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.
112
ENLARGER OF MY HEART
Psalm 119:32 I will run in the way of your commandments when you enlarge my heart!
In our last post we considered the description of God as the enlarger of Gad, specifically in the geographical opportunities provided that tribe centuries ago.
In this post, we see a personal plea to God for enlarging of the psalmist’s heart. To enlarge is to widen, to expand, and the psalmist speaks of his need to be more than he is.
Consider that the heart is the seat of our emotional life, and as such, for our heart to be enlarged would speak of a expanded commitment in God, a larger swath of our lives to be under God, willing to let Him have His way.
This enlarging of heart is a great thought, a high ideal, a noble goal, but what does it look like when a saint’s heart is enlarged? I would suggest that one possible evidence is the possession of wisdom and knowledge, and I would refer my reader to the following passage.
1 Kings 4:29.
And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore,
God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, or in other words, God enlarged Solomon’s capacity and possession of wisdom and understanding. This wisdom and understanding would be evident in a believers life daily, for this is the hallmark of a wise one, continually exercising truth and grace in his life in practical ways.
For God to enlarge our heart will include (but not be restricted to) a growing outworking of practical wisdom in our lives for ourselves and for others. This wisdom will be borne from our widening commitment to God, our trust in His will and our desire to do His pleasure.
And in all that we plead – God – be the One who enlarges our heart!
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.
For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.
4:23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
As our last verse in this series, we come to what was my wife’s favorite verse in the New Testament when we first go married. Personally I though a simple benediction like this was somewhat odd as a favorite verse, but I stand corrected.
The passage speaks of the Savior in simple terms, and of His predominant nature, and the church as the recipients of His grace. It is a fitting closure to such a great letter between an apostle of the Lord and His people.
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 64:7-10
7 But God shoots his arrow at them; they are wounded suddenly. 8 They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them; all who see them will wag their heads. 9 Then all mankind fears; they tell what God has brought about and ponder what he has done. 10 Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult!
David has just spent the better part of this psalm, describing what he can’t control, the tongue lashing and murderous lips, the evil thoughts and plans of his enemies. He is, in the first few verses, declaring his utter helplessness over controlling his enemies thoughts and plans. We noted earlier that he sought the Lord in finding strength, in seeking relief from the fear of his enemies. He couldn’t control his enemies, but he knows where to find strength to control that which he can control.
In these few remaining verses, David speaks in similar terms regarding God’s protection over him. He refers to the arrows of God wounding the enemies suddenly, and that their evil tongues are turned back on them. How often those who seek evil have the very same evil turned on them!
He speaks of the fear coming upon all mankind, once they see the enemies of David being turned upon. It will be obvious of the judgement of God falling on David’s enemies, as it is obvious of God’s judgement falling on Jesus’ enemies in our current day.
Back in verse 5, the enemies were bold in their endeavors, steadfast in accomplishing their evil plans, since no one could see them!
Psalm 64:5 They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?“
It turns out, the enemies of the upright will not only have their plans folded back onto their lives, but all mankind will see their plans backfire and their lives impacted with judgement. The end of David’s enemies, as with the end of Jesus’ enemies, will become an example of God’s justice for all men to reflect on, to consider, and to take as a warning!
In all of this psalm, as David seeks God’s will, the conclusion is clear. The righteous have a refuge in God, and have every right and privilege to rejoice in their circumstances. Even as the Apostle Paul wrote.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
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.
111
ENLARGER OF GAD
Deuteronomy 33:20 And of Gad he said, “Blessed be he who enlarges Gad! Gad crouches like a lion; he tears off arm and scalp.
Gad was the seventh son of Jacob and Leah, and as the tribe of Gad was led to the promised land by Moses, they became one of the tribes that settled on the east side of the Jordan, the other being Rueben and half the tribe of Manasseh.
This choice by the tribe of Gad was commended by Moses, for there was no restriction for expansion on the east side of the Jordan. Each of the other tribes of Israel would end up with land allocations between a sea and the Jordan river, providing little if any opportunity for geographical expansion.
This choice of land allocation by Gad is a result of God’s blessing on Gad, on God providing opportunity to Gad in their location to settle. This tribe would also provide valiant soldiers for the later King David in his battles, and their expertise in fighting may be the result of having an open border to the east, always needing to be defended.
God provided Gad the blessing of opportunity, but with opportunities came along responsibilities to guard the land, possibly expand it, and provide skills for the greater good of the entire nation.
It is like that for us today also. Consider the opportunities God has provided you, the associated responsibilities and the skill sets developed for the greater good.
God enlarges Gad, and He seeks to enlarge us in our opportunities, responsibilities, privileges, and blessings to others.
Blessed is the One who enlarges!
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.
In the mid nineties, I had a little red Buick and a big ol’ bass box in the trunk, and would listen to “Christian Rock”, cranked to 11.
(What did you say? Huh? Can you say that again, I didn’t hear you….)
I have gotten away from that genre for many reasons, the least of which may be a loss of hearing, but some songs have stuck with me over the decades.
The artist’s I listened to sought to reflect Scriptural teaching for the most part. They ranged from “preaching” pop culture religion to significant theological teaching. As I listened to the lyrics, I found some to be quite challenging.
To be honest, I listened because I could justify the rock beat with “sanctified lyrics”.
Occasionally I will post a song, supply the lyrics and make a comment or two. If you decide to listen to the tune, turn the speaker down unless you are already deaf. Some of the songs tend to have a certain “volume” about them!
