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
Absalom
Suspended between heaven and earth
2 Samuel 18:9 And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.
John 8:28 So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me.
Back in the fourth installment of the Absalom series, we discussed how Absalom was hung on a tree, being a shadow of the Messiah.
This post will focus on the spatial location of the men as they hung on a tree. To be specific, both men hung between heaven and earth. The significance for Absalom hanging between heaven and earth seems to be somewhat strange. Why would the author bring this phrase into the story line? That is an unknown in my mind, other than for the author to show Absalom’s utter helplessness, that he had no where to find support from, or that he belonged neither on earth or in heaven. Pure conjecture on my part regarding Absalom.
Regarding Jesus, the image of Him suspended between heaven and earth is much more obvious to me. The only support He had was the nails through His body, and His determination to complete His mission while on earth. He was (and is) the perfect God man, representing both earth and heaven. He was (and is) the only One who bridged the gap between heaven and earth for us while on He hung on the bloody cross.
He sacrificed Himself for the likes of Absalom and myself. He is so good and He is calling out to you, even today.
Consider Him, hanging between heaven and earth in order for you to know the true God and His Son Jesus Christ.
May His name be praised today.
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.
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.
80
CHRIST THE LORD
Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Here we have the Christ being defined as the Lord.
At first glance we may assume Luke is combining Christ with the primary name of God as LORD, as in Genesis 2:4, using the Tetragrammatron JHVH.
Not so.
If I had been in Luke’s shoes, I would have emphasized the connection of this young baby with the eternal One, the Creator of heaven and earth, the omniscient One who is all powerful.
But we can be thankful that I was not in Luke’s shoes at the time, writing this passage of truth. I would not have done this passage justice.
No.
Luke brings to our ears the message that Christ is the Master. To say that may seem redundant, for as the Jewish nation was awaiting their Anointed King to arrive, it should have been obvious to all that He would be the Leader, the Master, the One who would be obeyed.
That is the expectation of the masses. The Christ was the One who would be the Master, the One to follow after and to go behind as He conquers those who were oppressing the nation, and that they would eventually become the nation above all other nation. What heady expectations!
Yet Luke provided this description of the lowly baby, for He would turn out to be completely beyond the expectation of the crowd, as He would be the Servant of prostitutes, the Teacher of the tax collector, and the self sacrificial Lamb of God.
To understand the Christ as being a servant, a teacher and a martyr, Luke wisely reiterated the Christ as the Master, for without that description no one would understand, no one would bend the knee to such a “disappointment” of their expectations.
He was a totally different type of Master than expected!
As you have walked with the Anointed One, have you morphed in you understanding of who He is as a Master? Do you understand His way of life, his method of conquering His enemies through service, sacrifice and selfless love?
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.
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.
79
CHRIST OUR LIFE
Colossians 3:4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Our life does not consist of hours and minutes, for that is simply a period of time that allows us to serve and self maintain.
Our life does not consist of consuming bread, for that only extends our physical life.
Our life does not consist of labor, for that only enables us to buy the bread we consume.
Our life does not consist of the vanity of pride, which we are caught up in and that distracts us from truth.
Our life does not consist of acquisition of things, such as cars, homes and clothing, for that only provides shelter for us as we live on this globe.
Our life, according to Paul, consists of the Anointed One, the Christ.
Our life is actually invisible to us currently, but there shall come a day when we shall see the centrality of Him, that He is our life.
Until then, we walk by faith, and seek to know Him better, in order that He may consume us, weaning us from those things we so often consider to be our lives.
Let us thank Him for all He is to us, that He is our life, and that we may live in Him, content and finding Him sufficient for all our needs and wants.
He is the Christ, our life.
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.
12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’
It all depends on “them”. Who are the “them” in verse 16.
I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth.
I can see that this passage may refer to them as being teachers not in the Body of Christ, but allowed by the Body of Christ to hear their teaching. Teaching that provided justification for sin, and of the Nicolaitans. The Nicolaitans teaching is unclear in my mind, and at this time, I do not think I should explore this specific topic. Sufficient for the topic at hand is that the church of Pergamum was allowing heretical teachers into their fellowship.
Who is the “them”?
So when the Lord speaks in verse 16, stating that He will “war against them”, a couple of questions rise up.
Believers?
Are these teachers believers? Have they wandered from the truth, and need to be retaught with the Sword of the Lord, which often speaks of the truth of the Scriptures. After all, in the introductory verse to this church, Jesus describes Himself as the One who has the sharp two edged sword.
Revelation 2:12 ESV – “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
Previously, in the book of Revelation, Jesus is described as the One from whom a sharp two-edged sword came out of His mouth, representing His words.
Revelation 1:16 ESV – In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
Finally, we all recognize the passage in Hebrews where the Scriptures are associated with a two edged sword.
Hebrews 4:12 ESV – For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
If they are believers, they stand in a precarious position, and hopefully the truth of the Scriptures will bring them back into the narrow way. We know the Scriptures have that power and with the help of the Spirit, we know that those who have taught error can repent and return to the faith.
Unbelievers?
If these “them” are unbelievers, it is uncommon to use the “sword” image as a weapon against unbelievers.
If these teachers entered into the fellowship without bending the knee to the Lord, the fault may lie at the doorstep of the church itself, for accepting those who know not the Lord. This is pure conjecture on my part, without any judgement from myself as I have often been deceived by those who say they are believers but have taught error!
Nevertheless, if these “them”, upon whom the Sword of Jesus mouth will be weilded, are unbelievers, will come upon them if the church does not repent.
The command is for the church to repent.
