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
Boaz
Husband to an Outsider
Ruth 4:5 Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.”
Ephesians 2:12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
Ruth the Moabite. Throughout the book of Ruth, Ruth is described 7 times as a Moabite. Even when Boaz was negotiating for Naomi’s land, and consequently “acquiring Ruth”, she was described as other than Israeli.
A Moabite.
They were a people that resulted from drunkenness, for both Moab and Ammon were fathered by a drunken Lot, having lain with his own daughters.
This nation was the one that persecuted Israel when they travelled to the promised land, making themselves to be enemies of Israel. They were the people associated with Balak, the king of Amon, bringing Balaam into the story, trying to separate Israel from their God!
They sought to curse Israel!
Moses blocked them from entering the assembly of the Lord. I have understood this blocking of any Moab to be Moses’ way of ensuring no Moab entered into a government position in the nation of Israel. There should be no Moabite in any leadership position within the nation.
They were to be rejected from participating in any civil matter!
Did Boaz realize the damaged goods he was “acquiring” when he chased after this Moabite? How shameful for a honorable Israeli to associate with one of the Moabite race!
Yet he did, and in this action of seeking an outsider he typified the Master, in that Jesus also reached out to those who were His enemies, those who had questionable heritage, those who cursed God and rejected His people.
Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
Jesus chased after damaged goods – sinners – when He chased after you and I.
Ephesians 2:12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
He chased after “strangers” to the covenant, those who had no connection to God and were outside.
Boaz acquired a wife of questionable national origin, of questionable national prejudice towards God’s people, and of a questionable religious leaning against the God of Israel.
Jesus also took a wife, comprising of strangers, sinners and enemies.
Boaz reflects in a small way the character of God. Jesus blazes out God’s character to the extreme, for He is the brightness of the mercy and grace of God!
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.
201
GOD WHO ANSWERS BY FIRE
1 Kings 18:24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the LORD, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.”
We know the story. Elijah takes on the prophets of Baal, and Asherah, a total of 950 prophets that are lined up against him. Image the intimidation, the shear volume of enemy, and yet Elijah stood.
You know, it is an easy thing to say that with God, we are a majority, but when push comes to shove, to live that out in front of a hostile government (Ahab really hated Elijah) and a hateful religious society is truly an amazing feat!
Elijah stood alone, without any support from those in Israel. His perception of the nation at this time was that he was the only one faithful to God. The Lord instructs him later, but God allowed Elijah to live in his perceptions of being alone at this time.
And what type of test was offered by Elijah? A test that puts each prophets life to be dependent on the response of the Gods they trusted in. And beyond that, the fate of the national religious life hung in the balance, depending on the outcome of a miracle.
You know, Elijah could have claimed the inherent truth of the message from God, or of the past miracles performed by God, reminding the nation of God’s guidance and protection over the centuries. But he didn’t at this time. No, it appears Elijah read his crowd, understood the situation, figgered this was a “do or die” situation. Years had passed where he preached and warned, but to no avail.
No it was show time! By that I mean, the people had to have a very real, very personal experience of God. But this experience was not to be like that of Moses, who was able to talk to God face to face, nor like Samuel, where God whispered his name, calling him into the ministry of prophet as a young boy.
The people were going to face fire!
He is the God who answers by fire, and as I read this passage, and think of Elijah’s situation, facing a culture drowning in lies and idolatry, it seems this response speaks to the peoples condition more than simply defining the true God. The miracle certainly defined the true God, but it also communicated a message that was with fire, a message tinged with judgement and anger.
And a message crouched in a miracle. A miracle for an idolatrous people. Centuries later, the Master also faced an idolatrous culture, who fought against God, and referred to signs in relation to their “faith”.
Matthew 12:39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
Matthew 16:4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.
A sign was provided for that generation, in that the sacrifice on the altar, before their very eyes was consumed (as it were by God), and by a far greater miracle, was raised from the dead.
For both cultures, fire came down on the sacrifice. Though Elijah saturated his sacrifice, dowsing it with water, the fire consumed it all to communicate the “above and beyond” character of God.
He was more than what the people may have expected.
For the Savior, the sign was the resurrection. Though completely sinless and worthy of honor and esteem, Jesus suffered the worst of punishments, in all areas of His life, as the fire of God came down to consume Him into the realms of death.
Elijah’s sacrifice was completely consumed to produce change in a nation for the short term, for they fell into idolatry again. The Messiah’s sacrifice produces life upon life as we look to Him for our daily needs.
He is much more than what we could have expected.
He is the God who answers by fire.
May we bless Him and thank Him always for His never ending care for us!
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 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 71 is a psalm written by an aged saint, a man who had walked with the Lord through many trials and triumphs. Some think this psalm represents David’s thoughts as he approaches the grave, as he ages and finds his life coming to a close.
One thing that is obvious in this psalm, that whoever wrote this psalm had an intimate experience with the Word of God. I have heard the claim that in the 24 verses of this psalm, there are up to 25 references, allusions and hints of other psalms within this reflection of an old saint. He has saturated his life with the Word, to the point that even phrasing of the old book comes through this old man’s message.
It is truly a witness of the wisdom to engage in an early and consistent immersion into the Word of God for every saint.
Let’s take a moment to consider
Psalm 71:12 O God, be not far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! Psalm 71:13 May my accusers be put to shame and consumed; with scorn and disgrace may they be covered who seek my hurt.
The psalmist has revealed his enemies thoughts in the previous verses, speaking of how God had forsaken him, and that this was the perfect opportunity to strike.
Psalm 71:11 and say, “God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is none to deliver him.”
Remember, this psalmist is a man who is aged, with grey hair and strength that was fading, as with all men who age. If this was David, he was a mighty warrior, and in his old age, had lost capabilities to defend as before. His mental and physical energy, stamina and strength has decreased, and for a warrior, this strikes at the heart of who he was.
With his weakening, and the constant trials he had went through, remaining faithful to God, it appears to be a perfect opportunity for his enemies to strike. After all, those outside of faith do not understand that the trial we as believers go through is a proof of God’s commitment to us, no a denial of His loving concern.
Hebrews 12:6 – 7
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
Truly, those of the world do not understand the life of a believer.
1 Corinthians 2:14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
Nevertheless, as the psalmist ages, and his enemies are emboldened, he cries out to God. He cries out to God, and you can almost hear his voice cracking as he begs for God to be near, and then again, but with even greater passion, owning the God he has followed all his life. O my God, make haste to help me!
The psalmist has less strength, the enemies have greater confidence, and who does this aged man of faith turn to? The One he has followed since his birth, the God who has led him through many trials.
I imagine this man to be without resource, without strength, without defense and without support. At the very least he has judged his situation to be dire and immediate. He cries out to his God for immediate help, that God would make haste!
It is true that the more immediate the need, the greater passion I have expressed to the God who is timeless. When I have plenty of time, and things are not crushing down on me, I tend to be somewhat lassiez-faire, somewhat indifferent, but let the pressure build, and then the passion erupts. Often times, in those times of crushing, God has provided his answer and provision, his wisdom and thankfully His peace. Rarely though, when my self imposed deadline for deliverance comes and goes, the Lord is in the midst of it, allowing for a period of instruction, or a realignment of my priorities.
But back to our couple verses!
Our aged man is looking for some answers to his prayers, that his śāṭan (for that is the transliteration of accusers in our verse) would experience shame.
This is a tantamount harm to inflict on an enemy, for our psalmist lived in a shame based society, a culture that defined success and failure though the estimation of a mans honor. Wealth and family were important, but nothing came close to the need for honor in a man’s life. It was the paramount goal of a man to gain honor, in the midst of all other goals.
