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 70 is essentially a repetition of a portion of Psalm 40. There are some differences that may prove to be instructive, and provide opportunity for comment. The following tables will provide my reader an opportunity to quickly compare each verse between the two psalms and consider the differences for themselves.
As before, variations between the two Psalms will be noted by italicized font. Earlier comments for this first portion may be found at Psalms for Psome – Ps 40.07
Let’s consider the last two verses.
Psalm 70
Psalm 40
4 – May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you! May those who love your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”
16 – But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually,“Great is the LORD!”
The difference in this verse when compared with the parallel in Psalm 40 is the psalmist’s reference to God. In Psalm 70, he uses the common name for the creator God. Our psalmist speaks of God in the more general terms, where in Psalm 40, the psalmist refers to God by using the more personal name of Jehovah. Two short posts are available for my reader if they are interested in following up on these names.
5 – But I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer; O LORD, do not delay!
17 – As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!
In our final verse, we see the psalmist repeating his immediate need, and removes the description of “the Lord takes thought for me”. This seems to reflect an intentional “depersonalizing” of the Psalm, yet the psalmist refers to God with the more personalized name of God in the end.
No matter how we interpret this adjustment to the message of this man in need, it is refreshing to hear in both the 40th and 70th psalm that these men knew their place. They were poor and needy.
They knew their position before the God they prayed to. May we remember also, that we are but poor and needy people, looking to the Lord God for our assistance.
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.
188
GOD OF BETHEL
Genesis 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me. Now arise, go out from this land and return to the land of your kindred.’”
God knows our weaknesses, better than we ourselves.
In Genesis 31, we find Jacob on the run after scamming Laban.
At least that is how it appears to Laban, after he looses much of his flock to Jacob though a payment scheme Jacob devised. It turns out that Jacob, after making the deal with his father in law, made out like a bandit!
Any sheep that were born striped, spotted or mottled would become Jacobs. Surely the hand of God enabled the birthing marks of the flock to favor Jacob over Laban.
Now that he has his flocks, Jacob looks for the next phase in his life, having served Laban for 20 years. Fourteen years for his wife Rachel, gaining another wife through that period, and then serving another 6 years for the flocks. He is set to move on and the Lord, after having given him direction on the goats, directs him to return to Bethel.
So why refer to Bethel? What is so special about Bethel, and why is God relating to this place called Bethel?
Let’s go back to Genesis 28:18-22 for a moment.
Genesis 28 18 So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. 19 He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. 20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, 21 so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, 22 and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”
Bethel is the place where Jacob first met God, the location where he spoke – “the Lord is in this place and I did not know it”.
It was during this encounter with the Living God that Jacob was promised the land, offspring like the dust of the earth, and God’s promise of being with him.
When God speaks of being the God of Bethel, there is only one God that Jacob could think of. The God who made promises and spoke of His commitment to Jacob.
Speaking of commitment, Jacob made a promise to God at Bethel also . Yes yes yes, something of a promise, but mostly a conditional commitment, for he spoke of his following God if God would give him food, provide clothing, supply passage back to Isaac… Then the Lord would be his God.
No matter how I view Jacob, he is always coming off as the negotiator, the one seeking the best of a deal, looking for an advantage. Though this tendency was engrained in his personality, even when faced with God, nothing changed.
He worked a deal with God.
God is reminding him in this passage. God is reminding Jacob of his initial meeting with God, of the first time Jacob experienced God, of the start of his walk with God.
God had kept His part of the bargain. Wives, children, wealth, safety. God had provided all.
Was the Lord his God? Would Jacob follow through? Did Jacob remember that night God came down, made promises, heard Jacob’s response?
It is good to remember our initial point of contact with the Eternal God. February 19, 1981, at 7:30 in the evening, in a house in Bracebridge Ontario. The single most eventful night of my life. (Testimony) My Judge had become my Savior!
Can you remember meeting God the first time? Take some time today to remember.
If you haven’t met Him, you are surely missing out. He is a wonderful Savior that keeps His Word, guides the wanderer, comforts the brokenhearted and provides for His people. Give up you sin, admit your rebellion to Him and ask for forgiveness.
To know Him will change your life!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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
BATHSHEBA
Child of Promise
1 Kings 1:28-30 Then King David answered, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. And the king swore, saying, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, as I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ even so will I do this day.”
Romans 9:8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.
In our last posts we have seen the shame and of a promise kept for both Bathsheba and the Lord.
In this post we see a principle that is related to the patriarchs of Israel, Abraham’s sons Isaac and Ishmael, and Isaac’s sons Jacob and Esau.
A short history lesson regarding Abraham. He had a son through the impatience of a certain wife, naming him Ishmael. Over a decade later, Isaac was born through a certain wife. Both sons were of Abrahams loins. Isaac was the younger and received the inheritance!
Later, as Isaac was about to become a father, Esau actually fully breached the birth canal first, making Jacob the literal second born. (Jacob struggled with his brother even in the womb though). Jacob was therefore classified as second born, but the promises were passed onto him.
In the Word, it is not uncommon for a child of promise to be elevated over a child of the flesh.
In this passage we see Solomon, a son of David, a son whom the King had provided Bathsheba a promise of the throne to, usurp the “normal” succession of the a throne to the eldest. Solomon had a promise laid on him at an early age, and though Bathsheba became David’s wife after a number of predecessors had provided children, the promise the king gave to Bathsheba invalidated all normal procedures and practices. Solomon would be elevated based on promise, not on order of birth.
The promise of God is not held down by convention or customs, by standard accepted procedures or expectations. Jesus, as the second Adam, is the true Son of Promise and as such reigns over all.
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.
187
GOD OF THE SPIRITS OF THE PROPHETS
Revelation 22:6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
I was writing a proposal for a small engineering task this morning and as I was writing, I began to insert multiple nouns into the sentence, connecting them with words such as “associated” or “with” or “of the”.
I find I am very susceptible to typing long winded sentences describing various conditions or situations, defining requirements of a project that is associated with the location of the site relating the parameters of the scope to the expectations of my client.
Did you understand my gobbledygook? Did I ramble on and on about something that made no sense? Did I thoroughly confuse you, leaving behind my poor reader with no clear message, and a blurry feeling of “What was that?”
We can be thankful that the Word is not susceptible to this weakness, that the words used by God in communicating to us a truth can be understood with a little patience, a little diligence and little effort.
For me, this passage presents a small challenge. I got more than one noun in this passage. How do they relate to one another?
Shall I understand this phrase to mean “God of the spirits (which are the spirits) of the prophets”, or God of the prophets, each prophet having the Holy Spirit?
You see how I struggle with communicating a simple truth?
Let me see if I can clear up my self inflicted confusion by comparing two phrases within this passage.
God of the Spirits
Two verses in the Old Testament use this English equivalent.
Numbers 16:22 And they fell on their faces and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?”
This verse is describing Moses and Aarons plea to God for reasonableness in judgement, that the whole nation not be consumed due to Korah’s rebellion.
Numbers 27:16 “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation
This second verse speaks of the appointing of Joshua over the congregation of Israel, after the passing of Moses.
What may we understand from the two uses of this phrase in the Old Testament? Is there a common situation that we might gain in these two verses?
