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.
73
CHOSEN CORNERSTONE
1 Peter 2:6-7 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,”
Throughout the Word, Jesus is described as the Chosen One, Chosen of God and even a believers Chosen Portion, but for our study this morning, let us consider that Peter refers to the Master as the Chosen Cornerstone.
To be chosen speaks of a decision outside of the intended chosen ones influence. It is to be picked, or to be elected by someone to an office, to a position or to a responsibility. To be chosen also speaks of selection and or an appointment to a situation.
Peter speaks of Jesus as the Chosen Cornerstone. The Cornerstone, upon which all other development, or construction refers to and is based upon. Of course Peter is not referring to the physical buildings we think of when we speak of when we mention “church”. Nothing so crass and insignificant in relation to the truth Peter is getting at. Peter is speaking of the Cornerstone upon which the entire Christian church, of all the ages, and throughout the entire globe is built upon. This Chosen Cornerstone is the lynchpin, the foundation, the Builder and Maker of the church.
Without the cornerstone, there is no building, there is no church, no body, no fellowship, no life, no salvation, no hope, no future.
He is the only reason the church exists in the world today, and as the Chosen Cornerstone, He is to be elevated as the only One to whom we look to.
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.
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 18:6-7 6 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. 7 And the women sang to one another as they celebrated, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands.”
Ok, we have three participants in this short story. We have David, who had struck down the Philistines, King Saul who was “with” David, and the women.
Yes – the women.
They meant well, but it did cause a problem. Were the women trying to cause difficulty for David, trying to “stir the pot”? Absolutely not, if I read this properly. They were rejoicing that Israel was victorious and they knew that young shepherd soldier, who was all the rage in Israel, was the reason Israel was so successful. Yes, the women were simply rejoicing, with seemingly good motives, seeking to receive the victorious back to the land!
Yet, for David, this seemingly awesome reception and acknowledgement by the some of the nations women, set up a situation that would lead to attempts on his life, for there was a wee little man, (though head and shoulders above all his subjects), that could not accept the praise being given to David.
But that may not be entirely accurate.
It might not be that the praise given to David was the problem, but that Saul wasn’t receiving top billing, that King Saul was not the most important man in the parade.
It is not that King Saul was jealous, for that emotion is typically associated with possessions, or of a third party in a relationship. I suppose jealousy may apply here, but I think a more accurate word to describe Saul’s emotional constitution would be envy.
Envy and jealousy are sometimes thought of as synonymous, but I would submit to my reader that envy speaks to a resentful awareness of someone else’s superiority. It isn’t so much a possession thing but a character/skill that allows the nasty emotion to rise to the surface!
David was a skilled warrior. King Saul was one who sent men out to battle. Poor Saul wasn’t quite happy with his lot in life.
And the women, in all their innocent exuberance, brought out the envy residing in Saul, with force. It would become all controlling!
There were times when the Lord was praised by someone in the gospels, and He commanded them to be quiet. I never understood that for many years, thinking that everyone should know, that everyone should hear of all His works. That was until I settled down in my mind and thought of situations like we are looking at in this passage.
Good intentions of truthful witness can have dire circumstances. Of course Jesus was aiming for the cross, but it would be on His time schedule, and not someone else’s.
He was in control of every element of His ministry, the good, the bad and the innocent exuberance! Jesus was in control of His revealing at every moment. Jesus understood the heart of man like no other, and orchestrated His own crucifixion through the reactions of men’s dark hearts.
What an amazing 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.
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
Absalom
Son longing to come home
2 Samuel 14:32 32 Absalom answered Joab, “Behold, I sent word to you, ‘Come here, that I may send you to the king, to ask, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me to be there still.” Now therefore let me go into the presence of the king, and if there is guilt in me, let him put me to death.’”
John 20:17 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Absalom had killed his brother Amnon, based on a convenient moral rage that he hid behind to gain advantage (I believe) to ascend to the throne of Israel. Yes Amnon performed a vile act of rape on his sister, and yes he should suffer the consequences of that wicked decision. But the judgement was not to be performed by his brother Absalom. But as we reviewed in our last post in this series, that is exactly what happened.
David’s third son killed David’s first son, heir apparent to the throne. It appears the children were watching when David took Bathsheba! David’s attitude toward women filtered down into Amnon, and began the dissolution of David’s family.
Yet, when in the darkness, as David must surely have been during these difficult days, a ray of hope is usually grasped without too much discernment. Such is the case here, when the self exiled Absalom calls unto Joab to request a return to the City of David, even to be presented before the King.
How audacious of a man this Absalom must be. Yet his very desire, though the evil intent may be cloaked with the appearance of family loyalty, indicates a normal healthy relationship between son and father. It is normal, yes even worth much for the relationship to be maintained.
For Absalom, he stated he would chance death for the opportunity to return to the King’s palace. Surely he must have been hedging his bets, but on the surface this statement is informative.
For our Lord, His desire was without mixed motives, for He left behind an eternal connection with the Father, a continual, deep, interactive and consistent relationship of holiness, love, peace and joy. At no time was there a point of friction, a discussion of differing opinions, a misunderstanding or a loss of connectedness between the Father and the Son.
Even while walking amongst us, the connection with the Father was never broken, never strained, never diminished. That is until that day when spike were driven into His hands and feet, and a sword was shoved into His chest. There was a time when the Father looked away. When Jesus was alone, all alone.
At that time, the desire to go home must have been heart crushing. Although Absalom spoke of this desire, Jesus experienced this longing like no one else.
May we be a thankful people, for a Savior such as He!
Jesus is such a 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.
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.
