Considering the Bible

Names of God – HATER OF INIQUITY – 274

2026-04-24

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

274

HATER OF WICKEDNESS

Hebrews 1:9 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

Wickedness.

Some Bibles translate wickedness (Gk ἀνομία anomía) as iniquity, lawlessness and sometimes evil. Note the letter “a” at the start of the word anomía. When we find this condition in the ancient texts, it is usually the same as we would use “non” in front of an English word.

The base of the word, “nomos” simply means law, and combining these two thoughts, we come up with understanding anomía as meaning “without law”, or “no law”.

Now when we read the verse, with this understanding, we could come to the conclusion the author is speaking of one of two cases. Possibly, those without law may refer to those who are ignorant of the law, that are without the law. Of course, a more natural understanding in my mind is that anomía is referring to those who violate a system or rule of law.

I find it at least interesting that this epistle is written to the Hebrews, those who have been given the law, the greatest set of moral guidelines ever provided. And it is true that without the law, transgression is not attributed

Romans 4:15 For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

Now before I go down a rabbit hole that I din not intend for this post, I want to return to the general truth of our God being One who is the Hater of Wickedness. My first thought is that it is good to recognize the author did not say God is a hater of wicked people, but of wickedness. It is still amazing to think that God loves the sinner, the ungodly, the weak and unrighteous soul.

No – God is a hater of that characteristic in a person that isolates them from Him. He is the Hater of Wickedness, and it is seen in the extent of His efforts to separate us from wickedness, to provide us the opportunity to live righteous lives before Him in the Son.

Not only should we see that God is a Hater of Wickedness due to the effect of wickedness on the soul of His people, but even more so, that God is a Hater of Wickedness as it reflects His character.

He is holy, innocent, unstained and separated from sinners, One who provides the eternal priesthood that established righteousness, conforming to all the glories constantly and without fault within the Godhead.

He Hates Wickedness, not only for our sake, but also since it is a complete afront to His character, a complete negation of His order, eternal principles and being.

When I first considered this name of God, I automatically fell into a negative mind set, thinking this name was associated with judgement, fear, condemnation and the such. There are such names of our God that include these truths, and should not be avoided, yet as I considered this name, I come away thinking this name of our God provided very very good news.

In hating wickedness, He protects and maintains His righteousness, refusing any hint of lawlessness. Beyond that, He has suffered under His own hatred of wickedness to deliver us from it’s judgement, providing us the privilege and power, in following Him, to live a life of righteousness.

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Conditional Security – Matthew 12:33-37

2026-04-23

Matthew 12:33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit.
Matthew 12:34 You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Matthew 12:35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.
Matthew 12:36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,
Matthew 12:37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Last post, we considered the unpardonable sin in relation to conditional security and I suggested the next portion of the passage may support my initial suggestions. So lets get back to this difficult passage.

Note the first word in verse 33! Either. A term providing a choice between two thoughts or concepts. When I see this word, I think of a decision to be made!

In relation to this passage, Jesus is calling out the Pharisees to make the tree good or make the tree bad. Might the Lord be referring to the Pharisees estimation of His power when speaking of these “trees” and it’s fruit being good or bad?

It is simple logic. Good fruit means a good tree. Bad fruit means a bad tree. The Pharisees have just witnessed an exorcism of a demon possessed man, a man who was blind and mute. Don’t miss the enormity of this miracle, and the resulting fruit! This demon possessed man, who was blind and mute, spoke and saw!

Matthew 12:22 Then a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw.

But lets remember who the Lord is speaking to? The men He is telling to make a decision are the very ones who are claiming He is in league with the devil! Although an aside, to consider the Master maintaining a logical argument for the sake of these Pharisees in the middle of such a defaming claim is so appealing, so evident of truth, and of such a peaceful stance, it make Him all the more amazing.

Back to this “either” command of the Lord towards the Pharisees, (and any listening) in verse 33. He is laying out the logic that this good result of healing the demoniac (a good fruit) must be from a good source, (a good tree). The Pharisees logic of the power Jesus resorting to diabolical forces to perform this miracle forces the resulting healing into the bad fruit category, and that simply makes no sense.

Even as the Pharisees spread a slurring accusation against the Lord of mercy, He is still reaching out to them, proving His truth, His identity, His mission to them.

And yet He continues with the logic a tree being known by it’s fruit in relation to the Pharisees themselves, stating that their very illogical claim must be evil, since they are evil! He has publicly called the most visibly religious men amongst God’s God’s chosen people evil!

Ok Carl, all your argument follows the text (hopefully) but what has that to do with the topic of conditional security? I am glad you asked, for I want to return to the first word again.

Either. Jesus, after having been defamed by the most powerful men in Israel, places a challenge before them. It is not as though it is too late to revise their estimation of this Rabbi. Yes, they are of the chosen people, and yes they are under a covenant with God. Personal relationship with the most High has always been dependent on faith in God, and not performance of religion, but these men may have some flicker of faith still resident in them. They may, under all the religiosity of their life, have a dim, smoldering faith of some type that the Lord is reaching out to.

Make a decision based on logic, and understand Who is standing before them. Either call Jesus good or call Jesus bad, but their decision will either justify or condemn them.

Matthew 12:37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Jesus is the Messiah, the full expression of the truth, evidenced by logic, by miracles, by the Spirit and by His message. Those who may have some faith in the Living God are dangerously close to condemning themselves by their illogical claims.

A dangerous position to be in, and yet the Lord reaches out to those who have openly and publicly expressed an obviously outrageous claim of His abilities. He is kind, and in His kindness, is very blunt with these men, seeking their repentance and acceptance of Him as the “Good Tree”!

I like to think some in the crowd took heart and rekindled their faith in the Living God of Israel and His Messiah, Jesus. I am hoping someone reading may also rekindle their faith in the Risen One. He has provided all the proof we need, in order to know who He is, the greatness of His love and His completed mission for lost, blind and mute sinners such as us!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below

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Life of David – 39.02

2026-04-22

The Lord’s Covenant with David

As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.

Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.

4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan,
5 “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in?
6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling.
7 In all places where I have moved with all the people of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built me a house of cedar?”‘

In our last post on this passage, we spoke of how illogical God’s will may appear to us. Some things are so obviously right to do in our thinking that prayer and seeking God’s will seems to be unnecessary. I can’t tell you how often I have fallen into this erroneous thinking.

Our passage this morning speak of how David and Nathan, both men of God, never considered God’s silence in His desire for a “great house” to reside in. Although a difficult topic to enter into, (for one can sometimes prove anything out of a vacumm), it may be good to consider the silence of God regarding His “residence amongst men”

Now, for a little background chronology, the Lord refers to the time between bringing the people up out of Egypt up to David’s day, and per many timelines, we are looking at at least 4 centuries. The Lord had four hundred years to provide notification, and instructions on building a permanent structure in Jerusalem for His house. Not to labor the point too much but that is approximately 15,000 days to provide instructions.

Moses was never instructed. The Judges were never instructed. Prophets were never instructed. Priest’s were never instructed. Up till the peace of David’s kingdom, no one considered this possibility. David was never instructed. Nathan was never instructed. No one was told to build God a temple, a fixed building in a certain location.

But Moses was instructed that to make an altar of hewn stone was to have a polluted altar.

Exodus 20:25 If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of hewn stones, for if you wield your tool on it you profane it.

As an aside, how many hewn stones would be required for Solomon’s temple in the future?

Aside from that, David’s good intentions were corrected, and as we will see in the next segment of this passage, God provided a covenant with David that spoke of the kingdom of God, and David’s place in this Kingdom. His Son would be King forever, and though David may have understood that to be Solomon, we know better.

But for our passage this morning, let us remember that the silence of God may be instructive for our lives also. We sometimes want to add religiosity to our lives that has never been commanded upon us from on high.

To consider the silence of God for our own lives demands a maturity and a commitment to the will of God prior to addressing this topic. Coming to a clear understanding of the impact the silence of God has on our lives may surely be difficult, time consuming and spiritually dangerous, for you see, it may easily be abused for selfish and fleshly reasons. And yet the Lord reminds these two men of His silence and what that was to mean to them.

In relation to this very passage, where might the silence of God be found helpful in relation to our own methods of worship, congregating and living the community of Christ in our culture?

Questions concerning the silence of God relating to His current desire for His Temple that may come to mind may include.

