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.
57
BREAD FROM HEAVEN
John 6:32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
Our next two descriptions of God are related to bread.
Our first passage hears Jesus speaking of the life giving food of the Bread from Heaven.
Notice that He speaks in the past when referring to Moses and the physical bread the Israeli’s received from the heavens for close to 40 years. They received the bread from heaven, but as Jesus is speaking to those hearing, He is referring to the present, the time He was on earth. He clarifies that the Bread they have access to is the Bread from Heaven, and delegating the manna of old as a simple physical symbol of things to come.
The Bread from heaven is a life giving sustenance that is to be consumed daily, to receive strength for the battles of the day, to have power to perform the tasks at hand and to be a blessing to others.
The Bread from Heaven speaks of Its (His) origin and therefore also implies that the strength, power and blessing is not of a physical source but of a heavenly source.
Are you finding daily sustenance for your Christian life in the Bread from Heaven?
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
Aaron
Chosen
Exodus 40:13 and put on Aaron the holy garments. And you shall anoint him and consecrate him, that he may serve me as priest.
Hebrews 5:1 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.
Moses was instructed to bring Aaron to the entrance of the tent of meeting in order to display before the nation His choice of Aaron as His High Priest. Aaron was to receive the holy garments, not due to a successful political campaign, or to some bribe that provided him this privilege, but due to the choice of God for his life.
Jesus, in His arrival and life, pleased the Father and was described as the One chosen by the Father.
Luke 9:35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”
Both Aaron and Jesus had the privilege of being chosen for a priesthood. Of course the Son was chosen for the highest priesthood, and will remain in the priesthood forever, always serving as priest. As Hebrews 5:1 reminds us, His Priesthood before the Father is on our behalf in relation to God. He is our High Priest before God and provides His people the privilege of being in the presence of the Father, having become our sacrifice for sin.
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.
56
BRANCH
Zechariah 6:12 And say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD.
The Word refers to “the Branch” a number of times and I struggled with which verse to use for our post this morning.
Isaiah 11:1 identifies the Branch as from Jesse’s family, and in chapter 4:2, the prophet refers to the Branch of the Lord, identifying the Branch as from the Lord.
Zechariah mentions the Branch prior to our verse above in chapter 3:8-9.
Each of these texts are fantastic verses to dwell on for the believer, but for this post, let us consider Zechariah 6:12, for Zechariah speaks of the Branches activities, or actions.
First off He will branch out from His place. Some scholars speak of this clause as describing the Branch’s growth as being from Itself, not dependent upon His conditions or environment. His growth is not expected, or of a natural result.
Secondly, the Branch shall build the temple. As Zechariah is preaching this message, the physical temple is being built in Jerusalem. Joshua, the High Priest, who is initially being referred to here, is associated with the physical temple, and many in the audience may have understood this declaration as being directly for him and the immediate circumstances.
Yet, if any Israeli worshipper knew his Old Testament, when Zechariah used the term “Branch”, they knew he meant much more than the immediate priest named Joshua. This was the Messiah being referred to in this passage, and that this Messiah would branch out, spread His influence/authority/knowledge throughout the land.
For the New Testament believer, this passage speaks of the Messiah’s influence/authority/knowledge spreading farther than the small nation of Israel, but throughout the earth.
The temple of the Lord is being built by the Branch, and may His name be praised!
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.
David has described his persecutors in last weeks passage, and by extension has described our heart and potential actions also. Out of this treasonous and evil choice of life, David begs God for true justice, for justice that can be provided from the only true Judge.
Psalm 58
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11 Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.”
Throughout this psalm we have seen David battle with his frustration, with injustice, with crying out to God for action. Let’s remember David’s situation. He has been recently declared by God and His prophet Samuel, in the presence of his family, to be the next King of Israel. He has saved the nation from extreme embarrassment by defeating the giant Goliath. He has served both father and King with multiple tasks. And now he is on the run, being chased by the King and ignored by his family.
I get the message of verse 10, and the joy of seeing vengeance on an enemy. I really do! There have been times in my life when we have been treated poorly and unjustly, and eventually the Lord brings about a turnaround in the situation, with the persecutor becoming a victim. I found joy in the rescue of the Lord, and to be blunt enjoyed seeing the one suffer.
For some reason, I am finding that even though justice is deserved, and may be meted out, that in those circumstances when I see a fairness exacted I experience less joy, less happiness, less satisfaction. Don’t get me wrong – to have the Lord rescue me or my loved ones is an exhilarating experience, but if it entails a required discipline on another, even an enemy, my relative joy is diminished.