72
CHILD FROM THE HOLY GHOST
Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.
Matthew speaks of our Lord as a child from the Holy Spirit. We do not have much in the bible record of Jesus as a child but Matthew does supply a few tidbits of information.
After providing Jesus genealogy, Matthew cuts to the chase and informs his readers that this One was not merely a King of the line of David, but from the Holy Spirit. Of course this phrase may simply speak of His origin and not His very nature of God.
Joseph, two verses later, was also informed that this baby was from the Holy Spirit, in order to calm Joseph’s fears and suspicions. Matthew further reminds us that all that was occurring with Joseph and Mary was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken in Isaiah, identifying this unborn baby as a boy, and that He will be “God with us”.
Jesus was from the Holy Spirit, and is God with us. From the womb!
There may be some who may think He attained the status of God through His obedience in His ministry to the Father, or that He received His identity by the baptism He underwent. Matthew would argue against any effort to reduce the person of Christ from being God to becoming God, right from the start of his gospel.
We might be wise to do the same, for He is the Child from the Holy Ghost, the very nature of God!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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.
71
CHIEF SHEPHERD
1 Peter 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.
Peter is addressing the elders of the church. For brevities sake, I shall not enter into a discussion on my understanding of leadership in the New Testament church, suffice it to say that it comprises of two types of men. One of these type of men are called elders, and we can safely state that an elder is one of many primary spiritual leaders in the local body.
Peter provides one command for these men.
Shepherd the flock they know. There are defining phrases that describe this command that follows, but this is the principle truth Peter wants to communicate to the elders. Shepherd the flock of God that they know.
How to do this?
Exercise oversight. Watch your flock. I understand this to include some discretion in the watching, for I sense Peter is not looking for an elder to be involved in every member’s decision making process, or to directly and constantly seek to influence each member to their way of thinking.
In this oversight, the desire of the elder is positive. It is not to be a drudgery attending to the members business, but a joy to assist the member as required, to have the patience to stand still for the member to reach out.
In this oversight, money is not to be a motivator. Peter has spoken of the elders willingness previously, and here he speaks of an eagerness.
Now you may think I am describing an elder to be stand offish, out of touch, or without the ability to create and maintain relationships with their flock. Please do not read me that way. Yet the next phrase in Peters description of the proper elder is that they are not to be domineering.
This is the kick in the gut, for how many have been in a body where the “accepted elder” is the one with the most education, the highest paycheck, the most demanding of his people and yet rarely allows those of his flock to see him with his family, with the struggles he experiences. He feels he has to be the perfect one as an example, and yet I would suggest this is an act of pride and domination.
The shepherd is to be one who is visibly in need of God’s grace, humbled by his failures and faithful in allowing his flock to experience his life, warts and all.
A shepherd is to be fully human, dependent upon the Lord, in humility providing a hand to those who feel comfortable to approach him.
I may have been off topic a bit, but this is the one who is the true leader, the one who understands his weakness, allows others to see their weakness and their need for God, and that is approachable, a servant to those who need to see Jesus.
For was it not characteristic of the Chief Shepherd to self humble, to come down, to be a friend of sinners and prostitutes, to be approachable (unless you were a bit too religious!). This is the character of Christ, and per the self humbling, He has become the highest of all, and the Chief Shepherd.
Our Chief Shepherd!
And when Jesus appears, these men of service and humility will gain a crown of glory, due to their not seeking it while on earth.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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 18:1-5 1 As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father’s house. 3 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. 5 And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul’s servants.
David has just vanquished the giant, having come out of nowhere to fight Israel’s battle.
A king, who was a literally a giant of a man amongst his people wasn’t taking the challenge. He didn’t seem to be affected by the slurs against the nation of Israel’s God. Politically, he sought someone to rescue him from this national embarrassment through the provision of gifts, his daughter and tax relief.
So a young shepherd shows up, simply being obedient to his father’s wishes, bringing sustenance to his brothers. After hearing the circumstances of the battle the Israelites were in the midst of, David takes action. Having conquered the enemy, the King asks again about David, but specifically about whose son this young man is.
As an aside, it is interesting to note that Saul was sending out a boy to battle, not concerned about his family, or who he was. This is the nature of a ruling class. Subjects are to be used for the needs of those in charge. After the victory, when Saul asks whose son this warrior is, was it to fulfill his commitment to grant tax free status to the family, or to find a resource he could take advantage of for future battles? I will leave it to my reader to decide.
Nevertheless, David was summoned and presented before the king. And a new character in David’s life appears. An Israeli prince by the name of Jonathon.
Let’s consider Jonathon for a moment. He has already established himself as a victorious, faithful soldier of the nation, a man who is a leader, as seen in his conquest of the philistine garrison is 1 Samuel 14. Not only did he take on a challenge due to opportunity and not by command – for you see Jonathon wasn’t commanded by the king to take on the garrison, but he saw opportunity and trusted God for a victory. As a matter of fact, Jonathon didn’t let his father know of his escapade.
1 Samuel 14:1 One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, “Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.
Also, take note of Jonathon’s attitude as he spoke to his armor bearer in 1 Samuel 14:6
…It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few.”
It must seem obvious that when these two men met for the first time, a bond of fellowship was recognized between them. They were of kindred spirits, both men who sought ways to see God at work, who had faith in the Living God, and who risked their lives to exhibit this faith.
Surely Jonathon had heard of David, for David had been in the royal court for short periods of time prior to this, trying to satisfy both the king and his father with his presence. This was about to end, for the king was looking to take this young man from his family for his own service. David was to be in the kings court permanently.
