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
Cyrus
Undefeatable
Isaiah 41:2 Who stirred up one from the east whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him, so that he tramples kings underfoot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow. Isaiah 41:25 I stirred up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name; he shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay.
Luke 9:51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
This passage in Isaiah 42 is generally accepted as referring to Cyrus, though it seems per the verses supplied, there were two subjects “stirred” up. One from the north and one from the east.
Many explanations have been provided, with Cyrus birth being from the east, and his approach toward Israel being from the north. Even within the second verse, his origin speaks of the east, in that he has come from the rising sun.
Besides this minor discussion on the subject of who is being stirred up, it is apparent that once he is stirred up, nothing will stop him. Isaiah belabors the point that this one who is advancing on Babylon has left all other countries conquered. He continues in verse 25, on the topic of this victorious one who shall “shall upon my name”.
Though Cyrus is being referred to here, and though his victories consisted of physical domination, the picture we look back on is of one who is undefeatable, unstoppable, and without equal in his day.
Is this not the same vision of the One who could not be stopped in bringing the kingdom of God to His people? Even to those who had openly rejected His teaching, and His person, He would not retreat from His mission
Luke 9:51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.
Nothing stood in His way, and having entered the valley of death that day, He continued to His expected end, with dominion over His enemies being completely secured as the stone rolled away.
Cyrus, great warrior and king that he was, was simply a reflection, a faint shadow of the One who was unstoppable in His pursuit to defeat the evil one, the world order and our own stubbornness.
May His name be lifted up!
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.
241
GOOD TEACHER
Mark 10:17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
In all the ancient writings, through all the volumes of commentaries written by the ancient rabbis’ and within all the Old Testament Scriptures, no teacher, prophet, king or priest was ever called “Good Teacher”.
No teacher, prophet, king or priest in Israel would accept this title if offered to them. The rabbi’s throughout ages taught that to claim this name was equivalent to accepting the identity of God Himself.
But then the Good Teacher walked the earth.
And when a man came to Jesus, calling Him “Good Teacher”, this must have created a stir in the surrounding audience. Surely this young prophet teacher would deny any association with this title.
But Jesus didn’t refuse the name, for how could He refuse a name that was commonly accepted as belonging to deity and still be the Truth. What He did do though, was to dig into what this young man understood when he called Him that. Ever the Teacher, Jesus is the proverbial questioner, the One who could teach perfectly by asking the right question and letting it sit.
As an aside, it has been rightly said that the longest sermon Jesus ever preached, or at least that has been recorded was the Sermon on the Mount, in the gospel of Matthew. There is some who think Matthew compiled many of Jesus teachings into this one sermon, but let us assume He spoke this message completely at one time. If so, the entire sermon as written spanned up to 15 minutes. I suppose the point I am making is that He cut to the quick, He got to the point, He did not loose focus.
As I did just there with that aside. (I am horrible with chasing rabbit trails!) Nevertheless, Jesus was the Good Teacher, and He accepted that title, moving on help this man consider what he really was saying.
Are you calling Me God young man? Is that what you are doing, and if so, do you realize the implications of that statement? If I am God, (as you say), the God of the Old Testament, what you must do to “inherit eternal life” is already provided to you. The God of the Old Testament, (that is who you speak to), has provided the Law for your instruction. But in case you do not remember the Law, I, the God of the Old Testament, will remind you.
Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”
Another thing (that might be an aside, – remember – I am horrible with asides/rabbit trails -) is that Jesus worked with this man, not only digging to find out what he understood, but then when challenging him, provided him as much assistance as possible. As much assistance as possible, for Jesus left off one of the last 6 commandments, knowing the young man had a struggle with a certain issue.
Jesus sought out this young man, with the passage speaking of Him loving the man, and in Luke, we find he was not simply a random man as Mark records, but a ruler, a man of position and wealth.
Luke 18:18-19 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
And the one commandment that Jesus left off was that cantankerous covetousness commandment, for this was the very commandment that obviously was not kept by this young man. Note that Jesus didn’t simply quote out the missing command found in Exodus 20:17.
Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Jesus taught this man, along with all His followers, the positive side of the coveting command. Jesus opened up the commandment found in Exodus in an amazing way, showing the young man the depth of law keeping required to fully obey the God of the Old Testament.
Mark 10:21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
Jesus is the Good Teacher, and if He can open up a young rich rulers heart with a few questions and prodding, we should expect the same. But with all teachers, the students need to be listening.
Has He, the Good Teacher, the God of the Old and New Testament asked you any questions lately, prodded you regarding a choice you made, or reinterpreted a passage to mean much more than first imagined?
Have you been able to hear Him?
After all, He is the Good Teacher, and Good Teachers love to teach!
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.
240
GOOD SHEPHERD
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
In my search for passages or verses that have this distinct Name of God, I retrieved only two. I was sure the Old Testament had much to say about shepherding, about God’s Shepherd and what the Good Shepherd was like.
The reason I was so sure of myself is because five years ago, I tripped over Ezekiel 34:2-4, where the Lord, through the prophet Ezekiel, exposed the shepherds of Israel, described their sin and proclaimed judgement on them. These shepherds abused, stole, killed and abandoned their sheep.
The passage spoke to me, and I found that the very characteristics of the “bad” shepherds of yesteryear were parallel to the “bad” shepherds of today. Not only that, but the points the Lord brought up describing the “bad” shepherds were rallying points for my understanding what a good shepherd actually may be described as.
Nevertheless, the Shepherd to be sent by God, found after Ezekiel’s pronouncement of judgement on the “bad” shepherds, was that God Himself would search for His sheep, seeking them out.
Ezekiel 34:11 ESV – “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.
This is such a great summary of the nature of the Good Shepherd, and of the person of the Good Shepherd. God Himself is the Good Shepherd, and He will search and seek. By teaching His disciples He was their Shepherd, Ezekiel 34 may have been brought to the minds of the hearers.
Yet Jesus didn’t simply say He was their Shepherd, but that He was the Good Shepherd, and that He would be a giving Shepherd to His sheep, unlike those in Ezekiel. Beyond that, He would know His sheep, and His sheep would know Him. This is relationship, and not simply sone designated shepherd ruling over sheep for personal gain, as Ezekiel had described.
As a matter of fact, interspersed in the John passage, Jesus speaks of “bad” shepherds, but is blunt, renaming them as thieves and robbers. These thieves and robbers have the same characteristics as the “bad” shepherds in Ezekiel 34.
My friends, there is a competition for being your shepherd. There are many “shepherds” out there that would love to take advantage of you, take from you, abuse you and then ignore you, marketing your soul like a commodity.
Or there is the Good Shepherd, whom you can know, and who has proven His extreme love for each of us through His willing, intentional suffering and death.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Will you follow Him instead of your sin, taking on His yoke and obeying His leading?
Trust and obey – for there is no other way!
It is a choice you can make even now.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
Cyrus
Temple Builder
Ezra 6:3 In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits and its breadth sixty cubits,
John 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
Unexpected, to say the least, for a Gentile King to be involved in the development and construction of the temple of the God of Israel. Consider the passage provided, for it appears this Gentile foreign king is directing even the dimensions of the temple!
Unexpected to say the least, but note that Cyrus is actually be restricted from access to the temple, even as he is the principle human force directing the Jews back to the land to build the temple.
I am reminded of the injunctions of a prophet giving restrictions for foreigners entering the second temple. Ezekiel, when describing the temple to be built after the captivity, which Cyrus had been called by God to complete, spoke of the exclusion of foreigners from the temple.
Ezekiel 44:9 ESV – “Thus says the Lord GOD: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary.
But Carl, this restriction is for worship, and we know that Cyrus didn’t even know the Lord, little less seek to enter the temple for worhip
Isaiah 45:4 … I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. 5 …I equip you, though you do not know me,
I get it. These might be two completely different topics, one the restriction of foreigners from the temple in relation to worship, and the other being the use of foreigners for the construction of the temple.
