Revelation 22:14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Revelation 22:15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
Consider the first verse. Why are the subjects of the verse blessed? What is the result of this blessing?
When I first read this passage, I automatically though John was simply stating a past fact – that those who had washed their robes – they would have the right to the tree of life. I washed my robes in 1981 – I’m good. Let’s move on!
Yet as I started looking at the passage, I started to consider that the verb was in the present tense. That is to say, it is a continual action. Now I am not a greek scholar, nor even a student of the language. I rely heavily on those who went before, and I am fully open to any for correction. With that said, I will provide what I have found regarding this verb.
As I have found, the verb πλύνω plýnō, – wash in our verse – describes a plunging, or of a flow, a laundering of sorts. The parsing, as shown in the graphic speaks of the possibilty of the verb to be a past action. If this is the correct understanding of this passage, it would definitely support my previous thought.
But in reviewing numerous english translations, non of the translations available translate it as “Blessed are those who have washed…”
Some are so bold to interpret this first phase as
Blessed are those who do His commandments… NKJV
Happy are those doing His commands… YLT
Blessed are they that do his commandments… WEB
I fear that my original understanding, though somewhat comforting, did not provide me the surety of my condition. Surety of my right to the tree of Life, our Savior, is to be found in following Him, washing our robes as they get soiled from our living on this earth.
Got clean robes?
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
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.
169
GLORIOUS SPLENDOUR OF YOUR MAJESTY
Psalm 145:5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
To meditate is to dwell, to settle the mind on a subject or topic and reside on that topic. To consider the topic, to review the topic, to ask questions and to accept the message, to understand how the topic impacts your life or to realize how little you know of the topic.
Or name of God in this post is the double description of the King.
Let’s try to dig into this name of God and find a thought to carry into our day to dwell on, as the psalmist dis in his day.
MAJESTY
Majesty speaks of authority and dignity, of royalty, nobility and elegance. To be majestic was to imply that the majestic one was higher, better, greater, stronger than those he reigned over. To be majestic did not allow for a democratic choosing of a leader, but of the right to rule due to bloodlines, to lineage, to the identity of the one ruling.
This was the picture provided in the Old Testament of the earthly kings, that the dynasties had the right to reign. God actually strengthened this thought by promising the eternal reign of David’s Son on the throne. David’s Son, who was faithful to God would reign eternally. Not only through a bloodline, but by actually being higher, better, greater and stronger than those He reigned over.
He is the only One deserving of Majesty as He sits on the Throne of the Kingdom of God, and over all of creation He is the King.
Yet this name includes two superlatives that are attached to majesty.
GLORIOUS
When I first found that this Hebrew word spoke originally of weight, I lost my bearing. Yet I dug a bit and found that during the establishment of this word meaning, a majority of those in authority also ate well, thereby associating weight (glory) with awe, magnificence, wonder or astonishment.
To be glorious implied a “weight” of being, an otherness from the ordinary, different than those around them, separate and of greater (implied) value.
Of course, as this term is brought into the discussion of God, this implied meaning becomes absolute, for He is different, sinless, without weakness, ignorance or foolishness. He is completely and without argument other than us, and yet He has bonded with our lives in the Son.
He has taken on our flesh (Hebrews 2:14) , that He may die to bring us to God.
SPLENDOUR
Splendor describes beauty, carrying the idea of beauty associated with glory, majesty and honor. All three of the terms we are looking at in this passage have much overlap, as though the psalmist could not find the words to completely describe the object of our worship.
The combination of splendor and majesty is common in the Old Testament, with both the Hebrew words being found in 8 different verses of the Old Testament.
But as mentioned above, the psalmist can’t hold back from his description of our God in this passage. The combination of these three terms are found only twice in Old Testament verses, with the second verse being
Psalm 21:5 His glory is great through your salvation; splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
Although the words are found in Psalm 21:5, the combination of these three terms in relation to the name of God may only be found in our verse today.
As you meditate on the name of God today, consider our Savior, for He is the GLORIOUS SPLENDOUR OF MAJESTY.
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.
168
GLORIOUS ARM
Isaiah 63:12 who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name,
As New Testament believers, we have the privilege of understanding the Old Testament from the standpoint of being in Christ. The entire Old Testament open up for us as we have found the key of understanding, the Person who is the focus of all that happened in the former days.
I previously pictured verses like our topic passage, exhibiting a massive, literal and muscled arm that Isaiah describes in this verse. I am way too literal at times but I fear that we sometimes interpret the Old Testament as 21st century believers and not as the ancient Hebrew recipients.
So how would an ancient Hebrew believer, contemporary to Isaiah understand this passage? How would the Old Testament Hebrew understand Isaiah’s use of “glorious arm?”
Throughout the passage, Isaiah is speaking of the Lord’s mercy to the nation, and uses word pictures, even metaphors of strength to describe God’s saving work for the nation.
I understand the Hebrew prophets to write in a poetic form, and to make use of figures or images that provide dual meanings for those reading the message. The prophets of old would also use a form of poetry called parallelism. This form of poetry would be developed by repeating the same message as the previous line, but with greater force, or with a richer picture to wedge itself in hearer’s mind.
When Isaiah started the portion of Scripture for our verse, He mentioned the Holy Spirit (twice) and of course God the Father was the subject of the deliverance of the people of God. When the deliverance was attributed to God’s Glorious Arm, it seems obvious to my understanding that Jesus is the subject.
He is the One who executed the deliverance, who completed the work, who was the One who accomplished the feat of rescue, who fulfilled the work planned. To further identify the Glorious Arm in this passage, the Savior is referred to in verse 8, and the Angel of His Presence in verse 9.
Consider the One who compared Himself as meek and lowly, as the Glorious Arm, the One who is able, and has performed the work of our salvation.
He is the Glorious Arm.
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.
Exodus 32:31 So Moses returned to the LORD and said, “Alas, this people has sinned a great sin. They have made for themselves gods of gold. Exodus 32:32 But now, if you will forgive their sin–but if not, please blot me out of your book that you have written.” Exodus 32:33 But the LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.
Moses has a problem. The newly formed nation, whom God has delivered out of Egypt by His mighty hand has a problem. After receiving the covenant and confirming the covenant, obligating themselves to obey the covenant delivered to them by Moses, decided to fall back to the old ways of idolatry.
Exodus 32 is the story of the golden calf and of Israel’s deliverer interacting with God Almighty on the mount, while the people, are running roughshod over the very agreement they made with God.
Consider
Exodus 32:7 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. Exodus 32:8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’”
God is about to wipe the nation off the face of the earth, and speaking of replacing the nation!
