Trust Those Gives You to War with You! - Judges 17-21

 Judges 20:36 (ESV)

So the people of Benjamin saw that they were defeated.

The men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin, because they trusted the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah.

In these last chapters (17-21) of Judges there are some really distributing stories about life in Israel during the days of the Judges.   When Joshua died, no one became the spiritual leader of the nation.   Repeatedly we read that “everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”   This is the theme of the book.  That should help us understand and view these final stories, especially how women and children were abused by their own countryman.   We should not approve of the behavior of the nation as we read these stories.  God did not approve.  Everyone was doing what was right in THEIR own eyes, not GOD’S eyes.   

In chapter 20 we have the revenge on the Benjaminites for their treatment (murder by rape) of a man’s concubine.   That was the evil done that God disapproved of and allowed Israel to go up against Benjamin in general and the city of Gibeah (where the rape/murder occurred) specifically.   On two separate occasions the larger army of Israel fell to the less numbered army of Benjamin. Even thought Israel actually inquired of God and God gave them permission to fight their brothers the Benjaminites, they still lost 40,000 men before this third attempt.   Israel finally worked together and killed 25,100 men of Benjamin.   But, it was because they set a trap with some of the people being the bait and some of the lying in wait.   The above verse stated that they won the battle because they trusted in their brothers.  That is the point of the story.   Their working together in trust and in concert with each other allowed them to win the war.   They lost 40,000 of their own men first.  They killed 25,100 men of Benjamin eventually.  All in all it was not a good battle wage.  But, the victory of it came about by trusting those God gives you to fight with you.  Something about that trusting each other brought them success.   They trusted God enough to go our and fight (even after losing 40,000 men).   But, they also had to trust the team God gave them.   Their victory would come because God gave them the victory.    But, they method God chose to give them the victory was that they would trust each other, as well.    In our lives this is a key component of life.  Trust is a major, if not the major component of all success.   Don’t over look it and don’t underestimate its power.  

Appease Anger with Generosity - Genesis 32-35

 Genesis 32:13-19 (ESV)

So he stayed there that night, and from what he had with him he took a present for his brother Esau, two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milking camels and their calves, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. These he handed over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Pass on ahead of me and put a space between drove and drove.” He instructed the first, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong? Where are you going? And whose are these ahead of you?’ then you shall say, ‘They belong to your servant Jacob. They are a present sent to my lord Esau. And moreover, he is behind us.’” He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves, “You shall say the same thing to Esau when you find him,

Jacob is returning to his father’s land and must meet his brother Esau.  The last time they meet Jacob had swindled Esau out of both his birth right and his father’s blessing for the first born.   Esau had made a threat to kill him.   That is why Jacob was sent away and, subsequently, accumulated his great wealth.   Now he was returning to his brother’s land.   He has been told that Esau is riding toward him with 400 men.  We read the above passage that he wants to appease Esau.  He wants to make sure Esau is worn out with present after present.   Is doing this will, indeed, slow Esau’s heart.  Note what happens when they do meet:

Genesis 33:8-10 (ESV)

Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company that I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.” But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” Jacob said, “No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me.

The above story might be what Solomon was referring to when he wrote these proverbs for us:

Proverbs 17:8 (ESV)

A bribe is like a magic stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;

wherever he turns he prospers.

Proverbs 18:16 (ESV)

A man's gift makes room for him

and brings him before the great.

Proverbs 19:6 (ESV)

Many seek the favor of a generous man,

and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.

Proverbs 21:14 (ESV)

A gift in secret averts anger,

and a concealed bribe, strong wrath.

There is a principle here for life that we would do well to learn.   Angry people will be appeased with our generosity.   In our society we might call it “buttering” someone up.   It should not be done as a manipulation tool, but it should be done to show honor and grace.  The same honor and grace we want from them.   When someone is full of anger and we have done them wrong, we should offer to make things right and to appease them by being generous and sacrificial.   We do not know what was in Jacob’s heart.   We do not know his motives, other than to keep himself and his family alive.   But, we do read that he wants to appease his angry brother and he wants to soften his heart.   God blessed this motives.  Note, from the words of Esau:

Genesis 33:15-16 (ESV)

So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir.

Esau even offered to provide Jacob with protection.   Jacob found grace in his sight.  A generous heart will always prove to be a good move when dealing with angry people.   

Proverbs 25:21 (ESV)

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat,

and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

Do You Give Money out Love or a Debt? Romans 15-16

 Romans 15:24-27 (ESV)

I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.

Paul had a passion to visit the church at Rome.   He wanted to minister to them and encourage them.  But, at the moment he was on a mission of another sort.   We all know Paul as the deep theologian that he was.  But, he also was a servant.   He and his team had been given a charge by the leadership in Jerusalem to travel to the many churches he and others started to gather money for the churches in Jerusalem.   We are not told as to why the saints in Jerusalem need support, but with the persecution of the religious Jews toward the Church, they needed material help.  This is what 1 Corinthians 16 is all about, as well.   Paul was collecting funds to support those saints in Jerusalem who may have lost financial gain, jobs and homes due to their desire to become Christians.  It should be noted that Paul did not judge or spend time analyzing why they need money.  He just went to work to collect it.  

It should be noted how this occupied his thoughts.  He was writing to the Roman Christians from Corinth.   He wants to go to Spain.  But, he has to make a stop in Jerusalem to care for others.   Paul’s theology was consumed by his servanthood.   He indeed practiced his faith with love and good works. Paul’s own words to the Corinthian believers about this collection was a demonstration of his life:

2 Corinthians 8:7 (ESV)

7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. 

He is referring to giving money to the needs of the saints when he writes, “... that you excel in this act of grace also.”   

Not only does he walk the talk but Paul also wanted to teach the Romans the reason for this act of giving.   He could have gone to a Old Testament passage about giving a tenth of what you make to God.  He could have gone to the passage that say giving to God can had spiritual blessing.    Instead, not his reasoning for this giving to the saints in Jerusalem: 

Romans 15:27 (ESV)

For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.

He didn’t count their funds a gift.  He didn’t consider them charity.   He considered them a debt to pay.   Note what Vine says about this word for “owe” it to them:

ὀφειλέτης opheiletēs; from 3784; an ower, i.e. person indebted; figuratively, a delinquent; morally, a transgressor (against God): — debtor, which owed, sinner.

Used 7x in the authorized version - debtor 5, sinner 1, which owed 1;

one who owes another, a debtor; one held by some obligation, bound by some duty,  one who has not yet made amends to whom he has injured: one who owes God penalty or whom God can demand punishment as something due, i.e. a sinner

This giving on Sunday morning takes on an entirely new thought process when we read Paul’s words.   Our giving is often thought of (and at times, rightly so) as a “gift” and “act of charity.”   The giving should be out of love.  But, as Gentiles we need realize that God has giving us a gift and we have a service to render in obligation for receiving the gift of salvation.  It is not to earn salvation.  It is to recognize the great gift God gave us and in return we give to others.  

