Pictures of Christ – Considering the Bible

Names of God – GREAT AND AWESOME GOD – 246

2026-01-09

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.

246

GREAT AND AWESOME GOD

Daniel 9:4 I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,

Daniel was a righteous man.

Of all the men in the Old Testament, Daniel shines as a glowing example of a man committed to the God of Israel. To show the status of Daniel in the mind of God, Ezekiel lumps him in with Noah and Job as men of faith, men whose righteousness could not hold back the judgement on Israel.

Ezekiel 14:20
even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, they would deliver neither son nor daughter. They would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness.

Daniel was a righteous man.

But we find Daniel starting to pray in this verse, and our verse this morning is the beginning of a prayer to God that dwells on confession, describing rebellion, sin, wickedness, transgression, disobedience, unfaithfulness, shame, iniquity, and the departing from the Lord by the nation now in captivity.

Daniel provides for us a prayer of confession unlike any in the Word, for he was in the midst of conditions directly resulting from centuries of sinful choices by the nation. He was righteous, but he also was carried away in the judgement, carried away to Babylon.

In this passage, Daniel is identifying with the rebellious nation, taking his place with the people who rejected the Lord. He is such a great picture of the Lord Jesus, in that though He was completely sinless, He came and identified with us!

And he begins his prayer by speaking of the Lord as the Great and Awesome God. In calling God this, Daniel continues by giving us further explanation as to why the Lord should be called by this name.

Our Great and Awesome God is faithful. Daniel speaks of God’s faithfulness to those who have rejected His covenant. To those who have departed from Him. To those who have rejected God.

Now, if you haven’t reacted to this “slip” in my earlier description of Daniels’s prayer, I want to draw your attention to my heresy. Daniel does not speak of our Great and Awesome God keeping covenant with sinners, but with those who keep the covenant, those who love God and keep (or obey) His commands.

Daniel, after describing the faithfulness of God the covenant keeping people, then goes on and describes the people of Israel, (including himself) as an undeserving, sinful and rebellious people. The covenant is for those who obey (Daniel comes to mind). No covenant is referred to here for those who reject God.

This is no small omission, for without the covenant, there is no “legal” responsibility on God’s part to act. God has a covenant with those who obey.

This is a big problem is God was only and always committed to the Sinai covenant, but even though the covenant is broken, smashed by those who promised to keep it, the Person of God has a heart, a love for the people that goes beyond the covenant.

The heart of God is a heart of mercy, of forgiveness, and exemplifies the GREAT AND AWESOME GOD we recognize in the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

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.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Cyrus – 08

2026-01-06

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Cyrus

Man of God’s Counsel

Isaiah 46:11 calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.

NT Passage

Isaiah is in the middle of a passage that is comparing the idols of Babylon with the One True God. He is providing a prophecy of future events, so that when the prophecy is fulfilled in 150 years, the Jewish nation will have another example of the superiority of their God over any and all idols. The people that would see this prophecy come to reality would be the nation in captivity, a people under the thumb of Babylon, seeing the salvation of God coming from a Gentile king.

To understand the verse we are considering this morning, we need to include the previous verse.

Isaiah 46:10-11

declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.

God has a purpose for the nation, and His purpose, or counsel, per verse 10 shall be accomplished. God will accomplish His will for the nation, and He becomes very specific in the manner He will do it!

His first declaration is that He will call a bird from the east. Now it is not uncommon throughout the Old Testament for a king to be referred to as a bird of prey, but for Cyrus this picture is very appropriate. Not only was Cyrus and his armies known for their swiftness of attack, the standard presented by the armies of Persia before military campaigns was also the golden eagle with outstretched wings, mounted on a long spear. Cyrus literally was depicted as a bird of fowl.

But for the term we refer to in our topic this morning, Cyrus was a man of God’s Counsel, a man who would execute God’s will.

Let us not think that God was in counsel with Cyrus, debating the will of God, even considering the manner of execution of His will with the king. No – Cyrus was not a man of God’s counsel in that manner.

God is describing a king who would be God’s instrument in executing His will, a man that would deliver a salvation to the people of God in the midst of their captivity under the Babylonians.

This passage is an amazing prophecy describing God’s will to be accomplished by a Gentile king for a captive people 150 years before it was to be realized. Once Cyrus released the Jews, protected and provided for them as some went back to Jerusalem and the Temple, presents a vivid shadow of the greater Cyrus, the Lord Jesus.

Was Jesus not a man of God’s counsel, and so much more? He was intimately involved in the plans and deliberations for the release, not only of the Jewish people, but for all mankind from the bondage and captivity of sin and death. He was also described for centuries before His arrival, with multiple prophecies describing our Savior, giving us a full and complete picture of the Messiah, so we might not only understand, but marvel at the way the prophecies combined into a multi faceted picture of the Suffering Servant / Reigning King.

He perfectly fulfilled the will of God, executing the Word of God even as it was communicated to Him moment by moment in His communion with the Father .

He is God’s Counsel for us, the Man who far exceeds the shadow provided for us in Cyrus!

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.

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Names of God – GREAT AND AWESOME NAME – 245

2026-01-05

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.

245

GREAT AND AWESOME NAME

Psalm 99:3 Let them praise your great and awesome name!
Holy is he!

We find our verse this morning in a Psalm that highlights the holiness of God, and for a brief moment, before I opened the full psalm, I assumed the “them” in this verse, referred to the nation of Israel, for they were God’s people and they had been privileged to know of His holiness, His “otherness”, His separated status.

I rattle on about this for it was many years that I understood holiness to be principally referring to the sinlessness of God. Now, I do not want to imply that sinlessness is not included in the term “holy”. I just want to confess that I think it describes a much greater concept than simply a negative about God, that He has no sin.

He is without sin, sinless and apart from sin. But for God to be called holy is to describe God as being different, other than what we understand, righteous in a way we may not fully understand, unless we dwell on Jesus, and the manner in which He lived among us.

Jesus was holy, separated from sinners, as the apostle tells us, but we know He lived amongst the worst of sinners, the “dregs” of society, a friend of sinners.

Hebrews 7:26 ESV – For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.

The contrast between our understanding of holiness and how He lived out His holy life often astounds me.

I often think of sin as the Old Testament describes it. If I touch it, it defiles me, and my responsibility is to stay away from all contamination. Haggai describes my understanding in his second chapter

Haggai 2:12 ‘If someone carries holy meat in the fold of his garment and touches with his fold bread or stew or wine or oil or any kind of food, does it become holy?’” The priests answered and said, “No.”
Haggai 2:13 Then Haggai said, “If someone who is unclean by contact with a dead body touches any of these, does it become unclean?” The priests answered and said, “It does become unclean.”

Non Transferable
Holiness does not transfer to items. Any item that is holy is alone holy. Whatever it meant to be holy, to be separate, to be consecrated to the temple, or to the priest, or to God, alone was holy.

Isolated
Holiness was to be protected by isolation. If a sinful person or item touched a holy item, it became unclean.

For many years, I understood that to be holy was to stay away from sin, and by inference, away from sinners, seeking to keep my life pure by isolation. Fat chance at success with this, for it produced a believer that was ineffective, lonely, self righteous and somewhat angry.

But then I started noticing that Jesus drank with sinners, went to parties, touched lepers and forgave adulterous women, raising them up by their unclean, sinful hand. How could He do that, and remain holy, separate from sinners, as Hebrew speaks?

As a follower, does this example of Jesus’ holy life amongst sinners allow me to go out drinking and partying? For some believers, this may be allowed, but due to my past, my running from God in my youth, my teenage alcoholism and previous drug habits, I knew I had to refrain from certain activities to avoid temptation. Eventually my thinking morphed and I thought my abstinence from those who partook was my holiness. How little I understood!

Everything turned upside down when Jesus arrived, for when a sinful person touched Him, power was transferred from Him to the sinful person. Forgiveness and healing, illumination and understanding flowed from Him. His was a life of non-isolation, of being in the midst of all who welcomed Him, and even amongst those who hated Him. He was simply put – unbelievable!

I realize I have focused on the holiness of God in this post, but so many thoughts were flooding my mind of how Great and Awesome Jesus, in His life amongst us, actually was. His holiness, His “otherness” is so foreign to my standard thinking of God that when I am caught in the conflict between my thinking and His message, I tend to blurt out the praise I have for Him, weak as it is.