Verses 3 & 4 speak of Jonathon and David’s connection, of Jonathon’s commitment to David, of his being bound together with David. The soul’s of these two men were “tied together” at this time, and we do not need to make any crazy assumptions beyond a friendship based on a “knitting together” of their souls.
Jonathon’s gift of supplying the robe to David was an act of the highest honor for a prince to perform. Not only did Jonathon provide this honor of supplying his robe, he went so far as to give David his armor his sword his bow and his belt.
The robe, it seems represents the royal status of the prince, and the remaining items the equipment of the soldier being sent out for the nation. Jonathon provided David the equipment he needed. For the king was keeping David near, to send him out representing the nation in battle. And as can be expected, David was successful where ever he went for the king.
And the people loved him.
The servants of Saul loved him.
Jonathon loved him.
But as we will find out, a small man like Saul began to hate him.
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
Absalom
Judge
2 Samuel 13:32 But Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother, said, “Let not my lord suppose that they have killed all the young men, the king’s sons, for Amnon alone is dead. For by the command of Absalom this has been determined from the day he violated his sister Tamar.
Acts 10:42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead..
Absalom commanded judgement upon his brother Amnon for a dastardly deed he performed years earlier. Amnon had deceived his sister Tamar into providing a meal in his room, forcing her sexually and then rejecting her after having raped her.
Absalom had no right to exercise this execution but for the sake of his seeming sense of justice, or his love for his sister, or for his desire for the kingdom, – for whatever motivation that drove Absalom – he planned, prepared and with premeditation, had his brother murdered at his command.
Absalom judged his brother. Absalom, at this point in his life appeared to be taking vengeance on Amnon for his sister Tamar. What follows in the story of Absalom is a tale of deceit and rebellion that may provide the motivation of Absalom in the murder, for Amnon was next in line for the kingdom, and though what Amnon did to Tamar was vile and wicked, I see Absalom as an opportunist. This evil of Amnon provided Absalom an opportunity to rid the family of a contender for the throne! All under the guise of justice!
Absalom took the position of judge in this early part of the story, looking all pious and righteous in defending his sister, yet the true Absalom shone through later on.
With Jesus, there is a complete contrast, for are not his intentions purer than Absalom’s, in that His motivations were of love, and the hurt was self inflicted. Yes – Jesus is the Judge of all living and the dead, and we can be confident his judgement will be true, right and proper.
And remember – with Jesus we can be confident that His motivations are pure, true, right and proper.
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.
70
CARPENTER’S SON
Matthew 13:55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
Jesus was a carpenter. Jesus was the son of a carpenter. He followed in the footsteps of his earthly father, choosing the very occupation his father worked in.
Jesus was also recognizable as the carpenter’s son. Even his enemies referred to Him as the carpenter’s son. He learned His trade from His father, and pursued gainful employment as a carpenter.
The local townsfolk knew Joseph and recognized Jesus as Joseph’s son. He was influenced by Joseph greatly as He grew up, learned a trade, watched His father, and increased in skill and ability with physical tools and materials.
It is sad that the same people who recognized Jesus as Joseph’s son did not know the Father in Heaven, for if they did, they would have recognized Jesus as His Father’s Son. Though His earthly father provided physical skills and abilities, the Son gained spiritual skills and abilities through His watching His Father in Heaven.
John 14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
The Father worked and the Son worked. Jesus was dependent on the Father for the works that He did, and in watching His Father, He performed works that reflected His Father.
Jesus earthly father trained Jesus in the physical. Jesus Heavenly Father trained Jesus in the spiritual.
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
69
CARPENTER
Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
The Carpenter. A lowly position in the social strata.
This name is assigned to the Lord by those who would smear His name, by those who would desire to see His influence diminish. The very ones who reminded the audience of the Lord’s skill set for bringing in funds for His family, are revealing the very problem that will cause their stumbling.
These men who sought to defame the Master do so out of “offence”. The very idea that a prophet of God could be a mere carpenter was beyond their comprehension. (How soon they forget their history of God’s call on the “regular” man for greater service?) Surely they thought they were deserving of a Savior with greater status in this world, with greater “name recognition”?
But alas, with this very assumption, or expectation, they missed the boat. They were in the presence of the builder of all things and assigned the very name of carpenter to Him, revealing their proud heart, yet assigning an appropriate name for Him nonetheless.
You see, to be called “the carpenter” is so appropriate, for He is the builder of all things, and while on earth, though He knew how to join beams with columns, and columns with rafters, He had greater things in mind. He was building, that is for sure, but He was not building a physical enclosure that would remain for a short period of time, but a spiritual house, with living souls as the material to build the house, to remain for ever.
1 Peter 2:5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Yes those who first called Him a carpenter were taking offence at His position in life, but now that we see He truly is a carpenter, a builder, we can stand back and praise Him for His skill at bringing together a people who are not worthy, who had enmity with God and with each other, who were of no account until He found us.
Praise the name of the Carpenter, for He is truly worthy!
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.
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.
The passage before us is the set up for the famous chapter telling the story of a young shepherd taking out a giant of an enemy! Even the most unread Christian has heard of the story. It is very familiar to many, but as we venture through, I believe we will see some details and truths that will be a blessing and challenge for us to consider.
55 As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, “Abner, whose son is this youth?” And Abner said, “As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.” 56 And the king said, “Inquire whose son the boy is.” 57 And as soon as David returned from the striking down of the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 And Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” And David answered, “I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite
Coming off the victory over Goliath, David was getting his gear together, that is his sling and stones, and here comes Abner, the commander of the Israeli army.
