Thoughts on the topic of pride from the book of wisdom
The book of Proverbs has much to say about the topic of pride. Let’s dive into the wisdom of Proverbs for a few moments.
Let’s read a verse and consider the message.
Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
It is an interesting fact of life that those who need to be prepared most are often the least prepared, Such is the case here, for the proud need to prepare for the judgement of God, and yet in their pride, they continue on until the destruction overtakes them.
Thankfully, the destruction that overtakes the proud is, in my mind, incremental through life, providing opportunities to humble the self before God prior to the ultimate destruction.
Yet Solomon goes a bit further and defines the proud as one with a haughty spirit. To be haughty may speak of loftiness, height or above. We all recognize a haughty spirit, (except in ourselves!), a spirit that appears to sense their own importance, their own priority over others. Those that look down their nose on others!
This spirit of haughtiness naturally results in a stumbling, a fall from a high position. Many things are the cause of falling from a high position, but for the sake of our time this morning, let us remember that a spirit of haughtiness will bring us down. No one can maintain a lie, thinking higher of himself than truth allows, and the lie will expose itself and the stumbling will begin.
Follow after the One who, though has maintained His ultimate height, or loftiness, has also described Himself as meek and lowly of heart.
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.
147
FIRSTBORN AMONG MANY BROTHERS
Romans 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
As discussed in our previous post, to be firstborn implied, or emphatically stated a number of truths that were taught in the Old Testament, and can be seen in the Lord Jesus in His fulfillment.
One concept that I did not list, nor did I find called out in the Old Testament, was the relation of the firstborn with siblings. Don’t get me wrong – the firstborn was just that. the first born child of many.
In the New Testament, Paul makes a point of describing the siblings of the firstborn and the destiny of those who follow Him as brothers. Jesus is the Firstborn of course, but the purpose of his existence, at least in this passage, was for the expansion of the family, and the character of those in the family.
The Firstborn among many brothers. As we read through the Word, we come across quantitative words, such as “much”, “more” and “many”, to describe amounts of a topic. To consider “many brothers” a description of a worldwide expansion of the family of faith in the crucified One seems to be an incredible understatement.
An incredible understatement of truth, in my opinion, that seems consistent with the tenor of Scripture, for the Word doesn’t seem to try to communicate to impress, but to inform. Whether the “many” in this verse refers to thousands, as was true in the days of Paul, or the current tens of billions, (considering those who have sent before,) it makes no matter to the message.
He is the Firstborn of Many Brothers, and the end quantity is yet to be fathomed! May His name be praised for His great ability to lead such a massive family!
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.
Thoughts on the topic of jesting from the book of wisdom
To jest is to joke about, to mock, to make light of a topic.
Is jesting sin? Is jesting appropriate for a believer? Can a believer jest with others and still be in sync with God?
That depends, for I have spent a bit of time considering this topic. For you see, I am a proverbial jester! I have been told I “jest” too much, that I can lead someone on for the sake of a laugh, and that in the jesting, I tend to sometimes go too far.
And this verse cuts me.
Proverbs 26:18 – 19 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, “I am only joking!”
The concern is that with jesting, an element of deceit, for a short time, is introduced into the discussion. Possibly deceit is a bit strong, (although this proverb doesn’t think so) but at the least exaggeration, or misrepresentation.
And yet we find the Word records a number of times that sarcasm and jesting is used by God to make a point. I think of Elijah, where he speaks of the worshippers of Baal having to wait on their God cause he is busy on the toilet. Or when Paul speaks of the legalizers cutting them selves off! Sarcasm and jesting to make a serious point is a valid method of communicating, but it seems to be used in moderation through out the Word.
And it is obvious that the jest is in jest. To jest, yet without any hurt inflicted on another, that is an acceptable use of this method of communication. I think a correct understanding of jesting would be as a method to waken someone up from a misunderstanding, or wrong thinking.
Yet, as I reflect on my own tendency to jesting, I find this is a serious problem for myself. I recognize every jest I utter makes it more difficult for those who chat with me to take me seriously. That element of deceit can’t be erased simply by stating “I jest”.
I also find in myself a spirit of superiority rising up in any jesting, thinking I have the edge in the discussion, that I know something others don’t understand. If you are a jester, do you recognize this attitude in your jesting?
That element of deceit can’t be erased simply by stating “I jest”.
Jesting can be a powerful tool in the hands of a well intentioned loving believer, but it is very often used to make fun of others at their expense.
The very opposite of building each other up! Let us build one another up, as the Scriptures teach us!
1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 68:11-14
11 The Lord gives the word; the women who announce the news are a great host: 12 “The kings of the armies–they flee, they flee!” The women at home divide the spoil– 13 though you men lie among the sheepfolds– the wings of a dove covered with silver, its pinions with shimmering gold. 14 When the Almighty scatters kings there, let snow fall on Zalmon.
This Psalm continues the theme of the Lord as the conquering One, leading His people through to victory. He gives the word to advance with plans of victory and upon the victory, we find women announcing the good news.
From a patriarchal society as Israel was, this may have been surprising to hear, yet there are numerous examples of this very thing occurring in the Old Testament.
Miriam
Exodus 15:20-21
Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women went out after her with tambourines and dancing. And Miriam sang to them: “Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.”
Deborah
Judges 5:1-2
Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day: “That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the LORD!
Multiple Women
1 Samuel 18:6-7
As they were coming home, when David returned from striking down the Philistine, the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul, with tambourines, with songs of joy, and with musical instruments. And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”
To make things worse, verse 13 intimates that the men of the nation were not in the midst of the battle, that they may have been asleep in the sheepfolds, lying down, not interacting in the battle.
For this passage, it seems typical roles are upended, or at least denied, and the one constant is that God is still leading in victory. The Lord, in the battle, scatters kings, and the psalmist refers to snow falling on Zalmon. There is one instance in the book of Judges that speaks of Zalmon that may provide some context for this passage
Judges 9:48-49
And Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people who were with him. And Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a bundle of brushwood and took it up and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the men who were with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do as I have done.” So every one of the people cut down his bundle and following Abimelech put it against the stronghold, and they set the stronghold on fire over them, so that all the people of the Tower of Shechem also died, about 1,000 men and women.
It is known that the snow falls on Mount Zalmon, and it covers the mount for a period of time each year. The fact that the Lord scattering kings is associated with the snow of Zalmon may be referring to the mount being covered completely, as the Lord completely gains victory over the Kings.
One possible thought, and it is mine alone, so please take it with a grain of salt, but as Abimelech torched the tower, with over 1,000 perishing, the result of the fire would produce ash. The ash of his enemies. Gruesome thought, yet the ash would disperse and cover the vicinity, appearing as a snow fall.
This would definitely bring to the ancient reader a word picture of the utter judgement of God on His enemies.
