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Names of God – BANNER OF ISRAEL – 46

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.

46
 
BANNER OF ISRAEL
 
Psalm 60:4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you, that they may flee to it from the bow. Selah
The background to this psalm is the victory over Edom in the wars described in 2 Samuel 8:3-14. It seems that while Israel was fighting to the north and east, they were flanked by three nations (Edom, Philistia and Moab) to the south, coming in from the rear, with Israel suffering serious losses and falling into confusion.

David speaks of a banner being lifted up, for those who fear God – the true Israel – to rally about. 

When under fire all around, those who fear God will realize the banner has been lifted up for us also. 

The Banner of Israel was lifted up to defeat the enemy, and to show the way for battle. 

The Banner of Israel is our rallying point, for when we are overwhelmed, we need to return to the simple message of the One who hung on the cross, for all to see. 

The Banner of Israel is naturally the focus of those who fear God, and as we focus on Him, we come to find strength in Him and encouragement from fellow soldiers to continue the battle.

Look to the Banner of Israel as you live your day for Him.

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.

Come join us at Considering the Bible

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Philippian Bits – 3:10

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

3:10   that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,

In our last post we considered who might find Paul in Christ and understood that Paul wasn’t concerned about who was looking at him, whether it be God or man, but that he was in Christ.

So what is it to be found in Christ? Paul continues his thought by speaking of knowing Him.

To be in Christ is to know Him, and since He is the eternal One, this is an ongoing knowledge. An intimate experiential knowledge nevertheless, for Paul uses the Greek term γινώσκω ginṓskō, (not εἴδω, eídō) to identify the type of knowledge he is speaking of. 

I have written previously on this topic of experiential knowledge and refer you to an earlier post Inherit the Kingdom? Who Knew? for a personal story that may help in understanding the knowledge Paul spoke of.

We in the modern world tend to want to find ourselves, to enter into self realization, to understand what makes us tick and in that knowledge, find our place in this world. In “finding ourselves” we are able to love ourselves and then love others, or so the saying goes. 

Not sure who started the requirement for believers to love themselves, but it wasn’t the Lord. You may want to read an earlier post on this subject of self love, and how that relates to the Christian life. Check out What Jesus Probably Didn’t Mean – Matthew 22:39

Per Paul, this is the very definition of not being in Christ, but of being in self. He spoke of this aberration of Christianity a number of times. Consider 2 Timothy 3:2

For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,

Yes Paul’s desire was to know Christ, and since He is the eternal One, our knowing Him will be an eternal process, an ever increasing personal relational knowledge of His character, grace, holiness, humility and power. 

Paul want’s to “know” Him and the power of His resurrection. Is the power that Paul refers to here a continual process as is the “knowing”? Is Paul simply speaking of the last day and of his physical resurrection to life? Might Paul be speaking of a continual knowledge of His power also? Given the

Share sufferings

Like Him in his death

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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Psalms for Psome – Ps 57.02

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 57:4-5
4 My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts– the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.

5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!

David enters into a description of his enemies, possibly reflective of his condition in a cave, where he is likely in the company of various wild life. The pictures of his present condition are three-fold.

Lions

David’s first description of his pursuers is that of lions, and not that they are simply pursuing, but that he is in the midst of them. His soul is in the midst of them, his very life is surrounded by these “lions”. 

I can’t help but think of a preacher by the name of Peter, who described our lives as somewhat similar, in that we have one likened to a lion seeking us out. 

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

But as David did centuries ago, let us remember that God is a rescuing God, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is our Savior. 

The lions are real threats to our safety, but the Lion we have come to know is able to rescue. He is able!

Fiery Beasts

David speaks of lying down amongst the fiery beasts. ”Fiery beasts” is a difficult term for me to understand – What was David trying to say to the Lord? The term generally speaks of a burning, or a scorching. Destruction resulted from these beasts. Their intent was to destroy, not to consume. It was enough to simply kill for the sake of killing. 

And David speaks of lying down in the midst of this destruction. I can’t believe he was implying the beasts were overwhelming him and that he was simply giving up, lying down to accept the inevitable. No – David had a purpose, and this purpose God had for him enabled him to figuratively lie down in the midst of this danger.

I can’ t help but believe that this is much like Peter’s experience of lying down with the soldiers prior to his death in Acts 12:7?

Acts 12:7

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands.

Peter was on his way to the sword, just as James had suffered. And Peter was asleep!

Children of Men

David finishes his description of those chasing him with those who would assassinate his character, spread lies about his actions, defame his life and seek to destroy his future. Their teeth and tongues are weapons, and David’s reputation, especially in a honor based society such as Old Testament Israel, was the most sensitive area of his life. Death may come to David, but for his memory to be destroyed would be the deepest cut.

Not only would his enemies lie to find him, and use threats to get information about his whereabouts, the deepest impact for David may be the loss of any honor his name would suffer in the nation. 

Israel was an honor based society, and the greatest damage a man experienced was to be of a damaged character, a vile man, one who was not regarded by his “neighbor”. The loss of reputation, and the implication of shame on his life was a blot that he could not remove if it stuck in the general populace. 

As Jesus entered into this same social environment, we find that His reputation as a “good teacher” was stripped from Him, and He hung on a cross, taking the shame and insults flung on Him from those with tongues as sharp swords. They knew they had to defame Him to kill Him, and the enemies of God struck swiftly to accomplish their goal. 