To see my enemy suffer is not a joy. I am not sure where David’s head was when he wrote this, especially referring to bathing his feet in the blood of the wicked. It may have some oriental implication I don’t understand, or he may be simply expressing the natural response of a man under tremendous pressure.
It is beyond me, and may reveal my immaturity in the Lord.
But lets stand back and consider these last two verses, that the joy may not necessarily be in the bloody foot bath, but in the fact that there is a God who judges the earth. There is a judge who will defend the helpless, and put right those actions that are evil.
And yet there is a higher thought that nags at me.
Is it not the same Judge of all the earth that was judged, condemned, tortured, mocked, ridiculed, and crucified by those who are the wicked, unjust and cruel of the land.
And yet He asked for their forgiveness.
Yes He is the Greater David, the One who pulls all of us to higher ground, who reveals the merciful heart of the Father, who provides forgiveness to us who should identify with Saul more than David.
We are truly a blessed people to have the Greater David as our Guide, Leader, Savior and Teacher.
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.
55
BLESSED HOPE
Titus 2:13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
Our Blessed Hope.
Jesus is described as our Hope.
Hope is a term in our culture that may mean anything from a wish (I sure hope I get a Maserati for Christmas) to a sense of desperation (Mary is so sick now we only have hope).
The Bible uses this term differently, for when we see the word “hope”, we are to think of a joyful and confident expectation. This term is also associated with a pleasurable expectation, an experience of goodness and joy.
So when Titus adds the modifier “blessed”, he is strengthening the base message of a pleasurable expectation for the one hoping. He is describing Jesus, the subject of the hope, and not merely the experience of the one having the hope.
Jesus is the Hope of the believer, and what a great promise to look forward to. Yet Titus goes one step further, reminding us that He is the Blessed Hope.
Consider the implications of using the term blessed in relation to this description of God. To be blessed speaks of satisfaction, to be fully satisfied, to be in a happy condition. He is blessed and due His being in a blessed blessed condition at His coming, we should also reflect on this truth. If He is blessed (happy) at His coming for His saints, how does that change the way you think of that coming day? When He appears, He will be in a blessed condition, in a joyful attitude as He rescues us.
Do you see His coming in that way?
Is He your “Blessed” Hope?
Is there an anticipation of His arrival or is His delay acceptable to you?
Jesus is our Blessed Hope
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
Aaron
Behind the veil
Exodus 28:29 So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the LORD.
Hebrews 6:19-20 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
As Aaron represented the children of Israel for a very short period of time before the LORD into the earthly Holy Place, His actions depicted the Greater Aaron, as our High Priest entering before the Father in reality.
Both entered behind the veil, into the Holy Place.
Aaron, as a type of Christ in his representing the children of Israel, was to remain for a short period behind the veil, performing his priestly duty and then returning to the people he represented. (Jesus too will be returning to His people but that is a separate topic for another day!)
Although Jesus is of a different priesthood, His entrance into the Father’s presence provides our future access, for not only does our author not speak of His leaving the Father’s presence, but that Jesus is described as a forerunner, One who is sent before those who follow.
Yes they both entered behind a veil, but only Jesus went behind the veil to remain behind the veil, and to provide access for those who He represented forever.
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.
54
BLESSED AND ONLY SOVEREIGN
2 Timothy 6:15 which he will display at the proper time–he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
For this name of God, I would like to concentrate on the concept of Sovereign. It is not a word that is commonly used outside of the Christian culture (or Britain), but the term refers to one who serves as a chief of state, or more applicable in our study, One who exercises supreme authority.
In my past studies, when I read Sovereign in relation to the Lord, the principal image of control rose in my mind. That is, He is in control of all things, from the time we are born, to the time we die. He is the creator and sustainer of all life and has provided a Savior that has redeemed us, rescuing us from damnation and loss.
For a period of time, my ruminations on the concept of control as Sovereign, in my mind, elevated God to the highest plane, to a point where every decision, act and attitude could be attributed to God. For a period of time this became a passion of mine, until I sensed a personal lack of concern for my own responsibility in front of Him. After all, in this scheme of thinking, He is the One who controls everything in His kingdom. And eventually, I felt I was slipping into a void.
Until I heard a man speak of a sovereign in a silly story.
He asked me to imagine a family going to a park, with three or four children tagging along. Prior to getting to the park, the father informed the children they were to stay within eyesight, not climb too high, and to care for each other. Upon arriving, the mother and father sat down, reminded the children of the instructions, and let them have some fun. As the children played, the father and mother were on constant watch, but the children had tremendous freedom to play within the boundaries set.