It appears the previous discussion Saul had with David concerning taking the giant out was dismissed by the king, or at the very least, the victory required the king to find out more about David. After all, the subjugation of Goliath brought with it certain rewards from the king.
1 Samuel 17:25 …the king will enrich the man who kills him with great riches and will give him his daughter and make his father’s house free in Israel.”
Before I get into this list of rewards, lets consider the general tenor of the king’s motivation. He did not call upon the nation to rise up for God, for the honor of the true King, but appealed to the basest desires of the nation. Money, status and financial freedom from taxation. He was looking for mercenaries amongst his people. The more I ruminate on this method, the less surprised I am of how the “army of Israel” acted after David did his thing. They half heartedly chased the Philistines for a short time, and then came back to the battle site to get things, to plunder the Philistines camp, now that there was no opposition.
Great riches
Great riches would be provided to the man who gained victory over the enemy of Israel. The king would take of the national treasures, (that which was gained by taxation of the people) and give it to the one who would do the armies job. Yes I know I am being harsh, for the army of Israel was likely a volunteer unit at this time is the history of Israel, but the provision of great riches most likely was on no material impact on Saul
Kings daughter
Speaking of material impact on Saul, this reward brought with it the status of belonging to a royal family. It is a kind of fading glory, especially when considered what David knew of his future.
Nevertheless, as we know of the eastern culture in those days, the eldest daughter would be presented first, and per 1 Samuel 14:49, Merab would be first in line for marriage.
It turns out that Saul began the process of providing Merab to David, but hesitated, even reneging on the promise.
1 Samuel 18:19 But at the time when Merab, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, she was given to Adriel the Meholathite for a wife.
During this potential offering of Merab, Saul began to attach conditions to the offer of his daughter. Had he forgotten so soon that the conditions for marrying his daughter had already been performed?
Saul is not looking good in this instance, for he is needing more concessions from David to receive his bride, and then changes the promise of Merab as a bride for David, giving her to Adriel the Meholathite.
Eventually, Michal would become David’s wife, after more conditions were laid on David by Saul. Go kill a hundred Philistines, and bring back proof, their foreskins, and then I will fulfill the promise I made to you when you killed Goliath, with my second daughter.
Wow – this reward was becoming quite the privilige!
Fathers house free in Israel
This last reward may have been realized by Jesse, but I can find no evidence in the Word that Saul kept this promise. Nevertheless, this reward is similar to the first promise of great riches, in the fact that it cost the king nothing of his personal wealth, but simply made the nation with less resources. Now of course I am assuming the king separated his wealth from that of the nations coffers, but of this I do not know.
Nevertheless, with the previous faithfulness Saul exercised in the previous rewards, I have a sense that Jesse may not have realized this benefit, until a new king came on the scene!
It is a good thing that David had kept his eyes on the prize on not the rewards, for Saul’s rewards were fading, or not even realized.
No – David kept his eyes on the prize!
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
Absalom
Redeemer
2 Samuel 13:20, 22 20 And her brother Absalom said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? Now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother; do not take this to heart.” So Tamar lived, a desolate woman, in her brother Absalom’s house. … 22 But Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad, for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had violated his sister Tamar.
Galatians 3:13 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us–for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”– Galatians 4:5 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
A little background for this passage may help.
This story is set at a time when David’s family, his sons in particular, began to cause trouble within the family. Of course, this trial of David’s was prophesied by Nathan years back when David got with Bathsheba and had her husband killed.
The outworking of this trial included David’s son Amnon. You see, Amnon had been given no boundaries, and he had a father who enjoyed the ladies. Given these two characteristics in his life, he saw no trouble in deceiving his sister Tamar into his bedroom and raping her. Yes – he raped her and then rejected her. Amnon, her brother, violently used her and then threw her away.
Tamar’s life was over. She was defiled and would be subject to national shame and a life of desolation. A life of rejection based on circumstances outside of her control.
Now as we venture through this series of “Jesus in the Old Testament” we are going to see glimpses of Jesus in characters that are somewhat unsavory. Dang – everyone we consider in the Old Testament has a dark side, and Absalom is no different. We will see him enter into rebellion against his own father later on, but at this point in his life, he is acting as a redeemer for his sister.
Granted, Absalom’s motives may not have been altruistic, but his action’s were that of a redeemer, one who came to the rescue of someone in need.
Tamar, through the sin of her brother, was under a curse. This curse would follow her through her life, condemning her to the shame of rape in the nation of Israel. David provides no rebuke of Amnon, and amazingly does nothing for Tamar, his own daughter. To think that her father, the King of Israel does not act in judging her violator or in consoling and comforting his daughter is shocking. Unless this scene is just a bit to close to the King, reminiscent of a time not long before, when he also shamed another man’s wife, but that is for another time.
Absalom came to Tamar’s rescue, bringing her into his house and gives her a place to recover, to heal if that was possible.
Though we will see Absalom became a much larger character in the destruction of David’s family, his actions at this time toward his violated sister reflect a quality of mercy and of redemption.
Jesus though, has redeemed us perfectly and with the highest motives, pulling us out of shameful conditions and providing us a place of escape, in order to experience healing.
Jesus is the perfect Redeemer!
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.
68
BURDEN OF THE LORD
Jeremiah 23:36 But ‘the burden of the LORD’ you shall mention no more, for the burden is every man’s own word, and you pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God.
When those of the nation were hearing the prophet pronounce the Word of God to them, the message was one of captivity and despair. The oracle of God was providing a warning to the nation, that if listened to would provide them life and survival. When Jeremiah refers to the burden of the Lord, he is using a word that describes the message of God to the nation.