Let me know your thoughts on this difficult passage. Or better yet, share a time when the Lord caused victory in your life, especially through non-conventional means.
By the way, regarding women announcing good news, was it not the penultimate good news of the resurrection that a few women, lost in their mourning for their Master, was granted the privilege to share with all the world?
He is risen, and even the first heralds, be they women were not expected!
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.
145
FIRSTBORN
Hebrews 1:6 And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
We start another mini series with our Names of God series, focusing in on the term Firstborn.
To be firstborn in ancient Israel was to be of an elevated status. To be firstborn was to be associated with
There may be even more associations of the “first born” with special status, privilege or responsibility through the Word, but the previous list is sufficient for the topic.
Kindly notice that the list is providing only a foundation for our understanding of Firstborn, for it makes reference only to the topic in the Old Testament.
Our first reference to this term is found in Luke 2:7
Luke 2:7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
Our Firstborn was born in poverty, fulfilled each of the typologies above, and has become even greater than the Old Testament sought to teach us.
He is the Messiah, the One who is God’s FirstBorn.
In the following posts on looking at the term Firstborn, the Word will provide us detailed and specific ways our understanding of Firstborn will be expanded.
Hope you can join me.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Revelation 2:4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Revelation 2:5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
Two topics arise in this short passage regarding conditional security. The messages in verse 4 of abandoning the love, and in verse 5 of removing your lampstand need to be considered.
Left
To leave is not to apostatize, as I expected, but is the Greek term aphiemi, which has the meaning of to leave, leave alone, forsake or neglect.
The Ephesian church had left their first love behind, they had departed from that first love and yet continued to exhibit all the ear marks of a very orthodox, “healthy” church.
We don’t read of this church actively leaving that first love, or in the process of leaving that first love. They have left it (past tense), departed from their first love and seemed to be existing quite fine in all appearance. As a matter of fact, some semblance of a church existed for centuries in Ephesus, for by the year 431 AD, The Fourth Ecumenical Council was convened in Ephesus. It was at this council Mary was declared as the Mother of God Theotokos.
So in review, we have a church that was the center of great teaching through Paul, a sending church, a center for early theological debate and a very orthodox church, but by the time of this letter, around 69 AD, the church began living for truth and not for Christ. By the time of Constantine and the Roman nation accepting Christianity as the state approved religion, the church had continued to exist, yet it’s decay had become evident to all true believers and the lamp had been pulled.
Removing
Though the church had left their first love, the Lord did not immediately remove their lampstand. He petitioned the church body to repent, to change her mind about her priorities, to do the works she had first performed to exhibit their love.
But what is it for a church to have it’s lampstand removed? As mentioned above, the church had continued to physically exist up to the 5th century as a body representing God, recognized at least by the state. It was as influential as any church at the time, for the state convened a very important convention to determine a theological teaching.
So what is going on? Two options are allowable for the reader to consider.
The church had repented and was a vibrant living branch of the vine, a body fully alive to it’s Redeemer and Lord. No removal of the lampstand had been necessary and the church continued in a loving relationship with her Lord and the faithful.
The other option was that the church continued in its cold orthodox “letter of the law” only existence, and the removal of a lampstand was executed.
This last option, though difficult to accept, may be the correct outcome of the message. Let me explain.
The Lord has described the churches as lampstands.
Revelation 1:20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
To be described as lampstands forces us to remember the purpose of a lampstand. Is it too much to consider the lampstands purpose was to shine a type of light, the gospel of Jesus. The light of the gospel in the cities referred to here emanated from the church body. No other source is provided. The life of Christ was to be flowing though these church bodies to the cities, just as oil was used to create light for it’s surroundings.
But let us not make the mistake that thinking a group of people congregating together and calling themselves Christians creates a lampstand. The lampstand is simply a vehicle for the oil to produce light. For a group of people to be a true lampstand, the correct oil is critical. For any “oil” other than the Spirit of God, to be the “fuel” for their light, would be a misuse of the lampstand, and represent the Lord incorrectly. For a church to depend on anyone or anything, other than God is to be condemned to having it’s life giving authority from God to be removed.
A very similar truth of the kingdom of God being removed, or taken away from a group of people may be found in Matthew 21:43.
Matthew 21:43 ESV – Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.
As we know, the nation of Israel existed for 40 years after she crucified her Lord. In this instance the Lord gave the nation, and it’s inhabitants a full generation to repent prior to her destruction. Many individual Israelites followed the Master, yet as a nation, she rejected the truth and continued to persecute those who followed her Messiah. It did not end well for the nation.
Does this passage directly address a conditional security teaching as this series seeks to find out? In my opinion, the passage speaks of the death of a lampstand, of a body of believers, transitioning from a loving relationship with God, to a dead relationship with their truth.
Might some within the church have apostatized? Possibly, but this isn’t the intent of the passage. The judgement of removal is directed to the church body within the city, and not directly to an individual.
Let me know your thoughts.
Be blessed my friends and may the Lord continue to work in you to produce His good pleasure.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you would like to receive daily posts from Considering the Bible, click on the “Follow” link below
As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 25:1 1 Now Samuel died. And all Israel assembled and mourned for him, and they buried him in his house at Ramah. Then David rose and went down to the wilderness of Paran.
When we last saw David, he was magnanimous towards Saul, the ever loyal, forgiving and grace filled future king of Israel. A great portrait of a great man. After that passage, I felt as if he was larger than life, a true example, a king worthy of following as an Israelite in the day.
By the time we get to the end of chapter 25, we are going to see a man who doesn’t appear to be the same man. He becomes churlish, offended and intends to kill a man simply for not providing for his troops. Nabal and Abigail play a large role in this chapter, but we will come to them soon.
For this single verse, we have the prophet Samuels death recorded.
Samuel was the child prodigy and prophet of Israel that was the direct result of prayers of grief being sent up to God by Hannah. He was trained in the temple and called by God at a very early age during the time of the judges and would eventually become the final judge and the mediator of the transition from judges ruling over Israel, to a monarchy system of leadership.
He anointed Saul, and watched as the kingdom transitioned over the years. Saul was tested on a number of occasions, and failed to meet the test, finding that the kingdom was to be removed from his lineage. Samuel then was called by God to search out a replacement, under the scrutiny of Saul, which must have been somewhat nerve racking. Nevertheless, Samuel surprisingly found a young boy, anointed him, and set his life on fire. Saul would not allow this to succeed and the trials of David’s life began.
Take a minute and consider Samuels situation. He was to be loyal to the king, yet he knew the future king David was the right man. He was to be loyal to a corrupt king (Saul) in the midst of knowing the truth, and serving the future king. If you are a believer, this must ring bells for your own life.
We are to obey worldly governments (Rom 13) yet our allegiance is to the true King. Has it not been this way for all believers? Do we not all have some human authority over us that may at time require obedience that is odds to our love for the Master?