There is precedent for foreigners working on the Temple of God. David prepares for the construction of the Temple by requesting (not simply allowing) foreigners to prepare stones for the Temple.
1 Chronicles 22:2 ESV – David commanded to gather together the resident aliens who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to prepare dressed stones for building the house of God.
Ok, so foreigners were not allowed to worship unless under God provided restrictions as Ezekiel describes – foreigners were to be circumcised in heart and flesh. Yet foreigners were used in the construction of the temple, as David did and as is evident in God using Cyrus for the second temple.
Two topics, but both support the imagery provided by Cyrus in showing us a picture of the True Temple Builder, Jesus Christ. First, let’s consider Jesus as a foreigner to Israel, an unexpected Temple Builder
John 1:11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
Jesus, viewed as a foreigner by the nation, for they did not accept Him, is also the Temple Builder of the True House of God.
Cyrus, as the Temple Builder provides us a picture of the true Temple Builder being from outside of Jewish expectations.
Now before some may ask about Jesus declaration that Salvation is of the Jews, as Jesus affirmed in John 4, this typology takes nothing away from the fact of Jesus being of the bloodline of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The temple records, now destroyed, gave ample proof that Jesus was “of the blood” to be Monarch over Israel, with the New Testament gospels recording His lineage. He, that is Salvation Himself is of the Jews!
As a short aside, note that no Messiah could claim kingly lineage after 70 AD due to the destruction of the records with the Temple falling! There can be no legitimate claim to Messiahship in our day.
Jesus is our Temple Builder, a foreigner to many in Israel, even to this day. Until each heart has the veil taken away, as discussed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 3, Jesus is considered less than the truth, less than the True Temple Builder, less than the Master of the House of God by all of Israel.
But praise God, Jesus has also chosen foreigners to cut stones for His true temple. No that is not correct, for He has gone one step further, and invited foreigners to join in the construction of His Temple by becoming stones, living stones.
1 Peter 2:5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house…
Yes Jesus is the Temple Builder, and so much more!
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.
239
GOOD
1 Peter 2:3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
There are a few times in the Word when the message of God’s nature and being is simply stated. A short list is provided to remind my reader of a few of these short, succinct statements
“God is love” 1 John 4:8 “God is great” Ps 70:4 “God is holy” Psalm 99 “God is righteous” Daniel 9:19 “God is true” John 3:33 “God is one” Romans 3:30 “God is faithful” 1Corinthians 1:9
But for our time this morning, consider Peter, as he is writing to the diaspora, the scattered church, a church that was entering a cleansing persecution, and he speaks of the Lord as good.
Remember now, Peter is writing an epistle on the topic of suffering, and he has the audacity to say that the Lord is good. It might be reasoned that it is due to the believers faith in Jesus that the persecution will fall on them, and Peter describes God as being good. Might it have been better for Peter to describe God as being a Savior, or a mighty Fortress, or a Rock. No – Peter focuses on the Lord being good.
So what is Peter trying to communicate to these believers who may already have suffered much for their faith, and will likely face more trials, more problems, more temptations to give up.
Is Peter describing God as good in an ethical sense, a God who acts in conformance to a set of standards. I think not for God is the standard.
Or when he speaks of God being good, might he be describing God as simply “not bad”? This also does not make any sense, and would be of no comfort of challenge for his audience.
Might it be that Peter is describing God as benign, good to the point of being of no threat, that God is only good, and this goodness is almost likened to niceness. Now we know that being nice is not God’s nature nor is it ever commanded, nor even suggested for a Christian to be nice – See Love Like Jesus – Kindness for a short study if this interests you)
So when Peter is telling beleagured believers, suffering saints that the Lord is good, what is the point?
Peter uses the Greek word chrēstós, and the root meaning is to be useful, profitable or fit for use. As the word changes over time, it became associated with pleasantness, and kindness, even graciousness.
Jesus used this word once when referring to His yoke, in that it was chrēstós.
Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Another time, Jesus spoke of God as chrēstós, being kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.
As you can see, to nail this term down to one specific meaning is difficult, as least for me, but I will suggest that Peter’s intent, at least by using this term to describe the Lord, is to encourage the saints. Peter is telling them that He is One who is pleasant to know, as opposed to those who persecute, and that He is a useful God to know, since He is a saving God, who has exhibited His care for His people through suffering. He gets it, for He has entered suffering, experientially knows the fear, the dread and the pain.
Yes, the Lord is good, and He is good to all!
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.
238
GOD WHO SHOWS ME STEADFAST LOVE
Psalm 59:17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.
Lets take a moment to remember the psalm we are in this morning.
Psalm 59 is a psalm of David, as he was being hunted down by the government in power, by his own king. King Saul has sent assassins into the city that David is hiding out in, looking for an opportunity to kill him before the sun rises.
1 Samuel 19:11-12 Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped.
Not many of us have been in the same plight. Having the government focus in one man’s life is a daunting prospect, and in this psalm, David describes what he faces.
Psalm 59:3 For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD
This is the beginning of Saul’s open persecution of his son in law David. Yes he had been laying traps for David, and seeking his destruction prior to this, but now Saul is marshalling the troops, bringing in specialized commandos that are on assignment to take David down.
The kicker in all of this is that David speaks of the God who shows him steadfast love. He is being hunted down by the most powerful and influential man in his nation, fueled by jealousy and animated by an evil spirit, and David has the audacity to speak of God who shows him steadfast love.
Now, for my own thinking, I had to understand the term “steadfast love” a bit better, and as I researched it, I found it is the Hebrew term חֶסֶד cheçed, and it speaks of mercy, goodness and favor.
That still doesn’t seem to help me, for David, due to the call of God on his life, is being hunted down by his king. He is facing death, and yet speaks of steadfast love, of kindness and mercy, of the goodness of God being shown to him. How does that compute?
Okay – I’m thinking that maybe David wrote this portion after he had escaped, and that may be the case, but it still doesn’t take away from the fact that David must have realized that Saul would not simple give up. This effort of Saul’s was simply the beginning of a mission that would end up with David’s head on a platter in front of Saul.
So with David speaking of God as the GOD WHO SHOWS ME STEADFAST LOVE, the context is a continual, life threatening experience. The beginning of a period in David’s life of being hunted down by professionals, of losing all the benefits and blessings in his life, a period of disruption, isolation, rejection and abandonment.
Let us not diminish David’s circumstance here. The natural man in me is thinking that David’s circumstances are directly related to the call of God on his life. The temptation to blame God for this plight would be incredible. Such an easy thought to accept.
But consider. Let us remember that God up to this point had been David’s Savior in many battles, even as a young teenager fighting wild animals. David was no stranger to conflict, to danger or to seemingly risky situations. He had experienced God’s saving work in very practical ways. He knew experientially of his God’s saving work, and he foresaw that his God would fulfill His word to him, though it be though trial.
His Son also faced the threat of death many times, and finally, and as the Word attests, willingly entered into death for our sake.
David expressed his faith by speaking of the GOD WHO SHOWS ME STEADFAST LOVE in the context of a life and death matter. Jesus though, experienced the terror of the judgement of God on His life, and willingly suffered the judgement of God on the cross for my sin.
On top of all that, He was the ultimate truth of David’s claim we read in the 3rd verse of Psalm 59.
For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD
Jesus was the innocent One that was slain. No, that is wrong. He was the Righteous One that was hunted down, condemned and murdered.
David lived under the threat of death. Jesus willingly entered into death. David spoke of his innocence. Jesus lived a righteous life.
My friend, as we walk with the Lord, we also will have many challenges that may shock us, that may knock us off balance and may initially discourage us. In the very midst of the trial, remember His past faithfulness in your life. He constantly shows us mercy and steadfast love!
Look to the One who faced every threat, even death itself, and in the end, fully experienced the GOD WHO SHOWS ME STEADFAST LOVE. For God brought Him out of the grave, and He is the King.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
Cyrus
Liberator by Peace
Ezra 1:3,4 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel–he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold
Ephesians 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
Cyrus may have been the only human regent in history that conquered a capital city without bloodshed.