Instructions regarding the need of dedicated buildings for church
Instructions for the order of church services
Instructions for the extent of church employment
Instructions for provisions within the church body
Instructions to support it’s leadership

There may be more silence regarding the church that I have not touched on, and there may be various ways to address this silence. Yet, as we seek to honor the Lord, we should consider the silence of God as a viable method of understanding God’s priorities for His people.

The Lord reminded David and Nathan of His silence, and even in this silence, God redirected His king to the future reign of the greatest King, the One who is ruling even now!

May we listen to all He say’s (and doesn’t say!)

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Daniel – 3

2026-04-21

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Daniel

Two Kingdoms

Daniel 6:28 So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Galatians 4:4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
Matthew 26:29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”

Our verse this morning refers to two kings. Darius is the final king of Babylon, an older man that attained to the throne of Babylon for a mere two years. Cyrus, as we have previously looked at as a type of our Messiah, was a king Daniel served under in the Medo-Persian kingdom after the fall of Babylon.

Daniel, by the will of God, was placed into the Babylonian kingdom, lived a perfect life, passed through a death event in the lions den, and entered a new, arguably better kingdom soon after.

Consider this narrative in relating to the two kingdoms Jesus lived within.

He was born under the law, a servant to the Most High God, revealing the true nature of the law to all who watched. He suffered the blows and judgement of the law unjustly, passed through death into new life and is reigning in a far better kingdom, His Fathers Kingdom.

Our passage this morning, though an overview of the chronology of Daniel’s experience in serving God, also provides a general typology of the life of our Lord as He came down to a new land, lived under a rule of law, died and entered a new kingdom.

Jesus death, burial and resurrection is everywhere. He is King!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Names of God – HAND OF THE LORD – 273

2026-04-20

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

273

HAND OF THE LORD

Joshua 4:24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”

Anthropomorphism. What a word!

It’s a fancy word that describing a deity with human characteristics. It is a very common method of describing our God in the Word.

God is sometimes described as having
– eyes (Amos 9:4),
– ears (2 Kings 19:16),
– feet (Isaiah 66:1),
– a mouth (Jeremiah 9:12),
– and a back (Exodus 33:23),

Sometimes His actions are as if He is a man, as though He
– walks in the garden (Genesis 3:8),
– smells a pleasing aroma (Genesis 8:21),
– comes down to see the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:5).

In our passage this morning, we find He is described as the hand of the Lord. We find this thought also in Exodus 7:5

The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them.”

In both of these instances, it is good to note that in the description of the hand of the Lord, both are in reference to dominating or overpowering an adversary or abuser.

Though this term is often used in relation to warfare, it is also used to describe the enabling of a man by his God.

1 Kings 18:46a And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah…
Ezra 7:6 this Ezra went up from Babylonia….for the hand of the LORD his God was on him.

Though these men were enabled in their ministry by the Hand of the Lord, it is John the Baptist that experienced the Hand of the Lord even at his birth.

Luke 1:66 ESV – and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

John had the Hand of the Lord on him from birth. Can you imagine? Surely, he was, as the Lord described, the greatest of the prophets!

Two other times this term is used in the book of Acts describe either the power of God on the saints, or a judgement on a magician in Cyprus.

Acts 11:21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

Acts 13:11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand.

The Hand of the Lord defeats an enemy and empowers the faithful.

Is this not a great picture of the One who is King?

He is the One who has defeated His (an our) enemies, even through His own death, and leads His people to victory, empowering us as we seek to follow Him.

Jesus is the Hand of the Lord!

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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1 Thessalonian Bits – 3:12

2026-04-19

A little while ago, I produced a verse by verse series in Philippians. I really enjoyed that exercise and have been wondering if I should take on another book. Well it turns out that 1 Thessalonians is the victim of my machinations, and hopefully, the thoughts produced by this fantastic book will edify and encourage the reader.

As with Philippians I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

1 Thessalonians 3:12 and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you,

We are in the middle of Paul’s middle prayer for the Thessalonians. As you may remember, Paul opened up his letter the the Thessalonians with a prayer found in verses 1 & 2.

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

He will close his letter to this church in Chapter 5, with

1 Thessalonians 5:23 -24 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.

For now we are in the heart of Paul’s prayer thoughts for the Thessalonians and since this is a very short prayer of only 3 verses, this verse represents the very middle, dare I say the heart of Paul’s desire and prayer for the Thessalonians.

So after such a long introduction, what is it that Paul has reserved for the focus of his desires before God for these folks?

One topic, with one verb!

And the topic is….

LOVE

Paul was, as we all should be, consumed with the life of love. This love each of us have found in the Lord Jesus, – if we are true believers – is to be dispersed, spread and experienced with all in the body of Christ.

As I read this passage and considered the plea to God, I find that Paul is not concerned with only those in the Body, that the love is to only be extended to the saints, but he adds the short phrase “and for all“

He seeks to see the church care for each other, but he does not allow them to simply grow into a cocoon of Christians, but that they live a life of love to all around, even those outside of the church.

Notice that Paul’s prayer is for thier love is to be spread throughout the body, and extend outside of the small community of faith, into the lives of “all” each believer meets with, interacts with and struggles with.

Even that boss that is a micromanager, or that peer in the office that is constantly challenging decisions that need to be made. It seems we are not provided an exception to this call of love for all. He is not setting any limits on who we are to share the love of Christ with.

Ok, so Paul want’s us to include everyone in this life of love we are called to. Yet, he does not allow us to be satisfied in simply the extent of love being dispersed by the believer, that is to both the saint and the sinner, but he also is looking for increased depth of love towards both those in and out of the church.

Consider how Paul describes the action of this love.

GROW

As Paul speaks of two groups that are to recieve the love of Jesus, he also speaks of two actions associated with the love within the Thessalonian church.

Increase

πλεονάζω pleonázō. Paul is beginning to describe a condition that has no lack, that is always more than enough for the condition it finds itself in. Consider Paul’s usage of this term in 2 Corinthians 8:15. I am using the NASB in this passage for clarity sake

as it is written: “THE ONE WHO HAD GATHERED MUCH DID NOT HAVE TOO MUCH, AND THE ONE WHO HAD GATHERED LITTLE DID NOT HAVE TOO LITTLE.”

This passage translates our term as “too much”. Although Paul negates it in 2 Corinthians, the idea is clear. In Paul’s mind, to increase is to have “too much” and he is good with “too much” sacrificial love

Abound

περισσεύω perisseúō. This term speaks of exceeding a fixed number, and is used in passages that describe a superabunance, such as the overflow of bread recovered from the feedin gof the five thousand

Matthew 14:20And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.

Paul is looking for a love that extends to both saint and sinner, that is meets the needs of those around, and goes beyond the basic need, being surprizing, superabundant and over the top.

Quite the challenge for a small church. Turns out this little church got on task, even as they recieved this challenge. It was just a short time later, as Paul was writing his second epistle, that He speaks of the Thessalonians in relation to this very desire and prayer of his.

2 Thessalonians 1:3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

Paul’s absense from the church was distressing for both the apostle and the faithful. But the saints were faithful, and were chasing after the Lord, living out thier faith and love even as Paul was away from his people. Pretty amazing!

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Let Me Tell You a Story – Judgin’ Attitude

2026-04-18

Chatting with my wife the other night and we were considering an acquaintance of hers that seemed to continually pick and complain about those who work for her. She is new at her position (some what) and has bore down with a critical attitude on those that perform the work that needs to get done. It just seems so anti-productive!

Now my wife knows a bit of this ladies history and that she has had a sort of a rough life, making life decisions early on that have not worked out for her. Lifestyle habits were picked up early in life, that she carries with her even now. She may not even realize what she is communicating to others.

As we chatted, there seemed to be a connection going on in my head that may simply be the delusions of a fellow who is always trying to “connect the dots”, find solutions, and seek patterns. It may be delusional, but I think not. For I see this connection with my own bad habits, connecting with my willingness to judge others who do the same!

As we chatted, a number of verses came flooding into my thoughts, somewhat surprisingly.

Romans 2:3 Do you suppose, O man–you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself–that you will escape the judgment of God?

Note that Paul connects the judging with the doing. I had always understood this phrase to be confusing. Why judge the very thing I am doing? Why self condemn? The motivation is not something I want to delve into this morning, other than it being self destructive. The item that seemed to become evident to me was that past (or even present) sins create a desire to condemn others.