Heaven is a Re-uniting with Family, But what Family? Matthew 20-22

 Matthew 22:23-33 (ESV)

Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection

The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.’ Now there were seven brothers among us. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother. So too the second and third, down to the seventh. After them all, the woman died. In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her.”

But Jesus answered them, “You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.” And when the crowd heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.

There should probably be a rule in argumentation and debate that if you are going to debate someone and try to trap them, you should be superior to them in that debate.   In the above passage we are in the middle of a number of times the religious leaders of the day have come to Jesus to attempt to trap Him and discredit Him before the crowds.  The time frame is just moments before His being arrested and crucified.   Things are getting tense.   For three years Jesus has outfoxed these religious leaders.  The above passage was one more failed attempt.   They tried to debate Him and lost.  

In some of the previous tries to trap Jesus, it was the Pharisees.  This time it was the Sadducees.   Here is what one Bible commentator says about this group of leaders:

(Understanding the Bible Commentary Series) The Sadducees were the wealthy governing class and, in terms of doctrine, were traditionalists. They accepted as authoritative only the books of Moses.

In the book of Acts we read this about the Pharisees and the Sadducees:

Acts 23:8 (ESV) 

For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.

What was being attempted by the Sadducees was to pit Jesus against their philosophy and that of the Pharisees and to discredit Jesus in return.   Rabbinic teaching was a very logical approach.   They thought they could show Jesus as illogical before the crowd and also score points over the Pharisees.   They failed on both accounts.   Since they stuck close the Torah by holding to Moses’ teachings, Jesus takes them to first recorded time that Moses talked to God.   Since God referred to Himself as the God of the “living” and not the “dead,” the Sadducees were exposed and lost the debate.   

In the middle of this debate, however, we were giving new information that few people actually acknowledge, or even may want to hear.   Jesus stated that God has not designed heaven like He designed earth.   In heaven man and women do not need to procreate (the main reason God created marriage on earth.  See Genesis 1:28).   Since there is no need to procreate in eternity, men and women will be like the angles, NOT MARRIED.  This really messes up our minds about going home to heaven and thinking about it in the context of our earthly family.   Heaven is NOT our family from earth.   Heaven is about uniting with God in full relationship, no longer separate from Him by sin.   Yes, the rich man wanted his brothers to be told about Jesus.  And the rich man, in death, apparently recognized Lazarus.  So, there must be “recognition” of people in heaven.    Even in the transfiguration on the mountain with Peter, John and James, “recognized” Old Testament characters.   But, the relationship with have on earth with a spouse, or other family members, is not the same in heaven.  This is what Jesus is teaching them.   Instead, it might even be suggested that we have that close bound of relationship with share with our spouse and families now, in heaven, but with all believers as we jointly worship of God.   After a death and  we say they went home and are now united with their spouse or loved one, we are not technically wrong.  But, we are misleading in that this is not the design of heaven per Jesus’ teaching.  In eternity we are like angels.  Not married and their to glorify God, ONLY.  

The point we have to understand is yes, Jesus won the debate and the people marveled at His teaching and how He defeated the Sadducees attempts to discredit Him.   But, they also may have been in awe of His teaching that heaven is not a family re-union the way we imagine it.  It is a family re-union of God’s family, not man’s family.   

Fear NOT - No Nails Needed - Isaiah 40-44

 Isaiah 41:8-10 (ESV)

8 But you, Israel, my servant,

Jacob, whom I have chosen,

the offspring of Abraham, my friend;

9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth,

and called from its farthest corners,

saying to you, “You are my servant,

I have chosen you and not cast you off”;

10 fear not, for I am with you;

be not dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

In this section of Isaiah the prophet is attempting to encourage Israel by contrasting them to other nations and people.   The words prior to the above passage help us understand these words.   The above section begins with “But you ...”.   What Isaiah has just stated is important.  He is talking about a people who are frightened about a king coming from the east.   This “king” is probably, King Cyrus (45:1), the king of Persia, who will conquer and destroy Babylon (who has destroyed and taken captive Israel).  However, the people fear this coming kind and have built idols to worship.   They have asked their idol goldsmiths to make these idols strong so that they don’t fall down:

Isaiah 41:5-7 (ESV)

The coastlands have seen and are afraid;

the ends of the earth tremble;

they have drawn near and come.

Everyone helps his neighbor

and says to his brother, “Be strong!”

The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith,

and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil,

saying of the soldering, “It is good”;

and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved.

They are trying to encourage each other by saying to each other, “Be strong.”    They idols will be strengthened with “nails” so that they don’t fall down.  You never want you idol (god) to fall down when a king is coming.     This is where Isaiah writes, “But you ...”.     Isaiah’s cure to help them through this fearful time is to remind them of a few things:

1. They are His servants (vs 8a & 9).  Rather than have them create gods that will serve them, God says I have made you MY servants.  

2. They are chosen by God, through Abraham (vs 8b), who was a “friend” of God.   We see that God is has a relationship with them and that should embolden them.  They are not strangers to God.  He is their friend and they are His people.  

3. God has not “cast them off.”  Yes, God has disciplined them for their sins (most of the proceeding chapters).  But He remains their God and they remain His people.   Those words must have been so reassuring as they rolled off Isaiah’s tongue and into their hearing. 

4.  God was not only going to be their God but they would need no nails to keep Him in their lives, He would be THEIR strength and be THEIR righteousness and uphold them with His right hand.   The significance of the “right” hand would not be fully understood until we found out this about Jesus in the New Testament:

Hebrews 1:3 (ESV)

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,

Isaiah’s prophecy had a “right now and later” approach to it.  God was going to be with them NOW but would have even more blessings for them LATER.   This is the assurance they had (and we have) that God is with us and will, through Christ, save us.   God’s being “with us” is the fundamental difference for these people as they fear the nations and movements of the governments around them.   God is not far from them and does not need nails to hold Him up.  He is with those He chooses and those He makes His servants to provide for them His righteousness and His favor upon them.  That is also our hope in the world we live in today.  

Friends Can Steal Your Hope or Give You Hope - Job 15-17

 Job 17:1-5 (ESV)

1 “My spirit is broken; my days are extinct;

the graveyard is ready for me.

2 Surely there are mockers about me,

and my eye dwells on their provocation.

3 “Lay down a pledge for me with you;

who is there who will put up security for me?

4 Since you have closed their hearts to understanding,

therefore you will not let them triumph.

5 He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property—

the eyes of his children will fail.

Job is close to death.   Chapter 17 is all about death and dying.  He is losing hope.  In chapter 15 we read his friend Eliphaz’s second speech to Job.   He tells Job that it is obvious that he has sinned because his observation in life is that those who sin get the same punishment Job is now experiencing.  In chapter 16 Job attempts to defend himself against this “friends” accusations. But in chapter 17 he turns more to plead with God about his facing death’s door, for reasons he fails to understand. 

