to pray them back to God and claim them.   That makes for a powerful prayer life to God.  

Pride Comes Before a Fall!! - 2 Kings 16-20

2 Kings 20:12-13 (ESV Strong's)
12 At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.

Pride Comes Before a Fall!!

In the above passage we see that one of Judah’s good kings, Hezekiah, is over taken by his pride.   The odd part about this story is where it comes in the sequence of events in his life and that of the people of Israel.  In the previous chapters we are told about the king of Assyria, Sennacherib.  Sennacherib was used by God in a mighty way to conquer Israel (the northern ten tribes) and take them into captivity for their worship of idols.   He then came up against Judah (the remaining two tribes in the south) to do the same thing.  But, when he did, he boasted of how great he was.  He first admits that the “Lord” told him and used him to conquer all these lands and then he stated that the “Lord” could NOT deliver Judah from HIS powerful hand.  Note:


2 Kings 18:25 (ESV Strong's)
25 Moreover, is it without the LORD that I have come up against this place to destroy it? The LORD said to me, “Go up against this land and destroy it.”’”

2 Kings 18:35 (ESV Strong's)
35 Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?’”

Sennacherib’s pride cost him his life, eventually.   As a result of his pride God destroyed 185,000 of his troops and allowed his sons to rebel against him and kill him.   Pride destroys all leaders.    Hezekiah, although a strong believer in God and who feared God, is no exception.   In his later life, he allowed his pride to conquer him.   His legacy became more important than his humility.   When legacy trumps humility disaster soon follows.   Leaders, to the end, need to allow God to be glorified.   We ought not to steal away the glory due God.  

Business Should be for God’s Holiness - Leviticus 19-21

Leviticus 19:35-37 (ESV Strong's)
35 “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. 36 You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin: I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 37 And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the LORD.”

Business Should be for God’s Holiness

The entire book of Leviticus is the Holiness of God.   In these particular chapters, Moses gives us a great variety of ways in which holiness needs to be practiced.  This is true of the priest and the people.   In the context of this chapter, the above verses are following specific instructions to the nation about how they engage with each other and the world around them.   Because God’s holiness is at stake, how we conduct our business affairs also reflects that holiness.   God’s people ought not to be crooked in their business affairs.  The method by which items were sold in the marketplace was with a variety of weights.  If you purchase a pound of this or a pound of that, it would be weighed on one side and the weight would be on the other side.   Corrupt business owners would bore out the weight so that it might be the size of a particular weight, but not actually weigh that amount.   They would swindle, ever so lightly, the purchaser of their products.   God is telling His people that since He IS Holly, so, too, should their business practice reflect that holiness.   Cheating a customer or client out of something, even a small amount, might seem fair game in today’s economic system.   Yet, from long ago God wanted HIS people to maintain holiness when came to the board room.  

Put On ... - Colossians 3-4

Colossians 3:12-15 (ESV Strong's)
12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Put On ...

We all understand the concept of putting something on when we apply that phrase to clothing.   We are told when we are younger, “Put on your boots.”  We are told when we are in our teens, “Put on nice clothes for church.”   We are told when we go to work, “Put on the company shirt.”    In the above passage, Paul is telling us the same thing, in regard to spiritual clothing.   Boots protect, clothes for church so respect, and the company shirt shows loyalty.   The items listed above are for some of the same reasons but for our spiritual protraction, respect for God and loyalty to the Body of Christ.   In this entire chapter Paul is trying to tell the Colossian believers how to live their lives.  In the first two chapters he warned them about false teachers.   The teachers were wanting them to do “outward” behaviors to demonstrate their faith:

Colossians 2:18 (ESV Strong's)
18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,

In chapter three he begins to list the things of the heart and mind that we are to be clothing ourselves.  The list is very similar to the Philippians 4:8 list and ends in the same restful: The peace of Christ ruling your life.   As we “dress” ourselves in the Spirit of God we can rest ourselves in the Peace of Christ.

