God Keeps His Promises - 2 Kings 6-10

2 Kings 8:16-19 (ESV)

In the fifth year of Joram the son of Ahab, king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, began to reign. He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for the daughter of Ahab was his wife. And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. Yet the LORD was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, since he promised to give a lamp to him and to his sons forever.

God is faithful to His promises.   It was centuries before the above verses were written and lived out, that God made the promise mention in the above passage.   Yet, the reason for God’s decision about wicked Joram was not based upon Joram.  It was based upon God keeping His promise to King David that David’s genealogical line would always have someone on the throne.   This was, of course, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus after He rose from the dead.  He is now on the throne in heaven and that fulfills the promise:

 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,

We have to remember the Old Testament is Messianic in nature.  The stories, the narratives and the history all point to Christ.  The above is a refreshing reminder to us that despite how evil a ruler can be, God can use them to accomplish His promises to us.  

Healthy Living - Leviticus 13-15

Leviticus 15:16-18 (ESV)

“If a man has an emission of semen, he shall bathe his whole body in water and be unclean until the evening. And every garment and every skin on which the semen comes shall be washed with water and be unclean until the evening. If a man lies with a woman and has an emission of semen, both of them shall bathe themselves in water and be unclean until the evening.

The topic of fluids in Leviticus is hard for most of us to understand.  We understand what Moses is talking about when he refers to them, but not why he is talking about fluids and/or what it has to do with modern day Christians.   It is important to note that in this section there are two types of fluids mentioned:

1.  Those fluids that flow naturally from the body as they should (men concerning semen during intercourse and women blood during their menstrual cycle).

2. Those fluids that flow because of unnatural conditions of the body due to diseases and/or dysfunction of the body. 

Because, in Moses’ day, it was not as easily to identify the difference between these two types, at times, the priest was often called in to make sure all was well.  The people were instructed as to how to handle each.  Remember, there are no hospitals in the wilderness (where the nation of Israel was).   God wants to make sure four things are true:

1. His people are informed. 

2. His people are pure for worship. 

3. His people treat life differently than the world.  

4. His people are healthy.

This is why we have parts of Leviticus.   God wants His people to be cared for during their wilderness wanderings.  There were diseases in the world that they needed to be protected from.   These instructions are further evidence of God’s character and love for His people.  

Avoid False Teachers - Philippians 3-4

Philippians 3:2-3 (ESV)

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

This seems like an odd thing to write to someone.   But when you understand the context of Philippians and the early church is a powerful statement to write.  There were those in the church who were teaching that you had to be circumcised along with faith in Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.  Paul calls them dogs, evildoers and those who mutilate the flesh.   When writing to the churches in Galatia he actually called for them to be accursed:

Galatians 1:6-9

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

To the church at Philippi he writes for them to look out for them.   Staying away from sinners and evil does is part of God’s way.   Note what this famous psalm states:

Psalms 1:1-2 (ESV)

Blessed is the man

who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the LORD,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

We are to avoid those who avoid God.   

The Love of Money Hinders Love for God - Luke 17-18

Luke 18:18-25 (ESV)

And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

Wealth is a two-edged sword.  On the one hand, wealth gives us the ability to navigate life in a way that certainly is better than no wealth.  But the other hand wealth can kill us and bring us into the wrong priorities.  In the above text we see that one young man thought that he had really done what God wanted and that should entitle him to eternal life.  He had certainly shown his love for God for keeping so many of God’s commands.  But when Jesus told him to seek all he had to give to the poor, the man’s true heart shown through.  The love of money corrupts our decisions for life:

1 Timothy 6:10 (ESV)

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

God intends for us to be fully committed to Him through faith in His Son, Jesus.   This man had someting else in his heart.  He had covetousness in his heart.   He wanted to have his cake and eat it too.   But in truth, when we love God with all our heart, soul and mind, we need nothing else.  Everything else just cuts through as a sword and separates us from God.   