In verse one of the chapter he simply states and acknowledges that the grave is right down his path.  He is staring at it with full view.  Whereas once upon a time he was looking at death through the wrong end of the binoculars, he now sees it clearly without them.   But, that is not only what he sees.   Although the vision of the grave must be mind boggling to him, his eyes are also on what others are saying about him and to him (like Eliphaz and his other two friends).  He states that his “eyes dwell on their provocation.”   This word, “provocation” is to be full of contempt for someone.  Instead of his friends giving him comfort, they, instead, ridicule, demean and find reasons for his utter destruction.   None of their reasons are accurate, but, none-the-less they speak out and provoke him.   He sees that provocation with one eye and the grave with the other.  Remember, it is Satan who has touched Job.  God declared him righteous.  This whole thing is not about Job’s righteousness, but about Satan’s provocation of Job.   Who are Satan’s tools:  His three friends.  

In verse 3, above, we read Job asking God for support.  He wants God to “lay down a pledge” for him.    The second line in verse three calls the “pledge” something of a “security” for Job.   He needs someone to stand in the gap for him.  The words mean to have someone take his mortgage for him.  He is not talking about the bank loan for his house, but rather the mortgage payments for his life.   He has no help from his friends.  God has closed their eyes to even understand what is happening to him (verse 4).   They are blind.  Therefore Job can only appeal to God for help.   Death stares him in the face, therefore God is the only hope for him in his heart.     

Verse five is a bit of challenge to interpret.  It is a proverb to teach those reading something about Job, suffering and death and those who condemn the dying with false judgment.   Remember, Job is responding to the false claims of Eliphaz.    Job is saying, in verse five, that those false words of his condemning friends will come back to hurt them. If his friends want to keep speaking bad about him, to get some gain from it, they will see that evil fall upon their children.   These “friends” have condemned, criticized and tried to correct Job.  None of them have held is hand and consoled him.  Job sees their provocation, while see his certain end, and needs hope.  God will give it to him at the end of the book.  But, in this chapter his friends have turned to his judges and the grave has drawn exceedingly close.   That combination has stolen Job’s hope.  When his friends could give him hope, they do him harm.   The only good in this section is that false hope in his friends has been stripped away so that Job’s hope in God can rush in and save the day.  

God Will Exact Justice on Mankind - Psalms 21-23

 Psalms 21:8-12 (ESV)

Your hand will find out all your enemies;

your right hand will find out those who hate you.

You will make them as a blazing oven

when you appear.

The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath,

and fire will consume them.

You will destroy their descendants from the earth,

and their offspring from among the children of man.

Though they plan evil against you,

though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.

For you will put them to flight;

you will aim at their faces with your bows.

God will have His justice on those who continually reject Him.   The world goes on and on with their oblivious nature toward God.  He sends rain on the just and on the unjust and the unjust just assume it will be there:

Matthew 5:45 (ESV)

so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

He gives gifts from heaven over and over and the natural man thinks they arrive based upon his own merit or dumb luck:

James 1:17 (ESV)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

However, in the above text we read that it is God who will have the last laugh.   God will turn His grace to wrath and judge mankind for their failure to acknowledge His good grace in their lives.  Note what John tells us in Revelation.   When He begins to pour out His wrath on mankind, what will men do?  What will the most powerful do, then?

Revelation 6:15-17 (ESV)

Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

God will, in the end, place man in a “blazing oven.”   “Thought they plan evil” against God, they will not endure or survive.   In the end, God will have victory and glory.   These passages in this psalm and in Revelations are thousands of years apart.   God is patient.   But, in the end, God will have glory through His grace AND His wrath. 

We Are Stewards of God’s Gift of Children - Judges 12-16

 Judges 13:2-5 (ESV)

There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. And the angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

God has first say on our children.  We don’t think this way, of course, but that does not diminish the truth that He does.   When we have children we claim them as our own.   The world does not think about the imprint of God on their children.   They are made in the image of God and He is their God and their creator.   He owns them as well as us.   When Manoah had no children she turned to God and He gave her the desire of her heart.  But, God also made sure that the boy would be used for God’s glory.   Her son, eventually named Samson, would be another judge who would deliver Israel from the Philistine oppression.   In the Law, the first-born was always dedicated to God.  In a few chapters we will read about Samuel being giving to God for service.   In our modern society we make claim that children are our own, but we fail to recognize that, as parents, we are simply stewards of these little gifts that we call sons and daughters.   God gives them to use so that we can influence them to live for Him.    When we fail to think that way we will end up raising children for our satisfaction and for their well being.   When we recognize that we are stewards of God’s gifts to us, we will have a desire to raise them to know Him and live for Him and not for us.   

Mindset Determines Behavior - What You Behold is What You Become - Genesis 28-31

 Genesis 31:33-35 (ESV)

So Laban went into Jacob's tent and into Leah's tent and into the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find them. And he went out of Leah's tent and entered Rachel's. Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel's saddle and sat on them. Laban felt all about the tent, but did not find them. And she said to her father, “Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you, for the way of women is upon me.” So he searched but did not find the household gods.

What we behold with our heart is what we become in our lives!   This might be the summary of the above passage.   The entire context of chapter 31 is that Jacob, along with his two wives Leah and Rachel, are on the run, escaping the corruption of Leah and Rachel’s father, Laban.   We have much Biblical narrative on the fact that Laban is a cheat.  Notice, in the next few verses what Jacob says about him:

Genesis 31:41-42 (ESV)

These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”

God knows the hearts of those around us and keeps us from their evilness.    However, as we attempt to flea that evilness, some of it abides within us.  When Jacob told his two wives to pack up and leave, Rachel took Laban’s divination gods.   She hid them in her tent, under the saddle.   Where would she have learned this deception.   First her father was a master at it.  Jacob, himself, had manipulated his brother Esau’s birthright and blessing.  There is no excuse for Rachel’s behavior, but it is all she has seen in her life.   When you behold manipulation and cunning all your life, don’t be too surprised if you, too, use it to navigate your life.   We are what we continually behold.   This is why it is important to make sure our thoughts are on the right things.  Note what Paul stated to the church at Philippi:

Genesis 31:41-42 (ESV)

These twenty years I have been in your house. I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years for your flock, and you have changed my wages ten times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”

We are what we behold and think.  Think about good things and God will use it to produce goodness in us:

John 17:17 (ESV)

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Don’t Score Sin on a Sliding Scale - Romans 13-14

 Romans 13:13 (ESV)

Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.

It is always interesting to hear Christians talk about sin and sinners.   We seem to have this classification of what is the worse sins (adultery, homosexuality, abuse) vs those sins we deem less important (white lies, over eating deserts, envy of our neighbors new pool).  In God’s lists, no matter if here in Romans or in other passages, you have to marvel that God makes no distinction between one sin and another.  In fact, in the next chapter of this letter to the Roman Christians, Paul is talking about not offending another believer who is a vegan or abstains from wine.  Notice what he says about things in this life in general:

Romans 14:14a (ESV)

I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself,  ...

In talking about “sins” that are “debatable” in the Christian life, Paul makes it clear that if we are “in Christ” (who is holy and has made us holy) everything in this life is “unclean.”    He will go on to say that there are some areas of the Christian life that carry some debate as to whether we can indulge in them or not.  But his main point is that from God’s point of view all things are unclean, since they are not holy things.   So, when we read this list in the Bible that chronicles “sins” we should note how they don’t fit our “list” of what is sinful and what is not.  Note:

Galatians 5:19-21 (ESV)

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 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.