I ask you. Could this father be considered a sovereign? Did He have control over his “subjects”? If they rebelled, did he have the authority to discipline? If the children did right, exercising the freedom they were provided, did he become less sovereign?
My friends, the Sovereignty of God is a massive truth, and I take no credit for this story, but for the wise man who told it to me, I am thankful. I have come to understand that God is good, He has set limitations for us in the “park” and that He is always watching us, walking with us, and giving us guidance as we look to Him.
He is confident in Himself to allow His creation to work together with Him, to make mistakes (and learn from them) to provide a measure of freedom for His children, and yet still get the glory only He deserves.
He is good and He is good all the time!
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.
David has described his persecutors in last weeks passage, and by extension has described our heart and potential actions also. Out of this treasonous and evil choice of life, David begs God for true justice, for justice that can be provided from the only true Judge.
Psalm 58
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD! 7 Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted. 8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun. 9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
In our last post, David described the wicked one, the one who refuses correction, the one who is fully loaded with venom, ready to attack, the one who seeks their own desires above all else.
David turns a corner with this portion, for he is now seeking justice on those who are persecuting him. He is asking the Lord for retribution on the wicked for the suffering he has experienced due to their wicked plans against him. Can you feel the frustration he is experiencing. He faithfully served the King, saved the nation from the Philistines in slaying Goliath, ministered to Saul in his sickness, and is now on the run for his life.
Persecuted, not due to anything he has done, other than the Lord choosing him for the throne of Israel. David’s heart for God, and God’s response in anointing him for the throne of Israel brought about his life of being on the run, of being but a step from the grave.
Can you feel his frustration? What is going on? Surely being chosen by God will only bring blessing and honor into David’s life. Surely there is something wrong with this picture! Surely God is not acting correctly, not providing the justice needed, and David begins to describe to God the ways these men are to be treated. David is looking for his God to deliver him, to execute justice upon those who are unjustly smearing his name, chasing him down and ruining his life.
In these verses, David writes numerous descriptions of how God should judge the wicked, all of which lead to their destruction. Note that David is pleading with God, but David’s actions reflect his faith in God, his belief that God truly is the Judge of all the earth, and that even the timing of justice is in God’s hands.
I can’t help but think of a time I chatted with my best friend and she spoke of her desire to lash out at her boss over an injustice. There was no doubt about the injustice, and yet she had not said anything, nor taken any hasty actions. This situation, though a microcosm of David’s experience, has some parallels. And thankfully, as she is wont to do, just needed to express her feelings, share how she felt, and then reconsidered how Jesus would respond. (She took donuts to work with her to be a blessing!)
As we face injustice, it is good for us to be honest with the Lord in our prayers. Trying to come to God with a “face on” will help no one, and God is not deceived. David fully expressed his desires for these wicked men, yet would not hurt the Lord’s anointed.
David expressed his anger and frustration with God, yet was under God’s control in his day to day life. He was under persecution for doing right, for being right, and yet no retaliation, no seeking of revenge against Saul.
Consider the Greater David. Consider His actions toward those who unjustly mocked Him, ridiculed Him, defamed Him, beat him, whipped Him and crucified Him. Did He seek justice, or ask the Father to forgive them?
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.
53
BELOVED SON
Colossians 1:13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus is called the Father’s beloved Son.
Beloved is the Greek term ἀγάπη agápē.
As many know, there are a number of terms in the Bible that refer to love, but this is the term that was not in use in the Greek language at the time of the first century. It is a term that reflects the character of the One loving and not of the one being loved.
With that said, when God so loved the world, this term seems appropriate, for the One loving is God and the one being loved is those in rebellion. The ones receiving this love were not deserving, they were actually enemies of God. Yet, out of the character of God, He loved them. God expressed His love to them because that is the character of God. The recipients had nothing to do with it other than being contrary to the love, refusing and fighting against the hound of heaven.
When Paul states that the Son is beloved, and uses the same Greek term, we are to understand that the love the Father has for His Son is the same love He has for us, as we are in the Son and He is the Beloved Son.
The Father’s love for the Son came out of His own character, and though there was nothing between the Father and Son (except while the Son was on the cross), the love was pure and unrelenting.
Jesus is the Beloved 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
Aaron
Tempted
Exodus 32:1 When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, “Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.”
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
We all know of Aaron’s failure before the Lord in succumbing to the pressure of the Israelites. He actually created (or oversaw the creation) of Israel’s first idol, while Moses was speaking with God on the mountain.
Aaron was tempted, and as he fell in this temptation, he produced a situation that spread far beyond his own life. The repercussions of falling into this temptation was the potential wiping out of the entire nation. Yet Aaron, and the nation, due to Moses intercession, escaped judgement.