Now I don’t want to imply that Cyrus did not lead a powerful army, or that he was reluctant to unleash it’s forces for the sake of the advancement of his cause, but as he approached the capital city of Babylon on his march to world domination, he eventually took a different approach.
Cyrus conquered the city, and consequently the empire of Babylon, by stealth. History has recorded that as he approached the city of Babylon, it became obvious that the walls of the city were indomitable, and that the city was fully ready for a siege if required. Although a conventional siege commenced, it was to Cyrus’ credit that he sought other means of conquering the city.
The strength of the city of Babylon, amongst many of its wonders, was the river Euphrates that flowed under the walls and through the city. This river provided a source of life for the inhabitants, but it also provided an unconventional access point for the enemy.
My understanding is that Cyrus sent his armies to both the entrance and exit of the river from under the city walls. Upstream, Cyrus reduced the flow of the water by blocking and/or diverting the flow from the main channel. At the exit of the river, his armies dug out a marsh and formed a lake area, large enough to accept much of the flow from the reduced river. Upon opening a canal to the man made lake, the lowered river flow was further reduced and allowed for the Persian army to enter the capital city, conquering the nation of Babylon.
In this monumental conquering of a world empire, Cyrus performed a miraculous feat. By shear genius and stealth, Cyrus added to his empire the extent of the Babylonian kingdom. This kingdom just so happened to contain a small people group known as the Jews.
Though it is not known how Cyrus understood his mission from God – was it Daniel that provided the scroll of Isaiah 45 for him as he began his rule – he liberated the Jew in a famous declaration found in Ezra 1.
Ezra 1:2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Ezra 1:3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel–he is the God who is in Jerusalem. Ezra 1:4 And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”
Note a few details of this declaration of Cyrus.
Let him go up to Jerusalem
Cyrus provided the Jewish people the freedom to leave or to stay. There was no compulsion on his end towards the Jewish population in returning to Jerusalem. It is so refreshing to see that Cyrus understood the importance of a willing heart in the completion of God’s will.
Do you really want to go back to Jerusalem? If you want to, you have the freedom to. Go ahead….
Is it not also the case in relation to the Messiah.
Mark 4:9 … “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
It is as if the Messiah was offering those who heard His message (the parable of the Sower in this case) the chance to “hear His message”!
Do you really want to hear His message? If you want to, you have the freedom to. Go ahead and let the message pierce that ol’ heart!
May his God be with him
Cyrus pronounced a blessing on the people as they went forward to rebuild the temple. It is interesting that the blessing was conferred on those whose desire matched the mission, but this is always the case when we think of the Lord’s work.
Jesus also provided the blessing of God, but not only as a verbal pronouncement, but by the literal giving of His life to become the One in whom we find all blessings.
Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,
Let each survivor .. be assisted
This added effort on the part of Cyrus seems over the top and is further confirmation in my thinking that Cyrus is a clear type of the Messiah. Even as Cyrus provides the opportunity of liberty to those in captivity, and even as he pronounces a blessing on them as they depart, he goes one step further and directs for the nation as a whole to support this monumentous effort of rebuilding the temple.
It is not only those willing to take on the challenge of traversing thousands of miles back to a destroyed land to rebuild the temple to the Living God, but those who stayed behind, for whatever reason, were to support the work of those in Jerusalem.
Does this not speak out the continuing method of accomplishing God’s work, of building God’s kingdom through the varied efforts of those in the kingdom? Who knows the spiritual life condition of those who chose to stay, but they were to be involved in the effort, and Cyrus acknowledges this truth.
It seems obvious that this Gentile king continues to exhibit characteristics (faint though they may be) of the character of the Messiah that we can all admire.
Cyrus may have had alternate motives, or unknown pressures requiring him to provide these advantageous circumstances for the Jewish nation. Not so with the Lord Jesus, for we can confidently say that He had one motive, and was not pressured into any decision other than that which the Father determined for His life.
His mission was simple, direct and massive. His death for our life. Resurrection for our justification. Continual, everlasting life to provide peace for those He conquers, for those whom He liberates to enter a kingdom of peace.
May His name be lifted up!
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.
237
GOD WHO NEVER LIES
Titus 1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began
Paul, is writing to his disciple Titus, as he seeks to instruct him in the oversight of believers in a local area. The local area Titus ministered in was the island of Crete, off the coast of Greece.
In order to lay a foundation for the instruction to be provided ahead by the apostle Paul, Titus is informed of the type of God he is serving on the isle of Crete. It is instructive to note that Paul describes those Titus ministers to as liars.
Titus 1:12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”
The Cretans are self confessed liars. A people group known for being liars, deceptive, untruthful.
This brings up an interesting observation, in that every culture, or social group, there tends to be at least one predominant social weakness, a sin that permeates and is accepted by the group. For the people Titus ministered to, one of these acceptable social sins was the act of lying.
Now I don’t know about you, but when I think of a social acceptance of lying as a sin, it must be very destructive to the social order. Trust cannot be granted, relationships are always fragile, and commitments end up in courts.
Of course, lies have a wide range of descriptions ranging from equivocations, through exaggerations, understatements, concealments, deliberate lies and felony level lies.
Also, we often think of lies as directed outwards, but many times, to our own hurt always, we find ourselves lying to ourselves.
1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
Before we proceed with the verse above though, one additional aspect of lying should be considered, and it is related to lying to oneself.
James 1:23 -24 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
To forget the type of people we are is a deception we allow in our lives.
It is to our wisdom that we are to continually realize the tremendous power and influence deception has in our own lives. It is easy to point a finger at a people group 2,000 years ago, on an island south of Greece, but at the very least, they had a poet that provided a self condemnation for their group acceptance of lying.
Do we (as believers in the Messiah) have anyone in our lives reminding us of our base nature, our deceptive self that turns from truth? Relationships, that is deep relationships which provide opportunities for confrontation, and subsequent confession are few and far between for many believers.
I myself find that it is much easier to listen to a preacher for 30 minutes, even in the car or late at night as I am falling asleep, than to look a dear friend in the eye and lie. To be engulfed in a lying lifestyle is to be alone, to separate yourself from others in order to continue in self deceit.
For Titus, he was in the midst of liars. Liars throughout the island. Titus was commissioned to find men who exemplify the life of the believer, the mature Christian man that would provide guidance and oversight for Christians in the church. Men who could be trusted, that would mirror the character of the Messiah, Who was the full embodiment of all truth, with no deception whatsoever. He is the source of truth!
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
At no time can a valid claim be made that God has varied in His nature or message, He is the truth! For Titus, this led to a massive challenge. Jesus’ representatives are to be of the same nature, and of the same character, and Titus had a pool of liars to choose from.
Of course, as Titus sought men of truth, he would find success, for the Lord changes liars into men of character, deceivers into men seeking the God of truth. On his own, Titus was provided a challenge that could not be met, but because he was serving the God who never lies, he will find his elders, and God continues to this day, changing deceivers into those who declare the truth!
To return to the context of this letter to Titus, Paul does remind him that though he was to find elders, men of integrity and seeking the truth, he also had a secondary assignment that was strengthened by Paul’s reference to our God as One who never lies. Since the island was full of liars, some who had not trusted in the Messiah remained in the cesspool of deception, and fought to stay there, continuing in their deception and being an active and destructive force in the church.
Titus, based on the truth that the God who never lies is commissioning him in his ministry amongst liars, has a twofold call to duty. Find truthful men through the work of God in their lives, and confront the liars.
Not to simply confront liars, but he was to silence liars!
A great example of this very action can be seen in the gospel. Jesus was being challenged in His teaching with questions one after another, and by the Wisdom of God, He provided rebuke and response that silenced his detractors. The 14th chapter of Mark is a fantastic retelling of how the Lord responded to deceivers with simple truth, and describes the unwillingness of the liars to continue attacking.
Mark 12:34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
He was awesome while on earth, and He is the same God today. As we follow, we also have the call to silence those who oppose the gospel, and this call will not be without struggle, but as we seek to silence those who oppose the truth, it is critical that we remember that we serve the God who never lies!