Notice in the list Paul sends to the Galatian believers contains “our” high sins (sexual immorality, orgies) and “our” low sins (anger, dissension, envy, etc.).   We should be careful as to what we label sin and what we label mere struggles in our lives.  

In regard to the above text to the Romans, here is what the late R.C. Sproul wrote:

“Paul’s reference to rioting and drunkenness pertains to the pagan religious worship of the god Bacchus, the god of the grape and the vine. Bacchus was the sponsor of the ancient Bacchanalia, an orgiastic feast involving gluttony and unbridled sexual behavior. Participants set out to get drunk to silence pangs of conscience so they could engage in unbridled sin. In contrast to that, we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for our flesh. Paul means that we are not to make or provide opportunities for sin.”

Excerpt From

Romans

R. C. Sproul

So, we see that there are egregious sins that come right from the pit of the world’s evil that Christians are to avoid.   But, Paul does not hesitate to also include quarreling and jealousy in the same list.   We should be warned to stop our conversations that lists sins on a sliding scale and rather view anything that is not the holiness of God, as sin we should avoid.  

Which Kingdom Are You Working Toward? Matthew 17-19

 Matthew 19:30 (ESV)

But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

In Matthew 17-19 we have much teaching from Jesus about the Kingdom of God.  He teaches about faith for the Kingdom, He teaches about children in the Kingdom, He teaches about taxes, forgiveness, lost sheep, as well as riches and divorce in regard to Kingdom living.   God, through the Son, is setting up His eternal Kingdom.    The above verse comes at the end of teaching on the rich entering the Kingdom of heaven.   A wealthy young man came to Jesus and wanted to know what he had to do to accumulate a ticket to heaven.  Note how he asked Jesus about heaven:

Matthew 19:16 (ESV)

The Rich Young Man

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

The key word in that sentence is “have” eternal life.  The young man was very wealthy.   Jesus tells him to keep the commandments.   He says he has.  Jesus says, “Great then, you are almost perfect. Now go sell all you have and “you will have treasure in heaven.”    The young man wanted treasure in heaven but to get it he had to sell what he had on earth.   Jesus is not saying that salvation is achieved from a yard sale of all your property.  He is saying that salvation is allowing your heart to want Jesus more than anything.    That is the context for the verse on the first/last/last/first concept.   There are many, in our society, that are “first” in that they have the power, the property and the prestige of the world.   The “last” have little of any of that.   If you gave it all away and lived as a pauper, you would be the “last” in society.   The rich think their good standing in this earthly kingdom will give them great standing in the Heavenly Kingdom.   Not so.   Notice when the end comes what will happen to the rich, powerful, leadership and rulers:

Revelation 6:12-17 (ESV)

When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

The “great ones” and the “generals” and the the “rich” and the “powerful” will seek refuge from God’s wrath.   However, those who suffered persecution will be anointed with blessing:

Revelation 6:9-11 (ESV)

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

When Jesus says that the “first will be last, and the last first,” He means it, literally! Seek power, possessions and prestige all you want in this life.  But, be careful that you use it for the right Kingdom.  

God Heals with a Fig Cake - Isaiah 34-39

 Isaiah 38:20-22 (ESV)

The LORD will save me,

and we will play my music on stringed instruments

all the days of our lives,

at the house of the LORD.

Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?”

The above passage is at the end of a prayer by King Hezekiah.   He was on his death bed and prayed to God.   Isaiah sent a message to him that since he had asked God, God would give him an additional 15 years to live.   So, we see the power of prayer and the moving of even a death-date through God’s answering that prayer.   The interesting part of Hezekiah’s prayer is the ending of the story.   Hezekiah proclaims that the LORD saved him.  He recognizes that times and seasons and death is in the power of the LORD.   He also recognizes that his healing would be real and full as he would once again hear the music he loves.   He would also be able to worship again in the house of the LORD.  In fact, that is a major point he is making.  He concludes his prayer with the fact that those who go to death can no longer praise God and no longer hope in God.   Of course, from a New Testament age perspective we know that believers will live with God for eternity and praise him.  Hezekiah is merely speaking in human terms.  Dead people don’t praise God is his thought.    

With all that said, the unique aspect of this prayer and event is that Isaiah not only believes in prayer and that God will answer His prayer, but that, also, Hezekiah would need medical help.   Yes, God could heal him miraculously, but God, in this case, choose to use some medicinal approach.  Isaiah instructs them to take a cake of figs and put it on the boil that was causing Hezekiah suffering.  This may have been for the purpose of showing those around Hezekiah a material and visual act.  We can think of Jesus spitting in the dirt to make mud to heal the blind man in John 9.   Jesus didn’t need the mud but used it as a visual sign of something happening.    In the case of Hezekiah the fig cake could have been that same tool.   Or, there may have been some chemical reaction that brought healing that only God knew about.   The point of the matter is that God did the healing using prayer AND medicine.   He does not have to, but some times he chooses to do so.    When Jesus brought Lazarus from the dead He used no healing of medicine.   When Nahaam was told by the prophet Elisha to dip in the Jordan rive seven times, there was no healing power in the Jordan river.   But, the dipping made Nahaam humble.   So, God can use, does use and might choose not to use, medicine to heal.   Healing always comes from God’s power, hand and will.  But, the method God uses can vary greatly.  

The Theology and Philosophy of Death and Dying According to Job - Job 14

Job 14:5-6 (ESV)

Since his days are determined,

and the number of his months is with you,

and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass,

look away from him and leave him alone,

that he may enjoy, like a hired hand, his day.

When you are depressed and ready for your death you can become both philosophical and theological.   But, you might be off on your accuracy of both.   Job is in a bad spot.  His family is gone, is wife is fatalistic, his friends are condemning and his God, in his mind, has either abandoned him, or given him undue scrutiny.  In the above text Job is speaking to God about man (himself) and creates an argument in his head.   His first thought is the confession that God has “determined” his (man’s and subsequently Job’s) days and months of life.  If the word “determine” is an exact translation this would indicate that God has given man an exact expiration date.   There is some debate about the translation of the word to our English equivalent.   But, when you add the other words used:

“... number of months ...”. 

“... appointed his limits ...”. 

... you would be hard pressed to not see Job’s point.  Job is saying he has an termination date.   All mankind has.  It would appear by Job’s words that God has set a time for man to die and man should beware of that theological thought.  That is in keeping with other passages about age and dying (Psalms 90:9-12; Psalms 39:4-5).  But, Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:1-11) did pray for and received more time to live (15 years).  But, that would seem to be the exception based upon his prayer and not the general principle of God’s sovereignty.   God determines how and when we will die.   