Exodus 32:10 Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.”
Moses went down the mountain, saw what God was referring to and was furious.
Exodus 32:19 And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain.
Moses laid it out on the line for the nation. They had sinned a sin, a great sin.
Exodus 32:30 ESV – The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”
Even after undertaking such a great sin, Moses offered the hope of atonement. The hope of continuing with the Lord as a nation. Moses provided an option for the Lord, a chance for the Lord to simply take Moses and punish him instead of the entire nation. This is Moses acting like Jesus, a tremendous exercise of the love of God being offered for the rebellious people of God by Moses the mediator.
This passage speaks the truth – the one who sins will bear responsibility – he will be blotted out of God’s book. Now it bears to reason that to be blotted out of God’s book means the person was in God’s book in the first place.
It is easy, coming from my position to assume that to be in God’s book is equal to being saved, and to be removed from the book is to loose salvation. It would be easy to make the equivalent, but I think it wise to be careful, since we are speaking of a national existence and individual sinners within the nation that will have judgement fall on them.
The very next verse helps us understand the extent of the judgement, and our topic verses are directly linked to the reason for the death entering the camp.
Exodus 32:25 Then the LORD sent a plague on the people, because they made the calf, the one that Aaron made.
People died because of sin. This is the point, even for the rescued people of God. It is obvious the people of God fell under judgement, and death resulted. How we as New Testament believers are to understand this passage is worthy of pause and consideration.
Are we to consider it only a physical death that may result as in 1 Corinthians,
1 Corinthians 11:30, 32 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
Or are we to understand that, just as the people who fell in Exodus, the New Testament people of God can also loose spiritual privileges, even life with God by wanton, great sin?
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
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
Amos
Knowledge of God’s Secrets
Amos 3:7 “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.
Ephesians 3:5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
There is an element of Christianity that claims God almost requires their permission to act, that they are the creators of their own prosperity. One of the verses that this group rely on is our passage above, wresting it out of context and using it for their own benefit. The leadership of this group claim privilege beyond any saint or prophet of old. God is looking to warn His people of the judgement coming, and with this intent, Amos speaks of God revealing this secret to his prophets. Nothing more than that for Amos.
Ephesians 3:5 speaks to this limitation of the Old Testament saints and prophets. For the New Testament era, Paul does provide teaching regarding the knowledge revealed to His apostles and prophets. This greater revelation though is of the mystery of Christ, but Paul defines this mystery. This mystery is of the combining of the Gentiles and Jews into the Body of Christ.
For us who have readily accepted this truth, to call it a mystery seems to be dated since it is such an established truth. Yet even in the era we live in, God has not revealed everything to His people. The Word has provided revelation beyond anything we deserve, yet there are many things God is still holding close to the chest from us.
We are to be thankful for His revealing of the One who can and does share in the knowledge of God’s secrets. for He is worthy, and rightly to be considered the One who is the Knowledge of God’s Secrets.
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.
167
GLADNESS OF YOUR NATION
Psalm 106:4-5 Remember me, O LORD, when you show favor to your people; help me when you save them that I may look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation, that I may glory with your inheritance.
Psalm 106 is a psalm in which the author recounts the many instances of Israel’s rebellion. In verse 6 and continuing for 40 verses, the psalmist speaks of Israel’s failure. Psalm 105 speaks of God’s mercy and mighty acts for 40 verses, and this chapter speaks of the many times Israel has forgotten God wandering into sin.
Psalm 106 is a psalm that speaks of the nation’s weakness and tendency to wander. The psalmist knows his content and cry of admission, but before he recounts the failed history of the nation, and his own life, he begins with verse 4 &5. He cries out to God in verse 4 for national help, for a national salvation and for favor to be shown to His people.
The psalmist cries this out for three reasons in verse 5. He is asking for the favor of the Lord that he (the psalmist) may…
1. look upon the prosperity of your chosen ones, 2. rejoice in the gladness of your nation, 3. glory with your inheritance.
He knows that though God has been offended by their rebellion, the only hope they have is the mercy of God. Once granted by God, the psalmist will take part in experiencing the prosperity, gladness and glory of the nation, of the people of God.
Hundreds of years after the psalmist passes, God provides this mercy in the person of the Lord Jesus. He is the personification of all of God’s mercy towards Israel, in the midst of their sinful behavior, and as believers today, we know that in His coming and dying for the nation, He is, for those who will see, the very Gladness of Your Nation.
He is the Gladness of His Nation, the church spread throughout the earth!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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.
166
GIFT OF GOD
John 4:10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
Can Jesus raise a curious mind? Can He bring interest to the forefront. Does He not draw people out of their self involved little world to see bigger pictures?
The Samaritan woman is one of my favorite characters in the early chapters of John, only for the sake of Jesus choosing her to openly confess His Messiahship. Dang – He hadn’t even told the disciple as yet, though they openly expressed their suspicions.
A question for my reader. Is Jesus asking her one question or two? Is it the same question?
Is it equal in intent to say that the gift of God is He that is asking for water? Is He equating in this verse that He is the gift of God? I realize He uses the word “and”, expressing commonly the addition of a thought.
But might He be a Hebrew prophet (and much more) and follow in the tradition of speaking one truth, and then clarifying that truth with another statement. It is very common in the proverbs, and in the prophets.
I had a chance to discuss this form of communicating in a post a few years back called Did Jesus go to Hell? When you arrive to that post, do a quick search for poetry and the paragraph will pop up.
Nevertheless, as we know from passages later in John, and throughout the New Testament, and Old, Jesus is the gift of God to undeserving saints and sinners.
This woman was simply the first to hear it from His own lips. What a fantastic story of her redemption and release from bondage.
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.
Revelation 21:27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Revelation. What a book. If you understand it, you don’t. Every time I try to enter it’s mysteries, I come out of it with more questions. Yet every time I enter it, I also come out of it knowing one single truth.
Jesus wins in the end.
How we get there is up to Him, and by His grace I’m gonna hang on, but He wins in the end, and that is a great comfort to us.
For the passage above, let’s consider the context of the verse. The portion of Revelation this verse is found in has John describing the new Jerusalem, after experiencing the New Heaven and the New Earth (Revelation 21:1-8).
Verse 8 end the first passage on a very sour note.
Revelation 21:8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
A disturbing verse for what it says and what it does not say. Nowhere in that passage does John speak of those in the lake of death as being faithless. Not once are those who are suffering related to how they believed or did not believe in Jesus. It is an assumption I always made, and other passages surely connect our faith with our destiny, but for this verse, that connection is absent. Interesting – disturbing but also intriguing!