One truth is that Moses is the only one who referred to God in this manner, that the phrase is connected to “all flesh”, and most interesting to myself is that both are related to the separation of a man or group from the congregation. Granted, one is for destruction, and one is related to consecration of service. Nevertheless, when this phrase is used, it is in the context of separation
Spirits of the Prophets
Two verses in the New Testament use this English equivalent. One is the passage we are in now, and the second is
1 Corinthians 14:32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.
Paul is addressing a church that is out of control on the “gift of the Spirit”, seeking the flamboyant and ignoring the humble gifts, such as service and giving.
How like our own lives!
Paul’s message to the church is that the spirits of the prophets are controlled (subject to) the prophets.
Consider a typical church service, where a number of prophets may be in attendance, and one stands to give a message. This message is judged by the prophets. Note that the word “prophets” denotes more than one, implying the other prophets judge the the message, determine it’s validity, and join in declaring the truth to the congregation, or declare it to be false.
Now, after I have initially claimed I was seeking to simplify this study, I find I have travelled two rabbit trails, so let me try to being this home.
God is the God of the spirits, a God who separates, a God who classifies groups from other groups, a God who creates structure or order by separating one group or situation from another. We see this in our own lives, as we are all somewhat different in our talents, our ministries, our abilities and even in our weaknesses. God is a God of order and structure.
God is also the God of the prophets, those whom He allows to seek Him, to pursue after Him. Prophets seeking truth by being together, by declaring a message to others, and by submitting to the judgement of the spirits of the (other) prophets.
He separates and He gathers.
God is a God of the spirits of the prophets, and in the Book of Revelation, we find He separates those who do not seek Him from those who do seek Him, and gathers together both in their respective groups, or destinies.
I have to admit to my readers that I have never felt so inadequate in explaining my thoughts, and I pray that this short study might even irritate you to dig deeper into this name of God.
He is truly a wonderful God seeking to fulfill His purpose in those who seek Him with a humble heart.
Even with an ol’ fool who struggles to explain a simple concept!
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 70 is essentially a repetition of a portion of Psalm 40. There are some differences that may prove to be instructive, and provide opportunity for comment. The following tables will provide my reader an opportunity to quickly compare each verse between the two psalms and consider the differences for themselves.
Variations between the two Psalms will be noted by italicized font. Earlier comments for this first portion may be found at Psalms for Psome – Ps 40.06.
Prior to getting into the Psalm, it may be good to consider that this Psalm begins with “To the choirmaster. Of David, for the memorial offering.”
This Psalm is stated as related to an offering associated to a past occurrence, a memory, and may refer to Psalm 40, basing this psalms cry to God on the previous Psalm.
This may give the modern believer justification for the repetition of prayers and petitions that are not original from the saint. This thinking is somewhat foreign in my circles, but I have met good and honest believers, those who “merely repeat”, prayers. My judging of this practice is wholly unfair, for what man can judge another man’s motives in his prayers?
Let’s consider the first three verses.
Psalm 70
Psalm 40
1 – Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!
13 – Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!
It seems this prayer is motivated by an immediate need, more so than the original request. Hurry up O God.
Psalm 70
Psalm 40
2 – Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life! Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt!
14 – Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt!
The apparent difference between “confusion “and “disappointed” is translational, for the Hebrew word is the same, but the concept of the disappointment not being complete or “altogether” in psalm 70 may imply the Psalmist is looking for an individual, instead of a group of enemies.
Psalm 70
Psalm 40
3 – Let them turn back because of their shame who say, “Aha, Aha!”
15 – Let thosebe appalled because of their shame who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”
The difference in this verse may be seen in Psalm 70, and that the psalmist is praying for them to be “turned back” or to retreat from any advancement on his life. To be appalled is a much more forceful word in that it describes a desolation, or a ravaging.
Psalm 70, for the minor differences, seems to present to God a prayer of an immediate need, or at least a greater concern with a response from God without delay. The psalmist has modified the prayer to God in Psalm 40, presenting his need as more urgent, and somewhat less concerned with the treatment of his enemies. He is more focused on his salvation than the retribution of his enemies.
A question for my readers. How should a believer, one who has trusted in the Messiah and understood His message, consider the retribution of those who seek his harm?
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.
186
God of Shem
Genesis 9:26 He also said, “Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem; and let Canaan be his servant.
I will be honest with you. When I first saw this verse, the three stooges popped in my head, and I had a picture in my mind of Shep.
Let me tell you first off, that that this mental picture is not helpful, and it is absolutely not true. Well, let me take that back, for it may be true that God is the God of Shep if he had trusted in Christ during his life, and generally, that God is the God of all, (and therefore the God of Shep). but I am going down a rabbit trail.
Let me get back on topic. Who is Shem?
Shem is the first son of Noah, brother to Japheth and Ham, and the father of the line of the Shemites, or as we say it today, the Semites. Yes, he is the father to Abraham, who produced the people of Israel, along with the the Arab nations.
Shem was the eldest of the brothers, and showed respect to his father, (along with his brother Japheth), when Noah fell drunk and lay naked in his tent.
Shem, along with his brothers were associated with Noah in the building of the ark, a massive endeavor to complete. Nowhere does the Word speak of these sons receiving direction or any message from God directly, and this speaks of the honor these men showed to their prophet father Noah.
When we consider Noah’s drunken incident, it occurs to me that Shem is revealing his true colors, his actual faith in God by honoring God’s prophet. He had been faithful prior to the flood in construction efforts and the shame associated with that He had been faithful during the flood, since he was carried through the flood in the ark!
This final act of reverence to the prophet Noah, who has “exposed his nakedness” in some manner, describes the ongoing character of Shem as a righteous man, a protector of his father’s reputation.
Shem is mentioned only a few times in the Old Testament, but from those few times we can deduce that he was a man who worked for his father, who accepted shame for his father, who endured hardness for his father and protected the name of his father.
As Noah spoke these words over his son Shem, the actions of Shem in his past provided Noah a basis of character for this prophecy. Was it clear to Noah that Shem would carry the lineage of Jesus? Maybe. It surely is clear for us, for the chronicler listed a lineage of Shem to include Abraham.
1 Chronicles 1:24 -27 Shem, Arpachshad, Shelah, Eber, Peleg, Reu Serug, Nahor, Terah Abram, that is, Abraham.
Shem’s character showed who he trusted, and Noah declared that God was the God of Shem.
May we hear the Father speak the same of 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.
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
BATHSHEBA
Covenant Owner
1 Kings 1:28-30 Then King David answered, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before the king. And the king swore, saying, “As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, as I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place,’ even so will I do this day.”
Hebrews 6:17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath,
In our last post we spoke of the shame both Bathsheba and the Lord experienced at the hands of the politically powerful.
In this post, we see Bathsheba receiving the fruit of the promise King David gave to her regarding her son Solomon. Solomon would sit on the throne of David upon his passing.
The promise provided to Bathsheba was certain. Bathsheba went to the King, in the midst of another coup attempt happening in the nation of Israel, and was assured of the promise given her, that her son Solomon would be king. The promise granted to Bathsheba was fulfilled at a time when all seemed dark and threatening for her and her son.
A little background may help, for you see, Adonijah had legal right to the throne of David. He was the oldest living son of David, and by the standard of primogeniture, his claim to the throne was valid. Although He assumed the throne prior to the death of king David, which is highly irregular and speaks of his nature, he did have the ancient custom and common law behind him in his effort to ascend to the throne.
It is interesting that David initiated the completion of the promise, that Bathsheba (in this passage) was passive in the transaction. The only action Bathsheba performed was paying homage to the King.
Jesus also was passive in the grave, as the Father worked His power, and kept His promise in raising Him physically from the dead. The Father kept the promise of an everlasting seed on the throne of David by way of having the True King rise from the dead.
