trust in God

Live By Faith.

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I will take my stand at my watchpost
    and station myself on the tower,
and look out to see what he will say to me,
    and what I will answer concerning my complaint. 

And the Lord answered me:

“Write the vision;
    make it plain on tablets,
    so he may run who reads it.
For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
    it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it;
    it will surely come; it will not delay.

“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
    but the righteous shall live by his faith.

“Moreover, wine is a traitor,
    an arrogant man who is never at rest.
His greed is as wide as Sheol;
    like death he has never enough.
He gathers for himself all nations
    and collects as his own all peoples.” – Habakkuk 2:1-5 ESV

Habakkuk has asked God two primary questions so far: “When?” and “Why?” In responding to Habakkuk’s first question, God simply told the prophet how He was going to deal with the violence and iniquity taking place in Judah: He would send the Babylonians. That news led Habakkuk to question why God would ever consider using a pagan nation to do His bidding, especially to punish His own people. And now, the indignant prophet tells God that he is going to sit and wait for God’s answer, like a guard standing in the watchtower on the battlements of a city wall. And Habakkuk is fully prepared to continue his dialogue with God if the answer if the answer he received is not to his liking. He seems to warn God that his response will be dictated by what God has to say to him.

And, as before, God answered Habakkuk. He tells the prophet that he will receive a vision and that he is to put it in writing on tablets. He is to write it clearly and legibly so that whoever reads it can run and tell others what he has seen. The vision will involve future events. In other words, it will be prophetic in nature, but it will all take place. Knowing Habakkuk’s tendency toward impatience, God tells him, “This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed” (Habakkuk 2:3 NLT). It’s as good as done. And by having Habakkuk write the details concerning the vision in stone or clay tablets, God emphasizes the permanence and inescapable nature of what is to come.

The author of the book of Hebrews quotes from this verse in an attempt to encourage the believers in his day to remain faithful to the end and trust God for what He has promised to do.

Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay” – Hebrews 10:35-37 ESV

God is always faithful to keep His word. What He says He will do, He will do. He keeps His promises. And the author of Hebrews goes on to say, quoting from verses four of Habakkuk chapter two: “but my righteous one shall live by faith” (Hebrews 10:38 ESV).

God now gives the prophet His vision of what is to come. He speaks of the unrighteous and the righteous, the faithful and the unfaithful – those who trust in themselves and those who place their trust in God.

“Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.” – Habakkuk 3:4 NLT

The apostle Paul will also quote this verse on two different occasions, emphasizing the “righteous”.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” – Romans 1:16-17 ESV

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” – Galatians 3:11-12 ESV

Paul used the words of God given to Habakkuk the prophet to emphasize and promote the key to righteousness before God. It is based on faith in God and faithfulness to God. In Habakkuk’s day, the people of Judah had not been faithful to God. They had turned from Him time and time again. They, like their northern neighbors in Israel, had worshiped false gods and proven themselves to be unfaithful to the God who had chosen them and redeemed them out of slavery in Egypt. They had turned their back on the one who had given them the great king, David. The land in which they lived had been the result of God’s gracious provision for them. And yet, they had filled it with idols.

And, to provide Habakkuk with a symbol of unrighteousness run rampant, God tells him to look at Babylon. They are the epitome of arrogance and pride. They are puffed up by their military success and their many conquests. They trust more in themselves than they do in God. In fact, they don’t trust in Yahweh at all. They have their own gods whom they worship and give credit for their many victories in battle. And they use their growing wealth as proof of their gods’ divine blessings. The word in verse five should probably be “wealth” and not ”wine”. Most of the more reliable manuscripts contain “wealth” and it would make more sense given the context. The New Living Translation renders verse five this way:

Wealth is treacherous,
    and the arrogant are never at rest.
They open their mouths as wide as the grave,
    and like death, they are never satisfied.
In their greed they have gathered up many nations
    and swallowed many peoples.

The greed of the Babylonians was insatiable. They couldn’t get enough. They were never satisfied with their conquests or the plunder they provided. They were the ultimate consumers, swallowing up everyone and everything in their path. They lived by what they could see, take, and enjoy. They lived by sight and immediate gratification. But God tells Habakkuk that the righteous are to live by faith. Faith in what? In God. The people of Judah were to put their hope and confidence in the God of their ancestors. He had proven Himself faithful time and time again, and He would do so again. The righteous are those who place their faith in God, not money, military might, false gods, other nations, or any other earthly resource. God tells Habakkuk that “the righteous shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4 ESV). The people of Judah would live through what was coming, but they would have to trust God with the results. They would survive the coming of the Babylonians and their deportment as slaves. The righteous would be those who kept trusting in the faithfulness of God – in spite of the circumstances that surrounded them.

