We Are To Represent God’s Holiness - Leviticus 25-27

 Leviticus 26:14-16 (ESV)

Punishment for Disobedience

“But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

Throughout the book of Leviticus we have read laws and precepts that the nation is to follow to please God.  We read laws about worship and sacrifice.  We read laws about how to care for the nation regarding leprosy.   We read laws about sexual practices.  We read laws about picking up sticks on the Sabbath.   In the above passage Moses comes to a close in listing all the laws they are to follow.  In these verses and the ones that follow, Moses is addressing what will happen if you don’t obey the laws.   The above passage begins a long list of the fallout if they (Israel) decides to not obey God’s Word.   And, eventually they don’t obey Him.  God will bring all these curses on them from their disobedience.  God will discipline them for disobeying Him.  Note that at the end of the above passage is one reason God will discipline them.   He states, “And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies will see it.”    The main reason for their discipline is because God is holy and their disobedience toward a holy and righteous God is always condemned.  But, another reason is that Israel was supposed to be a light to the Gentiles.  They were to be the one who lives in an honorable manner so that they Gentiles would glorify God.   When they disobey God this brings shame to God.   When the representative is tainted it makes the One they represent tainted.   

The same is true today.   The Church is to be the light to the Gentile world.  Note how Peter stated it in his first letter:

1 Peter 2:9-12 (ESV)

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

God wants His people to live in a way that brings glory and honor to God.  When we don’t we not only disobey God and violate His holiness, we also fail to be the representative we are required to be for Him.   That brings discipline.   Again, note Peter’s words: 

1 Peter 4:16-18 (ESV)

Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And “If the righteous is scarcely saved,

what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

Death and Dying - 1 Thessalonians 4-5

 1 Thessalonians 4:13 (ESV)

The Coming of the Lord

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

There is not secret that God’s Word informs the believer they have different experiences than the non-believer.   Even when it comes to death and dying, God does not want our sorrow to look like the worlds.  God wants us to sorrow differently.    Before Paul wrote the above passage he had already told the church about the difference of our sorrow as compared to the that of the non-believing world:

2 Corinthians 7:10 (NASBStr)

For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

We can rejoice that even in the deepest pain of mankind, facing a death of a loved one, God provides us with a comfort that is unmatched by the world.   In fact, one of the first truths Jesus ever stated to an audience in His teaching times was this:

Matthew 5:4 (ESV)

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

This is the second of eight Beatitudes.   To understand the Beatitudes you have to know the structure of the Beatitude.   The little word “for” is a big word in the Greek when it comes to knowing the meaning of each Beatitude. It is a “because” phrase.   The Beatitude does not say we are blessed “because” we mourn.   We are blessed “because” the believer is “comforted” in all their mourning.   No matter the mourning, but especially mourning due to loss.   The word “blessed” is the Greek “makarios.” The Greek philosopher would not use the word “makarios” when speaking of human beings.  It was such a high and lofty word.    They thought only the gods could experience “makarios.”   Yet, here, in His first sermon ever preached, Jesus is using it eight times to tell us that believers can have the most glorious of blessings and it is even provided by Christ in times of great sorrow.   Paul picks that theme up in the above passage from 1 Thessalonians.  He writes to tell the church to not sorrow like the world.  We have a hope about future uniting with loved ones “in Christ” when Christ returns.   Profound, but more than that.  It is an assured makarios (blessed) gift from God.   Claim it by faith. It does not remove heart ache, but it elevates the spirit as we allow the Holy Spirit to apply the truth to our hearts and minds via faith.  

He Took Our Sin - John 1-2

 John 1:29 (ESV)

Behold, the Lamb of God

The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

The Gospel!!   If anyone asks what is the gospel or what does the word “gospel” mean, you can simply quote the above verse.   The gospel is God sending His Son, Jesus, to take away the sins of the world.    Note other references:

1 John 3:5 (ESV) 

You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.

Hebrews 10:4,10-11 (ESV) 

For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,

The struggle we have in the world is that the natural man does not believe he has to received forgiveness for sins.  It is amazing how we have a conscience that knows when we do wrong and hurt someone we need them to forgive us.  But, it beyond comprehension that mankind does wrong before God each and every day and there is not compelling desire to seek forgives from a holy, righteous God.   We can rejoice that god forgives our sins and not only forgives, but came to take them away.   Note what the song writer wrote in this psalm:

Psalms 103:12 (ESV)

as far as the east is from the west,

so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Not only did He come to take away our sins but He removed them as far as east from the west. This is the freedom we have in Christ and the peace we have with God.  God, by His nature is obligated to be hostile to sinners and to punish them with His wrath.  But, Jesus came to take away our sins and bring us back into a peaceful relationship with God:

Romans 5:1 (ESV)

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We can’t have peace with God with lingering sin between Him and us.  So, the fact that Jesus came to “take away” the sins we commit against Him, is the most amazing truth we can grasp. It is the Gospel!

By the way, what is the alternative to Christ taking away ours sins?

Nahum 1:3 (ESV)

3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.

What Truth Comes From Reading Blue Prints? Ezekiel 43-48

 Ezekiel 44:4 (ESV)

Then he brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple, and I looked, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple of the LORD. And I fell on my face.