He can be trusted wholeheartedly and His message is the truth, for He is the God Who Never Lies!
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.
236
GOD THAT MADE THE WORLD AND EVERYTHING IN IT
Acts 17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,
A Christian and a evolutionist got together one day and began chatting about the beginning of creation.
The evolutionist made a bold claim, stating that science has actually created life in the lab. The Christian could not believe this statement and challenged the evolutionist to duplicate the miracle of creation we read about in the book of Genesis.
In an act of sheer pride, the evolutionist went on to accept this challenge and stated he would bring back evidence of life after a time in the lab. He would replicate the experiment he had spoken of, taking hydrogen and energy, and produce life.
With this bold claim, the Christian clarified the challenge. The evolutionist was to create life out of nothing, not simply rearrange and/or manipulate God’s creation.
I often think of this story when I consider the creation of the world, and everything in it. All that we see, feel, and sense in our lives, even our lives, is the result of God initially creating the cosmos out of nothing. To go further, things we cannot see, that is the building blocks of all matter was created by the Lord God. Atoms, quarks and protons all created out of nothing. Also, things we cannot see that is beyond the limits of our reach, beyond the furthest satellite and space probe was created out of nothing.
There are some in this age that think because they have studied matter, and may understand a process of nature, have actually explained away the need for God in understanding this world. This is sheer poppycock, for as the scientist delves deeper into the study of creation, the evolutionist continues to loose ground in his supposed logical rejection of a God.
Paul, as he addresses those of Athens, those who side with the evolutionist, was not shy in declaring the God we serve as the God that made the world and everything in it. In declaring God as the creator, he left no stone unturned for the Athenian to make excuse. He could not say that this God Paul preached simply rearranged preexisting matter into this world, that maybe God relied on material He found elsewhere.
God made everything is a stunning statement, declaring to a group of philosophers a truth that needed to be accepted by men that already had a systematized way of thinking regarding the existence of creation.
He is the God that made the world and everything in it.
Everything.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
Cyrus
Shepherd
Isaiah 44:28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”
John 10:16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
As I look into this gentile king, I am surprised in the elevated position God placed this man, that God anointed him, chose him and now is described as a shepherd.
Obviously, God meant this term in a governmental context, but as I look into other passages that refer to one being a shepherd, it primarily describes one who cares for sheep, one who is pastoral.
Yes kings were called out, or as taking on the responsibility as shepherds in various places in the Old Testament, such as 2 Samuel 24:17; 1 Kings 22:17; Jeremiah 2:8.
But the intent of these messages was to remind those in power of the importance of giving up something for their people.
Consider David, willing to take accept the anger of the Lord upon his own house for the sake of others in this passage.
2 Samuel 24:17 Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”
Or of the prophet Micaiah, as he saw the effect of no shepherd on the nation of Israel. The nation was suffering, and it was due to the lack of a shepherd!
1 Kings 22:17 And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’”
Or, what may be worse is that those called to be a shepherd may be acting more as overlords, taking from the flock and not caring for the flock.
Jeremiah 2:8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.
Each of these three passages speak of a king’s place to be connected with the characteristic of a shepherd. A shepherd that cares for and leads his people.
But in this verse, God is calling a gentile king to care for and protect the nation of Israel. Their own kings brought them to ruin, and now a king that was not of the blood of Abraham is called to care for them, to protect them and to lead them back home.
Although Jesus was physically a Jew, He too was a foreigner in a sense, having come down from above, and was called to lead, protect and care for a people who were in trouble.
Not only did Jesus shepherd the people of Israel, a people who were in a captivity far greater than the captivity Cyrus released them from, Jesus went farther still, and sought those beyond the bloodline of Abraham, determined to shepherd those even outside of the covenant of Sinai.
Cyrus was called to be a shepherd of strangers.
Jesus is the Shepherd of all.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
235
GOD THAT GAVE YOU BIRTH
Deuteronomy 32:18 You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.
The Lord is described as a Rock, depicting strength, stability and constancy. This terminology speaks of characteristics typically associated with the male, even a father figure. One who is an anchor and can be relied upon.
We considered this general description of our God as a ROCK in a couple of posts in this series.
Our name to consider this morning speaks of the female experience of birthing. I cannot speak first person on this action, but as I have been with my wife during each of the births of our children, I can tell you speak of that time for the mother as….
Agonizing, all consuming. A point of connection. Complete compassion.
When I consider the names of God, the descriptions He provides us in helping us understand His person, I sometimes relate to my own experiences in this life, I always, after considering the passage, come away thinking my experience is a dim shadow to the the Lord’s reality.
An example to help explain my thoughts
If I have experienced sorrow, a deep and painful sorrow, it cannot be compared to the sorrow He experienced in the rebellion of His creation, in the complete rejection of His mercy and forgiveness, of the sorrow He went through as He saw the destruction coming upon the city of Jerusalem, as He lamented over the city as He accepted their rejection. The sorrow He experienced as He died on the rugged cross, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.
He died all alone, with even the Father looking away.
We as believers can never say that we are totally alone, for He has promised to never leave us.
As I mentioned earlier, I cannot speak first person in relation to experiencing child birth, but as our five children entered this world, standing beside my wife as she was going through the agony, I sensed a connection between this lady who loves me and these children who share her DNA.
Agony
First, lets consider the agony of the experience in relation to the birth of the nation from the standpoint of God and Israel. He underwent continued pain, disappointment and trials relating to the people He sought to create a nation out of. Even as they entered into covenant with the Lord at Sinai, accomplishing (in my understanding) the birth of the nation, the trials continued on. His mercy to the nation never wavered and He sought to protect, guide and care for them even as they wandered.
Connection
Consider the connection, not simply due to the agony experienced in giving birth, but also on the biological/spiritual level.
There is no connection that is stronger than that of a mother with her child. As one of many possible points of discussion, it has been discovered that during gestation, there occurs a two way exchange of cells between the mother and the child. I am no scientist, so I will refer my reader to their own research, but this exchange of cells speaks of a deep abiding physical connection a mother and child experiences.
The child has his/her mother’s cells for life. To think of this foundational connection in relation to God is somewhat mind numbing. How that connection may be described in the Old Testament is beyond this ol’ fellow, but we know in the New Testament, we have the very Spirit of God residing in our body. Our birth in Christ brought about the very presence of God in our lives.
John 1:13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Compassion
Consider the connection on an emotional level. As mentioned previously, I understand that whatever I experience is but a shadow of that which the Lord goes through. He is the God who experiences emotion, for we see the Word speaking of God experiencing grieving, jealousy, anger, etc.
For this specific passage we are considering this morning, I cannot comprehend the trial He went through in the birthing of the nation of Israel. The waiting while His people suffered, the delays because of unbelief, the frustrations with self centered leaders, and the never ending leading of a reluctant people into a life that is full and abundant!
Paul describes a primary characteristic of a mother as gentle.
1 Thessalonians 2:7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.
He uses this same Greek word, translated as kind, when speaking of the Lord’s servant in 2 Timothy.
2 Timothy 2:24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil.
When the Lord walked the ways and crossroads of the land of Israel, He also exhibited this trait, for of course, this is the way of the Lord in relating to His children.
He is gentle.
Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
He has suffered agony as in birthing. He has connection with those He has birthed He has compassion as a mother with her birthed ones.
He is the God who has birthed us.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My 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.
234
GOD READY TO FORGIVE
Nehemiah 9:17 They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.
As some of you who may have read my testimony, this name was foreign to my understanding of God for all of my childhood, teenage years and even as I wandered through my walk of faith.
My overarching understanding of our God was that He is a judge (which He is), and that He is holy (which He is) and that He is unapproachable (which might be true).
At no time did I think of God Almighty as a God who is ready to forgive. Oh I may have hoped he would forgive if I was really good, or if I begged enough, or turned over a new leaf (whatever that means), but a God who is ready to forgive? No that didn’t enter my mind.