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.
185
GOD OF MY SALVATION
Psalm 18:46 The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation
We spoke of the God of Salvation in an earlier post, recounting the nature of the God we worship. This passage speaks of the personal ownership of such a God.
I understand David wrote this psalm in his old age. He wrote this passage after having been rejected by king Saul, hunted by king Saul, ran out of his country by king Saul, rejected by the nation and having only a small portion of Israelites trust him. He had to hide in caves, run at night, have cities that he rescued turn on him. Those he protected rejected him, and those of his family he lost. Wives were taken from him, his best friend was torn from him, and all the comforts and recognition he once enjoyed, was ripped from him, replaced with suspicion, deception and slander.
By the time Saul passed, David had been through the wringer. His testing had proven to be severe, and by the grace and mercy of God, he came out alive, rising to the throne of Judah. Yet his struggles were far from over. Seven and a half years of war with his own people to establish one nation, having to struggle against Saul’s son Is-bosheth and Abner.
Once on the throne of Israel, he experienced a period of personal quietness, while the nation took to warring against their enemies, and eventually becoming the dominant power in the region. If David led the battle, the nation won. God was doing amazing work through a man that had been crushed, chased, hunted, ridiculed, slandered and threatened.
Once he found comfort, he stumbled. This stumble brought great pain and severe consequences to his life, family, and the nation. He lost multiple children to the sin with Bathsheba in the immediate and long term, his daughter was raped by a son who found license by example, and the kingdom of Israel was torn apart, leaving David in his old age, teetering between the grave and the throne. Rejection by the nation he led though the treachery of his own son, and betrayal by his best friend pained David. Even on his death bed, forces were acting in the kingdom, in his very own family, to take his legacy away.
A short history of David is offered here to remind us that the God of Salvation can be the God of My Salvation, and that to experience the God of Salvation requires difficulties, struggles, pain and disappointment. It is in the battles and wars we fight through with the God of Salvation, that allows us to experience the God of My Salvation.
As we walk with Him and taught by Him, we need to keep our eyes on Him as He leads us. He can be the God of My Salvation as we wait on Him each day.
Psalm 25:5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
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.
184
GOD OF SALVATION
Psalm 68:20 Our God is a God of salvation, and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
I once heard a preacher challenge the saints to a thought experiment.
Consider God differently than the Bible teaches.
Hold on a moment. Consider if God was not as the Word teaches. We know He is not for the Scriptures are abundant in the claims of the love, patience, mercy, humility and saving nature of God. We can be thankful for such a God who is for us and not against us!
Yet consider the thought experiment.
What if God’s nature, His personality were grounded and based in hatred, of despising all that were not perfect, providing no hope to those who sought Him.
What if His character allowed, or even championed the trait of deception. No trust could be developed, suspicion would constantly fester and grow within all of creation.
This is painful to consider!
What if God’s character demanded not only perfect obedience to all His demands, but also allowed no delay in that perfect obedience. Instant compliance.
What if God was proud, arrogant and haughty? No encouragement of approaching Him for assistance! No possibility that He might bend down to us, but our only expectation was that He exhibit scorn and contempt towards those below Him.
Can you imagine?
But alas, some want to think of Him in this way. Those who know not the Suffering Savior want to consider Him as the worst possible God.
In fact, as believers, we also tend to sometimes imagine Him this way in our lives, forgetting the message of the Word, the beauty of the God we serve, the mercy He shows, the patience of His love, His willingness to bend down to us in our condition of weakness.
God is a God of love, not hate, a God of truth, not lies, a God of patience, not of agitation, a God of meekness and lowliness, not of scorn and contempt.
We have a God, who by His very nature is a God of Salvation, who can not help but by His very own nature seek to save. Deliverance from death is His game plan, His goal and we are simply the recipients of such a God’s desire.
It is out of this nature of love, truth, patience and lowliness that we find He is the God of Salvation.
He is the God of Salvation, bringing salvation to us through the death of His own Son, proving Him to be the loving, truthful, patient and lowly God we don’t really understand or can fully comprehend.
He is the God of Salvation, and His very name speaks of salvation, for His name is Jesus!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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
Bathsheba
Subservient to Power
2 Samuel 11:2 It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. 2 Samuel 11:4 So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.
Mark 15:3-5 And the chief priests accused him of many things. And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.
This particular typology, or picture of Christ is related to the exercise of power and not an intimate act, though in this case violent. It seems beyond my understanding to think of this as a consensual act of intercourse, but rather an act of political power over a servant of the kingdom.
Simply stated, David took Bathsheba.
As I read the portion of Scripture that describes David’s initial meeting with Bathsheba, it appears that David is the instigator, the manipulator, the power broker, and the dominating force on that fateful day. You see, I have generally thought that Bathsheba may have known that David was in eyesight, and that she may have been laying a trap for him, enticing him, drawing him to her.
I am not convinced, for what woman would in her uncleanness perform such a task. Nowhere do I see her other than one that was abused, even raped by a powerful king, and then sent away. David took her and David lay with her. Verse 4 speaks of David acting, not Bathsheba. The only action Bathsheba took was returning to her house. I imagine her walk back was in shame, that she had been treated so violently.
This understanding of the life of Bathsheba establishes for myself a picture of one who has been violently acted upon by one of power. David was the ultimate authority in the nation at the time, and he did what his selfish desires wanted. He raped a woman without regard to the consequences.
One thousand years later, a Man appeared that came in peace, providing healing and encouragement for the poor and broken hearted. His life was of gentleness and humility, yet those in power decided to violently exercise their power, having him shamed and tortured.
They, like David, let their will and base emotions take control of the situation, not considering the outcome. They wanted what they wanted, and they had the power to get it.
Jesus, like Bathsheba, bowed to the force of power, taking the shame and humiliation without response, without restraint. The record states that Jesus despised the shame, and yet He eventually sat at the right hand of the throne of God. We may visit this topic next time, but for now, consider the likeness of the True King to Bathsheba.
Both suffered unjustly.
Both experienced shame.
Both endured violence.
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.
183
God of Peace
1 Thessalonians 5:23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have just considered the name “God of Love” in 2 Corinthians 13:11, in which Paul added this very description near the end of the verse.
2 Corinthians 13:11 …and the God of love and peace will be with you.
Paul brought this name to bear in the Corinthian passage speaking of the potential of the God of love and peace being with the Corinthians, if they mend their ways.
For the Thessalonians, this name of God is focused solely on peace, and Paul is praying that the God of Peace sanctify these believers completely. There were some issues that the apostle brings before the saints that needed some work.
There appears to be ethical standards, specifically sexual norms, and work ethics that needed addressing. This is common for religious groups that think the end of the world in upon them. Some in the church were definitely preaching His coming, even that he had come. The Second Coming will be addressed in chapter 4, along with Paul’s admonitions to sexual purity and personal responsibility.
One additional item of concern was the attitude of the Thessalonians towards their spiritual leadership. There may have been confusion as to who the leadership was that the believers were to listen to. There were others speaking alternate viewpoints that caused some confusion.
Paul calls on the God of Peace to sanctify these folks. To sanctify means to set apart.
Whenever I hear that term, I recall a message I heard over 40 yrs ago by a dear brother who became a missionary in Bangladesh. He told the story of his brother with an ice cream cone, and that he wanted a bite. The brother decided the best way to avoid any loss of ice cream to his bothersome brother was to lick the entire cone, ice cream and all. He sanctified that cone, and was not bothered again for a bite.