Although Job’s theology is accurate, his philosophical conclusion was not.   He believes that since God has determined his days, God should, in return, just leave man alone and let him live out those days.  He wants God to “look away” from him.  He wants to just “enjoy” his days in his own comfort, if even as a “servant.”    Job has, in his depression, recognized God’s sovereignty over his days, but not God’s sovereignty over his life.   God does not create and ignore the creation.  God does not redeem us with His Son’s death, only to leave us on our own.  Like an old retried man, Job thinks he should have the privilege of dying in peace and quiet.   This passage in John sheds some light on God’s thoughts about dying as Jesus is speaking in front of the other disciples about John:

John 21:18-19 (ESV)

Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.”

God may bring things into our lives (like Job) even after we have secured our position in life and are meant, in our mind, to have our end be full of kids, grandkids and golf.   But, God can have other ways for us to “glorify” Him in our end days.   Job was theologically correct (God determines our end) but philosophically wrong in what God wants for man in the end.   We can’t have God sovereign and still want freedom to do what we want.   God has both determined our end and the way it will end.  Out role is to walk in faith with that purpose in mind.  

Praise Him in the Moment, No Matter the Moment - Psalms 18-20

 Psalms 18:1-6 (ESV)

The LORD Is My Rock and My Fortress

TO THE CHOIRMASTER. A PSALM OF DAVID, THE SERVANT OF THE LORD, WHO ADDRESSED THE WORDS OF THIS SONG TO THE LORD ON THE DAY WHEN THE LORD DELIVERED HIM FROM THE HAND OF ALL HIS ENEMIES, AND FROM THE HAND OF SAUL. HE SAID:

I love you, O LORD, my strength.

The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,

my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies.

The cords of death encompassed me;

the torrents of destruction assailed me;

the cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called upon the LORD;

to my God I cried for help.

From his temple he heard my voice,

and my cry to him reached his ears.

As the introduction to Psalm 18 states, this song was written when David was being pursued by King Saul and his army.   David, at this time is hiding in caves and trying to stay alive.  It is doubtful that most men, being hunted like a dog, would take time to stop and write a song.   Maybe, this song was composed after this time in his life, but the passion and emotion that runs throughout the song indicates he is in the throes of this moment.   He is turning to God for help.   This is not post reflection, this is present need for salvation.   He feels “entangled” by death.   It is “in” distress that David calls for help.   Most of us can’t even relate to his being hunted by another human being, much less being reflective enough to take our our iPhone and compose a song.    Yet, David finds a parchment and pen to write out his prayer to God for help.  In this articulating his pain he finds relief in knowing that God will draw him out of this rough waters. Toward the end of the song he writes:

Psalms 18:16-17 (ESV)

He sent from on high, he took me;

he drew me out of many waters.

He rescued me from my strong enemy

and from those who hated me,

for they were too mighty for me.

He is full of praise and glory for God.  He knows where his help comes from, it is from the LORD.  In the midst of our toughest times we might want to take a moment to write our prayers.   We might want to reflect more on the character of God through prayer than through the pain of the moment through sight.   God allows these moments to happen because He wants us to draw near to him in time of need:

Hebrews 4:15-16 (ESV)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

See a Problem - Solve a Problem - Judges 6-11

 Judges 6:11-15 (ESV)

The Call of Gideon

Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” And Gideon said to him, “Please, my Lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.”

Often, in business, homes, churches, government and almost all organizations you have what is taking place in the above passage ... not in a spiritual way (although sometimes) but in a natural way.   Here we have a problem (the Midianites were oppressing Israel).   We have someone complaining about the problem to a higher source (Gideon complains to God).  We have the person complaining be asked to do something about it (God tells Gideon to go fix the problem he sees).  Finally, we have the person complaining, who is asked to solve the problem they see, tell us they have a reason they can’t be involved in the solution.   This is a normal happening every day in almost every organization we know.   It is especially true about people who complain about the way society is and refuse to get involved or lift even a finger to help.   We complain about poverty but we won’t give in of “our” money to solve it.  We complain about corrupt politicians and then don’t vote.  We complain about the anger in society and then yell at the person who cuts us off in traffic.   

Gideon was presented a problem and then argued with God that he was incapable of solving it.   God calls Gideon and he eventually is given all the support he needs to fight the Midianites and gain victory over them, setting Israel free from their oppression.   But, not at first.   He was very much a reluctant leader.   He admits his own weakness.  He confesses he is not strong, popular or mighty.    Yet, God uses him in a mighty way.   When we see a problem we ought to ask God to use us, despite our weakness and our fears.   Gideon is full of fear.  He is not strong.  Yet, God used him.  A couple of old saying holds true for this story:

1. If you want a problem solved, solve it yourself. 

2. One plus God is a majority.  

Gideon was a reluctant-full-of-excuse-fearful-hesitant leader.   Yet, God used him in a great way to bring God glory and solve a problem.   He can do the same for us.  

The Envy of a Mooch - Genesis 24-27

 Genesis 24:29-30 (ESV)

Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out toward the man, to the spring. As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his sister's arms, and heard the words of Rebekah his sister, “Thus the man spoke to me,” he went to the man. And behold, he was standing by the camels at the spring.

People love to mooch off other.   Proverbs says it this way:

Proverbs 14:20 (ESV)

The poor is disliked even by his neighbor,

but the rich has many friends.

The above text is part of the story of Abraham sending out his envoy to find a wife for his son, Isaac.   When the servant of Abraham arrives in the country he was sent to find the wife, he comes to this well.   Rebekah, the soon to be wife for Isaac, shows the servant of Abraham great care and generosity.     However, when Rebekah’s brother, Laban, sees the riches the man brought, he, too, befriends him.   Whereas Rebekah had her eye on the care of the man to care for his camels, Laban had his eyes on the cargo of the camels.  Laban will later be the one who speaks for the family and the one who receives the goods from the man:

Genesis 24:50-53 (ESV)

Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “The thing has come from the LORD; we cannot speak to you bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before you; take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master's son, as the LORD has spoken.”

When Abraham's servant heard their words, he bowed himself to the earth before the LORD. And the servant brought out jewelry of silver and of gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments.

Rebekah will go with the man to become Isaac’s wife and give brith to Jacob, who will later be renamed, Israel.   So, this exchange at this well is a big deal in the redemption story.   But, like all stories in includes someone full of greed.   Later when Jacob (Rebekah’s son) runs away from his brother and back to Laban we will see even more the corruption in Laban’s heart.   Even though we have a story of God arranging the lives of people to accomplish His purpose, we have also have a story of man’s sin and greed.  Laban was a mooch.   When God gives blessings to one, we find a mooch following.   We see that mankind wants to have the blessings of God but not because they walk with God or desire to fellowship with God and obey God.  But, because they just want the blessing.   Laban is full of envy.  When he “saw” the ring and the bracelet and the camels and the goods, that is when he was hospitable and ready to give his sister to marry Isaac.  How tempting was it when he heard that Abraham was rich and all that Abraham had would be Isaac’s goods someday.  That meant his sister would be rich.  There are no sweeter words to a mooch than that your closest relative just hit the lotto.  God sees the hearts of man and gives us, in this story, a glimpse of what envy can do in your heart.  