Angels Ministered to Him! Luke 21-22

Luke 22:41-44 (ESV Strong's)
41 And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” 43 And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. 44 And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Angels Ministered to Him!

It should be noted, before unfolding the above text, that “some” manuscripts omit verses 43 and 44; the comments about angels ministering to Jesus and His prayer being so intense He sweet, as it were, drops of blood.  Some do and some don’t.   There are, however, plenty of text that speak of angels ministers both to Christ and to the Apostles and to believers:

1. After Jesus Temptation in the wilderness, angels were sent to minister to Him (Matthew 4:11).

2. When Peter was put in jail and angel of the Lord came to free him (Acts 5).

3. Philip was introduced to the Ethiopian eunuch by an angel of the Lord (Acts 8).

4. The early church was told they, “at times,” entertain angels, although unaware it is happening (Hebrews 13:2).

Note that the writer of Hebrews also tells us the reason angels were created:

Hebrews 1:14 (ESV Strong's)
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

We have no idea if the prayers of Jesus produced blood drops, as it says in the above text. That is the only verse that tells us this story.  But, we have numerous text that tell us that angels did minister to Jesus and others in times of need. We are told they will minister to us in times of need.  We are not to worship angels, but we ought to rejoice in the fact that God sends heavenly beings to care for us.  We have the Spirit of God within us and the ministers of God around us.  Notice how Elisha opened the eyes of his servant when the servant was in fear of the army of men coming to defeat them:

2 Kings 6:17 (ESV Strong's)
17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

We ought to rejoice that, in the midst of turmoil and struggle and pain and suffering, God is caring for us in multiple ways.   Angels ministered to Christ in a time He needed strength.   They do for us, as well.

Leadership Matters - Ezekiel 31-36

Ezekiel 34:7-10 (ESV Strong's)
7 “Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 8 As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: 10 Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them.

Leadership Matters

Throughout Ezekiel’s prophecy he has identified cause after cause for the need for God’s wrath.  He has done this both for the nations around Israel and for God’s chosen people, specifically.   In the above passage he gives an additional cause for the discipline of God on His chosen people: Evil Leadership.   In the above passage we read about God pointing out that the “shepherds” of Israel (both spiritual and political leadership) have been concerned about one thing and only one thing: Feeding themselves and not the nation.   Selfish leadership is evil leadership.   Whenever leadership is self-centered we have evilness lurking in the corners and shadows.   This is what happened to Israel.  Perhaps one of the best examples of this is with a “good” king, Hezekiah.   When told of the wrath of God that would come down upon the nation, specially his sons for the evil actions he did, Hezekiah said this:

Isaiah 39:8 (ESV Strong's)
8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my days.”

His only thought was his own peace and security.   That is the way even the best kings were.  They were not concerned about the things of God and making sure the nation knew about the things of God.  They were concerned about their own world.    God expects leaders (especially those He puts in place to care for His people) to make sure the people know who God is.   If we went on to read chapter 35 of Ezekiel, God tells the nation He will give them a Shepherd to care for them that will truly care for them:

Ezekiel 34:23-24 (ESV Strong's)
23 And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them: he shall feed them and be their shepherd. 24 And I, the LORD, will be their God, and my servant David shall be prince among them. I am the LORD; I have spoken.

That Shepherd was Christ (See John 10).

Righteousness Delivers - Proverbs 11-12

Proverbs 11:4 (ESV Strong's)
4 Riches do not profit in the day of wrath,
but righteousness delivers from death.

Proverbs 11:6 (ESV Strong's)
6 The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust.

Proverbs 11:8 (ESV Strong's)
8 The righteous is delivered from trouble,
and the wicked walks into it instead.

Proverbs 11:9 (ESV Strong's)
9 With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor,
but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.

Proverbs 11:21 (ESV Strong's)
21 Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished,
but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.