If the church does not perform corrective action upon these false teachers, thereby instructing the false teachers of their error, Jesus will come to the church.
To the church of Pergamum, which harbors false teachers, accepting them in a spirit of inclusion and diversity(?).
As you can tell, this passage is not clear in my mind as to the recipients of the judgement, and it’s intended result. No matter though, for the picture presented is not a desirable situation and as the church, we need to be vigilant in who we accept as teachers for our sometimes “itchy” ears.
If, as you read this post, you have suggestions to assist in understanding the message, I would appreciate your thoughts in the comments below.
Thanks again for joining me in this series.
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
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.
1 Samuel 18:12- 16
12 Saul was afraid of David because the LORD was with him but had departed from Saul. 13 So Saul removed him from his presence and made him a commander of a thousand. And he went out and came in before the people. 14 And David had success in all his undertakings, for the LORD was with him. 15 And when Saul saw that he had great success, he stood in fearful awe of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, for he went out and came in before them.
Fear. A natural result of departing from the Living God. Yet even in this maelstrom of emotions that Saul was experiencing, some lucidity seemed to come to him occasionally.
Yes the Lord had departed from Saul, and Saul was reminded of this daily as he saw David minister to him in his royal court. Saul had lost the kingdom, lost the Lord, and lost his sanity, and David was obviously becoming the benefactor of this transition of privilege.
So in the midst of envy, possession and fear, Saul made another decision. His failure to kill David must have only amplified his feelings of inadequacy, and this constant reminder when he saw David may have fueled this decision to send him out to war.
Yes, send David out into the wars.
Saul sent David out so he can find some temporary peace. Anything to provide relief from this constant realization that his future was in trouble. And David represented this trouble, a very obvious reminder that his days were numbered.
Yes, send David out into the wars.
Men die in war and David’s “luck” may just run out. How illogical to think that the one whom God has chosen to replace Saul would be in danger of being a victim in battle. This is typical of those who do not consider the reach of the saving hand of God.
Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the LORD’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;
If God’s hand is on a man (or woman), that one is indestructible until God has accomplished His will through and in them.
David would experience success in all his undertakings, which only fueled Saul’s fear of David more. The passage shows the growth of Saul’s fear, in verse 12 to Saul’s fearful awe of David, in verse 15. Fearful awe.
David was simply listening to the Lord, acting with wisdom, performing his duties and doing as required. Twice in our passage, (verse 13, and 16) we find that David “went out and came in before the people”. David was becoming a man of the people, gaining in recognition and stature in the eyes of the nation he served.
But in David’s faithfulness, two very different reactions resulted.
The people of Israel and Judah loved him.
King Saul only saw David as a greater threat, and became more fearful. It seems that Saul’s short term solution to his problem only added to his long term problem of David’s ascension in the nation.
So what could Saul do? What could he do to control David, to gain power and influence over David?
What could he do? Killing him didn’t work. Having Israel’s enemies kill him didn’t work.
In our next installment, King Saul finds another way of controlling David.
See you then.
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.
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
Absalom
Pierced in the side
2 Samuel 18:14 Joab said, “I will not waste time like this with you.” And he took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak.
John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. …
Both Absalom and Jesus suffered the piercing of the side to ensure their death.
Both Absalom and Jesus suffered this at the hands of their enemy.
Both men were struck in the heart by a piercing.
It is said that the spear entered Jesus side and pierced the heart, and this can be seen by the blood and water that flowed from His side.
Both men were pierced while helpless to defend themselves. One of them never expected this type of death. One of them fought to undergo this humiliation.
It is truly amazing that we have a Savior that would be so humbled, even to the point of being identified with a man such as Absalom.
Or myself.
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.
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.
78
CHRIST OF GOD
Luke 9:20 Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”
Our name of God this morning is found in the gospel of Luke, and comes as an answer to Jesus direct question to Peter.
Who am I Peter?
This is the question of the ages for everyone to answer. Many confessed willingly, without being challenged, such as the woman at the well in John 4. The woman was clearly taught by the Master that He is the Christ.
John 4:25-26 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
With Peter, Jesus had spent a couple years with the Master and had seen or been a participant in all of the Master’s miracles so far. Not only that, he had been the recipient of his wife’s mothers healing and an amazing amazing catch of fish.
Who am I Peter?
The conversation started out as a simple request from the disciples about the rumor mill amongst the crowds on who Jesus was. Of course as we read the verses prior to Peter’s confession, Jesus was praying alone, and the Lord simply stopped in His prayers, asked a general question about the crowds, and then focused in on Peter.
Who am I Peter?
The Christ of God.
The Anointed of God.
Note the definite article “the”. He is not a Christ of God, one of many. He is the Christ of God, the One anointed by God to fulfill all the promised of God throughout the Old Testament, that would be the deliverer, the King of Israel, and the King of Kings.
Immediately after this confession, Jesus forbid them from speaking of it, and began to tell them of his future sacrifice. How utterly unexpected! I tell you we often do not consider the astounding multiple shocks these disciples underwent to follow after Him. Speaking of death when He should be speaking of reigning. Speaking of silence when they should be shouting from the rooftops.
But He was the Christ, the Anointed One, and His directions were to be followed. Thankfully, the apostles, confused as they were, continued to follow.
And Peter was the one who confessed, after the Christ of God had finished prayer.
I wonder who Jesus was praying for?
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.
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.
77
CHRIST JESUS
Romans 3:24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
When my list of the names of God revealed todays topic, that is the name “Christ Jesus”, I want to be honest with you – I was intimidated with addressing the Master’s name in a proper, accurate respectful and loving manner.