The term used here to describe God is that He is a God of סְלִיחָה çᵉlîychâh, and although the modifier of “ready” is not a word for word translation, the idea behind our Hebrew word is that the forgiveness available is abundant.
It is the same term used in Psalm 130
Psalm 130:4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
Note that the forgiveness is such that it produces fear in the recipient. Forgiveness in my world, in my everyday experience is such that it produces thankfulness, relief, a clearance of conscience. In my day to day, as I experience the forgiveness of my wife, my children, my coworkers, my friends and my acquaintances, fear is not the general outworking of this forgiveness.
So may I suggest that the forgiveness I experience in my day to day life is a forgiveness granted from one fallen person to another fallen person, both of the participants broken and weak, susceptible to offending and hurting each other. In no way am I implying the forgiveness is not deep felt, genuine and true. It is from an equal, a person who is of the same “stuff”.
Our God who is ready to forgive, or as in another translation, our God of forgiveness, is not of the same “stuff”. He is the Judge, the only Rightful Judge, the Holy One, A God who dwells in unapproachable light. He is the eternal God who has never, and will never experience the failures we succumb to. He is perfect, and has every right to condemn, and yet the Word speaks of Him being ready to forgive, of an abundance of forgiveness ready to be bestowed on the repentant.
He is not of the same “stuff” as us, and the forgiveness does not have a potential transactional component. It is not as if He forgives in order for some future need to receive forgiveness. His forgiveness is not only one sided, but when truly comprehended, produces the fear that the Psalm speaks of.
What type of God do we serve? Will we ever comprehend the depth of His mercy, His grace to us in Jesus the Christ?
He is altogether different than I, and for that I am so thankful!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
Cyrus
Chosen
Isaiah 45:1a Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped.
Luke 9:35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”
The very same verse we looked at last week is providing another similarity for us to consider with the shadow King Cyrus when we look to the reality of King Jesus.
Both were chosen.
For the God of heaven to state centuries before the birth of this gentile king that He would grasp this kings hand speaks of His chosing him for the task ahead.
It is good to remember that to be chosen is usually in reference to a particular task or mission. Yes sometimes is may seem to refer to the ultimate destiny of a nation, as it was with Israel, and as some believers may think, it is a designation for some individuals ultimate destiny also.
That is an issue I will not address in this post, as I have discussed it in numerous earlier posts. A short study on the purpose of being chosen.
Chosen To Perform
1 Chronicles 15:2 Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the LORD had chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister to him forever.
Chosen To Become
Deuteronomy 14:2 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Chosen to Bear Fruit
John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Chosen Not Because
For myself, I sometimes confuse the act of being chosen as signifying somehow being worthy of being chosen.
Deuteronomy 7:6 …..The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. Deuteronomy 7:7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,
The Israelites were not chosen because they were numerous or great when compared with the neighboring nations. As a matter of fact, the smallness, the insignificance of Israel only brought about the strength of the Lord God to be seen. It is a recurring theme, that those chosen for a task are wholly incapable of performing the task, of becoming the person they are called to be, or of bearing fruit on their own.
My I have somewhat stayed from the original topic this morning, but it all applies to Cyrus, for he was chosen to perform a task, he was chosen to become a king, and he was chosen to bear fruit (build a temple) for God.
In his confession of the God of heaven providing all the kingdoms for his reign, he may have also grasped that this choice was not because he was great, but that God provided.
As for the Son of God, His was the original choice by the Father, the only choice that could perform the gargantuan task of salvation, the only choice of the perfect sinless sacrifice and the only choice to bear the fruit of the church, constantly bearing fruit in new and growing believers.
He is the Chosen One!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
233
GOD OF HEAVEN
2 Chronicles 36:23 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him. Let him go up.
There are numerous passages in the Word that provide us our name of God this morning, but I chose this verse out of 2 Chronicles due to my recent studying of Cyrus as a type of Christ. (Jesus in the Old Testament – Cyrus – 01).
Beyond that reason, I find this verse to be comforting for our day, in that it contains a truth that hopefully will settle the heart of the faithful.
As I said, it is difficult times we live in as we see this old world crumble away, with cultural and societal degradation surrounding us, with national leadership being exposed for deeper and deeper corruption, and an ever-growing open hatred of the Christian faith.
The church seems to have entered a type of captivity, accepting the cultures social norms, (shifting as they are), as acceptable norms to conform to. As the ancient Jewish nation experienced their captivity in Babylon, the church – at least in the western world – has also lost touch.
But as we see in this verse, and understanding the background of King Cyrus, we see that the God of heaven is not limited by His location, or that He is only in charge in heaven. King Cyrus, a non-Jew, and an unexpected Savior for the people of Israel, readily admits to the authority and actions of the God of heaven on earth. This pagan king not only admits that the God of heaven provided him his success, giving him “all the kingdoms of the earth”, but that God has given him a charge.
King Cyrus – build the God of heaven a house in Jerusalem.
A charge was given to the King, and an allowance was provided to the people of God. They were granted freedom by this king, and supplied to those who had a heart for God, the very highest gift of the faithful saint, The king would build the temple of the God of heaven, and the people of God could see him do it!
Also, take note that the people of God, though given freedom to return, are a secondary item. By that I mean, they are allowed to get involved if they want, but the King will build the house for the God of heaven whether they choose to get involved or not.
The God of heaven rules over the kingdoms of the earth, and to rescue His people, (or better stated, to provide a salvation to those who seek it), He may rise up a man or woman that is totally unexpected, in order to fulfill His desires. And the people of God can watch the wonder of this saviors work, taking part if they want.
The Greater King, our Living Savior is building a temple for the God of heaven in our day also. Have you been granted freedom? Are you wanting to get involved? The opportunity, the blessing, maybe better yet – the obligation is in front of the saint to get involved in the work.
Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
He is the God of heaven, and He is working on this earth to build His Temple.
Wanna help?
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.
232
GOD OF GLORY
Psalm 29:3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters.
Glory. It is the winning of the Boston marathon, or the receiving of an Oscar. It is often thought of as an ultimate victory, a great display of honor. For those who seek it, it is the attainment of fame and splendor. of an honor amongst their peers.
When it comes to how it is associated with God, we often think of a radiant light, a manifestation of God’s presence, or a recognition of His worth and beauty. He as God is the Only One worthy of glory in the most absolute sense.
For the verse we are considering, David associates the God of Glory with His message, specifically His voice in the world of nature, even a thunderstorm.
David, I would suggest, is watching a great thunderstorm, where the heavens are opening up and unleashing a power that cannot be resisted. Vast areas of the land, and in this case the waters of Israel, may be experiencing high winds, torrents of rain, fire from heaven and thunderous noise shaking the earth.
David is trying to express the might and power of the Lord in relation to the world about him. Throughout this psalm, David speaks of the “voice of the Lord”, and this is the first instance.
Yet I must consider the term glory before I finish this post. /I recall discussing a somewhat surprising association with the term glory with heaviness. (See Names of God – BEAUTIFUL AND GLORIOUS – 49).
I found also, that though the term “glory” not only had a sense of honor and esteem, and a sense of heaviness, (even fatness), associated with it, this term is also linked with suffering.
This particular word we see in this passage comes from the root word כָּבַד kâbad. We find this root word in the following passages, where I have italicized it’s use.
Genesis 18:20 Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,
Note that the root word we read as glory in the Psalm is translated “grave” in Genesis 18. Some translations use grievous or serious.
Nehemiah 5:18 Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people.
Nehemiah rejected the opportunity to enjoy great abundance due to the heavy burden placed on the people that required it.
2 Samuel 13:25 But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to you.” He pressed him, but he would not go but gave him his blessing.
David did not want to be burdensome to his son.
1 Samuel 5:11 They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there.
The term associates directly with suffering in 1 Samuel, where the hand of God was causing an uproar amongst the Philistines.
Psalm 32:4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
But lest we think this suffering is only for those who know not God, we find it used by David when he is under the judging eye of His Master.