Samuel died, and David arose. God’s work would continue, and David is destined for the throne. But immediate needs of food for his troops had to be satisfied, and he headed south to the wilderness of Paran.
This is the last we see of a David full of grace, humble, and endlessly patient with those around him! Things are going to get nasty, and he doesn’t come out of this chapter looking good. But he is on a mission and God uses those whom he has chosen for his purposes.
And for that, I am truly grateful.
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.
Thoughts on the topic of pride from the book of wisdom
The book of Proverbs has much to say about the topic of pride. Let’s dive into the wisdom of Proverbs for a few moments.
Let’s read a verse and consider the message.
Proverbs 11:2
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.
What does a proud man fear? Might it be the loss of riches? Possibly. Might it be the loss of family? Surely we would hope so.
I would suggest that the greatest fear of a proud man is shame. Loss of stature in his community, reputation amongst his peers and disgrace in his life strikes a proud man in his most sensitive area of life. We see it often in our own lives that the proud will go to great lengths to avoid negative exposure, to avoid any thought of his reputation being tarnished, or of his self assessed worth being diminished or destroyed.
Is it not so in our own lives? We tend to hide those things that make us look bad, that minimize our worth in the sight of others, even looking for support from others as we slip occasionally in our reputation.
Shame and disgrace are the result of truth coming to light in each of our lives. Truth is inevitable, and so when we boast of our goodness, our skills, our abilities beyond the truth, we are setting ourselves up for shame.
As pride comes, so shame. So why, oh why are we so easily tempted to “stretch the truth”, to speak highly of ourselves, to seek advantage by highlighting only certain aspects of our lives?
If I understood the hard link between pride and shame, I might conclude that pride is my enemy. Though it feels so good to speak highly of myself, it will not deliver the promised goods we think it will.
Consider the humble in our verse today. It is a unique word in that it is only used twice in the Old Testament.
The other time you ask?
Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
The term speaks of modesty, a lowliness of life, a retiring spirit that does not force its self opinion upon others. I found a short quote from an old preacher that expresses the character of a humble man
“The humble man looks for nothing but justice; has the meanest opinion of himself; expects nothing in the way of commendation or praise; and can never be disappointed but in receiving praise, which he neither expects nor desires.” (Clarke)
To be humble is to accept the person you are in reality, to consider your self under God, and with that to also be under the circumstances out of your control.
Humility has a partner in life, for wisdom resides with the humble. As shame is connected with pride, and is the inevitable result of a proud life, so is the inseparable link between humility and wisdom.
Humility allows us to perceive our condition in reality, and allows us to accept those things that are difficult, if not impossible, for the proud to accept.
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.
144
FIRST AND THE LAST
Isaiah 41:4 Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.
Is this a statement of chronology? My question speaks of a timeline. Is the name of God in this verse speaking of God’s actions in relation to the generations from the beginning?
There are similar names of God, we have considered, such as Alpha & Omega, that may seem to refer to the same idea as in this verse, but I would suggest for your consideration, the similarities are on the surface only.
Both speak of limits, but as mentioned in Names of God – ALPHA AND OMEGA – 26, the emphasis on Alpha and Omega is regarding His message. It is complete message, and extends the full gamut of necessary information for His creation.
In our verse above, it is not the message that is referred to as much as the person of God with His people. He has performed what was needed, no matter the time frame, ever since the beginning of relating to His generations from of old.
He was with the beginning of the generations, and He states He is with the last generation. The duration of time spoken of is in relation to the people He is working with. But let us not forget, His existence is not dependent on our existence. (As a matter of fact it is quite the opposite!)
He is the eternal One, the Only Being before us and the Only Being after us. Our verse speaks of His constant care for us as a people, from the start through to the end. His faithfulness is a great constant for us, and is a great comfort for His people of every day and time.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Thoughts on the topic of pride from the book of wisdom
The book of Proverbs has much to say about the topic of pride. Let’s dive into the wisdom of Proverbs for a few moments.
Let’s read a verse and consider the message.
Proverbs 8:13 ESV – The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.
In the first post on pride in this series of Proverbs, I spoke of the characteristic of the fool despising wisdom and instruction from Proverbs 1:7. I went on to speak of the need of humility for both the giver and the receiver of instruction.
In this post, knowing the convoluted way of justifying sin in my mind, I may use Proverbs 8:13 to be justification to reject any counsel provided, by classifying it as evil. After all, personal rebuke can be a painful experience to receive, and surely God loves me enough to keep me from experiencing any pain! (Did you hear my sarcasm?)
Let us be open to people, to those who may care deeply, and even to those we suspect may not have the best motivations for our benefit.
Pride, arrogance and the way of bad speech may be hated by the believer – nay in this verse it is described as to be hated, but it is no reason for use to reject considering the message being delivered.
An evil man, full of pride and arrogance may still deliver truth to the saint. To reject that would bring me into an attitude of pride myself.
Consider Matthew 23:1-3 for an example of accepting truth though delivered by an evil man.
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
We are instructed to hate evil, and as believer, the very nature of God will provide us this distaste, this abhorrence of evil. Yet in the midst of this hatred of evil, it does not provide us an opportunity to reject sayings that may be uncomfortable. Let not the resident pride that swells in our heart keep us from accepting a difficult truth that may come from the lips of an evil person.
For if we reject truth that may be delivered by a proud arrogant person, the very act of rejection may be exposing to us that we have joined him in his “pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech” which my very nature as a believer, is to hate.
Follow after the One who described Himself as meek and lowly of heart, even as you gently receive counsel from your brother.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 68:7 O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah Psalm 68:8 the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain, before God, the One of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel. Psalm 68:9 Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad; you restored your inheritance as it languished; Psalm 68:10 your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
In our earlier verses, David speaks of God riding through the desert. In this short passage, God is marching through the wilderness. The Old Testament uses a Hebrew word translated as march when referring to the ark coming from Obed-edom’s house toward the City of David. See verse 13, translated as steps below.
2 Samuel 6:12 And it was told King David, “The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God.” So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom to the city of David with rejoicing. 2 Samuel 6:13 ESV – And when those who bore the ark of the LORD had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal.
Of course, David is speaking of the original marching through the desert as after the Red Sea crossing, but I found that the approach into Jerusalem may be connected with this passage through the marching reference. Interesting?
Back to the verses for this morning. These verses identify the blessing and goodness of God with rain. We saw earlier the reference of a parched land as the result of rebellion, and in this set of verses, we see the alternate response of God on a national level.
I do want to remember that this portion speaks of God going out before His people. David began this psalm, referring to God rising up as He did in the days of Moses. Each time the camp broke to begin their journey to the promised land Moses speak of God rising up, to lead His people. David is continuing this call for action, for the ark is on the move. David describes this movement with terms like quaking, marching and a resultant rain that drenched the inheritance of Israel, implying the previous times were times of languishing.