Righteousness Delivers

The theme of the above proverbs is that God provides righteousness that delivers from evil, peril, punishment. The righteousness spoken of Proverbs it typically not understand as the righteousness that Paul describes in Romans.   It is from the same source, faith in Christ, but simply stated in a different manner.  The righteousness of Proverbs is the result of someone who has wisdom.   Note how Solomon, the author, stated this in the beginning of Proverbs:

Proverbs 1:2-3 (ESV Strong's)
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in righteousness, justice, and equity;

Solomon is giving us instructions “in righteous” living.  It is a benefit of Wisdom.  We obtain Wisdom by the fear of the Lord (standing in awe of Him and recognizing who He is in our lives):

Proverbs 9:10 (ESV Strong's)
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

When we fear the Lord we are putting out faith in Him through His Son.  We have to remember that Christ is the Wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 2).   The above proverbs all speak of what happens when we have Christ as are righteousness.  When someone has the Wisdom of God (through Christ) they are declared righteous by God.   That righteousness delivers them from what we see in the above proverbs.  Some turn to riches to deliver.   They will not.  Some turn to their own evilness to deliver them.  It will not.   Some turn to their words to deliver them. They will not.  Only the righteousness that God provides through the wisdom of fearing Him will deliver us from the evils of this world.   It should be noted that these proverbs do NOT say that we won’t experience hardships.    It does not say “when” and “where” the deliverance comes.   Solomon is talking about eternal deliverance.   Verse 4 makes that abundantly clear:  “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.” Those who put their faith in God and fear Him will experience pain and suffering in this life (just go visit Job).   But, those who have the wisdom of God in Christ, will be delivered in the end.  

Listen to my Plea for Grace - Psalms 84-86

Psalms 86:1-7 (ESV Strong's)
1 Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2 Preserve my life, for I am godly;
save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.
3 Be gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all the day.
4 Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
6 Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
listen to my plea for grace.
7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you,
for you answer me.

Listen to My Plea for Grace

Psalm 86 is a prayer of Davids.    He is pleading with God to “hear” him; to be “gracious” to him; to “preserve” him; and to “save” him.    The song is a typical song found in the Book of Psalms.   However, on like most psalms, we don’t find out the reason for David’s please until we finish the song:

Psalms 86:14 (ESV Strong's)
14 O God, insolent men have risen up against me;
a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
and they do not set you before them.

This may be recalling a time in David’s life when Saul and his men were hunting him down.   Or, it could be when his son Absalom tried to steal his kingdom away.  Or, a number of other situations where David was being hounding and hunted.   Whatever the occasion, David has found that the answer to these times of despair, was not about him controlling the situation.  He was about Him releasing the situation into God’s hands and asking for grace to deal with it.

Psalms 86:15-17 (ESV Strong's)
15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant,
and save the son of your maidservant.
17 Show me a sign of your favor,
that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

David knew that if he released all this to God, that God would be gracious to him.   David knew that he could not control the situation.  He needed God’s grace to take over in His life.   Note the last line of the song:

Psalms 86:17 (ESV Strong's)
17 Show me a sign of your favor,
that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

The answer is not, “because I controlled it on my own!  It is not, “because I stood up for myself.”   It is not, “because I dug dip to find the resources that I needed!”    The answer is, “.... because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.”  

The Person Behind the King - 2 Kings 11-15

2 Kings 11:1-4 (ESV Strong's)
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1 Now when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family. 2 But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the king's sons who were being put to death, and she put him and his nurse in a bedroom. Thus they hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not put to death. 3 And he remained with her six years, hidden in the house of the LORD, while Athaliah reigned over the land.

Joash Anointed King in Judah
4 But in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of the Carites and of the guards, and had them come to him in the house of the LORD. And he made a covenant with them and put them under oath in the house of the LORD, and he showed them the king's son.