Note also that this aged saint is praying against the śāṭan of his soul. A few of the more literal word for word translations include this idea.
Psalm 71:13 (NASB) May those who are enemies of my soul be putto shame and consumed;
Psalm 71:13 (ASV) They are ashamed, they are consumed, Who are opposing my soul, They are covered with reproach and blushing, Who are seeking my evil,
He is concerned about the only thing in this world that will last beyond the grave, for he sees this trial coming and understands the situation as an attack on his soul, not as the theft or loss of his wealth, or possibly even the harming of his family, but an attack on his very person. This is, in his cry to God, a critical fight, a fight that will cost him his own soul if he looses it.
Understanding what is at stake, he looks to God, crying out that his adversaries (śāṭan) would be covered with reproach and dishonor. Note that the honor of his enemies is the psalmist’s focus, for this is what is at stake, the highest estimation of a man’s social standing, and this is our psalmist’s desire, that the adversaries fall into disgrace.
And what is worse, (or better, depending on your point of view) is that when he seeks them to be covered, he is speaking of their very plans to backfire on them. To be covered in this verse, is to wrap oneself up, to enwrap. A self inflicted harm. Some act or plan that not only avoids harming the psalmist but falls on the protagonist, the adversary essentially falling into his own trap.
How often we see this in the Word, where the saint stands back, and the very trap the antagonist lays for the saint is the very trap the antagonist suffers. Without a doubt, I think of Esther and Haman as an example of this principle. How utterly satisfying, to not take revenge, and yet see justice!
How critical it is for us as believers that we find our strong refuge in God Himself and not our own strength, our own cunning, our own abilities. In a very real and personal way, as I am entering my sunset years, I need to view this weakening, this loss of ability as one of God’s intended gifts to a receptive believer. May it be so!
I had also hoped, as I aged, that my adversaries may also weaken with me. If this psalm has wakened me to a specific truth, it may be that according to the wisdom of God, my adversaries may not lessen. They may increase in confidence over me, increase in ability compared to my strengths. They may see weakness, well and true, yet I have a strong tower to resort to.
May we all, as we travel through our last years, though we be 18 or 80, have the clarity of mind and desire of heart to cling to the One who gave it all for us.
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.
200
GOD THE FATHER
John 6:27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.
For on Him God the Father has set His seal.
What is it that Jesus is trying to tell us in this brief statement, as He speaks of God as “God the Father”.
First off, He is not speaking of God His Father, though it be very true, but of God the Father, leaving the ownership of God’s Fatherhood to those who truly want it.
Next, note that we are in the middle of a passage that speaks of Jesus being the Bread of Life. Eventually the Messiah will experience large scale rejection by the crowds due to His teaching in this passage. In this passage, He is answering questions with teaching that cuts to the heart, and in the middle of this teaching, provides encouragement to those who “hang on” to His words.
One way He encourages those listening to remain with Him, is when He speaks of the sealing of His ministry by God the Father. Whether this sealing is understood by the many miracles Jesus provides or the voice from the heavens during His baptism, declaring Jesus to be “God’s beloved Son”, it is of key importance to note that God has provided the church verifiable evidence of the Messiah’s identity.
For the folks during this message, it may have been the miracles, or as I suggest, the baptism of the Messiah.
But Carl, that was for them. What about us?
We have such a more sure proof of sealing, to know that Jesus is the Christ, that He is the Messiah promised from of old, for He is the only One who has left His grave!
He is the Risen Messiah,
Remember Paul’s statement in Romans 1:4, where he describes Jesus as …declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, ‘
God the Father is the One who not only sent but sealed our Messiah, giving us verifiable evidence for our faith to rest in. This is good news for the weary soul!
A final reminder.
Though God spoke of Jesus as “His Son”, Jesus spoke of God, in this instance, as God the Father. He did not speak of God as His Father, somehow implying God was His and His alone. God the Father is for all who seek Him and hang on during those times when things get tough, when times are hard and things are confusing, as it must have been for the disciples in this message.
Hang on, for God the Father has sealed His Son!
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.
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
Boaz
Provider
Ruth 2:14 And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over.
John 21:12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord.
Let’s remember that at this point in the story, Ruth is a beggar, a foreigner associated with Naomi, having come to Israel due to very bad circumstances back home and an initial faith in the God of Israel. This faith in Israel’s God had not, at this time of the story, granted her great wealth and health, but simply the lowly work of gleaning the fields after the reapers had taken their haul for Boaz.
Granted, Boaz had learned of her relation to Naomi, of her desire to be with her mother in law, even to the point of leaving her homeland. He knew of Ruth’s continued care for her.
It wasn’t long before Boaz had taken upon himself to provide Ruth, not only the freedom to glean, (which by accounts of Leviticus 19:9-10, she could claim by law), but also the privilege of sharing a meal with Boaz and his reapers.
Boaz provided her bread / parched grain and wine/vinegar to dip into, exactly what his workers were able to partake of. Gleaners were not typically associated with the owner and his laborers. It was enough that they were able to retrieve foodstuff from the fields without harassment.
But for Ruth, she was provided the honor and privilege of sitting with the king of the field, and his workers. She was provided a meal sufficient to her needs and more, for she had some left over.
Does not Jesus provide those He loves the opportunity to gather around a meal? Is there not many that have taken the faith of the Israel’s God and had their provisions met?
Jesus provides His people the opportunity to join, to partake and to sit with those others in the kingdom.
And like Boaz in his provision to Ruth, Jesus provides those who were mere beggars more than is sufficient.
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.
199
GOD THE LORD
Joshua 22:22 “The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows; and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith against the LORD, do not spare us today
A little context for this verse may be helpful.
Moses has passed, and Joshua is in charge, bringing the Israelites into the promised land. In an earlier decision between Moses and the Ruebenites, the Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh, these tribes were able to claim the land to the east of the Jordan as thier portion of the promised land, but were to assist in the domination of the land for the other tribes. At the completion of the battles and the possession of the land of Canaan by the Israelites, Joshua allowed them to return to thier portion across the river.
This separation from the main nation by a geographical marker, such as a river, brought about a concern related to national and religious unity of this new country.
It also provided an opportunity to build an altar, a really big altar.
Joshua 22:10 And when they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size.
Right away, it appears this nation is splintering, breaking apart in the most fundamental way, for this altar would develop it’s own commitments, thinking, devotions and divisions.
Yes divisions, for the remaining tribes saw this and gathered together to make war against them.
Joshua 22:12 And when the people of Israel heard of it, the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them.
Did I mentioned the breach of faith that the remining tribes considered this altar to represent? Yes this was a dangerous situation between brothers, bring to remembrance the days of Peor. Idolatry was rebuked harshly by the Lord in those days, and many had died!
AS we venture through this passage, we find this altar was not an altar of burnt offering or of sacrifice, but an altar of witness. Remember this river concern I mentioned earlier? The 2 1/2 tribes on the east of the river understood that the river separated them from the rest and they didn’t want this to occur. They sought a way to minimize the impact of the river, and with this desire to maintain unity, they built an altar of witness.
In the midst of this retelling of their times, the 2 1/2 tribes set up an altar and gave verbal ascent to the God they wanted to continue following. In this plea before their brothers, they called on the name of God the Lord twice, in order to maintain unity amongst their brothers, in spite of geographical distances and obstacles, seeking to reduce divisions amongst the next generation.