God is a God of restoration, for though the land languished, God restored. He provided a dwelling for the people and safety for the vulnerable.
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.
143
FATHER’S SON
2 John 1:3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father’s Son, in truth and love.
What might this name be telling us. First off, I considered this to be an obvious truth, a statement that simply retells a fact that every one would agree to. A son has a father. Every son has had a father. I first thought it was a description that spoke an obvious truth, and that offered no additional information.
But I fear I am wrong, for to say a Father’s Son does not simply provide a definition of an obvious truth, but implies much more.
To call Jesus Christ the Father’s Son provides the believer much to understand, for a Son’s is defined by the Father’s character. Though the Son is a distinct person in the trinity, to call Jesus the Father’s Son speaks volumes, for the Father’s character is mirrored in the Son.
When you think of God Almighty, do you see Jesus? When you think of God the Omnipotent One, do you see Jesus? When you think of God the Eternal One, do you see Jesus? When you think of God the Creator, do you see Jesus? When you think of God the King, do you see Jesus? When you think of God the Holy One, do you see Jesus?
Every description of God the Father may be understood as of the Son, for Jesus is the Father’s Son
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
In our last posting on this passage in 1 Peter, we considered the context, the audience Peter is speaking to and some timing considerations. In this post, I would like to suggest an Old Testament passage that Peter may have in mind as he writes to us.
A Background for Peter?
During the Babylonian invasion, a prophet named Ezekiel gave us the following passage, and may provide some background to Peters thoughts in his warnings. We will pick up where God directs the commencement of judgement upon the city of Jerusalem, including the sanctuary.
Ezekiel 9:5-6 5 And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. 6 Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house.
According to Ezekiel, judgement was to begin at the sanctuary, similar to Peter’s warning at his time of writing. The judgement was to be without pity, upon young and old, women and children. All the inhabitants of the city were considered worthy of judgement, even those in the sanctuary. Those who attended the sanctuary may suffer! Yet there is an exception. Those with a mark.
Ezekiel 9:3-4
3 Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. 4 And the LORD said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.”
Prior to judgement falling on Jerusalem and the sanctuary, God ordered “the man clothed in linen” to put a mark on the foreheads of those who mourned over the sin of the nation. Those who mourned over the sin of the nation could easily be described as people who sought God, and eschewed sin. Those who were marked were deep in a culture that was full of “the ungodly and sinner”, and they were marked by their heart response to the culture they were in. Due to their faith, their heart of pain, they were saved from the judgement. The city would be ravaged, burned and tore down. Death was everywhere, blood flowing, bodies strewn, even in the sanctuary. A horrible tragedy, second only to the Roman invasion of Jerusalem.
Surely those who were marked must have felt they were scarcely saved from this total destruction of Jerusalem.
The marked were saved. The ungodly and the sinner were put to death.
Might Peter be considering this Old Testament passage to provide warning for the church prior to the Roman invasion coming in the late 60’s? Many parrallels suggest that in my mind.
I would suggest it is also a warning for our own lives? Are we not in the midst of a decadent, sinful culture, within a population committing abominations, in a land that is covered with the blood of the unborn, full of injustice and crime?
What may seem even worse, is that whatever is left of the church is following after a vile culture. The church needs a cleansing, a time of mourning over all the abominations committed in it.
Please look to the Lord for mercy in our days, that we would mourn over the evil committed, even in the church.
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As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 24:16-22
16 As soon as David had finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And Saul lifted up his voice and wept. 17 He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. 18 And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the LORD put me into your hands. 19 For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the LORD reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. 20 And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand. 21 Swear to me therefore by the LORD that you will not cut off my offspring after me, and that you will not destroy my name out of my father’s house.” 22 And David swore this to Saul. Then Saul went home, but David and his men went up to the stronghold.
Saul is on stage in this passage. Good wordsmithing. Sounds convincing. Logical. Hopeful. And yet David went back to the stronghold!
Saul put on a performance full of tears, recounting David’s righteous acts and his own wickedness. He took time to speak of David’s righteousness and his own sin.
Saul admits that the Lord’s hand was in his choice of cave to enter, and that the Lord placed him in David’s hands to kill him. Saul even openly admits, to those who were within ear shot, that David will be king, and that Israel shall prosper under David’s rule. This is quite surprising since David must have heard it, David’ men most likely heard it, and Saul’s men may have heard it. After all, this wasn’t a private call on a secure phone line! This was a public discussion.
Ok – so Saul seems to be admitting David to be the better man, a future king of Israel and a good leader. After setting David up, he goes in for the kill. He asks David to swear not to harm his offspring once he takes the kingdom.
From Saul’s perspective this is a huge request, for he is looking to do the very opposite to David. Is not Saul seeking to remove competition for the throne by seeking to kill David, even though he hasn’t attempted to take the throne?
Saul wanted more than he was able to provide David. How could Saul ask for something so beyond normal expectations? It was common that when a king ascended a throne, the prior kings descendants would be killed in order to remove any future claim to the throne. Monarchies work this way. And Saul definitely considered Israel a monarchy, where his family were of the royal blood!
But as an aside, do we see evidence of David considering Israel to be a monarchy? I would suggest that David is acting in ways that conform to a theocracy, a nation ruled over by God. Actions of the human leader were to be directed by the God of the nation, and were not to fall to the level of a simple monarchy, where a man had authority. God provided the laws of the nation at Sinai, and the people entered into covenant with God as their ruler. God was the One who led them from captivity, led them to a covenant at Sinai, and then led them to the land, eventually abdicating to the wishes of the people in their seeking a human leader.
To be the king was to be a replacement for God. Though this was an accepted condition of state by the time David came on the scene, his rule typifies that of a godly king, one who loved the law of God. Sinner that he was in many of his decisions, he listened for God’s voice more than any other at the time.
But lets discuss the request of Saul the monarch. A request for David to not harm his offspring! This request shows Saul to be hedging his bets, to get David, the one more righteous than he, to promise no harm upon his offspring.
This sounds mildly familiar. Let’s go back a few chapters, when David first fled from Saul. Jonathon, Saul’s son provided military intelligence to David concerning his father, initiating David’s flight from Saul. Jonathon, who was loyal to David, sought protection. Let’s read about it below.
1 Samuel 20:14 If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the LORD, that I may not die; 1 Samuel 20:15 and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the LORD cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 1 Samuel 20:16 And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD take vengeance on David’s enemies.” 1 Samuel 20:17 And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
Jonathon sought David to swear protection for him and his house (vs 15). Saul is seeking the same promise. Coincidence? Likely, for Saul is seeking protection from his enemy, whereas Jonathon was seeking protection by his friend.
Nevertheless, David agreed to the request from Saul. He swore to not cut off Saul’s offspring after him, and not destroy Saul’s name out of his father’s house. This promise becomes a snare for David later. We shall return to this promise in later posts.