We have all heard the most vocal preacher condemning certain lifestyles, a fiery preacher, full of emotion and so passionate. Such a leader in the fight against sin, until it is found out that he is guilty of the same sin he condemned! Even as he is preaching condemnation, he is practicing the very sin he focuses on.

So I wonder, is it fair to come to a conclusion in estimating another’s life that a continual judging and condemning of others in certain areas may be revealing more than anticipated?

Is that a fair conclusion to arrive at?

If it is fair, I want to go one step further. Is it good to make this estimation in another’s life? Though this discernment may be accurate, is it proper, reasonable, loving and edifying? Is it a worthy thought to carry about in my day to day life, or does it color my estimation of another without benefit.

I find that as I may make this judgement of another’s life, I am slipping into the role of a judge, as opposed to the calling of a servant. Yes, some actions reveal our hearts more than we may want, and when I fall into a judgy, condemning attitude, I find it is the very sin I allow in my own life that I judge harshest in others.

What to do?

We are to discern the actions of others as we walk the Christian life, in order to make wise decisions. There truly are “dogs” amongst us, and we need to understand who they are. This takes discernment, or a form of judging – not condemnation – but judging.

Matthew 7:6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

In the midst of determining who the dogs are though, let us not forget that we are not to judge – condemn – others.

Matthew 7:1-2 “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

The lady my wife and I spoke of needs a friend, someone that can give her guidance and encouragement even as she is “exposing” her judgy side.

That is a challenge that is larger than I want to admit to!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion

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Names of God – Guarantor of a Better Covenant – 272

2026-04-17

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

272

Guarantor of a Better Covenant

Hebrews 7:22 This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

Better. A most common word in the book of Hebrews. It pops up so many times, I thought it wise to provide a list for our review prior to focusing in on our verse this morning.

• Better revelation (Heb 1:3)
• Better name (Heb 1:4)
• Better things (Heb 6:9)
• Better blessing (Heb 7:7)
• Better hope (Heb 7:19)
• Better covenant (Heb 7:22)
• Better promises (Heb 8:6)
• Better sacrifices (Heb 9:23)
• Better possession (Heb 10:34)
• Better country (Heb 11:16)
• Better resurrection (Heb 11:35)
• Better provisions (Heb 11:40)
• Better word (Heb 12:24)

Regarding our verse for this morning, it is good to get a bit of context for our understanding. The author of Hebrews is taking his audience through all the “betters” of Jesus, and in chapter 7 is addressing the priesthood. Jesus is described as of the Melchizedekian priesthood and not of the Levitical priesthood, linking Jesus with the eternal office of priest through the promise found in Psalms 110,

Psalm 110:4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

This isn’t the first time our author refers to this passage, as he has mentioned it in Hebrews 5:6 and Hebrews 7:17. He really wants to communicated the eternal priesthood of our Savior.

So let us be thankful, since our Savior is not one that will ever die again, and that because of his eternal life, He also has an eternal ministry.

But that is not the only aspect of this passage that is making Jesus better in relationship to His priestly duties and office. For that nugget to be understood, it is necessary to consider the two previous verses.

Hebrews 7:20 And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath,
Hebrews 7:21 but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever.’”

The issue in our passage is not simply that Jesus is our eternal priest, never to pass from His ministry for and to us, but for those in the Old Testament economy, to compare the basis of the preisthoods.

For a Levitical priest to serve in the Temple, his lineage was critical, for no priest was able to continue in his service. The priest needed replacements, because of this thing called death. They kept dying. Since the replacements were of the tribal lineage, there was never any oath or promise associated with the installment of a priest into his position. Born a Levite, be a priest.

With Jesus, His placement as priest is not only based on His eternal life, but on an oath. An oath taken by God almighty, in which God swore in giving the oath, and added that nothing would change His mind.

This is an incredible statement, for it was an oath given from the Father to the Son.

Jesus is a priest forever! This is a promise, an oath from the Father to the Son. Not only a positive oath, but also a statement declaring God would never recant.

To be a guarantor is to be the One who is responsible in an agreement, in a covenant.

So let’s recap.

Jesus is a better priest than the Levitical priest due to His eternal state, living forever, always in the priestly position and office, and that the Father has promised His right to Priesthood in an oath that is of the strongest language. On top of all of that, Jesus is the Guarantor, the One who is responsible for the Covenant, the New Covenant that is in His blood. The Levite was simply a religious butcher, cutting an animal provided by someone else.

When the author makes this statement of Jesus being better, there is so much more than a simple comparison with a Levite. He is the One who is in charge, Who is our Priest, Who will never be replaced, Who needs not provide and additional sacrifice and Who has been made perfect forever!

My oh my – Jesus is better!

As believers I think we know deep down that He is better, but it is so good to take a moment sometimes to remember how much better He is!

And He truly is so much better.

Thank you Lord! You are the Guarantor of a Better Covenant!

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Conditional Security – Matthew 12:31-32

2026-04-16

Matthew 12:31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
Matthew 12:32 And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

This is a difficult passage and to consider it under the topic of conditional security may at first be difficult to justify. Let me give you my thoughts on why this passage may be addressing this topic.

I am of the opinion that this particular passage is very specific to the time frame in which it was spoken. Consider the audience and the hingepoint of history we find it spoken in.

Jesus, The Messiah, the Gift of God to all mankind is again discussing God’s truth with those Pharisees. By the time we get to this morning’s interaction with the Pharisees, Jesus has dealt with them a number of times.

Interaction with the money changers – John 2:12-25
Interaction with Nicodemus (a Pharisee) – John 3:1-21
Interaction, rejection and attempt to murder Jesus in Nazareth – Luke 4:16-30
Interaction and rejection of Jesus claims of equality with God -John 5:16-47
Interaction on Sabbath importance – Matthew 12:1-8
Interaction concerning John the Baptist – Matthew 11:2-24
Interaction based on the Pharisees claiming His power is from the devil – Matthew 12:22-32

We are seeing from this brief list that things are getting very tense from the standpoint of the Pharisees. To pull out the non-logical argument that this Rabbi is depending on Satan to perform His life giving, healing ministry is a stretch by any account.

And Jesus does not mince words.

He openly confesses that every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven. Did you get that? Will be forgiven, not may be forgiven! He is telling these religious men that all sins will be forgiven. That must have tied their knickers in a knot!

He did place a caveat though as he addressed these men who would deny the obvious work of God through this Rabbi. If you will defame and lie against the work of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit in God’s Messiah, there is no hope for you. You see, He continues in his address to these men, declaring the sin of speaking against the Holy Spirit as being applicable in two ages. This age, or in the age to come.

I have often wondered what the “age to come” refers to, for it is not necessarily the next age, though it may be. I do not struggle when the Lord mentions “this age”. He is referring to the time in which he was living and breathing, talking to the men who opposed Him.

So here is how I understand this passage. Jesus is seeing the Pharisees becoming more and more desperate in denying His rightful place as Messiah, going to the incredible extreme of associating Him with Satan! As the people of God during the age of Moses, (prior to the resurrection and the wide spread explosive dispersion of the Spirit amongst the Gentiles) these Pharisee’s knew the truth of the Messiah, and understood that Jesus fit many, many of the required prophecies regarding the coming Savior.

As a matter of fact, there have been many studies revealing that the generation Jesus appeared in was the last generation a Messiah could appear to the people of Israel.

One specific prophecy that the Pharisees surely studied was that found in Daniel 9. A very detained and definite prophecy of the Messiah’s appearance within a certain time frame based on the captivity of the Jewish nation. Jesus was right on time. The Pharisees would not have it. He wasn’t working with them on their plans and objectives!

Nevertheless, the Pharisees knew Jesus was the Messiah, but out of envy and a refusal to submit to truth, refused Him and the witness of the Spirit!

Now as I mentioned earlier, these men were amongst the people of God, but at this point, it appears that all privilege assigned to the faithful Jew, though rejecting the message of the Spirit, would not receive forgiveness! In a word, privilege would be revoked from those who would not submit to truth!

Prior to this interaction, where did the Pharisees stand with God? Classed as of the Jewish nation, and as such, in the age of Moses, these men were in covenant with the God of Israel. Yet in this age, these men would be cast out, even as spoken of in numerous parables later in Jesus ministry!

Matthew 22:13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Matthew 25:30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

In our next post, Jesus continues with His message to the Pharisees, speaking of fruit and trees, hopefully understanding the message we find in Matthew 12.