He did not lick a portion of it, allowing a portion still available for my preacher friend. He licked it all. He effectively owned that ice cream cone, and no one else. That cone was set apart for the brother, and no one else.
Although crass, in a very weird way, this analogy strikes a chord in me. Obviously that is true since it has been over 40 years, but it also makes a great point.
God wants us all, and Paul is asking God to accomplish this! Are you not thankful that Paul did not describe God as an all-consuming God? (Especially when thinking of this analogy!)
The God who wants to sanctify us, who wants to set us apart from the world, our sin and our pain is a God of Peace.
Jesus is the God of Peace and He brings peace into our lives, taking the confusion and stress away as we seek His ways.
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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Let’s read the last three verses of this revealing psalm.
Psalm 69:34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them. Psalm 69:35 For God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it; Psalm 69:36 the offspring of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it.
It’s been over three months since we started this psalm of distress, weariness, fear and anger. It contained some of the harshest judgments wished upon the enemies of David in the Psalms. Not the harshest in my opinion, but we will wait until Psalm 137 to consider that passage.
Throughout the passage the psalmist begged for deliverance, referring to the steadfast love of God, of His faithfulness, and of his enemies pursuing him, poisoning him, and providing him sour wine to drink (vs 21). Does this not hint at not only an exterior enemy, but an enemy within the camp?
He had suffered every angle of treachery, was on the edge of destruction, spoke of the flood sweeping over him, of the pit closing up on him. He was a death’s door, and with no one in sight to assist, no one that he could trust.
All alone.
Of course he wasn’t all alone, for he had the God of Israel, and he sought His help.
There was One was was completely, utterly all alone, and whom was saved after death took Him.
For David, he was rescued from death, and due to his rescue, Israel would become a world power. As we think of Jesus, we know that through His death, all heaven and earth shall praise Him, literally all of creation. This praise will be the direct result of the Lord having erupted out of the grave, for all of creation has been groaning in agony.
Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
He goes on the declare that God will save Zion, and build up the cities of Judah. Of course this has been accomplished in the reign of David, as he took control of Judah, at least the first 7 years of his reign.
For the completion of the saving of Zion, we need to look to the Son of David, as…
He is the One who comes to Zion for salvation
Matthew 21:5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
He is the One who is salvation.
1 Peter 2:6 For it stands in Scripture: Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
He is the One who builds the True Zion, the church
Heb 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,
And He is the One who delivers Zion
Romans 11:26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;
Yes Jesus is the complete fulfillment of the salvation of Zion, the building of the cities of Judah (praise), and of the character of those resident in Zion. Note that those that inherit this salvation are the offspring of His servants, those who are of service.
Did not Jesus echo this truth in the beatitudes?
Matthew 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Even as He echoed this truth, He expanded it to include the earth, and not just the single hill of Zion near Jerusalem. No – the entire earth will be the inheritance of the meek, lowly Man named Jesus, and with Him His servants.
His salvation was hinted at in the Old Testament, but the realization of what is now, and what is about to be, is far more than we can think or imagine!
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.
182
God of Love
2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
He is the God of Love. No matter how you cut it, He is the God of Love. Not only is He the source of all that is considered love, but He is the very definition of what true love is.
But in the interest of this verse, lets take a few moments and consider what Paul may be saying here.
Paul admonishes these believers to rejoice. In all of the council Paul has had to offer these believers, all the rebukes and reproaches, he ends with an admonition to rejoice, for in all of the interpersonal issues that have erupted between him and the Corinthian church, all the disciplinary stances he has had to take with this church, he is encouraging them to rejoice. No matter the situation, in the end, there is always reason to rejoice, for we have a God that is over all the storms in our lives, and settles those hearts that look to Him. He is good, and for that simple fact, we should rejoice.
The next thing Paul speaks of is the goal of restoration. There have been relationships strained to the point of breaking in this church, and this is not God’s ideal. Paul directs his saints to aim for restoration, to find ways to make relationships whole, to seek others for the sake of peace. Might he even be suggesting the giving up of rights in order to be peace makers? To die to their own desires for the sake of others? You may have a hard time convincing me otherwise!
The NASB and the RSV actually translates “aim for restoration” as “mend your ways”, for the ways of the saint needed mending. The comfort/encouragement may not be self directed, but intended for saint to provide to others. Two verses earlier in the chapter, Paul is praying for restoration to occur in this church.
They need it!
2 Corinthians 13:9 For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for.
Comfort one another. This is another phrase that may be translated other than it appears. It seems a few of the common translations suggest that Paul is asking the saints to “listen to his appeal”. He has provided God’s will for the people, but if it is ignored, all the counsel in the world will count for nothing for these dear saints!
As if he simply cannot get off the unity theme, his next phrase to admonish and encourage this church of strife is that they are to agree with one another. As an out growth of this call to agreeableness with one another, or as a final admonition for these saints, is to live in peace.
After all of these admonitions, encouragements, directions and counsels, he adds that if they obey, if they seek to follow, then the God of Love and Peace will be with them. (Why would the God of Love and Peace be with a fractious warlike congregation?)
After the effort is expended to find restoration, peace, agreeableness and peace amongst themselves, this church will experience the God of Love.
It is not that God is not the God of Love until they get straight. No no no. Let us not suggest such silliness. No – God is the God of Love, but due to the sin in the group and amongst the brothers, they have cut themselves off from the experience of God’s peace and love in their personal and group life. They sacrificed the knowledge of the God of Love to exercise their selfish desires.
He is the God of Love, and in His person perfect love is found. For the God of Love is found most clearly in Jesus, who is the sum total expression of the Love of God!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
It has been a while since I read of the importance of disagreement in the church. One book I read a few years back, “The Gospel according to Moses“, offered a discussion on the value of alternate opinions on topics of faith. The author’s argument in the book was that bringing up alternate ways of considering portions of Scripture is a healthy way of learning. Interaction with alternate points of view provides challenges to misconceptions and misunderstandings we may have of Bible truths, and allows for each disciple to think, ponder, and possibly self correct.
I say this is the best way to understanding a truth, instead of simply accepting a statement. Be exposed to teaching that does not allow you to be comfortable. Open yourself to what the Word is teaching, even in those portions of Scripture that are difficult, scary or suggest an alternate view of that which you have accepted. After all, if we have the truth, we should be willing to accept all challengers!
Prior to this though, a foundational truth needs to be established. As believers, we must humbly confess that the Word is the source of all truth, that it contains the message we are to follow, that the Word is a message we are to dedicate our lives to learning and obeying, and that the Word is deep, eternal, mysterious, puzzling and most of all, honors the Lord Jesus (and not us) in all it’s message.
The Word as the authority for our faith is foundational. Let the Word be the fire we need, the hammer it is!
In practice though, as modern believers, we tend to gather with believers that are carbon copies of ourselves. When we gather with those who think like we do, and allow one man to monologue the group into his understanding of the Word, I fear we may tend to go numb. We interpret group think as synonymous with peace in the church. It may simply be numbness.
Sadly, this condition of “group think” can also foster a culture of superiority, of thinking we have arrived, that other believers are wrong in some (or many) areas of faith. Alternate opinions are considered sources of confusion (or worse “of the devil”), and this surely is not God’s intent, is it?
Does not the Word speak of confusion as not from God?
1 Corinthians 14:33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,
We may claim alternate teaching as confusing, not because it is, but due to our own laziness, our mental unwillingness to be set off balance, to be challenged.