The Person Behind the King

This portion of 2 Kings is all about the rise and fall over the various Kings of Judah and Israel.  Some of the Kings of Judah “walked in God’s ways” (with always something left undone) and the Kings of Israel were always evil, walking in the ways of Israel’s King Jeroboam the son of Nebat.   In the above passage we see the rise of Josh, King of Judah.  He will be a good king for Judah ... for awhile, as long as Jehoiada the Priest is in his life.  It was Jehoiada who organized the coup that would topple Queen Athaliah’s reign over Judah.   If you read the rest of the story you see how Jehoiada organized the soldiers and the people to accomplish the destruction of Athaliah.   At seven years old, Jehoiada would not know how to reign a kingdom.   Jehoiada the priest, by his side, however, allowed him and enabled him to become a great king for Israel.   It was not until the death of Jehoiada that Joash fails in his kingdom and another coup takes over his kingdom.  

2 Chronicles 24:15-17
(ESV Strong's) 15 But Jehoiada grew old and full of days, and died. He was 130 years old at his death. 16 And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, and toward God and his house.
17 Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them.

Having a Godly voice in your life is paramount for leadership.   There is always a good person behind leadership that keeps them focused on the things of God.   When that fails, so, too, does their leadership.   God puts people in the lives of leaders to guide them and point them to the truth of God’s word.  When they listen, their leadership is rewarded.  When they fail to listen and listen to foolish council, their leadership fails.

We Can’t Pick and Choose the Sins We Hate! Leviticus 16-18

Leviticus 18:19-22 (ESV Strong's)
19 “You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness. 20 And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor's wife and so make yourself unclean with her. 21 You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD. 22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

We Can’t Pick and Choose the Sins We Hate!

Today’s church is notorious for selective outrage.   The sins we select to “hate” or “fight” are not as selected by God.  In the above passage God lists four things that are an “abominations” to the Lord:

1. Having sexual relations with a woman during her menstrual cycle.

2. Adultery with your neighbor’s wife (any adultery, really).

3.  Sacrificing your children to the death to worship something (this might be the moral equivalent of abortions).

4. Homosexuality.

Many, of course, will simply say this list is an outdated, Old Testament list ONLY for national Israel and does not apply to today, much less to Gentiles and the rest of the world.   There are plenty of arguments that this list is carried over into the New Testament Scriptures:

Galatians 5:19-21 (ESV Strong's)
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

There are many points to take from the above passage, but the one that stands out for today is that we are not to be selective to those sins we kinda don’t like to those that are iconic sins AGAINST THE ALMIGHTY!.   God HATES ALL sin and we should as well.  Now our response to those who are engaged in theses sins ought to be equally even. We ought not shun one and tolerate the other.   We ought to be willing to love through the sin to bring others to the mercy and grace of God.   We ought not be selective in our outrage or discriminating in our grace and mercy.  

He is Holding it All Together - Colossians 1-2

Colossians 1:15-17 (ESV Strong's)

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

He is Holding it All Together

A parallel passage to the above text might be from the writer of Hebrews:

Hebrews 1:2-3 (ESV Strong's)
2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Their are too many truths in these passages to speak of them all here, but one of the truths is that Christ “holds” it all together.   The tense in the Hebrews passage is an ongoing tense.  He is holding it all together moment by moment.   Paul brings out the aspect that everyone and everything in the universe is being held together by Christ.   He not only created it, he sustains it.   Hebrews adds that He sustains it by the “word of His Power.”   That is an interesting phrase.  It means God gave Christ power (John 12:49-50) and Christ exercise that power through His Word.   If Christ were to suddenly quit speaking His word, the world would blow apart.  This is evidence for the fact that Christ is “active” in the world.   He could have simply created a universe that is made up of laws and rules (it is) and walked away to let the creatures live within the laws and the rules.  But, He did not.   By HIM all things are held together.  