Should we not consider those across “the river” those who, along with us, claim the name of God the Lord? Geographical barriers or obstacles are not meant to provide an opportunity for division, but the chance to reinforce our unity in the Living God, that is God the Lord.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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 71 is a psalm written by an aged saint, a man who had walked with the Lord through many trials and triumphs. Some think this psalm represents David’s thoughts as he approaches the grave, as he ages and finds his life coming to a close.
One thing that is obvious in this psalm, that whoever wrote this psalm had an intimate experience with the Word of God. I have heard the claim that in the 24 verses of this psalm, there are up to 25 references, allusions and hints of other psalms within this reflection of an old saint. He has saturated his life with the Word, to the point that even phrasing of the old book comes through this old man’s message.
It is truly a witness of the wisdom to engage in an early and consistent immersion into the Word of God for every saint.
Let’s take a moment to consider
Psalm 71:7 I have been as a portent to many, but you are my strong refuge. Psalm 71:8 My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day. Psalm 71:9 Do not cast me off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength is spent. Psalm 71:10 For my enemies speak concerning me; those who watch for my life consult together Psalm 71:11 and say, “God has forsaken him; pursue and seize him, for there is none to deliver him.”
Our aged psalmist continues, describing himself as a portent. That is a word not much used in our modern parlance, and I had to look it up, for which I am grateful.
This particular word speaks of the psalmist as a wonder, a sign or miracle, even a token of a future event. Even as his enemies brought trouble and trial into our psalmist’s life, his commitment to God, and the allowance of suffering he experienced in the midst of his trust in God, surely amazed his tormentors.
How so even today, that as the believer may be experiencing trials or troubles, his attitude of trust and his demeanor of praise to God must surely stump the wicked.
Yet even more so, consider Jesus, the Son of God, suffering under the hand of God, coming to die for sins, not of His own, for He was the sinless One, but for those who hated Him and His Father. What a sign, or a mystery for not only the lost to grapple with, but also the saints, for this act of grace truly is beyond reason, beyond logic, beyond the earthly thinking we are saturated with daily. Sacrifice for the enemy? Love those those who hate?
But let us not miss that for the psalmist, and by extension for the Lord Jesus, that they found their strong refuge in God, the One who is over all and in all. The psalmist did not look to his inner strength, his strong personality, or his cunning abilities, but outside of himself, to the Father above.
In his past, he had exhibited his faith in the trials of his life, and his detractors have been mystified. Though he has a past record of faithfulness, he does not sit on his laurels and coast though the last days of his existence. He continues to seek God, asking not to be cast off, not to be forsaken. He is not a saint that assumes all is well, but he has a passion to continue with God, to seek mercy from God, to continue to seek the will of God and to hang on, even as those around him claim God has forsaken him.
Even as Jesus was providing a full and final salvation for the worst of His enemies, they claimed God had forsaken Him. For the Sinless One to be considered forsaken by those who hated Him must have been hurtful beyond my thoughts.
Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
But note the passage above, that this claim of those who hated Him actually became a truth Jesus suffered though, for the Lord turned away from the Lamb of God, forsaking His only Son. How brutal, how extreme, how utterly painful without comparison.
This claim of being forsaken by God is a common attack on those who trust God. How powerful for the enemy to make this claim to the faithful follower for it is of the deepest cut to the believers heart. Such a claim may cause the believer self doubt, which in itself may be beneficial, for we, as we age, tend to trust ourselves too much, due to our past walk with Him.
This claim may be allowed by God Himself to provide us a check, a test for our own faith, to give us opportunity to consider who we are trusting as we grow older. Some of us may have wealth we trust, or skills we trust, or relationships we trust.
A short period of self assessment may be of benefit if, and only if, we end up before the throne of Heaven again, confessing our need and admitting our weakness.
We have a promise that God will never forsake the believer, and for that we can be so thankful. We need to check our hearts to see that we have not forsaken Him, the One who was forsaken for our sakes.
May His name be praised and lifted up, and may we follow in His steps more faithfully.
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.
198
GOD OUR SAVIOR
1 Timothy 2:3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,
This verse needs context.
1 Timothy 2:1-4
1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, 2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. 3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
When Paul refers to God our Savior in this passage, some teach that it is expressed in the midst of a discussion on public prayer. After all, Timothy is a leader in the church, and Paul seems to be directing him regarding the priority (first of all) of reaching out to God on behalf of those in civil leadership and high positions during a church service.
In my mind this is not a debatable issue, and as we come together to worship God our Savior, it is appropriate to pray for those who have governmental authority of their people.
Yet this instruction is for the general Christian populace also and not only to a Christian leader in a congregation. By that I mean, that believers may and should pray for their leaders even if they do not experience this exhortation in a formal setting in a church service.
But consider the larger context for a moment. Paul is speaking of God our Savior. It is assumed, and for good reason, the people Paul is thinking of when he speaks of “our” Savior is the Christians in the Body. God is their Savior.
No debate about that at all. He is the Savior of the saved.
But consider that the passage speaks of governmental authorities, of a peaceful life for the believer, and then Paul described God’s desire for all to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. In the flow of the context this seems a bit unexpected, other than Paul wants to communicate something other than my assumption.
Ok, so God desires all to be saved. God desires all to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Could God our Savior be Paul’s way of describing our God who not only is the God of the saved at the time of writing, but that in some mysterious manner, in some future condition or situation, God would become God the Savior of all?
Oh for this to be the case. That all of creation would be reconciled to the Living God and to each other!
As I have mentioned in previous posts, this teaching of Universal Reconciliation has more Biblical support than I first considered. Of course I considered this teaching to be heresy previously, hopeful dreams of those not schooled in the Bible, so I never dug into the topic until the last few years of my study.
If some of my readers have an interest in some of the Bible passages considered in this vein of topic, Considering the Bible has a number of posts that my be referred to, specifically the series “Book Look – Jesus Undefeated”, a ten part series of posts, or “Book Look – Heavens Doors”, a thirteen part series of posts on this topic.
Nevertheless, barring all controversy, God is our Savior and for that we can be thankful. He did not “farm out the task” of saving our souls to any third party contractor or assign the task to some heavenly being, but HE himself took on the task.
He is God our Savior! May we be the people of God who reflect His desires!
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.
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
Boaz
Acts of Kindness
Ruth 2:8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. Ruth 2:9 Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.”
Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
Boaz provided an act of kindness to a new woman in the field and in doing so reflected, in a minor way, the kindness of out God.
But for a bit of background, consider the following.
Boaz was a man who followed the Word of God, instructing landowners to allow those suffering poverty in Israel to glean from the edges and corners of a field reapers had not harvested.
Leviticus 19:9 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. Leviticus 19:10 And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.
The kindness of Boaz is not seen in his obedience to Leviticus 19, for Boaz was a godly man, a God fearing Israelite, who sought to honor God in this act of obedience. In allowing the poor and destitute the opportunity to glean at the edges of the field, that which is left behind by the reapers, provided the poor not only food, but a level of honor in working in gathering sustenance for their family.
But I digress.
Our topic is an act of kindness that Boaz exercised to Ruth.
There was a time when Boaz came to his field to greet his reapers, and he noticed a new woman in the field. Was it merely due to Ruth being a new gleaner, or was it that something stirred in Boaz when he saw her. At this point in the story, it is unknown, but Boaz acted with kindness. Once he understood her circumstances, that she accompanied Naomi back from Moab, and that she had been in the fields most of the day, he determined to find ways to protect and provide for her.
I mentioned an act of kindness, but it is obvious that Boaz acted towards Ruth with kindness in many ways. How might we see these acts of kindness?
She was not to attend to any other field (for Boaz would instruct his reapers to drop extra for her)
She was not to leave the company of the other women in the field.
No man was to touch her!