This post will consider the song.
Lean on me – Bill Withers
Lean on me when you’re not strong And I’ll be your friend I’ll help you carry on For it won’t be long ‘Til I’m gonna need Somebody to lean on
[Verse 2] Please swallow your pride If I have things you need to borrow For no one can fill Those of your needs That you won’t let show
[Bridge] You just call on me, brother, when you need a hand We all need somebody to lean on I just might have a problem that you’ll understand We all need somebody to lean on
I don’t know if Bill Withers intended to write this song about the Christian life, but some songs come along that lend themselves to the Christian life no matter the intent when writing.
This song is such a recognizable song from the 60’s that I found myself singing it without any prompt a few days ago, and realized it describes a family unit, friends that rely on one another, folks that will let their guard down with a friend or brother. Does that not describe a healthy Christian environment?
Take a listen!
Does this describe a healthy Christian environment? Let me know your thoughts.
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
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 21:7
7 Now a certain man of the servants of Saul was there that day, detained before the LORD. His name was Doeg the Edomite, the chief of Saul’s herdsmen.
A certain man
In our last post we found David lying to a godly priest named Ahimelech, and receiving sustenance for himself and his supposed company of soldiers he was going to supposedly meet. All lies, and yet Ahimelech provided for David the food that he requested.
In this post, we meet a certain man. He was of the servants of Saul. His name is Doeg, and he was an Edomite. We know that Edom had always been in enmity with Israel, and that Saul had vanquished the Edomites in a battle per 1 Samuel 14:47.
When Saul had taken the kingship over Israel, he fought against all his enemies on every side, against Moab, against the Ammonites, against Edom, against the kings of Zobah, and against the Philistines. Wherever he turned he routed them.
So it is likely Doeg was either a captive of king Saul, or a traitor to his own country, seeing an opportunity to side with Saul. I will let the reader consider which is likely.
In some of the non biblical literature describing Doeg, it appears he may have been more than just a turncoat, more than just a man who took advantage. Some of the ancient writings speak of Doeg as being scholarly, a brilliant debater, yet without any piety towards God. He may have considered himself an equal to David, one that was in competition for status before the king.
His name actually means to be fearful, anxious, concerned. To be considered the chief of the kings herdsman may have simply referred to his character, and not a formal office. To be chief in this instance, referred to Doeg as being stouthearted, mighty, even obstinate. He was a self willed man, determined to acquire favor of a madman who was king.
For Doeg to be detained before the Lord implies he had been proselytized into the Jewish faith, at least in ritual, and that he was taking care of some responsibility before the Lord. Disciplinary or ceremonially it is uncertain.
But he was there at the right time in order to take advantage of David’s pleas to the priest! Doeg must have recognized the hand of God in this coincidence! Of course, as a man who sought the favor of the king, it would not turn out to be beneficial to anyone!
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
ABRAHAM
NEW NAME
Genesis 17:5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations.
Revelation 3:12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.
Abram wasn’t looking for a new name, and when the Lord changed it on him, the name change signified something incredible, unbelievable. The name God gave him represented the promise he had just been given by God.
Of course, at the time of the name change, Abram had no children by Sarai, and his only offspring was a young man named Ishmael. Sarai was barren and as a last resort, Sarai struck a bargain with (nagged?) Abraham to lay with Hagar her maid. She must have really wanted a child in the worst way!
Thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael to Abram, God appeared to Abram to cut a covenant with him. A covenant with the promise of a multitude of nations to come from his loins. He had one child at this time, a child of a servant not of his wife. And his wife, who would provide a child without dispute, was barren. Old and barren. Quite the promise!
God had the audacity to promise that nations would come from Sarai. Why not Ishmael? In Genesis 17:15-16, God made it clear that Sarai (not Hagar) would produce the nations, that kings would come from her. And Abraham, before any children from Sarai would appear on the scene, would go by the name of Abraham – Father of multitudes, Father of nations!
Talk about wearing your faith! Abraham was now to be known as a father of many, but in experience the father of none, at least by Sarai! (Might Abram hear some mockery when the neighbors are told of the name change?)
Jesus also has a new name, one that we do not know yet. He promises that as we overcome, He will make us a pillar in the temple of God. As a pillar, He will write on us His own new name! Too many mysteries are beyond me in this description of the Lord’s doings, but we do see that a new name is provided to those who have greater things promised in the future, as in Abrams case. How that applies to the Lord Jesus is beyond me.
Yet He will have a new name, and we may find out some day, for the name is written on the pillars (overcomers) of the church for all to see!
He does everything for us, even giving us His new name.
Praise Him for His loving mercy!
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.
110
DWELLING PLACE
Deuteronomy 33:27 The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy.’
God is described as a place for us to dwell in. To dwell – what may I ask does my reader consider when the term “dwell” occurs in a passage? To find permanence in? To live in, and to be familiar with?
To be described as a dwelling place is to be likened to a habitation or even a refuge, implying a place of safety from danger. The term is sometimes used of an animals den or lair, a place that provides protection from an enemy, a place of permanence for the animal to resort to. Many times, this description implies a place of refuge from danger, and in this passage also, it is in the context of finding protection. It is not simply a place of familiarity and comfort, though a secondary message for the believing one to find encouragement in. The primary message is that of God providing safety for the saint from an enemy.
The fact that He is described as a possession of the saint – He didn’t say “a” dwelling place, but “your” dwelling place – should be a constant encouragement and comfort for the saint.