My point may be further defined in this. Is there any profit (spiritually) to be challenged in your understanding of the Word, of God, of Jesus and His mission?
Is there a possible downside to the modern concept of being “fed” the truth? Is the main source of truth for your life the same general understanding, the same viewpoint on the Scripture that is rediscovered every Sunday morning? Might there be benefit in finding a friend or teacher to challenge our understanding? Should we as believers consider the first truths we were taught to be the only truth?
1 Corinthians 14:36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached?
Test your own body of believers next time you get together. Do you find yourself sitting together, simply reinforcing already accepted truths? The same old truths spoken as all our eyes gloss over, slowly becoming detached to the challenge of understanding such a fantastic book, a message from God!
There is a difference between being told what to think, and being taught how to think.
We may justify our reluctance to be challenged by claiming we have the truth already (sounds boastful in my mind) and desire to maintain a “purity” of doctrine. When a sensitive topic or “difficult” verse enters a conversation, does the group chase it, consider it, dig into it, or does someone simply throw a verse reference at it and move on? I cannot count the number of times I have offered questions and was told to look up a verse later, only to find the verse had nothing to do with my question.
This test may also be misunderstood by my reader, for you may be thinking I am suggesting we reconsider the deity of Christ, or the eternality of God, or any other central doctrine the faithful have clung to through the ages. This is not what I am suggesting. It is more of the secondary doctrines, or those that are on the fringe that need to be considered, examined, and understood, (even if not accepted) as we grow into Christ. It is good to understand our brothers and sisters position in Christ, to have an attitude of teachableness, of humility, and of a willingness to consider their knowledge in the Word.
Personally, the first topic that I tripped over, and that was a test for the body I belonged to at the time, was the topic of tithing. Surely this is not a cardinal doctrine, (though for the church I belonged to at the time, it seemed to be equal in importance to the Atonement.) I have wrote on this topic before so I shall not bore you with the conclusion of the “discussion” on tithing with the leadership, but it did set a mind in me to not simply accept what one man teaches without searching out the Word, looking for answers, and allowing myself to be wrong in my faith.
Since then, I have adjusted my understanding of the Word in a number of it’s teachings, and am thankful the Lord has directed me as I learned. I am also very cognizant of the fact that I still have much to learn and could be wrong in areas I am “sure of”.
I needed to accept the possibility I was wrong in my faith in order to grow in my faith.
No matter, for if we are willing to listen to our brothers, without putting up a wall, without formulating a defense as they explain their position, and express a humility and desire to understand their point of view, much could be accomplished in the fractured church we exist in.
One of the most difficult exercises I have had to practice in this regard is to shut up and to listen! It’s really quite a challenge!
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
Balaam
A Saving Donkey
Numbers 22:23 And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road.
Psalm 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up
As we consider Balaam as a picture of the Christ, we cannot think of Balaam without thinking of the donkey he rode. This donkey, in its efforts to keep it’s master Balaam safe, did all it could to avoid certain danger from the Angel of the Lord. It may seem odd to refer to the donkey as an appropriate topic in relation to the Christ, but did not the Master do all He could to keep us from danger, from the Angel of the Lord.
Also, the donkey is quite appropriate to associate with the Master. Though white stallions are often associated with Kings, a careful reading of the Old Testament reveals that when a King rode a donkey, it was due to him coming in peace.
Consider 1 Kings 1:33
And the king said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord and have Solomon my son ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon.
or Judges 5:10, when Deborah and Barak spoke of royalty
Tell of it, you who ride on white donkeys, you who sit on rich carpets and you who walk by the way.
or Judges 10:4, describing the aspirations of Jair the Gieladite
And he had thirty sons who rode on thirty donkeys, and they had thirty cities, called Havvoth-jair to this day, which are in the land of Gilead.
or Judges 12:14, speaking of Abdon the son of Hillel’s lineage.
He had forty sons and thirty grandsons, who rode on seventy donkeys, and he judged Israel eight years.
Though it may seem obvious to associate a donkey as a beast of burden, and find the likeness of the Christ as the Great burden bearer, it may be also appropriate to see the nature and character of peacefulness as a point of similarity in the Messiah.
After all, He came into Jerusalem, as the prophet predicted.
Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
For the Prince of Peace entered Jerusalem on a donkey, humble and on a mission of peace
Matthew 21:5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
The sad thing is that though the donkey sought to protect Balaam, as the Christ sought to protect and save His people, both the donkey and the Savior received a punishment from the very ones they were caring for.
Yet, as with all pictures of the Christ, the punishment was not equal, for the Messiah suffered, bled and died a horrible death, completely unlike the relatively minor punishment received by the donkey.
The likeness is found in the unjustness of the punishment, and not necessarily the extent, or depth of punishment experienced!
How unjust for the Savior to suffer for me!
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.
181
GOD OF JESHURUN
Deuteronomy 33:26 There is none like the God of Jeshurun, Who rides the heavens to your help, And through the skies in His majesty.
Jeshurun. The name means upright one, and it is used exclusively of Israel. As you may know, Israel mean God prevails.
Jeshurun is a name provided by God, speaking of her ideal character, the goal she as a nation was to strain for. It is a poetic name, especially as we see Israel fail and fail.
To be called Jeshurun was a reminder of the loving attitude of God Almighty towards His called people.
It is interesting that even when God referred to His people by this term of endearment, reflecting an ideal image of the nation, of a nation that was “upright”, that God would ride the heaven to her help.
This truth is sometimes forgotten when things are good in our lives, when we are seeking to please God, when we are not under conviction of sin or undergoing a learning lesson, but simply walking with Him to the best of our ability and knowledge. Even then, He rides the heavens to our help.
He is not a God that only rescues those in trouble, though for that I am eternally thankful, but He is a God who helps those who are walking properly. He is a God who is always at our side, riding the heavens to provide aid to the upright.
He is a God who is with us always.
Matthew 28:20 … behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
He is the God of Jeshurun.
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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:30 I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:31 This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. Psalm 69:32 When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. Psalm 69:33 For the LORD hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.
Let’s return to the passage I started to discuss last week, but as you may remember, got a bit distracted from the text by realizing I am more like Michal than David. To say the least, my discovery of a certain aspect of praise certainly took me aside last week, but for this time together, let’s consider more than just one of the words David used for this portion of Psalm 69.
As I read this four verse portion of Psalm 69, I am struck with how New Testamental David sounds in expressing his faith. He speaks of how praise and thanksgiving is greater than the prescribed sacrifices of bulls and oxes. This attitude, in an age dominated and ordained with a sacrificial system that was required by the faithful in order to approach God formally – this is a massive spiritual understanding of the priority of God’s desires.
Note that David refers to the humble seeing “it”. What is it that the humble see?
Is he reaching back to verse 29, speaking of God’s salvation in setting the distraught saint on high? Or might he be thinking of the universal opportunity to approach God based on humility, brokenness, poverty and desire?
Of course, the end result is that the salvation of God set’s the undeserved on high, but I think the humble rejoice in “how” this occurs, from the standpoint of the saint.
First, note that verse 30 speaks of praise, songs, magnification and thanksgiving. These attitudes or characteristics are not restricted from the believer due to their financial class, at least no due to their lack of finances. There is something to be said about how abundance can dull the saints proper stance before God, but we speak of the humble here.
Vere 33 gives more justification to think the humble rejoice in the “how” of approaching God and not specifically the end result of being lifted up. The verse speaks of the needy, and of prisoners, those who have no resources other than their hearts and souls before God.