On to our passage in Revelation 21:9-27. A bulk of the passage describes the “physical” appearance of the holy city of Jerusalem. Verses 11 through 21 speak of the walls and the gates, which is worthy of comment, but we need to focus on the topic Carl!
Verse 22- 26 speaks of no temple, as expected, but that
22 ….its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.
He is all in all!
Verse 23 – 26 speaks of the needs of the city – there is none, and
25 …its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.
Amazing – No restriction to the city. It’s gates will never be shut by day, yet there is no night. The gates will always be open!
What is entering the City? The glory and honor of the nations. Now that alone bears to ask a multitude of questions, but I digress again! I gotta get to the point.
How about we read verse 27 in full once more.
Revelation 21:27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it (the City), nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who have asked Jesus into their heart, trusting Him at some point in the past to secure an unalterable contract between God and them, without concern for life decisions since.
Ok I stretched the point out only to ensure you didn’t go from this blog thinking something wrong.
The verse speaks of equating those written in the Lambs book of Life as those who are not unclean, nor doing what is detestable or false.
These descriptions have nothing to do with our very real heart feelings, but as to actual actions in our lives. If we are to be truthful with ourselves, we should not feel saved if we are living unsaved.
As men and women on this earth, we have a tremendous capacity to deceive ourselves. Check your life. Be honest with yourself.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
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
Amos
Tradesman
Amos 7:14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs.
Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
Amos had no qualifications for the position of prophet, at least in the eyes of the ruling class. His message to Jeroboam, the king of the Northern Kingdom had been relayed to king Jeroboam by Amaziah the priest of Bethel. See Amos 7:10-13. The message contained harsh judgment on the king and that the northern kingdom would be taken away captive.
Amaziah, the priest then took the position of protecting the apostate king, and warned Amos off to Judah, the Southern Kingdom. Go cause trouble to the south, for that is where you come from. Don’t bother us in the north!
Amos response? I’m a nobody Amaziah. A simple herdsman, and a picker of fruit. A farmer, not professional priest with all the adornment and pomp. A simple man, who has been called by God to head north, to provide a warning to this nation, to supply a Word of the LORD to the people who have walked away from Him. I am no danger to you! How dangerous can a farmer be? I am here to provide a message of deliverance from doom!
How like the Master, who until He took on His ministry of warning and providing the Word of the LORD to His generation, was a simple carpenter, a builder of “things”, a man who worked with His hands.
He acquired no institutional learning other than the mandatory training of all Jewish boys. He learned of the Torah, the Law and Jewish history from His family, and some formal schooling where He may have learned the three “R’s”, that is reading writing and ‘rithmetic.
Other than that, Jesus was untrained (thankfully) of any institutional process. His training came from time with the Father. Copious focused times with the Father, receiving His mission, not unlike Amos, to provide warning and the Word to a nation in trouble.
Amos and Jesus were untrained tradesmen, who heard the call of God and did not let some man made requirement for earthly education stop them from fulfilling their God given ministry.
Are you a highly trained professional Christian? Be thankful for your training, for God can use it, but understand from the example of Amos and Jesus, the crucial training for ministry is directly from the Lord.
Are you a tradesman, possibly a layman in the church? Be thankful for such an example as we see in Amos and our Lord. Be careful in dwelling only under the LORD’s direction. For we also need to understand from the example of Amos and Jesus, the crucial training for ministry is directly from the Lord.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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.
165
GENTILES HOPE
Romans 15:12 And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.”
I have developed a listing of names to pull from as I write this series and last night as I glanced at the next name to consider, I saw our topic – Gentiles Hope. For some reason I was thinking of the mystery made known to the Gentiles, found in Colossians.
Doh.
Maybe it was that the term “Gentiles” may be a mysterious word to some of my readers. To be a gentile is to be a non-Jew. I’m a Gentile – at least I was. (Biblically, there are three types of folk on earth. Consider 1 Corinthians 10:31 )
You may be a gentile. If so, and we had been born over 2,000 years ago, we had no direct link to God Almighty unless we submitted to the Jewish faith. Some Gentiles knew nothing of the Jewish faith, being so distanced from the land of promise. (Somewhat like today, with so many lost unknowing of the Christ and His church). So to be a Gentile was to be a non-Jew. And Jesus is the Hope of the Gentile.
Paul, as the Apostle to the Gentiles, begins a portion of Romans 15 developing the Old Testament promise of God bringing in the Gentiles into a living relationship with Him.
Let’s get the flow of Paul’s message in the previous verses.
8 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,
9 and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.“
10 And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”
11 And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.”
12 And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.”
Our name this morning is the capstone verse of Paul’s argument, after tripping off many Old Testament verses that speak of Jesus being the answer to God’s promise given to the patriarchs regarding the Gentiles.
Hold up. The Gentiles were always in God’s plan, even within the promise to the patriarchs?
Let’s go way back in time to Genesis, and see what Paul is speaking of.
When God chose Abraham, the promise of the Gentiles Hope was provided.
Genesis 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
That promise refers to the Gentiles, even before they were separated from the Jewish nation. All of the families of the earth!
Consider also, that God narrowed down to One Man the Gentiles Hope, that through the verses above, God doesn’t mention that the Gentiles will have hope in a religion, or a system of approaches to God, or a law, or even a specific lifestyle. The Hope of the Gentiles is a Man, and that Hope has been realized for many Gentiles.
Thank you Jesus for providing not only the Hope of the Gentiles, prior to your arrival, but Hope for the Gentiles even as we have come to know You.
From one Gentile to my fellow Gentiles. Hope in Jesus, for He is your only hope of eternal 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.
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.
164
FULLNESS OF GOD
Colossians 1:19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell
God dwelling with man. He has sought many ways to dwell with man.
Creation comes to mind. God provided an idyllic environment (‘cept for one tree) that would provide both man and woman opportunity to be with Him, to know Him and to love Him.
Man rejected the offer of dwelling with God.
Oh but then there was the opportunity to obey, or to be in tune with that fragile conscience, and to seek God through prayer. During the time of Seth, people began to call on God. Promising for a time, yet in the background the general population was deteriorating. Did you know that at Seth’s death, Noah’s birth was only 14 years later? That is incredible, and speaks of the seeming downgrading of the population, to the point that full scale judgement was to fall during Noah’s time.
So it seems that man rejected the offer of dwelling with God again.
Ok, so with Noah a new arrangement, a new start, a realization that rejecting God and His presence ends in catastrophe. And yet by the time God was about to call out a nation for His own name, only one man was found that seemed intent to know God.