May we praise the Great and Awesome name of Jesus, for He is Holy. He is so different from us and He calls us to a holy life, a different life than we are living. A life of change and growth, a life of holiness amongst the hurting and the sinful.

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.

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Names of God – GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL – 244

2026-01-02

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.

244

GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL

2 Chronicles 30:9 For if you return to the LORD, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.”

Our passage this morning is found in the middle of King Hezekiah’s preparation for the first Passover the nation would enter since Joshua. Shocking, for even King David did not celebrate the Passover.

Nevertheless, this Passover was marked by a number of special situations.

First off, King Hezekiah, in his desire to celebrate the Passover, allowed this celebration to be performed a month late. The Temple had just been cleansed and the priests were in need to be sanctified. The people of the north were invited and time was required for cleansing and travel to occur.

This was an allowance provided in the law found in Numbers 9:6-11.

Secondly, the temple had been closed by Hezekiah’s father, King Ahaz for 16 years. This about face by Hezekiah was a bold stance of faith for this young king, for he may have been as young as twenty-five years old as he ascended the throne of Judah.

Thirdly, Hezekiah invites the northern tribes. This is an astounding request, for the northern tribes had been conquered years before Hezekiah ascended the throne. To invite the northern tribes could have been interpreted by the reigning Assyrians as an effort to reconsolidate the nation of Israel as the original twelve tribes.

Definitely a risky move, but one that showed Hezekiah’s desire to celebrate the Passover properly!

And this is the context of our verse. Hezekiah is calling out to the northern tribes, pleading with them to return to the Lord, to celebrate the Passover and to recommit to the covenant they had abandoned. Though they had been overtaken by foreigners, a proof that they had abandoned the Lord according to Deuteronomy 28:25 passage, mercy and grace was available to them, for the Lord their God is a gracious and merciful God.

Did they return? A few did, but sadly, the majority of the northern tribes remained conquered.

It is interesting that the message spoke of both mercy and grace. Both terms are used exclusively of God, and are combined a few times in the Old Testament, revealing the character of our God as we know Him in the Lord Jesus.

He truly is gracious and merciful to His people and as we recognize His grace and mercy towards us, we will be drawn to honor Him in our lives, returning to Him as we wander, and seeking to celebrate His goodness in our lives.

He is our gracious and merciful 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.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Cyrus – 07

2025-12-30

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Cyrus

Loved of God

Isaiah 48:14 “Assemble, all of you, and listen! Who among them has declared these things? The LORD loves him; he shall perform his purpose on Babylon, and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans.

John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

I had never considered the subject of this passage prior to considering the Cyrus the King of Media Persia. Who is the Lord referring to when He calls the nation of Israel to assemble and to listen. The context of the following verses speaks of this one as being against the Chaldeans, and that he will do His pleasure on Babylon. Though it is without a doubt God Himself that will bring about the downfall of Babylon, He has an instrument on the earth that will fulfill His will.

In this case, Isaiah speaks of Cyrus, 150 years in the future, who will march on Babylon, conquer Babylon, free the Israelites and provide safety and allowance for provisions to enable the reconstruction of the Temple.

Isaiah could simply describe Cyrus as a tool in the hand of God, a device of destruction on the Chaldeans, an instrument on earth to direct and use! After all is said and done, the Lord is over all, and he controls the heart of the king.

Proverbs 21:1 The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.

Remember that Isaiah is referring to a king, a Gentile king, a king that will conquer nations, consolidating an empire.

But Isaiah speaks of the Lord loving him. Now I am not convinced this love refers to any response of the Lord to the actions of war that Cyrus lead, various idolatries he entered into, or of Cyrus’ moral perfections.

Isaiah simply states “The Lord loves him”.

In my mind, weak as it is, this speaks of the uncaused love of God toward each of us, it is a shadow of the universal love of God for all mankind. It is the love of God described for a man centuries prior to his being on earth.

Of course, it is easy to see this reference to the love of God for Cyrus as a shadow of the love of God for the Greater Cyrus, the Lord Jesus and of His fulfilling the will of God while He was on earth.

Jesus was loved of God, without hesitation and without disturbance, without any break in deep fellowship between the Father and the Son.

Except when the love of God was taken from Jesus in order for the love of God to be opened fully to us mere humans, fallen creatures that had no hope. The love of God has been proven to each of us by the cross and the resurrection. He went without the Father while on the cross so that we need never be without the love of God.

May we rest in that truth, and forever understand the extent of the love 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.

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Names of God – GRACIOUS GOD – 243

2025-12-29

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.

243

GRACIOUS GOD

Jonah 4:2 And he prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

Our God is a Gracious God. He is the same God Jonah knew, but for one experience. Jonah did not quite know the depth of grace we as believers may experience by living after the appearance of Jesus.

But the human heart hasn’t changed, for as Jonah confessed the truth of the very character of our Gracious God, we also teach, sing and confess of the graciousness of our God.

As Jonah knew of the Graciousness of God and feared the results, we too know of His Graciousness and fear the potential result.

How often have I halted, hesitated or avoided speaking to my neighbor or an acquaintance due to the same reason Jonah expressed here.

Fear of persecution?

Is it fear of persecution? I dare say this is not Jonah’s complaint, for he doesn’t address the recipients reaction to the message.

Upset of Normality

Is it a desire to maintain a status quo? I think that may be some of the concern Jonah has, since he was a part of the inner group, and he was sent to a group that was outside. Many the infusion of acceptance of the outer group would dilute the specialness of the inner group? Evan as I write that, it seems to be foolish, but how often have I witnessed this?

As my wife and I attended a well established church years ago we had a few friends come visit the service. They were energetic, unconventional and to say the least unorthodox due to the newness of their association with church. The church was small, and as I mentioned, well established. If I remember right, they actually sat in someone’s pew seat! (Don’t they understand Jesus died for that saint to sit in that pew seat?).

To say the least, the friends, after a few visits, decided not to return. And status quo was maintained!

Injustice

Is it a sense of injustice? Ta-daaa! That is the ringer folks, for as we glory in the forgiveness we have been freely granted, we tend to want to see justice fall on others.

We sometimes dress this thinking up with terms like righteousness and holiness, with our desire to express the need for justice to be inflicted on “our enemies”, but somehow that defeats the very word of the Master when He challenged us to live as He did.

Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.

For grace to be realized in life, a sense of injustice has to first be accepted in our own lives, but then we also have to allow this to be offered and experienced in the lives of others.

As an aside, as I have considered the idea of universal salvation (through Jesus alone, for He is the only Savior), I have had many in the church rebut me with the very argument of injustice. That would be unfair they say. I have heard believers state that “they deserve” to burn in hell. So loving!

Why do we as believers in our Gracious God hesitate to consider the Graciousness of God from beyond our own understanding?

As a thought experiment, consider the days prior to the Lord’s appearance. Many, if not all in Israel never anticipated such an explosion of faith when He appeared, or the rapid spread of the the church outside the boundaries of the land of Israel, beyond the bloodline of Abraham. Many sought to restrict the growth, keep it within the inner group, and maintain a status quo. But the real stumbling block was the open, graciously free invitation to all. That was simply unacceptable. The graciousness of God was too much!

He is the same Gracious God, who surprised the Jews of Jesus day. May He surprise us in our daily lives, and may we be open to the work of God, rejecting our self centered desire for justice, and reveling in the Gracious God we love and honor!

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.

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Names of God – GRACE OF GOD – 242

2025-12-26

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.

242

GRACE OF GOD

Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,

It may not be the most accurate of understandings, but as I grew in the Lord, and read this passage, I found that I couldn’t help but replace “grace of God” in this verse with Jesus.

After all, He has appeared, in all His glory and grace, exhibiting the beauty of holiness as He rubbed shoulders with sinners, and the righteousness of the Law as He knelt down before that woman’s accusers.

He is in all ways, and from every standpoint, the grace of God, having appeared to a small group of people for a short time, but due to His victory over sin and death, having walked out of the grave, has been with us forever through His Spirit.

I am so thankful that the grace of God is bringing salvation to most people, and that His victory will have some effect on His creation.

Of course I am being somewhat sarcastic, for the passage speaks of bringing salvation for all people. Many within the church would state that the intent of the passage is that Jesus made salvation possible, but for salvation to be realized, the faith of the hearer has to be exercised!

Amen and amen. This is the message of the grace of God, and yet if I understand the teaching of a universal salvation, all will come to Jesus at some point, either prior to death, or in the fires of judgement.