The nation would have none of it, and as is common with those who reject the message of God, it becomes a weight around their neck, a burden on their back, a ball and chain to be dragged through an existence on this earth.
The oracle is available for those who hear it, and for those who reject it, the burden actually is the rejection itself of the oracle.
The very words (or message) from the one rejecting God’s message becomes the burden to carry. This is never a condition we are committed to, and I would refer all who are under a self imposed burden to read Jesus’ offer.
Matthew 11:29,30 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 burden of the Lord is Jesus, for He has taken the burden, and provided us not only the example of life we are to live, but the opportunity to experience rest, under a “light” burden.
How is it that the message of such good news becomes so garbled and confusing?
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
67
BUILDER OF THE TEMPLE
Zechariah 6:12 And say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD.
This is our last description of God as a Builder and it is fitting that we end with Him described as the Builder of the Temple.
It appears the Lord is directing Zechariah to fashion a crown of gold to place on the head of Joshua, the High Priest during the reconstruction efforts of the exiles. This passage quickly becomes prophetic, since the crown being placed on the head of the priest, associates royal rule and priestly duties. This was not practiced in the Old Testament for the guidelines for priestly succession was restricted to the line of Levi, and no king came from this tribe. At least not before Jesus.
Beyond the description of this King/Priest being unexpected, the person described in this verse is also called the Branch. This verse points to the Son of God, and His work as the King/Priest reaching beyond (branching out) of His place. He reached beyond the boundaries of Israel, and sought out the Gentiles, eventually reaching out to us. His Temple is worldwide and provides
He is the Builder of the Temple, and every day it increases in size!
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.
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.
The passage before us is the set up for the famous chapter telling the story of a young shepherd taking out a giant of an enemy! Even the most unread Christian has heard of the story. It is very familiar to many, but as we venture through, I believe we will see some details and truths that will be a blessing and challenge for us to consider.
50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled. 52 And the men of Israel and Judah rose with a shout and pursued the Philistines as far as Gath and the gates of Ekron, so that the wounded Philistines fell on the way from Shaaraim as far as Gath and Ekron. 53 And the people of Israel came back from chasing the Philistines, and they plundered their camp. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, but he put his armor in his tent.
David killed Goliath unconventionally. David spoke of his God unconventionally. David served his enemies unconventionally. Heck – even the name David is unconventional in the Word. There is only one David, and there is only One Jesus. But suffice it to say, I will leave the parallels for my other series called Jesus in the Old Testament.
Everyone used a sword. David used a sling. As soon as that stone hit the mark on Goliath’s head, David took the opportunity and used the giants very own weapon against him. Yes – David knew he didn’t need a sword since he would eventually use Goliath’s. Yes – Goliaths sword was used to cut off Goliath’s head.
He who lived by the sword literally died by his own sword in this instance!
Now as soon as the mighty army of Israel knew it was safe to come out and play, they pursued the frightened Philistine army to Gath and Ekron. This distance is between 6 and 10 miles (as the crow files) and the text speaks of pursuing or chasing. Is it that the mighty army of Israel did no fighting, just chasing? I am no military commander, but when you have an army fleeing, would not this be the time to strike, to decimate the enemy, to take advantage of their fear. Was the army of Israel too tired, too wore out, too emotionally drained to actually fight? I am too sarcastic at times!
It seems the army simply chased them away, only to come back to get things! To plunder an empty camp, to get things. Wow.
As I read the passage one more time, I must correct myself. I assumed it was the army of Israel who chased the Philistine army, but the army of Israel isn’t referred to in this passage. It is the “men of Israel and Judah (v52) and the “people of Israel” (v53) that were active after David killed the giant and sent the Philistine army running. The last time the term “army” was use din the chapter was back in verse 21!
Yes the people came back from chasing the Philistines, only to get stuff, things, possessions. What a tremendous victory for the nation, a stunning revealing of a young warrior, and the people return after a bit of a chase to get things.
David brought the head of Goliath to Jerusalem. He had mastered the enemy and did not take it to his home, so that he could gloat over his victory, but to the capital city of Jerusalem, where the nation turned to for leadership and strength.
In a very real sense, David gave the nation the victory, not only in reality but also in symbology. Goliaths head was a symbol of the strength the victor had over the enemy, and David took it to Jerusalem.
He served the nation and not himself, in that the head of Goliath would represent the victory for the nation of Israel.
I suppose he figgered the “people of Israel” would bring him some of the plunder! (Again with the sarcasm!)
What a comparison between a lowly shepherd boy and the mighty warriors of Israel!
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
Aaron
Duration
Numbers 35:25 And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.
Hebrews 5:6 as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”
This particular passage in Numbers has much to say about Jesus and His saving love, of how He is the City of Refuge for those who realize their guilt before God. During our time in this topic, we will come to see Jesus in geographical places, in types of animals, in historic happenings and in special circumstances within the lives of saint and sinner.
But for now, we want to consider Aaron, the High Priest and how his life (or death) might provide a picture of the Savior we have come to know.
Even as I say we are looking at Aaron, he is simply a representative of the Aaronic priesthood, which by the nature of the participants, was a terminal priesthood. Each high priest that has ever lived in that order has died. Each death of the high priest typified the death of the priestly order. It’s duration, for the priest and the order, was doomed to the grave.
Death. The grave. Terminal.
Each new high priest would die. Good ones. Bad ones. It didn’t matter. Death haunted them and each succumbed to their inevitable end.
So when Jesus appeared, we can be thankful He was not of the priestly order of Aaron, but of Melchizedek. Such a mysterious figure in the pages of Genesis. So little is said, yet the author of Hebrews makes much of what was given to us. For our time this morning, consider the duration of the Lord’s Melchizedekian priesthood.