She was permitted to drink from the men’s water.
As mentioned, Boaz may have had early interest in this foreign lady, this lady committed to Naomi, and for that kindness, she was thankful.
Ruth 2:10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” Ruth 2:13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”
Boaz’s acts of kindness reflects in a small way “the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.”
But in reality there is a huge difference, for Boaz was kind to a grateful and faithful lady, whereas the Most High, as He sought us and died for us, provided His lavish kindness to the ungrateful and evil.
His kindness far exceeds our understanding, and for that we are grateful, and desire to follow after Him, being transformed as He lives in us!
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.
197
GOD ON HIGH
Micah 6:6 “With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Micah is asking the question of the Israelites? What does God want from us? How can we appease God to avoid His wrath?
Chapter 6 starts out with a complaint from the Lord, an indictment of the Lord, against His people, contending with Israel.
Micah 6:2 Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the LORD, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the LORD has an indictment against his people, and he will contend with Israel.
The Israeli’s are a thankless people, and many scholars think this passage relates to Balak’s discussion with Balaam. You remember Balak, that king of Moab, as described in verse 5. It seems verse 6-7 is recorded by Micah as Balak’s introductory request to Balaam.
To think that Micah is using a heathen king’s question as a response to the Lord’s indictment against Israel is a bit surprising, but the topic of today’s verse is that he referred to God as God on High.
Get that?
The heathen king Balak referred to God as God on High. Now Micah is using this discussion, this question from a heathen God to instruct the people of God, a people who had forgotten God and were thankless to God.
Of course Balak’s request extended to and absurb logic, for he suggested the need for the sacrifice of human flesh to satisfy God on High. How utterly disgusting for those of us who have come to know of our God, and of His saving grace, His holy standards, and His ultimate sacrifice for each of our lives.
How could this God we know accept a disgusting sacrifice as child sacrifice, yet Balak, understanding God as an ultimate God, a God very lofty and on High, logically may require the ultimate, most costly sacrifice.
Logic can take a person to dangerous places!
This is not the God of the Bible, for our God does not require the death of any, for the Word declares He finds no pleasure in the death of the wicked. How much more does He seek safety for the innocent, and for those seeking His face. No – He seeks to save, to restore, to enrich and to guide.
The only death He has required is the death of His Son for the sake of His enemies. How can we understand such a God, a God who sacrifices for His subjects, dies for His creation, suffers for His people. And we forget Him in our actions and attitudes.
In conclusion, what “sacrifice” are we to give to the God on High? Balaam, as I understand, responded accordingly to Balak’s extreme, somewhat logical question in Micah 6:8.
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
When the believer understands the God we worship is the God on High, the lofty, supreme God, and that His desire is that we humbly walk with Him, this truth is life changing.
Has it changed your life?
The God on High requires something from you. Consider.
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.
I would like to thanks all who have subscribed to my scrawling, those who read my muddled thoughts, of those who try to understand the goodness of God with me, and all those who take the time to comment on a post, or send me a question.
This post will be my two thousandth post, and little did I know that by getting the feedback I have received, you (and the mercy of God) have drew me along in this adventure of Considering the Bible.
As I mentioned, my wandering style is cut short today, for I simply and only want to thank those who interact and encourage me in this adventure.
Thankyou.
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.
196
GOD OF OUR FATHERS
Acts 3:13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.
In our most recent posts, we have considered each of the previous names in the verse above on an individual basis, each time relating to one of the patriarchal fathers.
In our post this morning, we find Peter grouping the three names of God associated with the patriarchs of Israel, a common grouping together, and defining this group of names as the God of our Fathers.
This is Peter’s second sermon, and it is the result of the miracle of a healing cripple at the Beautiful Gate of the temple. The people saw him walking, the cripple man that is, and were filled with wonder and amazement.
Peter takes advantage of the situation and starts to teach. He speaks to “men of Israel”, as verse 12 tells us, and proceeds to speak of how they delivered Jesus to the government, denied Jesus in front of Pilate, (though Pilate he sought a way to release Him), and how they killed the Author of Life.
Acts 3:15 and you killed the Author of Life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.
They killed Him.
Peter pulls no punches. And to make things worse, (if that is possible), he speaks of how God, the God of their Fathers, regarded this One they killed. The God of their Fathers glorified his Servant Jesus.
They killed Him.
Of course, Peter is referring to the resurrection, for that act alone is the pinnacle of God’s opinion of who Jesus is. But before this declaration of God’s attitude of Jesus, the God of their Fathers spoke audibly to witnesses of His Servant. It is not as though the Men of Israel had not been given witness of God’s opinion of Jesus.
They killed Him.
Not only had God, the God of their Fathers provided verbal witness of His pleasure in Jesus, the many miracles He performed amongst the Men of Israel spoke of His union with the God of their Fathers.
They killed Him.
Jesus gave witness of His union with the God of their Fathers in His teaching, explaining over and over again of how He was One with God, the God of their Fathers, of how He was the chosen One, the Messiah, and of parables providing truths that gave ample witness of the truth of His Person.
They killed Him.
These Men of Israel surely had watched the city in an uproar during the triumphal entry, been part of the whipped up crowd calling for His death, witnessed the crucifixion and then heard rumors of an empty grave. Rumors that could easily have been verified, and that was spreading through the city like wildfire.
These Men of Israel had Fathers who knew this God, patriarchs that knew of the God they spoke of, of the God who was being worshipped even now by Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but these Men of Israel did not know God.
They killed Him.
But the God of their Fathers would not give up, and provided opportunity for these Men of Israel to know the God of their Fathers, the God who is the God of the Living and not of the dead. Peter was reminding them that He is the God of resurrection, for when the reference to God as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob is used, it is always associated with resurrection.
Jesus was raised from the dead and was seen by many. His resurrection is the proof of His Messiahship, proof of His saving power, and proof that He is the God of their Fathers.
God provided this witness of the Servant of God, the God of their Fathers, raised up from death, to the Men of Israel who killed Him.
Acts 3:26 God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”
The Men of Israel could know the God of their Fathers. Even though they took part in such a heinous crime, the God of their Fathers was providing them an opportunity to know the God of their Fathers.
To those reading, who come from a family where faith was evident, from parents or grandparents that walked with the Living God, it is incumbent in your own life to know the God who raised up Jesus.
To depend on being related to those who came before you, who knew the Living God themselves, can turn out to be very very dangerous!
Each person on their own has to face God for the sins they have committed and for the sinful stance they take against God. The faith of other people is of no help.
Acts 3:19 Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.
Jesus is the One, the God of their Fathers, the God of our Fathers, the forgiving God, who forgave those who killed Him, who is reaching out even now to you.
Do not depend on other peoples faith. He needs to the the God of our hearts and lives 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.
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
Boaz
Redeemer of All
Ruth 4:9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. Ruth 4:10 Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.”
Ephesians 3:6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
The last two posts spoke of Boaz as the Kinsmen Redeemer, and we have considered the likeness of Jesus in Boaz as he performed righteous acts to redeem, and secondly, the motivation he was spurred on by to redeem, to redeem that Moabite lady.
For this short post, let us consider those whom Boaz redeemed.
First off, there was Naomi, a pureblood, fully committed Jewish woman. Though she was away from the land for a period, she remained and was recognized as Jewish by blood and by faith.
Secondly, Ruth was a foreigner, a “dirty” Moabitess, a stranger that was outside the covenant of God and behind the wall of ordinances the faithful were privileged to
In Boaz’s actions, he redeemed both a Jew and a Gentile.
In Jesus, we have the One who perfectly brought the two together into one family, both Jew and Gentile throughout the the world. A completely new kingdom including both Jew and Gentile, a new family with Jesus as the Head of the church.