Let me know your thoughts.

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Life of David – 39.01

2026-04-15

The Lord’s Covenant with David

As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.

Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.

2 Samuel 7:1-17
1 Now when the king lived in his house and the LORD had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies,
2 the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.”
3 And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.”

Assumptions. Even awesome kings and great prophets make assumptions.

David’s Assumptions

David assumed that since he was in a great palace/house and that there was nothing to do – he had been given rest from all his adversaries – that it was time to honor God, to express his thankful heart and to bring attention of the nation to their God by building Him a temple, instead of simply letting the God of all Creation dwell in a tent.

At first blush, this all appears to be most honorable on the part of David. Sure he had to build his own house first, and he couldn’t build a temple while at war with his neighbors. But now that things are settled down, and his authority and position is established with the nation, it is logical given the many times God has provided guidance, and miraculous victories, that His house within the nation becomes greater, bigger, shinier, flashier and oh so awesome. An impressive house for such an impressive God, in such an impressive kingdom!

Yes, for David this all made sense, and he talked about it to Nathan, the prophet of God, the man that would provide guidance from God in relation to decisions of national interest, and personal life choices for the king.

Nathan’s Assumptions

Nathan seemed quick to agree. After all, David had just experienced a run of successes that proved that the Lord was with him. With a track record like David’s, and the idea of honoring God being presented to him, it must have seemed like a slam dunk type of question.

Get at it David. Your a winner and your idea is such a God honoring idea! How could this backfire, or displease God?

Well, as you may know, there was one other person that wanted to be involved in this decision. In our next post, we will see that making assumptions about God’s will can bring about some surprising responses from God.

For today’s passage, it is good to remember that God’s will is many times completely opposite to logical reasoning.

For instance, an easy example of God’s will being opposed to logical thinking is that of turning the other cheek.

If Bobby slaps me around, either physically, or emotionally, or even spiritually, it only makes sense that I provide a response in like kind. Logically, if I do not respond in like kind, this shows weakness, and may invite more violent actions against me. Of course, the Lord’s command was to provide another cheek, or to carry a load another mile.

That is even crazier!

Until you win your enemy through acts of sacrificial love. But you see, that is not the thinking of the world! That is not logical, for there is no satisfaction for myself in getting retribution, nor is there any guarantee that my act of self sacrifice will win my enemy over. It may very well open the door for greater abuse.

My assumptions of using logical reasoning to find God’s will is faulty at best. Many believers may think it wise to take the world’s logic, and patch God’s name to it to justify their actions, but this does no honor to the God we say we worship.

The Word and the Spirit provide guidance, and we do well if we refer to the sometimes illogical call of God to lay our lives down in a self sacrificial manner to honor Him.

Jesus did. And boy, did He ever honor God!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Daniel – 2

2026-04-14

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Daniel

Wisdom in Youth

Daniel 2:48 Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.

Luke 2:47 And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.

Daniel, in a strange land, among a people of a strange tongue, and within a culture that defied the True God, (I speak of the Babylonian nation) exhibited wisdom beyond the ages and was raised to an elevated place of authority and privilege. A young man of incredible conviction, he rose through the ranks of others, seemingly without any desire but to honor his God.

It is a well known truth found in the Word that a man skillful in his work will increase in authority and privilege.

Proverbs 22:29 Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Such was the case with Daniel, and what made this young man so different from his peers amongst the kings servants, was his unabashed dedication to the God of Israel. His focus was on serving the God of Israel, and in this service, his wisdom shone in the kings court.

Out of this wisdom, he became a ruler in Babylon, even a chief ruler over those in the Babylonian royal court claiming to be wise. Heady stuff for a young man. Scholars estimate Daniel was between 14 and 18 when he provided the king this interpretation of his dream in Daniel 2, out of which came this elevation in the kings court.

Daniel, as a very young man, having provided the revelation of this dream to the king must have created quite a stir in the royal court. This act began a public recognition of the wisdom of Daniel that never diminished.

Jesus, in like manner, and yet so much more, also displayed great wisdom early in life, and was fully dedicated to the will of God.

Luke 2:52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

Jesus also increased in wisdom from youth, being noticed by those in authority, as they were “amazed” at His understanding of the laws of God. He continued amongst them, providing greater and greater proofs through His teaching that He was no mere prophet or rabbi. His teachings were irrefutable, with His wisdom shutting mouths and silencing His detractors.

Both of these men exhibited incredible wisdom in their youth, and provided notice to their contemporaries that God was active and present!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Names of God – Guarantee of our Inheritance – 271

2026-04-13

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

271

Guarantee of our Inheritance

Ephesians 1:14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

When I think of a guarantee, I think of a company that is attempting to calm a potential customer of a reluctance to purchase one of their items or products. It is a promise of the quality or ability of the product to perform it’s intended use. A guarantee is typically linked to the honor, or at least the reputation of the manufacturer.

That makes some sense in relation to God and His desire to settle our hearts, especially when considering His stellar reputation.

But let’s dig a bit.

When Paul uses the term Guarantee, he is speaking a bit different language than what I have described. To be a guarantee in Paul’s mind is to be a pledge, an earnest money or better yet, a down payment.

An example of a down payment in the Old Testament may be found in Genesis 38, in the story of Judah. Judah was not doing right with a daughter-in-law, Tamar by name and she decided to do something about it. After some planning and deception, Tamar set up a situation for Judah. This very plan suggests Judah was a bit of a womanizer, a bit of an unfaithful man. Nevertheless, Judah, as he travelled from home, hired a prostitute (Tamar in disguise) and prior to the act, Tamar negotiated with Judah a price for her services.

It turns out a goat was an acceptable payment to Tamar, but she requested a pledge until the goat arrived. She requested his signet ring, his cord and his staff until the goat was delivered. Each of these items were significant items in Judah’s life, representing his authority, identity and ability to perform business transactions. This was no minor request, but Judah complied.

The deed done, Judah went on his way and Tamar (the prostitute) disappeared, with Tamar (Judah’s daughter-in-law) living under his roof, with his possessions. Soon enough, it was determined Tamar was pregnant, and Judah – in righteous indignation – decided to burn her for her infidelity.

It was a good thing she kept his down payment! Judah realized he was in the wrong, and eventually two children were born of Tamar and Judah, of which Perez became an ancestor of King David, and eventually included in the lineage of Jesus.

All of this background is provided to consider the concept of a down payment in the Old Testament, leading me to a few thoughts.

Judah gave his identity to Tamar as a down payment. God has provided His Spirit, His very Person as a down payment to us.
Tamar displayed Judah’s possessions at a time when her very life was in danger. Judah’s down payment, in Tamar’s possession actually saved her life.

Is it not in similar fashion that in our salvation, our lives are delivered from our own unrighteous acts, having the Spirit of God continually protecting, guiding and teaching our hearts?

Also, this down payment represented a union between it’s owner and a supposed stranger, even an outcast. In Judah’s eyes, this woman was simply a prostitute, and yet out of this union, life was produced, and the lineage to the Messiah was one step closer.

But finally, in relation to our verse and some of the above concepts, consider that in our case, the Father has given us His Spirit as a down payment. First off, it is not mere “things” that God provided as Judah did with Tamar. God’s down payment is the very Third Person of the Trinity.

As Judah gave a signet ring, a tool to produce a formal signature on contracts, God gave His Spirit as a promissory note for our lives, a form of signature on a document.

As Judah gave his cord, a string that typically was worn around his neck carrying the signet ring near his heart, God provided us promises of the Spirit being in our heart. The Spirit is on and in our heart!

As Judah gave his staff to Tamar, representing leadership and authority, even his identity, God has also provided His children His staff of authority, even His own identity in the Person of the Holy Spirit.

God’s guarantee is much more than I first thought. Even though my modern thinking of how a guarantee rests on the reputation of the manufacturer, (and there is some truth in this thinking), I am thankful for the Lord correcting me in my understanding, making me see that He who is the Guarantee of our Inheritance is much more than I first imagined.

He is the Guarantee of our Inheritance!

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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1 Thessalonian Bits – 3:11

2026-04-12

A little while ago, I produced a verse by verse series in Philippians. I really enjoyed that exercise and have been wondering if I should take on another book. Well it turns out that 1 Thessalonians is the victim of my machinations, and hopefully, the thoughts produced by this fantastic book will edify and encourage the reader.