What is going on? I though we were generally good people?
So mankind rejects the offer of dwelling with God again.
That man I just mentioned, Abraham, well he wanted to follow God, and He is considered the Father of our faith, rightly so. He was groundbreaking in his relationship with God, and God found someone that sought Him
But as we all know, he lived in a time when most around him rejected God, knew nothing of God and they mocked Abraham as he seeking God.
So mankind rejected the opportunity to find dwelling with God. Again.
From Abraham, a family began, a dysfunctional family (like mine) made up of men and women that wandered and rejected God for the most part. As the family grew into tribes, a young man was rescued from the reeds in order to provide another opportunity for God to dwell with man. Eventually God rescued the tribes through this man, delivered them to a new land and provided them a tabernacle. The tabernacle housed the very presence of God. This was truly a huge step on God’s part to take, and the privilege the Israelites were granted was beyond any nation on earth.
Yet we know that the nation rejected the dwelling of God, rejected all the counsel, became apostate, was taken into captivity, rescued and brought back to the land. Mercy upon mercy, yet the nation became hardened, trying to create a sense of dwelling with God, all the while rejecting Him.
So mankind rejected the opportunity to find dwelling with God, even upon privilege and the exhibition of tremendous mercy. Rejection again.
A baby born to a young girl. A highly unlikely solution to the problem, for He had no training, no status, no riches or obvious advantage. Yet this little child actually was the dwelling of God. And let me make this a bit clearer. It pleased God to dwell in this child, even as He grew into a young man.
Man generally rejected the opportunity to dwell with God, and yet God was continually reaching out to man in so many ways. It wasn’t simple indifference on the part of so many, but outright rejection of the opportunity to experience the dwelling of God.
Granted, there were saints in the Old Testament that experienced God dwelling with them, being with them, training, teaching, comforting, guiding, feeding them. Yes there were many great men through the ages.
But I can find nowhere in the Word a statement describing any saint as experiencing all the fullness of God. Not only that, but that God was pleased to dwell fully in the man.
Oh the Spirit may have been with David and Isaiah, Moses and Jeremiah in mighty ways, empowering them to do mighty acts for God. Yet at times it seems the Spirit was willing to pull back, to leave for a period of time. Even David was fearful of the Spirit leaving him.
Nothing like that with Jesus though.
God was completely comfortable in the body of the Lord, residing in Him. Jesus – God and human. Consider what it means when Paul states that it pleased God to dwell completely and without reservation, fully in the flesh and blood body of the man Jesus. No reluctance, no hesitancy, no struggle. To dwell completely and fully. Not a portion of the Spirit, but without any doubts or uncertainty.
It has been the intent and desire of God since creation to dwell with man. That Man is Jesus, and He is the only One who has experienced this. Only as we seek Jesus, do we have opportunity to experience God’s dwelling, for God’s dwelling may only be found in Jesus.
Are you pleased to dwell with 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.
Hebrews 4:11 ESV – Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
I was chatting with a friend recently, a brother I have know for over a decade, a brother that used to enter into some Bible discussions with me at a previous employer.
Nothing to extended, for we were not being paid to discuss the location of the New Jerusalem, or to relieve the tension between Calvinism and Arminianism, but when my brother would come in my office with a question, we would consider what the Word says, discuss a few moments and let it ruminate. It was a good environment to work in, I learned bunches, and the people were great.
But that was over a decade ago, and my brother and I parted ways due to different choices for our careers. But lately he has taken the opportunity to reach out, and we had broke bread together just a few days ago. In the midst of the lunch, I let slip that I have a blog, and he has been reading.
Out of that reading, our recent chat revolved around the topic of conditional security and the once saved always saved teachings. During the discussion, I referred to a passage in Hebrews on this topic, (of which there are numerous passages addressing this topic), and the topic of striving came up.
What is it to strive? The apostle exhorts us to strive to enter rest, which is a paradox in my mind, but let us not get too distracted. (Besides the verse has been considered in Paradoxical Passages – Hebrews 4:11)
So – to strive, to persevere, to be diligent or to endeavor to do. The Greek word is σπουδάζω spoudázō, and it simply means to exert yourself, to give diligence, even to hasten or to make haste. Note that there is the idea of effort (exerting, laboring) and the component of time (hasten, make haste) in this word.
Do not both these ideas of exerting and hastening rest within the very same character of one “striving” I have yet to meet someone striving that is not giving it all he or she has. Not a partial effort, but with the strength provided, pushing forward. I have also never met someone who striving that is not striving now. He or she isn’t planning on striving in 2 years. How foolish of an idea that is. To strive is to be active now.
Strive to enter that rest, the sabbath rest. Yes this rest the apostle speaks of is a sabbath rest provided for the believer
Hebrews 4:9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,
So if we don’t strive to enter that sabbath rest, what might the outcome be? Let’s read Hebrews 4:11 one more time.
Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
So let me get this straight. The apostle is writing to believers, and providing instruction – that is to strive to enter a rest – so that no one, no believer, may fall. Does that not imply that believers may fall?
Are you still depending on your own works in some way to add to your salvation? Do you consider your efforts to add (or subtract) from the finished work of Christ on the cross, His complete salvation?
Enter the rest He has provided, not only in your initial decision to lay it before Him and follow, but in your daily walk with Him. There is a rest for the people of God.
Are you walking in it, even today? He is good, and His rest is beyond our own doing!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
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.
163
FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus is full of grace and truth.
To be full is to be complete, lacking in nothing, thoroughly permeated, filled to the brim, perfect.
He is spoken of as being full of the Holy Spirit.
Luke 4:1 And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.
To be full implies there is no room for anything else in the vessel. In our verse, John speaks of Jesus as being full of two characteristics, and by stating this, he may be thinking of an Old Testament passage that refers to the same two characteristics that God described Himself as being.
Exodus 34:6 The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
Steadfast Love. חֶסֶד cheçed. Kindness, favor, mercy. As God passed by Moses, one of the descriptions he heard was of the kindness and mercy of God.
Faithfulness. אֶמֶת ʼemeth. Faithfulness, firmness, truth. The second descriptor of our God that Moses heard, that John recounts to us of Jesus is that of reliability, sureness, faithfulness and truth, that which confirms to reality! He must conform to reality, for He is the source of all reality, and as the fruit so is the tree!
So as John was describing the Prophet from Nazareth to his readers, He continued linking Jesus with the eternal, calling Him out as the Lord of Lords, the God of gods. Linking Him with the God Moses wrote of, abounding in grace and truth, unable to fit anything else into His nature. Abounding, full of grace and truth.