Faithful in Little, Rewarded Much - Luke 19-20

Luke 19:20-26 (ESV Strong's)
20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

Faithful in Little, Rewarded Much

The above story is taken from a parable of Jesus.   Both Luke and Matthew record the same parable.  The parable begins by Jesus telling of a rich nobleman who gave ten servants ten mina (worth about three months wages for the common man):

Luke 19:12-13 (ESV Strong's)
12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’

Upon the nobleman’s return, he calls the servants to give an account of what they did with his gift to them.  This is undoubtably a picture of Jesus giving His followers/believers His grace to use for His purpose.   The first two servants give an account of investing their mina in a way that produced more.   They are counted as good and faithful servants:

Luke 19:17-19 (ESV Strong's)
17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’

But when a third comes (Luke uses the term “another” meaning not like the first two, but of another type), he is less impressive.   We see that rather than even simply take the mina he was given and put it in the bank to collect interest, he does nothing but hide it in the earth.   Instead being rewarded with “more” he is striped of even this gift and given less.   One lesson in the story is easy to grasp.  Those who are true followers of Christ will take the gifts they are given and use them for God’s glory.  They will make more out of them by their faithfulness.   Those who are simply going through the “act” of faith, will neglect, ignore and, even waste what they say they have.   Another lesson and truth in the story is to realize that God sees what we do with the gifts He gives us and wants to reward us.   There are rewards for the people of God.   Those who honor what God gives them will get more grace from God to accomplish more for God.   Spiritual growth works this way.  The more we are obedient to the faith God gives us the more faith He supplies. The more we are using the gifts God gave us the more God expands the gift in our lives.   He said it to the first servant:

Luke 19:17 (ESV Strong's)
17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’

God Employees Wicked Nations - Ezekiel 25-30

Ezekiel 30:23-26 (ESV Strong's)
23 I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them through the countries. 24 And I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a man mortally wounded. 25 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, but the arms of Pharaoh shall fall. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I put my sword into the hand of the king of Babylon and he stretches it out against the land of Egypt. 26 And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”

God Employees Wicked Nations

Chapters 25-30 of Ezekiel are one of the most amazing group of prophecies about other nations.   God is giving a message to these nations, though the prophet Ezekiel.   The message is really quite something and to all the nations addressed, it basically has three elements:

1. You lifted yourself up in pride against God’s people and/or against God Himself.

2. You are going to be destroyed either totally and never heard about again (Tyre) or for a brief time and then severely diminished (Egypt).

3.  All of this for one reason:  “Then they will know that I am the Lord.”  

In the above passage we come to the end of the section and the end of the lament over Egypt.   This might be a good summary of both what God is doing and HOW He is doing it.   God is taking a wicked nation (Babylon) and using it to destroy these other nations.  In this particular lament. God is given Egypt to Babylon as wages for doing His work.   Later God will use Babylon to punish Israel/Judah and the prophet Habakkuk will object (Habakkuk 1).   Although there is much truth in this text, a clear point is that God employs wicked people/nations to accomplish His task.  When we look at the “power” brokers of the world we have to keep this truth in mine.  God very well may want to use wicked people to accomplish His tasks.  Like Habakkuk, it ought to grieve us and cause us to question.  But, never-the-less the fact that God does this is truth.   Read Isaiah 45:7 and that truth comes out:

Isaiah 45:7 (ESV Strong's)
7 I form light and create darkness;
I make well-being and create calamity;
I am the LORD, who does all these things.

God only has to hold back His grace and all calamity will unfold.  This is what He is doing in these chapters.   When God holds back His common grace to these nations, another nation, stronger and more mighty, comes and destroys them.   God is totally in-charge of the world’s affairs and is accomplishing His perfect plan.  However, a truth is that He does so using means that might cause us to ask questions (Habakkuk 1:1-3).

Lover Covers Hate - Proverbs 10

Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers all transgressions.