We seek the prior to death option!

Paul may have been concerned that those who interpreted this statement of “bringing salvation to all men” in the universal sense may have concluded that there was no need to fight against sin and ungodliness! This was unacceptable in Paul’s mind, for it produced an understanding of the grace of God as simply a license to sin.

Unacceptable.

The grace of God, understood properly as per Paul’s teaching has much to say regarding training and waiting under the tutelage of Jesus, the Grace of God Himself.

Titus 2:12-13 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Paul may have taught of salvation brought for all, but this teaching does not provide an opportunity for license to sin, but is the greater motivation to live soberly, upright and godly lives, for we shall see Him, the Grace of God, our God and Savior Jesus Christ.

However you understand this topic, may God bless you, and keep you and continue to reveal the Grace of God, Jesus Christ in your life!

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Cyrus – 06

2025-12-23

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Cyrus

Undefeatable

Isaiah 41:2 Who stirred up one from the east whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him, so that he tramples kings underfoot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow.
Isaiah 41:25 I stirred up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name; he shall trample on rulers as on mortar, as the potter treads clay.

Luke 9:51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

This passage in Isaiah 42 is generally accepted as referring to Cyrus, though it seems per the verses supplied, there were two subjects “stirred” up. One from the north and one from the east.

Many explanations have been provided, with Cyrus birth being from the east, and his approach toward Israel being from the north. Even within the second verse, his origin speaks of the east, in that he has come from the rising sun.

Besides this minor discussion on the subject of who is being stirred up, it is apparent that once he is stirred up, nothing will stop him. Isaiah belabors the point that this one who is advancing on Babylon has left all other countries conquered. He continues in verse 25, on the topic of this victorious one who shall “shall upon my name”.

Though Cyrus is being referred to here, and though his victories consisted of physical domination, the picture we look back on is of one who is undefeatable, unstoppable, and without equal in his day.

Is this not the same vision of the One who could not be stopped in bringing the kingdom of God to His people? Even to those who had openly rejected His teaching, and His person, He would not retreat from His mission

Luke 9:51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.

Nothing stood in His way, and having entered the valley of death that day, He continued to His expected end, with dominion over His enemies being completely secured as the stone rolled away.

Cyrus, great warrior and king that he was, was simply a reflection, a faint shadow of the One who was unstoppable in His pursuit to defeat the evil one, the world order and our own stubbornness.

May His name be lifted up!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Names of God – GOOD TEACHER – 241

2025-12-22

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

241

GOOD TEACHER

Mark 10:17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

In all the ancient writings, through all the volumes of commentaries written by the ancient rabbis’ and within all the Old Testament Scriptures, no teacher, prophet, king or priest was ever called “Good Teacher”.

No teacher, prophet, king or priest in Israel would accept this title if offered to them. The rabbi’s throughout ages taught that to claim this name was equivalent to accepting the identity of God Himself.

But then the Good Teacher walked the earth.

And when a man came to Jesus, calling Him “Good Teacher”, this must have created a stir in the surrounding audience. Surely this young prophet teacher would deny any association with this title.

But Jesus didn’t refuse the name, for how could He refuse a name that was commonly accepted as belonging to deity and still be the Truth. What He did do though, was to dig into what this young man understood when he called Him that. Ever the Teacher, Jesus is the proverbial questioner, the One who could teach perfectly by asking the right question and letting it sit.

As an aside, it has been rightly said that the longest sermon Jesus ever preached, or at least that has been recorded was the Sermon on the Mount, in the gospel of Matthew. There is some who think Matthew compiled many of Jesus teachings into this one sermon, but let us assume He spoke this message completely at one time. If so, the entire sermon as written spanned up to 15 minutes. I suppose the point I am making is that He cut to the quick, He got to the point, He did not loose focus.

As I did just there with that aside. (I am horrible with chasing rabbit trails!) Nevertheless, Jesus was the Good Teacher, and He accepted that title, moving on help this man consider what he really was saying.

Are you calling Me God young man? Is that what you are doing, and if so, do you realize the implications of that statement? If I am God, (as you say), the God of the Old Testament, what you must do to “inherit eternal life” is already provided to you. The God of the Old Testament, (that is who you speak to), has provided the Law for your instruction. But in case you do not remember the Law, I, the God of the Old Testament, will remind you.

Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”

Another thing (that might be an aside, – remember – I am horrible with asides/rabbit trails -) is that Jesus worked with this man, not only digging to find out what he understood, but then when challenging him, provided him as much assistance as possible. As much assistance as possible, for Jesus left off one of the last 6 commandments, knowing the young man had a struggle with a certain issue.

Jesus sought out this young man, with the passage speaking of Him loving the man, and in Luke, we find he was not simply a random man as Mark records, but a ruler, a man of position and wealth.

Luke 18:18-19 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

And the one commandment that Jesus left off was that cantankerous covetousness commandment, for this was the very commandment that obviously was not kept by this young man. Note that Jesus didn’t simply quote out the missing command found in Exodus 20:17.

Exodus 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”

Jesus taught this man, along with all His followers, the positive side of the coveting command. Jesus opened up the commandment found in Exodus in an amazing way, showing the young man the depth of law keeping required to fully obey the God of the Old Testament.

Mark 10:21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Jesus is the Good Teacher, and if He can open up a young rich rulers heart with a few questions and prodding, we should expect the same. But with all teachers, the students need to be listening.

Has He, the Good Teacher, the God of the Old and New Testament asked you any questions lately, prodded you regarding a choice you made, or reinterpreted a passage to mean much more than first imagined?

Have you been able to hear Him?

After all, He is the Good Teacher, and Good Teachers love to teach!

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Names of God – GOOD SHEPHERD – 240

2025-12-19

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

240

GOOD SHEPHERD

John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
John 10:14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,

In my search for passages or verses that have this distinct Name of God, I retrieved only two. I was sure the Old Testament had much to say about shepherding, about God’s Shepherd and what the Good Shepherd was like.

The reason I was so sure of myself is because five years ago, I tripped over Ezekiel 34:2-4, where the Lord, through the prophet Ezekiel, exposed the shepherds of Israel, described their sin and proclaimed judgement on them. These shepherds abused, stole, killed and abandoned their sheep.

The passage spoke to me, and I found that the very characteristics of the “bad” shepherds of yesteryear were parallel to the “bad” shepherds of today. Not only that, but the points the Lord brought up describing the “bad” shepherds were rallying points for my understanding what a good shepherd actually may be described as.

If this topic interests you, consider the nine posts on this topic, beginning with Ezekiel 34 – Introduction -1

Nevertheless, the Shepherd to be sent by God, found after Ezekiel’s pronouncement of judgement on the “bad” shepherds, was that God Himself would search for His sheep, seeking them out.

Ezekiel 34:11 ESV – “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.

This is such a great summary of the nature of the Good Shepherd, and of the person of the Good Shepherd. God Himself is the Good Shepherd, and He will search and seek. By teaching His disciples He was their Shepherd, Ezekiel 34 may have been brought to the minds of the hearers.

Yet Jesus didn’t simply say He was their Shepherd, but that He was the Good Shepherd, and that He would be a giving Shepherd to His sheep, unlike those in Ezekiel. Beyond that, He would know His sheep, and His sheep would know Him. This is relationship, and not simply sone designated shepherd ruling over sheep for personal gain, as Ezekiel had described.

As a matter of fact, interspersed in the John passage, Jesus speaks of “bad” shepherds, but is blunt, renaming them as thieves and robbers. These thieves and robbers have the same characteristics as the “bad” shepherds in Ezekiel 34.

My friends, there is a competition for being your shepherd. There are many “shepherds” out there that would love to take advantage of you, take from you, abuse you and then ignore you, marketing your soul like a commodity.

Or there is the Good Shepherd, whom you can know, and who has proven His extreme love for each of us through His willing, intentional suffering and death.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Will you follow Him instead of your sin, taking on His yoke and obeying His leading?

Trust and obey – for there is no other way!

It is a choice you can make even now.

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Cyrus – 05

2025-12-16

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Cyrus

Temple Builder

Ezra 6:3 In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king issued a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be rebuilt, the place where sacrifices were offered, and let its foundations be retained. Its height shall be sixty cubits and its breadth sixty cubits,

John 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

Unexpected, to say the least, for a Gentile King to be involved in the development and construction of the temple of the God of Israel. Consider the passage provided, for it appears this Gentile foreign king is directing even the dimensions of the temple!