Remember, the Eternal God is your dwelling place. The eternal God!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.
4:22 All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar’s household.
In our last post, we reviewed the command to greet all the saints. Paul reciprocates that command with the statement that all the saints greet the Philippian church, especially those who are guarding Paul, that represent the strongest negative force fighting the church at the time.
The very enemy of the church, the Roman empire, that would persecute the church for centuries, was being absorbed, sucked into the church, as it fought it. Paul’s inclusion of the saints in Caesar’s household is so appropriate, for it not only encouraged the Philippians that Paul had allies in Rome, but that those who may have taken liberties in their position was now bending the knee to the same God the church was worshipping, and that Paul was raising up.
As with the previous verse, the general attitude is victory, of acceptance, of making enemies into friends. Paul told his church to do it, and he provides evidence here that he is actively pursuing the same goal.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 64:1-6
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, 3 who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, 4 shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear. 5 They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?” 6 They search out injustice, saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.” For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
How dare David complain to God. He is addressing God, bringing a complaint to Him. Does he not have faith? Does He not understand that to submit to God means no complaining or whining? Ok – I may have been a bit sarcastic with “whining”, but I think you get my point.
I would suggest that David has strong faith, a faith that has developed an understanding of the Living God allowing for this freedom to express his concern (complaint?) before the King.
I remember the first time I came across a saint complaining before God in the book of Jeremiah. It was shocking to think Scripture would allow a complaint to God be recorded!
Jeremiah 12:1 Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
Even though it appears that David is bringing a complaint before the Lord, the word is more akin to meditation or musings. He is, as it follows in the psalm, in dire need of protection, and that against the intangible enemy of others thoughts and plans. David’s enemies have secret plots (vs 2), tongues like swords (vs 3), words like arrows (v3), they hold fast to (won’t give up on) evil purposes, (vs 5), talk of laying snares (vs 5), and searches out injustice (vs 6). He can’t use a sword against his enemy to defeat this situation.
All of David’s concerns are of his enemies thoughts, words and plans. That which he has no power of and has no real specific knowledge of, other than that they are malicious!
And yet let us reconsider the original plea from the king. He is requesting God to “preserve my life from his enemy” correct? Not quite. His plea to God is to “preserve my life from dread of the enemy” (emphasis mine)
As a victim of the fear monster myself, I can relate to David’s plea. At times I am frozen with fear over what actually is a minor problem, and which actually resolves itself most times. It is truly ridiculous the things that paralyze me, but not so with David, for he has serious men seeking his life and he needs boldness to think straight, a clear mind to make wise decisions and a willingness to take action instead of simply feeling a victim! He needs to be delivered from the dread of the enemy! It is not a garden variety fear that David speaks of, for he speaks of a heightened sense of fear, that of terror, dread, or of a sudden alarm. This is no simple Carl-style fear situation going on here! He is in serious lock down and he isn’t afraid to admit it to God! (no pun intended!)
An old preacher by the name of G Campbell Morgan once spoke the truth of David’s focal plea of this psalm.
“We need to pray as the psalmist does, not so much for the deliverance from enemies as for deliverance from fear of them.”
At the end of this section David provides a summation of the mind and heart of a man, which is the very thing he dreads through the previous verses!
For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
To be deep does not necessarily carry a moral distinction with it – although in this instance it surely does, but to be deep simply describes a relative amount or “volume” the mind and heart has to contain something. It also carries with it the implication of mysterious, or unknown, unsearchable.
May the Lord help us to somewhat understand our own mind and heart as we walk with Him, seeking cleansing and forgiveness as He reveals the depths of our heart and mind!
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.
109
DREAD WARRIOR
Jeremiah 20:11 But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.
Out of all the names of God I have considered, this one name has caused me a bit of reluctance to consider.
Why you ask?
To be honest I really don’t know. I look forward to considering the character of our God in these short posts, but to consider God as a dread warrior initially shook me.
I say that as an encouragement to my readers that even if the Word seems to say hard things, things we may not want to look at, it is to our benefit to understand to the best of our ability the truth of His message to us for His sake. We are not to simply try to protect ourselves from a predisposed assumption of what the verse may be saying.
With that said, let us consider this passage and try to understand it’s message for us.
A bit of background for this verse will give us some context.
Jeremiah was called a prophet by God in the midst of a nation that was in the final throws of a death sentence. Judgement was coming onto Israel, and Jeremiah had been preaching this message. Pashur, a leading priest of the nation had struck Jeremiah and thrown him in stocks for this message. Upon his release, Jeremiah declared judgement on Pashur, very specific judgements that would have definitely set a bullseye on his back. Pashur would not allow this to stand and Jeremiah knew what was coming.
In this condition, Jeremiah resolves to quit his prophetic work, stating that he will not make mention of God, nor speak anymore in His name. (Jeremiah 20:9). His inner struggle was great, and he admits that the Word of God was more powerful than his own self interests. God was at war with His prophet!
In this context, we have this statement
But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior.
My initial thoughts were that God was a dread warrior against Jeremiah’s persecutors, and the immediate portion of the verse after this phrase lends itself to this understanding.
But as I consider this passage, I wonder. The previous portion describes God’s effective battle in Jeremiah’s heart, and verse 12 speaks of the Lord’s testing of the righteous.
