God is Faithful - Psalms 90-92

Psalms 91:5-6 (ESV)

You will not fear the terror of the night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

Psalm 91 is one of the most beautiful songs in the Psalms.   It screams out to worship and praise God.   The writer is telling us the reasons to praise God but also how to praise God.  The reason is actually simplified in v. 4 of the song:

Psalms 91:4 (ESV)

He will cover you with his pinions,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

It is not our faithfulness to God that keeps us safe.  It is His faithfulness to us that is a shield and buckler.    As a result of that faithfulness of God, the writer makes some bold statements.  He tells us that we do not have to fear four types of dangers (we have God’s shield and buckler around us):

1.  The Invisible - He states that we have no need to fear terror by night. These are the dangers that creep up in the night we can neither see nor are even aware they exist.   We are fast asleep and, yet, terror may surround us.  No need to fear, His shield and buckler are also around us. 

2. The Inevitable - He further states that we do not need to fear the arrow that flies by day.   These are attacks we see coming.  These are day-to-day difficulty in broad daylight.   We do not fear these known and visible attacks because His shield and buckler surround us in His faithfulness.  

3. The Imaginative - We are told we have no need to fear the pestilence that walks in darkness.  Again we go back to what we can’t see or know.  But this time, instead of terror the writer says we have no need of pestilence.  This is the catastrophic plague that might come over the earth. In those days those types of illnesses often sweep over an entire country.   We might think Covid in our world, today.   We have no need to fear because His faithfulness is a shield and buckler.   We should note that He is not saying it won’t impact us.  He is saying we are to not fear it because of His faithfulness to carry us through it. 

4.  The Insurmountable - We are not to fear the destruction that wastes at noonday.   Again we can see it and it is utter destruction.    But we need not fear because God’s is faithful to cover us with His shield and buckler of faithfulness. 

We have to remember that this psalm is a poem and the literature is poetic in nature to give us a vision of why to praise God.   Those who walk in faith with God do have dangers, peril, sickness and disasters.   But we are not to fear them.  Not because God will keep us from all of them, but because God is with us in them.   We are not to fear no matter if they come a night, a day, in the dark or in the light.  God’s faithfulness is a shield and buckler to keep us safe in them.  

The Challenge of Parenting - 2 Kings 21-25

2 Kings 21:1-3 (ESV)

Manasseh Reigns in Judah

Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.

2 Kings 21:19-20 (ESV)

Amon Reigns in Judah

Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done.

2 Kings 22:1-2 (ESV)

Josiah Reigns in Judah

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

Hezekiah reigned and did what was right!

Manasseh reigned and did what was wrong!

Amon reigned and did what was wrong!

Josiah reigned and did what was right!

One father did right (Hezekiah) and his son did wrong (Manasseh).  That father did wrong and his son did wrong (Amon).  That father then did wrong, but his son did right (Josiah).   What an amazing cycle.   Solomon told us the following:

 Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)

Train up a child in the way he should go;

even when he is old he will not depart from it.

We have no idea how all the above unfolded but we do know that Hezekiah tried to set the example for Manasseh, yet Manasseh did not do right.   We do know that Amon did not do what was right in front of Josiah but nevertheless, Josiah did what was right.   This makes parenting a scary thing.   We can do all the right things and still see our children go off into a wrong direction.   There are no guaranteed results in child rearing.   A child has to come to their own walk with God.    We can force our faith on to them.   Each person will stand before God and answer for how he/she responded to the Gospel and to God’s commands.   The entire book of 2 Kings is all about these parent to child examples.  There seems to be little consistency with them.  The one thing to learn is that WE are to live for God and pray that God, in His divine grace will keep our child walking in His ways.   

The Light - Leviticus 22-24

Leviticus 24:1-4 (ESV)

The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from beaten olives for the lamp, that a light may be kept burning regularly. Outside the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall arrange it from evening to morning before the LORD regularly. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. He shall arrange the lamps on the lampstand of pure gold before the LORD regularly.

One of the furniture items in the Tabernacle was the lamp.    Referred to as the Menorah, the lampstand was placed in the Tabernacle to accomplish several functions:

1. The practical aspect is that it served as light for the priest to function as they fulfilled their roles.   We read in the final chapter of the Bible that in heaven there will be  no darkness because God will be the light.  Since we will ever live to worship light is essential, even in heaven.