No (permanent) death. No (permanent) grave. A non-terminal order of priest, that through death, through the grave has been raised to never face death again.
And due to this characteristic of the Melchizedekian priesthood, only One priest will fill that office.
His name is Jesus. And as our High Priest, He is facing God, pleading for our well being, our growth, our sanctification, our salvation, our pilgrimage and our future life with Him.
He is not a terminal high priest, like Aaron and every high priest of the order of Aaron! For that we can and will be eternally grateful.
Thankyou Jesus for being who you are and loving us.
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
66
BUILDER OF ALL THINGS
Hebrews 3:4 (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)
In our last post we considered Jesus as the builder of a house, and compared Him with Moses, who had responsibilities within the house being built.
The apostle writes in this verse an overarching general truth, based on the pervious verse comparing Jesus with Moses. This general truth of the creative work of God is debated nowadays with theory’s and excuses that some feel provides them the freedom to reject God’s authority over them.
But, as the apostle argues so succinctly, it is obvious that every house is build by someone. Some “person” is the creative force behind every house that is designed and constructed.
Why would this obvious truth not apply to all of creation? How is it that logical men and women would not be able to extend this experiential truth to it’s logical end, and find that the Builder of all Things is God?
It is completely beyond me that logical men and women, reject a greater truth, even though they admit to the lesser truth. But professing themselves to be wise, they become fools. A dark heart makes for a blinded mind.
Opinion of man is to be put aside, and we are to worship the Builder of all Things. He is more than simply good, and we are the recipients of His bounteous grace each day.
Praise Him for His mighty works!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
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.
65
BUILDER OF A HOUSE
Hebrews 3:3 For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses–as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.
The overarching theme of Hebrews is “better” Jesus is better than angels, Moses, Joshua, the temple… The author is continually speaking of comparisons.
The description we have this morning is of God being the builder of a house. Our comparison is Jesus with Moses.
So what specifically is the claim associated with Moses? Specifically, Moses is not described as doing anything in this verse, other that possibly being a part of the house itself. Now of course the early reader may associate Moses as the architect of the Temple, but he wasn’t. God provided the plans. Then we could consider Moses as the project manager, but essentially there was no design project that he could manage, since God provided the design. Ok, so then could Moses be considered the construction manager. This may be closest to Moses responsibilities when considering the Tabernacle. The Temple was to come centuries later, and when the Tabernacle was constructed, it took one day to perform the work.
Exodus 40:1-2 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “On the first day of the first month you shall erect the tabernacle of the tent of meeting.
So let’s recap. In relation to the house, Moses was considered to be a part of the house in this verse. His responsibilities within the “house” (to remain within the theme of the verse) was to oversee the construction of the tabernacle.
Jesus, on the other hand not only provided the plans of a physical Temple and Tabernacle for the Old Testament faithful, but also is the owner/architect/project manager/engineer/construction manager/contractor/operations supervisor/ maintenance supervisor and building inspector for the spiritual temple we belong to.
There really is no comparison.
As Builder of the House, He is greater than Moses. So much greater!
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.
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.
The passage before us is the set up for the famous chapter telling the story of a young shepherd taking out a giant of an enemy! Even the most unread Christian has heard of the story. It is very familiar to many, but as we venture through, I believe we will see some details and truths that will be a blessing and challenge for us to consider.
48 When the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49 And David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone and slung it and struck the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground.
Ok – Here is where the rubber hits the road! Both of the combatants has had the chance to speak their mind, to try to intimidate their enemy, to correct their adversary, to warn their opponent, but now is when we find out who was simply speaking great swelling words!
David allows the giant to make the first move, to initiate the conflict. Might there be in this little detail the desire of David to come to peaceable terms with the enemy?
Is it not true that the man (or woman) of God is to seek peace, to be a peacemaker? Even in this tiny reference to David allowing Goliath to make the first move, we may see this principle come to light.
It seems to me that Psalm 120:7 typifies the attitude of the godly man.
I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!
One other tidbit that catches my eye, being the procrastinator that I am, is that once the conflict starts, David is all in. The passage speaks of David running quickly to the battle line. He ran to his imminent death, or so it must have appeared to those about him. What a suicide mission! What a fool, for the army of Israel did not understand David. The Philistine army didn’t understand David. The giant didn’t understand David.
The entire world heard a man boast of great things for his God, and then appeared to act on his claims! How audacious! He ran into the face of death, actually believing what he spoke of.
No hesitation, no delay. Time for planning was over, and the time for action was upon him. Too bad for the moment when it appeared he was doomed.
But that is the Christian life, is it not? We are not to walk by sight but by faith. We need to know who our God is, understand His ways, follow His lead and act on it!
I have a friend at work who will review and review, check every option, discuss and coordinate…. I often refer to this condition as paralysis by analysis. My friend, we have no way to know how all the options and possibilities will work out, but we do have the privilege of knowing the One who has all the possibilities worked out and has promised His oversight, even in those times when we sense a failure.
Once the battle begins, once Goliath takes that first step, run to it, not away from it. Whatever the battle entails, go into it with the faith David exhibits here, knowing the God of Israel.
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
Aaron
Repetition of Sacrifice
Leviticus 16:34 And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” And Aaron did as the LORD commanded Moses.
Hebrews 7:27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.
This picture of the Lord in the Old Testament has multiple shadows of His own sacrifice, but for this particular post, let us dwell on the constant repetition of sacrifice.