Unexpected to say the least, but note that Cyrus is actually be restricted from access to the temple, even as he is the principle human force directing the Jews back to the land to build the temple.

I am reminded of the injunctions of a prophet giving restrictions for foreigners entering the second temple. Ezekiel, when describing the temple to be built after the captivity, which Cyrus had been called by God to complete, spoke of the exclusion of foreigners from the temple.

Ezekiel 44:9 ESV – “Thus says the Lord GOD: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary.

But Carl, this restriction is for worship, and we know that Cyrus didn’t even know the Lord, little less seek to enter the temple for worhip

Isaiah 45:4 … I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me. 5 …I equip you, though you do not know me,

I get it. These might be two completely different topics, one the restriction of foreigners from the temple in relation to worship, and the other being the use of foreigners for the construction of the temple.

There is precedent for foreigners working on the Temple of God. David prepares for the construction of the Temple by requesting (not simply allowing) foreigners to prepare stones for the Temple.

1 Chronicles 22:2 ESV – David commanded to gather together the resident aliens who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to prepare dressed stones for building the house of God.

Ok, so foreigners were not allowed to worship unless under God provided restrictions as Ezekiel describes – foreigners were to be circumcised in heart and flesh. Yet foreigners were used in the construction of the temple, as David did and as is evident in God using Cyrus for the second temple.

Two topics, but both support the imagery provided by Cyrus in showing us a picture of the True Temple Builder, Jesus Christ. First, let’s consider Jesus as a foreigner to Israel, an unexpected Temple Builder

John 1:11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

Jesus, viewed as a foreigner by the nation, for they did not accept Him, is also the Temple Builder of the True House of God.

Cyrus, as the Temple Builder provides us a picture of the true Temple Builder being from outside of Jewish expectations.

Now before some may ask about Jesus declaration that Salvation is of the Jews, as Jesus affirmed in John 4, this typology takes nothing away from the fact of Jesus being of the bloodline of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The temple records, now destroyed, gave ample proof that Jesus was “of the blood” to be Monarch over Israel, with the New Testament gospels recording His lineage. He, that is Salvation Himself is of the Jews!

As a short aside, note that no Messiah could claim kingly lineage after 70 AD due to the destruction of the records with the Temple falling! There can be no legitimate claim to Messiahship in our day.

Jesus is our Temple Builder, a foreigner to many in Israel, even to this day. Until each heart has the veil taken away, as discussed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 3, Jesus is considered less than the truth, less than the True Temple Builder, less than the Master of the House of God by all of Israel.

But praise God, Jesus has also chosen foreigners to cut stones for His true temple. No that is not correct, for He has gone one step further, and invited foreigners to join in the construction of His Temple by becoming stones, living stones.

1 Peter 2:5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house…

Yes Jesus is the Temple Builder, and so much more!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Names of God – GOOD – 239

2025-12-15

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

239

GOOD

1 Peter 2:3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

There are a few times in the Word when the message of God’s nature and being is simply stated. A short list is provided to remind my reader of a few of these short, succinct statements

“God is love” 1 John 4:8
“God is great” Ps 70:4
“God is holy” Psalm 99
“God is righteous” Daniel 9:19
“God is true” John 3:33
“God is one” Romans 3:30
“God is faithful” 1Corinthians 1:9

But for our time this morning, consider Peter, as he is writing to the diaspora, the scattered church, a church that was entering a cleansing persecution, and he speaks of the Lord as good.

Remember now, Peter is writing an epistle on the topic of suffering, and he has the audacity to say that the Lord is good.
It might be reasoned that it is due to the believers faith in Jesus that the persecution will fall on them, and Peter describes God as being good. Might it have been better for Peter to describe God as being a Savior, or a mighty Fortress, or a Rock. No – Peter focuses on the Lord being good.

So what is Peter trying to communicate to these believers who may already have suffered much for their faith, and will likely face more trials, more problems, more temptations to give up.

Is Peter describing God as good in an ethical sense, a God who acts in conformance to a set of standards. I think not for God is the standard.

Or when he speaks of God being good, might he be describing God as simply “not bad”? This also does not make any sense, and would be of no comfort of challenge for his audience.

Might it be that Peter is describing God as benign, good to the point of being of no threat, that God is only good, and this goodness is almost likened to niceness. Now we know that being nice is not God’s nature nor is it ever commanded, nor even suggested for a Christian to be nice – See Love Like Jesus – Kindness for a short study if this interests you)

So when Peter is telling beleagured believers, suffering saints that the Lord is good, what is the point?

Peter uses the Greek word chrēstós, and the root meaning is to be useful, profitable or fit for use. As the word changes over time, it became associated with pleasantness, and kindness, even graciousness.

Jesus used this word once when referring to His yoke, in that it was chrēstós.

Matthew 11:30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Another time, Jesus spoke of God as chrēstós, being kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

As you can see, to nail this term down to one specific meaning is difficult, as least for me, but I will suggest that Peter’s intent, at least by using this term to describe the Lord, is to encourage the saints. Peter is telling them that He is One who is pleasant to know, as opposed to those who persecute, and that He is a useful God to know, since He is a saving God, who has exhibited His care for His people through suffering. He gets it, for He has entered suffering, experientially knows the fear, the dread and the pain.

Yes, the Lord is good, and He is good to all!

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Names of God – GOD WHO SHOWS ME STEADFAST LOVE – 238

2025-12-12

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

238

GOD WHO SHOWS ME STEADFAST LOVE

Psalm 59:17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.

Lets take a moment to remember the psalm we are in this morning.

Psalm 59 is a psalm of David, as he was being hunted down by the government in power, by his own king. King Saul has sent assassins into the city that David is hiding out in, looking for an opportunity to kill him before the sun rises.

1 Samuel 19:11-12
Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped.

Not many of us have been in the same plight. Having the government focus in one man’s life is a daunting prospect, and in this psalm, David describes what he faces.

Psalm 59:3
For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD

This is the beginning of Saul’s open persecution of his son in law David. Yes he had been laying traps for David, and seeking his destruction prior to this, but now Saul is marshalling the troops, bringing in specialized commandos that are on assignment to take David down.

The kicker in all of this is that David speaks of the God who shows him steadfast love. He is being hunted down by the most powerful and influential man in his nation, fueled by jealousy and animated by an evil spirit, and David has the audacity to speak of God who shows him steadfast love.

Now, for my own thinking, I had to understand the term “steadfast love” a bit better, and as I researched it, I found it is the Hebrew term חֶסֶד cheçed, and it speaks of mercy, goodness and favor.

That still doesn’t seem to help me, for David, due to the call of God on his life, is being hunted down by his king. He is facing death, and yet speaks of steadfast love, of kindness and mercy, of the goodness of God being shown to him. How does that compute?

Okay – I’m thinking that maybe David wrote this portion after he had escaped, and that may be the case, but it still doesn’t take away from the fact that David must have realized that Saul would not simple give up. This effort of Saul’s was simply the beginning of a mission that would end up with David’s head on a platter in front of Saul.

So with David speaking of God as the GOD WHO SHOWS ME STEADFAST LOVE, the context is a continual, life threatening experience. The beginning of a period in David’s life of being hunted down by professionals, of losing all the benefits and blessings in his life, a period of disruption, isolation, rejection and abandonment.

Let us not diminish David’s circumstance here. The natural man in me is thinking that David’s circumstances are directly related to the call of God on his life. The temptation to blame God for this plight would be incredible. Such an easy thought to accept.

But consider. Let us remember that God up to this point had been David’s Savior in many battles, even as a young teenager fighting wild animals. David was no stranger to conflict, to danger or to seemingly risky situations. He had experienced God’s saving work in very practical ways. He knew experientially of his God’s saving work, and he foresaw that his God would fulfill His word to him, though it be though trial.

His Son also faced the threat of death many times, and finally, and as the Word attests, willingly entered into death for our sake.

David expressed his faith by speaking of the GOD WHO SHOWS ME STEADFAST LOVE in the context of a life and death matter. Jesus though, experienced the terror of the judgement of God on His life, and willingly suffered the judgement of God on the cross for my sin.

On top of all that, He was the ultimate truth of David’s claim we read in the 3rd verse of Psalm 59.