Obviously Moses is a type of the Lord in this instance, and we shall get to him, but in Aaron, we find a man who was tempted. He felt the pressure of the crowd, the influence of the multitude, and fell to the coercion, rejecting the truth Moses spoke to him.
Jesus also was tempted, not only in the wilderness all alone, for 40 days, in a weakened condition, but also in the multitudes, in large groups and gangs that had death on their minds. He stayed the course, even to death, knowing that the temptation to save His own skin would doom not only the nation, but the created world.
He was tempted, yet without sin!
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.
52
BEGINNING OF WISDOM
Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!
This description of our Savior is the third time He is associated with a beginning.
In the last two posts, we have seen that when “beginning” was referring to the Christ, it was related to the new creation, the church, and to His mission and sacrifice.
Not so here for Psalmist speaks of the beginning of wisdom as the attitude of the fear of the Lord.
We understand the fear of the Lord is the Old Testament motivation for all obedience to the commands of God. Whether it is a holy reverence or a soul quaking fear is not the focus of this post.
The focus of this post is to consider the ultimate “beginning of wisdom” to be best displayed in the Savior Himself.
We know He is the sinless Son of God, obedient in all his actions and attitudes before Hs Father. His fear of the Lord was consummate, for He never looked to the right or to the left. Only on the Father.
The term “beginning”, though often denoting the first in time, may also speak of the first in place, order or rank. Given this, it would be easy to understand that the beginning of wisdom was best exemplified and lived out in the Messiah.
He is the beginning of wisdom.
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.
David provided the core, foundational problem of mankind in last weeks post, of the heart of the ruler, and the violence that flows from the rulers heart through his hands and to the victims.
In todays post, David will continue to describe wicked man, those men who sought him out, chased him with the intention of death, those who hated him without cause. He is also describing those amongst whom we live, those who have gained breath from birth, those we love and cherish, even ourselves – if we are honest with ourselves.
Although uncomfortable, let us read the following passage.
Psalm 58
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. 4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear, 5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.
If we are honest with ourselves.
It is a difficult message, when I see my little grandchildren cooing and gurgling, to believe that within those cute little ones, their lies a heart that is bent to selfishness.
It is hard to admit that each of us, as we gain breath, have a desire to satisfy own own heart and none else. Though David’s description is speaking of those who were in full bloom of their sin, they began with a self centered spirit. These enemies of David had potential to either follow after or fight against their estrangement, their isolation from others, and especially from God the Father. These particular men followed after their estrangement. We all do. It is natural. It is normal. It is inevitable.
If we are honest with ourselves.
The wicked come fully weaponized. The wicked have venom. They do not need to gain a source of venom, but come fully equipped with poisonous intent.
Story time
As I was walking though my office yesterday, a peer had his radio on, volume low, and barely discernible, but I caught a phrase in a song that we repeat to ourselves constantly.
I believe people are good. I believe I am good.
Even as I heard that, I felt good. I enjoyed that message. I thought highly of myself. I have done some good things in life, therefore I am good, right?
My friends, I am not trying to say every human is as evil as Hitler in their actions, but we all are capable of great self deception, and easily able to justify evil acts, all the while thinking we are good.
If we are honest with ourselves.
Note that the wicked do not hear the voice of the charmers, or the enchanter. They refuse any counsel or direction. They stop their ears, intentionally refusing to hear of any alternate message, of any correction or rebuke.
At this point, David’s description of mankind is desperate. A fully weaponized individual that refuses any direction, being directed only by a heart that seeks it’s own desire
Let’s be honest with ourselves my friend. If we have ever veered from the perfection of God, (and we all have), we belong to the group David is describing here. Venomous individuals seeking their own. Individuals with a heart that spews out violence.
Is there no hope? Surely we are without any ability to correct our ways, for our only influence is the heart we were born with, that we are controlled by, that devise our plans and direct our actions. No wonder Paul cried out…
Romans 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Let us remember that the main issue in this Psalm is the search for the true Judge of all the earth. David is describing a judge (or ruler) vying for control over our lives. In his description of those against him, he condemns us all, for his description is the description of my own heart.
But am I being to harsh, too judgmental, to negative? Jesus himself sealed this truth when He described the heart of man in Matthew 15:18-19
But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
We have a heart that seeks it’s own. The true Judge is One who has the heart we think we have, that is, a heart that is the very definition of right, that has been pieced for us, that has drawn us to Him.
Seek Him. Listen to Him. Do not stop your ears from His counsel. Seek His heart, for His heart is a heart of mercy, forgiveness, love, patience, kindness wisdom.
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.