May Jeremiah be realizing that because God won the victory over his will, that he now understands the God of Israel as a fierce, mighty and awesome God that will accomplish His will, in the righteous first and then the unrighteous? God will win in the righteous one’s heart as with Jeremiah. God will also win (in some manner) with those who fight against God. If those who are against God will not willingly accept the will of God, they to will come to understand that God is a fierce warrior, a dread fear inducing warrior. He is not a negotiating God.
It is to the benefit of all to understand that God is a dread warrior, that He is a warrior for our benefit, though it is often a painful process. May we see Him as the Dread Warrior for our souls, for our lives, for our good, and for His glory.
I am glad I faced this verse, this name of God, and this fear I had. He is a Dread Warrior, fighting for us, and not against us.
May His name be honored in our 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.
John 17:12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
John 18:9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”
Was Judas lost or did Jesus keep all his disciples?
It just didn’t make sense for me, and, as a paradox is wont to do, it took me outside of my usual way of thinking.
In John 17:12, Jesus speaks of the loss of Judas, the son of destruction. One chapter later, Jesus states that He has not lost one that the Father gave Him.
Is this confusing? Is this a difficulty in my initial understanding? I think so, and as such, I would like to try to explain how this paradox, this seeming contradiction, is resolved in my thoughts.
Some of the fog lifted when I considered the verse in chapter 17, when Jesus speaks of Judas being lost. This is the same word we have seen when we looked at the word “perish” in John 3:16. For a refresher, check an earlier post called Perishing in Eternal Torment.
The term “lost” used by Jesus when referring to Judas, may be translated in many ways, but does not have to mean perishing in eternal torment. A good example of the broadness of this term’s meaning may be found in Luke 21:18, Jesus speaks of one hair being lost.
Luke 21:18 But not a hair of your head will perish.
This is the same term Jesus used when speaking of Judas. It can mean anything from simple loss, death, suffering or destruction. But it does not always imply suffering unending eternal torment, which is what I typically understand when I read John 17:12. I always read it that Judas must be perishing, lost to hell, and forever without any hope.
I do not know what happened to Judas after the tossing of the coins back at the priests, other than his self destruction in the potters field. His physical death could very well be considered his act of being lost in and of itself.
I suppose what I am trying to explain is that in John 17:12, Jesus said Judas was the son of destruction, and that he had been lost. Judas was the son of destruction in that he followed through with this characteristic of destruction upon his own life.
Yet in John 18:9, Jesus states that He lost not one. Is there a different level Jesus is speaking of, in that the physical life Judas sacrificed was not the keeping Jesus spoke of.
One very interesting side note, is that both of these verses speak of Judas and the situation he existed in, as being part of the fulfillment of God’s Word.
It was the fulfillment of Scripture that Judas had been lost, (John 17:12), and the fulfillment of the Word of Jesus when He spoke “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one” (John 18:9). Judas was a key in the fulfillment of God’s Word.
In summary, Judas’ lostness may be referring to his early demise, his self inflicted destruction, and the statement of the Lord which He spoke as Judas was in the crowd in the garden, that not one of his followers were lost may include the thought of Judas’ eventual restoration.
Nevertheless, these two verses are worthy of considering, and if you have a different take on this paradox, please do not hesitate to reach out and let me know.
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
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 21:1-6 1 Then David came to Nob, to Ahimelech the priest. And Ahimelech came to meet David, trembling, and said to him, “Why are you alone, and no one with you?” 2 And David said to Ahimelech the priest, “The king has charged me with a matter and said to me, ‘Let no one know anything of the matter about which I send you, and with which I have charged you.’ I have made an appointment with the young men for such and such a place. 3 Now then, what do you have on hand? Give me five loaves of bread, or whatever is here.” 4 And the priest answered David, “I have no common bread on hand, but there is holy bread – if the young men have kept themselves from women.” 5 And David answered the priest, “Truly women have been kept from us as always when I go on an expedition. The vessels of the young men are holy even when it is an ordinary journey. How much more today will their vessels be holy?” 6 So the priest gave him the holy bread, for there was no bread there but the bread of the Presence, which is removed from before the LORD, to be replaced by hot bread on the day it is taken away.
For the remainder of the book of 1 Samuel, David is a hunted man, on the run, constantly looking over his shoulder. He does gather a small militia in his travels, and becomes a military force in his wandering, but for this passage, David is unfed, unarmed, unprepared, unable to plan and unwilling to speak the truth to a man of God. David begins a life of running, a life of seeking to simply survive!
Deceit
David, by this time in his career with the royal house of Israel, had attained a position that afforded him a company of soldiers with him as he was sent by the king on missions. He was no mere singular soldier. This is the background that Ahimelech understood when he saw David that fateful day. Based on this understanding, for David to be alone, without soldiers accompanying him was suspicious.
When Ahimelech came to David trembling, my first understanding was that Ahimelech was trembling. Of that I am not sure, for Ahimelech had no cause to tremble, but David had just begun a life of running, of hiding from the king, of living with one foot in the grave, not knowing who he could trust. I suggest David was not only alone, but was also trembling, possibly looking rough from three days of hiding in the rocks, waiting for Jonathon.
I have recently posted on Psalm 64, and noticed that David had learned an important lesson on spiritual warfare. In that particulat Psalm, David prayed that he would be preserved from the dread/fear of the enemy. David had not learned that yet, as he was running based on knowledge granted from Jonathon, but also out of fear. He had no knowledge of the extent Saul would go to snuff him out. no knowledge of the web of spies about him. He would soon find out of the extent of Saul’s hatred!