Although our Old Testament passage speaks of the yearly sacrifice, as in Leviticus 16, describing the Day of Atonement, daily sacrifices were performed as prescribed throughout the Old Testament. Sacrifices that kept the priests busy within the temple grounds, to the point that there was never to be found a chair to rest in.
My son once tried to read the entire Bible in a couple months, and his remarks after getting through Leviticus was that the priest’s worked like butchers in an abattoir. A never ending slaughter of the living to cover over the sins of a nation and it’s people.
Though as we think of this, we must remember that the very consistency of the sacrifices gives evidence of the inability to take care of the sin problem permanently.
As it stood, the practice of continual sacrifice provided the nation an opportunity to approach to the Living God, and allowed them the privilege of being the only people on earth to hear from Him, to begin to understand Him and to experience His direct intervention in their lives.
Yes the sacrifices were a permanent fixture in the relationship the nation of Israel had with the living God, but when compared to our current standing, it pales in comparison.
One sacrifice to permanently provide access to the Living God, to provide the Spirit of God to those who follow, to understand the full revelation of the Lord through the Son of God.
One Sacrifice, permanently and for forever, to the praise of His name!
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.
64
BRINGER OF LIGHT
1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
As I read this verse, I notice a curiosity that had not occurred to me earlier. There is no mention of the quality of the things hidden in the darkness. I automatically assume that anything hidden in the darkness is evil, wicked and sinful. This assumption if valid for many passages in the Word for the association seems clear.
Yet in this passage, when both the hidden things and the purposes of the heart are disclosed, the believer will receive a commendation. Commendations are reserved for those things that are good, and right, and just, even for those things that are lovely true, honorable, pure, commendable, of any excellence, or worthy of praise. Commendations are not dished out for those times when evil actions or thoughts were committed.
I so often think that at the end, when my time comes and I stand before the Lord – actually bowing with my face down – I will hear of my sin and rebellion, how I was a disappointment or a failure, how I could have done better, or that I lost opportunities, or focused on the wrong things.
Our Master is One who will bring to Light the things hidden! My hidden things and thoughts will include those actions fueled by the Spirit in gratitude for His saving love.
After all, He will bring those things to light, revealing the truth of our existence, clarifying even for ourselves the truth of our time with Him.
I am so thankful that we have such a gracious and loving God who will be the Bringer of Light into my life. Consider the goodness of the Bringer of Light for your own life my friend.
We truly have a life we do not deserve!
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
63
BRIGHTNESS OF YOUR RISING
Isaiah 60:3 And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
Isaiah 60 is a chapter describing a new day for the nation, in the midst of a depressing and disheartening situation. The nation was had been over run by the nations, and the people of God had just returned from exile.
The temple had been destroyed, along with the capital city. Some passages in the Old Testament speak of jackals roaming the amongst the streets. A rebuilding effort was on the way, yet enemies from without were threatening any progress they made, little lone their existence.
The times – they were difficult, and discouraging. The few of the faithful that did return, fell into sins, lacked any motivation for the temple, and struggled to come together as a nation under God.
Isaiah has the gall to speak of this nation as being a light to the nations, and that kings would come to the Brightness of their Rising.
Not only that, but Isaiah says they are the only light, for the verse prior, he speaks of darkness covering the earth, and thick darkness over the peoples.
How audacious for Isaiah to “taunt” the people, to “tease” them.
You know, some of my brothers may consider this passage as prophetic of a future time, even a time for us that we have not experienced. This may be true, but I seem to recall a time when this passage would have been appropriate to relate it to.
There was a Rabbi who came to the tiny nation of Israel, who claimed to be the Light. He appeared for the nation when the peoples were in great darkness, and by His actions, exhibited the glory of God. The people of God were indeed insignificant at this time, with only a few who believed. Many were the ones who were in darkness, even to a point of hostility to the One who shone upon them.
Yes they crucified Him, but in that act of violence, the glory of God was fully revealed, and the nations have been flocking to Him, with Kings bowing the knee to His reign.
The Brightness of His Rising is the light of God for all to see.
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.
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.
The passage before us is the set up for the famous chapter telling the story of a young shepherd taking out a giant of an enemy! Even the most unread Christian has heard of the story. It is very familiar to many, but as we venture through, I believe we will see some details and truths that will be a blessing and challenge for us to consider.
41 And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. 42 And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.” 45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand.”
We would do well to remember that warfare during David’s time was completely different than warfare today. These days we do some saber rattling, but for the intent of testing the waters, or to get some allowance from the enemy.
In David’s time the battle was established, and the combatants faced each other, with both men given the opportunity to speak of their battle plans, or at least of their intent in battle. Such is the case in this instance. Goliath, the Philistine speaks first, with derogatory statements, calling David a “dog” and speaking of his fighting methods as “sticks”. After this slight cast upon David, the intelligent Philistine falls to the calling of curses upon David. It is always a sign of weakness when a man (or woman) reverts to cursing. It is as if they have no argument of substance and fall back to simply attacking the person and not the cause.
It is interesting to say the least that when we read that Goliath “cursed” David, the term has roots in meaning to be slighted, or trifling. Goliath, when he cursed David, it was to his person, not his methods, and the cursing brought out Goliaths contempt for David. He considered David of little consequence, of no threat, no significance.
Goliath simply underestimated his enemy, for he made two mistakes.
First he looked at the size of David. This is a common mistake for those who defy God, for God chooses the weak, the insignificant, the unimpressive.
Secondly, he looked at the physical enemy when he should have looked at who David represented! The God of Israel, the One who took on the nation of Egypt and utterly destroyed them, who provided for a nation through the desert travellings, and who established a nation in a foreign land.