As with Philippians I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

1 Thessalonians 3:11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you,

In our next three verses, we are going to be seeing Paul’s heart for the Thessalonians through a prayer to God for them and himself.

Yes the prayer is specifically focused on the Thessalonians, but he is so desiring to see them, he can’t help but to ask the Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus to steer Paul’s journeys back to them.

It is as if Paul had forgot that God had called him to evangelize the nations, and he was coming back to what might be considered a pastoral, or a discipling action with those who have already committed themselves to the Lord, and by all accounts are doing quite well.

Was it not just a few verses back that Paul had received the good news of their faith and love?

1 Thessalonians 3:6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love..

Yes, Paul mentioned a lack in their faith in a previous verse, but did he not have multitudes of lost he needed to minister to?

1 Thessalonians 3:10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?

How is it that this apostle felt he needed to return to those who had already committed to the Lord, and spend his precious time with them? Other’s were waiting!

Let’s remember that the body of believers in Thessalonica were birthed during Paul’s first missionary journey, approximately 49 AD. This letter was written from Corinth, a few months after Paul had left the Thessalonians.

Paul did get to return to his people in Thessalonica, but it wasn’t instantaneous. During his travels, as recorded in Acts 20:1-6, it appears he was in the region of the Thessalonians and most certainly had up to 3 months of time to be with them. Our date for this visit is about AD 55.

He may also have had an opportunity to visit with the Thessalonians after his first prison lock up. We see Paul’s continued intentions during his lock up, to visit the Philippians, and that would place him very close to the Thessalonians.

Philippians 2:24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.

His first Roman imprisonment was from 60 to 62 AD, with a 4 year window until his next visit with jail. This four year window is the time he possibly got to visit with the Thessalonians.

In all of this brief timeline, we see that God’s answer to Paul’s request to visit with the Thessalonians was granted, possibly twice. But as I mentioned, it was not instantaneous. Up to six years until he was able to visit the area, and then again, another six years until free from prison.

In our highly connected world, we get anxious if we don’t see (or hear from) a friend or ally over a period of weeks, or in some cases days. The apostle prayed and waited for up to six years to visit with his church.

Sometimes we are impatient with the Lord in our faith, thinking things must happen faster, to get things done quicker. The apostle waited six years for an answer, with many distractions and trials in between. As he prayed to the Lord, he was asking for guidance back to his loved ones, but I imagine he may also have been leaving this request before the Lord, knowing the Lord’s faithfulness, and commitment to the little church in Thessalonica.

Extended wait times for answered prayers are sometimes “saint perfecters” themselves, training us to be patient and trusting, knowing the Lord has His interest in His mission within our lives!

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Psalms for Psome – Ps 74.07

2026-04-11

My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.

This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.

I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.

Psalm 74:22 Arise, O God, defend your cause; remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
Psalm 74:23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!

It was just a few verses back when Asaph wrote…

Psalm 74:20 Have regard for the covenant.

He is continuing in this same vein of thought, but he is escalating the request. Back in verse 20, he reminded God of the covenant, and was asking God to consider the promises He made. To have an internal reminder so to speak.

In this verse, Asaph is becoming very bold. The phrase “defend your cause” is written as though in a fight for justice, even as in a court.

Defend

רִיב rîyb. (Strongs #7378) The Hebrew word is translated as plead, contend or strive in a majority of the times we find it in the Word. It is not a passive word, but full of action, activity, and argument.

Cause

רִיב rîyb (Strongs #7379) My astute readers will notice that I seemingly have repeated the same Hebrew word, and I would agree, if it were not for the fact that the Strong’ Exhaustive Concordance deemed it fit to assign it a separate number.

Is the general meaning the same? Somewhat. This term describes a contention, a strife or a dispute. The concept of referring to a case in court may be associated with this term.

But Asaph may be going even more hardcore before the Lord, in that some translations include the phrase “your own cause”

KJV Arise, O God, plead thine own cause:
NKJV Arise, O God, plead Your own cause;
NASB95 Arise, O God, and plead Your own cause;
LSB Arise, O God, and plead Your own cause;
ASV Arise, O God, plead thine own cause:
DBY Rise up, O God, plead thine own cause:
WEB Arise, O God, plead thy own cause
HNV Arise, God! Plead your own cause.

Might Asaph be reminding God of an obvious truth, inferring that God has dropped the ball in completing His purposes? This is your cause and Your cause alone, and though we, your people are suffering, You alone can fight this cause.

Asaph must have been in tremendouse tension, after seeing the tabernacle/temple destroyed by the enemies of God, and there was seemingly no response. God was quiet, even though His people and the meeting house were crushed. He was begging God to arise, to stand up for His cause, as in a courtroom.

He did arise for the nation. He made his arguments clear and his proof before the judge irrefutable. His enemies have been shamed, and they are without a charge.

Was it in the timing Asaph desired? Not by a long shot, but even in our prayers, God still is in charge. Yes prayer changes things, and God is gracious, merciful and good to all, but His timing in answering is per His will.

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Names of God – Greatness of your Majesty – 270

2026-04-10

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

270

Greatness of Your Majesty

Exodus 15:7 In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.

Majesty. An old word used by old fogies. I suppose it is coming back into fashion with some of these new praise songs I hear at church and the radio, but for some, if I were to ask them the meaning, I am afraid they may not connect.

Majesty is a term that relates to royalty. Surely the British may understand the term a bit better than others. But to think it only relates to royalty may be missing the mark.

To speak of majesty in the Old Testament speaks of excellence. As a matter of fact, some literal translations actually use the term “excellence” in place of majesty in this verse.

Exodus 15:7 NASB20 – “And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise up against You; You send out Your burning anger , [and] it consumes them like chaff.

Exodus 15:7 Youngs Literal Translation – And in the abundance of Thine excellency Thou throwest down Thy withstanders, Thou sendest forth Thy wrath — It consumeth them as stubble.

Now I don’t know about some of my readers, but when I was in grade school, to get an “excellent” on a book report, school assignment or graded paper implied a perfect score. Not a 90%. That was “very good”. Even a 99% was only a very very good!

No, to attain an “excellent”, it was embedded in this little boys mind that only perfection was excellent. And for that I am grateful, for I think this is an accurate depiction of Moses estimate of the God he served.

But let’s consider for a moment a little context, remember this is Moses’ song of triumph, a song of triumph over the worlds greatest super power, by a rag tag group of slaves, and an old man that used to be loyal. A super power that an upstart group of slaves took down.

Let’s also remember that the Pharoah was considered majestic, excellent, of great royal blood, and his nation supported him in this estimation. His army was the greatest, just like he was, and yet these slaves with an old man as a leader, not only escaped thier clutches, but completely decimated the army that was after them.

Oh my, but what a mistake I have made. It wasn’t the slaves, or that old man that led them, but the God of Israel who performed all these actions against this superpower.

And note also that when Moses describes God’s method of taking down the Egyptians, he doesn’t use terms that describe God as breaking a sweat, or that He was exhausted from taking the Egyptians down. (After all, they were a super power!)

No, the verse speaks of God sending out His fury. His burning anger. Note that which God sent out is an emotion! An emotion.

Did it include lightning, as if fire from the skies? Did it include horrific wind storms, or massive earthquakes? None were noted. We do see the Red Sea falling in on the super power armies, but that may be termed simply the removal of a restraint on the waters. After all, it wasn’t meant for everybody, only those slaves and that old man.

If the superpower armies decided to enter an unsafe situation, that is on them.

So again, what is inferred when we hear that God sent his fury, his burning anger. An emotion? I think Moses is making a point. God’s excellencies are such that it only requires the unleashing of an emotion to decimate a world superpower. That is the excellency of God, and Moses only adds the superlative of the Greatness of Your Excellency to magnify the God He serves.

Moses, as an old man, sure knew how to speak of our God!

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Conditional Security – Philippians 2:14-16

2026-04-09

Philippians 2:14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing,
Philippians 2:15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,
Philippians 2:16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.

In our last post on this passage, we discussed (with some tongue in cheek language) of a better motivator for the saint if we are eternally secure. We spoke of replacing “fear and trembling” with an alternate motivator, since being eternally secure removes any concern over the quality of our relationship with the Father. We spoke of a silly option Paul may have used to motivate the Philippians. He chose not to!

I may have been a bit crass. I hope it made at least one of my readers think about the text, and reconsider the possibility that Paul’s message may mean more than we currently understand.