In all of Jesus actions, the base motivator is grace and truth. Combined, for without truth, the actions have no lasting stability, and without grace, the actions become harsh, hard and without life.
No, He is a God who loves, acting out of a gracious, truth based nature! He is Full of Grace and Truth. He proved it while walking amongst us, and if you know Him, He continues to prove it to us daily in our lives for His glory.
Thank you 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.
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.
162
FRUIT OF YOUR WOMB
Luke 1:42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
What is it to be “Fruit”.
A simple question, no? Fruit is that which comes from something, a positive (usually) effect of some originating source.
Consider an apple. No an orange – Let’s consider an orange – I like oranges better! Where do oranges come from? An orange tree of course. The orange is the “fruit” or product, or natural result of the orange tree.
This is the general definition of fruit, but of course in this instance we are speaking of a ladies womb.
For the creation of life within a womb, when fertilization occurs, the baby is fully potential, having a genetic code that is complete, and the tiny cells immediately and rapidly divide and multiply for 9 months within the womb. At some determined time, the aggregated cells (I call it a baby!) are ready to be physically separate from the mother, although still completely dependent on her. This child will mimic the mother, or father in many ways, carrying characteristics that cannot be denied. Strengths and weaknesses, sinful tendencies and selfish leanings.
As we all know, the fruit is the product of the source, right?
The womb is a small, but expandable, completely dark, warm environment that is protected by the mother. The womb is a place where miracles happen, life erupts and grows, a newly created soul is created.
A created soul, a spark of life created, right?
Except for one singular time. One solitary time, an exception is made regarding the creation of a soul.
I would offer to my reader that in this case, the soul was not created. He – Jesus – has been from everlasting to everlasting and is no created soul. He is the giver of life to each and every person on earth.
He resided in a safe warm environment, the womb of Mary, the source of life for each of her other children. Under the care of Mary, He was protected, growing as everyone of us did in the womb, increasing in physical size, yet with a self that had been severely limited (by His own choice) in order to be the Servant Messiah, the Son of Man, and Son of God. For a time on earth, He was safe and secure from those who would hunt Him down. Protected for a period of time, only to be born to die, to face an inevitable crucifixion.
The incarnation, on it’s own, is an incredible truth, that when meditated upon, and should foster a spirit of humility within each of us.
So many questions arise in my mind, that cannot be answered, and that may never be answered, but let us be content to consider one thing. He is the Fruit of the Womb, the perfect Fruit, the eternal Fruit of Mary’s womb.
He entered this world though the womb of a needy servant, growing into the Man that would be crucified for our sins.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
1 Timothy 4:16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
In Paul’s closing days, he wrote to Timothy, his child in the faith, reminding him that he needed to persist.
Persist. Other translations use “persevere”, or “continue”. As you may know, I use the Blue Letter Bible web site for much of my research and they provide a parsing option of the Greek words used in the Word. Notice that to persevere is in the present tense – an action Paul expected to be occurring in the present, and was second person, to be applied to the reader. Paul isn’t speaking of Timothy persevering in the faith in order for others to become Christians. He was giving this command to Timothy for his own salvation
Now I provide this information as overkill, for the English also provides the same message. Timothy was to persevere in the faith for his own life, and for the teaching he provided.
Both arenas of effort were included. How often have you seen a Bible teacher dig into the Word, bring out doctrinal truth, and yet the witness is sullied due to his own life being shipwrecked with unfaithfulness and sin.
But Carl, is not Paul referring to sanctification before God in this passage? Does Paul not go on to say that this lack of perseverance will damage his sanctification before God.
Is that what he says? Let’s read that portion of verse 16 once more.
…by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Heck, let’s go back to the BLB and it’s parsing chart.
The word Paul uses is σώζω sṓzō, and I cannot find it translated as sanctification in my studies. It refers to preserving from danger, or to deliver from destruction, to rescue, or to keep safe and sound. The New Testament concept of sanctification comes from the Greek word ἅγιος hágios, and speaks of holiness, consecration or separateness from evil. Two different concepts, though linked, in the eternal life we are blessed to experience.
Notice that with this verb, it is future tense. Paul is speaking of salvation in the future for both his own life and those of the congregation. He and his current congregation will ensure their salvation by persevering in previous activities Paul lined out for Timothy.
…save both yourself and your hearers.
Paul taught this to a believer, a leader in the church!
If OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved) is correct, this makes no sense!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
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
Amos
Booth of David
Amos 9:11 “In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old,
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Amos is preaching to the Northern Kingdom, and bringing judgement as a message. The Northern Kingdom was about to fall to the Assyrians, and in the midst of this message, Amos provided hope, a message that spoke of the future kingdom of God, and the tabernacle of David.
The ESV uses the term “booth” to translate the Hebrew סֻכָּה sook-kaw’, and it is typically describing a temporary shelter. Amos is not speaking of the temple built by Solomon, but of a tabernacle.
Consider – Is Amos bringing to the Northern Kingdoms attention the old days, when the ark of the covenant would reside in a collapsible tent, constructed under the care of Moses, with the glory of God manifesting as a pillar of fire or a vertical cloud over it.
For this passage in Amos, the tabernacle (or the booth) of David had fallen. Note that he refers to the tabernacle of David, but I assumed (wrongly) that the tabernacle was associated with Moses in this verse. I need to read the Scriptures for what it says!
Yes, the original tabernacle was built and managed by Moses. The tabernacle of David is something far different.
1 Chronicles 15:1 David built houses for himself in the city of David. And he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.
David, even while the original tabernacle (associated with Moses) stood, took the ark of the covenant from the Holy of Holies, brought it to Mount Zion, pitched a tent, and began a completely new order of worship.
1 Chronicles 16:37 So David left Asaph and his brothers there before the ark of the covenant of the LORD to minister regularly before the ark as each day required, 1 Chronicles 16:38 and also Obed-edom and his sixty-eight brothers, while Obed-edom, the son of Jeduthun, and Hosah were to be gatekeepers. 1 Chronicles 16:39 And he left Zadok the priest and his brothers the priests before the tabernacle of the LORD in the high place that was at Gibeon
Notice that Zadok the priest was in Gibeon, while Asaph and his brothers were to minister before the ark of the covenant, the very heart of the original tabernacle. (Somehow, if I had been Zadok, I think I would have felt ripped off!)
There is so much more to speak of, but Amos is speaking of a tent/tabernacle/booth containing only the ark of the covenant, in Jerusalem, with direct access to the ark for worship.