Lover Covers Hate

When it comes to principles to live by, this Proverb should be at the top of our list. You can't say it much more concise. Those who spew hatred will do nothing but stir up more strife and hatred. Strife is hatred in motion. When we hate (inward) we perform actions of strife (outward). BUT ... a great word to behold in and of itself ... Love puts a cover on transgression and doesn't allow strife to explode. Love covers the transgression so that we don't do the actions of hate. Love allows the transgression to find a place to be buried foreever. In Proverbs 17:9 Solomon even goes so far to tell us that when we "cover over an offense" we promote love. In 1 Peter 4:8 we are told that love "covers a mulitude" of sins. Love, Godly love, knows how to forgive and lay the offense at the feet of the Savior. Don't hate. Love!  In the next chapter Solomon will see it this way:

Proverbs 19:11
Good sense makes one slow to anger,
and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

We are to love, overlook an offense, and that will cause hatred to cease.  For the New Testament believer, love carries the most important role in the demonstration of our faith:

Galatians 5:6 (ESV Strong's)
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

We are to express our faith in love toward others, which prevents hate from stirring up further strife.  

They Conspire Against Us! Psalms 81-83

Psalms 83:1-5 (ESV Strong's)
1 O God, do not keep silence;
do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
2 For behold, your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate you have raised their heads.
3 They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against your treasured ones.
4 They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
5 For they conspire with one accord;
against you they make a covenant—

They Conspire Against Us!

God is well aware of the world around us.  God is not surprised that the world is out to destroy believers.  Whether that is the nation of Israel (as in the above text) or the Church of Christ.   The above Psalm has a theme, however, we need to recognize. Asaph, the writer, is crying out to God to not be silent.   God has no intent on being silent, of course.  We have much Scripture that tells us that God is actively engaged at protecting His children.   The prayer is more for the believe to recognize and honor God than it is for God to be woken from a slumber.   When we pray for protection from those who are charting out demise, we are not waking God from His nap.   We are waking ourselves to the truth that God is still in control.  Asaph is not making sure doesn’t miss this.  He is, in this prayer, acknowledging that God is for us.   The enemy is plotting a course for our certain destruction, as people of faith.  Yet, God wants us to recognize His sovereignty over the plans of evil men and give Him praise.   They lay “crafty plans.”  But, here is God’s response to those plots:

Psalms 2:1-6 (ESV Strong's)
The Reign of the LORD'S Anointed
1 Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”

All In? 2 Kings 6-10

2 Kings 10:28-31 (ESV Strong's)

28 Thus Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel. 29 But Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin—that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Dan. 30 And the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” 31 But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin.

All In?

Jehu, one of the many kings of Israel, did much better than most of their kings.   That statement about most of the Kings of Israel simply states, “they did evil.”   Jehu is an exception.   As we can read in the above passage, he did not fully follow God.  He was about 3/4 in vs all in.   But, God did reward him for his destruction of all the Baal worshipers.  God does reward our progress and our purifying ourselves and the land around us.   Jehu did cleanse the nation of the Baal worshippers, but he was still hanging onto some of the “sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat.”   This is much like our lives are.  We dispose of the one sin (the big one that everyone notices) but we keep the little one.  That is the one, however, that eventually brings us down.   When we follow Jesus we have to agree to be “all in.”    Partial obedience will be rewarded by God, but it still denies the full blessing of God in our lives.  

Quarantine! - Leviticus 13-15

Leviticus 13:4-5 (ESV Strong's)
4 But if the spot is white in the skin of his body and appears no deeper than the skin, and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest shall shut up the diseased person for seven days. 5 And the priest shall examine him on the seventh day, and if in his eyes the disease is checked and the disease has not spread in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up for another seven days.

Quarantine!

As I write this devotional (July, 2020) most of the USA is coming off quarantine due to the COVID 19 pandemic.   Because of a virus most of the country was sent to their rooms and to allowed to come out.   We now know what this passage in Leviticus was speaking out in regard to being locked up for seven days.   In Leviticus it was not COVID 19.  The disease facing the nation of Israel the leprous disease. God wanted to preserve the national of Israel.   He had to create a method that would prevent infectious diseases from destroying the nation.   Israel was God’s chosen nation.  He had to protect them.  Isolation was God’s method.   Perhaps the lesson in this is to remember that one way to prevent evil from impacting you is to separate you from that evil.   Holiness is like that.  To become holy you have to have righteousness imparted and evil to be avoided.   Leprousy was a picture of sin for the nation of Israel.  They were to separate from sin because it would destroy the nation.   Leprous disease could destroy the physical life of the nation.   Sin can and did destroy the spiritual life of the nation.   Separation is hard ... but necessary!