Those who do not understand who God is underestimate who they are responsible to. Dear reader – Do you consider Goliath one who ignored the God of the Bible, or was he honestly ignorant of who David represented? Let me know your thoughts in the comments
Planning & Faith
It occurred to me this morning that David was very well prepared for this meeting. Not only did he retrieve his stones at the brook (in full view of the enemy), but was ready with a battle plan, specific to the situation he was facing, with not only the actions he would take, but he would also speak of the purpose of his actions.
David intended to strike Goliath down, and to cut off his head. David would then provide a feast for creation of the bodies of the armies of the Philistines. Ever the overachiever, David was not satisfied with victory over his opponent, but also over his nations enemy. This wasn’t a grudge match in David’s mind – it was much bigger!
David laid out his actions simply and to the point, but the bulk of David’s message to the giant was of his purpose in the battle. The nation of Israel was to have one purpose and David understood this. Israel was to be a shining light for the nations, drawing them to the God of Israel. To draw men, truth has to be understood, and David’s battle would expose to all that the God of the Bible, the God of the nation of Israel is real.
You see – claiming a truth and living a truth may be separate activities for a believer. David was providing evidence that the God of Israel was knowable
1 Samuel 17:46 …that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
David intended one more outcome from this confrontation. Not only would the knowledge of the Lord be provided, but that the knowledge of His ways would also be evident. God saves unconventionally, for our manner of warfare (such as sword or spear, or in our culture, fighter jets or Abrams tanks) is not the way God works.
1 Samuel 17:47 …all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear
It is interesting that David seems to indicate two audiences. First – all the earth would know there is a God in Israel. Secondly – that all this assembly would know of the Lord’s ways, the manner in which He saves.
Is there a knowledge that is reserved for those in the assembly, for those who have come to know the God of Israel, entering into the assembly/congregation? Only upon knowing the God of Israel, can we begin to know of His ways.
As a believer, I entered into the assembly decades ago, and have been learning of His ways ever since. It is good to remember that it is a privilege to enter into the workings of the Lord, to watch His ways and to seek to follow.
Is this not the Lord’s will for each of us to know the God of Israel, the One who came to earth and suffered for us? As we watch Him walking amongst His people, teaching simple (shocking) truths, and serving those who would hurt him, we should come away realizing we have far to go in truly imitating Him.
If you are ignorant of the Lord, reach out to Him. Call on the name of Jesus.
If you know Him, seek His ways, learn of His methods and how He related to those He rubbed shoulders with.
The only thing I ask for you is to not be a Goliath! A seeming winner in the eyes of the world, but in reality, what a looser!
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
Aaron
Dealing with Sins
Leviticus 16:34 And this shall be a statute forever for you, that atonement may be made for the people of Israel once in the year because of all their sins.” And Aaron did as the LORD commanded Moses.
Hebrews 1:3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Whereas Aaron was to make atonement for the people of God, the gospel tells us that we have been provided purification of sins. The general picture of a high priest dealing with the sin problem of the people he represents is the point in this post, yet the differences are worth pointing out in their effectiveness.
To make atonement is to cover over, to pacify. A great physical picture of this term is that the same word was used of the pitch covering the gopher wood in the ark.
Genesis 6:14 Make yourself an ark of gopher wood. Make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside and out with pitch.
A bit later in Genesis, this same term was used to describe Jacob’s hopes in meeting with his brother.
Genesis 32:20 And you shall say, ‘Moreover, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he thought, “I may appease him with the present that goes ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will accept me.”
Of course once the term was used in the sense of sacrifice before God, it took on a far greater importance, but it never lost the idea of covering over.
The sins in the Old Testament, through the sacrificial temple system, were covered over.
Consider the difference when Hebrews 1:3 states that the sins were purified! This term speaks of washing off, a cleansing. This is a totally different response to and result of His sacrifice in dealing with sin!
According to the book of Hebrews, our sins are no longer simply covered over, someday to be revealed again, (as the Hebrew nation expected every 365 days) but the sins Jesus dealt with have been purified!
I can hardly grasp this concept, that our sins have been washed away, and not simply covered over.
Consider the difference and thank the Lord who suffered for you and I, in order to clean and purify us!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.
The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.
The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.
May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.
62
BRIGHTNESS OF THE GLORY OF THE LORD
Ezekiel 10:4 And the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub to the threshold of the house, and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was filled with the brightness of the glory of the LORD.
Ezekiel had the gut wrenching experience of witnessing God leaving His temple in Jerusalem. For a priest to witness this must have been additionally heartbreaking.
My impression is that previous to this exiting, the glory of the Lord, the Shekinah was limited, or somewhat subdued when between the cherub over the mercy seat of the ark. I am in no way diminishing the presence of God, but as Ezekiel continues to write, it seems he describes the court as being filled with the glory of the Lord.
Could it be that God was making a point, that His presence was somehow larger, brighter, greater than previously witnessed? That in His leaving, He was exhibiting in the clearest possible terms, the loss that the nation would experience?
This departure, based on the rejection of the nation, was a precursor to another fatal rejection by the nation of Israel. I would suggest the reader compare Ezekiel’s description of the glory of God’s departure with the rejection of Jesus, leaving the Temple the last time and heading to the cross.
Similarities abound and the greater glory was seen as He left the second time. His compassion for the people, His willingness to suffer for their rebellion, His patient endurance through the mockery.
When you consider Who Jesus Christ is, and the utter ridiculous and hateful treatment of the Son of God by His own creation, it isn’t difficult to see that He is the Brightness of the Glory of the Lord.
He is the Brightness, the Shining, the Light of the Glory of the Lord
I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!
Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.
Considering the Bible 