Do Good to Those Who Do Bad to You! Romans 12

Romans 12:21 (ESV)

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The word for “overcome” in the above passage comes from the root Greek word, “nikē.”   Yes, you can think about the brand name Nike swoosh label.   To the Greek culture, “nike” was the meaning of success, if not the way to success, “conquering.”   In the book of the Revelation of John we read seven times, as John writes to the seven churches, “... to him who overcomes, I will ...”.   So, being a “nike” (a conqueror) was a great thing.   But, in the above passage it is a bad thing.   It is one thing to “conquer” something or someone, it is quite another to be “conquered” by something or someone.  In the above verse we read that we should not let “evil” conquer is.  In the context of Romans 12, Paul is telling us how to treat those who have done something bad to us, something evil.   He has just told us not to seek vengeance over those who do us bad, but rather put them in God’s hands (who can perfectly balance justice with righteousness).   Rather than seek vengeance, we are to not allow the evil they do to us to conquer us, but rather conquer them (and, subsequently, the evil) by doing good to them.   He tells us if our enemy is thirst give him/her a drink.  He tells us if our enemy is hungry give him/her a steak sandwich.   That goes agains all of our inborn nature (which is sinful) and agains most of any societies norms.  We are told to “fight back.”  We are instructed to “stand up for yourself and your rights.”   We are enticed to “take them to court.”   We have no norm in any society that tells us that if we are slapped on the right cheek, turn to them the left cheek.  Or, is their a culture where that is the instruction and normative?

Matthew 5:38-42 (ESV)

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.

No, in the kingdom of earth the norm is to hit back.  But, in the Kingdom of Heaven, the norm is to turn the other cheek and get hit again.   Christianity is a society, a culture, a way of life that requires and demands something entirely different.   We are to allow others to take our tunic (something valuable in that day) and allow God to be the one how does the pay-back.   We are to simply nike’ them by doing good.  The word for “good” here is “agathos.”  It means to do something that gives the person who is doing evil to a “benefit.”  So, as they hurt us and take something from us, which gives us no benefit, we are to do something for them that gives them “benefit.”   No, our “benefit” comes from God, who will see our “good” work and reward us in heaven.  

Luke 6:35 (ESV)

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

1 Peter 3:9 (ESV)

9 Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

Try all that the next time cuts in front of you while driving.   

Hope in Disaster is Not the World - Isaiah 29-33

 Isaiah 30:1-5 (ESV)

Do Not Go Down to Egypt

“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD,

“who carry out a plan, but not mine,

and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit,

that they may add sin to sin;

who set out to go down to Egypt,

without asking for my direction,

to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh

and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!

Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame,

and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.

For though his officials are at Zoan

and his envoys reach Hanes,

everyone comes to shame

through a people that cannot profit them,

that brings neither help nor profit,

but shame and disgrace.”

Who do you turn to in times of disaster?  Family? Work? Banks? Friends? Churches? Neighbors?  Load Sharks?  Credit Cards? Yard Sales? 

What is your go-to when things are getting rough? Who you do call? Spouse? Children? Parents? Your professional skills?  Your work habits? 

In the above chapter (30) we begin to read about Israel turning to Egypt in the time of need.  What is the need?  Well, in chapter 29 we just read about Israel (Jerusalem) being under-siege.   A wicked nation has come to take Jerusalem captive.  The horrors we read in 29 have lead to the poor decisions in chapter 30.  When the nation of Israel has had this rough time and this awful experience, they do not turn to God, their Father.  Instead they turn to Egypt.   The seemingly turn to two towns in Egypt, Zoan and Hanes.   We know little about them but the envoys they Israel sent out to appeal to Egypt for help, have reached these two cities.   We know little about these cities, but we do know that there was no profit found in them for help.   We do read that instead of the support they were hoping in, the envoy from Israel was I stand brought to shame and disgrace.   In fact, God, through Isaiah, tells them that the “shelter in the shadow of Egypt” they thought they would get, has, instead given them humiliation.   

When we turn to someone other than God for our help in times of need, we do the same thing.   We hope to get help but we receive humiliation instead.   Maybe not at first.   But, in disaster we often think the world has the answer for us.  It does not.  Egypt in God’s Word is always a picture of the lost and dying world.  This is not where we are to turn.  The prophet Habakkuk’s words ring as equally true here to remind us that our only help in times of disaster and trouble is God.  He is our hope and our rejoicing: 

Habakkuk 3:17-19 (ESV)

Habakkuk Rejoices in the LORD

Though the fig tree should not blossom,

nor fruit be on the vines,

the produce of the olive fail

and the fields yield no food,

the flock be cut off from the fold

and there be no herd in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD;

I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

GOD, the Lord, is my strength;

he makes my feet like the deer's;

he makes me tread on my high places.

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.

Just Be Quiet! Job 12-13

 Job 13:4-5 (ESV)

As for you, you whitewash with lies;

worthless physicians are you all.

Oh that you would keep silent,

and it would be your wisdom!

Job is in great pain and suffering.  According to the second chapter of the book, Job is sitting along side of the road scrapping his boiled skin with broken pieces of pottery.   Not a good hospital triage.    If that wasn’t bad enough, three of his friends show up with the design to help him and care for him and support him.   The exact purpose was this:

Job 2:11 (ESV)

Job's Three Friends

Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him.

If you read each of their “speeches” toward Job you would see that their version to “show him sympathy and comfort” are much different than most.   Instead of comforting him they confront him.  Instead of showing him sympathy they give him misery.   Every time they talk they want to give him insight and knowledge as to “why” his is happening to him.   Instead of asking “what” can we do for you right now, our friend,” they say, “you are experiencing this because you are a filthy sinner.”    The book of Job might be the best text book for what NOT to do in a counseling setting.  There is always “a” time to ask the “why” questions in life.   But that doesn’t mean we always ask it and answer it for someone all the time.   Job’s friends are “worthless” physicians.    They are giving out all the wrong medicine.   Job tells them to “keep silent” and that would be their “wisdom.”   In our vernacular we would say, “Would you just shut up!”   His pain is so intense that his heart is overwhelmed, as well.   Instead of ministering to him they are piling on him.  There is a time in counseling and disciplining that our truth might have to take a pause so that our empathy can come through.  Jesus did, eventually, confront the woman at the well with her sin.  But, he first talked to her about her need for water.   Peter certainly preached truth, but he and the Apostles also made sure the widows daily needs were cared for.     Paul told Timothy how to preach, but he was also concerned about the ill of his stomach.   Let us know be so deep in our theology that our practical love is smothered by the blanket of truth.  

You Will Find Nothing - Psalms 15-17

 Psalms 17:3-5 (ESV)

You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,

you have tested me, and you will find nothing;

I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips

I have avoided the ways of the violent.

My steps have held fast to your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

What an epitaph.   Imagine the above verses written your memorial stone.   Imagine being able to pray to God and saying:

 “You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find NOTHING.”   

The irony here is that the same person who wrote those words, also wrote these words right after he was caught in adultery and a murder plot:

Psalms 51:1-4 (ESV)

Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin!

For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is ever before me.