Paul continues with the Philippians in our passage this morning, speaking of the characteristics of the believer, of refraining from grumbling and disputing, and of the believers life exhibiting a character that is blameless and innocent. We have previously addressed what it means to be blameless and innocent in this blog (See Philippian Bits – 2:15.01 & Philippian Bits – 2:15.02), so I will not repeat it here.

What I would like to consider is the last verse, where Paul speaks of his labor in the ministry. The topic of this last phrase is the effect of the Philippians obedience on the potential vanity of Paul’s ministry.

If the Philippians were not obedient, Paul’s ministry, at least in relation to the Philippians would be in vain. Now to say something is vain is difficult for our modern society since we are so immersed in it. So much of our society is a chasing after vanity, of emptiness, of smoke and mirrors. For you see, for something to be “vain” is stating that it is devoid of truth, empty, full of nothing. It is of no purpose, without fruit and of no lasting value.

To be vain is to be empty. Maybe our world will wake up some day to the vanity of living for themselves, but I fear not, for this is a vain, vain world we live in!

But Paul uses it in relation to the souls of the Philippians, of his work amongst them. Now remembering the thoughts in our last post on this passage, if the saved are eternally secure, that to be once save always saved is the way to understand the Word, why would Paul be concerned about the emptiness of his ministry, especially since the Philippians have exhibited a previous fruitfulness. Surely the Philippians were a saved people, exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit and worshipping in truth. Even a few verse earlier, Paul confessed to the reality of their identity in the Messiah.

All is well Paul, for they could not fall away, they could not apostatize! Have no concerns Paul. Your ministry work is also secure, for the past fruit of the Philippians has proven your work. The possibility of your work amongst the Philippians being in vain is impossible, for the souls you reached are destined for glory, no matter what they do. Oh they may loose some rewards, but they will be before the throne, and prove your effectiveness in converting lost souls.

My friends, I think I have been excessively sarcastic, even crass in these last two posts. Forgive me. But if there is truth amongst my words of harshness, and something is stirring in you, consider your standing before the Lord. Confession and repentance of sin before the Lord is never rebuffed by the One who has proven us His love.

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below

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Life of David – 38.02

2026-04-08

David and Michal

As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.

Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.

2 Samuel 6:20-23

20 And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!”
21 And David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the LORD – and I will celebrate before the LORD.
22 I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.”
23 And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death.

There are two types of wives. The type I got and the bad type. David had a bad one.

Mical couldn’t wait to attack the king. David was in a great mood, wanting to bless his household, and Micah comes charging out to meet him. Wow, I can just imagine her leaving her ivory tower, all prissy and proud, coming down to tell old David off!

And what was her big complaint? She got pretty specific, whining about how David uncovered himself before his servants female servants. Micah – me thinks you reveal too much!

Is that really the problem? Could she be honestly concerned with his reputation? I would suggest that if a wife comes out in public defaming her husband that it is not his honor she is concerned about. She just dishonored him in public! The king of Israel! Other kings would send her away, banish her to a lonely room ’til her death.

I suppose something else is going on here. She isn’t worried about his honor, but his attention. Follow me on this thinking.

Mical, being David’s first wife, was accustomed to competition for David’s attention. You see, after her marriage to David, he went out and acquired at least 6 more wives by the time of this conflict with David. I think her concern over David’s honor was simply a cover for a problem she was struggling with, and her mentioning David’s servants female servants may be tipping her hand. How could David’s servants female servants become an issue for Michal, other than that they were female! Her jealousy, which seems obvious was covered over by a concern for David’s honor. Nice try Michal, but the jig is up!

Peter may have been thinking of Mical when he spoke of using a cover up for evil.

1 Peter 2:16 Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

Of course Michal had no desire to be a servant of God, but all the more instructive for us who seek to serve God to realize that cover ups are obvious to all but ourselves. Covering for sin simply cover it over for our eyes, no one elses!

It seems the King above decided to leave her childless. David though, seemed to defend himself, and speak of the honor these female servant would freely offer the the king. Unlike his wife, who owed him honor and respect.

In this act of defiance, she showed her heart of jealousy, and became a mother to no one. So sad, for she had advantage that few women in Israel experienced, and she threw it all away because she was insecure in her relationship with her husband.

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Daniel – 1

2026-04-07

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Daniel

A Royal Son

Daniel 1:3 Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility,
Daniel 1:6 Among these were Daniel…

Matthew 1:1-17, Luke 3:23-38

We often think of Daniel as a man of great faith, a man fully committed to God, a man who served kings and rulers well, by serving God faithfully. And well we should for he is one of the greatest men of faith in the Old Testament!

Yet Daniel was born into royalty, a man of nobility, a man of privilege, a youth that was destined for a life of authority, power and advantage.

He was granted status by his relationship with royalty. He did not attain to royalty by effort or talent, but simply through bloodlines. To be Daniel was to be of nobility.

Jesus also was born of royal lineage, and the gospels of Matthew and Luke provide two genealogies to show His status as Royalty.

Matthew teaches us of Jesus legal lineage to the throne, through Abraham and King David and Joseph. Luke teaches the biological lineage of Jesus to the throne, not through Solomon but through Nathan, David’s son through Bathsheba. (It is interesting how the lineage of Jesus avoided the curse of Jeconiah, but that is for a different time!)

Both Daniel and Jesus were born of royalty. Though Daniel never exercised any authority through this privilege of great bloodlines, he did attain to greatness by depending on God (and not his unearned status), eventually being offered a seat of royalty in the Babylonian empire, and counselling kings of nations.

Jesus exercised His authority as King, as He walked amongst us, proving his sovereignty over nature, sin and death many times. He commanded and “things got done”.

Nature obeyed.

Sickness obeyed.

Even death knelt before the King.

How amazing that we Whom He came to rescue have yet to appreciate, nor understand His Kingship.

Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

Jesus, as King of kings, is willing to gather. We are not willing. And yet He is patient, reigning over all to the benefit of all and to the glory of God.

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Names of God – Greater than He Who is in the World – 269

2026-04-06

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

269

Greater than He Who is in the World

1 John 4:4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

We find this morning’s name of God in a passage that the Apostle John provides us, as he is warning the believers not to trust every message they hear.

He begins our passage by telling his friends not to believe every spirit.

This is standard Christianity. If we have any history in our walk with the Lord, we have come across teachers or so called prophets, that claim to know the Word of the Lord, or have some secret esoteric message directly from God.

Test them. Always test those spirits!

I took this command with vigor in my past, and carried an attitude that contained a bounty hunter mentality. Any message would go under the microscope of Carl’s understanding of the Word, parse the word’s of the message and somehow determine the teachers motivations! It go to the point where I entertained a very suspicious nature, always looking for error, hunting for impurities in any message I heard.

Of course as you read that, you have to understand I had a highly defined, very restricted view of the Bible. To describe every aspect of my faith would take much to much time. As an example, at one point in my faith, I had chosen to condemn supralapsarianism. What foolishness to chase such a highly refined, unimportant, divisive teaching.

This was not John’s intent!

He had one test for us. He was battling a heresy that was beginning to erupt in the early church called Gnosticism, and it taught that Jesus was God, but that he appeared as a man. Not that He was flesh and blood, but that He decieved those He walked with by looking like a man, but not being a man. He was a spirit only.

This teaching attacked the very identity of our Messiah, the effectiveness of His sacrifice and the extent of His love for His people. This would not do for John and it cannot be found in our thinking.

Any message that does not openly identify the Savior as the man named Jesus, and that He walked amongst us as a man of flesh and blood, is a teaching that replaces our Savior with an idea, describing our Master as a spirit that deceived the apostles into thinking they were with a man, and most importantly, did not die in place for all of humanity. He simply provided a guide for His followers, not a vicarious physical death for men and women of flesh and blood.

When we get to our verse, John speaks of Him who is greater than he who is in the world. Specifically, I think John is speaking of false teachers and lying spirits when he speaks of those who are in the world. Of course, the ultimate identity behind those who spread lies about our Leader is the enemy of our souls, but in this passage John is identifying the spirit of antichrist working against believers through false teachers.

As an aside, I found it interesting that the topic of “antichrist” is only spoken of by John, and only four times in his epistles. (What shocked me most was that John thought antichrist referred to multiple persons, and antichrist was present in his day!) I have provided all the passages below for your convenience.