Yes, the humble rejoice in that they are provided no restrictions in approaching God, that they are not “buying” time with God, but simply expressing a deep need for the Lord, and this is what pleases God, even more than sacrifice!
This is such a freeing concept, a freeing understanding of the type of God we have, that he sets no restrictions to our approaching him in humility and brokenness, and yet I fear we sometimes approach Him in our pride and a wholeness that must nauseate the Master.
As you may know, I got me some grandkids and I love those little rugrats, but when they come to me thinking they are equal, or that they want to manipulate me, or that they can boss ol’ gramps around, that turns my nose up. Don’t get me wrong, I still love them, and I wanna hug em all the time, but a period of repositioning the child in the family has to occur for rightness to occur in the relationship.
But I do have a short story if you don’t mind me sharing, for we had a bunch of my favorite people together for a long weekend. My youngin’s and I were a drivin and singing together, playing old Macdonald, going 75 mph on the highway, when all of a sudden, the group got real quiet. That is a rare situation with four grandkids and grampa, but it happened – no joke! During that interlude, I looked back at one of those youngins, and he simply looked me in the eye, and completely out of the blue, said clear as a bell…
“I love you grandpa”
I can’t communicate the inflection in his voice or the softness of his eyes, the gentle smile on his face or the innocence of the moment, but trust me – at that moment in my life, all was well in my world!
Now, imagine God in a similar circumstance. Since He created us in His image, and though we be a broken and weak reflection of Him, if a simple expression like that melts an ol fella like me, might our simple, humble confession, especially out of the blue, capture God’s attention?
That is the type of God we serve. An active God that is alive and relatable. He is a loving 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.
180
GOD OF HEAVEN AND EARTH
Ezra 5:11 And this was their reply to us: ‘We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are rebuilding the house that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.
Ezra is a teaching scribe, provided by God to the nation after being in Babylon for 70 years. Those brave enough to leave the nation that took them captive, experienced challenges beyond our imagination, but with leaders like Ezra and Nehemiah, were able to surmount those challenges.
The challenge the nation was confronting in this portion of Scripture is the neighboring governors of nearby provinces, impacting the Jews desire to rebuild the temple. These neighboring powers, (Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai) sent a letter to Darius, the king of Persian, the ultimate power of the region, questioning the legality of the Jews efforts.
The situation smacks of sucking up to the powers that be, in order to find some advantage. (A bit like my little grandkids when they go tattle on their brother to mommy).
Nevertheless, this was another challenge to the Jews that may cause a work stoppage. A letter was crafted by the Jews, describing their efforts and their authority to perform the work. In this letter, that Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai sent off to Darius, the Jews declare they are the servants of the God of heaven and earth.
Interestingly, Darius, as king of Persia, and ruling over the largest empire the world had ever known at the time, was very tolerant of other religions. He, himself seemed to be monotheistic, that is, he only spoke of one God, speaking only of the religion of Zoroaster.
For the Jews to refer to the God of heaven and earth, as apposed the the God of Israel, had two intents, if I understand the motivation for speaking to Darius in such a way.
To refer to God as the God of Israel, may introduce an element of superiority of the Jews over the Persian king. This communication may have been chosen in order to maintain good relations with the Persian king while they have his favor.
The second reason the Jews may have referred to God as the God of heaven and earth is that Darius spoke of one god, Ahura Mazda, the supreme god of the Persians. Though the identification of the supreme God differed between the Persians and the Jewish nation, both agreed there was a power over them that was supreme.
The Jews reminded Darius, (along with Tattenai and Shethar-bozenai), of this truth. Even the king of Persia had to answer to someone, and the Jews communicated this truth to find common ground between them. Very diplomatic!
He is the God of Heaven and Earth. He reigns over all inhabitants of this creation, making all responsible to Him, whether you were a recently released people or the reigning King of Persia.
We are all under Him, the God of Heaven and Earth. Thankfully, we can know Him, as He has entered our existence, bled and died, was raised for our salvation and rules over us.
There is no longer any need to speak in general terms to identify the God of Heaven and Earth. The God of Heaven and Earth is Jesus.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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
Balaam
Third Temptation
Numbers 31:16 Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor
Matthew 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”
At this point in the narrative, Balak and Balaam are together, with Balak still needing that cursing. He really, really needs that cursing, and yet Balaam is constant in his claim that what the Lord speaks, he will speak.
Balaam gives a number of oracles, or prophecies in chapters 23 & 24 that are worthy of review, and the result is that Balak comes away from this time with Balaam, being cursed himself!
It looks like Balaam, on the surface survived the testing and moved on. Yes, he certainly said the right things!
Except, it appears that Moses brings up a time where Balaam provide some counsel to Balak. He rightly did not and could not curse the people of God as a prophet, but as a counsellor to Balak, Balaam was able to provide Balak’s needs.
Numbers 31:16 Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.
After all of Balaam’s “faithfulness” in speaking, in the manner of a prophet, it seems Balaam takes the king aside, and counsels him with some “free” advise.
I can hear ol’ Balaam even now.
“You know king Balak, if you draw the Israelites away from worshipping God with some wild Moabite women, God may not take too kindly to that. Just saying…”
Effective advice, for after the proclamation of Balaam’s oracles, that speak of the Lord Jesus as the Messiah in chapters 23 & 24, immediately we see the Israelites whoring with the daughters of Moab, worshipping Baal at Peor. The result? The anger of the Lord lashes out, killing many of the Israelites!
Balaam’s third temptation may not have been a specific temptation, at least that I can find, but simply a response to the original thought of “a house full of gold and silver”. Balak’s blank check just couldn’t be resisted.
So Balaam provided some counsel!
Numbers 25:3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. Numbers 25:4 And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.” Numbers 25:9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
Balak, for all his efforts, and through all the frustrations he had with Balaam, was able to find success in weakening those people he feared. Twenty four thousand dead, and Balak didn’t have to raise a spear!
Balaam is such a mixed bag. He spoke right, seemed to have the ear of God, and yet caused such devastation to the people of God.
Balaam decided to worship things. He found ways to avoid the conditions God set down for him, and when all was said and done, when all the prophecies were spoken, and when Balak was fully frustrated with Balaam, only then would Balaam let the cat out of the bag, and provide Balak counsel. The prophecies certainly were not satisfying Balak, and when any hope of funds transferring hands seemed to be slipping away, Balaam stepped up for Balak. So disappointing!
For the Lord’s last temptation, He was offered all the glory of the kingdoms of the world. The “house full of gold” that Jesus was tempted with far outshone that which Balaam could have imagined.
But the end result was so different. For the Lord, He sought no “out”, no looking for loopholes in the will of God, no adjustments in who (or what) to worship, no distraction from who He would serve. He resisted to the end! He was not simply avoiding sin, He was seeking God with everything He had.
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.
179
God my Rock
Psalm 42:9 I say to God, my rock: “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”
The psalmist is all alone. At least that is his experience, if not his reality. He is mourning, with an enemy actively attacking him, causing him trials and taking away any semblance of peace in his life.
He is not is a whining attitude, complaining about God, as if folr some reason God is at fault. No no no. During the first few verses of this psalm, he speaks of his desire to know God.
Psalm 42:2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
He also speaks of the faithfulness of God.
Psalm 42:8 By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
By the time we arrive at verse 9, we may think he is claiming God has forgotten him. How can he say that when just the verse prior, he speaks of God commanding His steadfast love towards him?