Though this is a very short post, the truth of Jesus bringing two together as He has should remind us that God is in the business of inclusion under His King.
May we as the church live out the joining together of two groups into one family under Him.
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.
195
GOD OF JACOB
2 Samuel 23:1 Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel:
David is on his last legs. He is about to take his last breath. At the end of life, it is well known that as a man looks back on his life, he doesn’t waste words or speak of frivolities, of nonsense and of things of no importance.
David describes himself in four ways.
The son of Jesse The man raised on high The anointed of the God of Jacob The sweet psalmist of Israel.
It is the third description that catches me this morning. To associate his anointing with the God of Jacob.
Jacob, the liar and cheat. A man willing to sacrifice family to get ahead. A man who would stop at nothing to take what didn’t belong to him, that would break relationship with his older brother, tearing him away from his parents. He had his eye on the goal and let nothing stop him.
Morally reprehensible.
Jacob, a man who was self willed, never backing down, even as he wrestled with God. In some ways, he was the perfect antithesis of the True Follower of God, The Son of God, by living by the “Not your will but mine” life!
And yet David associates God with Jacob. Granted, this is not the first time God is associated with such a terrible man, but for David, who is the great king of Israel, a prophet of God, and such a clear type of Christ, to refer to himself as the anointed of the God of Jacob, surely implies David’s own sense of wickedness in his own heart.
David identifies with the God of Jacob, the God who accepts “less than perfect” men. As I have read the Word for the last 40 some odd years, I have regarded the general story of David, and of his “Bathsheba” incident as the great sin, the affront against God that David entered into.
Yet as we are going through the life of David in our Wednesday series, we are currently considering David’s backsliding years before the Bathsheba event.
It is simply a terrible condition that David entered into. To be committed to the “arch enemy” of Israel, even willing to go into battle with the Philistines against his own people, just seems so wrong.
Beyond being disloyal to his people, he became a cut throat rebel, killing and stealing, turning into a vicious mercenary, killing every living soul in towns he raided. (See Life of David – 21.03 for more information).
Yes David could relate to Jacob. David was a fallen man, that actually pursued his fallen nature, even to depths that Jacob may have shied away from.
David clung to the God of Jacob, as well we must, for He is a God who redeems the “less than perfect”, who bends down to pick up, who reaches out to help.
Be thankful, my friend, for God has rescued Jacob, and God has rescued David.
And God can rescue us, as we also admit our poverty, our “less than perfect” status before a holy and righteous God!
Less than perfect? Such an understatement!
But the God of Jacob is the God we worship!
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 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 71 is a psalm written by an aged saint, a man who had walked with the Lord through many trials and triumphs. Some think this psalm represents David’s thoughts as he approaches the grave, as he ages and finds his life coming to a close.
One thing that is obvious in this psalm, that whoever wrote this psalm had an intimate experience with the Word of God. I have heard the claim that in the 24 verses of this psalm, there are up to 25 references, allusions and hints of other psalms within this reflection of an old saint. He has saturated his life with the Word, to the point that even phrasing of the old book comes through this old man’s message.
It is truly a witness of the wisdom to engage in an early and consistent immersion into the Word of God for every saint.
Let’s take a moment to consider.
Psalm 71:4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man. Psalm 71:5 For you, O Lord, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth. Psalm 71:6 Upon you I have leaned from before my birth; you are he who took me from my mother’s womb. My praise is continually of you.
Our psalmist continues with his pleas in the next few verses of our psalm, specifically referring to the history he has with God. He opens this short portion of the psalm with a plea to rescue him from the wicked man, and then reminds the Lord of the trust he has had even from the womb.
As mentioned in an earlier post on this Psalm, the author is saturated in the Word, specifically the Psalms, and as we read Psalm 71, we find echoes of other Psalms in his writings. Verse 5 & 6 of Psalm 71 may be one of these echoes, for the same general thoughts are expressed in Psalm 22:9-11.
Psalm 22:9 Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. Psalm 22:10 On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God. Psalm 22:11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.
Note that in chapter 71 the Psalmist speaks of God as the One he leaned from from before his birth.
verse 6 …I have leaned from before my birth
Even in the womb, (before his birth!) the Psalmist confesses to his utter dependence on God.
Which raises a question.
Was there a sense of consciousness in the womb? By that I mean, was the Psalmist self aware, was his personality developing even in the womb? Was he exercising a faith before he could breathe fresh air?
Though I have never met anyone who has a memory of this time in their lives, this does not remove the possibility. Personally, as my wife and I entered into our parenting life with the birth of our five children, we notice a definite difference with each little life as my wife carried them.
One little child was very passive, moved very little and when found a position of comfort, stayed there. One little child was not. That particular child moved and shoved and kicked and squirmed and poked and never gave up! That little child wanted to exercise his will! One little one impacted my wife in her diet, in ways that were different than the others.
Each acted somewhat differently in the womb, and in a way, their activity in the womb somewhat mimics their general personality. That one child that moved and shoved and kicked and squirmed and poked is a very very strong willed child. The one who seemed passive in the womb is the peacemaker, the passive one who seeks to find solutions to differences.
All of that to say, if personality of some type is present in the womb, does that imply a self consciousness, even a God consciousness?
I know of no Scripture that might prove this, other than a passage such as we are looking at that may hint at it. Nevertheless, to think that from the very inception of life that God has been present and known to be with us is a great comfort, for though we don’t recall the time of utter dependence, out Father was there, and possibly in a conscience relationship with us.
It is truly humbling to realize that the little that I do know of God and His creation is becoming increasingly less and less by the day. Realizing the many things we do not know has one effect (of many) on my thinking. My increasing ignorance of this glorious creation only elevates the One who knows all, who is full of wisdom and has provided such a great salvation for us to grow into.
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.
194
GOD OF ISAAC
Exodus 3:6 ESV – And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
In our last post we considered the name “God of Abraham”, and how Isaac was encouraged as a man of peace by the Lord.
Centuries later. a young man who would become the lawgiver of Israel was addressed in the wilderness by God. Moses was simply out tending his sheep, when a strange sight caught his attention.
As Moses decided to turn aside to see this great sight, the Lord took notice of his interest, for verse 4 speaks of the Lord seeing Moses turning to the burning bush.
Exodus 3:4 When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
Moses decided to turn to see this sight, and that decision triggered a series of events that has changed the world, created nations, produced a renown leader, and furthered the plan of God for the salvation of the world.
After Moses turned to the bush, the Lord identified Himself as the “God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob”. Moses knew this was the God of the fathers, and hid his face. Eventually Moses became a man who could talk to God face to face.
Exodus 33:11 …the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.
For now, in this passage, Moses hid his face.
Nowhere in the Word is the God of Isaac referred to without his father and son being included. For God to be referred to as the God of Isaac, we always find Abraham and Jacob included.
As we consider our next name, related to Jacob alone (the God of Jacob), it becomes almost a standard name to refer to when discussing Israel’s existence and standing, but with Isaac, his association in the names of God is always with his father and son. He is a part, or portion of the description of who God is.
His name is added to the description of God to show continuity, to provide to Moses that God is the God of the patriarchs, and of the promises provided to these men as they learned and walked with God.
Moses needed to be reminded that this sight he saw, this voice he heard, was not some trick of the mind or new message, but was related to the same God that spoke to the patriarchs. Not one of the patriarchs, but all three.
This surely provided Moses the background and history of God’s relationship with the patriarchs, giving Moses information on who God is, what God is like, and the future of the people of God. Little did he know that the future of the people of God would become his driving motivation for the last 40 years of his life.