Revelation 22:5 (ESV Strong's)

And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

2. The light also was a way to honor God.  Light draws attention to something.   To shed light on to something is to show the truth and expose the object or person.   This light was to expose to the priest the beauty of the act of worship toward God. 

3. The light was to draw attention to show the path to God.  We need a light to show us where to go.    This is why Jesus said: 

John 8:12 (ESV)

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

4. The light was to dispel darkness.  Obviously it dispelled physical darkness but it was also a picture of spiritual awakening.   God sent Jesus to open up the eyes of those who have been put in darkness by Satan:

2 Corinthians 4:4 (ESV)

In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

5. The light would be forever burning, as stated in the text, so that those who seek Him know that He is always available to those who seek Him.  

There was a functional and theological reason for the light.   Jesus, as the light of the world, is there for us to see the marvelous glory of God. 

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,

What Do You Live For? 1 Thessalonians 1-3

1 Thessalonians 3:8 (ESV)

For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord.

What do you live for?  How do you measure the height of your accomplishments in this world?  How do you spell success?  How do you define life and living?  In the above verse Paul has defined for us his answers to those questions.    To set the stage we need to know the context of the book of 1 Thessalonians.    Paul had visited the Greek city, Thessalonica, on his second missionary trip.   At this time, this city was the capital of Macedonia.   It was on a major trade route and from a strategic point of view, Thessalonica was a major get for the work of spreading the Gospel in the region.    But the Jewish opposition had forced Paul to abandon the work far earlier than he would have liked.  He planted the seed of the Gospel and wondered if it had grown and grown into what?   He sent young Timothy there to investigate their growth in Christ. Upon his return Paul learned they not only still had faith in Christ, they were growing in Christ.  Here is how he opened this letter to them:

1 Thessalonians 1:8 (ESV)

For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.

Timothy had brought good news of their faith and that caused Paul to leap in his heart in joy.   His joy was tied to their growing in the Gospel.  In fact, as the above verse states, his very life was connected to their growth in Christ.   We can tie our lives to many things and most of them, if not all, would be foolish, dangerous and contrary to God’s desire.  We tie our significance to our work, our family, our physical appearance and many more earthly connections.   But our real life should be tied, as Paul shows, to the impact of the Gospel in the lives of those we impact for Christ.   Our children might be successful in education, athletics and/or occupation.    But we really only live in life if we can see them walk in the Gospel. The growth of the Gospel in the Thessalonians was life to Paul. No, he was not replacing them with his own walk with Christ.    But he was defining for himself, for Timothy, for this body of believers and for us, what should be the rubric for the defining of a life well lived.   We rejoice and live when the Gospel lives in the hearts and lives of those we sew the seed of Jesus Christ.   

God Uses Mob Mentality to Accomplish His Sovereignty! Luke 23-24

Luke 23:18-25 (ESV)

Pilate Delivers Jesus to Be Crucified

But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”— a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city and for murder. Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” A third time he said to them, “Why? What evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him.” But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted. He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom they asked, but he delivered Jesus over to their will.

In the above passage we see the leader, Pilate, being pressured by the religious leaders and the people to crucify Jesus.   This is a typical example of mob mentality and a leader bending to the crowds. We might think that what we see today is a first of this type of behavior.    But this is not so.   When we read these types of moments we might think that power flows up.  This might be true to our natural eye.   If tomorrow all kids and parents decided not to attend school and/or work, the leadership would change something.   There is power of the people.    This can be used for good and for bad.   In the above narrative we read that the religious leaders were so bent on crucifying Jesus they stirred up the mob to demand that a man guilty of real crimes should be released and Jesus crucified instead.   Pilate tried to resist this call for Jesus’ death.  But Pilate is a political beast and bent to the pressure.  Despite bing a leader with battalions of Roman soldiers and despite being the surrogate of Caesar, himself, Pilate gave into a mob of angry Jews.  That in and of itself shows how God was orchestrating this moment.  God had to have Jesus crucified as that is the reason Jesus came to the earth.  God used the weakness of a leader, the power of a religious group, and the foolishness of a mob to accomplish His sovereign will.   Never think that God is not in control.   If you saw this scene from the outside you might think God has abandoned His mission in Jesus.  But God uses the elements of this world to tip it in the direction of His will.   Every little event in life is to accomplish the bigger purpose of God’s plan for the ages.  Power does flow up when it is being used by God to accomplish His will.   God uses the elements within the culture to tip the culture the way He needs it tipped to accomplish His sovereign will.  