51
BEGINNING OF GOD’S CREATION
Revelation 3:14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation.
In our last post we considered Jesus as the beginning of the church, as Paul was writing to the Colossians.
In this portion of Scripture, John is describing our Savior as the beginning of God’s creation. Again. let us be careful to not assume Jesus had a beginning (other than as a man) and was not One of the eternal persons in the Trinity.
As the audience is the church of the Laodiceans, I have always considered the creation John refers to here as the church, very much of the same vein of truth as Paul expressed in Colossians 1:18
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
Aaron
A Brother
Exodus 4:14 Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart.
Hebrews 2:17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
It is interesting that Aaron is first called out as a brother of Moses. Earlier we met a priest by the name of Melchizedek, which for reasons beyond our topic today, was not chosen to represent the nation of Israel as high priest. Some may think Melchizedek would have passed on by now, but I tend to think differently!
Aaron was a man that had two descriptions the Lord noted for Moses. One that he could speak well, which addresses Moses claim to limit his ability to represent before Pharoah, and that he was a brother. The fact that he was a Levite comes into the equation later for the priesthood!
Aaron was a brother. One who was of the same “stuff” as Moses, coming from the same family, the same time, the same location, the same history. He knew what it meant to be of the population of an oppressed people. He had heard of the promise of a new land.
Jesus is also of the same “stuff” in that He took on a physical body, experienced hunger, anger, frustration and remaining gamut of emotional impacts a man experienced in the first century, under an oppressive ruler, and yet He knew the promise of a new land.
Note that the apostle speaks of Jesus “made like His brothers in every respect”. We can not claim He did not experience what we go through, both internally and externally, or that we undergo trials beyond His understanding.
He is a Brother.
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.
50
BEGINNING
Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
He is the beginning.
Some may think this refers to Jesus as being created, and would assign to Him an existence other than the truth of His eternality.
This thinking does not makes sense, for in the very verse we are looking at, Paul is speaking of Him as He relates to the church, not of His nature. He is the beginning of the church, the trailblazer, the Apostle sent to rescue us.
We cannot think of Paul or Peter as the ones who started the church.
He is the beginning.
As a man, He began His earthly existence in a cradle, for He needed a body to sacrifice for our rebellion. In a body, He related to those around Him, led by example, showed His character, and finally offered up the body created for Him.
He is the beginning.
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.
This psalm is a psalm answering the question “Who is the rightful Judge/Ruler of all the earth?” and the complaint concerning the unjust ruler comes from a prophet named David.
A generally accepted background to this psalm is rooted in the early days of David’s relationship with Saul, when Saul became mad (crazy), and sought out David’s life. It seems Saul gathered those of his inner circle and codified his intentions to seek and destroy David, a young man who had only served Saul in his court.
In the loss of his kingdom, Saul must have heard of David’s anointing, for he had eyes throughout the land. Given notice that he was destined to fall from power, Saul sought to frustrate the plan of God, and persecute the one who was rightfully the king.
During this persecution David wrote this psalm, and some think it may have been in the very cave of Adullum, where David was a hair breadth from being caught and hauled off.
David’s poetry is harsh in this passage, and as we live in a time of unjust rulers, there may be some out there who can relate to David’s frustration, anger and eventual release of joy.
But first, let us read David’s initial complaint.
Psalm 58
1 To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Miktam of David. Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly? 2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.
Immediately, David describes the heart of the rulers, and their unjust ruling over men. His frustration over the corruption within the ruling class is brimming over. Some may think David is referring to spiritual powers when he mentions “gods”, but this passage is addressing the culpability of the men in leadership, making decisions.
His complaint rests in the fact that though the ruler has been granted power to exercise influence over his people, this power can be abused. This abuse is dependent on the nature of the ruler, his heart condition, his desire for either his own good or the good of the people. This difference can be justified easily if the heart of the ruler is not leaning on God constantly. David, as the one who is the target of a ruler who is not leaning on God, sees the extent to which a man without God can fall.
Does the ruler indeed decree what is right?
Indeed. The sarcasm is heavy, for in David’s very question the answer rests, for the very definition of right is being defined by the ruler.
Yes – the very definition of right is defined by the ruler. David understands the motivation of the ruler (his heart’s desire) will define the actions being classified as “right” by the ruler in power. A ruler with evil intent can justify gross sin as a righteous act.
David cuts to the heart of the problem by exposing the intention of the ruler chasing him. Verse 2 describes the source of this corruption.
In your hearts you devise wrongs.
The king has a goal, something born in his desires, and in his heart, he devises actions to bring to fruit his desires. Never mind that some (if not all) of the actions are selfish, sinful and destructive. It can easily be justified by the dark heart, claiming whatever actions he takes, it is for the greater good!