Too often, our faith and our faithfulness is based on our circumstances, not on God and His faithfulness. We take a look at what is happening around us and to us, and begin to doubt our God. We question His faithfulness because we don’t like what is happening to us. We doubt His love because we can’t fathom how a loving God would allow us to experience what we are going through. But God would have us remember that the righteous live by faith. And Paul would have us remember that the righteous are those who endure because they know their God can be trusted.

God is trying to remind Habakkuk that his hope is to be in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is to trust in the God of David – the covenant keeping God who never fails to keep His promises and fulfill His commitment to His people. Just because the Babylonians were coming did not mean that God was done with Judah or turning His back on them. The book of Numbers gives us some powerful words of reminder concerning our God.

God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? – Numbers 23:19 NLT

God can be trusted. So, as His people, we are to put our trust in Him. The righteous belong to Him and rely upon Him. They do not circumstances dictate or determine their trust. They don’t let the presence of bad times diminish the goodness of their God. They accept the good and the bad as having come from the hand of a loving, faithful God who knows what He is doing and whose plan for them can always be trusted. Like Job, we need to be able to say, “Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” (Job 2:10 NLT). God was going to do something great for the people of Judah. But first, they would have to experience something painful and inexplicable. Yet, they were to keep their faith in God. He was not done yet.

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

What Will You Do?

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Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith has become king and David our lord does not know it? Now therefore come, let me give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go in at once to King David, and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord the king, swear to your servant, saying, “Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then is Adonijah king?’ Then while you are still speaking with the king, I also will come in after you and confirm your words.”

So Bathsheba went to the king in his chamber (now the king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was attending to the king). Bathsheba bowed and paid homage to the king, and the king said, “What do you desire?” She said to him, “My lord, you swore to your servant by the Lord your God, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne.’ And now, behold, Adonijah is king, although you, my lord the king, do not know it. He has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the sons of the king, Abiathar the priest, and Joab the commander of the army, but Solomon your servant he has not invited. And now, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise it will come to pass, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be counted offenders.”

While she was still speaking with the king, Nathan the prophet came in. And they told the king, “Here is Nathan the prophet.” And when he came in before the king, he bowed before the king, with his face to the ground. And Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit on my throne’? For he has gone down this day and has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ But me, your servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and your servant Solomon he has not invited. Has this thing been brought about by my lord the king and you have not told your servants who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?” – 1 Kings 1:11-27 ESV

David is old and bed-ridden. His days on this earth are numbered and, once again, one of his own sons is plotting to take his kingdom from him. When David should be enjoying his final days in peace and quiet, he is suddenly confronted with yet another looming disaster. Until he breathes his final breath, David is still the king of Israel and he must deal with the situation facing his kingdom and protect the right of his son, Solomon, to rule in his place. But the only problem is that David knows nothing about what is going on. He is oblivious to the danger facing the kingdom. He is safely ensconsed in his bed within his royal chamber, being cared for by Abishag the Shunammite. He is completely unaware of the actions of Adonijah, Abiathar and Joab. But Nathan the prophet is on top of all that is going on and sends Bathsheba, David’s wife and the mother of Solomon, to inform David of the gravity of the situation.

One of the problems seems to be that David had made no preparations for his succession. It would appear that Adonijah, as the oldest living son (his three older siblings had all died), assumed that he was the legitimate heir to the throne. He was simply taking advantage of David’s old age and speeding up the transition process. But God had clearly told David that Solomon would be his successor.

“But you will have a son who will be a man of peace. I will give him peace with his enemies in all the surrounding lands. His name will be Solomon, and I will give peace and quiet to Israel during his reign. He is the one who will build a Temple to honor my name. He will be my son, and I will be his father. And I will secure the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.” – 1 Chronicles 22:9-10 ESV

And yet, it seems that David had done nothing to ensure that the transition of power to Solomon would take place. Once again, his inaction had produced some very negative consequences, and could even result in the death of Solomon, should Adonijah’s coup succeed. So Nathan sent Bathsheba to David, encouraging her to prompt him to take action. And she did just that. She not only informed him of what was going on, but warned him that all the eyes of Israel were on him. He was being watched and the people were waiting to see what he would do. Despite his old age, David was going to have to take action. What he did next was going to secure the future of his kingdom and that of his son, or seal Solomon’s fate.