All of this is to simply admit that my concept of glory is too weak, too shallow. Bright lights, beauty and honor are the thoughts that typically rise to the mind when we think of glory, but let us not forget that it is a complex thought, a complex idea that has much greater meaning than first considered.
The God of Glory has Himself provided the greatest display of His glory in the man Christ Jesus, as He displayed His patient, kind, meek and loving interaction with those who had ears to hear. His character was a blinding glorious light in a very dark land.
He also displayed His authority, His heaviness amongst some lightweight religious authorities, literally tearing their arguments to pieces without breaking a sweat!
But if you ask me, the greatest display of the God of Glory for all to see was the Man Christ Jesus, bloody and broken, nailed to a cross, exposed to the public as if he were equal to a mere thief, suffering the indignities and insults of sinful man, all to rescue a thankless and hateful people.
He is the God of Glory and though many may look to the cross as simply an instrument of justice, for the believer, that cross provided the greatest display of who the God of Glory truly is!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
Cyrus
Anointed One
Isaiah 45:1a Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped..
Acts 4:27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
I will admit it, I started looking at Cyrus, thinking that if I found one or two likenesses to the Lord, I will have plunged the depths of the similarities this gentile king had with our Lord. After all, my next subject is Daniel, and I can hardly wait. My attitude, (sad as it was), was to get the gentile king out of the way so I can dig into the life of Daniel and see the Lord in that great saint of old.
Was I wrong! Cyrus is quite surprising as a great Gentile King, but even more so as a typology of Jesus. Although I am reluctant to define the number of similarities I have found so far, suffice to say it is not just one or two. (A hint to my readers – It is less than 100!)
For this post, lets consider the fact that Cyrus was called the anointed of God. Yes, it is true that there were many anointed in the Old Testament, including the kings of Israel and Judah, prophets of Israel, priests of Israel, and many leaders, such as the judges, or different leaders that were within the theocracy of Israel.
But Cyrus stands out amongst these anointed in that he was a dirty Gentile, a foreigner to the covenant and a man that was outside of the regular domain God worked within.
Not only that, but Cyrus was called God’s anointed prior to performing any good deed, or before even sucking breath. Isaiah’s prophecy was given a century prior to the Gentile king arriving on the scene! Not many of the “rank and file” of the anointed in Israel can claim that status.
And yet, even as Cyrus stands out from amongst all those who were of the anointed class in the old theocracy, the True Anointed One is head and shoulders above Cyrus. Though Cyrus was a great and victorious king over all the known world in his day, His anointing may be considered his greatest privilege, a privilege granted by God.
For Jesus, to put it bluntly, to be the Anointed was simply a matter of fact. He is the Anointed, the Only One Who was and is the Anointed One, not due to a privilege granted by God, but because of His Person, of Who He truly is.
There is a difference! He is the Christ, the Anointed One!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
231
GOD OF FAITHFULNESS AND WITHOUT INIQUITY
Deuteronomy 32:4 “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.
Our God is a God of faithfulness and without iniquity.
It is a common truth that believer’s rely on throughout our walk with Him, and yet when trials come or trouble rise up, our first inclination is to question his faithfulness.
Of course that is simply our rebellion rising up, blaming God for that which might be occurring due to our poor decisions, or maybe simply misunderstanding God’s way in our lives.
As I was reviewing this term for faithfulness, I found it to have a somewhat special meaning. It refers to being steady or firm. A very good example of how this term pictures the steadfastness of God is found in Exodus, when Moses was overseeing Joshua fight the Amalekites.
Exodus 17:12 But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
Moses hands were “faithful” until the going down of the sun. They didn’t move, and were not subject to any weakness that Moses was experiencing.
God is steady, firm and unmoving, and unlike Moses, did not require assistance from others in being so. He is faithful, and His nature of being so is a great comfort to every believer.
But this name of God we are considering this morning is not simply the God of faithfulness , but the God of faithfulness and without iniquity!
Faithful, unmoving, firm, resolute. God is the God of faithfulness. He is the ultimate expression of firmness, of unmoving adherence to His Word and Will. Then Moses adds the “without iniquity” description, as further emphasis on who God is.
May I suggest this double description of God works to bolster the image Moses was trying to get across to the Israelites by describing a positive attribute, and then further describing that attribute by negating any idea of unfaithfulness.
Let me try to explain my thoughts.
If God at any time and for any reason, was not faithful, and because He is known and described as faithful, this act of unfaithfulness would introduce iniquity into our thoughts. At any time, if God was not steady, firm in His nature and promises, iniquity could be claimed to be found in Him.
How preposterous, for it is His nature that defines righteousness, and there is no iniquity to be found in Him. And that is the point!
Moses is doubling up on his description of the faithfulness (firmness, steadiness) of God. No iniquity of unsteadiness, or unfaithfulness may be considered.
Don’t even think it!
Unless of course, you turn your eyes to see the Man on the cross, where a spotless God, firm in His will and in the keeping of His word, accepted iniquity into His own body. The mystery of One who, due to His faithfulness, became sin (iniquity), accepting the just punishment of sin within His own body.
2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Out God is a God of Faithfulness and Without Iniquity, even as He exercised His faithfulness to His own saving promises. To His own great hurt, that is His own death, He was faithful. No iniquity of His own may be found in Him, even as we see Him hanging on that cross, receiving the just punishment of our iniquity being placed on His sinless Body.
How can we understand such a faithful God, One who is without iniquity, and yet taking on our sin to maintain His faithfulness? It is not for us to understand, but only to bow before Him.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My 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.
230
GOD OF YOUR FATHERS
Exodus 3:15 God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.
It was decades ago when my wife and I were in training for missionary work, hoping to reach unreached people groups to a far off land the Lord wanted us to go to.
Those were exciting days, and as Canadians in a US school, we lived by faith, and saw the Lord provide in many mighty and awesome ways.
He is truly a good God.
During those times, I listened to stories of missionaries that had ventured into perilous areas, breaking barriers with people groups who had never heard of the Master, living amongst them, learning their language and culture, waiting for the day to communicate the gospel to a people who had never met the God of Resurrection.
One particular missionary team, after spending years in tribe, eventually were able to share the gospel, finding much fruit in the tribe. Many came to know the Lord, and a vibrant small body of believers began growing weekly.
Exciting stuff.
During church services, these missionaries would introduce hymns, (translated into the tribes mother tongue), giving the young believers a chance to praise God with the classic hymns such as Amazing Grace, It is Well with My Soul and such.
One such hymn that could not be introduced immediately was the classic “God of our Fathers”, a hymn written in 1876 by Daniel C. Roberts. The hymn speaks of the blessing of a people that have history with the God of Creation, and since this particular people group had just come to faith, it just didn’t make sense to add it to their hymnology.
This story is provided to my reader to simply remind us of the rich blessing we have as a people group, of a history with the Living God. God has led our fathers, whether we speak of those directly related to us in our immediate family, to those who have been instrumental in shaping our Christian culture, or the very Patriarchs of the Old Testament, that led the way in understanding the Lord’s ways.
You know, in a way, these new converts could have sung this song in truth, for in following Jesus, we all, as the Body of Christ know the God of our Fathers, those who came before us in the faith.
It is such a blessing to live in a historically Christian culture, but I fear we are slipping away from a full and living faith in the God of our Fathers. May we live our days in a thankful and expressive way, sharing the truth of the gospel in any way possible, seeking to allow those who follow us to sing this song also.
May the God of our Fathers be praised!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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
Caleb
Lived in Obscurity
Joshua 14:10 And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old.
Luke 2:51, 52 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.
Hear what Caleb says in this verse. The Lord has kept him alive. What does this imply?
I think it is difficult to peg the age of an old man in the Old Testament. Looking at the ages given to us from before the flood, we have men lasting almost a millennium. Incredible.
Immediately after the flood, it appears life spans began to decrease, and by the time we get to Moses and Caleb, it appears a 120 year old man, as Moses was, may have been an anomaly.