Not that His majesty would be affected by my failure in properly describing Him, for His being cannot truly be tarnished by a lowly believer trying to do his best for Him.
After all, He is the One who can take a cripple and make him walk, or find a mute deaf man and provide communication skills to him. He is the One who is always showing grace, exhibiting His mercy, providing patience and longsuffering to His disciples, bringing them from glory to glory.
He is the Anointed One (Christ), the Savior (Jesus).
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.
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
When we last got together on John 15, we were discussing verse 2 and 3, and the relationship of pruning and cleansing. We saw the two types of branches, and the actions taking on them based on their fruitfulness. Of course we considered what Jesus meant for the non-fruit bearing believer when He used the term “take away”, and couldn’t come to a conclusion as to His meaning given the verse we were looking at. Did it mean to raise up, as in raising the branch our of the dirt , or did it mean removal of the branch form the vine?
Hopefully the next few verses will assist in our understanding.
Verse 4 is a defining verse in this passage, for Jesus identifies who the branches are. It may have been assumed previously, but now there is no doubt. The branches are disciples.
Their responsibility? Abide in Jesus. This is a command that is to be obeyed, and out of this obedience, a fruitfulness occurs. Don’t get this backward though. Working at being fruitful is not the intent of this passage. Jesus isn’t saying that we should force fruitfulness out of our lives, as if that were possible. No. He says to abide in Him.
To Abide
The Greek term is menō. Synonyms for this word include remain, dwell, continue, tarry and endure.
For the disciple to continue having the life of God course through his (spiritual) veins, he has to remain in Christ. His responsibility is to stay put, to continue with Christ and not to “not abide”.
Yet in this passage Jesus brings to the disciples thoughts what are the consequences if anyone does not abide in Jesus….
This is the picture of the one who started as a branch, but decided to move on to something “better”. This disciple did not abide, he did not stay in Christ.
What is the reaction of the Father? As a Master Vinedresser, He tends the vineyard, finding unconnected branches, possibly with green leaves and fruit hanging from it, and throws the unconnected branch away. The unconnected branch may have the appearance of life, but since it is not connected to the life giving source of the True Vine, it is only a matter of time before the leaves turn brown, and the branch dries out.
The one who chooses not to abide in the True Vine is thrown away, eventually to be gathered together with other unconnected branches, to be thrown in fire.
Now that is some harsh teaching!
When Jesus brings the picture of burning and fire into the monologue, might Jesus be referring to hell as we modern believers understand it? A fire of eternal torment? This particular passage does not address this topic fully of course, and other Bible passages may provide alternate understandings of fire in a believers existence.
Might the fire refer to a fire of consumption? That is a fire that consumes whatever is thrown into it?
Another possible understanding is that the fire is a fire of purification, intending to burn off waste in order to cleanse.
Whatever the fire means in this passage cannot be something to look forward to. And it surely is not the intended end of a believer.
John 15 is very comforting to believers of all stripes, and I used to love reading it, skipping over the “difficult” parts, but it may be wise to tackle those very parts, in order to truly enjoy the comforting parts.
What are your thoughts on this passage? Have you a comment to offer on this passage and the provided teaching? I would love to hear anything you may say, especially from those who may disagree.
Nevertheless, may the Lord give you peace and strength to stay put in Christ, to abide in Him. He is the True Vine!
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
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.
1 Samuel 18:10-11
10 The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. 11 And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice.
Envy had gripped King Saul by the throat and was beginning it’s death choke. The king couldn’t get beyond the woman’s celebration of his and David’s victory. To attribute more victories over the Philistines to David than to the great King Saul infuriated him, and put David squarely in his sights.
Did David intend to become a target of the King? Absolutely not. Did the women know they were placing David in harms way? No. Yet this envy of Saul would lead him down a very dark path, to the point of attempting to kill his greatest asset multiple times.
Saul’s envy opened the door for another influence that would amplify the illogical thinking the envy had begun. Saul was on a path that began a rapid descent into madness, and in the mysterious plan of God, God sent a harmful spirit to Saul to torment him. Saul knew this spirit, for God had sent it to Saul previously, to torment him due to his bad decisions, and evil actions.
Consider the following verses, and note that the harmful spirit was always from the Lord.
1 Samuel 16:14 Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him. 1 Samuel 16:15 And Saul’s servants said to him, “Behold now, a harmful spirit from God is tormenting you. 1 Samuel 16:16 Let our lord now command your servants who are before you to seek out a man who is skillful in playing the lyre, and when the harmful spirit from God is upon you, he will play it, and you will be well.” 1 Samuel 16:23 And whenever the harmful spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand. So Saul was refreshed and was well, and the harmful spirit departed from him. 1 Samuel 18:10 The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. 1 Samuel 19:9 Then a harmful spirit from the LORD came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre.
Saul was experiencing torment from this harmful spirit for days in this passage, raving about the house like a madman. As was David’s lot in life at this time, he was to calm the king, especially during these times of possession, but David’s faithfulness simply gave Saul the opportunity to nail David to the wall.
And Saul took this opportunity.
TWICE!
The text says that David evaded Saul’s spear twice. What is with this young shepherd? Saul exposes his intentions and yet David returns to minister to his King. Was it not David’s responsibility to minister to the King, especially in these times of madness? David returned because it was his responsibility. He was faithful, even though Saul made multiple attempts of killing him, to fulfill his ministry to the king, despite the king’s envious eye being directed to him.
Jesus also continued to minister to those who hated Him and sought His destruction. He asked the Father to forgive His murderers, even while hanging on that wretched cross, and He continues to do so even today. He is constantly reaching out to those who, without cause, despise Him.