For behold, they lie in wait for my life; fierce men stir up strife against me. For no transgression or sin of mine, O LORD

Jesus was the innocent One that was slain. No, that is wrong. He was the Righteous One that was hunted down, condemned and murdered.

David lived under the threat of death. Jesus willingly entered into death. David spoke of his innocence. Jesus lived a righteous life.

My friend, as we walk with the Lord, we also will have many challenges that may shock us, that may knock us off balance and may initially discourage us. In the very midst of the trial, remember His past faithfulness in your life. He constantly shows us mercy and steadfast love!

Look to the One who faced every threat, even death itself, and in the end, fully experienced the GOD WHO SHOWS ME STEADFAST LOVE. For God brought Him out of the grave, and He is the King.

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Cyrus – 04

2025-12-09

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Cyrus

Liberator by Peace

Ezra 1:3,4 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel–he is the God who is in Jerusalem.
And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold

Ephesians 2:14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

Cyrus may have been the only human regent in history that conquered a capital city without bloodshed.

Now I don’t want to imply that Cyrus did not lead a powerful army, or that he was reluctant to unleash it’s forces for the sake of the advancement of his cause, but as he approached the capital city of Babylon on his march to world domination, he eventually took a different approach.

Cyrus conquered the city, and consequently the empire of Babylon, by stealth. History has recorded that as he approached the city of Babylon, it became obvious that the walls of the city were indomitable, and that the city was fully ready for a siege if required. Although a conventional siege commenced, it was to Cyrus’ credit that he sought other means of conquering the city.

The strength of the city of Babylon, amongst many of its wonders, was the river Euphrates that flowed under the walls and through the city. This river provided a source of life for the inhabitants, but it also provided an unconventional access point for the enemy.

My understanding is that Cyrus sent his armies to both the entrance and exit of the river from under the city walls. Upstream, Cyrus reduced the flow of the water by blocking and/or diverting the flow from the main channel. At the exit of the river, his armies dug out a marsh and formed a lake area, large enough to accept much of the flow from the reduced river. Upon opening a canal to the man made lake, the lowered river flow was further reduced and allowed for the Persian army to enter the capital city, conquering the nation of Babylon.

In this monumental conquering of a world empire, Cyrus performed a miraculous feat. By shear genius and stealth, Cyrus added to his empire the extent of the Babylonian kingdom. This kingdom just so happened to contain a small people group known as the Jews.

Though it is not known how Cyrus understood his mission from God – was it Daniel that provided the scroll of Isaiah 45 for him as he began his rule – he liberated the Jew in a famous declaration found in Ezra 1.

Ezra 1:2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Ezra 1:3 Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel–he is the God who is in Jerusalem.
Ezra 1:4 And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”

Note a few details of this declaration of Cyrus.

Let him go up to Jerusalem

Cyrus provided the Jewish people the freedom to leave or to stay. There was no compulsion on his end towards the Jewish population in returning to Jerusalem. It is so refreshing to see that Cyrus understood the importance of a willing heart in the completion of God’s will.

Do you really want to go back to Jerusalem? If you want to, you have the freedom to. Go ahead….

Is it not also the case in relation to the Messiah.

Mark 4:9 … “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

It is as if the Messiah was offering those who heard His message (the parable of the Sower in this case) the chance to “hear His message”!

Do you really want to hear His message? If you want to, you have the freedom to. Go ahead and let the message pierce that ol’ heart!

May his God be with him

Cyrus pronounced a blessing on the people as they went forward to rebuild the temple. It is interesting that the blessing was conferred on those whose desire matched the mission, but this is always the case when we think of the Lord’s work.

Jesus also provided the blessing of God, but not only as a verbal pronouncement, but by the literal giving of His life to become the One in whom we find all blessings.

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

Let each survivor .. be assisted

This added effort on the part of Cyrus seems over the top and is further confirmation in my thinking that Cyrus is a clear type of the Messiah. Even as Cyrus provides the opportunity of liberty to those in captivity, and even as he pronounces a blessing on them as they depart, he goes one step further and directs for the nation as a whole to support this monumentous effort of rebuilding the temple.

It is not only those willing to take on the challenge of traversing thousands of miles back to a destroyed land to rebuild the temple to the Living God, but those who stayed behind, for whatever reason, were to support the work of those in Jerusalem.

Does this not speak out the continuing method of accomplishing God’s work, of building God’s kingdom through the varied efforts of those in the kingdom? Who knows the spiritual life condition of those who chose to stay, but they were to be involved in the effort, and Cyrus acknowledges this truth.

It seems obvious that this Gentile king continues to exhibit characteristics (faint though they may be) of the character of the Messiah that we can all admire.

Cyrus may have had alternate motives, or unknown pressures requiring him to provide these advantageous circumstances for the Jewish nation. Not so with the Lord Jesus, for we can confidently say that He had one motive, and was not pressured into any decision other than that which the Father determined for His life.

His mission was simple, direct and massive. His death for our life. Resurrection for our justification. Continual, everlasting life to provide peace for those He conquers, for those whom He liberates to enter a kingdom of peace.

May His name be lifted up!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Names of God – GOD WHO NEVER LIES – 237

2025-12-08

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

237

GOD WHO NEVER LIES

Titus 1:2 in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began

Paul, is writing to his disciple Titus, as he seeks to instruct him in the oversight of believers in a local area. The local area Titus ministered in was the island of Crete, off the coast of Greece.

In order to lay a foundation for the instruction to be provided ahead by the apostle Paul, Titus is informed of the type of God he is serving on the isle of Crete. It is instructive to note that Paul describes those Titus ministers to as liars.

Titus 1:12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.”

The Cretans are self confessed liars. A people group known for being liars, deceptive, untruthful.

This brings up an interesting observation, in that every culture, or social group, there tends to be at least one predominant social weakness, a sin that permeates and is accepted by the group. For the people Titus ministered to, one of these acceptable social sins was the act of lying.

Now I don’t know about you, but when I think of a social acceptance of lying as a sin, it must be very destructive to the social order. Trust cannot be granted, relationships are always fragile, and commitments end up in courts.

Of course, lies have a wide range of descriptions ranging from equivocations, through exaggerations, understatements, concealments, deliberate lies and felony level lies.

Also, we often think of lies as directed outwards, but many times, to our own hurt always, we find ourselves lying to ourselves.

1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Before we proceed with the verse above though, one additional aspect of lying should be considered, and it is related to lying to oneself.

James 1:23 -24 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

To forget the type of people we are is a deception we allow in our lives.

It is to our wisdom that we are to continually realize the tremendous power and influence deception has in our own lives. It is easy to point a finger at a people group 2,000 years ago, on an island south of Greece, but at the very least, they had a poet that provided a self condemnation for their group acceptance of lying.

Do we (as believers in the Messiah) have anyone in our lives reminding us of our base nature, our deceptive self that turns from truth? Relationships, that is deep relationships which provide opportunities for confrontation, and subsequent confession are few and far between for many believers.

I myself find that it is much easier to listen to a preacher for 30 minutes, even in the car or late at night as I am falling asleep, than to look a dear friend in the eye and lie. To be engulfed in a lying lifestyle is to be alone, to separate yourself from others in order to continue in self deceit.

For Titus, he was in the midst of liars. Liars throughout the island. Titus was commissioned to find men who exemplify the life of the believer, the mature Christian man that would provide guidance and oversight for Christians in the church. Men who could be trusted, that would mirror the character of the Messiah, Who was the full embodiment of all truth, with no deception whatsoever. He is the source of truth!

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

At no time can a valid claim be made that God has varied in His nature or message, He is the truth! For Titus, this led to a massive challenge. Jesus’ representatives are to be of the same nature, and of the same character, and Titus had a pool of liars to choose from.

Of course, as Titus sought men of truth, he would find success, for the Lord changes liars into men of character, deceivers into men seeking the God of truth. On his own, Titus was provided a challenge that could not be met, but because he was serving the God who never lies, he will find his elders, and God continues to this day, changing deceivers into those who declare the truth!

To return to the context of this letter to Titus, Paul does remind him that though he was to find elders, men of integrity and seeking the truth, he also had a secondary assignment that was strengthened by Paul’s reference to our God as One who never lies. Since the island was full of liars, some who had not trusted in the Messiah remained in the cesspool of deception, and fought to stay there, continuing in their deception and being an active and destructive force in the church.

Titus, based on the truth that the God who never lies is commissioning him in his ministry amongst liars, has a twofold call to duty. Find truthful men through the work of God in their lives, and confront the liars.