Nathan saw the gravity of the situation and told Bathsheba, “let me give you advice, that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon” (1 Kings 1:12 ESV). He knew there was no time to waste. Something had to be done and David was the one who had to do it. But he would need prompting and support. So Bathsheba’s job was to bring David up to speed and to beg him to do something about the situation. Then Nathan was to come in and corroborate her story and provide much-needed counsel to David. He was also to act as a second witness to anything David decreed in their presence.

Bathsheba was blunt with David. This was not a time for pleasantries and politeness. She knew that her son’s life was in danger. She even reminded David, “If you do not act, my son Solomon and I will be treated as criminals as soon as my lord the king has died” (1 Kings 1:21 NLT). And she was not going to leave David’s side until he took action. So, she boldly challenged him, saying,  “And now, my lord the king, all Israel is waiting for you to announce who will become king after you” (1 Kings 1:20 NLT). There was no time to waste. Inaction was not an option. And just as planned, Nathan followed Bathsheba into the king’s presence, confirming her words and challenging David to do something about this dire situation. The entire nation was waiting on pins and needles, wondering what David would do. A line had been drawn in the sand. Sides had been chosen. Adonijah had put together his team and secured what he thought to be his future. The only one who is conspicuously absent from this whole affair is Solomon himself. He had not been invited to Adonijah’s feast with all their other brothers, for obvious reasons. But he was also not present when Bathsheba and Nathan met with David. His fate was in their hands. His future and that of his kingdom was completely in the hands of his father. He would have to trust that his father would do the right thing. Solomon was at the mercy of David. He does not appear anywhere in the passage. He doesn’t show up, begging David to keep his word and give him the kingdom God had promised him. Perhaps Solomon was not aware of the word that God had spoken to David. But we will see in the next section of this chapter, that Bathsheba knew, and it is doubtful that she kept this news from Solomon. He most likely knew that he was the God-appointed successor to the throne, but he was not demanding his rights or whining about his fate. He had to have known what Adonijah was up to and that all of his brothers were at the feast, enjoying Adonijah’s hospitality and shouting along with all the other guests, “Long live King Adonijah!” (1 Kings 1:25 ESV). But Solomon simply waited in the wings. Like all the rest of the people of Israel, his eyes were on David. What would he do? How would he respond?

So often, we can find ourselves in similar, if not quite as dire, circumstances. We can come to a place where a decision is required, an important, potentially life-altering decision. And others are watching us to see what we will do. Perhaps our family is waiting on us to act, wondering how we will respond. Maybe our co-workers are anxiously watching to see how we will handle a difficult situation in the workplace. There are always others watching us, depending upon us to do the right thing, to make the right decision, and to give them peace and confidence that we can be trusted. Even the world is watching us. The church of Jesus Christ is to be salt and light in the midst of all the decay and darkness surrounding it. As the secular world presses in and the enemy continues his assault on the will and the ways of God, the world is watching to see how the church will respond. Will we do nothing? Will we be marked by inaction and complacency? Are we confident enough in the Word of God that we will confidently take our stand against all the forces lined up against us? What David did next was a matter of life and death. The future of his kingdom and that of his son were at stake. All eyes were on him. What would he do? But what about us? The world is watching and waiting to see what we will do?

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

A Case Of Déjà Vu.

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Then David went over to the other side and stood far off on the top of the hill, with a great space between them. And David called to the army, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, “Will you not answer, Abner?” Then Abner answered, “Who are you who calls to the king?” And David said to Abner, “Are you not a man? Who is like you in Israel? Why then have you not kept watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came in to destroy the king your lord. This thing that you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, you deserve to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, the Lord’s anointed. And now see where the king’s spear is and the jar of water that was at his head.”

Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” And he said, “Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in the heritage of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.”

Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.” And David answered and said, “Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and take it. The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.” Then Saul said to David, “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will succeed in them.” So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place. – 1 Samuel 26:13-25 ESV

Once again, David had found himself with a prime opportunity to take the life of Saul and end his nightmarish existence as a fugitive. He and Abishai had made their way into the camp of Saul as he and his troops slept. They stood over Saul’s sleeping form and Abishai begged David for permission to take his life. But just as before, David refused to take the life of the Lord’s anointed. But he did take Saul’s spear and water jug.