Be Reasonable! Philippians 3-4

Philippians 4:5 (ESV Strong's)
5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

Be Reasonable!

Right in the middle of a section on prayer, peace and Biblical thinking, Paul gives us quite an admonishment.   He tells us to be “reasonable.”   In the Greek, Vine says this about this word:

(Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary) epieikes (ἐπιεικής, 1933), an adjective (from epi, used intensively, and eikos, “reasonable”), is used as a noun with the article in Phil. 4:5, and translated “forbearance” in the RV; KJV, “moderation,” RV, marg., “gentleness,” “sweet reasonableness” (Matthew Arnold). See gentle.

Paul told the young preacher Timothy the following:

 2 Timothy 2:24-25 (ESV Strong's)
24 And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25 correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,

We are in “gentleness” correct those who oppose us.   We can only do “gentle” correcting if we maintain a spirit of “reasonable” thinking.   And, notice why we are to be “reasonable.”  It is because, “the Lord is at hand.”   That gives us the sense that our “reasonableness” is not to be used to impressed the world around us, but rather to demonstrate the presence of God within us, via the Son.   We should note how many times in the Gospel stories that, when confronted by evil men, Jesus remained “reasonable.”   He had a sense of “forbearance” toward them.   In today’s society we don’t have a lot of “reasonableness” or “forbearance.”   Yet, in the midst of talking about prayer and peace, Paul tells the Church at Philippi to be a people of “reasonableness.”   This might fit Solomon’s words to us:

Proverbs 15:1 (ESV Strong's)
1 A soft answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Sacrifice Rewarded - Luke 17-18

Luke 18:28-30 (ESV Strong's)
28 And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Sacrifice Rewarded

In the above text, Jesus has been engaging in a conversation about eternal life with a rich man.  The rich man was boasting that, from his youth, he has kept the Ten Commandments.   But, Jesus tells him to sell all he has.  He, being rich, goes away disappointed because that would call upon him to actually put his faith in Christ and not in riches.  Jesus than makes the famous statement:


Luke 18:24-27 (ESV Strong's)
24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

This is the context of the above verses about leaving everything to follow Christ.   Jesus wants His disciples to know that Christ is to be the center of their existence.  His teaching requires that He becomes the center of our existence.  This sacrifice, per Jesus’ own words, is highly reward both NOW and IN THE FUTURE.   Those who put family and home in front of Christ, get family and home ONLY!   Those who put Christ at the center are assured of Christ’s care and relationship during the present and for the future.  That MAY mean that those close to you reject you.  That DOES mean that Christ will accept you.

Shut Your Mouth - Open Your Mouth - Ezekiel 19-24

Ezekiel 24:24-27 (ESV Strong's)
24 Thus shall Ezekiel be to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord GOD.’
25 “As for you, son of man, surely on the day when I take from them their stronghold, their joy and glory, the delight of their eyes and their soul's desire, and also their sons and daughters, 26 on that day a fugitive will come to you to report to you the news. 27 On that day your mouth will be opened to the fugitive, and you shall speak and be no longer mute. So you will be a sign to them, and they will know that I am the LORD.”

Shut Your Mouth - Open Your Mouth

Before we understand the above verses and draw a practical lesson from them, we ought to read this passage from Solomon’s preaching:

Ecclesiastes 3:4 (ESV Strong's)
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

This passage from Ecclesiastes highlights what is going on in the above message from and to and through Ezekiel.   In chapter 24 the prophet is told that his wife is going to die, suddenly.   He is told to mourn briefly and in silence.   He is to then be an example to the nation of Israel.   As God brings Israel into captivity, He is going to destroy their stronghold, their joy, their glory, the delight of their eyes, their soul’s desire and their sons and daughters.   Ezekiel is NOT to mourn for them.   However, when Jerusalem falls a “fugitive” will escape and report to Ezekiel what is happened and then, and only then, will Ezekiel’s mouth open.   Note what happens in just a few chapters:

Ezekiel 33:22-23 (ESV Strong's)
22 Now the hand of the LORD had been upon me the evening before the fugitive came; and he had opened my mouth by the time the man came to me in the morning, so my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.
23 The word of the LORD came to me:

This prophecy was fulfilled a short time later.  Ezekiel opens his mouth and begins to speak about the future restoration of the remnant.   Why is God doing all this?  The last part of Ezekiel 24:27 tells us:

“... and they will know that I am the Lord.”   That phrase is used countless times in this section and throughout the book.   God is doing a work in their lives so that they know “that I am the Lord.”   That is why God works in all our lives.  He wants us to know Him, deeply.   When captivity, hardship, struggle or pain or sorrow come, we can know the purpose is for us to see the majesty of God.  There is a time to open our mouths in praise and a time to close our mouths to mourn.   God does not want us rejoicing over sin.  He wants us to rejoice that we know Him as a result of the work He does in our midst.

Find Wisdom - Proverbs 8-9

Proverbs 8:35-36 (ESV Strong's)
35 For whoever finds me finds life
and obtains favor from the LORD,
36 but he who fails to find me injures himself;
all who hate me love death.”

Find Wisdom

If you have ever been urgently looking for something and finally found it, you get a glimpse into the insight Solomon is trying to provide us in these two proverbs.    Yet, finding your keys when you are late for work doesn’t even come close to this message.  Finding your wallet after it was lost for a week does not.  Finding you child who wandered off into a dangerous place, might get close.  Yet, Solomon in the above passages is talking about finding something even more precious than a child: Wisdom.   In chapter eight of Proverbs we are reading Wisdom’s word to us.  She is speaking to us.  She is telling us all the benefits of having her in your worldview of life.   Failing to find wisdom is the same as finding death.   When we fail to search for and find wisdom we do self-inflicted harm to ourselves.   Thankfully, wisdom is available by simply fearing the Lord.  That is the message of chapter nine:

Proverbs 9:10 (ESV Strong's)
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Wisdom makes herself available so she is an easy find.  Note where she is:

Proverbs 8:1-3 (ESV Strong's)
1 Does not wisdom call?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
2 On the heights beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;
3 beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud:

She is loud and standing on every corner.  We have but to Fear the Lord (stand in awe of Him and revere Him) and we will find wisdom.   Find

Believer’s Sin(s) Limits God’s Glory - Psalms 78-80

Psalms 78:60-61 (ESV Strong's)
60 He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mankind,
61 and delivered his power to captivity,
his glory to the hand of the foe.

Believer’s Sin(s) Limits God’s Glory

To understand the above two verses we have to understand the context of Psalms 78.   This song, written by the song writer, Aspah, is a historical poem, outlining the failures of Israel and their deliverance by God.   The song tells how God gave them miraculous provision and, yet, how they turned to other gods as their source of strength.   God’s glory was in their midst (via the Tabernacle) and they still sought out the false gods of their neighbors.   That tends to be a trend for believers.   In the above two verses we see an amazing response from God, to their sin.  God actually removes the two “visible” elements of His nature from the center of Israel’s daily life. He removes His presence when their sin becomes prevalent.  The more they sin, the less room God has to roam among them.  That is a truth all believers should come to grips with in their own lives.  The more we sin, the less room God has to move in our midst.  Sin separates us from God’s power and God’s blessing.    God actually allowed their ememies to capture and take for their own:  The Ark of the Covenant (1 Samuel 4:11).   That was not only a symbol of God’s presence, God’s glory actually rested in the Ark.   His glory was dwelling in the tent, the Tabernacle.    God ACTUALLY allowed it to be taken captive by those who rejected God.   What a message for believers today.   When we reject God’s word and fail to obey it, we lose the power of God in our midst.