It is a familiar place for the believer to admit, even confess the greatness of God, of His faithfulness and constancy, of His continual care for the saint. Yet there is the admission that some of the trial the believer may be going through is directly from the One who cares.
Consider verse 7, where he speaks of God’s waterfalls, God’s breakers and God’s waves going over him.
Psalm 42:7 Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls; all your breakers and your waves have gone over me.
This saint is confessing what seems to be conflicting truths! On top of these two truths, that of God’s faithfulness, and the God has provided a trial for the saint, we find he reminds himself of the truth that God is His protection.
God is his rock. Now when he speaks of God as his rock, he is not referring to a stone that could be picked up, a trinket of rock that may be thought of as a souvenir.
When he speaks of God the rock, he is speaking of a massive rocky outcrop, a craggy place providing areas of protection for the saint. The term also describes a lofty, high location, defined by cliffs with deep depressions. One passage speaks of the rock as a place where judgement was unleashed on the enemies of Israel.
2 Chronicles 25:12 The men of Judah captured another 10,000 alive and took them to the top of a rock and threw them down from the top of the rock, and they were all dashed to pieces.
For the majority of passages in the Old Testament, this term “rock” often describes a stronghold, a place of refuge, a place of security and perspective. Perspective, for the rock provides a different viewpoint, a place that is not on the level ground of our existence, but elevated, above our trials and temptations, a place where we may understand God’s perspective on a matter.
Is this not the Psalmist’s witness, even as he corrects his own soul?
Psalm 42:5 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation
Psalm 42:11 Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
Yes, our saint is in inner turmoil, with external forces buffeting him and internal conflicts raging. But when he resorts to the Rock, he gains a perspective, he gains a security, as a stronghold can afford one in a battle. He resorts to God his Rock, and finds a safe place, providing clarity for his situation.
God is our Rock.
Flee to Him if you are embattled and confused.
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 69 is a psalm of sorrow, of apparent defeat and deep emotional stress, of a distress in the heart and of being overwhelmed, of a weariness of soul, and of a waiting for an answer from God. It is a psalm that speaks of loneliness, of disappointment and of extended trials.
As we venture through the psalmist’s deep confession, his pain and his sorrow, we will encounter passages that will be referred to in the New Testament, providing a recounting of the sorrow of Jesus.
Psalm 69:30 I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:31 This will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. Psalm 69:32 When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. Psalm 69:33 For the LORD hears the needy and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.
As you know, I love to try to understand the words we read in our English Bible with the original meanings that men and women have researched. They have provided for us a treasure of knowledge in the work of lexicons and dictionaries of the New and Old Testament.
This morning, as I was just beginning to dig into this passage, I reviewed the word “praise” in the first verse, reading through the Strong’s definition.
Let me share with you what I found.
Did you notice what I noticed? See the reference to “foolish”? Strong’s dictionary defines this word to include the meaning of to be clamorously foolish, even to rave! “Clamorously” refers to that which attracts attention. Something is wrong here. To praise is not to make a fool of myself, is it?
I had to check another source. Let’s consider Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon. The fourth paragraph speaks the same.
The idea of praise in the Old Testament has an element of boasting (which I get) but, which surprised me, a boasting to the extent of appearing foolish.
Why is this such a concern Carl?
A short confession may help my reader understand.
I am an introvert. Give me 8 – 12 hours of study, and I will walk away content and happy. Occasional bursts of emotion, though they may erupt in my heart and soul are “handled” until I can explain myself logically, or at least methodically. Does not the Scripture teach me that the Spirit Himself guides us into a life of self control? Am I not justified in “controlling” my praise to God, in bringing honor to Him while retaining my own?
How is a believer to reconcile this apparent tension. A self controlled believer or a boasting, clamorous fool. Is this a necessary conflict in my thinking? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill?
My friends – I think I have described a man above who seeks to protect his reputation to the detriment of the glory of God. I am the embodiment of a crusty old believer (I think of it as “mature”) that appears to have little or no joy. If God shows forth His greatness to a ol’ fool such as I, should I control that? Should I damp down that joy?
I can’t help thinking of a passage that has always somewhat bothered me.
2 Samuel 6:16 ESV – As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart. 2 Samuel 6:20 …Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants’ female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!” 2 Samuel 6:21 …David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the LORD–and I will celebrate before the LORD.
Am I to act as Michal, or as David? Now that is disheartening! I know which of these characters I reflect. I am the controlled, contained, concerned Michal.
2 Samuel 6:22 will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor.”
David expressed his concern over Michal’s complaint by throwing his own honor (in her sight) under the bus for the sake of the Lord’s honor. Remember David was King of Israel, and he had risked it all for this position. Yet his concern over any honor he may loose was nonexistent.
David was led of the Spirit to worship God and openly show his love for God.
Regarding the self control I resort to when this topic of praise comes up, I am seeing that I have controlled the One who is to control me. Yes, He will, as I depend on Him, provide the strength to resist sinful behavior, providing a self control that honors Him. But any of this self control I exercise, that is any controlling of my heart expression when it comes to God’s glory and His goodness is simply a dampening, an extinguishing of Spirit led praise to God.
Paul saw me coming when he repeatedly wrote of this possibility in the believer
Ephesians 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit.
For a brief moment this morning, join me is a prayer that as believers, we (I) would allow the goodness, the greatness, and the glory of the Lord to be expressed in our lives, even in a foolish way, a clamorous way, but only in a way that honors Him. That we (I) would show our love and amazement of the One on the throne, who hung on a cruel cross for us, clearly boasting as the Spirit leads, of His goodness and love for us, willing to sacrifice our own ego, self esteem, pride and reputation to the gutter for the sake of His honor being seen, even for a moment.
How this works out in our lives is up to the One who is over us. May we trust Him enough to follow even in this!
May His name be honored, and mine forgotten.
I fear I have departed from the text this morning, but this has been an unexpected illumination on my part. I will come back to Psalm 69:30-33 in our next posting.
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.
178
GOD MOST HIGH
Genesis 14:19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;
This name of God has been addressed once previously, but the passage considered translated the as “the Most High God”, and it was addressed very early in our study, at the 6th posting. The post may be found at Names of God – EL ELYON (THE MOST HIGH GOD) – 6.
Although this is the same name in the Hebrew, the translators have decided to rearrange the terms, and given me an opportunity to consider the name God Most High.
The passage finds us with Abram after his victory over the kings in the Valley of Siddim. After the battle of the nine kings, where Chedorlaomer, and three of his allies crushed five smaller kings, he looted the area, picking up a certain fellow named Lot. This was definitely not an acceptable condition for Abram, so with 318 trained servants, he ran a night mission and rescued his nephew Lot.
Abraham actually didn’t simply sneak into the camp and steal Lot away under cover of darkness, but the passage speaks of Abraham pursuing the 4 kings as far as Dan, defeating them.
Get that? An old shepherd with 318 servants, trained though they be, attacked a coalition force of 4 armies, successful armies that were on their victory march back to their home country. Not only did Abraham have the hutzpah to attack, he found victory over this marauding force, rescuing Lot, recovering Lot’s possessions, along with the women and people of Sodom.
A fantastic story of a man rescuing his nephew, a nephew that took the best area to settle in, that seemed to have a selfish streak, and that is remembered only in relation to his uncle.
A tremendous foreshadowing of Another who left everything behind to save a selfish man!
After this testing and restoration of the family, a mysterious man shows up by the name of Melchizedek. I personally believe this was the Lord Jesus in a pre incarnate visit with His saint.