The ruler’s decisions that impact his people are highly dependent on the condition of his heart. Out of the self centered desires of his heart, evil actions flow while he smiles at his people, telling them of his good intentions, of his saving efforts for the future. Some difficult times may come, but it is for a glorious time ahead.
Difficult times do come from a ruler whose heart devises wrong, for out of this heart, David correctly describes the outcome.
Violence on the earth.
The Hebrew term for violence speaks of injustice, of both ethical and physical wrongdoing, of unrighteous gain, cruelty. The term is châmâç, transliterated as ḥāmās.
Saul wanted David out of the picture and he had the authority to put into action his desires and devices. He was granted authority and abused it. Of course we know the mercy and goodness of God in the outcome, but in the meantime, David is experiencing the blunt force power of an evil heart in a jealous ruler.
Violence is what flows from an evil heart, and we must consider it for our own lives, for we all influence others, and though our authority may be small, the heart is still the issue.
We must be those who seek the heart of God, for out of His heart true righteousness flows. His heart is the very definition of “right” for it cannot be otherwise. Anyone who devices “right” apart from God, is fooling himself and will cause violence in their circle of influence.
As a judge/ruler, we shall see that Saul fails miserably, along with all those who sought to follow his plans. The power granted to him was abused, and God through His mysterious will, allowed it for a period, for training of a man of God, and for our instruction.
We also have rulers with evil intent. Let us not forget David’s actions when faced with unjust persecution. If persecution comes, remember the heart of God, the One whose heart was pierced so that we may be forgiven of our evil desires, actions and violence.
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.
49
BEAUTIFUL AND GLORIOUS
Isaiah 4:2 In that day the branch of the LORD shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel.
We haven’t spoke of the Branch of the Lord yet, as we are looking at His names in an alphabetical order, but suffice to say, Isaiah is speaking of the Messiah when he speaks of the Branch.
He shall be beautiful and glorious.
Beautiful. This Hebrew term often translated as glorious, or glory in our Old Testament. Using this term, Isaiah is bringing us a varied description of beauty, for this term is very closely associated with the thought of glory.
But what is glory? If I met you on the street, and asked you “What is glory”, could you answer without using the term glory?
Glory. This Hebrew term speaks of glory, honor and abundance, and is used 200 times in the Old Testament.
The term rose from a root meaning of heaviness or weight, and this root meaning may be associated with abundance combined with authority.
In my thoughts, for someone to be glorious in ancient times, meant he had abundance, for he was most likely a ruler of some kind, and he suffered no loss of want. He had weight, not only as a man who had physical abundance, but moral and or authoritarian influence. To be glorious may have had a visual aspect to it, but if we consider the root meaning of the word to have continued in its usage, the term likely meant the weight of authority the owner was able to wield.
In all of this conjecture, it makes sense to this believer that when I hear of glory, I think of authority, and not necessarily beaming rays of light.
Our Savior has all authority; His influence has no limits and He has no competitor in His beauty(glory) and glory(authority).
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.
Leave it to a Civil Engineer to title a blog about gravel properties, but please don’t leave me yet. I bring this topic up because it has reminded me of the gospel, and of love. Now I guess you are thinking I’m nuts. That’s alright – I get that sometimes.
The background to my story is the filling of some potholes I was working on this afternoon on my driveway. We picked up a material that is called road base and it has little stones in it, medium stones in it, and some larger stones. A little bit of sand and a touch of clay, and abra cadabra, – fill for a pothole.
As I was shoveling the material out of the truck, my wife would level it out with a rake, and as she was leveling, she asked me why we didn’t use sand for the holes since we have so much available on site. I had to reach back to my schooling, but I described sand as a uniformly graded material very much like marbles, and any effort to pile marbles usually results in the marbles rolling away from each other. Hence the footprint in the sand syndrome!
The material we picked up was a non-uniformly graded base material with interlocking structures. The differing sizes find their place amongst the other stones, and the result is that after a bit of packing, the stones fill up the voids, allowing for greater bearing capacity for the road bed.
After all my rambling on about stones, I eventually looked up and saw that my wife was sincerely looking to understand something that was a part of my life. Please understand that my wife is an awesome lady, a sensitive loving person that cares for sick puppies, loves her garden, finds enjoyment in cleaning her home, and loves to dress up to go out. She is, in my opinion, the perfect example of a Christian lady, but then I may be a bit biased!
In all of this, she entered into my world of logic and analysis, of design and structure, of numbers and schedules to try to understand the fundamentals of gravel.
Who cares about gravel?