Now, David stood a safe distance away and gave Abner, Saul’s commander, an unexpected wake-up call. David yelled across the valley, accusing Abner and his troops of dereliction of duty. He informs them that while they slept, someone had snuck into their camp and could have killed their king, because they had failed to do their jobs. And David held up Saul’s spear and water jug as proof. This was not only an assault on Abner, but a clear statement to Saul that David had more respect for the Lord’s anointed than Saul’s own men did. When Saul’s men had failed to provide the king with protection, David had been the one to prevent Abishai from taking his life. David was still a faithful servant of the king.

Not only that, there was no proof that he had done anything to deserve the treatment he had received from the hand of Saul. He even asked Saul to provide evidence. If Saul could provide David with a specific crime he had committed that was in violation of the law of Moses, David was willing to do the appropriate thing and offer a sacrifice as atonement. But if, as David seems to suspect, Saul’s actions against him were based on nothing more than the bad advice of men, then David calls down a curse from God on them. Why? Because David had not only become persona non grata in the kingdom of Israel, he had no access to the tabernacle. That meant he was not able to offer sacrifice for sins and receive forgiveness. David’s despair over this matter was clearly evident in his words to Saul:

“For they have driven me from my home, so I can no longer live among the Lord’s people, and they have said, ‘Go, worship pagan gods.’ Must I die on foreign soil, far from the presence of the Lord?” – 1 Samuel 26:19-20 NLT

The tabernacle was where the presence of God dwelt. The Israelites were the people of God. By being forced to live apart from the people and without access to the tabernacle, David was effectively being forced to seek another god to worship. And the thought of that was too much for him to bear. David craved restoration with the people of God and restored access to the tabernacle of God. This is reflected in one of the psalms he wrote during his days in the wilderness.

O God, you are my God;
    I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
    my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
    where there is no water.
I have seen you in your sanctuary
    and gazed upon your power and glory.
Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
    how I praise you! – Psalm 63:1-3 NLT

I lie awake thinking of you,
    meditating on you through the night.
Because you are my helper,
    I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings. – Psalm 63:6-7 NLT

And David’s passion-filled words to seem to get a compassionate reaction from Saul. Just as he had before, Saul appears to see the error of his way and confesses, “I have sinned. Come back home, my son, and I will no longer try to harm you, for you valued my life today. I have been a fool and very, very wrong” (1 Samuel 26:21 NLT). But David was no fool. He knew better than to trust the words of Saul. He had heard this speech before and had learned that “The mouths of fools are their ruin; they trap themselves with their lips” (Proverbs 18:7 NLT). Saul had no intention of calling off his hunt for David, and David knew it. Which is why, after their conversation ended, “David went his way, and Saul returned to his place” (1 Samuel 26:25 ESV).

David’s exile would continue. His longing for the presence of God would increase. His desire to be with the people of God would grow with each passing day. But during those dark days of the soul, God would be with David. He would guide him, protect him, teach him and mold him into the kind of king He desired David to be. Taking Saul’s life would not have put an end to David’s problems. To do so would have simply created bigger issues for him. He would have been in violation of God’s law. He would have been guilty of taking matters into his own hands and trying to accomplish God’s will his own way. So, David returned to the wilderness. But he was going to learn that he was not alone. Contrary to what David and the people of Israel believed, God was not restricted to the tabernacle. His presence was not bound to a building. He was right beside David every step he took in the wilderness. He was with David as he sought sanctuary in the caves. He was watching over David as he slept under the stars. He was David’s constant companion, ever-watching protector, wise counselor, and faithful guide. It was David’s experiences in the wilderness that would lead him to pen the words of his most famous psalm:

The Lord is my shepherd;
    I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows;
    he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
    bringing honor to his name.
Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
    for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
    protect and comfort me.
You prepare a feast for me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You honor me by anointing my head with oil.
    My cup overflows with blessings.
Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me
    all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
    forever. – Psalm 23 NLT

 

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Message (MSG)Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Waiting On God In Faith.