At this time, he was running somewhat blind, and his first stop on his long period of running was at the tabernacle. He has said farewell to his best friend and confidant Jonathon, and now he visits the tabernacle, the house of God, for what most likely will be the last time for the foreseeable future.
And he lies. He uses deceit with the priest to get food and a weapon. He openly lies, not in the corner of the tabernacle so that only the priest understands his predicament, but he openly states he is on a secret mission, with soldiers meeting him in a rendezvous location.
This lie will come back to haunt David, and will expose the commitment of Saul’s hatred towards David. It will also show David that this life of running will impact more than his own existence! No man is an island.
Bread
David’s first request (or demand) of the priest was for sustenance, for any food that he may have. Had David been without food during his time waiting for Jonathon’s return? His need of food speaks of his unprepared condition to enter into a life of being a fugitive. No one, neither David or Jonathon seemed to consider this possible situation.
Ahimelech had one condition of supplying the show bread to David. Sexual abstinence. For this condition to be met, David had no problem, for he was away from family, seeking to find hiding from the powers that be. A woman was the last thing he could afford at this time. As for the soldiers that he claimed to be meeting, the women were as real as the soldiers were. One more lie shouldn’t matter!
But consider the Lord in His reflection of David’s situation at the tabernacle. David had obviously lied to the priest of God, and yet Jesus commended Ahimelech.
Matthew 12:3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: Matthew 12:4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Matthew 12:7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.
I don’t see Jesus commending David, but Ahimelech in the actions he took in providing David food of the tabernacle. I understand the guiltless to be Ahimelech in this story, for he had no knowledge of the current situation, trusted a man who was a faithful Israeli, and provided a need instead of simply following a dogma or religious rule. After all, though the Word does state that the priests are to consume the holy bread, it does not say only the priests are to consume it. This may have given Ahimelech the allowance to provide David the food without conflict. Ahimelech was a man driven by love and not strictly law in this act.
Leviticus 24:9 And it shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place, since it is for him a most holy portion out of the LORD’s food offerings, a perpetual due.”
An important principle is provided in this passage. God desires mercy and not sacrifice. He desires we take care of those who are in need, above and beyond the religious duties laid out in the Word.
How does that work out in your life? Are you committed to a religious process over the needs of others? I know for myself it is much easier to think God wants church attendance over helping someone on a Sunday morning.
In this passage, David lies, and Ahimelech shows mercy. David gets sustenance and Ahimelech has visitors a few days later. It may be surprising to find out who is the protected party, which of the two men are delivered from the hand of the king!
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
ABRAHAM
SACRIFICER
Genesis 22:10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son.
Hebrews 10:12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,
We are looking at the character of Abraham is relation the sacrificing for God. There are multiple passages where Abraham made sacrifice but I have chosen the greatest sacrifice he sought to provide His God for our text to review this time.
Abraham was willing to sacrifice his Son, and we often, rightly so, consider Abraham to be a type for God the Father. There is some room to consider Abraham to be a type of Jesus in this passage also, for as we consider Hebrews 10:12, notice that Jesus Himself offered a single sacrifice. He was acting as the One making the sacrifice, very similar to Abraham.
Upon this offering on the altar, He not only made the sacrifice, He was the sacrifice. This is too much for me to comprehend, and yet the Word speaks of this dual activity by the Master.
So not only was He the sacrifice, He was the Sacrificer, and proved to be the Greater than Abraham even in Abraham’s greatest sacrifice!
He is beyond comprehension, when considered in light of the Word’s testimony of His life and death, His love and grace to us, and His commitment to the Will of God!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you 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.
108
DOOR OF THE SHEEP
John 10:7 So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
In our last post, we spoke of a general message presented when the term “door” is mentioned. We looked at the fact that a door represents an opening to an area or place that would otherwise be restricted.
The same is true with this descriptor of God, and without repeating myself, I would like to consider the aspect of the sheep in this description of our God.
But before that, note that Jesus is very restrictive here in His self Description. No other way into the sheepfold other than Him. He is the Door. But He is the Door for the sheep.
He had just finished explaining His identity of being the Good Shepherd, and repeats the general teaching, modifying it to represent himself as the door of the sheep. His earlier teaching spoke of the sheep having entered and leaving the sheepfold (vs 3) so this passage isn’t necessarily speaking of a salvation experience, but of maintaining a relationship with God through Jesus. The Sheep follow Jesus, they know His name, and they enter their safe environment through His person.
He is the Good Shepherd leading the sheep and the Access/Door through which the sheep enter into the sheepfold, a safe environment for the sheep.
The Lord peppers throughout His message the dangers of strangers, thieves and robbers attacking the sheep. His Self description typifies His saving nature for His people.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
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For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.
4:21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you.
Paul is bidding farewell to his church and in this verse he is encouraging a relatively healthy church to greet EVERY saint in Christ Jesus.
How are they to know the true from the false brethren? How can the church at Philippi be sure they are not encouraging false brothers. Folks that travel through the area may claim to be Christians, but as per some churches today, they should accept someone as a believer only upon the acceptance and passing of some test, or by some commitment to a certain dogma or specific doctrine.
Paul’s encouragement to the church at Philippi to greet every saint says much about the attitude of a healthy believer. Suspicion takes a back seat to acceptance. Trust and a hopeful, expectant attitude towards others is a standard that is implied with this command.