That’s the point. Gravel is about as interesting as watching paint dry, even for an engineer, but she was sincerely involved in the conversation, trying to understand it for the sake of understanding. Maybe to try to understand me a bit better.
You know, there is another who has taken an interest in our world. He has come down to talk of farmers and pearls, fish and tax collectors, kings and beggars, prostitutes and lepers. He often asked questions to bring people into conversations.
As He is God Almighty, it is not as if He needed any knowledge, or direction or input, but He involved Himself with a motley gang of unknown men, and expressed His love to them in all the interactions He entered into. And I am sure that each interaction left a mark on the disciple or friend, and His attention to their lives became an anchor for their memory of Him.
I wonder if He chatted with one of them about non-uniformly graded base with interlocking granular structures? I think He would have made it very interesting!
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.
48
BAPTIZER
Luke 3:16 John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. John 1:32-34 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” Acts 1:5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
I imagine John the Baptist was a bit of a fiery preacher, calling the Pharisees a brood of vipers and speaking of wrath to come. So when John described the One coming as the One who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire, I was somewhat surprised to hear of what (or Who) He will baptize with.
First, He will baptize with the Holy Spirit. No one but God Almighty has the authority to baptize with the Holy Spirit. It is not as if the Holy Spirit was to come upon someone in order to provide authority or power for a certain task, as in the Old Testament. This is the next level, where God would create a new humanity on the day of Pentecost.
Secondly, He will baptize with fire. Now some think this refers to the tongues of fire in Acts 2, which it might, but the audience at the time had just experienced John’s teaching of wrath. The message those in attendance heard was likely a continuation of wrath-speak. If fire refers to judgement, the audience heard of the One who had the power of judgement over their lives, and of the One who was able to administer wrath.
Both of these modes of baptism speaks of the authority and power of our God, of our Savior who came down to make us a new person and to rescue us from the very fire He’ has the power to administer.
Think on Him today. Listen to Him and as He speaks to you, honor His name by following His lead.
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 57:6-10
6 They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed down. They dug a pit in my way, but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah 7 My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody! 8 Awake, my glory! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! 9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. 10 For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. 11 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
Verse 6 is speaking of a pit being dug for David. Yet the pit has no knowledge for which it was created. The pit is senseless, with no motivation to acquire a victim. It is all in the heart of the one who created the pit. Any we know that there is One who is over all hearts.
So a pit was made for David. David was delivered from the pit. The pit makers fell into the pit.
This is a common refrain in the Word.
Think of Mordecai, in the book of Esther. Haman set a trap for Mordecai, but at the last moment, the tables turn and he dies a horrible death. A horrible death!
How bout Joseph’s brothers. Though he did fall into a trap, that is he was sold by his own brothers, it began a process to bring him to dizzying heights of power, where his brothers would be humbled.
And of course the Christ. What a trap for Him, and He willingly, knowingly and with full understanding walked into it. Nevertheless, those who set the trap suffered an incredible defeat three days later when He arose, and when the disciples 7 weeks later erupted from out of nowhere, there doom was sealed. Unless of course they wanted out of the pit. Forgiveness was available. Some of them reached out to the One they crucified.
Out of their mouths, their refrain must have mimicked David, when he writes
I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations. For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heaven
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.
47
BANNER OF LOVE
Song of Songs 2:4 He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
In our last post, we saw that a banner was some signal or indicator for rallying about, and was in the context of battles.
As the King is wooing His love in this chapter of the Song of Solomon, we find the author speaking of a banner over her, a banner that is above the young woman, giving out a message to rally about. As mentioned, this rallying point of a banner is not in the context of war, but of love.
This banner was to draw this young woman into His arms, to declare His commitment to her, to entice her to be His.
Is it not the very same for us, who have come to enter His banqueting house, who have come into His church, that we see the Banner as one that provides the message of love?
His banner over us is Love, and He has won us to Himself by His self sacrificial love. Let us remember that as we are in His banqueting Hall, His message hasn’t changed.
His banner over us is Love, and the Lord Jesus Christ is the Banner we are to look to, to rally about, and to understand the message for His Bride, is that He is Love
1 John 4:8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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
Aaron
Day of Consecration
Exodus 29:4 You shall bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and wash them with water.
Luke 3:21-22 21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
To enter into God’s presence, Moses was to wash the priest in front of the tent, prior to their entering. Before their ministry before the Lord would start, the priest had to be cleansed.
Now as we know, much of the Old Testament included pictures and themes would be shadows representing the Lord Jesus when He appeared on the earth. I am confident that my readers can see the parallel of how this worked out 2000 years ago in the Lord’s life.