Probably the most difficult challenge reading these last chapters of Ezekiel is finding practical application for our day-to-day lives.  The prophet is explaining the dimensions and activities of a future Temple.   If it is the heavenly temple describe in the new heaven and new earth in the book of the Revelation, how do we read about it and leave with something that is admonishing for us.   Remember, all scripture is for the purpose of our growth:

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV)

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

So, what is the instruction here to equip us?   How should we respond to the dimensions and diagrams he writes?  Well, the above verse gives us God and Ezekiel’s response.  When God saw it He filled it with His glory.  When Ezekiel saw God’s glory he fell down and worshiped God.   That should be our response.  God is building a great place for us to fall down and worship Him.   That is the point of the descriptions and blue prints.  I don’t know anyone whoever looked at the blue print and said, “Wow!  That’s amazing.”    But, that is what we are being asked to do.  The above verse is from a vision of Ezekiel seeing the Temple completed.   We only have the prints.   But, that should swell up in our hearts and minds the element of adoration for God.  That is what He wants.  That is what He is designing.   We can rejoice that we don’t need these plans to see His glory.  Christ is His glory to us in our hearts.   We will be able to see and experience this new Temple some day.   But, that will be frosting on the cake.  We now have Christ, the living word, and we have in descriptions, Christ the written word.   

Ponder How You Use Your Tongue - Proverbs 14-15

 Proverbs 15:1-2 (ESV)

A soft answer turns away wrath,

but a harsh word stirs up anger.

The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,

but the mouths of fools pour out folly.

Proverbs 15:4 (ESV)

A gentle tongue is a tree of life,

but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

Proverbs 15:7 (ESV)

The lips of the wise spread knowledge;

not so the hearts of fools.

Proverbs 15:14 (ESV)

The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,

but the mouths of fools feed on folly.

Proverbs 15:23 (ESV)

To make an apt answer is a joy to a man,

and a word in season, how good it is!

Proverbs 15:26 (ESV)

The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD,

but gracious words are pure.

Proverbs 15:28 (ESV)

The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,

but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.

All the above proverbs say something about the tongue, the mouth or how we talk/respond verbally.   Solomon goes to great lengths to remind us and guide us on how to use our tongue.  We might wonder if James was reading the proverbs when he penned this for the early church:

James 3:5,6 (ESV)

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.

How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

In the above proverbs we learn:

1. The tongue is a reflection of the heart.  What is in the inside comes out via the tongue. 

2. The good use of the tongue can have favorable responses in us and for others. 

3. The poor use of the tongue can have adverse impact on us and others. 

4. The tongue can bring joy to man and God and self. 

5. The one who first ponders with their tongues demonstrates the wisdom of God and the on who does not ponder demonstrates the folly of fools.  

Use your tongue wisely.  It is a reflection of your walk with God and the demonstration of His wisdom inside you.  

Mercy Flows When We Show Humility - Psalms 90-92

 Psalms 90:13 (ESV)

Return, O LORD! How long?

Have pity on your servants!

In Psalm 90 we read a prayer of Moses.   It begins the fourth book of the Psalms.  In this song we read the plea of Moses for God to have pity on the nation of Israel for their sins.   He regencies that God is in a high and lofty place and from everlasting.  But, we are in at temporary space, ready to pass away and full of sin.   That is the purpose of the above lines of the poem.   He knows that our sin separates us from a holy, righteous God.  The only way to combat that is to pled for mercy (pity).   All these verses in other books of the Bible speak of the same aspect of pity:

Ps. 106:45; 135:14; Ex. 32:12; Deut. 32:36; Judg. 2:18; Jonah 3:10; 

The word for “pity” carries the implication that God turns back from what He intends to do and does so out of His extreme mercy.   The Jonah 3:10 passage probably conveys the meaning of the word the best:

Jonah 3:10 (ESV)

When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.

When we turned to God in our wickedness and admit we need His divine pity, we are recognizing His profound awesomeness and our incredible and deep uselessness.   It is not until we repent and relent of our sin and recognize that we are but dust that God bestows on us His GREAT pity.   This takes humility on our part to recognize who we are.   Note how young David responded to Saul’s attacks even though God had already told him he would soon be king and take Saul’s position:

1 Samuel 24:14 (ESV)

After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea!

Even though he knew what God told him about his future, David still considered himself nothing but a flea on the back of a dead dog.   That is humility and that is when God shows up with His pity ... His divine mercy!

God is Sovereign Over the Nations - 2 Kings 21-25

 2 Kings 24:1-4 (ESV)

In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldeans and bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servants the prophets. Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the LORD, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD would not pardon.

God is sovereign!  That is a major take-a-way when reading the Bible in general and the books of the Kings in particular.    First and Second Kings are the stories about the leadership of the kings who lead God’s people after the nation split between Israel and Judah.   All the kings of Israel were evil leaders.   Most of the kings of Judah were evil leaders. In the above passage we read about one of the last kings of Judah, Jehoiachin.   He was evil.     But, when Judah was taken captive under his leadership it was not only because of his evil leadership but because of all those who came before him and lead in a way contrary to God’s Law.   The interesting aspect of this is that God used Babylon, another evil nation, to take His chosen people into captivity.  If we read the prophet Habakkuk we will read about his objection to using this evil nation to punish God’s “people.”  Yet, that a the truth to take from this.  God is sovereign and He will do what He pleases.    He uses one evil peoples or person to punish and/or correct another.   God’s ways are hard for us to understand, but even more difficult if we refuse to believe and worship and respect His sovereignty.  He can do what He wants as long as He does not violate His own character.  That is the one thing God can’t do - violate His divine attributes.   We are to worship Him for how He sovereignly directs the nations.