Mourn Over Sin, But Accept the Discipline For It! Ezekiel 19-24

Ezekiel 21:6-7 (ESV)

“As for you, son of man, groan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan before their eyes. And when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?’ you shall say, ‘Because of the news that it is coming. Every heart will melt, and all hands will be feeble; every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it will be fulfilled,’” declares the Lord GOD.

This entire section of Ezekiel is God speaking through the prophet to let Israel know that God was going to discipline them in an extreme manner.   They had sinned and the payment for that sin was due.  In the above passage we read that the prophet’s words to groan and moan over this sin and the news of the discipline to come.  Their hearts are to melt.   Because of this news their hearts are supposed to melt and their knees even become weak.  

However, note what God will tell the prophet later in this section.  God tells him his wife is going to die and he is NOT to weep and morn about it.   This is long but worth the comparison:

Ezekiel 24:17-23 (ESV)

Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.” So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.

And the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?” Then I said to them, “The word of the LORD came to me: ‘Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another.

On the one had they are to mourn what they did and the discipline that is to follow, but they are also to keep quiet and accept that discipline.   Weep and mourn over your sin, but also accept what God is bringing to us as a result of that sin.  

Do You Know the End of Folly? Proverbs 8-9

Proverbs 9:18 (ESV)

But he does not know that the dead are there,

that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.

Solomon, in this proverb, is telling us about the person who lacks understanding and is naive.   He rejects truth so he has no understanding about certain things ... many things, in life.   In this proverb he tells us that one of the things they surely lack in knowledge, is that those, like him, who follow after folly, are actually entering the entrance to death and hell.   There is one thing to reject truth.   There is another thing to jump on a path and not care or worry about where it leads.   In this case it always leads to a dead-end.   Truth leads to life and, according to Christ, sets you free.   The lack of truth leads to deception and falsehood and death.   When we pursue the things of the world we must realize the journey leads to a dead-end ... literally.

This is not the first time in the first nine chapters of this book that Solomon talked about this truth.  Note:

Proverbs 8:35-36 (ESV)

For whoever finds me finds life

and obtains favor from the LORD,

but he who fails to find me injures himself;

all who hate me love death.”

Proverbs 7:24-27 (ESV)

And now, O sons, listen to me,

and be attentive to the words of my mouth.

Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;

do not stray into her paths,

for many a victim has she laid low,

and all her slain are a mighty throng.

Her house is the way to Sheol,

going down to the chambers of death.

Proverbs 6:12-15 (ESV)

A worthless person, a wicked man,

goes about with crooked speech,

winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,

points with his finger,

with perverted heart devises evil,

continually sowing discord;

therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;

in a moment he will be broken beyond healing.

Proverbs 5:22-23 (ESV)

The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him,

and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

He dies for lack of discipline,

and because of his great folly he is led astray.

You get the point!

Times of Suffering - Psalms 78-80

Psalms 79:1-4 (ESV)

A PSALM OF ASAPH.

O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;

they have defiled your holy temple;

they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.

They have given the bodies of your servants

to the birds of the heavens for food,

the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.

They have poured out their blood like water

all around Jerusalem,

and there was no one to bury them.

We have become a taunt to our neighbors,

mocked and derided by those around us.

The next verse after the above four verses in Psalm 79, ask the following:

Psalms 79:5 (ESV)

How long, O LORD? Will you be angry forever?

Will your jealousy burn like fire?

Who has not been where the writer Asaph is in the song?   When we are going through a tough time we always wonder how long it will last.  We have heartache and hurt because of how we are being treated and we cry out to God, “How long?”

Psalm 79 is a song for crying out.   Throughout the entire song we have this plea for God to intervene and to deliver the nation from their tormentors.   This is the key and the lesson from the song.  In times of trouble God is our only source for relief.  However, we often tend to turn toward friends, activity, substance, possessions, psychology, philosophy and/or denial.   It is in these times of trouble we often learn the most about God and His steadfast love and care for us.   Asaph ends this song with one verse of praise:

Psalms 79:13 (ESV)

But we your people, the sheep of your pasture,

will give thanks to you forever;

from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

This is what suffering is to do.  In the end, it turns us to God in praise and worship.