For Caleb, at the time of this passage, he was 85 years old, an old man in his autumn years, hoping his 401(k) will get him through his remaining years. – Just kidding – I think he was way too savvy of an investor to only depend on the markets. I think he had real estate in mind! And at 85, he was going to claim it.
Now don’t get me wrong in describing Caleb here as one who was focused on monetary security. That is not the image I have of this man. He was a man who had been given a promise decades earlier, and was convinced it was time to chase the promise.
But in between the promise and the potential realization, he lived in obscurity, a “regular” saint, patiently waiting on the Lord as his youthful stamina slowly seeped out of his body. From a stout man, willing to take on the people of the land, he had now become a man of wisdom, realizing his life was in the hand of the Lord, his very existence dependent on the One who promised him a patch of ground.
But let us take a moment to consider forty-five years of waiting. More than half his life, burdened down by the decisions of those he lived with, those who made faithless decisions, impacting a faithful man who was ready decades ago.
And for forty-five years we hear nothing of Caleb. He lived in obscurity, possibly even ostracized by some of his neighbors, for he was that one that was so confident, that made them all look so bad.
Forty-five years of toiling amongst those who dragged him back from victory. Forty-five years of living amongst those who constantly rebelled against his God. Forty-five years of having a nation of negative influence constantly rub up against his spirit.
Jesus also was in obscurity, living amongst a people He had come to serve and to save.
Yes – there were flashes of fame with his birth, but only amongst some shepherds and a few foreigners. Yes, it is true that He shook up the religious leaders when he was 12 years old. But let us remember who we are dealing with. This is God in the flesh, and He is content to live in obscurity, content to be amongst those whose actions and attitudes will drive Him onto the cross.
Obscurity.
It is a way of describing a life of being unknown, a life not recognized for the value found in the man. Caleb lived in obscurity, and his faithfulness to God certainly was honed into focus during that time. God was his focus, for no one else seemed too concerned.
For the Lord, His obscurity must have provided an enormous influence in His later years, as He had much time with His Father, much time contemplating the Word and much time understanding His mission.
His obscurity provided Him opportunity to focus on the Only True God, to know His Father while walking amongst His subjects.
Obscurity, in this world that chases fame and fortune, is a true blessing many consider a curse. If you are in a place where you have faded into relative obscurity, take a page from the life of Caleb, and remember who your God is. Better yet, look to the Messiah, for in His obscurity He deepened His relationship with the Father, and that obscurity, though highly undeserved was of great use to the Son.
In His obscurity, He followed after the True God! He recognized the value of God and honed in on His relationship with His Father during this time. For though many thought nothing of Him, letting Him live in obscurity, He recognized the ultimate value of His God, and truly is the Only One worth knowing!
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.
229
GOD OF THE HEBREWS
Exodus 3:18 And they will listen to your voice, and you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now, please let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’
Funny how things work out sometimes. In my original compilation of the Names of God, I ordered them out alphabetically, not thinking of the how ordering the names may impact how I write about them.
Such is the case with our topic today. Our previous passage spoke of the “God of the whole earth” and I sought to make much of the fact that our God is not some local deity, restricted to a region or people.
And now we have a Name of God that seems to do that very thing, describing God as the God of the Hebrews. Is this a contradiction? A conflict? Mixed messaging?
I think not. Let’s consider the context.
Moses is before the Pharoah, the King of Egypt, king of a land with many gods, gods who would very soon fall victim to the True God. Each of the plagues addressed the specific influence of a false god Egypt worshipped. To define God as the One that would dominate over these false gods, Moses couldn’t simply say God. To do so would allow the Pharoah to mentally place the True God as simply one of the many in the pantheon of god’s they worshipped. And that would not do!
Moses was not restricting the God of whole earth when he called God the God of the Hebrews. He was not limiting God, but simply identifying Him as being other than those who would fall in submission to the false gods.
One true God. All other gods will soon be identified as false.
As for the term “Hebrew” we can all agree it was an early designation of the Israeli people. Some associate it as a name of those who had descended from Eber, harkening back to the tenth chapter for Genesis, where Moses calls out Eber as a descendant of Shem, in direct lineage of Abraham.
A tradition of the Jewish people was that Eber refused to take part in the building of the Tower of Babel, and by refusing to take part in this act of rebellion, retained the original language of Adam. Possible? You decide, but Eber was a consequential figure in the Old Testament and his name is associated with God in our verse today.
One other interesting tidbit about Eber (or Hebrew) is that the term עִבְרִי ʻIbrîy may be translated as “one from beyond” or “one that crosses over”
It is fitting that this name is associated with the One who “came from beyond” to rescue us, that He “crossed over” into our world to take on our sin, to take on our helplessness and to rescue us, even in like manner as He rescued the Israelites from a dominant, powerful and abusive enemy.
He is the God of the Hebrews, for He is the God who has crossed over to mankind, becoming the God-man. A truly amazing truth that He has completed!
May we honor the God of the Hebrews, knowing He is so much more than the gods we come into contact with in our daily lives!
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.
228
GOD OF THE WHOLE EARTH
Isaiah 54:5 For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.
I will never forget the day I discovered the Hebrew word for earth. That word alone ignited a change in my thinking that I completely was unprepared for.
You see, when the Old Testament prophets used the Hebrew term אֶרֶץʼerets, I did not know that it is sometimes translated as land, as in “the promised land”, and sometimes translated as ground or soil, as in the material that makes up the earth, and sometimes translated as earth, referring to the planet we reside on, as it is here in our verse.
To make matters worse, (at least for me), the same nebulousness occurs in the New Testament. But that will be for another day, for I want to focus simply on how this impacts the name of our God in this passage.
Isaiah is declaring to all who will listen of the restoration of Israel in this passage. He is looking down the corridors of time to a time when barrenness would no longer be associated with Israel. Let’s read the introductory verse to this amazing prophecy of Isaiah.
Isaiah 54:1 “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear; break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,” says the LORD.
He speaks of the barren one having more children (meaning greater honor in ancient Israel) than the married one.
What in tarnation is Isaiah talking about? Who is the baren one? Who is the desolate one? Who is the married one? I am so confused!
Thankfully the apostle Paul provides apostolic teaching in Galatians 4:27, referring to this verse in his discussion of the church in relation to Old Covenant Israel.
Galatians 4:27 For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.”
Paul continues with his discussion in Galatians, defining those in the New Testament Church, as being the subject of this prophecy.
Galatians 4:28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
Thank you Paul, for I was so unsure of where Isaiah was going with this verse, but in New Testament understanding, when Isaiah speaks of “enlarging the place of your tent”, he is speaking of the expansion of the church.
If I follow you Paul, when Isaiah speaks of expanding to the right and to the left, he is referring to the impact of the gospel beyond the restricted borders of the nation of Israel. When Isaiah writes of the barren one inheriting the nations, he is describing the influence of God on all nations, the complete unleashing of the truth of God throughout the earth.
All of this future honor, replacing the shame of captivity will occur due to the Lord Himself. The gospel of the resurrected Jesus is the message, and the power of the Spirit of God has multiplied the people of God, fulfilling the expansion Isaiah spoke of when he wrote that the “place of your tent” will cover the whole earth.
Now I get it! Isaiah saw it, knew it and taught it. Paul saw it, knew it and taught it!
He is the God of the whole erets! There is no opportunity for any confusion in the term erets in this verse. Isaiah may have used erets in this verse, but the intended message is that the whole erets will be impacted, the totality of the erets will be reached with the message of God.
Yes – He is the God of the whole erets, the God of all of creation, having exploded out of the land (erets) of Israel with the message of His resurrected Son, impacting all and every part of the created erets!
Let there not be any mistaken assumption on the readers part that God is some local deity restricted to a small patch of land far, far away from most of us.
He is the God of the whole 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.
227
GOD OF THE SPIRITS OF ALL FLESH
Numbers 16:22 And they fell on their faces and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?”
Let’s get some background to this name of God.