He is a faithful Savior. Don’t be a madman and reject His ministry to you. He will provide a peace that is beyond understanding once you come to submit to His reign in your life.
He is King and Lord.
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.
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
Absalom
No Blemish
2 Samuel 14:25 Now in all Israel there was no one so much to be praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
1 Peter 1:19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
No blemish.
This likeness is typical of the way Jesus’ character is sometimes reflected in the Old Testament, by describing what a man may physically see. Absalom was without blemish. Stunning in stature, a handsome hulk, a real attractive he-man!
The word “blemish” in the Old Testament can speak of a spot or defect, either in the physical or the moral. This reference to Absalom is surely speaking of him as having no physical blemish in him since the verse speaks of no blemish from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. The passage speaks of his handsomeness, and to his entire body being without blemish. The author was making a point! He was a looker!
Now, we all know of those amongst us that have that physical quality that draws your eyes to them, that is not only the most handsome man in the room but also has the personality and charisma that draws people to them. Based on appearance and personality. What they look and sound like.
Not so with the Lord. He is described elsewhere in the Word as ordinary, without the appearance of majesty, without beauty and nothing of outward appearance that would draw us to Him.
Isaiah 53:2
For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
Two men without blemish. Two men without defect or spot. We understand Absalom was described this way in the physical, and yet we know he had a very large and dark blemish in his character. Nothing spiritually stands out about this man, other than he is not godly, not spiritually appealing, not without spiritual blemish.
But consider Jesus, who is without blemish in His character, without blemish in His relationship with God the Father, without blemish before man, though they seek to find fault! This is simply a reflection of their own darkness, for darkened hearts seek to reject the light.
Yet His unspotted character cannot be denied, and though some try to deny, the Father validated His Son through the physical resurrection.
He is the spotless Son of God, a lamb without blemish, that was sacrificed for our souls! May His name be praised!
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.
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.
76
CHOSEN PORTION
Psalm 16:5 The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.
In our last post, we considered “Chosen One” as a name for God, and spoke of the contrast between the use of the name. Essentially the name “Chosen One” refers to God’s decision to pick the Messiah, that is was an action between God and the Son.
With our name of God in this post, we have a different dynamic being described. As David mentions the LORD as his “Chosen Portion” He is speaking of his choice to prioritize God over all else. The emphasis is on the elevated relationship the believer decides on between him and the Messiah.
In the Old Testament, the portion often referred to an allotment, or part of the family inheritance. That which each son could look forward to due to his being in the family. As I read David, I sense he is prioritizing the LORD over any family inheritance, or even His Kingly estate. All of David’s priorities lies with the LORD, and his future condition depends not on landmass, or status as the king of Israel, but on the LORD alone.
Truly a fantastic declaration from the king of Israel.
How are your priorities today?
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.
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.
75
CHOSEN ONE
Luke 23:35 And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!”
It is amazing the amount of truth that came from the rulers mouths during the time of Jesus being on the earth! Yet the truth that came from the rulers mouths, that Jesus was the Chosen One, was filled with contempt and vitriol. The rulers scoffed at Him at His weakest moments, but as the Chosen One He was delivering them from the very hatred they poured forth. For Jesus to be called the Chosen One at this time was not an isolated event. Back in Luke 9:35, as Jesus was transfigured in front of three of His disciples, Jesus was called out as God’s Chosen One.
And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”
What a stark contrast for those three disciples who saw the transfiguration, where they witnessed the Lord in His glory, and were told of God’s choice of Him as His King.
Now the disciples were witnessing His utter rejection and humiliation. And to hear the rulers use the same title while He hung on a cruel cross!
He is the Chosen One. We have the witness of the Word, and though the rulers rejected Him, the truth stands.
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.
1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
Looking over my list of future Bible passages that speak to our topic of conditional security, I have come across the very passage that was one of the big ones that made me reconsider OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved) may not be without debate.
John 15, along with a passage in Colossians and a smattering of verses in Hebrews and Revelation all were instrumental in turning my eyes to this topic. After having worked through over 100 passages or verses in the Word in relation to conditional security, I was amazed that I had never addressed this particular passage.
Let’s consider the audience. Jesus is speaking to 12 men, men who have been following him for close to 3 years. Men who have committed to Him their lives, as much as they knew how to. Little did they understand the future revelations that would come to them, but at this time, these men showed every evidence of being true and faithful to Jesus.
Well – maybe one may show some lack of faithfulness in the near future, but that is an unknown to the group as we find them in this passage.
This passage centers around the picture of a vine, and the upkeep of the vine by the Father. Jesus begins by likening Himself to the vine, yet He qualifies the type of vine He speaks of. He describes Himself as the True Vine. This must surely have raised the eyebrows of the disciples, for they knew from their childhood teachings, that Israel was the vine of God. For Jesus to describe Himself as the true vine had some serious implications.
Israel the nation was not the true vine. This truth may have been predominant in the apostles minds. The second implication may have been that Israel the nation was simply a symbol of a reality. Now, this symbiology of Jesus being the reality of a shadow in the Old Testament would be fleshed out in future experiences with the disciples, but this is a typical teaching from the Lord while He walked with us on earth. Jesus is the True Vine, the True Shepherd, the True Temple, the True Israel. He is the fulfillment of all of the Old Testament pictures provided.
Let’s take a moment to gain some knowledge of how Israel was described as a vine in the Old Testament. God had brought the people of Abraham, Jacob and Joseph out of Egypt and planted them in the land as a vine in a vineyard. He prepared the land for the vine to grow and eventually it filled the land.
Psalm 80:8-9
8 You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. 9 You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land.