Moses was called into service as God identified himself thus, and many centuries later, another great teacher brought this name to the attention of His hearers.
Jesus spoke of “the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” as He rebuked the Sadducees about their denial of the resurrection. After the Sadducees provide a question that supposedly supported their position of no resurrection, Jesus laid them flat. He spoke of resurrection as a fact and corrected these “teachers of Israel” in front of the entire audience.
Matthew 22:32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”
For Jesus to pull out the truth of the resurrection from the use of the present tense first person singular of “be” is amazing.
For Moses to hear the name of God we are looking at not only identified God as the historical God associated with the patriarchs, but since the patriarchs are now long in the grave, and God speaks of being (not was) the God of these men, speaks of these men as being alive also!
Thought they are in the grave, God is their God, centuries after their death, even as Moses heard the message, and even much later as Jesus addresses the Sadducee’s heresy.
An amazing truth pulled from the name we are considering this morning.
When we think on the name of the God of Isaac, we can be reminded of the historicity of our God, that is, that He made a historical continuous contact with multiple men in the past, and that this relationship with these men continues even to this day, for it also speaks of the resurrection!
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.
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
Boaz
The Kinsmen Redeemer
Ruth 3:13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the LORD lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”
Galatians 4:4,5 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
I know that the last post was to address Boaz as the Kinsmen Redeemer, but I fell into the discussion on Boaz as the obedient Jew and couldn’t help pursuing that topic.
For this post, let’s consider Boaz as the Kinsmen Redeemer in relation to Ruth.
For you see, the legal hoops Boaz jumped through to perform that which was right was not merely a wealthy man seeking to expand his holdings, to amass wealth and increase his portfolio. This seems obvious for thoughout the book of Ruth, it seems he had a thing for that “worthy” girl, an eye on her that he couldn’t resist.
Yes she was not a Jewish woman, but she was a righteous lady, one who wanted join the faithful, those who trusted in the true God. And her actions showed that, (as it is with all believers) for she followed after Naomi into a strange land, accepting a lifestyle of servanthood for her mother-in-laws sake. That alone is an incredible statement of her character.
Ruth 2:11 But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.
And Boaz saw this in Ruth, saw her character, her humility, her desire to serve Naomi, her willingness to glean the fields, a task left to the poorest of the poor.
Boaz, as the obedient Jew, performed all the righteous acts he needed to pave the way to getting to Ruth. He was obedient, but let us never forget the motivation spurring Boaz on.
Ruth 2:13 Then she said, “I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”
Love.
A love that would not let hurdles remain in his path. A love that required he buy the land of Naomi and out of that action, the hand of Ruth. He sought to fulfill the law of perpetuating the lineage of the family with a lady he favored, a lady named Ruth.
Ruth 4:9, 10 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon. Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.”
Boaz married Ruth.
We too have a Kinsmen Redeemer, motivated by love for those unworthy, those who were poverty stricken, living the life of the poorest of the poor. He completed the task, but beyond mere obedience, His actions were motivated by a love that was resident in Him, a self sacrificing love that finds its’s source in the heart of God.
His love motivated Him to become our Kinsmen Redeemer.
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.
193
GOD OF ABRAHAM
Genesis 26:24 And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”
For the next few posts, we will be seeing our God as the God of specific people. Abraham and his offspring have the honor of being associated with the Almighty God in His naming, and it may be beneficial for a moment to consider the reason each of these names were used.
For our name this morning, we have God speaking to Isaac, peaceful Isaac after he had given up another well to his neighbors.
A little history may help.
Upon Abrahams death, Isaac ventured on his own in the land of Abimilech, and after a period of time, sowed on the land, and reaped 100 fold.
What a return on investment!
But jealousy got hold of Abimilech, and Isaac was pushed him off the land.
He then settled in the valley of Gerar. His servants unplugged the wells his father Abraham had dug, while his sojourn through the area. Not only did Isaac unplug old wells, he and his servants dug new wells, finding plenty of water.
Again, his success brought out the worst in those around him. The inhabitants of the valley of Gerar, herdsmen by trade, quarreled with him, speaking of the water as it belonged to them. Twice. Isaacs men dug two new wells, and the neighbors demanded the use of both of them.
Just before Isaac recieved this message from God, he claimed that by leaving the wells behind, and digging a third well, it was God’s way of making room for them in the land.
Now let’s get this straight. He gave up his fathers wells, he gave up the two new wells his servants had dug, and now he is saying God has made room for them.
What an attitude!
At first, I am thinking what a wimp, what a weak kneed fellow to not stand up for his possessions. But he is looking for peace, and in the effort to get peace, he is willing to give “things” up.
And then I “stumbled” on this passage in the New Testament.
1 Corinthians 6:5-8 I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud–even your own brothers!
Strict parrallels might not be evident, for some may think, as I do, that Paul is speaking of quarrels in the church, and Isaac is looking for peace amongst those without faith.
Yet the desire for peace, as Paul speaks of, should be of greater priority than things.
Again, I stumbled onto a New Testament teaching that speaks somewhat in similar manner.
Romans 12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Isaac wasn’t weak kneed or lilly livered, but strong in the desire to live at peace with everybody.
Isaac sought to live peaceably with all. This may cost him some inner peace, for it opens him up to abuse, possibly that the neighbors may think of him as an easy target, a soft touch.
The Lord, I think, addresses this very concern when He comes to Isaac.
“I am the God of Abraham your father. Fear not, for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake.”
No rebuke, but only an encouragement, a statement that God is with him for Abraham’s sake, and that his life will be blessed. Isaac is going to have many offspring.
And Isaac has met the God of Abraham, even as he lives the believers life of self sacrifice for the sake of others. God will bless that life, and multiply that life, even as that type of life provides for some to take advantage. But God tells Isaac not to fear.
Thought there seems to be reason for fear from those around, God is with him. Isaac sought to be peaceful, and in that effort found his father’s 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.
192
GOD OF PEACE
Romans 15:33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen
Romans 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
In our last post on this name, I left for my readers an opportunity to suggest the reason Paul used this name of God when speaking of CRUSHING Satan
Why didn’t Paul speak of God as the God of Warfare, or the God of Battles, or the God of Domination, when he speaks of God soon crushing Satan?
Crushing in the New Testament is a word used 7 times, and is related to complete crushing, breaking, treading down, being broken in pieces, to be conquered and trampled on. This term is not associated with peace.
Given that concept of crushing, I still have the image of blood and guts, broken bones, humiliation of the enemy, domination and defeat. I may be providing differing images in that last list that may not be intended in Paul’s mind.
Defeat of Satan. Yes that seems obvious.
Conquering of Satan. Yes that seems obvious.
Humiliation of Satan. Yes, but through the wisdom of God, and not by exercising a competitive spirit that usually fuels a humiliation of an enemy.
Ok – Now we may be starting to see that the means of crushing may be my point of confusion. When I think of crushing, I think violence, force, physical warfare.
When Jesus finally conquers a man, it is not by threat, or by impending judgement, by through logical dominance – all of which may play a part in some conversions – but the hinge upon which every true conversion swings is the love of God, the self sacrificial life and death of the suffering Servant.
His methods of conquering include love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. This is the nature of His person, the very Spirit we have been granted.
To consider the crushing of Satan to include violence and domination as I think of it in this world, twists the very character of our Savior. Am I saying Jesus loves Satan and that Satan will be conquered by the love of God? That is a hill far away, and though the love of God may extend there, I certainly cannot claim I know of it.
That is not for me to know. One truth is for me to know.