Not to simply confront liars, but he was to silence liars!

A great example of this very action can be seen in the gospel. Jesus was being challenged in His teaching with questions one after another, and by the Wisdom of God, He provided rebuke and response that silenced his detractors. The 14th chapter of Mark is a fantastic retelling of how the Lord responded to deceivers with simple truth, and describes the unwillingness of the liars to continue attacking.

Mark 12:34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

He was awesome while on earth, and He is the same God today. As we follow, we also have the call to silence those who oppose the gospel, and this call will not be without struggle, but as we seek to silence those who oppose the truth, it is critical that we remember that we serve the God who never lies!

He can be trusted wholeheartedly and His message is the truth, for He is the God Who Never Lies!

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Names of God – GOD THAT MADE THE WORLD AND EVERYTHING IN IT – 236

2025-12-05

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

236

GOD THAT MADE THE WORLD AND EVERYTHING IN IT

Acts 17:24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,

A Christian and a evolutionist got together one day and began chatting about the beginning of creation.

The evolutionist made a bold claim, stating that science has actually created life in the lab. The Christian could not believe this statement and challenged the evolutionist to duplicate the miracle of creation we read about in the book of Genesis.

In an act of sheer pride, the evolutionist went on to accept this challenge and stated he would bring back evidence of life after a time in the lab. He would replicate the experiment he had spoken of, taking hydrogen and energy, and produce life.

With this bold claim, the Christian clarified the challenge. The evolutionist was to create life out of nothing, not simply rearrange and/or manipulate God’s creation.

I often think of this story when I consider the creation of the world, and everything in it. All that we see, feel, and sense in our lives, even our lives, is the result of God initially creating the cosmos out of nothing. To go further, things we cannot see, that is the building blocks of all matter was created by the Lord God. Atoms, quarks and protons all created out of nothing. Also, things we cannot see that is beyond the limits of our reach, beyond the furthest satellite and space probe was created out of nothing.

There are some in this age that think because they have studied matter, and may understand a process of nature, have actually explained away the need for God in understanding this world. This is sheer poppycock, for as the scientist delves deeper into the study of creation, the evolutionist continues to loose ground in his supposed logical rejection of a God.

Paul, as he addresses those of Athens, those who side with the evolutionist, was not shy in declaring the God we serve as the God that made the world and everything in it. In declaring God as the creator, he left no stone unturned for the Athenian to make excuse. He could not say that this God Paul preached simply rearranged preexisting matter into this world, that maybe God relied on material He found elsewhere.

God made everything is a stunning statement, declaring to a group of philosophers a truth that needed to be accepted by men that already had a systematized way of thinking regarding the existence of creation.

He is the God that made the world and everything in it.

Everything.

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Cyrus – 03

2025-12-02

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Cyrus

Shepherd

Isaiah 44:28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfill all my purpose’; saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’ and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”

John 10:16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

As I look into this gentile king, I am surprised in the elevated position God placed this man, that God anointed him, chose him and now is described as a shepherd.

Obviously, God meant this term in a governmental context, but as I look into other passages that refer to one being a shepherd, it primarily describes one who cares for sheep, one who is pastoral.

Yes kings were called out, or as taking on the responsibility as shepherds in various places in the Old Testament, such as 2 Samuel 24:17; 1 Kings 22:17; Jeremiah 2:8.

But the intent of these messages was to remind those in power of the importance of giving up something for their people.

Consider David, willing to take accept the anger of the Lord upon his own house for the sake of others in this passage.

2 Samuel 24:17 Then David spoke to the LORD when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father’s house.”

Or of the prophet Micaiah, as he saw the effect of no shepherd on the nation of Israel. The nation was suffering, and it was due to the lack of a shepherd!

1 Kings 22:17 And he said, “I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These have no master; let each return to his home in peace.’”

Or, what may be worse is that those called to be a shepherd may be acting more as overlords, taking from the flock and not caring for the flock.

Jeremiah 2:8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.

Each of these three passages speak of a king’s place to be connected with the characteristic of a shepherd. A shepherd that cares for and leads his people.

But in this verse, God is calling a gentile king to care for and protect the nation of Israel. Their own kings brought them to ruin, and now a king that was not of the blood of Abraham is called to care for them, to protect them and to lead them back home.

Although Jesus was physically a Jew, He too was a foreigner in a sense, having come down from above, and was called to lead, protect and care for a people who were in trouble.

Not only did Jesus shepherd the people of Israel, a people who were in a captivity far greater than the captivity Cyrus released them from, Jesus went farther still, and sought those beyond the bloodline of Abraham, determined to shepherd those even outside of the covenant of Sinai.

Cyrus was called to be a shepherd of strangers.

Jesus is the Shepherd of all.

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Names of God – GOD THAT GAVE YOU BIRTH – 235

2025-12-01

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

235

GOD THAT GAVE YOU BIRTH

Deuteronomy 32:18 You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.

The Lord is described as a Rock, depicting strength, stability and constancy. This terminology speaks of characteristics typically associated with the male, even a father figure. One who is an anchor and can be relied upon.

We considered this general description of our God as a ROCK in a couple of posts in this series.

Names of God – EVERLASTING ROCK – 122

Names of God – GOD MY ROCK – 179

Our name to consider this morning speaks of the female experience of birthing. I cannot speak first person on this action, but as I have been with my wife during each of the births of our children, I can tell you speak of that time for the mother as….

Agonizing, all consuming.
A point of connection.
Complete compassion.

When I consider the names of God, the descriptions He provides us in helping us understand His person, I sometimes relate to my own experiences in this life, I always, after considering the passage, come away thinking my experience is a dim shadow to the the Lord’s reality.

An example to help explain my thoughts

If I have experienced sorrow, a deep and painful sorrow, it cannot be compared to the sorrow He experienced in the rebellion of His creation, in the complete rejection of His mercy and forgiveness, of the sorrow He went through as He saw the destruction coming upon the city of Jerusalem, as He lamented over the city as He accepted their rejection. The sorrow He experienced as He died on the rugged cross, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.

He died all alone, with even the Father looking away.

We as believers can never say that we are totally alone, for He has promised to never leave us.

As I mentioned earlier, I cannot speak first person in relation to experiencing child birth, but as our five children entered this world, standing beside my wife as she was going through the agony, I sensed a connection between this lady who loves me and these children who share her DNA.

Agony

First, lets consider the agony of the experience in relation to the birth of the nation from the standpoint of God and Israel. He underwent continued pain, disappointment and trials relating to the people He sought to create a nation out of. Even as they entered into covenant with the Lord at Sinai, accomplishing (in my understanding) the birth of the nation, the trials continued on. His mercy to the nation never wavered and He sought to protect, guide and care for them even as they wandered.

Connection

Consider the connection, not simply due to the agony experienced in giving birth, but also on the biological/spiritual level.

There is no connection that is stronger than that of a mother with her child. As one of many possible points of discussion, it has been discovered that during gestation, there occurs a two way exchange of cells between the mother and the child. I am no scientist, so I will refer my reader to their own research, but this exchange of cells speaks of a deep abiding physical connection a mother and child experiences.

The child has his/her mother’s cells for life. To think of this foundational connection in relation to God is somewhat mind numbing. How that connection may be described in the Old Testament is beyond this ol’ fellow, but we know in the New Testament, we have the very Spirit of God residing in our body. Our birth in Christ brought about the very presence of God in our lives.

John 1:13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Compassion

Consider the connection on an emotional level. As mentioned previously, I understand that whatever I experience is but a shadow of that which the Lord goes through. He is the God who experiences emotion, for we see the Word speaking of God experiencing grieving, jealousy, anger, etc.

For this specific passage we are considering this morning, I cannot comprehend the trial He went through in the birthing of the nation of Israel. The waiting while His people suffered, the delays because of unbelief, the frustrations with self centered leaders, and the never ending leading of a reluctant people into a life that is full and abundant!

Paul describes a primary characteristic of a mother as gentle.

1 Thessalonians 2:7 But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children.

He uses this same Greek word, translated as kind, when speaking of the Lord’s servant in 2 Timothy.

2 Timothy 2:24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil.

When the Lord walked the ways and crossroads of the land of Israel, He also exhibited this trait, for of course, this is the way of the Lord in relating to His children.

He is gentle.