Numbers 16 is the chapter describing Korah’s rebellion against Moses in the wilderness. It was a sizable rebellion, where Korah had assembled 250 chiefs of the congregation (vs2), and brought a complaint against God’s man!
Now remember, at this time, Moses has been established as the prophet of God to lead the twelve tribes out of Egypt and into the promised land. We all know of the miracles in front of Pharoah, and that the tribes had experienced, not only in Egypt, but as they fled their captors.
And what was Korah’s complaint? His complaint is as follows
Numbers 16:3 …“You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?”
A common attempt to divide by a false prophet.
Korah’s argument? Since the entire nation was holy, (in theory, but not necessarily in practice), it is obviously unnecessary for one man to lead. Do not all the people know God, making your leadership unnecessary Moses? You only seek leadership because you want to exalt yourself!
So many contradictions and falsehoods in this claim, but the groundswell of opinion was growing on Korah’s side. A few verses later, (vs 13) Dathan and Abiram refused to respond to Moses, claiming Moses was exalting himself.
Something had to be done, or Korah would cause much damage, even the destruction of the mission of Moses!
It is interesting to note that Korah stood in the place of honor prior to his rebellion. Not only was Korah a close relative of Moses, but he was the head of the Kohathites, of the order of the Levites, charged with the solemn duty of transporting the things of the tent of meeting. (Numbers 4:15).
He had honor and prestige, yet it wasn’t enough. He led one of the most effective rebellions against Moses in the wilderness, and is famous for the eventual judgement that fell on him and his family.
And this is where Moses and Aaron fell on their face and called on the God of the spirits of all flesh? The prayer centered on personal responsibility, of how one man’s sin would not consume the relatively innocent caught up in the frenzied message of a man gone mad.
The prayer identified God as the God who knew each individual, who would account for each one’s actions, and that would separate those of rebellion from those of simple foolishness. Those of the congregation, who had blindly followed Korah in the rebellion, got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan and Abiram, prior to the coming destruction.
The Lord showed up that day, directing His prophet to separate the fools from the rebels, and after the separation, proved AGAIN that Moses was His representative.
Moses spoke of the fate of these rebels, and the Lord opened the earth immediately after Moses informed the congregation of their fate. A direct and immediate demonstration of Moses as the undisputed leader of the nation!
God is the God of the spirits of all flesh, and He knows each of us. If this passage speaks of any truth, it speaks of how the Lord knows of the rebellion in His people, and of those who are simply foolish enough to listen to them. It also speaks of the Lord able to “clean house” when He deems necessary. He is not One who shies away from protecting those who are on His side!
As the God of the spirits of all flesh, we are to stand in awe of the One who knows each of us, but not only that incredible truth. He knows of my rebellion, of my turning from Him at times of weakness, of my listening to the wrong message and wandering off.
He is the God of the spirit of my flesh, and as that, I need to be committed to His Man, His Prophet, His Chosen Leader. I need to be committed to the Son, who has led the way, all the way to the cross and through the grave.
May we all seek to renew our commitment to our Greater Moses, rejecting the message of all the Korah’s in the church!
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.
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GOD OF THE LIVING
Mark 12:27 He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
What a coincidence.
I hadn’t looked ahead on the topic for this mornings post, and as I was travelling to work this morning, I just so happened to be in the Gospel of Mark.
Now as the heretic that I am, I was listening to what many consider a paraphrase of the Word, as it often brings up shades of meaning that I pursue in studies later on. Yes – I was listening to the Message, and have found it to be a refreshing take on truths I think I am familiar with.
This time, my familiarity of the passage was way, way off base!
Let’s read the short response of the Lord in the Message.
Mark 12:24-27 (MSG) Jesus said, “You’re way off base, and here’s why: One, you don’t know what God said; two, you don’t know how God works. After the dead are raised up, we’re past the marriage business. As it is with angels now, all our ecstasies and intimacies then will be with God. And regarding the dead, whether or not they are raised, don’t you ever read the Bible? How God at the bush said to Moses, ‘I am—not was—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? The living God is God of the living, not the dead. You’re way, way off base.”
Can you imagine any respected Bible teacher in a debate, using this type of language? Even more so, to think the Lord Jesus may have used this type of non-formal response to the “highly respected” Sadducees only makes Him to be more of a hero to me.
He is awesome in His response, and spoke the truth.
They were way, way off.
1. They Just Don’t Know Gods Word
He told them they don’t know God’s Word.
These religious practitioners boasted about their understanding of the Word, and though they disbelieved much of it, they certainly had knowledge of the words in the Book.
So how can Jesus make such a claim?
It is because of their approach to the Book, looking for “outs”, trying to find a way to fit the Word into their lives and culture, instead of fitting their lives and culture to the Written Word.
2. They Just Don’t Know God’s Works
They knew the facts, but they didn’t know the facts. I know it seems confusing and I have tried to explain this difference in a previous blog (Inherit the Kingdom? Who Knew?)
It is the difference between experiencing God’s works and simply knowing facts about His works. There is a massive difference, and I am speaking to those who experientially know the work of God in their lives, even on a daily basis as He proves Himself over and over again, for He is the God of the Living.
The Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection), coming to the Scriptures with that bias, completely miss the fantastic implication of the burning bush Moses faced. For God spoke of being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Not that He was their God, but that He is their God, even at the time Moses was before the burning bush, hundreds of years after the Patriarchs passed.
Don’t they ever read the Bible?
Someone with a bias against resurrection truth would be blind to this implication. They would be way way off.
So sad. So blind. So unnecessary!
Imagine being way, way off base!
Thankfully, for those of us who have experienced the work of God in our lives, and seek to follow after Him in a daily walk, we are privileged to find these implications everywhere!
It is wonderful to travel the Word and trip over these implications as we seek Him.
I would love to hear from some of my readers of their experiences in the Word and how their eyes lit up when they discovered an implication they had not experienced before.
For He is the God of the Living, even on this very day, and all who worship Him, either living or having passed from our view, have experienced the wonder of His Word and Works.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.
I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.
SEEING JESUS IN
Caleb
Leader
Numbers 13:30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”
Luke 5:8, 10 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”
Caleb took charge of the situation. Even in the midst of Moses. And remember Joshua was most likely standing beside him!
Quiet
As a leader, he first controlled the situation, quieting the people. He hushed them. Quit running about with your heads falling off, taking in all the fears that have been imagined! Be quiet, and realize the truth of the matter.
He too experienced the fear mongering we are so often the victim of in our modern society, a fear mongering that is easy to fan into flames for those who have little to do with the True God!
Nothing has changed, for one of the enemies greatest weapons against the people of God is to whip us up with rumors of destruction, fear of the future and the dread of death. It is a common tactic, and if we understand the designs of the enemy, we are better positioned to battle our thought lives properly!
2 Corinthians 2:11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.
Judge
He was a man who could judge a situation quickly and respond naturally for the purpose of directing the people toward God. He didn’t have to get volumes of data and analyze the situation though multiple processes to come to a decision. He knew in his soul of the dangers of this fear mongering report, of the doubt that was raging through the camp.
He surmised the situation, diverted the crowd from their natural, initial reaction to the findings and spoke of their resources, the ability of the tribes of Israel to “overcome it”
Provide a Plan
Although Caleb provided a skeletal plan in this verse, I would like to emphasize the aspect of timing. He was ready to go NOW.
Let us go up at once!
In our analytical world, with studies and reports needed for decision making, it is refreshing to see a man of confidence make a decision, control a situation, and expect the best of the people. Caleb was a leader, in the midst of leaders.
Jesus also was a take charge type of man, a leader who exerted tremendous influence on those who had ears to hear.
When he was dealing with Peter and the catch of fish, He also quieted His subject – Peter fell down at His knees – and provided a plan for Peter. Peter, you are going to catch men! He had a plan for Peter’s life and He provided it to peter without hesitation. Jesus was well prepared to lead His men with decisive decisions as at this calling, and with decisions that turned fatal later in His ministry.
His depth of leadership has no competitor, for He is the only One who is the Ultimate Leader, the Lord.
Considering the Bible 