It is the means of God to conform to His very nature and to provide victory as the King of all, is that through peace, through love, through joy.
Jesus is the God of peace. In the working out His will, the way of peace will be the means and goal, even in the defeat of Satan.
May we also be conquered daily by the God of Peace.
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.
192
GOD OF PEACE
Romans 15:33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen
Romans 16:20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
We have been in Romans 15 for the last 3 names of God, and though the chapters are man made, the 15th chapter has one more jewel of a name for us to consider.
Granted, it appears that Paul’s final appeal to the God of peace for these Romans shows up in the last verse of chapter 15, he returns to this name again in Romans 16. This is where I would like to settle for this post.
So let’s consider that out of all the names Paul had opportunity to use in this context, he choose the “God of Peace”.
A name that brings to mind gentle flowing waters, scenes of quietness, contentment and harmony, a state of security and safety where there are no threats, no quarrels or disturbances. Peace, in the Hebrew mind, included the concept of wholeness, wellness balance and health.
We know of this term for even today as we hear some speaking of “Shalom”.
So let me ask my readers a silly question.
Why didn’t Paul speak of God in this context as the God of Warfare, or the God of Battles, or the God of Domination, when he speaks of God soon crushing Satan?
That just seems a bit odd in my mind.
So my mind needs to be taught! That is the proper result of finding an apparent confusion in the Word. I am to conform my thinking to the message provided.
My thinking is to be continually challenged by the Word and dang it all, I think we found something here to do just that!
Now, before I provide a possible solution to this conundrum, (and to provide me a bit of time to think, meditate and ask God for help), I am going to open this post to my readers to comment, to provide a suggested solution, or to supply direction for my thinking.
I shall return to this topic shortly. Hope to hear from you!
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.
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
Boaz
The Obedient Jew
Ruth 3:13 Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the LORD lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
How many, when you read the first post on Boaz, expected a discussion on his being a kinsman redeemer? It is the obvious, common typology we see when we look for Jesus in the Old Testament.
I just couldn’t help considering the description of Boaz (and Ruth) as those described as worthy, and seeing Jesus as the greatest descendent of two worthy believers, producing One who is the most worthy.
But for our discussion this morning, let’s consider Boaz as he is described in the Book of Ruth, as an obedient Jew, making him the kinsmen redeemer of Naomi.
Yes you thought I would refer to Ruth as the one redeemed. Let me explain, and we will see Boaz redeeming Ruth shortly.
The Obedient Boaz
Boaz is an obedient servant to the law of God. He is a worthy man, a man who seeks to perform righteously, in accordance with God’s will. So when Ruth comes to him at his threshing floor, as he awakes, he is shocked by her appearance and asks her identity.
Ruth 3:9 He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”
Now of course Boaz had met her previously in the fields as she was gleaning, so he had conversed with her, favored her and provided protection for her. At this point, she explains how she is related to his family, that he is a redeemer of the land Naomi had left behind, that he has a right to obtain the land Naomi had lost when the family ventured off to Moab.
Ruth 2:20 ….Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.”
Note that Naomi declared He was one of their redeemers, Naomi including herself in the redemption process. A note on the redemption of the land in Israel.
Land in Israel could not be purchased by strangers but only to those of the same tribe, and those closest to the owner had first “dibs” on the land. In Boaz’s case, he was second in line. One kinsmen had rights to the land before Boaz could exercise his option to purchase the land.
He needed to ensure he was legally clear to obtain the parcel of land Naomi was selling. And he takes care of this hurdle, purchases the land, establishing the legal rights of the land under his family name, and redeeming Naomi from a life of poverty and servitude.
We too left the garden and and lived in “Moab”, as Naomi had for many years. Let us remember that our Redeemer is One who ensured the redemption He would provide was legal, proper, and airtight.
Boaz made sure no one could claim Naomi’s land after he purchased it, that no one could effectively challenge the redemption of the land he purchased. He did the leg work and completed all the requirements of the law to ensure his redemption of the land was secure.
Jesus followed the will of God, performed all the righteous commands required. He was, and is, the penultimate Obedient One to the will of God. Even to the accepting of the suffering and judgement we deserved. He is the truly Obedient Jew.
There is no loophole or exception in His redemption, for He completed all the righteous requirements put before Him. Then, to shine forth the glory of His love for us, He gave up the credit of His perfect life, taking the beating and punishment, a death on a cross, that He did not deserve.
He accepted the unrighteousness of the horrible judgement He suffered for our sakes. He is the Obedient One who prepared our redemption and purchased us back.
Take a moment and consider our Redeemer in all His actions for us.
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.
191
GOD OF HOPE
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Hope is mentioned twice in this verse. Once in referring to God as the God of Hope and then of the experience of abounding in hope.
Surely the connection is obvious. But wait. Hope doesn’t come directly from God, at least according to Paul in this verse.
Paul does not write to the believers in this verse…
May the God of hope provide abounding hope to you believers.
A little background may be helpful, at least for me to develop what I think is going on here.
The church at Rome was a multicultural church, a church of Gentiles and Jews, and though the book of Romans is one of the richest theological letters ever written, the purpose seems to include addressing the division between these two groups.
A high level review of the last half of the book for my reader.
in chapters 9-11, Paul discusses the Jewish question, entering chapter 12 with an appeal to self sacrifice in the Christian life (12:1-2) speaks of humility (12:3) then unity in the body (12:4-5), opportunities to serve others in the church (12:6-8), and then continues with various exhortations on how to live with others, in the church and outside of the church.
Standard fare is it not? But let us see if there is a continuing thread of thought.
Although he provides a portion of chapter 13 on the believers responsibility to worldly government, he just can’t help but return the the believers obligation to love others (13:8-10), and the calling to walk in the light (13:11-14)
Chapter 14 continues the thought of walking in the light under the topic of receiving a weaker brother. This chapter speaks of dietary laws, and the foolishness of judging our brother. A whole chapter on the topic of relating to a brother of different opinions.
A whole chapter my friends!
This letter was written to confront a division that seemed to be growing within the church at Rome, a division between the Jewish and the Gentile believer.
Chapter 15 begins with the call to care for those who are weak, and that we are not to please ourselves. We are to edify our brother, which is just a classy term for saying we are to build up our brother in the faith.
Now why would Paul feel it is important to spend so much time on relationships between believers, between believers of different opinions, if it were not for the fact that things were getting stressed in the church. Things in the church might have been unravelling!
Enter verse 13, and the God of hope.
As mentioned earlier, I don’t see Paul offering these believers an abundance of hope merely because God is the God of hope. There is a process, a “system” if you will.
Paul’s looks to the God of hope to fill them with joy and peace in believing. What two elements are sorely absent in a church that is split? A church that is in tension, a church that has “groups”, a church that contains friction, judgement and attitudes of superiority surely does not enjoy joy and peace.
A long time ago, in a world far away (yes I am referring to Canada), a brother once coined the phrase “the divine human cooperative”, and it shocked me. He explained that through obedience to (or believing in) the commands and will of God, God can perform great things in and by the believer. If the believer decides not to cooperate, so be it.
For many of my readers, this is not a radical idea, for it permeates the Word, but for a young believer with even more wrong ideas about God than he currently has, it was eye opening!
For hope to abound in these believers, peace and joy had to be evident in these believers lives. They were to be filled with joy and peace, through the obedience to love, not judge. Love that is realized by receiving the brother that is of a different opinion. Love that determines not to please ourselves but to build up our brother and sister, instead of tearing them down.
Given the expectations of Paul, and the opportunity of the believers to come together, joy and peace was a very real potential experience for these believers.