Against you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you may be justified in your words

and blameless in your judgment.

King David, on the one hand is full of filth and vile before God.  On the other hand, he can right, YOU WILL FIND NOTHING.   How is this possible?   There may be a number of interpretations for such a claim but here are two:

1.  David is indeed full of sin.  He is not at all claiming sinless perfection, as Psalms 51 points out (as well as many others from his pen).   The context of this song/poem/prayer is that he is looking for vindication from his enemy.   He is asking for God’s protection as his enemy attempts to do him harm.   He will latter write that his foe has “surrounded” him and are attempting to “cast him to the ground.”    In the above verses he is NOT saying he is sinless before God, but deserves to be vindicated because he is free from guilt to deserve this attack by this unnamed enemy.   

2.  This Psalm is a liturgical song/poem/prayer and a petition that was no doubt used by the worshiper prior to worship to say I have confessed to you God and you have made me pure.   He has “purposed” that his mouth will not transgress and he has “avoided the ways of the violent.”   He states he has “held fast to your paths.”    These are all the confessions of a man who knows that, in and of himself, he cannot do any of this.   So, God has given him the power and the grace and the mercy to fulfill those things.  His guiltless life is not because of his own sinlessness, but rather God’s power and grace to forgive and enable him to write such statements. 

Whatever the reason for the verses they give us what should be our desire each day with God.  IN CHRIST we ought to pray, read and quote the same thing to God and before man each day.  IN THE SPIRIT we ought to claim this type of walk before God and man each day.   Let us desire to live before God through the gift of the Spirit and the power of Christ in such a way that mankind can’t claim anything against us and God, having tested us, WILL FIND NOTHING!  

THEY DID NOT DRIVE THEM OUT - Judges 1-5

 Judges 1:27-33 (ESV)

Failure to Complete the Conquest

Manasseh DID NOT DRIVE OUT the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. When Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but DID NOT DRIVE THEM OUT completely.

And Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.

Zebulun DID NOT DRIVE OUT the inhabitants of Kitron, or the inhabitants of Nahalol, so the Canaanites lived among them, but became subject to forced labor.

Asher DID NOT DRIVE OUT the inhabitants of Acco, or the inhabitants of Sidon or of Ahlab or of Achzib or of Helbah or of Aphik or of Rehob, so the Asherites lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for DID NOT DRIVE THEM OUT.

Naphtali DID NOT DRIVE OUT the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh, or the inhabitants of Beth-anath, so they lived among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land. Nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh and of Beth-anath became subject to forced labor for them.

THEY DID NOT DRIVE THEM OUT!  The above is a synopsis of what we will read in the book of Judges.   After Joshua’s death we read the the tribes are to proceed on their own to posses the land God has given them.   But, as we see, rather than obey God and completely drive out the nations that surrounded them, they were content to let them stay in some form or another.   The issue would become that these nations would have more influence on Israel than Israel would have on them.   This is a great picture for us about our own Christian walk.  When God saves us He wants us to kill off sin (mortify it).    But, when we allow it to hang around it will eventually pull us down.   This is the entire story of the book of Judges.   God commanded them to eradicate the nations.   These nations were vile and corrupt and full of sin.   But, the nation of Israel, as read above, became content with them in their midst.   This will eventually be the downfall of Israel.  Unattended sin in our lives does not lay dormant.  It eventually tries to win and pulls us down with it.  

God Remains Faithful When We Do Not - Genesis 20-23

 Genesis 20:1-7 (ESV)

Abraham and Abimelech

From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife.” Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her. Now then, return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

This is a most fascinating story about God’s sovereign power over man’s foolish wills.   Abraham, even though in the previous chapters he has been promised a child by this wife, Sarah, has a crisis of faith.   Having traveled into the territory of Ahimelech, king of Gerar, Abraham now feared for his life.    This man, Abraham, will eventually show us the greatest act of faith by taking the son he will receive (Isaac) and be willing to offer him on an alter before God.  Yet, at this moment and time we read that he will fall before his fear and worry about his own skin.   He tells Abimelech that Sarah is his sister (she was his half sister ... see verse 13) because he feared that Abimelech would kill him to have his wife.   Apparently, that was a normal practice in those days.  Despite Sarah’s age (almost 90), Abraham was fearful the king would desire her and kill him.  His lack of faith in God’s promises shows that Abraham is just like us.   We maneuver and connive and swindle to make sure all things go the way we want.   God, thankfully, intervenes on Sarah and Abraham’s situation.  God prevents an ungodly king from even touching Sarah.  Had he had relationships with Sarah, that might have caused an issue with the future birth of Isaac.     The great truth here is that even when we mess up and lack faith, God remain faithful to His promises and keeps His divine plan for our lives on track.  

2 Timothy 2:13 (ESV)

if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself.

God intervenes on our behalf to make sure we accomplish the plans He has for us.   Though we may fail, He will not.  Though we might falter, He will not.  

God’s Riches Through Belief - Romans 9-11

 Romans 10:8-13 (ESV)

But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

In Romans 9-11 we have one of the most difficult, but also the most excellent words in the entire Bible.  On the one hand, since these chapters talk about “election” (God choosing those He will save), it is hard to interpret and hard to understand.   But, because it is about God’s character in regard to election and His mindset around that perplex issues, we can say with Paul (as he actually ends the chapters), “Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!”   

The above passage is no less these two thoughts: Complex in thought, rich in meaning.   Even though God “elects” those who are to be saved, yet God sends His word to cause us to believe.    In order to benefit from God “bestowing His riches on all who call on Him,” we have to believe His word.   We have to put “faith” in His promises and claim them as true.   David Hume (Scottish philosopher) understood that people could make decisions to do things for all sorts of reasons, but people cannot make a decision to believe something they don't believe.    The only way to enjoy the “riches” is to believe the “word.”   Those who “call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”   The phrase “call on” means to invoke the name of the Lord (Jesus).    When, by faith, we do that we are instantly the recipients of the blessings in Christ.   No matter if we are Jew or Greek (Gentile).   God does choose those He wants to bless with His riches.  But, God uses the mechanism of faith in His word to do so.  But, we can’t believe what we won’t believe, so God much intervene and put faith toward Christ in our hearts to believe in Him, ushering in those riches He promises.   God’s call equals belief.  God’s belief equals God’s riches.  