A couple of lessons to consider out of this passage.
Tears do not equal truth!
Saul cried out a confession, tearing up, and within two chapters, Saul is on the hunt for David again. His emotional repentance was a show and were without any fruits fit for this repentance.
David correctly did not trust him, as we see him going back to the cave.
Beware the boasting!
The more applicable lesson for myself is that when someone begins to boast about you, beware! Saul spoke in glowing terms of David’s righteousness, of his rising to the throne, and when David was softened up, Saul went in for the kill. Promise me the world David. Promise me you won’t hurt my family, even though this is unheard of for a new king to promise, and leaves him open to challenges constantly.
Be careful what you give your word to when things look so promising!
May we have the wisdom to understand when these traps are presented before us.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
We were in Sunday School class yesterday and looking at the passage in Exodus where Moses and the Israelites were being chased by Pharoah’s best charioteers. Things were looking pretty dire for this young nation, possibly a nation that may only exist for a few weeks! Not only was the previous master coming to get his slaves, Moses had guided them right into the middle of the shores of the Red Sea.
This has got to be a mistake! How could you Moses? Can’t you read a map, or don’t you know what you are doing? Moses – this is the worst! Can you hear those Israelites talking bout their graves even as we read this passage in Exodus
Exodus 14:11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Exodus 14:12 Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”
These folk were not remembering what God, through Moses, had accomplished a few weeks ago. I’m fairly certain they never really captured the idea of God working in their midst! They were so smart, reminding Moses of just leaving well enough alone. It was obvious to all that this decision of Moses was foolish. You are so wrong in your leadership and decision making skills!
Finally Moses addressed the people. Now remember, there may have been upwards of 2 million people being led by Moses at this time, and Moses was not a public speaker – at least in the past he claimed to be!
Nevertheless, he was between a rock and a hard place. (Actually an army and a sea, but you get my point.) Everything the camp of Israel had said had a hint of truth in it, and the deliverance Moses had promised seemed to be very short-lived. It was only a matter of time before the Israelites would be taken back to Israel, if any survived!
Yet, Moses spoke some mighty famous words at this critical time.
Exodus 14:13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. Exodus 14:14 The LORD will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”
Moses told the Israelites to stand firm. Some translations speak of standing still (KJV, NLT) , or standing by (LSB, NASB). It seems Moses was telling the people to stop moving. What a necessary direction when we are under pressure or not able to think, but simply reacting to a situation.
Fear not, stand firm, see the salvation of the Lord. A very common refrain through the Word, where the people of God are directed to stand firm.
2 Chronicles 20:17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the LORD …”
Isaiah 46:8 “Remember this and stand firm…
Daniel 11:32 He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.
1 Corinthians 16:13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
Galatians 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Ephesians 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Philippians 4:1 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
2 Thessalonians 2:15 So then, brothers, stand firm …
1 Peter 5:12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.
What I am about to suggest is that though Moses made this claim of God, that is to stand firm, it may not have captured everything God wanted the Israelites to know. Moses spoke for God in his direction to the people of Israel, a truth that is often repeated for the saints through the ages, and yet in the very next verse, God directs Moses to get those Israelites to go forward.
Exodus 14:15 The LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Exodus 14:16 Lift up your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.
Was Moses incorrect in his direction to the Israelites? Did he represent God incorrectly? Yes and no.
Yes, in that it seems God corrected Moses right after this direction was given to the Israelites. The Lord did question Moses regarding his directing the Israelites to stand by! As a side bar, is it not good to see the Lord’s mercy in that He spoke to Moses only in correcting him. He protects his prophets and priests, teaching them as they grow.
Did Moses represent God incorrectly? Not exactly, for though our (and the Israelites) impression of Moses command to stand firm seems to imply inactivity, God did not necessarily change the command, but gave additional direction for Moses and direction for the nation to move forward. There was a time of “standing by”, but in relation to physically standing by, it was relatively short lived.
Notice that in Exodus 14:15-16 speaks of the nation going forward, and going through.
Exodus 14:15 …..Tell the people of Israel to go forward. Exodus 14:16 …..that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground.
This concept is echoed as a few of the verses above.
Daniel 11:32 He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.
The passage spoke to me of a misconception I had, as I think of the commands of God referring to standing firm.
To stand firm is not a call to stand still, but to go forward in faith, standing firm in my heart and mind as my legs move this old body to it’s next assignment.
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.
142
FATHER OF GLORY
Ephesians 1:17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,
In our Names of God series, we sometimes come across a mini series where a common name for God, such as Father in our current series, is modified with various nouns or adjectives.
Our name this morning is the Father of Glory. Paul refers to our Father as the Father of Glory, as God is the source of glory, that all glory emanates from Him, and that there is no glory apart from God the Father.
But what is glory?
First thing that comes to my mind is bright shining light, a blinding flash that no one can gaze at. Is that the intent of Paul when He calls God the Father of Glory?
Maybe. He speaks God as dwelling in unapproachable light in 1 Timothy
1 Timothy 6:15 ….he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
Yet I want to understand what glory is, especially if it is not a direct synonym for light.
Glory is a translation of the Greek word δόξα dóxa, and principally has the root meaning of opinion, or estimate.
I heard many moon ago a preacher tell me that the original meaning of the word dóxa, was weight. He explained that for a man to be “dóxa” meant he was heavy (fat). Back so long ago, only the rich and powerful were able to gain “weight”, that is to be heavy or fat. The association of weight and authority was established, but of course “dóxa” morphed as words do, coming to speak of authority, and finally settling on reputation, opinion and estimate.
Often when we think of high reputation or opinion we think of a man’s glory, of the reputation he has, of what others consider of his person. His peers may speak highly of him, their estimate of his person may be of honor and praise.
Translate that to the One who is above all others, even above our own imagination or thoughts. Even His acts toward us is beyond our imagination and understanding, how much more He Himself!
There was a time when I couldn’t shake the idea of God being heavy, but after a time I correctly transferred the thought of glory as describing reputation. For God to be glorious though, we should not consider His glory to be relative to any standard other than His own. His glory is magisterial, as the ultimate King on the throne of the entire universe. No-one is to be considered to be equal, no could be.
His glory, or reputation is not to be shared with any other, with any of creation, but only His own person. His glory cannot be estimated, but it can be declared. But let us remember that His glory, in this particular verse, is associated with His Son, and His willingness to provide those who love the Son a spirit of wisdom, and a knowledge of Himself.
May the glory of the Father of glory be declared today.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Thoughts on the topic of pride from the book of wisdom
The book of Proverbs has much to say about the topic of pride. Let’s dive into the wisdom of Proverbs for a few moments.
Let’s read a verse and consider the message.