Matthew 11:29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

He has suffered agony as in birthing.
He has connection with those He has birthed
He has compassion as a mother with her birthed ones.

He is the God who has birthed us.

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Names of God – GOD READY TO FORGIVE – 234

2025-11-28

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

234

GOD READY TO FORGIVE

Nehemiah 9:17 They refused to obey and were not mindful of the wonders that you performed among them, but they stiffened their neck and appointed a leader to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God ready to forgive, gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and did not forsake them.

As some of you who may have read my testimony, this name was foreign to my understanding of God for all of my childhood, teenage years and even as I wandered through my walk of faith.

My overarching understanding of our God was that He is a judge (which He is), and that He is holy (which He is) and that He is unapproachable (which might be true).

At no time did I think of God Almighty as a God who is ready to forgive. Oh I may have hoped he would forgive if I was really good, or if I begged enough, or turned over a new leaf (whatever that means), but a God who is ready to forgive? No that didn’t enter my mind.

The term used here to describe God is that He is a God of סְלִיחָה çᵉlîychâh, and although the modifier of “ready” is not a word for word translation, the idea behind our Hebrew word is that the forgiveness available is abundant.

It is the same term used in Psalm 130

Psalm 130:4 But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

Note that the forgiveness is such that it produces fear in the recipient. Forgiveness in my world, in my everyday experience is such that it produces thankfulness, relief, a clearance of conscience. In my day to day, as I experience the forgiveness of my wife, my children, my coworkers, my friends and my acquaintances, fear is not the general outworking of this forgiveness.

So may I suggest that the forgiveness I experience in my day to day life is a forgiveness granted from one fallen person to another fallen person, both of the participants broken and weak, susceptible to offending and hurting each other. In no way am I implying the forgiveness is not deep felt, genuine and true. It is from an equal, a person who is of the same “stuff”.

Our God who is ready to forgive, or as in another translation, our God of forgiveness, is not of the same “stuff”. He is the Judge, the only Rightful Judge, the Holy One, A God who dwells in unapproachable light. He is the eternal God who has never, and will never experience the failures we succumb to. He is perfect, and has every right to condemn, and yet the Word speaks of Him being ready to forgive, of an abundance of forgiveness ready to be bestowed on the repentant.

He is not of the same “stuff” as us, and the forgiveness does not have a potential transactional component. It is not as if He forgives in order for some future need to receive forgiveness. His forgiveness is not only one sided, but when truly comprehended, produces the fear that the Psalm speaks of.

What type of God do we serve? Will we ever comprehend the depth of His mercy, His grace to us in Jesus the Christ?

He is altogether different than I, and for that I am so thankful!

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Cyrus – 02

2025-11-25

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Cyrus

Chosen

Isaiah 45:1a Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped.

Luke 9:35 And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One; listen to him!”

The very same verse we looked at last week is providing another similarity for us to consider with the shadow King Cyrus when we look to the reality of King Jesus.

Both were chosen.

For the God of heaven to state centuries before the birth of this gentile king that He would grasp this kings hand speaks of His chosing him for the task ahead.

It is good to remember that to be chosen is usually in reference to a particular task or mission. Yes sometimes is may seem to refer to the ultimate destiny of a nation, as it was with Israel, and as some believers may think, it is a designation for some individuals ultimate destiny also.

That is an issue I will not address in this post, as I have discussed it in numerous earlier posts. A short study on the purpose of being chosen.

Chosen To Perform

1 Chronicles 15:2 Then David said that no one but the Levites may carry the ark of God, for the LORD had chosen them to carry the ark of the LORD and to minister to him forever.

Chosen To Become

Deuteronomy 14:2 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

Chosen to Bear Fruit

John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.

Chosen Not Because

For myself, I sometimes confuse the act of being chosen as signifying somehow being worthy of being chosen.

Deuteronomy 7:6 …..The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
Deuteronomy 7:7 It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,

The Israelites were not chosen because they were numerous or great when compared with the neighboring nations. As a matter of fact, the smallness, the insignificance of Israel only brought about the strength of the Lord God to be seen. It is a recurring theme, that those chosen for a task are wholly incapable of performing the task, of becoming the person they are called to be, or of bearing fruit on their own.

My I have somewhat stayed from the original topic this morning, but it all applies to Cyrus, for he was chosen to perform a task, he was chosen to become a king, and he was chosen to bear fruit (build a temple) for God.

In his confession of the God of heaven providing all the kingdoms for his reign, he may have also grasped that this choice was not because he was great, but that God provided.

As for the Son of God, His was the original choice by the Father, the only choice that could perform the gargantuan task of salvation, the only choice of the perfect sinless sacrifice and the only choice to bear the fruit of the church, constantly bearing fruit in new and growing believers.

He is the Chosen One!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Names of God – GOD OF HEAVEN – 233

2025-11-24

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

233

GOD OF HEAVEN

2 Chronicles 36:23 Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may the LORD his God be with him. Let him go up.

There are numerous passages in the Word that provide us our name of God this morning, but I chose this verse out of 2 Chronicles due to my recent studying of Cyrus as a type of Christ. (Jesus in the Old Testament – Cyrus – 01).

Beyond that reason, I find this verse to be comforting for our day, in that it contains a truth that hopefully will settle the heart of the faithful.

As I said, it is difficult times we live in as we see this old world crumble away, with cultural and societal degradation surrounding us, with national leadership being exposed for deeper and deeper corruption, and an ever-growing open hatred of the Christian faith.

The church seems to have entered a type of captivity, accepting the cultures social norms, (shifting as they are), as acceptable norms to conform to. As the ancient Jewish nation experienced their captivity in Babylon, the church – at least in the western world – has also lost touch.

But as we see in this verse, and understanding the background of King Cyrus, we see that the God of heaven is not limited by His location, or that He is only in charge in heaven. King Cyrus, a non-Jew, and an unexpected Savior for the people of Israel, readily admits to the authority and actions of the God of heaven on earth. This pagan king not only admits that the God of heaven provided him his success, giving him “all the kingdoms of the earth”, but that God has given him a charge.

King Cyrus – build the God of heaven a house in Jerusalem.

A charge was given to the King, and an allowance was provided to the people of God. They were granted freedom by this king, and supplied to those who had a heart for God, the very highest gift of the faithful saint, The king would build the temple of the God of heaven, and the people of God could see him do it!

Also, take note that the people of God, though given freedom to return, are a secondary item. By that I mean, they are allowed to get involved if they want, but the King will build the house for the God of heaven whether they choose to get involved or not.

The God of heaven rules over the kingdoms of the earth, and to rescue His people, (or better stated, to provide a salvation to those who seek it), He may rise up a man or woman that is totally unexpected, in order to fulfill His desires. And the people of God can watch the wonder of this saviors work, taking part if they want.

The Greater King, our Living Savior is building a temple for the God of heaven in our day also. Have you been granted freedom? Are you wanting to get involved? The opportunity, the blessing, maybe better yet – the obligation is in front of the saint to get involved in the work.

Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

He is the God of heaven, and He is working on this earth to build His Temple.

Wanna help?

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Names of God – GOD OF GLORY – 232

2025-11-21

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

232

GOD OF GLORY

Psalm 29:3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over many waters.

Glory. It is the winning of the Boston marathon, or the receiving of an Oscar. It is often thought of as an ultimate victory, a great display of honor. For those who seek it, it is the attainment of fame and splendor. of an honor amongst their peers.

When it comes to how it is associated with God, we often think of a radiant light, a manifestation of God’s presence, or a recognition of His worth and beauty. He as God is the Only One worthy of glory in the most absolute sense.

For the verse we are considering, David associates the God of Glory with His message, specifically His voice in the world of nature, even a thunderstorm.

David, I would suggest, is watching a great thunderstorm, where the heavens are opening up and unleashing a power that cannot be resisted. Vast areas of the land, and in this case the waters of Israel, may be experiencing high winds, torrents of rain, fire from heaven and thunderous noise shaking the earth.

David is trying to express the might and power of the Lord in relation to the world about him. Throughout this psalm, David speaks of the “voice of the Lord”, and this is the first instance.

Yet I must consider the term glory before I finish this post. /I recall discussing a somewhat surprising association with the term glory with heaviness. (See Names of God – BEAUTIFUL AND GLORIOUS – 49).

I found also, that though the term “glory” not only had a sense of honor and esteem, and a sense of heaviness, (even fatness), associated with it, this term is also linked with suffering.