Sadly, even under the care of the Master Vinedresser, after hundreds of years of testing and failure, Israel had proven that they, the vine, had turned wild, producing wild grapes instead of cultivated, fruit.
Isaiah 5:1-2
1 Let me sing for my beloved my love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill.
2 He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes.
Further into Israel’s history, God spoke of Israel as a choice vine, a vine of good stock, yet it had become degenerate.
Jeremiah 2:21
21 Yet I planted you a choice vine, wholly of pure seed. How then have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine?
Surely there was a Vine that would not fail, that was of pure seed and that would be fruitful. Jesus is claiming this calling, and by that claim, knocked the nation of Israel out of contention for this title. But let us not forget the history of the image of the vine in the Old Testament, for Jesus is using this knowledge base when teaching His men at this time.
With Jesus establishing Himself as the True Vine, He continues with this image, describing the Father as the vinedresser. This should not be shocking to the disciples, for the Old Testament speaks of God as the One who planted the vine, cultivated it and watched over it.
Jesus then takes the picture of the vine and extrapolates the image to include branches, and begins to speak of two types of fruit. This is where is gets very interesting.
Fruit Bearing
Let’s consider the fruit bearing branch first. With this type of branch, He prunes it. To prune the branch is to kathairō. It speaks of cleansing, and when used in relation to vines, speaks of clipping useless shoots off the branch.
What I find interesting is that Jesus speaks of the disciples as already pruned, for the term for “clean” in our very next verse is katharos. Can you see a similarity of this word to the Greek word used previously?
The disciples had been pruned (cleaned) because of His teaching that He provided earlier. A pruning action had been performed on the disciples, through His teaching, that had born fruit in the disciples lives.
A question for my reader. How would you describe the fruit that was produced? What is it in the disciples lives that exhibited a fruitfulness?
Non Fruit Bearing
For those branches that are non fruit bearing, the Father will “take away”. Now it would be easy to associate this “taking away” with judgement, loss of life and condemnation, but after a bit of review, I found that this term can refer to two actions.
The first action would refer to moving something from it’s place, to take away, to remove, or to carry off. The translators use of “take away” fits this description.
A secondary interpretation of this Greek term is to lift up, to elevate or to raise upwards. As the vinedresser, the picture is that of God lifting up branches from the dirt of the field, in order to give them opportunity to thrive. This is appealing to consider yet for the sake of our discussion, it would be wise to consider both meanings as we venture through Jesus’ teaching.
With that, I will let my reader ruminate on the two different meaning of “take away” in this passage and we shall close, for this post has become a bit longer than I expected. Let’s get together again to finish up this passage. Until then, may the Lord bless you and make you a fruitful believer.
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
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.
1 Samuel 18:8-9
8 And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, “They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?” 9 And Saul eyed David from that day on.
As we ventured in our last post through David’s victory march and Saul’s development of a nasty case of envy, we made note that envy was not a possession thing, it was a character/skill thing. To be envious is to experience, even to feed a resentful awareness of someone else’s superiority.
With that understanding, we can see that Saul could do two things. Admit this envy as the sin it is, or succumb to it. As we know, Saul was not a man of self control, and he will seek to solve his problem through the use of his power as king.
Let’s remember that if Saul was simply jealous, he could take the possession from David that was causing the jealousy. But remember – Saul wasn’t jealous – he was growing envious, which in my opinion is a much bigger foe.
Envy is such a terrible foe. Envy’s victims are twofold, for the obvious victim in this case is David, but the real victim is Saul, for as we will see in future posts, Saul is driven crazy with envy, and never finds satisfaction, never attains his goal of obeying the dictates of this unsatiable envy. David the future king of Israel was entering into a trial based on Saul’s envy, a trial that would bring him to the edge of his grave.
I cannot resist reminding my reader that there was another King that was delivered up to the Romans by the chief priests out of envy.
Mark 15:10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up.
With the Lord, we know that the chief priests were successful in quieting the voice of the Lord initially, seemingly satisfying the demands of their envy, only to have the Savior rise from the grave, and forcing a greater decision upon the priests. Repent or destruction. Thankfully many of the sect of the Pharisees converted, yet some would live to see the fruits of their decision on the nation of Israel, and personally suffer their own destruction.
Back to David in our last verse, when the author stated that Saul eyed David from then on, it is fully understood that he has it in for this young shepherd warrior, this young man who has served him, this young man who delivered the nation from it’s greatest threat.
Yes, this envy would cause David much pain. But for Saul, like the chief priests in Jesus day, would cost him mounting frustration, and eventually his life!
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.
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
Absalom
Hung on a tree
2 Samuel 18:9 And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.
Acts 5:30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus, whom you killed by hanging him on a tree.
Acts 10:39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree,
What a humiliating death for the mighty Absalom. After realizing the revolt had failed, Absalom took off through the forest of Ephraim, a heavily wooded forest, on his mule. As he was fleeing, his head caught in the tree, and the mule continued on. He must have experienced at least a concussion, or possibly a broken neck, with his head stuck in some nook of a branch, since it appears he didn’t seek to escape the situation.
Yes he was as good as dead, hanging from the tree. It was just a matter of time before good old Joab came by and thrust him through with 3 javelins. Talk about overkill!
There was a period of time for Absalom to be helpless, without the power to escape and yet realizing what he had sough to do to his own father. What a horrible condition to be in, and to know that it was just a matter of time before one of his father’s soldiers came by to finish him off. Yes – just a matter of time!
We know another who hung between heaven and earth, and the time he spent hanging there must have been horrific. Absalom hung between heaven and earth by a fluke accident, a situation he would most surely have wanted to avoid, to continue his battle against his father.