Upon this meeting, Abraham was in the presence of the Master, with Melchizedek blessing Abraham. Note the blessing carefully.
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High”
Ok, let’s think about this. Who was blessing Abram?
Melchizedek?
Melchizedek spoke the words, and therefore the blessing was by Melchizedek
God Most High?
Yet Melchizedek stated the blessing on Abram was by God Most High.
Seems to be obvious to me that Melchizedek, as God Most High was blessing Abram.
Jesus is God Most High!
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
Balaam
Second Temptation
Numbers 22:18 But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD my God to do less or more.
Matthew 4:7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
In our first consideration of Balaam as a type or picture of the Lord, we find him resisting the initial offering of the king of Moab, fighting off the temptation, and successfully sending the Moabite servants back to Balak.
But Balak, like all tempters, is not to give up easily. He needs Balaam’s “talent” and sends more important folks to discuss with Balaam.
Let’s read the passage and consider how Balaam performs in this second tempation.
Numbers 22:15 Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these. Numbers 22:16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me, Numbers 22:17 for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Come, curse this people for me.’” Numbers 22:18 But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD my God to do less or more. Numbers 22:19 So you, too, please stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.” Numbers 22:20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.” Numbers 22:21 So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.
Now before we get into this passage, lets remember this is the temptation that includes Balaam’s donkey chit chatting with him. Although super interesting, this portion of the passage will not be dealt with in this posting.
second Temptation
In this second temptation, Balak offers Balaam great honor and a blank check. He is not simply providing the diviner’s fees as in the last temptation. No no no. Balak offered him an incredible, though generic, offer.
Numbers 22:17 ….whatever you say to me I will do
Balaam, if anything in this passage, is not subtle. He pontificates on his ability to resist – I would suggest this is a great weakness – even as the offer of a blank check is provided.
Numbers 22:18 …”Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD my God to do less or more”.
Balaam’s response is awesome. Sounds really good, but I wonder. Why mention gold and silver unless it was on his mind? Could he not have simply said no, that Israel was blessed, and that God was in charge, that God was the One who determined Israel’s future?
Balaam begins to show his inner man, his desire for wealth and power in this temptation. The covering is dropping and his nature becomes a bit more evident than in the first temptation.
Yes Balaam rejected the temptation, but he also seemed to introduce an opportunity for the men of Moab to provide greater motivation for Balaam next time.
You know, I am wondering. Did Balaam actually resist the temptation here? As I read a bit further, and see that God becomes angry with Balaam, I have to ask myself – What is going on? Lets review the passage and check out verse 20 through 22 for some clues.
Numbers 22:20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.” Numbers 22:21 So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. Numbers 22:22 But God’s anger was kindled because he went, …
What is it that Balaam did, per the passage above, that might have kindled the anger of the Lord?
You see, Balaam eventually ventured off to Moab with these fellas, but I don’t see where the men came to call on him. Notice in verse 20, that tiny word “if”. Notice that God placed a condition on Balaam’s release to venture off, but it seems Balaam, in his desire for houses full of gold, may have made an assumption he shouldn’t have. He simply rose and went.
God told Balaam to rise. Balaam rose in the morning.
God told Balaam to go with the princes of Moab. Balaam went with the men.
The only thing Balaam didn’t do was to wait for the men to come get him. The silence of the passage referring to the men coming to Balaam is deafening. Balaam simply wanted to go and he simply went.
If it wasn’t so sad, it would be funny, for Balaam used that “if” word in response to God’s restricting him while travelling
Numbers 22:34 ESV – Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.”
Again, Balaam did not simply bow to the Lord, admit his sin and turn back. Was there something in the circumstances that allowed Balaam to think his sin in travelling, without fulfilling the condition God set, was acceptable? Maybe he was simply looking for an opportunity to continue on his way, hoping for the allowance of God in his mission.
In summary, he refused the offer of the Moabites in verse 18, but told the men to stick around. Maybe God may change His mind, maybe he could work this situation. After that night, and knowing the condition God set, Balaam simply started travelling with the emissaries. Now he is asking if….
Numbers 22:34 … if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.”
It turns out God did allow Balaam to venture into the lions den, into Moab and to face the tempter himself, Balak, the king of Moab.
Balaam, by his speech and teaching to the Moabites is looking relatively good. He is speaking of God’s blessing on Israel, and the refusal of cursing upon Israel. Yet he seems to be exhibiting the character traits of a self willed, greedy man.
Jesus, though, did not succumb to His second temptation, nor provide any long winded reasoning or excuse, but simply quoted God’s word. He exhibited the willingness to allow suffering to enter His life, and to not test God, but to be subject to the will of God.
Balaam sought the worlds riches, while Jesus rebuked His tempter. Note that this second temptation of the Messiah speaks of God’s blank check to the Messiah, of His care for the Messiah, of the angels at God’s beck and call for the sake of the Messiah.
Such commitment from the Father to the Son, and to think that that care was relinquished for our sake. Of course, the Father’s eye watched over the Son in every trial and terror, until the last, where the Son willingly suffered for our sakes.
He gave up this promise for us. He gave up all for us. He is so unlike Balaam. He is so unlike us.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you 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.
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GOD MANIFEST IN THE FLESH
1 Timothy 3:16 Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.
I have a friend down south who stated this passage was his very favorite verse of the entire Bible.
The entire Bible.
That is some claim, and he certainly used it in many contexts, but his favorite context was when we were evangelizing on the streets, in the winter, while the temps were -20 to -30 degrees, on Tuesday nights.
No-one left their warm homes during the winter, especially on a Tuesday night (for some unknown reason), and we were occasionally asked in as a gesture of kindness. Sometimes the invite was due to curiosity, for we clearly represented ourselves immediately as Christian believers sharing the gospel of Christ.
Prior to knocking, we would always decide which of us would speak, and which of us would pray, and as this one night I will speak of progressed, my brother took this verse and shared a mystery with a young family.
He spoke of God being in the flesh. He really labored on this phrase, for he sought to make Jesus understood for who He is, and not some generic, run of the mill Rabbi, or teacher, or prophet. He labored in making the point that Jesus was not simply a good man, but that He was God in the flesh.
Now if you spend just a moment considering this phrase, hopefully you will come to the same conclusion Paul suggested as he began this verse..
This truth, that Jesus was (and is) God in the flesh is a great mystery. How could God be “in the flesh”?
Sometimes in the New Testament, to be “in the flesh” is synonymous with living in the sinful nature, or to be fleshly, earthy and natural. Surely this is not the message Paul is giving out, for he speaks of the Messiah as being vindicated by the Spirit, that He was the worthy Lamb of God.
So what is Paul getting at? What is so mysterious?
The mystery, at least in this verse, is that Paul is speaking of how God saves sinners, that is, God saves sinners through the Christ, that God’s Messiah was not just a very good man, but that He was God in the flesh, in a human body.
That really is a mind blowing truth.
Now, for context, a mystery for those of the first century, referred to something that had been hidden, that had not been understood, or even considered, but that was now a known truth.
So let me try to summarize.
God’s method of saving lost souls is through His taking on of human flesh, with all the limitations, pains, weakness, fears, pressures and trials of the human experience.
God’s method of saving lost souls is through Jesus, accepting the condition of humanity forever, and dying to bring us to God.
Jesus is God manifest in the flesh!
That night, a friendly family who invited us in for some warmth, were given a mystery, a message revealed that is truly magnificent, and after 30 years, still rings in my ears.
He is God manifest in the flesh!
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 