Of course the cleansing was personally unnecessary for the Lord in that He was clean before the Father prior to entering into ministry. His baptism was the public outworking of this Old Testament image for those who were present and for us who read the Word.
Prior to His formal entrance into ministry before His Father, the Lord Jesus associated Himself with us, and with this image of the first priests, undergoing the outward expression of cleansing before the Father.
After this cleansing, Jesus was to embark on a most remarkable ministry as the ultimate High Priest in the presence of the Father, even to the point of offering Himself as the ultimate sacrifice.
He is the Consecrated One and has been formally introduced to His creation as the Priest to be before the Holy One, bring One acceptable sacrifice – Himself – before the throne of God.
He is the Consecrated One.
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.
46
BANNER OF ISRAEL
Psalm 60:4 You have set up a banner for those who fear you, that they may flee to it from the bow. Selah
The background to this psalm is the victory over Edom in the wars described in 2 Samuel 8:3-14. It seems that while Israel was fighting to the north and east, they were flanked by three nations (Edom, Philistia and Moab) to the south, coming in from the rear, with Israel suffering serious losses and falling into confusion.
David speaks of a banner being lifted up, for those who fear God – the true Israel – to rally about.
When under fire all around, those who fear God will realize the banner has been lifted up for us also.
The Banner of Israel was lifted up to defeat the enemy, and to show the way for battle.
The Banner of Israel is our rallying point, for when we are overwhelmed, we need to return to the simple message of the One who hung on the cross, for all to see.
The Banner of Israel is naturally the focus of those who fear God, and as we focus on Him, we come to find strength in Him and encouragement from fellow soldiers to continue the battle.
Look to the Banner of Israel as you live your day for Him.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 57:4-5 4 My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts– the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens! Let your glory be over all the earth!
David enters into a description of his enemies, possibly reflective of his condition in a cave, where he is likely in the company of various wild life. The pictures of his present condition are three-fold.
Lions
David’s first description of his pursuers is that of lions, and not that they are simply pursuing, but that he is in the midst of them. His soul is in the midst of them, his very life is surrounded by these “lions”.
I can’t help but think of a preacher by the name of Peter, who described our lives as somewhat similar, in that we have one likened to a lion seeking us out.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
But as David did centuries ago, let us remember that God is a rescuing God, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah is our Savior.
The lions are real threats to our safety, but the Lion we have come to know is able to rescue. He is able!
Fiery Beasts
David speaks of lying down amongst the fiery beasts. ”Fiery beasts” is a difficult term for me to understand – What was David trying to say to the Lord? The term generally speaks of a burning, or a scorching. Destruction resulted from these beasts. Their intent was to destroy, not to consume. It was enough to simply kill for the sake of killing.
And David speaks of lying down in the midst of this destruction. I can’t believe he was implying the beasts were overwhelming him and that he was simply giving up, lying down to accept the inevitable. No – David had a purpose, and this purpose God had for him enabled him to figuratively lie down in the midst of this danger.
I can’ t help but believe that this is much like Peter’s experience of lying down with the soldiers prior to his death in Acts 12:7?
Acts 12:7
And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands.
Peter was on his way to the sword, just as James had suffered. And Peter was asleep!
Children of Men
David finishes his description of those chasing him with those who would assassinate his character, spread lies about his actions, defame his life and seek to destroy his future. Their teeth and tongues are weapons, and David’s reputation, especially in a honor based society such as Old Testament Israel, was the most sensitive area of his life. Death may come to David, but for his memory to be destroyed would be the deepest cut.
Not only would his enemies lie to find him, and use threats to get information about his whereabouts, the deepest impact for David may be the loss of any honor his name would suffer in the nation.
Israel was an honor based society, and the greatest damage a man experienced was to be of a damaged character, a vile man, one who was not regarded by his “neighbor”. The loss of reputation, and the implication of shame on his life was a blot that he could not remove if it stuck in the general populace.
As Jesus entered into this same social environment, we find that His reputation as a “good teacher” was stripped from Him, and He hung on a cross, taking the shame and insults flung on Him from those with tongues as sharp swords. They knew they had to defame Him to kill Him, and the enemies of God struck swiftly to accomplish their goal.
His reputation was destroyed as He hung on the cross, shame clinging to Him, hanging with crooks and rebels, taking the place of a murderer.
But we know Jesus didn’t stay on the cross, nor did He stay in the grave. He has risen and His reputation, for those who seek the truth, has not only been restored, but elevated to a point where no man can compare or defame again.
He is not the “good teacher” we thought He was, but God has revealed Him as Lord and King.
Considering the Bible 