Accept those who come into your circle of friends, care for them, give them the benefit of the doubt. Of course, as you get to know them, and there may be something of concern, the best approach to take may be to simply chat with them, ask pertinent questions, and teach the Word to them in order to find common ground. A judgement is to be a very last resort, and even if a concern cannot be worked out to continue in fellowship, hatred and animosity is not to be a part of the separation.
Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. He is all about accepting those who are less than Him. We should do so also.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 64:7-10
Psalm 64:7 But God shoots his arrow at them; they are wounded suddenly. Psalm 64:8 They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them; all who see them will wag their heads. Psalm 64:9 Then all mankind fears; they tell what God has brought about and ponder what he has done. Psalm 64:10 Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult!
David has just spent the better part of this psalm, describing what he can’t control, the tongue lashing and murderous lips, the evil thoughts and plans of his enemies. He is, in the first few verses, declaring his utter helplessness over controlling his enemies thoughts and plans. We noted that he sought the Lord in finding strength, in seeking relief from the fear of his enemies. He couldn’t control his enemies, but he knows where to find strength to control that which he can control.
In these few remaining verses, David speaks in similar terms regarding God’s protection over him. He refers to the arrows of God wounding the enemies suddenly, and that their evil tongues are turned back on them. How often those who seek evil have the very same evil turned on them!
He speaks of the fear coming upon all mankind, once they see the enemies of David being turned upon. It will be obvious of the judgement of God falling on David’s enemies, as it is obvious of God’s judgement falling on Jesus’ enemies in our current day.
Back in verse 5, the enemies were bold in their endeavors, steadfast in accomplishing their evil plans, since no one could see them!
Psalm 64:5 They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?“
It turns out, the enemies of the upright will not only have their plans folded back onto their lives, but all mankind will see their plans backfire and their lives impacted with judgement. The end of David’s enemies, as with the end of Jesus’ enemies will become an example of God’s justice for all men to reflect on, to consider, and to take as a warning!
In all of this psalm, as David seeks God’s will, the conclusion is clear. The righteous have a refuge in God, and have every right and privilege to rejoice in their circumstances. Even as the Apostle Paul wrote.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
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.
Our next set of names (#4 through #22) are considered His compound names, which typically uses His primary name and attaches a specific descriptor to it. These are the names that originally got me chasing this topic, and now it has developed into a much bigger study than the original intent, but I digress, for I have already mentioned this!
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 was a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
107
DOOR OF FAITH
Acts 14:27 And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
Our next two names or descriptions of God speak of a door. Although obvious, it may be good to consider what a door is.
A door is an opening. An opening to a specific area or place that cannot be entered without use of this door. A door implies walls (or restrictions of some type) everywhere else, walls that restrict one from entering an area or place. A door can also be temporarily closed to restrict from entry into an area or place.
The Jewish church was gathering, and hearing reports of the missionaries journeys and adventures, and the news was huge! God has provided a door to the Gentiles.
Gentiles were becoming believers! No mention of the Gentiles becoming Jews though, for the message was that they were not being circumcised, or that they were building synagogues, or that there was a need for teachers of the Torah.
No – the message was as simple as it was radical. They were entering into the family of disciples, the family of God through a door of faith!
God was not providing them any other way into the family other than through the Door of Faith. No other way than through faith in the Risen Son of God. No other door is mentioned of. The only door was the door of faith, and this door of faith, is the crucified and risen Savior.
He is the Only Way, the Only Door!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Matthew 7:14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Is it hard or easy? In Matthew 7:14, Jesus speaks of the way as being hard, and yet in Matthew 11:30, He encourages us by stating the yoke is easy.
It just didn’t make sense for me, and, as a paradox is wont to do, it took me outside of my usual way of thinking.
Is it hard or easy?
First off, lets take a moment to consider what a “way” is, and after we understand this, we can compare Matthew 11:30 with our understanding of His yoke.
A “way” is a road, a path, a track, a route or a course upon which one travels from point A to point B. Each and every day, we are experiencing opportunities to choose different “ways”, or paths to an end result or place. Each and every person has these opportunities.
What I have come to realize is that without an end goal clearly identified in my mind, I will always choose the easy way, the way of no difficulty, the way of no confrontation, the way of no conflict, the way of no problems. The easy way. So you see, if I have no goal, no problems! The way is easy, not hard!
Jesus, in this passage of Matthew 7, is speaking of a principled life, of the difficulty of living a life that has a goal. Not just any goal, but one that is focused on the narrow gate, the path that leads to life.
In Matthew 11:30, I believe He is now focusing His disciples (and us) on the specific goal of a believers life. Matthew 7 speaks of a general goal and the hardness of the path to get to life. It doesn’t speak of the motivation, the strength, the guidance of the Spirit of God in Christ Jesus that is with us in travelling the hard path.
We must admit that if we have come to understand the proper goal, that is to love God with all our heart, mind and soul, the path will be difficult. The path, to be blunt, will be impossible! We are weak, crippled people that have the pension to wander, to be distracted, to fall off the path.
In Matthew 11:30, Jesus is providing Himself. It is no longer a teaching of the path, but of the One who carries us along the path, and of the character of the Savior.
As we come to know Him as the gentle and lowly Servant, we recognize many of the hardships along the hard path are taken up by Him. He is good, and we desperately need to consider His invitation
Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 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. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
The path is hard, but the burdens of the path are lightened by our Servant Savior!