If the potential was realized, if each believer loved their brother and sister, and by doing so experienced the joy and peace of God in their congregation and personal lives, hope would grow. Expectation would increase. An anticipation of God working in others would increase, and the atmosphere would be permeated with a positive confidence of God’s presence with them. These brothers and sisters would eventually abound in hope, having given the Holy Spirit the freedom to provide hope.
Church division, or in other words, holding onto a personal offense is such a killer of joy, peace and hope.
If you have a brother or sister that you would not give something up so they may be built up, consider your ways. The seeds of division comes in many colors and shapes. We are called to a higher calling, a calling of forgiveness and love towards others and not of judgement, of an attitude of tearing down or of a life of pride.
Consider.
Jesus is the God of Hope, and His mighty prayer of unity is certainly worth remembering as we walk our day out 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 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 71 is a psalm written by an aged saint, a man who had walked with the Lord through many trials and triumphs. Some think this psalm represents David’s thoughts as he approaches the grave, as he ages and finds his life coming to a close.
One thing that is obvious in this psalm, that whoever wrote this psalm had an intimate experience with the Word of God. I have heard the claim that in the 24 verses of this psalm, there are up to 25 references, allusions and hints of other psalms within this reflection of an old saint. He has saturated his life with the Word, to the point that even phrasing of the old book comes through this old man’s message.
It is truly a witness of the wisdom to engage in an early and consistent immersion into the Word of God for every saint.
Let’s take a moment to consider.
Psalm 71:1 In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame! Psalm 71:2 In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me; incline your ear to me, and save me! Psalm 71:3 Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress.
Our saint must have been considering Psalm 31 recently in his times with God, or there has been circumstances in his life that brought the psalm to mind, for these verses are built on the first three verses of the 31st psalm.
Consider the likeness!
Psalm 31:1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. In you, O LORD, do I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me! Psalm 31:2 Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! Psalm 31:3 For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me;
The cry for rescue was heartfelt in Psalm 31, as it is in this psalm. The timing is different, and the problem may be different – heck the person crying out to God may be different, but it is the same God we look to, the same Savior who is always waiting for our admission of weakness and need. Even if this elderly saint had copied the passage verbatim, it takes nothing away from the desire of the saint for God’s rescue.
I may have mentioned this in earlier posts, but to refer to shame in this passage reminds me that the Israeli man speaking this lived in a shame based culture, where the goal of a man or woman was not primarily appearance of wealth, or intelligence, or influence, as it may be in our society. No, the highest goal for a faithful Israeli was to be honored amongst his or her peers, and even more so, how the man’s honor or shame reflects on the Lord whom he follows.
In our first verse, this elderly man, this faithful saint is not looking for rescue from poverty, as we modern believers may seek, but from shame. The word originally referred to being “pale”, and did not relate to being embarrassed, or to blushing, but was associated with a terror. It spoke of a troubled mind, one who was characterized as disturbed or confused, not of a right mind, a soul that experienced a failure of hope. This shame referred to an expectation not realized. A loss of esteem from associates. To be disgraced amongst others.
For you see, in a shame based society, to be honored amongst family, peers and even strangers was the highest goal for a man in this culture. (Our modern society, I fear, lacks in this goal, even amongst some believers!)
This saint sought to be “in the Lord” and found “in Him” refuge from shame. At the very least, this is his plea. Is this not our plea. Shame may be directed to us from those we rub shoulders with, that those we know may consider us a disappointment, even a disgrace – even rightly so – yet we can turn to Jesus and seek His comfort, To learn from Him that even in the shame He experienced, He looked beyond, He obeyed the Father, and was eventually delivered from it.
This old saint sought to never be put to shame. Oh how we should seek that also, to honor God with an honorable life, yet we are weak, mere dust and dirt.
My reader may be experiencing a period of shame even as he/she reads this. Do not loose faith in Him, for as the world poured shame on the only truly honorable Man that has walked this earth, we should not expect different treatment. Shame poured on the believer by the world due to being “in the Lord” may be a believer’s lot for a period of time.
As James once said
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
Our old saint sought to be rescued from shame. We know that the One who suffered the greatest shame was rescued and now has the name that is above every name. As we follow Him, we can be assured of our rescue from any shame we experience in this life.
As I close for this morning, may I mention that shame associated with a sinful decision or action before the Lord is to be responded to in repentance! Forgiveness from the Lord is abundant, quick and assured upon a true repentance before Him.
Remember – It is to be “in the Lord”, and not against the Lord that we find our refuge.
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.
190
GOD OF ENDURANCE
Romans 15:5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus
In the fifteenth chapter of Romans, Paul refers to God in four different ways.
God of Encouragement 15:5 God of Endurance 15:5 God of Hope 15:13 God of Peace 15:33
We have previously considered God as the God of Encouragement, and for this post we will consider God as the God of Endurance.
Now before we look specifically at this particular name, I think it wise to simply consider the combination of these two monikers of God being linked together. This very specific thought is one reason I looked at encouragement first, for endurance of the believer is very much dependent on the encouragement received.
Well, maybe.
Consider the believer who receives little to no encouragement, the believer who finds no one amongst his peers and family that share in his faith. This may be a very real world experience for some in countries that persecute the faith, or that are saturated with a faith that is not in the true God.
Encouragement may be lacking from the outside, that is from those amongst us, yet as we see in this passage, Paul is not depending solely on an outside influence of our brother’s and sister’s in the faith in this particular passage.
Please do not get me wrong. We, as believers in our Father, are to encourage our brothers in the Lord in every godly way, in their efforts to serve the Master and His people.
But again, this is not Paul’s specific topic in this verse.
His focus is that the believers may receive strength and perseverance to live in harmony with others. Harmony ios the goal in Paul’s mind, and he appeals to the God of encouragement (a strength giving God) and the God of endurance (a persevering God) to lead the saints accordingly.
Encouragement and endurance are characteristics of our God and are provisions of our God to the believer for the sake of creating a harmonious environment for the family of God. Encouragement and endurance for our own lives are not the end goal of this prayer to God, but that the result is that of harmony amongst the saints.
Now I have already hinted at the nature of endurance, that it is the ability to persevere, to be faithful, to be steadfast. To remain in the truth when the rubber hits the road, when things go wrong, when troubles come along, when disappointments and discouragements hit over and over again.
To be provided endurance from the God of Endurance is to imply we have an uphill slug, a fight ahead, disappointments and discouragements. In the very context of Paul’s passage, this may relate to interpersonal affairs within the body, but it certainly is not limited to that in our every day existence.
To remain in the context is challenge enough, for there are many times when relationships with the body are strained, when circumstances arise in the fellowship that are difficult, uncomfortable and strained. It is for each believer to find encouragement and endurance from the Lord, for the purpose of finding peace in the body amongst the saints, for the purpose of maintaining harmony within the family of the saints.
We certainly need the God of Endurance, to provide us all a steadfastness in ministering to the body an appearance of harmony amongst us all.
No – the challenge is even greater than simply creating an appearance, for the God of Endurance is also the God of Truth, not simply a god of appearance, and He is seeking and has provided the ability for the church to experience true harmony amongst themselves in the Person of Jesus Christ.
As mentioned earlier, we certainly need the God of Encouragement and Endurance to lead us on in working toward a true harmony with our brothers. As believers, we have been granted this challenge. Let us take it up, and seek to be a people who are peacemakers, builders of a harmonious environment, a place that lifts up the Lord Jesus.
For He is the God of Endurance. He endured for us on the bloody cross. He endured to the very end.
Hebrews 12:2, 3 looking to Jesus … who endured the cross, … Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
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.
Considering the Bible 