Jesus fought to get on the tree, for He knew this was His Father’s will. Jesus, in order to please His Father, fought to hang between heaven and earth.
Again, we see a glimmer of Jesus, at least by accident, in Absalom’s story, and yet when we compare the shadow with the reality, there really is no comparison.
Jesus on the tree was the gateway for His resurrection and our salvation. Absalom was simply an evil man who died alone.
May we consider Jesus act of sacrifice this day as we go about our business, as we seek to represent such a loving, giving and caring 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.
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.
74
CHOSEN OF GOD
1 Peter 2:4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,
There have been men chosen of God for special callings, such as Moses, or Samson, David or Samuel. Each man chosen of God for a specific purpose. Moses as the lawgiver. David as the King. Samuel as a prophet.
Yes they were all chosen by God.
Jesus was chosen of God as a living stone in this verse, and we shall get to this description of our Savior in due course. But for this post, let us consider the description of our Lord as the chosen of God.
We often here of being chosen as a unilateral act of the chooser (God) on the basis of nothing other than the chooser’s choice. More commonly, when “chosen of God” is spoken of in our theological circles the idea of unconditional election rises to the top of our minds. Calvinism teaches that God’s election, or choice, is based solely on His sovereign will, and it (God’s choice) is not dependent on any merit or worthiness on the part of the individual being chosen.
Can we understand this teaching in relation to the One who was chosen to fulfill the greatest mission ever assigned, and to occupy the highest honor in God’s Kingdom?
Certainly we cannot assume that Jesus was chosen after having entered the human story through His miraculous birth. His choosing was prior to the foundation of the ages, in eternity past, amongst the Godhead. Yet each of the persons of the Godhead is perfection. Pure holiness. Without any defect or deficiency.
One of the Godhead was chosen, prior to creation, to provide salvation to a people who would reject Him.
The concept that Calvinism seeks to provide seems to fit the situation with the Son being chosen. Yet in the midst of this choosing, each of the Godhead realized the tremendous cost it would take from them all.
But He was chosen, sent to bear our sins, break the Father’s heart and provide a Helper that is too often ignored, or frustrated.
May we spend the time we have left on earth honoring our Savior, pleasing our Father and agreeing with the Spirit.
That is our choice. Give us strength O 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.
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.
73
CHOSEN CORNERSTONE
1 Peter 2:6-7 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
Throughout the Word, Jesus is described as the Chosen One, Chosen of God and even a believers Chosen Portion, but for our study this morning, let us consider that Peter refers to the Master as the Chosen Cornerstone.
To be chosen speaks of a decision outside of the intended chosen ones influence. It is to be picked, or to be elected by someone to an office, to a position or to a responsibility. To be chosen also speaks of selection and or an appointment to a situation.
Peter speaks of Jesus as the Chosen Cornerstone. The Cornerstone, upon which all other development, or construction refers to and is based upon. Of course Peter is not referring to the physical buildings we think of when we speak of when we mention “church”. Nothing so crass and insignificant in relation to the truth Peter is getting at. Peter is speaking of the Cornerstone upon which the entire Christian church, of all the ages, and throughout the entire globe is built upon. This Chosen Cornerstone is the lynchpin, the foundation, the Builder and Maker of the church.
Without the cornerstone, there is no building, there is no church, no body, no fellowship, no life, no salvation, no hope, no future.
He is the only reason the church exists in the world today, and as the Chosen Cornerstone, He is to be elevated as the only One to whom we look to.
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.
5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?–unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 6 I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. 7 But we pray to God that you may not do wrong–not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for.
Who is Paul writing to? Believers or professors? If professors, he is certainly giving them much encouragement in thier status with God by calling them out as saints (1:1), brothers (1:8), having the seal (1:22) and the Spirit (1:22). Yes, for Paul to consider those he addresses as brothers in chapter 1 as professors in chapter 13 causes me a discontinuity that I cannot find justification for.
Given that Paul is addressing his brothers in chapter 13, let us consider what Paul is about to say. Ok, so let us ead it one more time.
Examine yourselves, to see if you go to church enough, tithe enough, read the bible enough, or pray enough.
That is not the message at all. The question is – Are you “in” the faith or “out” of the faith. That is the challenge!
This is one of the rare instances where two words for testing used by the Greeks is used in the same verse. Kinda interesting!
The first word (Examine) is peirazō, πειράζω to test (objectively). As we say at the office – It is what it is! No intentions, emotions or subjective rational during this testing. A fact is a fact!
The second word (Test) is dokimazō, δοκιμάζω, to test if genuine, also to approve, or deem worthy after testing. This word, when I come across it in the New Testament, always brings to mind the intent that the testing is for the sake of approval, the test is given hoping that the test is passed.
For both of these words to be used, I imagine, is Paul’s way of saying the truth is harsh, relentless, unforgiving (as to the conclusions arrived by seeking it) and possibly shocking. Yet in the midst of exhorting the Corinthians to face the facts, he also has the heart of a pastor, seeking for good results, for success after the time of self testing for the believers.
Yet the topic of this blog is the possibility of these believers having fallen away, left their Savior, walked away. Unless this is a very real possibility, the test seems to be an exercise of futility, and possibly may cause more damage than intended.
Let’s say that after some self examination, I find I am out of the faith, but are still being encouraged by outside forces that “things will be alright”, “there is nothing to worry about”, and reminded that “50 yrs ago you said a prayer”. The test becomes fruitless. There is no reason to repent from your current situation.