God is a God of Order and Design - Ezekiel 37-42

Ezekiel 40:5 (ESV)

The East Gate to the Outer Court

And behold, there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area, and the length of the measuring reed in the man’s hand was six long cubits, each being a cubit and a handbreadth in length. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one reed; and the height, one reed.

Unless you work in the industry of building and construction it might be hard to see how you can look at a blueprint of a structure and use it to build the structure.   It is obvious that you must have a blue print, a design, to construct the building.  But it is a special gift to be able to design some building or structure on a table and use that design to erect it on the ground.    In chapters 40-42 we are reading God’s blueprint for the new temple.  The above verse starts the long, detailed measurements and descriptive blueprint for a temple Ezekiel is told to prophecy about.   There is much speculation as to what the temple is about, when it is to be built, what it represents and even if it is a literal temple or a figurative temple.   Whatever path we follow in the interpretation of Ezekiel’s prophecy we can learn a few things from this detailed blueprint:

1.  God uses design, structure and order in all that He does.  Our paths of our lives are designed by God in such a manner.  

2. God has a plan and expects us to follow it.  Whenever this temple is to be built, it will be built based upon the plan.  

3. God is very specific in his designs.  This entire design is not written in generalities.  God is taking great pains to outline the specific sizes of the temple.   God expects us to be detailed oriented in or walk with Him.

4. Our lack of ignorance for a blueprint does not exempt us from obedience to the blueprint.   God communicates to us and we are responsible to walk by faith regarding that communication, no matter what we might think about it. 

5. All Scripture is inspired by God.  When we read these types of prose we can often question what God is doing and thinking.   We might not see it right away but we are still instructed to believe it and see that God is doing something we are to be aware of in our walk with Him.  He is communicating to us so that we can walk in obedience to Him.

6. God is establishing a way for us to worship Him.   A temple is designed for worship.  Whether this is an earthly temple or heavenly, or a future temple or a here and now temple, it is God telling us He desires our worship.   

7.  Just as the temple is communicating to us that God wants us to worship, He is saying He has a way in which that worship must be approached.   

God is the God of order.  We are responsible to learn that order and follow it in our lives.   

1 Corinthians 14:33a (ESV)

For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.

Sweet Desire Fulfilled - Proverbs 13

Proverbs 13:19 (ESV)

A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,

but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools. 

This is a fascinating proverb. Before we look at the practical meaning of it, which seems to be stated explicitly, let's look at the implication and the implicit portions. The proverb implies that man has a desire to have some sweet end to their search or activities of life. It implies that man is desirous of "happiness" and "joy." It also implies that their is a "way" to this happiness and joy. With that said we read the above proverb: It is a sweet to have your desire realized. The key to the proverb is at the beginning of the second line: It begins with the word "But" showing a contrast of the second line with the first line. And, the contrast, stated explicitly, is that if someone doesn't "turn away from evil" they will not "realize" their reached desire. Foolish people are truly exposed by the truth of this proverb. Only a fool would pursue evil at the cost of happiness and joy - at the cost of reaching their real desire. Instead a fool pursues evil and gets shame rather than sweetness to the soul. It is hard to imagine anyone will pursue evil over happiness. But, they do.   The problem begins when evil makes itself look so nice and pleasing.  Note the story of Proverbs 7.  In that chapter, Solomon dresses Folly as a prostitute and the young, naive man runs after her.  In the end, we see that destruction comes upon them.  But, those who seek a Godly desire will find it.  In fact, Jesus said that in the first sermon He preached:

Matthew 5:6 (ESV Strong's)

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

Jesus is telling us that the “desire” should be to pursue righteousness.  If we do, we will be “filled.”  

God Blesses Us - Psalms 87-89

Psalms 89:19-26 (ESV)

Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said:

“I have granted help to one who is mighty;

I have exalted one chosen from the people.

I have found David, my servant;

with my holy oil I have anointed him,

so that my hand shall be established with him;

my arm also shall strengthen him.

The enemy shall not outwit him;

the wicked shall not humble him.

I will crush his foes before him

and strike down those who hate him.

My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him,

and in my name shall his horn be exalted.

I will set his hand on the sea

and his right hand on the rivers.