His reputation was destroyed as He hung on the cross, shame clinging to Him, hanging with crooks and rebels, taking the place of a murderer.

But we know Jesus didn’t stay on the cross, nor did He stay in the grave. He has risen and His reputation, for those who seek the truth, has not only been restored, but elevated to a point where no man can compare or defame again. 

He is not the “good teacher” we thought He was, but God has revealed Him as Lord and 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.

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Names of God – BALM OF GILEAD – 45

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.

45
 
BALM OF GILEAD
 
Jeremiah 8:22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?
What in tarnation is balm? And is there something special about Gilead? 

The background to the question Jeremiah asks is the utter upcoming destruction of the nation of Israel. The nation created by God, and sustained by God through many trials and terrors is now on edge of captivity. God’s mercies through the ages have been many, and they have been rescued by the Father many many times. 

Yet Jeremiah fears the worst, for he is calling out to the nation to seek out the balm of Gilead, a medicinal oil that was well known for it’s healing properties in the nation of Israel. 

Of course Jeremiah was not referring to the literal balm (or oil) of Gilead, for he is speaking of the sickness within the nation of Israel. This sickness, which would bring about the captivity of Israel, was not simply skin deep, but a matter of the heart. The literal balm of Gilead was known to treat surface cuts, heal burns, and relieve pain by soothing the hurt areas on the body. Jeremiah is somewhat sarcastic in this verse, referring to the balm as if that would be the minimum effort for healing on the part of the nation. Yet as we know, no literal balm of Gilead could have healed the nation, but our Balm of Gilead, our Great Physician is able to heal, and He is the One Jeremiah is pointing to in our verse.

A little later in Jeremiahs ministry in chapter 46:11, he calls on the nation to retrieve this balm from Gilead. 

Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt! In vain you have used many medicines; there is no healing for you.

In our day and age, the balm of gilead may be purchased online. Whether it is the actual balm referred to in our verse, I will leave that to my gentle reader. No matter, for we all need to seek out our Balm of Gilead, the Great Physician, the One who heals hearts and not simply relieves pain on a surface.

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.

Come join us at Considering the Bible

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Conditional Security – 1 Timothy 6:17-19

1 Timothy 6:17-19

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.
18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,
19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Paul is amazing in his instruction, for as some of my dear brothers may suggest, to follow after the Christ is to give up all possessions, to sell your stuff and leave it all behind. For some this is the appropriate call on their lives, and to those so called, it is a high calling.

Yet Paul does not leave the rest of us without a responsibility in relation to the riches in this present age. To be rich in this present age – a phrase that speaks of the source or foundation of the riches, as opposed to the time we experience the riches. He is instructing Timothy to admonish those who have accumulated “things of this world”, material wealth, goods and investments with the following instruction . As we consider this passage, we can see that Paul is speaking of two worlds that the believer lives in, the material and the spiritual.

If a believer is not called upon to physically leave behind his goods to follow the Master (which also has a trap of producing a prideful attitude), the saint is then challenged with the requirement to prioritize his goods to a much lower level in the believers life.

Note what it is that Paul focuses on. Two “don’ts” and three “do’s”.

Don’t be haughty

A large (or medium, even a small bank account) is no reason to consider yourself better than a brother in the Lord. As I speak to my brothers in my blog, we tend to measure our success in life with the toys we have. 

This is a mindset that needs to be rejected. 

Paul is speaking of our current attitude toward others in this verse, based on the riches of this present age.

Don’t hope in material goods

Paul then breaches our faith, or our hope for the future, based on the riches we have accumulated. This is tantamount to opposing our faith in God. Each of us who have material goods needs to wash our minds and hearts of any detrimental hope we may have in our savings. 

Wisdom dictates we store up for the future, that we do what we can to prepare for the future, yet our hope is not on the material goods we accumulate, but on the God who gives us the strength each day to work, love and care for others.

Do good

Paul speaks of our actions to enter into as one who may have trusted in his goods. Do good. Simple. He simply speaks of doing good, and leaves it up to the believer to find opportunities to “do” good.

Be generous

The next two “do’s” are better described as who we are to become, and not exactly specific (or even general) actions or works we are to enter into. 

It is a state of being, to “be” generous. When an opportunity arises that can be taken care of, a generous man will do what he can to relieve it. It will be an automatic response, not necessarily a calculated response.

Be ready

Not only are we to be generous, but we are to be ready. This speaks of continuing in the attitude of generosity.

In all of this charge to the rich of this world, Paul instructs Timothy to inform the rich that this life will produce a “good foundation” for the future” in order that the rich may take hold of life.

May take hold of life? 

Isn’t he speaking to believers? Do they not have in their possession the life of God by faith in the Messiah? What is all this talk of a foundation for the future, of them leading lives that produce conditions to take hold of life?

Am I suggesting that providing generous gifts to charities and churches will get you to heaven? Not so! There is only one way and we all know it isn’t by our actions. 

And yet, it is our actions that prove we have the life.

How are your actions and attitudes lately? Have you considered the life you are living in relation to Paul’s exhortation to Timothy? 

Do good – Paul did not put any limits on this command, and be generous as the Lord directs.

Grab the life in this life. Paul gives us the instructions on how to do it!!!

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