This particular word we see in this passage comes from the root word כָּבַד kâbad. We find this root word in the following passages, where I have italicized it’s use.

Genesis 18:20
Then the LORD said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,

Note that the root word we read as glory in the Psalm is translated “grave” in Genesis 18. Some translations use grievous or serious.

Nehemiah 5:18
Now what was prepared at my expense for each day was one ox and six choice sheep and birds, and every ten days all kinds of wine in abundance. Yet for all this I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the service was too heavy on this people.

Nehemiah rejected the opportunity to enjoy great abundance due to the heavy burden placed on the people that required it.

2 Samuel 13:25
But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to you.” He pressed him, but he would not go but gave him his blessing.

David did not want to be burdensome to his son.

1 Samuel 5:11
They sent therefore and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines and said, “Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it return to its own place, that it may not kill us and our people.” For there was a deathly panic throughout the whole city. The hand of God was very heavy there.

The term associates directly with suffering in 1 Samuel, where the hand of God was causing an uproar amongst the Philistines.

Psalm 32:4
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah

But lest we think this suffering is only for those who know not God, we find it used by David when he is under the judging eye of His Master.

All of this is to simply admit that my concept of glory is too weak, too shallow. Bright lights, beauty and honor are the thoughts that typically rise to the mind when we think of glory, but let us not forget that it is a complex thought, a complex idea that has much greater meaning than first considered.

The God of Glory has Himself provided the greatest display of His glory in the man Christ Jesus, as He displayed His patient, kind, meek and loving interaction with those who had ears to hear. His character was a blinding glorious light in a very dark land.

He also displayed His authority, His heaviness amongst some lightweight religious authorities, literally tearing their arguments to pieces without breaking a sweat!

But if you ask me, the greatest display of the God of Glory for all to see was the Man Christ Jesus, bloody and broken, nailed to a cross, exposed to the public as if he were equal to a mere thief, suffering the indignities and insults of sinful man, all to rescue a thankless and hateful people.

He is the God of Glory and though many may look to the cross as simply an instrument of justice, for the believer, that cross provided the greatest display of who the God of Glory truly is!

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Jesus in the Old Testament – Cyrus – 01

2025-11-18

Jesus in the Old Testament is a series of posts that will offer my readers a chance to consider pictures or shadows of Jesus in the Old Testament. As mentioned in the introduction to this series, some may be obvious, some may be not so obvious, and some may simply be a facet of the Lord those reading may not have considered previously.

I hope as we venture through this series, we will see the Lord in many wonderful pictures throughout the Old Testament.

SEEING JESUS IN

Cyrus

Anointed One

Isaiah 45:1a Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped..

Acts 4:27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,

I will admit it, I started looking at Cyrus, thinking that if I found one or two likenesses to the Lord, I will have plunged the depths of the similarities this gentile king had with our Lord. After all, my next subject is Daniel, and I can hardly wait. My attitude, (sad as it was), was to get the gentile king out of the way so I can dig into the life of Daniel and see the Lord in that great saint of old.

Was I wrong! Cyrus is quite surprising as a great Gentile King, but even more so as a typology of Jesus. Although I am reluctant to define the number of similarities I have found so far, suffice to say it is not just one or two. (A hint to my readers – It is less than 100!)

For this post, lets consider the fact that Cyrus was called the anointed of God. Yes, it is true that there were many anointed in the Old Testament, including the kings of Israel and Judah, prophets of Israel, priests of Israel, and many leaders, such as the judges, or different leaders that were within the theocracy of Israel.

But Cyrus stands out amongst these anointed in that he was a dirty Gentile, a foreigner to the covenant and a man that was outside of the regular domain God worked within.

Not only that, but Cyrus was called God’s anointed prior to performing any good deed, or before even sucking breath. Isaiah’s prophecy was given a century prior to the Gentile king arriving on the scene! Not many of the “rank and file” of the anointed in Israel can claim that status.

And yet, even as Cyrus stands out from amongst all those who were of the anointed class in the old theocracy, the True Anointed One is head and shoulders above Cyrus. Though Cyrus was a great and victorious king over all the known world in his day, His anointing may be considered his greatest privilege, a privilege granted by God.

For Jesus, to put it bluntly, to be the Anointed was simply a matter of fact. He is the Anointed, the Only One Who was and is the Anointed One, not due to a privilege granted by God, but because of His Person, of Who He truly is.

There is a difference! He is the Christ, the Anointed One!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Names of God – GOD OF FAITHFULNESS AND WITHOUT INIQUITY – 231

2025-11-17

My hope is that this series will offer my readers a chance to consider the names, characteristics and descriptions of our God in the Word.

The remaining Names of God in this series might be considered descriptors, or characteristics of the Lord. We have reviewed the three primary Names of God, along with nineteen compound Names of God in our previous posts. As we venture through these descriptors of our God, I hope we will recognize all the many characteristics of our God that we tend to take for granted.

The Word is truly rich with descriptions of the Living God, and this effort of searching in the Word was quite illuminating. He truly is the ultimate subject of the Word, and His revelation of self-descriptions, or the accolades offered Him by His priests, prophets, kings apostles and faithful truly is a blessing.

May the Name of the Lord be praised, and by thinking on His name, may you have a blessed day.

231

GOD OF FAITHFULNESS AND WITHOUT INIQUITY

Deuteronomy 32:4 “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

Our God is a God of faithfulness and without iniquity.

It is a common truth that believer’s rely on throughout our walk with Him, and yet when trials come or trouble rise up, our first inclination is to question his faithfulness.

Of course that is simply our rebellion rising up, blaming God for that which might be occurring due to our poor decisions, or maybe simply misunderstanding God’s way in our lives.

As I was reviewing this term for faithfulness, I found it to have a somewhat special meaning. It refers to being steady or firm. A very good example of how this term pictures the steadfastness of God is found in Exodus, when Moses was overseeing Joshua fight the Amalekites.

Exodus 17:12 But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

Moses hands were “faithful” until the going down of the sun. They didn’t move, and were not subject to any weakness that Moses was experiencing.

God is steady, firm and unmoving, and unlike Moses, did not require assistance from others in being so. He is faithful, and His nature of being so is a great comfort to every believer.

But this name of God we are considering this morning is not simply the God of faithfulness , but the God of faithfulness and without iniquity!

Faithful, unmoving, firm, resolute. God is the God of faithfulness. He is the ultimate expression of firmness, of unmoving adherence to His Word and Will. Then Moses adds the “without iniquity” description, as further emphasis on who God is.

May I suggest this double description of God works to bolster the image Moses was trying to get across to the Israelites by describing a positive attribute, and then further describing that attribute by negating any idea of unfaithfulness.

Let me try to explain my thoughts.

If God at any time and for any reason, was not faithful, and because He is known and described as faithful, this act of unfaithfulness would introduce iniquity into our thoughts. At any time, if God was not steady, firm in His nature and promises, iniquity could be claimed to be found in Him.

How preposterous, for it is His nature that defines righteousness, and there is no iniquity to be found in Him. And that is the point!

Moses is doubling up on his description of the faithfulness (firmness, steadiness) of God. No iniquity of unsteadiness, or unfaithfulness may be considered.

Don’t even think it!

Unless of course, you turn your eyes to see the Man on the cross, where a spotless God, firm in His will and in the keeping of His word, accepted iniquity into His own body. The mystery of One who, due to His faithfulness, became sin (iniquity), accepting the just punishment of sin within His own body.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Out God is a God of Faithfulness and Without Iniquity, even as He exercised His faithfulness to His own saving promises. To His own great hurt, that is His own death, He was faithful. No iniquity of His own may be found in Him, even as we see Him hanging on that cross, receiving the just punishment of our iniquity being placed on His sinless Body.

How can we understand such a faithful God, One who is without iniquity, and yet taking on our sin to maintain His faithfulness? It is not for us to understand, but only to bow before Him.

I would love to hear of your favorite name, characteristic or description of the Living God. Please leave me a comment, and I will include it in the list!

Thanks again for coming to visit. I hope you found something of interest in this post and would appreciate a comment, to begin a discussion. If you know someone this blog may bless (or challenge), send them a link, so they may join us in our discussion.

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Tag: Pictures of Christ

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Let him go up to Jerusalem

May his God be with him

Let each survivor .. be assisted

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Chosen To Perform

Chosen To Become

Chosen to Bear Fruit

Chosen Not Because

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