Proverbs 1:7
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
As a young man, I was headstrong and determined to do the right thing, to be the Christian that does it right. I poured myself into study, thinking that knowledge was the path to holiness, that without knowledge of the will of God, there was no sanctification, no pleasing of the Father.
Naturally, I am a student at heart, and this desire was conveniently matching my inclinations. So during my first few years as a husband and eventually the father of a youngin, I dove into an environment that catered to this inclination.
Until John. John is a brother that had the strength to address my failing as a father and husband, due to what I called my “necessary” study time. Nevertheless, John confronted me and for that I am thankful, but what I would like to settle on in this post is the option provided in our verse of despising wisdom and instruction.
I will not reveal my reaction to John’s instruction, but it does recall to mind a few times where I provided a bit of instruction, given with humility to others and yet has been rejected. As I recall a number of these times, it turns out that the one receiving the knowledge generally reacts emotionally, claiming I don’t think of them as good Christians, or that I think I am better than them.
Red herrings!
The attack, or rejection of the comment is the result of pride, and is a rejection of possible good counsel!
If the counsel is provided in the right spirit, this reaction is from a heart of pride. Dang, even if the counsel is given by a poor or wrong spirit, the receiver, if he or she is living in a humble and contrite spirt, will naturally consider the instruction.
Have you had a friend, or even a foe, speak to you about a failing, a point of weakness, or just a general rebuke, and you have been offended? Pride!
As my wife sometimes says, Get over yourself!
A fool is one who despises wisdom and instruction. Proverbs does not describe the fool as one who simply rejects wisdom and instruction. No no no. Despise it! Hate it.
Counsel is not considered or given a time for judgement, to discern any truth to it, no matter the sting associated with it. No – the counsel is despised immediately, for pride of life will not allow truth to impact the self.
This attitude provides walls within families, and amongst friends, coworkers and acquaintances. I can not force this attitude of humility and gentleness of heart upon any in my world.
The only success I have had with others when I sense I need to talk to them is to approach them, after prayer, and with a humble humble heart, address the situation with a loving and gentle heart myself. My own understanding of my weakness, sin and general rebellion of truth is critical for the sake of others, for their acceptance of my counsel, whether my counsel is true or not.
The book of Galatians speaks of this attitude in interrelational restoration with much greater clarity than I can, so I will leave my gentle reader with a final bit of counsel.
Galatians 5:25-6:1 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.
If someone comes to you with a counsel, be wise and consider it, even if it stings. Ask the father to give strength to accept it after your understand the counsel, for it is wise to ask the brother questions of the counsel in order to understand his concern.
If you are called upon to provide counsel, get right with God before you do. Seek humility, seek gentleness, seek a heart that is soft to the brother’s condition, for we all are struggling with sin.
Follow after the One who described Himself as meek and lowly of heart, even as you discuss counsel with your brother.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 68:4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the LORD; exult before him! Psalm 68:5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. Psalm 68:6 God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
As mentioned in my earlier post this psalm is likely a response to the ark coming into Jerusalem, a description of David when the Lord of glory come to reside in the City of David. The first three verses spoke of two reactions when God arises, when He makes moves. Either the wicked scatter of the righteous exult, even jump for joy.
David continues with the righteous, and how they are reacting to the ark of the covenant arriving from the deserts. Might David be referring to the 40 years, where God was leading the rebellious nation, that first generation that fell in the wilderness? Even as those who refused to listen to God fell, the nation continued, leading to the desired land God had planned for the nation. Even during apparent failure, God led the people, accomplishing His will. God will accomplish His will! When He arises, nations are established.
Yet, though He established the nation of Israel, leading her through the deserts, He does not forget those who are forgotten by everyone else.
David continues the thought of God’s arising in relation to orphans and widows. I have recently wrote on this verse in the Names of God series for your reference. See Names of God – FATHER OF THE FATHERLESS – 141.
God is the same God yesterday, today and forever, and these last two verses in our passage today refer to orphans and widows. Back in the time of David, God was associated with caring for widows and orphans. Nowadays, the apostle James command for believers to care for widows and orphans rings through the church.
James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Is David being repeated here by James? It is very interesting that in David’s very same verse, God is spoken of as being in His holy habitation.
David is speaking of God arising in this psalm, of widows and orphans being taken care of, and of the holiness of God. James provides these same three characteristics of pure religion but as of the duty of believers.
David continues in this psalm speaking of God reversing the condition of those in the nation. First, He speaks of the solitary, possibly referring to the orphan or widow, being in a home, amongst others and protected. Those who had fallen into crime of some sort, possibly due to circumstances beyond their control, now find themselves led into prosperity. Those who were in the midst of trials, that were without support or experiencing some restrictions in their lives were provided for.
In a consistent manner, the rebellious were also provided for in relation to their condition, receiving a parched land. Let it be known, that the rebellious David speaks of here are amongst the widows, the fatherless, and the prisoner. While those who are helpless find relief, those who are of rebellion live in a parched land.
How may that be? Though there be blessing for those who are helpless, for the widow, orphan and prisoner, the rebellious experience dryness, a parched land, for they see not the grace of God, the mercy of the Holy One.
This is a difficult truth, for those who rebel against the God of Israel, against the God who rises up, see no joy, experience no hope and can not experience any blessing, having rejected it wholesale by rejecting God Himself. In a very real way, they create their own parched land!
How sad to give up the fount of living waters to resort to broken cisterns that hold no water! Jeremiah speaks of this same outcome for those who forsake God, rebelling against Him.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
141
FATHER OF THE FATHERLESS
Psalm 68:5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
When an child is abandoned by a father, he has no leader, no support, no strong voice to listen to, no example to look to. For both the son and the daughter, to be abandoned by a father leaves life long damage, a sense of not belonging, of living without purpose, for a child needs to seek favor, especially of his or her father.
Single parent mothers seek to fill this void, and many make valiant efforts, but a child abandoned by his or her father will never recover fully from this abandonment.
As the verse speaks of widows, the psalmist may be referring to the death of the head of a household. A tragedy in any estimation. Yet the claim of fatherlessness may also imply a chosen abandonment, a decision of the father/husband to leave a family behind. How terrible for the child.
The good news though is that a faithless man in a child’s life may be replaced by a faithful God. As a matter of fact, this weakness, this pain and mental suffering may be used by the Lord to guide them into a relationship with a greater Father, a kinder Father, a loving Father.
As those who read this blog may know, I lost my father to a train accident when I was very young. Bitterness, alienation, a lack of strong guidance and direction resulted in my falling into a deep hole of depression and rebellion. When a young lady directed me to the Father above, I could not resist, for the longing to have someone give guidance, to forgive me of my hatred, anger and sin, to love me despite how broken I was, – it was too much to resist.
He is the Father to the fatherless, and such a good one.
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.
17 For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”
The question that has to be grappled with is who is Peter talking of?