The Spirit of God, fed by the Word of God, in the saint of God is unstoppable, cannot be defeated. More to John’s point, John simply states that we are from God. The very fact that we are from God is the victory. We have already overcome those who are spreading lies of the Master by believing the truth from the apostles. We have come to know the truth, that Jesus the God-man entered our world in flesh and blood, physically suffered at our hands, died as a man in our place and rose bodily from the grave. This is the message we have believed, and have become those who are from God.

He is greater than he who is in the world.

As John continues in his letter, he speaks of listening to the apostles. As those who are from God, we will hear God in the teaching of the apostles, and confess that His teachings are of His apostles.

1 John 4:6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Why would we not listen to His apostles? Unless some dime store prophet comes by with some new trinket of “truth” that appeals to our old nature.

Brothers – be content with the truth of the Word, for it is the faithful record of Him who is Greater than he who is in the world!

Teaching of John on “antichrist”
1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.
1 John 2:22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.
1 John 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.
2 John 1:7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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1 Thessalonian Bits – 3:10

2026-04-05

A little while ago, I produced a verse by verse series in Philippians. I really enjoyed that exercise and have been wondering if I should take on another book. Well it turns out that 1 Thessalonians is the victim of my machinations, and hopefully, the thoughts produced by this fantastic book will edify and encourage the reader.

As with Philippians I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.

1 Thessalonians 3:10 as we pray most earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?

At first glance, three things are going on in this verse.

Prayer

Paul was a man of prayer. He often spoke of continual periods of prayer, and instructed his churches to be of the same nature. In this verse it might be wise to consider that Paul speaks in the plural. He says “we” pray, and I assume he is not using the royal manner of indicating himself as we, but that there was a group that prayed for the Thessalonians.

Was it a formal group, strictly monitored and ordered, to meet at 6am, 2:30 am and 9 pm? Somehow, I doubt it, and I tend to think that as a man of prayer, he sought opportunities to pray, to sit before the Lord, in this case with those he travelled with, or those in the church he was ministering to, and prayed. Prayed for others, and prayed for an opportunity to see his dear friends.

He wanted to pray and he prayed. And I think if he didn’t feel like praying, he prayed. And if he was discouraged, downtrodden and dismayed, he prayed. And he prayed.

Personal Touch

Now Paul is asking the Lord in this verse for a specific request. He wants to see the Thessalonians face to face.

This may seem to be a minor issue for some, but as a fellow who spends most of his day on a computer, in video calls, discussing issues, problems and tasks to be completed, I can tell you that to be face to face is a level of communication that cannot be improved upon. Sure I can hear the inflection of a voice on a call, and sometimes if on a video call, some body language is available to interpret, but there is nothing like a firm handshake and visiting with someone “face to face”.

As a matter of fact, I have a designer in my office that I spend 15 – 20 minutes each morning to chat with, because I know I will be in front of a computer talking to a machine for hours the remaining day. That initial 15 minutes helps me remember the humanity we all share.

Paul had much less than I do in relation to communication tools, so this prayer of his must have taken on a deeper desire than I can imagine in my situation. He really wanted to see his brothers and sisters!

As a matter of fact, he breaks out in prayer in our next verse, simply laying out his desire to get to see them.

1 Thessalonians 3:11 Now may our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, direct our way to you,

Giving

Paul did not seek to visit them to let them take an offering, or to get a free will offering, or even receive a love offering. He wasn’t dropping any hints abouts what he might get from them.

But he was straightforward in telling them his desire to provide them a blessing, to provide guidance in the faith for the Thessalonians, to move them forward to maturity.

You know, I have met some believers (and been one at times) who are offended if it was inferred they were lacking in their faith. It is funny how it works out, that this act of taking offense actually reveals a lack of maturity, that those who claim to be super mature, correct in all doctrine and practice, may be the very ones who desperately need humility and a good dose of reasonableness.

James 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

The fact that Paul could breach this subject with his friends of their need in the faith, also showed an openness of communication with his people. Paul understood the humility of the Thessalonians, and wrote without fear of treading on sensitive feelings.

Now to get personal. If someone came to you and asked a question that revealed a weakness, how would you respond? Would you cut off ties with that soul, claiming they are dead to you, refusing to take a call, or respond to an email or text? Would you justify that blocking of a brother by claiming he was full of heresy, that he was a “sinner”, impure of thoughts and actions?

How would you justify your pride? How would you justify hating your brother? How would you hide from your sin?

Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

To walk with the One who is gentle and lowly in heart is to become like Him. And to be lowly of heart is to be open to our own weakness.

Oh to have the heart of Jesus!

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Psalms for Psome – Ps 74.06

2026-04-04

My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.

This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.

I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.

Psalm 74:20 Have regard for the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
Psalm 74:21 Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame; let the poor and needy praise your name.

Asaph is continuing in his lament over the destruction of the tent of meeting/sanctuary, and in this verse, he comes to a plea for God to remember His covenant with Abraham. God has made promises to the nation that seem to be failing under the watchful eye of Asaph, and he now pull the contract out, and lays it before the Lord.

Is this a move that could be interpreted as insulting, as if the Lord, the all knowing has forgotten something, even forgetting something as important as His word for His people? Is Asaph making a move that is too pushy, too “in your face” before the Lord?

I think not. It seems God relishes the faithful to remind Him of His Word, to recount of His promises to those who seek to know His will.

Isaiah 62:6-7

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth.

An amazing passage, as Isaiah is speaking of those in Jerusalem who are constantly pleading with and reminding God of His word, or His promises to the nation.

Jesus spoke also of the characteristic of the believer, describing the saint as one who never stops “bothering” God.

Luke 18:2 He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.
Luke 18:3 And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
Luke 18:4 For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man,
Luke 18:5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’”

This widow was seeking justice, seeking for righteousness to be performed before a judge who cares little about the problem. How are we to interpret this story of Jesus when our Judge is ONLY concerned about justice, when our Judge is Righteousness Himself?

We could sit back, and knowing that our God is Righteous, that He is a Judge who will make things right, and rest in this fact. But the Lord speaks of His people “bothering” the Lord, pestering Him, and bringing His Word before Him, reminding Him of the relationship we have, of the promises He has graciously given, and that we trust in.

Asaph was doing what God wanted, facing an incredibly difficult time, yet finding refuge and hope in the promise of God.

May we take instruction from this saint of old, and continue to be before the Lord, reminding Him of His great promises, and thanking Him for the greatest fulfillment of His promises, Jesus our Savior!

2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

Yes – Jesus is all of it, and as we grow to know Him, we find He is the promise we can rely on, even in dark days when all is falling apart, when the very sanctuary of God seems to be in tatters. He is still the complete fulfillment of all of God’s promises for His people.

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Names of God – Greater than the Temple – 268

2026-04-03

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

268

Greater than the Temple

Matthew 12:6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.

Jesus walked amongst people who were devoted to the temple. Even the most “unwashed” of the nation reverred the temple, though they despised those who abused their power within it. The Temple was the glory of the city of Jerusalem, and represented a time when the very presence of God was with the nation.

Those days had passed, and the glory of this temple was merely physical, for the Lord had left the Temple centuries ago, prior to it’s destruction by the Babylonians as Ezekiel witnesses in his vision he recorded in Ezekiel 10.

After the completion of their captivity, the Lord provided the opportunity for the Jewish remnant to return to the land, and rebuild the temple. Some of the elders of the nation, that had seen the first temple of Solomon, wept when they saw the foundation of the Second Temple.

Ezra 3:12 But many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers’ houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when they saw the foundation of this house being laid, though many shouted aloud for joy,

Those who witnessed the first, were weeping, not necessarily out of joy for the rebuilding progress, but because this temple was smaller than Solomons. The required resources to rebuild Solomons temple were not available, and the temple would be a dim reflection of the first one.

And yet, in the building of the temple, as the people were dismayed and discouraged, a prophet by the name of Haggai appeared on the scene. He spoke of the temple, the need to construct, the refusal to compare with the old memories and of the glory of this second temple.

Haggai 2:9 The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the LORD of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the LORD of hosts.’”

Facing a temple reduced in size and in resources, Haggai had the nerve to say it’s glory would be greater than Solomon’s temple. Surely you jest Haggai, for it is but a mere echo of the glory of Solomon’s temple.

Five hundred years later, a young Rabbi entered that second temple and as He spoke to the building managers (the Pharisees) about the Sabbath – a tremendously important day for them – He declared Something greater than the temple was present.