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
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 20:35-42
35 In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy. 36 And he said to his boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37 And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” 38 And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan’s boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. 39 But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40 And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.” 41 And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. 42 Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.
Communication.
This communication of a message through the use of a code that Jonathon developed and deployed, with the help of a nameless young boy, appears to be for the benefit of David.
Yet David was convinced that he was on the edge of the grave. Remember early in this chapter, beginning with David expressing his conviction to Jonathon that Saul was going to murder him.
1 Samuel 20:3 But David vowed again, saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the LORD lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.”.
David didn’t need this message. The young boy didn’t know what the message truly was. The only one this message truly was intended to benefit was Jonathon himself. But Jonathon knew the content of the message before coming to the field, for he came close to dying in order to find out the direction Saul was going with David.
1 Samuel 20:33 But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death.
Ok – David knew, Saul knew, and the little boy didn’t need to know. Jonathon finally knew, for he came to believe the worst of his father and the danger for David. This covert meeting in a field was not necessarily for the sake of David as it turns out, but for Jonathon. He was the one who was convinced of his fathers intent, and realized the danger not only David was in but also himself.
Yes, he conjured up a clandestine meeting with this arrow code, with David hiding for days in the field, and with this hapless boy running after some arrows. The danger was real, and in this realization, it is the more impressive for Jonathon to send the boy home, and pursue a time with David.
This is the last time David and Jonathon see each other. With the young boy returning to the city, David comes out from hiding and the future king of Israel bows before the crown prince of Israel. He bows three times, weeping. At no time does David speak in this story, for he simply weeps and shows his deep care for Jonathon. He is patient with Jonathon in completing this exercise of communication, for the sake of his friend. He could have been travelling away from his enemy for the times he spent waiting on Jonathon, but he remained behind for Jonathon’s sake. He remained out of love for his friend.
Jonathon finally knew the danger. David knew of the danger previously.
39 But the boy knew nothing.
In all this communication, the young lad had no ears to hear! Oh, he had ears to hear the words, but he didn’t have ears to hear the message. He wasn’t able to understand the message Jonathon shouted through the use of words.
Jonathon’s message reached it’s intended target. David had ears to hear, for he knew the one speaking, he had spent time with the one speaking, and he had relationship with the one speaking.
Centuries later, Another came to speak messages using words (and miracles), and yet many did not have ears to hear. The young lad during Jonathon’s time didn’t understand the message, and he held no malice in his heart towards any. Not so with those hearing Jesus words. Much malice was brewing in the hearts of those who heard the words but not the message!
David came out from amongst the rocks to escape the danger of a murderous government. Jesus entered the danger of a murderous mob, accepted the death sentence of a murderous government, and came out from the rocks, His grave, victorious.
Jonathon never saw David again. We will see our David again, for He has not, nor will He abandon us. He came out from the rocks in order to save us from the danger we are in the middle of.
Decades after His earthly time of teaching, He asked His church if they had ears to hear.
What is the message His words communicate to you today?
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
ABRAHAM
UNIVERSAL BLESSINGS
Genesis 12:2-3 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Galatians 3:14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Abraham was a channel of blessing to the nation of Israel, in that he was the father of the nation, and was the friend of God, establishing a relationship that the nation of Israel has depended on most of their existence.
He became a divider of the nations, in that any who blessed Abraham would be blessed, and any who cursed Abraham would be cursed. Two groups of nations, based on the reception they had to Abraham.
Yet as we read this passage, it is important to notice that the blessing is personal, not necessarily national. Some may think, as I used to, that if a nation acted favorably to the nation of Israel, those of the physical family of Abraham, it would have the blessing of God. This may be true, but I am not sure this verse specifically states that.
It is a personal promise of a person blessing Abraham, or cursing Abraham. Sure, Abraham will become a great nation, but it is the singular person that this promise refers to. This positive attitude towards Abraham opens up a “blank check” type of promise from God of an undefined general blessing. Reread the verses and consider!
Is it not even truer for the Lord Jesus. One person’s attitude toward the Lord Jesus opens up untold blessings, greater than we can imagine, and as Galatians states, this blessing that was through Abraham can be found in Christ Jesus.
Abraham was a conduit for blessing from God, but once Jesus Christ the Lord lived and died for us, even resurrecting three days later, the conduit of Abraham for blessing from God was no longer needed, for all blessings may only be found in the Messiah.
Consider the difference.
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.
106
DIVINE BEING
Acts 17:29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
Paul is addressing the men of Athens, having arrived there directly from Berea, an area where Paul was challenged with every teaching he provided by his audience checking the Word, to see if his teaching aligned with their authorities.
Arriving in Athens, his audience is not of the Jewish flavor, but of the Athenian philosophy bent, an audience that was not steeped in Jewish law but in human reasoning and philosophy. He doesn’t have a foundation of Old Testament understanding in the audience to teach from, so he uses what connection he can find with these men, and builds his message from there. There is wisdom in this approach for our use!
He speaks of his travels within the city, and refers to idols that have been constructed, especially an idol to the unknown god, and he latches onto this to begin his teaching. Note that he does not condemn these people for idolatry. Something to remember as we share the gospel with those in our world!
Foundational logic, the language of the philosopher, was being used for the sake of communicating to the audience, speaking of the creator God as necessary for their worldview, and then their own philosophy to leverage the audiences thoughts to a personal God.
“In him we live and move and have our being” is likely a portion of a poem by the Cretan poet Epimenides, and “For we are indeed his offspring.” is taken from a poet by the name of Aratus. Both of these authorities would have been well known to the audience and made a connection for them with Paul’s thoughts.