As a former adherent of OSAS (Once Saved Always Saved), I automatically considered those who do not obey the gospel of God as those who have never obeyed the gospel of God. That is, Peter is speaking of both those in the church (believers) and those outside of the church (unbelievers).
Context
Starting at verse 12, Peter begins his challenge to believers to not be surprised at the fiery trial that was to come upon them. He continues to speak to believers as they share in Christ’s sufferings (vs 13) and are insulted for the name of Christ (vs 14).
He connects suffering and insults with believers. A trial is coming and includes suffering and insults.
He proceeds to warn believers not to suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer or a meddler (vs 15). How can Peter assume this is a possibility? Was not the church of purer stock than to have evil doers in it’s ranks? Were there meddlers in the group? Murderers? Is it not obvious that Christians are to mimic the Lord Jesus, and these actions are definitely not of the character of God.
Peter sums up the discussion on the general attitude of the believer who suffers as a believer, standing up for Christ. No shame. Glorify God.
Audience
Next comes our verses, where Peter does not indicate that he is going to talk of both believers and unbelievers. Remember, just a verse or two earlier, Peter described some of his audience as suffering as a murderer.
If Peter does not change the focus of his audience, when he speaks in verse 17, might he be referring to rebellious Christians when he speaks of “those who do not obey the gospel of God”? Might Peter be speaking of those who may have started out on the journey with the Lord, and for some reason decided no longer to believe?
Timing
There is also a consideration of timing implied in verse 17 of this passage. I have inserted my assumptions (italicized) in the passage to help explain how I often read this passage.
For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us (household of God), what will be the outcome (after the household of God has suffered) for those who (outside of the household of God) do not obey the gospel of God.
I sometimes compartmentalize this verse into two time periods, one period for believers suffering during their lives on earth for the Messiah, and the second time period referring to the lost souls suffering after death in eternal fires.
Is this the intent of Peter? What might Peter be thinking when he provides us this passage. Join me in my next blog to consider a possible source of some of Peter’s thoughts
Until then, as the household of God, let us give thanks for His mercies, and seek to live unto His glory!
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As many who have followed me for a bit, I have fallen into the Psalms, and I can’t get up! (As if I would want to.) The Psalms are a majestic collection of poetry, of heart felt human experiences that constantly challenge me in my own frail attempt to follow the true King. As many of the Psalms are written by David, my study on the Psalms has spurred me on to looking at the life of David, is the main contributor to this book, and to follow the victories and tragedies of the shepherd King of Israel.
Many times in the narrative, we will see the Lord Jesus, imperfectly, yet a reflection of His spirit in a man with weaknesses.
1 Samuel 24:8-15
8 Afterward David also arose and went out of the cave, and called after Saul, “My lord the king!” And when Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth and paid homage. 9 And David said to Saul, “Why do you listen to the words of men who say, ‘Behold, David seeks your harm’? 10 Behold, this day your eyes have seen how the LORD gave you today into my hand in the cave. And some told me to kill you, but I spared you. I said, ‘I will not put out my hand against my lord, for he is the LORD’s anointed.’ 11 See, my father, see the corner of your robe in my hand. For by the fact that I cut off the corner of your robe and did not kill you, you may know and see that there is no wrong or treason in my hands. I have not sinned against you, though you hunt my life to take it. 12 May the LORD judge between me and you, may the LORD avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you. 13 As the proverb of the ancients says, ‘Out of the wicked comes wickedness.’ But my hand shall not be against you. 14 After whom has the king of Israel come out? After whom do you pursue? After a dead dog! After a flea! 15 May the LORD therefore be judge and give sentence between me and you, and see to it and plead my cause and deliver me from your hand.”
David refused to take advantage of a situation that seemed to be destiny. Was it not God working to provide David an opportunity to ascend to the throne? Was God not inviting David to take matters into his own hands?
It may have seemed that way, and if David did not have the convictions he had, he may have reasoned such. But David had convictions. He knew the Lord and did not succumb to a temptation to fast track God’s will. What a stellar fellow!
And loyal – David, when Saul left the cave, exposed himself to the king (and his army of 3,000 men) to speak of his submission to Saul, and to reason with him.
David had proof, that he was able to get near Saul, and refused to take vengeance on the king. He admitted to the king that God had provided him an opportunity to resolve this battle between the two of them, but refused it. He would not commit treason!
Yet David was all about justice. As he addressed his earthly sovereign, he called on the Greater Sovereign to judge between the two of them. Yet, even in this statement, David again refused to take part in any action against his king.
Truly, as I think on this interaction between the current and the future king, David stands out as other worldy, not practical, without earthly wisdom and not driven to success.
Have you ever sought to obey God and them been defamed by your brother, mocked by your sister, ridiculed by your peers because your actions are actually not benefitting you or your loved ones? Can you hear them even now?
Carl – You are not taking advantage of God’s obvious opportunities for self advancement?
Carl – You should be taking care of your family!
Carl – Think of all the good you could do if you took advantage of the situation.
Yes – to hear God’s direction and to follow will cost you, even if it is doubt about the outcome, and possible loss of advantage – that is earthly advantage!
Nevertheless, David does make a statement that seems obvious at first, but what a great statement for this situation!
Out of the wicked comes wickedness.
Of course out of the wicked comes wickedness. How obvious this statement seems, almost a waste of breath, until I recognized David was calling Saul a wicked man. He called Saul a wicked man, spoke truth to power! This is awesome, a true prophet, a man after the truth. And as a sidebar, David was also claiming that he was not a wicked man.
Years later, Jesus would speak of bad fruit from a bad tree. This truth is so obvious, irrefutable and cutting, that I need to recall this when dealing with those who fight the gospel, hate truth, and display treachery or wickedness. It isn’t a personal attack – Simply a truth statement!
Like my momma used to say, if the shoe fits….
David closes his plea/warning to Saul, bringing his selflessness into focus. I think.
He refers to himself as a dead dog, even a flea. Who is David that Saul would chase after him? Yet Saul knew who David was, and that he was a righteous man, one destined for the throne.
David didn’t have to make claims. His life was on display for all to see, and God was making it obvious that David was the better man, the one destined for good. He could safely state self deprecating claims about himself, only adding honor to his name in the mean time.
Proverbs 27:2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.
How often have you met one who cannot speak enough about them selves? David didn’t follow that thought, but diminished himself in front of the king.
There is One who could speak of Himself without any stain of self glory being attributed to Him, for He truly is worthy, more worthy of each and every statement He made of Himself. And yet, when He described Himself to His disciples, He sought to be know as One who was gentle and lowly of heart!
Proverbs 27:2 Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.
How amazing is He, that in the very person of God Almighty, Jesus revealed Himself to those closest to Him as gentle and lowly of heart.
Jesus, though His name alone is worthy of all praise, wanted to be thought of as gentle and lowly of heart, thereby only bringing greater honor upon Himself. He is the only One, and we are only right to praise His name only.