Let’s say instead I understand that the security I have is conditional, and that I may have slipped away. This testing could save my life, bringing me back under the Lord and in the church.
These are not light teachings, and we cannot judge Paul’s intent of message based on my simple logic, but let us be careful with blanket encouragement of those who may be undergoing a self examination with bad results.
Encourage them “in the Lord”, and not with empty platitudes or distant prayers. The focus is always the Lord, our relationship with Him.
Do you know Him? As a “Christian”, do you know Him?
Paul would pray for the believers restoration. Is there a restoration for you?
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
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.
1 Samuel 18:6-7 6 As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. 7 And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”
Ok, we have three participants in this short story. We have David, who had struck down the Philistines, King Saul who was “with” David, and the women.
Yes – the women.
They meant well, but it did cause a problem. Were the women trying to cause difficulty for David, trying to “stir the pot”? Absolutely not, if I read this properly. They were rejoicing that Israel was victorious and they knew that young shepherd soldier, who was all the rage in Israel, was the reason Israel was so successful. Yes, the women were simply rejoicing, with seemingly good motives, seeking to receive the victorious back to the land!
Yet, for David, this seemingly awesome reception and acknowledgement by the some of the nations women, set up a situation that would lead to attempts on his life, for there was a wee little man, (though head and shoulders above all his subjects), that could not accept the praise being given to David.
But that may not be entirely accurate.
It might not be that the praise given to David was the problem, but that Saul wasn’t receiving top billing, that King Saul was not the most important man in the parade.
It is not that King Saul was jealous, for that emotion is typically associated with possessions, or of a third party in a relationship. I suppose jealousy may apply here, but I think a more accurate word to describe Saul’s emotional constitution would be envy.
Envy and jealousy are sometimes thought of as synonymous, but I would submit to my reader that envy speaks to a resentful awareness of someone else’s superiority. It isn’t so much a possession thing but a character/skill that allows the nasty emotion to rise to the surface!
David was a skilled warrior. King Saul was one who sent men out to battle. Poor Saul wasn’t quite happy with his lot in life.
And the women, in all their innocent exuberance, brought out the envy residing in Saul, with force. It would become all controlling!
There were times when the Lord was praised by someone in the gospels, and He commanded them to be quiet. I never understood that for many years, thinking that everyone should know, that everyone should hear of all His works. That was until I settled down in my mind and thought of situations like we are looking at in this passage.
Good intentions of truthful witness can have dire circumstances. Of course Jesus was aiming for the cross, but it would be on His time schedule, and not someone else’s.
He was in control of every element of His ministry, the good, the bad and the innocent exuberance! Jesus was in control of His revealing at every moment. Jesus understood the heart of man like no other, and orchestrated His own crucifixion through the reactions of men’s dark hearts.
What an amazing Savior!
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.
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
Absalom
Son longing to come home
2 Samuel 14:32 32 Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent word to you, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.” Now therefore let me go into the presence of the king, and if there is guilt in me, let him put me to death.’”
John 20:17 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Absalom had killed his brother Amnon, based on a convenient moral rage that he hid behind to gain advantage (I believe) to ascend to the throne of Israel. Yes Amnon performed a vile act of rape on his sister, and yes he should suffer the consequences of that wicked decision. But the judgement was not to be performed by his brother Absalom. But as we reviewed in our last post in this series, that is exactly what happened.
David’s third son killed David’s first son, heir apparent to the throne. It appears the children were watching when David took Bathsheba! David’s attitude toward women filtered down into Amnon, and began the dissolution of David’s family.
Yet, when in the darkness, as David must surely have been during these difficult days, a ray of hope is usually grasped without too much discernment. Such is the case here, when the self exiled Absalom calls unto Joab to request a return to the City of David, even to be presented before the King.
How audacious of a man this Absalom must be. Yet his very desire, though the evil intent may be cloaked with the appearance of family loyalty, indicates a normal healthy relationship between son and father. It is normal, yes even worth much for the relationship to be maintained.
For Absalom, he stated he would chance death for the opportunity to return to the King’s palace. Surely he must have been hedging his bets, but on the surface this statement is informative.
For our Lord, His desire was without mixed motives, for He left behind an eternal connection with the Father, a continual, deep, interactive and consistent relationship of holiness, love, peace and joy. At no time was there a point of friction, a discussion of differing opinions, a misunderstanding or a loss of connectedness between the Father and the Son.
Even while walking amongst us, the connection with the Father was never broken, never strained, never diminished. That is until that day when spike were driven into His hands and feet, and a sword was shoved into His chest. There was a time when the Father looked away. When Jesus was alone, all alone.
At that time, the desire to go home must have been heart crushing. Although Absalom spoke of this desire, Jesus experienced this longing like no one else.
May we be a thankful people, for a Savior such as He!
Jesus is such a Savior!
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.
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.
72
CHILD FROM THE HOLY GHOST
Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
Matthew speaks of our Lord as a child from the Holy Spirit. We do not have much in the bible record of Jesus as a child but Matthew does supply a few tidbits of information.
After providing Jesus genealogy, Matthew cuts to the chase and informs his readers that this One was not merely a King of the line of David, but from the Holy Spirit. Of course this phrase may simply speak of His origin and not His very nature of God.
Joseph, two verses later, was also informed that this baby was from the Holy Spirit, in order to calm Joseph’s fears and suspicions. Matthew further reminds us that all that was occurring with Joseph and Mary was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken in Isaiah, identifying this unborn baby as a boy, and that He will be “God with us”.
Jesus was from the Holy Spirit, and is God with us. From the womb!