When James speaks of the tabernacle of David in Acts, there is much more to the word picture than I first imagined. The tabernacle of David represented direct access to the ark, representing God Himself. The tabernacle of David was a simpler, much more humble tent than the original tabernacle. The tabernacle of David was approached by many in Jerusalem, and singing was a large component of the worship.
During the reign of David, the tabernacle of David was a beautiful picture of Jesus, being the approachable Messiah, humble in appearance, available for worship, and lastly, a temporary structure, for the day would come that the tabernacle of the body of Jesus would be tore down!
Thankfully, God raised Jesus from the dead, and from the empty grave, the Messiah restored the tabernacle of David, which we humbly call the church nowadays.
The tabernacle of David, the body of Christ, is open for the remnant of mankind, and for all the gentiles called by the name of the Lord. May the increase of the David’s tabernacle be great, and may we remember that like David’s tabernacle of old, the New Testament tabernacle of David is to be approachable, humble and realize it’s own temporary status on earth.
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.
161
FRIEND OF TAX COLLECTORS AND SINNERS
Matthew 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”
Our last post dealt with God considering Himself as a Friend of Abraham. We spoke of how rare it was for someone to be called a Friend of God in the Old Testament , and that only Moses was somewhat considered the same as Abraham in this select club, that is of being a friend of God.
To be a friend of God in the Old Testament seemed to be linked with trustworthiness, in that both Abraham and Moses were faithful to the call of God on their lives.
As mentioned in the previous post, all that went loosey goosey in the New Testament, for as Jesus rubbed shoulders with those in the nation, He presented Himself as a Friendly One, to the point that the religious leaders of Israel tried to use it against Him.
They noticed that He liked to be around “low life’s”, the “dregs of society” and “losers”. Little did they know that it is those very people who do not have some self imposed understanding of who the Messiah is that actually creates barriers to seeing the truth.
Jesus was called a friend of tax collectors and sinners! Little did the enemies of Jesus understand that to openly be friendly with “sinners” would blow up the church! Flocks of “losers” would rush to be accepted by a God who would exhibit friendliness with then.
The Pharisees had it all wrong. Their pride and obstinance blinded them to the greatest power to influence someone else. Although the Lord’s enemies described Him as a friend of tax collectors and sinners, this didn’t go far enough. As he strode amongst the “unwashed” He cared for them, healing them, listening and teaching a radical love of God, of a simple repentance and faith in God (and not in man)!
Yes, Jesus was a friend of tax collectors and sinners, but it goes far deeper than that. His death of the cruel cross proved that He was a friend of “tax takers and sinless religious judges” – those who hated Him, those who mocked Him and spread slander about Him.
Yes a friend of tax collectors and sinners. But so much more!
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.
160
FRIEND OF ABRAHAM
Isaiah 41:8 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
Abraham was a friend of God. No – sorry, but that is wrong – I have my tenses mixed up!
Consider that the prophet Isaiah is speaking of Abraham as being God’s friend, present tense. Isaiah, hundreds of years after Abraham, is declaring, as so many of the prophets do, that those who have fallen asleep are not without companionship, and that companionship is God Himself.
Abraham is the only person in the Word declared to be a friend of God. Well, sort of. Moses was described as one to whom God would speak to as a friend.
Exodus 33:11 Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.
These two men are the only two men in the Old Testament that are called a friend of God. Amazing.
Consider what it means to be a friend. It must be understood that to be, or to have a friend, two people are involved. Also, I cannot state that I am a friend to someone who hates me. At least I can’t in all honesty call my enemy a friend unless I am seeking to turn them to my friend.
A friend is someone who seeks my best and will avoid inflicting pain on me. A friend is someone I can trust, and that should be able to trust me.
Was it not such with both Abraham and Moses. God requested actions from them, and they sought to comply, and out of a Master/servant relationship, friendship grew. God could, in a sense trust Abraham. He could sort of trust Moses.
But things get all loosey goosey when God comes down to earth. He is not calling anyone friend based on whether He can trust them. Granted, He does speak to His apostles as friends, having experienced a Servant Master relationship with them for a period of time. I think there was an element of trust between Him and His men.
John 15:15 No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
This relationship of friendship though, seems to be dependent on information provided to them, and not specifically their trustworthiness, as it was with Abraham and Moses.
Things in relation to being a friend of God are morphing a little bit here. But consider Jesus next statement, when His betrayer approaches Him with armed guards.
Matthew 26:50 Jesus said to him (Judas), “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.
Jesus knew what was about to happen, and yet He called the man who would become the poster boy of betrayal a friend. This is simply astounding, that He extended friendship to a man who was stabbing Him in the back.
Jesus is the Friend of God, the true Friend of God, in that He has shown by His actions the attitude God has toward those who love God, those who are learning of God, and to those who despise God.
For God, there has only been One who is completely trustworthy, only One who knows all from the Father, and the only One who has exhibited God’s love to the worst of sinners.
Abraham and Moses were called friends of God, only in that they reflected the true Friend of God, Jesus the Messiah.
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.
Matthew 10:21-22 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
The previous post spoke of how Jesus was warning His apostles of the dangers of being a believer, and of how they would recognize true believers as they went about the tribes of Israel, preaching of the Messiah.
The passage above was referred to in order to make the point that families may be split down the middle in relation to who Jesus is, and that rightness with God is not simply due to some physical bloodline, but association and relationship with Jesus and His men.
The purpose of this post is to focus on the last phrase of the provided verses.
But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Endurance. The verb speaks of “staying under”, or “remaining behind” To endure is the English translation of the Hebrew ὑπομένω hupŏmĕnō. In our journeys through the Bible, we have broached this word a number of times. If interested, check out the following posts.
Suffice it to say, this concept pops up in the Scripture many times. In the context of our passage this morning, Jesus is telling us that to be saved we need to “stay under”, or “remain behind”, to not cut and run when the times are difficult.
But there is a finer point on His message I believe, for in the very next verse He instructs His disciples to flee, to cut and run, to not remain in the town if persecution comes.
Matthew 10:23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
So what is this endurance thing all about? Surely the Lord is not speaking of staying in a local area simply to be stubborn. He wants His people to be mobile, agile and able to move, able to escape persecution.
So if it isn’t the willingness to remain in a specific location no matter what happens, no matter what the local population wants to do to you, what might He be instructing He people to endure?
Consider verse 21. I think it gives some guidance.
Brother will deliver brother over to death
Father deliver his his child over to death
Children will rise against parents and have them put to death
This is the dissolution of society, at least in the disciples world. The very building blocks of social order are the family unit. Jesus isn’t speaking of some stranger in some far off town persecuting the believer, and staying around to take it. No – it is the closest of family that is out to get them.