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
AHASUERUS
SAVIOR OF THE JEWS
Esther 8:1 On that day King Ahasuerus gave to Queen Esther the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told what he was to her.
Acts 13:23 ESV – Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised.
It is an amazing fact, that though God is in the background in the book of Esther, His fingerprints are all over it. To think that a Persian king, with a rebellious wife would save a tiny nation from a powerful and favored statesman by a stiff necked man and his orphaned cousin is a bit ludicrous, but such is the wisdom of God.
At no time in the narrative is it obvious that Ahasuerus was called to provide protection for the Jews, or that the king was destined to become a protector of God’s people. The danger the Jewish nation faced was far greater, more powerful and for most of the book, hidden from those who would be impacted by Haman’s plans.
Though Ahasuerus became a savior for the Jewish nation, the similarity with Jesus somewhat ends there. Yes, the king of Persia saved the nation, but it appears it was due to manipulation by Queen Esther, and her cousin Mordecai, and not a focused intent by the king to do justice!
Nowhere can we find any place in the gospels that Jesus was manipulated, nor did He become a Savior for the Jewish people out of ignorance. He understood of the dangers of the situation the Jewish people were under, and He had a solution that only He could provide.
Ahasuerus eventually hung Haman, the enemy of the Jews, on a stake, a precursor the the cross. Haman, the enemy of the Jews, died for his own sins. Amazingly, the King provided rights to the Jewish people to fend off any resistance from the Persian populace.
Esther 8:11 …the king allowed the Jews who were in every city to gather and defend their lives, to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate any armed force ….
The king allowed the Jews to defend themselves against his own people, his own Persian populace!
Jesus eventually hung on a cross as the greatest friend the Jewish people could have hoped for. Though they saw Jesus as an enemy, He died for their sins, and out of this unjust suffering, provided the right to become the sons of God, able to stand against any resistance of the true enemy of their souls.
Ephesians 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Yes, Jesus is the Savior of the Jews but of course His salvific effects spread far and wide, even to our lives beyond the border of Israel. He is the Savior of the Jews, but He is also the Savior of the world.
John 4:42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”
Trust Him.
He is the King of Kings, over and above any Persian monarch that may have been manipulated to be a deliverer. He is 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.
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FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST
Romans 15:6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I have five children. I speak specifically to the fathers out there that may read this post.
As you have watched your children grow, become independent, take on challenges and mimic your character (to a point) I ask you to recall your heart experience as your child grew. I have seen my children take on challenges that quite literally scare me, that challenge my trust, that bring fear to my heart, fear that they may not succeed, that they may be hurt, or that I might loose them.
As fathers we have connections with each child that is unique, that no one can enter into other that the two of us. Shared experiences, memories, decisions and outcomes all are specific to my self and my child. No one else can understand the connection, nor should they try.
Some experiences are full of joy, full of triumph, full of surprise. Some are full of pain, and suffering and loss. Each experience is solely mine and my child to own. Each experience, as I remember them, even the difficult times, brings a smile to my face, for I know my children, and their hearts through these experiences.
Translate that to the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I often think of our Father in heaven as somewhat passive, somewhat out of the picture as we read of the Lord Jesus’ experience on this earth, of His frustrations with the disciples, of His patience with the Jewish religious leadership, of His willing submission to those He created, of His prayers in the garden, of His humiliation and suffering, of His being nailed to the cross and His eventual death.
We must remember two things in my mind. The Father was with Him in all these trials. In every decision, the Father was where the buck stopped, He was responsible for the trials Jesus went through to complete our salvation. He and His Son experienced times we are not able to comprehend, we will never understand, and that are solely the Father’s and the Son’s.
I understand I am translating a human experience into the Divine, and with that I admit many of the parallels may be weak, inconsistent or somewhat incorrect. Yet as the Lord Jesus taught us from the simplest of our own experiences in His parables, applying our earthly familiarity to heavenly truths, I offer this thought for my reader to consider.
The Father of our Lord Jesus Christ was with Jesus in each of His trials and victories, and finally as the Son rose from the grave, the Father alone understood the full impact and repercussions of this mighty act.
His smile must have been massive!
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.
Early in my writing in this blog, I wrote on the topic of “What Jesus Probably Didn’t Mean”. I really enjoyed finding the intended meaning of the phrase, by simply considering the context of the passage. It was usually very challenging!
It has been quite a while since I had considered that series, and when I was “a pondering”, I considered that the Word, apart from the gospels, has provided numerous sayings or phrases we hear in our day to day lives.
Let’s take a moment to consider Ecclesiastes 1:9 and what it’s original intent as compared with our understanding today
Ecclesiastes 1:9 What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.
How often have you heard a peer or friend speak on nothing new under the sun, and think of the great philosopher Solomon as he wrote Ecclesiastes.
He began his treatise speaking of the vanity, or emptiness of life under the sun. One on the greatest kings mankind had ever seen, Solomon understood the futility of life under the sun. He constantly uses the term “under the sun” to speak of his arena of his experience of futility.
Ecclesiastes 1:3 What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?
Ecclesiastes 1:14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind.
I won’t labor my reader with a complete list of verses Solomon uses “under the sun”, for it is many, but we should note that Solomon commonly connects the idea of nothing new, of futility and vanity of life with our lives under the sun.
And as he states, there is nothing new under the sun.
For our modern use of this phrase, we often use it to refer to the monotony of life, the constant waking up, and laying down, the repetition of life, and that all our experiences are similar to all our previous experiences. Tedious repetition, boring, lacking in any variety, a numbing, ponderous, drab and wearisome experience.
We use it to complain about our dreary experience, and for the most part so does Solomon. He defines it over and over again in the book, even to the point that the description of tediousness and vanity becomes wearisome.
And yet he adds the restriction to this discussion of a drudging life as being “under the sun”. This restriction is what our modern society has so sadly missed, for we surely do have a repetitive life from cradle to grave, and if without any hope from beyond the sun, it can become a most numbing experience, an experience that shows no hope of changing.
Yet Solomon implies that beyond the sun, there is not this vanity of life. If only One who is beyond the sun could provide a life that is not full of tedium and vanity. But our culture ignores this exception, assuming that this is it, there is no more, only adding to the vanity of life the option of only hopelessness.
When you hear the phrase “nothing new under the sun”, it would be wise to remember that the One above the sun, has come down below the sun, to provide a connection to life beyond the sun.
He has provided a life that can transform the tediousness to a life of purpose and with a goal we do not deserve. Let this culture repeat this phrase, for they know not the One above the sun, but let us also remember that in the day to day life we have been given, He who is beyond the sun provides us purpose, guidance, strength and a goal to honor Him.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post. If you know someone who may find our discussions interesting or challenging, please invite them to the blog.
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