There may be some who may think He attained the status of God through His obedience in His ministry to the Father, or that He received His identity by the baptism He underwent. Matthew would argue against any effort to reduce the person of Christ from being God to becoming God, right from the start of his gospel.
We might be wise to do the same, for He is the Child from the Holy Ghost, the very nature of 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.
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.
71
CHIEF SHEPHERD
1 Peter 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Peter is addressing the elders of the church. For brevities sake, I shall not enter into a discussion on my understanding of leadership in the New Testament church, suffice it to say that it comprises of two types of men. One of these type of men are called elders, and we can safely state that an elder is one of many primary spiritual leaders in the local body.
Peter provides one command for these men.
Shepherd the flock they know. There are defining phrases that describe this command that follows, but this is the principle truth Peter wants to communicate to the elders. Shepherd the flock of God that they know.
How to do this?
Exercise oversight. Watch your flock. I understand this to include some discretion in the watching, for I sense Peter is not looking for an elder to be involved in every member’s decision making process, or to directly and constantly seek to influence each member to their way of thinking.
In this oversight, the desire of the elder is positive. It is not to be a drudgery attending to the members business, but a joy to assist the member as required, to have the patience to stand still for the member to reach out.
In this oversight, money is not to be a motivator. Peter has spoken of the elders willingness previously, and here he speaks of an eagerness.
Now you may think I am describing an elder to be stand offish, out of touch, or without the ability to create and maintain relationships with their flock. Please do not read me that way. Yet the next phrase in Peters description of the proper elder is that they are not to be domineering.
This is the kick in the gut, for how many have been in a body where the “accepted elder” is the one with the most education, the highest paycheck, the most demanding of his people and yet rarely allows those of his flock to see him with his family, with the struggles he experiences. He feels he has to be the perfect one as an example, and yet I would suggest this is an act of pride and domination.
The shepherd is to be one who is visibly in need of God’s grace, humbled by his failures and faithful in allowing his flock to experience his life, warts and all.
A shepherd is to be fully human, dependent upon the Lord, in humility providing a hand to those who feel comfortable to approach him.
I may have been off topic a bit, but this is the one who is the true leader, the one who understands his weakness, allows others to see their weakness and their need for God, and that is approachable, a servant to those who need to see Jesus.
For was it not characteristic of the Chief Shepherd to self humble, to come down, to be a friend of sinners and prostitutes, to be approachable (unless you were a bit too religious!). This is the character of Christ, and per the self humbling, He has become the highest of all, and the Chief Shepherd.
Our Chief Shepherd!
And when Jesus appears, these men of service and humility will gain a crown of glory, due to their not seeking it while on earth.
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.
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. .
1 Samuel 18:1-5 1 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. 5 And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.
David has just vanquished the giant, having come out of nowhere to fight Israel’s battle.
A king, who was a literally a giant of a man amongst his people wasn’t taking the challenge. He didn’t seem to be affected by the slurs against the nation of Israel’s God. Politically, he sought someone to rescue him from this national embarrassment through the provision of gifts, his daughter and tax relief.
So a young shepherd shows up, simply being obedient to his father’s wishes, bringing sustenance to his brothers. After hearing the circumstances of the battle the Israelites were in the midst of, David takes action. Having conquered the enemy, the King asks again about David, but specifically about whose son this young man is.
As an aside, it is interesting to note that Saul was sending out a boy to battle, not concerned about his family, or who he was. This is the nature of a ruling class. Subjects are to be used for the needs of those in charge. After the victory, when Saul asks whose son this warrior is, was it to fulfill his commitment to grant tax free status to the family, or to find a resource he could take advantage of for future battles? I will leave it to my reader to decide.
Nevertheless, David was summoned and presented before the king. And a new character in David’s life appears. An Israeli prince by the name of Jonathon.
Let’s consider Jonathon for a moment. He has already established himself as a victorious, faithful soldier of the nation, a man who is a leader, as seen in his conquest of the philistine garrison is 1 Samuel 14. Not only did he take on a challenge due to opportunity and not by command – for you see Jonathon wasn’t commanded by the king to take on the garrison, but he saw opportunity and trusted God for a victory. As a matter of fact, Jonathon didn’t let his father know of his escapade.
1 Samuel 14:1 One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.
Also, take note of Jonathon’s attitude as he spoke to his armor bearer in 1 Samuel 14:6
…It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.”
It must seem obvious that when these two men met for the first time, a bond of fellowship was recognized between them. They were of kindred spirits, both men who sought ways to see God at work, who had faith in the Living God, and who risked their lives to exhibit this faith.
Surely Jonathon had heard of David, for David had been in the royal court for short periods of time prior to this, trying to satisfy both the king and his father with his presence. This was about to end, for the king was looking to take this young man from his family for his own service. David was to be in the kings court permanently.
Verses 3 & 4 speak of Jonathon and David’s connection, of Jonathon’s commitment to David, of his being bound together with David. The soul’s of these two men were “tied together” at this time, and we do not need to make any crazy assumptions beyond a friendship based on a “knitting together” of their souls.
Jonathon’s gift of supplying the robe to David was an act of the highest honor for a prince to perform. Not only did Jonathon provide this honor of supplying his robe, he went so far as to give David his armor his sword his bow and his belt.
The robe, it seems represents the royal status of the prince, and the remaining items the equipment of the soldier being sent out for the nation. Jonathon provided David the equipment he needed. For the king was keeping David near, to send him out representing the nation in battle. And as can be expected, David was successful where ever he went for the king.
And the people loved him.
The servants of Saul loved him.
Jonathon loved him.
But as we will find out, a small man like Saul began to hate him.
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.
Considering the Bible 