This endurance is relational, an endurance to stay committed to the ways of Christ, even amongst the closest of family. In the midst of resistance within your family, when those closest to you may betray you, may deny you, may bring authorities to your doorstep, will you endure, will you stay under for the sake of the name of the Lord?
To endure to the end will result in salvation.
Jesus is the great example, for His own family rejected Him, His closest friends denied Him, one who He broke bread with betrayed Him.
Look to Him to consider how He endured. No lashing out, no condemning or vengence spoken of. When an “enemy” lost an ear, He healed it. When they spit and mocked Him, He endured.
Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance (hupŏmĕnō) the race that is set before us,
Truly amazing. He is truly amazing. And we have been called to the same endurance. The same endurance, but note – without Him, we will not succeed.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
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
Amos
Lion
Amos 3:4 Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing? Amos 3:8 The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy?”
Revelation 10:3 and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded.
Amos is a prophet in the Northern Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom is about to vanish, disappear from the face of the earth (as a nation).
Amos begins this passage defining the exact intent of his message. God is against the people of the Northern Kingdom.
Amos 3:1 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt
The Northern Kingdom, as long as it has existed, had been completely sold out to idolatry, and judgement was about to fall. In this judgement, the Lord is likened to a lion, roaring in the forest.
Lions are also considered to be at the top of the food chain, the rulers of the savannah, the king of the cats. It would not be an exaggeration to consider a lion’s roar as a deafening, frightful noise. A lion’s roar is so intense, that it can be heard as much as five miles away, and has been measured to over 110 decibels. The lion will belt out such a frightening roar in order to protect their pride, (that is their family not their ego!).
The flip side of this is that the roar is bellowed out to scare of intruders to their territory. Yet interestingly, a lion does not roar prior to the taking of prey. This makes sense for an animal that depends on stealth to capture prey.
Yet for Amos, the lion was an apt picture of the Lord at that time in the Northern Kingdoms history. Hosea, a contemporary of Amos, though somewhat later than Amos, preached to the Northern Kingdom, and refers to the Lord as a lion also.
Hosea 13:8 I will fall upon them like a bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open their breast, and there I will devour them like a lion, as a wild beast would rip them open.
But notice one thing different between the two. For Amos, who was prior to Hosea, the message was of a roar of the lion. For Hosea, the lion is decribed as devouring the victim, in this case, the Northern Kingdom.
But Carl, what might that difference signify? What’s the point of noticing this?
The roar of the lion is not sent out prior to the hunt, prior to taking prey. The roar of the lion is to intimidate, to declare of territory they own, to communicate to those in the forest that there is danger. There is potential death, and the ones in the lions territory need to understand the threat.
Of course, looking in hind sight, we know the Northern Kingdom was devoured by the Assyrians. Yet at the time of Amos preaching, couched in the message of the roar of a lion, there may have been one last effort to reach the Northern Kingdom, to bring them back to the covenant.
Amos was providing a warning to the Northern Kingdom. A warning intended to produce godly fear in the nation.
Amos 3:8 The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy?”
Amos directly connects the lion’s roar to God speaking, definitely directing Amos prophecy to the Northern Kingdom. For Amos’s immediate audience, it wasn’t too late for the Northern Kingdom, as it would be by the time Hosea was preaching. The roar may be described as a severe mercy, seeking to get the nation to turn around. Yet without the intended result. So sad.
Although some debate the identification of the mighty angel in Revelation 10, I am of the opinion that it is no other than the Risen Christ. Consider how He is described, and compare that with the earlier descriptions in the first chapter. Nevertheless, the Lion roaring in Revelation 10:3 speaks of another warning, of a coming judgement.
That this judgement hasn’t fallen yet speaks of His patience and love towards His people, towards those who are in His territory, and that need to hear His message.
The Lord is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and in His roar is a message for all to heed.
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.
159
FRIEND
Proverbs 18:24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Recently, in our series “What the Bible Probably Didn’t Mean, I considered this verse, explaining how my thoughts on the intent of this verse had changed as I understood the verse’s message. I was challenged in the concept of the first phrase of “many companions.
For this post, I would like to consider the friend referred to in the second phrase, the friend who sticks closer than a brother.
The term “friend” in this verse is the Hebrew word אָהַב ʼâhab, and in the Old Testament, it is translated as friend 12 times. But of the 208 times it is found in the Word, the preponderance of translation choice falls upon the idea of love.
The relationship is different from that of a companion, an associate, who may be somewhat of a fair weather friend, one who is in your life for their own benefit. Solomon is contrasting this friend with a companion, and to emphasize the “friendliness” or love of this friend, he goes above and beyond and says this friend is closer than a brother!
This friend has a love that is greater than that of a brother. This passage depends on our own understanding of friends and brothers, and how we relate to them. Some may be estranged from their brothers and sisters at this time in their lives. (If so, and there is any action the believer can take to reconcile, be at it!)
But Solomon is describing a person who loves greater than a brother, who is ever faithful. If there is a soul out there reading this post, and is experiencing a perfect relationship with their physical brother, the passage still elevates God’s love beyond that.
He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother. His love is greater than the best love available on earth!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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.
158
FREE GIFT
Romans 5:15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.
Paul is describing the salvation provided by Jesus as a free gift, and as believers we understand that there is no way we could pay our way out of the rebellion that is in our heart and that we have practiced in our lives. The only option we had before a holy and righteous God was that of a free gift of salvation to be provided.
In this passage he is contrasting two men and their actions, along with the consequences of those actions.
The first is Adam, and the trespass of Adam, along with the resulting fall of all of mankind. He represented both you and I in that action, and as the child of Adam, we have that same rebellion of heart.
But some would decry – That is not fair. Why should I suffer due to the actions of another, so long ago. We ”know” we could have done so much better than Adam, and complain (at least internally) that we got the short end of the stick in this deal.
What might the Old Testament saint have thought? The mud and mire they were sinking in as they carried the burden of rebellion due to someone else. Might it have seemed unfair for some? A source of complaint against God? Surely it was.
In the midst of this seeming unfairness, God had established a legal system that would provide consequences for all from the heads of their families. As Adam did wrong, all following in Adam’s lineage would suffer, owning the rebellious heart along with the judgement of death to be passed on each.
But this system of consequences being passed onto family members is a two edged sword. Yes, Adam provided a “free gift” of death for his lineage, but this also provided an opportunity for God to start a new lineage, a lineage that could receive a different free gift, a more extensive free gift.
It occurs to me that even in those systems and processes that God has ordained, that seem to be to our detriment, those same processes and systems may be turned around by the Lord Himself and provide greater blessing than we can imagine.