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By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. – Hebrews 11:27 ESV

Once again, we have an apparent contradiction between the Exodus account of the life of Moses and that of the author of Hebrews. Exodus tells us that when Moses became aware that news of his murder of the Egyptian had gotten out, he became afraid. “Then Moses was afraid, and thought, ‘Surely the thing is known’” (Exodus 2:14 ESV). Then it goes on to say that when Pharaoh heard about it,  “he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian” (Exodus 2:15 ESV). But the Hebrews account says, “By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king.” Which is it? Was Moses afraid or not? Did he flee or not? The author of Hebrews, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit gives us insight into just what was going on. Yes, Moses afraid, but the context tells us that his fear was based on his awareness that news of the murder had spread. His little secret was out. By the time Pharaoh heard about it, Moses had had time to think about it and to reflect on what he should do. According to Hebrews, he had already made plans to go to Midian, not out of fear, but out of faith. Interestingly enough, the Hebrew word for “flee” can mean “to hasten” or “to put to flight.” The Exodus passage can make it sound like Moses fled for his life out of fear of Pharaoh. But when you combine the two passages, it makes better sense that Moses was put to flight by Pharaoh. We almost immediately think that Moses was fearing for his life. He ran because he was fearful that Pharaoh was going to kill him. But think about what Hebrews 11:24-25 says, “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.” Moses had already made the decision to extricate himself from Pharaoh’s household. But as the adopted grandson of the Pharaoh, the likelihood that he would be put to death for murder was probably slim to none. What Moses feared was having to go back to his life in the royal palace with its “fleeting pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25 ESV). Again, we read that Moses left Egypt because, “he considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward” (Hebrews 11:26 ESV).

So it was “By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king” (Hebrews 11:27a ESV). Moses didn’t leave Egypt because of Pharaoh, but because of God. “He kept right on going because he kept his eyes on the one who is invisible” (Hebrews 11:27b NLT). Moses headed to Midian, not out of fear for his life, but out of faith in God. He somehow knew that God was going to fulfill His promise to His people and restore them to the land. He didn’t know how yet. He didn’t know when. But he believed it was just a matter of time and he was content to go to Midian and persevere until that time came. Little did Moses know that it would be 40 years before God acted. And little did Moses know that when God did decide to act, He would choose to do so through Moses.

The day would come when God deemed it time to redeem His people. Exodus tells us, “During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.  God saw the people of Israel—and God knew” (Exodus 2:23-25 ESV). God knew. And He knew where Moses was. He knew what Moses had been doing. The flight of Moses had been part of God’s plan. Just as Moses had been kept alive in the basket made of bulrushes, Moses had been protected in Midian, removed from the effects of the fleeting pleasures of sin and the treasures of Egypt. During his 40 years in Midian, Moses had given up his quest to be the savior of the people of Israel. He still believed in God’s promise to redeem His people, but he had long ago given up the idea that he might play a role. But God had other plans. He was going to use Moses, but in a way that Moses would find surprising and a bit scary. Hebrews says that Moses “kept his eyes on the one who is invisible.” During his time in Midian, he kept trusting in God. Remember how the author describe faith in verses 1: “Not faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Moses had never seen God and yet he “kept his eyes” on Him. He kept believing in the reality of Him who he could not see and the promises he had yet to see fulfilled. According to Hebrews 11:6, faith is required to please God and whoever would want to draw near to God “must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”

It would be safe to say that Moses sought God during his time in Midian, and the day would come when God revealed Himself to Moses.

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” – Exodus 3:1-4 ESV

Moses had a direct encounter with the unseen God. He came face to face with Yahweh. And it would be a life-changing moment. Forty years after leaving Egypt, he would be returning, not as the grandson of Pharaoh, but as the representative of God. By faith he had left Egypt and now he was going to be returning the same way – trusting in the promises of God Almighty. To be directed by God requires faith in God. We must believe that He is at work in our lives in ways that we cannot see or even understand. When Moses left Egypt, he left everything behind.  He was forced to begin a new life. But his new circumstances would prove to little more than a temporary pause in the plan of God. God was watching and waiting, preparing to implement His divine redemptive plan at just the right time and using just the right person for the job: Moses.

 

By Faith.

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By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. – Hebrews 11:4 ESV

This chapter of Hebrews opens with the familiar words, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” But as 21st-Century Christians we struggle understanding exactly what the author means. Faith is a nebulous and sometimes mysterious thing to us. We say we have it, but we’re not exactly sure what it is or what it looks like. We’re not sure if it is something we have to muster up or if it is given to us by God. When we think we have it, we wonder if we have enough of it. So while we would define ourselves as a “people of faith”, we regularly wrestle with the concept. So the author of Hebrews has given us the content of chapter 11 to help us. He starts out by telling us that “by faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God” (Hebrews 11:3 ESV). We weren’t there. We didn’t see it happen. So we have to take God at His word – by faith. The book of Genesis tells us how the universe was created by God, and we must believe that it happened just as it says it did. When we do, we are exhibiting faith. We are giving evidence of a “conviction of things not seen”. Faith involves trust. It requires belief. And it is based on hope. But we tend to use the word “hope” in a purely speculative sense. We say things like, “I hope I win the lottery!” or “I hope I he asks me out!” Our hope usually lacks assurance or a sense of confidence. It tends to be little more than wishful thinking. But that is not what the author of Hebrews is talking about. So he gives us further evidence of faith from the lives of the Old Testament saints.