He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,

my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’

The above lines are from A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.  We know little about him other than Solomon was said to have more wisdom than this Ethan the Ezrahite (1 Kings 4:31).   So we have to conclude that he was a wise person.   In this maskil (a song) we are reading about the covenant that God made with King David.   We are struck by the overall care that God gives to David.   At the end of this song, however, we read how David’s ancestors forsook God’s covenant with David and disobeyed Him.   The amazing takeaway for us is what happens when we obey God and follow His truth and commands.   Read the above lines again and note the amazing wonder of what God does for those who walk with Him.   As children of God the above promises are not limited to David.    God has given us much protection, blessings and honor as we walk with Him.  Yes, we have the story Job in suffering and Daniel in a lions den and the weeping prophet Jeremiah.    But we have the amazing truth that God brought all of them through those moments of their lives to bless them and bring them into His glory.    We must never forget the blessings God has in store for us.  The descendants of David set their eyes on the things of this world and turned their back on what God would give them.   

God’s Sovereignty - 2 Kings 16-20

2 Kings 16:9 (ESV)

And the king of Assyria listened to him. The king of Assyria marched up against Damascus and took it, carrying its people captive to Kir, and he killed Rezin.

Does God use acts of faithlessness to bring about discipline and difficulty in our lives? Does that then affect others? In 2 Kings 16 we see the King of Judah (a wicked king named Ahaz) call for help from the Assyrians (2 Kings 16:8-9). When being attacked by his brothers to the north (Israel), instead of going by faith to God in a time of trouble, he turned to the non-believing world, the wicked Assyrians. As a result, a short time later, the Assyrians lay siege against Israel's major city and took Israel captive ... Israel is no more! Fast forward now to King Hezekiah, the new King of Judah, and who comes to lay siege against Judah? ... the Assyrians! So, God uses the faithlessness of a king to bring out discipline for a nation and that allows the same nation to be used for further discipline against Judah ... the remaining tribe of Israel in God's promise land. When we see unfaithful behavior we need to stand back to see what God is actually doing. We think God is asleep at the wheel when people express unfaithfulness and turn to the world's solution (anger and fight rather love and forgive). Yet, that is the very time God is using that unfaithfulness to accomplish His greater purpose. In this case, discipline. In the case of Joseph back in Genesis God used the faithlessness of Joseph's brothers to get Joseph into the land of Egypt to save the nation from famine. God uses faithlessness as much as faithfulness. I think He prefers faithful followers. But, God is not asleep at the wheel. He uses faithless and carnal people to accomplish His ends. Which one do you offer God in your walk with Him? He is going to use you do you offer Him faithfulness and trust or faithless carnality?  By the way, latter in our reading for today Hezekiah, in an act of pride and faithlessness, invites the Babylonians into his home ... they will eventually be used by God to destroy Judah.   God uses unfaithful choices for His purpose.

Sexual Activity - Leviticus 19-21

Leviticus 20:10-16 (ESV)

Punishments for Sexual Immorality

“If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. If a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death; they have committed perversion; their blood is upon them. If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them. If a man takes a woman and her mother also, it is depravity; he and they shall be burned with fire, that there may be no depravity among you. If a man lies with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. If a woman approaches any animal and lies with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.

God is concerned about our sexuality.  But, perhaps, not for the reason(s) you may think.  The context of the above paragraph is that of God wanting the nation of Israel to be holy as He is holy.   He constantly, throughout these chapters, gives the reason for all of the commands in these chapters as simply: I am the LORD your God.   That is enough reason for God to demand certain conduct from us and for us.  The argument that this is all simply the Old Testament is often heard to justify the evolution and revolution of sexual preferences and promiscuity.   However, note what Paul states in these two passages as he writes to the Church age:

Ephesians 5:1-3 (ESV)

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

Galatians 5:18-21 (ESV)

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 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.

In the Ephesians passage we read the reason for sexual purity is to be imitators of God and to walk like Christ.  In the Galatians passage the reason for walking in purity is to be led by the Spirit.   In all these cases (Old and New) sexual purity is demanded and is based upon the holiness of the Godhead.  Our decisions about sexual activity is not a simple preference for how we like sex.   It is guided and directed by the holiness of God and His design for sexual preferences.   It is based upon God’s holiness.   

1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 (ESV)

A Life Pleasing to God

Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.