Logically speaking, if these poets message, generally accepted by the audience, the outcome would be there is a God out there that is not created as an idol is, but is a being. There would be similarities to human beings, but this God would of course be divine. as an extension of this argument, based on their very own accepted teaching, a greater being than us has to be present, has to exist.
Paul uses “divine” to introduce this God to the audience, for he is trying to build a logical connection for the audience of a personal God that exists. For the Greek philosopher, to refer to a divine being is similar to our cultural understanding of the same. Generally a very nebulous descriptor other than being greater than us.
Paul does not let the audience think “generally” about this god for long, for immediately, after laying a foundation of connection for the Greek audience of a living God, he introduces judgement on their ignorance (not idolatry) and a call to repent. And the basis of this judgment and call to repentance is a Man who has risen from the dead.
Paul presents a lot of specific doctrine to the audience after establishing the existence of the Divine Being!
The Divine Being is a patient God, overlooking ignorance, a God who expects repentance upon information provided, a God who is righteous, a God who will judge the world properly, a God that supplies facts, for He has not only appointed a specific Man to perform the judgement, but has provided a series of eye witness historical occurrences backing up the claim of the resurrection of this Judge. He has given assurance of the Judge’s identity by the resurrection!
Upon the resurrection news, the audience split. A Divine Being who raises a man from the dead was unheard of, and this teaching cannot be the result of simple logic or reasoning. To go from a Divine Being to a Judge (Jesus Christ) raised from the dead requires repentance and FAITH, not simply logical reasoning only. Some in the audience were not ready to explore this line of reasoning!
But the true Divine Being has raised Jesus from the dead. The audiences response is like that of today. Open to hearing more, or mockery.
Are you open to hearing more?
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
For this series in Philippians, I am going to limit each post to one verse, and hopefully produce a short, succinct read for my friends who follow.
4:20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Paul is closing this letter to his dear friends and begins his sign off to the church without any defense of his apostleship, as with the Corinthians, or warnings as with the Galatians. He is simply bidding them farewell with final remarks that should represent each and every believers heart towards those in the family of God.
Our lives, weak, crippled, deaf and blind as we are can be instruments to bring glory to God, if we reflect the only Glorious One, as Paul refers to in our final verse.
As we reflect the mercy, grace, wisdom, patience, love, joy, longsuffering and peace of the Spirit of God, glory can be translated to the Father. But as we receive glory, might we be in the way somewhat to the only deserving beneficiary?
Remember that glory belongs to God, and that we are simply recipients of grace, love and mercy from the only Source of life!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 64:1-4
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, 3 who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, 4 shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear. 5 They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?” 6 They search out injustice, saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.” For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
How dare David complain to God. He is addressing God, bringing a complaint to Him. Does he not have faith? Does He not understand that to submit to God means no complaining or whining? Ok – I may have been a bit sarcastic with “whining”, but I think you get my point.
I would suggest that David has strong faith, a faith that has developed an understanding of the Living God allowing for this freedom to express his concern (complaint?) before the King.
I remember the first time I came across a saint complaining before God in the book of Jeremiah. It was shocking to think Scripture would allow a complaint to God be recorded!
Jeremiah 12:1 Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
Even though it appears that David is bringing a complaint before the Lord, the word is more akin to meditation or musings. He is, as it follows in the psalm, in dire need of protection, and that against the intangible enemy of others thoughts and plans. David’s enemies have secret plots (vs 2), tongues like swords (vs 3), words like arrows (v3), they hold fast to (won’t give up on) evil purposes, (vs 5), talk of laying snares (vs 5), and searches out injustice (vs 6). He can’t use a sword against his enemy to defeat this situation.
All of David’s concerns are of his enemies thoughts, words and plans. That which he has no power of and has no real specific knowledge of, other than that they are malicious!
And yet let us reconsider the original plea from the king. He is requesting God to “preserve my life from his enemy” correct? Not quite. His plea to God is to “preserve my life from dread of the enemy” (emphasis mine)
As a victim of the fear monster myself, I can relate to David’s plea. At times I am frozen with fear over what actually is a minor problem, and which actually resolves itself most times. It is truly ridiculous the things that paralyze me, but not so with David, for he has serious men seeking his life and he needs boldness to think straight, a clear mind to make wise decisions and a willingness to take action instead of simply feeling a victim! He needs to be delivered from the dread of the enemy! It is not a garden variety fear that David speaks of, for he speaks of a heightened sense of fear, that of terror, dread, or a sudden alarm. This is no simple Carl-style fear situation going on here! He is in serious lock down and he isn’t afraid to admit it to God! (no pun intended!)
An old preacher by the name of Morgan once spoke the truth of David’s focal plea of this psalm
“We need to pray as the psalmist does, not so much for the deliverance from enemies as for deliverance from fear of them.” (Morgan)
At the end of this section David provides a summation of the mind and heart of a man, which is the very thing he dreads through the previous verses!
For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
To be deep does not necessarily carry a moral distinction with it – although in this instance it surely does, but to be deep simply describes a relative amount or “volume” the mind and heart has to contain something. It also carries with it the implication of mysterious, or unknown, unsearchable.
May the Lord help us to somewhat understand our own mind and heart as we walk with Him, seeking cleansing and forgiveness as He reveals our depths of heart and mind!
Considering the Bible 