But that still may provide us opportunity to complain about His ways and His will. It is for us to be thankful in all things.
Paul’s message is much deeper than the scratching I have feebly entered into, but the fact that Jesus has created a new lineage for the many who are experiencing death by Adam is an amazing statement.
Death for the many due to Adam. Life for the many due to Jesus.
May we who are of the many praise the name of Jesus for His ever expanding grace to the most undeserving of people
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.
And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”
Jesus is sending out his disciples into the nation to preach the gospel, to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The disciples were given clear instructions, especially how to treat those who received them or rejected them
Matthew 10:13 -14 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town.
In discussing those who would not receive the disciples, Jesus spoke of Sodom and Gomorrah as a preferred place to be.
Matthew 10:15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
Jesus continues the discourse, referring to the persecution of disciples that would occur, even within the household of their family.
Matthew 10:21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death,
He encourages his men to reject fear, speaking of not only physical death, but spiritual death.
Matthew 10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Just prior to our topic verse, Jesus speaks of bringing a sword of division, for households will be split apart due to the good news, and how people receive or reject the person of Christ.
Matthew 10:36-37 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
As we have ventured through the 10th chapter of Matthew, it seems the message was centered on the reception of the apostles, and the results of either receiving or rejecting them, of how households would respond to the message of Jesus being the Messiah.
If this is true, then for one in a household to provide cold water to a “little one”, that disciple will by no means loose his reward.
But what may I ask is the reward?
This passage is often spoken in reference to assisting other brothers and sisters in ministry, or even of simple charitable acts given to others as having an some added benefit to the giver, when they enter heaven. This may be a great application, and may be supported by many other verses in the Word, but is not the context of the entire 10th chapter of Matthew that of life and death?
By giving cold water to a disciple, especially in the midst of a household that is split down the middle concerning who Jesus is, would mark that person out as a disciple. This act would identify the person as one who believes in Jesus.
By giving cold water to one of the apostles, (little ones, as in spiritual stature, humble men) they would be associating or joining with those entering into the kingdom that was at hand.
So i ask my reader – might the reward be spiritual life itself?
Another way of considering this passage is to ask – Is Jesus speaking of folks having an option to “loose a reward” and yet maintain spiritual life?
Or is He speaking of how the disciples would recognize those who are entering the kingdom of God?
I think there are two different ways to consider this passage.
First, life in the kingdom is proven by acts of service to others in the kingdom. The apostles would know when to “shake the dust off” or to let their peace remain.
The second was of considering this passage would be that acts of service to those in the kingdom are independent of the offeror being a kingdom citizen. In my feeble mind that equates to life decisions being independent of a salvation reality. If acts of service are independent of salvation, then we might identify these acts of service as rewards instead of proof of life. If this scenario is true, a possible outcome may be seen in the soul who “got saved” 40 years ago but has not followed/obeyed Christ. He has been taught he is eternally secure, yet may have no proof of life.
Does that make sense?
My friend, I propose this passage in Matthew 10 speaks of the identification of a true believer, one who serves at the risk of being ostracized by his own household and family. At the time of giving cold water, the disciples could know they were in the midst of a fellow disciple.
No dust to be shook off, and peace to be shared with all.
It is good to be in the family of God.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
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
Amos
Plumb Line
Amos 7:7-8 This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the LORD said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said, “Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them;
Romans 3:23-26 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
What in tarnation is a plumb line?
One dictionary defines it as a piece of string with a weight attached to one end, used either to test if something vertical, such as a wall, is exactly straight, or to find the depth of water.
For Amos, the first portion of the definition applies for us. The plumb line would check for straightness, but more specifically to test for vertical trueness. The plumb line does not cause the crookedness, nor nor can it be blamed if poor workmanship is to be blamed.
The plumb line is used to show that the wall is not vertical. The plumb line is used to show whether the wall was constructed properly and remains. It is an impartial judge.
In this instance, Amos saw that the plumb line was not giving the nation good news. When the nation was compared with the plumb line, crookedness became evident.
Now specifically, the vision was as depicted, yet I can’t help to see that the outworking of the vision may have been the application of the law of God against the people of God. When the law of God is brought forward to to judge whether the people of God were upright and straight, the law is strict, harsh and impartial.
Yes, the people were continually under the law, with expectations of living under the law. Failure in both the northern kingdom, which Amos is addressing, and the southern kingdom was common, with the mercy of God being extended over and over again.
This mercy was not available for the norther kingdom this time. When the plumb line was consulted, the verdict was given. The Lord said,
vs 9 I will never again pass by them
For the northern kingdom, judgement had been given, with no mercy available. Not one chapter later, this judgement is reiterated, stating
Amos 8:2 And he said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the LORD said to me, “The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them.
God will never again pass by them. Interesting terminology. Pass by them. Hmmmm
Exodus 12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.
The Israelites were witness to a deliverance that crippled their masters in Egypt, and the night of the passover, that effected their freedom, Moses wrote of the Lord passing through the land of Egypt, executing judgement.
For Israel, the Lord had “passed by”, had provided mercy to the nation in their sin. This was to stop, and judgement was to be executed. He is the Lord. The nation was dispersed, with many put to death by the Assyrians. The nation never recovered.
When we look to the Law of God, the standard is the person of God. It reflects His holiness, and by doing so, reveals all unholiness and unrighteousness. No wonder it is maligned, despised and ignored by the masses. It judges! It condemns!
In the days of the theocracy of Israel, mercy was provided, and it seemed the law of God was not applied evenly, even seemingly making the law of God of no effect. For the Law of God to be executed consistently, continually and with legal force, none under the Law would survive.
Yet the nation of Israel, at least the southern nation, though sinful, continued to be protected, carried through a captivity and returned to the land to bring forth the Law of God in human form, the Messiah.
He truly was a plumb line for the nation to experience. He lived the Law of God perfectly, and because of that was condemned by sinners, and experienced the outworking of the Law of God,
His death completed many actions for the salvation we so richly enjoy, but for our post today, we can be reminded that His death also showed that the law of God was satisfied, even though it appeared to be applied unevenly, and that any mercy shown to the people of God previously was to be satisfied at the cross. All sin was dealt with at the cross, past present and future, and though Jesus acted as a plumb line in the land during His sojourn, He also provided the satisfaction of justice the plumb line revealed was necessary.
He is the plumb line, He that is the perfect representation of the Law of God, showing us how far we have fallen, and thankfully, showing us how far He will go to redeem us.
Thank you Jesus for being the standard, and satisfying the standard set. You are truly everything we could hope for!
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 