Prioritize Christ Over All: Including Family - Matthew 11-13

 Matthew 12:46-50 (ESV)

While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

One of the most difficult tensions in the Christian life if the relationship between how much we love Christ and how much we love our family and our children.   As the saying goes, “God, Family, Country.”     This cliche seems to indicate we put God before family and family before country.    The above passage might, at least, indicate the God before family part of this adage.   The difficult is not in the philosophy or belief of this saying.  The challenge is the practice of it.   When Jesus was in the midst of teaching they came and told Him that his family was waiting for Him, or wanted him or was inquiring to talk to Him.  But, He was “speaking.”   Instead of telling them to wait He redefines what the term “family” means to Him.  Instead of leaving His ministry of teaching, He actually moves His family to a lesser priority.   Today’s Christian has a hard time even attending church to hear God’s teaching because of family gathers, children’s sport’s responsibilities, and/or obligations to work to “provide” for our families.   Jesus doesn’t stop His teaching about the Kingdom of God and, in fact, “that same day went out of the house and sate beside the sea and began to teach more (the next verse in 13:1).  He begins to teach the multitudes about the Kingdom of God.  In Jesus’ Kingdom, He indicates that His disciples are more important than His own family.   We do not think this way in modern day Christianity.    Notice what Jesus will say in another passage about this same subject: 

Luke 14:25-26 (ESV)

Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

The word “hate” here is probably best understood as to a comparison thought.  Jesus is not telling His followers to “hate” their family.   He is saying that our love for Him, in comparisons to our love for our family is not even close.  As we love Jesus to the extent we are supposed to, our love for family will look so far less and by comparison, seem as hate.   This has more to do with priority than with emotion.   Jesus’ family wanted Him to stop His working the Family of God to do something with them in regard to family of men.   There is NO comparison.  Yet, we make it all the time.   How many times do we stop fellowshipping with the Family of God in preference for the family of man?   Notice another passage Jesus stated in this realm.  Again from Luke’s gospel:

Luke 12:51-53 (ESV)

Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

We are to prioritize Christ over all.  We might better move away from the “totem pole” mentality of God-Family-Country, to more of the “axle-spoke” word picture.  Jesus Christ is in the center of the “axle” and all the “spokes” run from it.  So, whatever I am doing (family, country, work, sports, etc) first and foremost fall in priority of Christ.   We should not let anything move us from prioritizing Christ over everything.  

God’s Wrath is God’s Glory - Isaiah 23-28

 Isaiah 28:5-6 (ESV)

In that day the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory,

and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,

and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,

and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate.

In this section of Isaiah we are reading about the judgements of God on the unrighteousness of man.  Isaiah is methodically going through the surrounding nations and proclaiming God’s judgment against them for their wickedness, culminated in rejection of His sovereign rule.   In chapter 28 we are reading the judgment that is going to come upon even God’s people, Israel.   He is judging them because of their failure to obey His Word.    But, as with the nations, so too with Israel, God is attempting to show Himself to them.  Even in showing His wrath, God wants them to know that He is sovereign.    In the above passage, notice what Isaiah tells the nation they will see, even in the midst of God’s wrath:

1.  He is a crown of glory and diadem of beauty.   We don’t really use the word diadem in our language, today.  Only a few nations still have kings or queens that wear diadems.  But, Isaiah is saying that God will be glorified in the demonstration of His righteous judgment.   We think of God having glory in His love, His grace, His mercy and/or His control, but do we rejoice and give him a crown of glory for His wrath?

2.  He will be the spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment.   God is going to balance the scales of justice when He shows His glorious wrath.  Those who have sat in judgment over others and distorted their positions will face the Righteous Judge who will judge THEM.   God is going to take the injustice in this world and make it just.    That is social justice!!

3.  He is strength to those who would take on this fight themselves.   God is going to give strength who “turn back the battle at the gate.”   If we are standing guard for justice in our “city,” God is going to give us the strength to fight that fight.   Many run from the battle as the enemy enters our “city” gates.   Many do not want to fight.  But, God is going to give strength to those who call out to Him to fight for Him.  They will be His tools to bring judgment on those who reject Him. 

God is to be praised for His righteous judgment on the wicked and on those who reject Him and His Word.   He is to be exalted because even in His wrath He shows His glory.  

Good Doctrine - Bad Application - Job 11

 Job 11:13-20 (ESV)

“If you prepare your heart,

you will stretch out your hands toward him.

If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,

and let not injustice dwell in your tents.

Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish;

you will be secure and will not fear.

You will forget your misery;

you will remember it as waters that have passed away.

And your life will be brighter than the noonday;

its darkness will be like the morning.

And you will feel secure, because there is hope;

you will look around and take your rest in security.

You will lie down, and none will make you afraid;

many will court your favor.

But the eyes of the wicked will fail;

all way of escape will be lost to them,

and their hope is to breathe their last.”

As Job sits in pain and suffering, three friends show up with the intent to give him “comfort.”   They offer their advice as they sit by him, but with less comfort and more condemnation.  The third friend, Zophar, in chapter 11 is the most condemning of all.   Zophar starts out the chapter by telling Job that God is actually giving him less than he deserves.    Zophar makes the point that if God really gave us what we deserve we would not be able to stand before God.   Like most people with opinions, there is an element of Zophar’s speech that is true.   He is not totally wrong in his doctrine.   He is, of course, completely off base with the application of his doctrine.   God has already told us (in the first chapter) that this happening to Job, not because of his sin, but in fact, because he is righteous.   So, Zophar can say what he wants, but the application is all wrong.  The above passage is a case in point.   Zophar is correct, if we prepare our hearts and reach out to God and put iniquity far from us, we can know that God will respond in kindness and give us the security and take away our shame.   Zophar has some good theology.   Job’s issue is that he didn’t commit a sin for this to happen to him.  Zophar, like his two friends, has no place in his doctrine for the suffering of the innocent.   He, like most in our world today, simply believes that if you suffer, you deserve whatever is happening to you.   Zophar’s doctrine fits the unrighteousness of man, perfectly.  But, he has not offering any solution to the thought of what happens when the righteous suffer.   We can be really good with doctrine, but really bad with application.    It is not a matter of just knowing good doctrine.  It is also a matter of knowing good application.  

Social Reformation by Spiritual Transformation - Psalms 12-14

 Psalms 12:1-4 (ESV)

The Faithful Have Vanished

TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO THE SHEMINITH. A PSALM OF DAVID.

Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone;

for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.

Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;

with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,

the tongue that makes great boasts,

those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,

our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

In the opening four verses of chapter 12, we read David’s commentary on what he is seeing in his world.   He sees that his society is falling apart.   He sees that truth has alluded the world around him and deteriorated into self-deception (believing they are something they are not and the deception of others.    He will add this thought in chapter 14 with these words:

Psalms 14:1-3 (ESV)

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;

there is none who does good.

The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,

to see if there are any who understand,

who seek after God.

They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

there is none who does good,

not even one.

David is looking at those he interacts with and sees a world full of deception of self and others and denial of God.  They are full of corruption.  At this point we might have to stop and ask if David is talking about his society, at the time of this writing, or is he talking about our society, at the time of this reading.   This is David’s world.   This is our world.   David is writing a poem, a song, to express the evilness of man, as opposed to the righteousness of God.   Note how he closes these two songs:

Psalms 13:5-6 (ESV)

But I have trusted in your steadfast love;

my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

I will sing to the LORD,

because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Psalms 14:7 (ESV)

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people,

let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

David sees that their is no hope in reforming his society, without his society first reforming their view point of God and His power.   Today we can pass legislation and we can promote leaders who talk about the right things.  But, it is the transformation of the heart to recognize the power and purpose of God that will change our society.  That was David’s solution then and that should be our solution now.   Social reformation is only possible by spiritual transformation.