Talk about nerve!

But could Haggai have been thinking of more than the size or cost of the physical temple when he prophesied? It seems the elders who wept at the reduced foundation size of the second temple were distracted from the truth. The Messiah would out shine any building, and beyond that, He would BE the temple.

Such an audacious statement concerning His superiority over the temple must have stunned the crowd. Stunned them, or at least confused them as they continually looked to the building as their focus of allegiance.

But our Messiah goes further. His statement concerning the raising up of the temple, though thoroughly misunderstood, was proven by His resurrection.

John 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

He is the Temple of the Living God. No building could compare to the Glory of the Son, and any effort to construct any temple in the future is spitting in the face of the Father’s gift to all mankind.

Let us consider how we, as believers in the Body of Christ are to focus on Him only. He is the Temple and any building we meet within is simply a shell to protect us from the elements.

Remember – even today, He is Greater than the Temple.

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Conditional Security – Philippians 2:12-13

2026-04-02

Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

Sorting through my past posts on this topic and was quite surprised that I hadn’t dedicated a posting to the verse above. How could I have missed a passage that provides support for the conditional security such as this one?

Consider the verse, and try to understand the heart Paul had in writing it. He loved this church, likely more than any other church he had birthed. He sought the best for them, and even in this verse, he expresses confidence that the saints were obeying. Note that he does not say that he was confident that the saints were believing. No no no.

If Paul was to encourage a saint, he looked to the fruit of obedience for topic matter. Believing can be so “malleable”, but acts of faith, of service and of spiritual worship are forged in the indelible framework of time and can not be revised, edited or interpretated with alternate understandings. The works that are past are fixed in time and provide proof of what is important to the one being examined.

Paul had examined these saints while he was amongst them, and saw that their obedience was giving evidence of the faith they espoused.

Now he seeks their continued obedience, as he encourages them with the challenge to work out their salvation. With fear and trembling.

Now I can not tell you what was going on in the recesses of Paul’s mind at the time of this writing, but a guess would be that there was something to fear if these saints did not work out their salvation.

Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Of course my Calvinistic brothers would refer to the very next verse to remind us that it is God who is working in the believer, and for that I am eternally thankful. God is a faithful God, a loving and caring God who seeks our best.

But the passage does not say that God forces His work into our lives, or that we have no choice in the matter. God is present, He is powerful, and He seeks our best, but as I and my Calvinist friends agree on, we are a sinful people – a people that tends to walk away, to ignore the whispers of God, to forget His promises and take the easy road to often.

God is working in our lives and as we obey we have many many blessings in our lives, most of which is the knowledge of the Living God being active and personal in our own soul. This is an incredible truth, and one which we should treasure.

So why did Paul mention fear and trembling? Let’s think about this for a moment.

If we are a people that are eternally secure, disobedience causes the loss of eternal rewards. I cannot number the times I used this reasoning in my former belief was that. I simply did not entertain the thought that disobedience would potentially strain or fracture a relationship with the Father and Son. No – that did not fit my thinking at that time, for I was committed to a salvation that was of a contractual nature, and not of the relational nature.

But let’s suppose I am incorrect in my current understanding, and salvation includes the teaching of eternal security. Once saved always saved! Let’s assume OSAS is true for a moment. If so, I suppose one way Paul might have motivated the saints in Philippi would be to instruct him to work out his salvation with self interest and a “godly” desire.

Paul could remind the believer of his rewards! Admittedly the loss of rewards would bring shame on the believer before the throne, but wouldn’t Paul’s message resonate with the faithful Philippian saint by appealing to the rewards as opposed to the fear and trembling of loosing that relationship with the Father. It is in the interest of the saint to gain more rewards!!

I know – that is crass, vulgar and not called for. But you get my point.

We are to work out our salvation with a fear and a trembling that is settled in our soul, a fear that our old nature may rear it’s ugly head and we pay attention to it. We are a people that are easily distracted by the the lusts of the flesh, the world and the pride of life!

1 John 2:16 For all that is in the world–the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life–is not from the Father but is from the world.

We are a people who are to fear, even tremble at the thought of not pleasing the One who calls us to Him. Is this a debilitating fear, a trembling of heart that cripples us into inaction? If this is your continual experience, I dare say the fear and trembling you are experiencing is not of the Father. Yes – there may come times when the realization of how great He is knocks us down, floors us before Him. The prophets of old experienced this often. (See Psalms for Psome – Ps 36.00 for a discussion on men of old facing God and falling down!)

Yet they rose up and did mighty things. His is the invitation to a life of adventure, of listening to His will and walking in obedience.

Who cares about rewards when we can walk with the Almighty, and experience His loving care.

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Life of David – 38.01

2026-04-01

David and Michal

As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.

Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.

2 Samuel 6:16-19
16 As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart.
17 And they brought in the ark of the LORD and set it in its place, inside the tent that David had pitched for it. And David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
18 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts
19 and distributed among all the people, the whole multitude of Israel, both men and women, a cake of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins to each one. Then all the people departed, each to his house.

Michal, David’s first wife, the youngest daughter of Saul didn’t join David in this effort to bring the Ark of the Lord back to the center of Israel’s public life.

This effort to retrieve the Ark of the Lord appears to be of no real importance to her, for she remaining in the Kings house during this celebration. Of course, David may have instructed her to stay back, for fear of another judgement falling on some that are near the ark, but that seems highly unlikely. Her staying back, while all of Israel was joining in on the festivities and celebration seems to tell us a bit about this lady.

First, she had no desire to be involved with the God of Israel. We would do well to remember that Michal was raised in a family that was led by a man who suffered from fits of insanity. He was driven by jealousy, and at least once, resorted to the guidance of a witch. He abandoned God years before, and his life reflected that of a man out of control.

Secondly, she was better than the rest of Israel. I speak this sarcastically, in that she did not join David amongst the people of Israel. It is instructive to note that the text speaks of “the people”, “the whole multitude of Israel” and “all the people”. Also the text speaks of her looking out on the procession, and especially on David. This term often speaks of looking down, or looking out and down, or to look down on. Now it may reflect the notion that she was simply physically on a second floor, or a raised structure, but due to her inner reaction, I am seeing a self loving, privileged woman in Michal.

She had no desire to be with the God of Israel, and no desire to be amongst the “riff raff”, those ordinary people. She seemed to like being away from others.

It turns out she got what she wanted, for she died as a lonely childless woman.

David, on the other hand was in the midst of the procession, having removed his royal clothing, dancing and leaping before the Lord. After the procession had completed the safe transport of the Ark t the Temple, David offered offerings to the Lord.

I assume this is not David directly making the offerings, as this action was the sole responsibility of the priests. His part in the offerings was to supply the offerings. Nevertheless, the celebration centered on two types of offerings.

Burnt Offerings

The burnt offering is the sacrifice of a complete, unblemished male animal, totally burned on the altar. Prior to the consumption of the fire, the animal was to be skinned, with the hide given to the priests. The sacrifice represented the complete offering to God for atonement for sin, to satisfy God’s wrath, and a total surrender to the will of God.

This is a monumental action on the part of David and all of Israel, for this burnt sacrifice had not been offered for decades by the nation. To bring the Ark back into the tent meant all other actions associated with the worship of God was available to the people, and this lapse in worship by the nation needed to be confessed before the Lord.

Peace Offerings

The peace offering was an sacrifice that represented fellowship between the Lord, His priest’s and the people. The offering represented a reconciliation between the people and the Lord as they shared in the consumption of the offering. Although there were variations on the peace offering, for David to take part in this offering speaks of his understanding that the nation was in good standing with the Lord, that the sacrifice of the burnt offering had been accepted.

Out of this period of reconciliation to the Lord came a celebration of blessing on the people. Food was distributed to the people of Israel, and there was much rejoicing.

It was a fantastic day of rejoicing and reconciliation. David must have been on top of the world. But as it is with so many spiritual high times in our lives, the enemy will immediately seek to tear us down with those he can influence. And as he went home, David would have to meet up with Michal, a self loving privileged woman.

It is stories such as this one that highlight the great blessing of a family being one in worship, one in allegiance and one in dedication to the Father of the Lord Jesus.

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LOVE

GROW

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David’s Assumptions

Nathan’s Assumptions

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Defend

Cause

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Prayer

Personal Touch

Giving

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Burnt Offerings

Peace Offerings

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