Nineteen different times in this chapter, the author will use the phrase, “by faith”. His point seems to be that faith was both the motivator and the power behind the actions of those individuals he lists. What they did was done because of faith. Faith in something hoped for and as yet unseen. Faith is God-focused and future-oriented. It has its roots in the faithfulness of God. It gets its strength from the promises made by God. So when Abel, the son of Adam and Eve, is said to have “offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain”, faith is central to understanding the difference between his sacrifice and that of his brothers. It has less to do with the content of their individual sacrifices than the hearts of the men who made them. The question we have to ask is why either of these two sons of Adam and Eve were making sacrifices to God at all. Where did they learn to make sacrifices. We don’t see evidence of this practice in the Garden of Eden. We see no command given by God to Adam and Eve to offer up sacrifices to Him. So why were their sons doing so? If you go back to the original story in Genesis, which the author’s Jewish audience would have known well, it tells us:

Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. – Genesis 4:2-5 ESV

The phrase, “in the course of time” would seem to indicate that this was a regular occurrence, that the first family had established a habit of offering sacrifices to God. There is no indication that this was something that God required of them. It appears to be wholly voluntary. And each son brought an offering that was consistent with his area of expertise. Abel brought the firstborn of his flock and Cain brought the fruit of the ground. One brought animals while the other brought produce. The issue does not seem to be with the quality or quantity of their offerings. It does not appear to have anything to do with the content of their offerings. The issue was their faith. Cain gave an offering of the fruit of the ground. He most likely gave grain, dates, figs, or whatever else he had grown. But keep in mind, he gave “the fruit of the ground.” He did not give God the tree from which the fruit grew. So he was assured of having more fruit to replace what he had given. It also does not say that he gave God the best of his fruit. He simply gave God a portion. And yet, of Abel it is said that he gave the “firstborn of his flock and their fat portions.” In other words, Abel gave the best and he gave them God permanently. He didn’t just offer them to God, he sacrificed them. Abel would never benefit from them. They would never breed and produce more sheep. They would not grow up and produce milk. They would never serve as food on the table for Abel’s family. He had given them to God and placed his faith in God that He would provide.

We know that Cain went on to kill his brother. Why? The author of Hebrews tells us that Abel’s offering was “commended as righteous” because he made it based on faith. The apostle John provides additional insight into what is going on. “We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous” (1 John 3:12 ESV). If Abel’s offering or deed was commended as righteous because of his faith, then it would seem that Cain’s deeds were deemed unrighteous by God because of his lack of faith. He was not trusting God for His future provision. He wasn’t giving God his best and trusting God to provide for his future needs. He was simply going through the motions. And when God rejected his offering, Cain became angry. God asked him, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it” (Genesis 4:6-7 ESV). What did God mean by “if you do well”? It would seem that He was talking about faith. Cain hoped for more crops. He hoped for abundant fruit. He wanted success. His concern was for future provision. But rather than trust God, he chose to trust in his own effort to supply his needs. He lacked faith in God and his offering demonstrated it. His offering required no sacrifice, no dependence upon God.

By sacrificing the lives of his firstborn flocks, Abel was putting his hope of future provision in the hands of God. There is no doubt that he wanted his flocks to grow, but by offering his firstborn to God, he was having to place his assurance in God, not his flocks. He was showing that his faith was in God, the one who created the entire universe. Abel’s faith was in the God who had created his flocks. Cain’s faith was in the fruit he had grown and his own ability to grow more. His offering was more of a statement to God of “look what I have done!” Abel’s offering was an expression of thanks to God for all He had done and a statement of faith in all that God was going to do in the future.

The Danger of Disbelief.

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Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways.’ As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’”

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief. – Hebrews 3:7-19 ESV

Reaching back into the pages of the Old Testament narrative, the author quotes from Psalm 95, using the history of people of Israel as a life lesson for his Hebrew audience. The psalmist recounts the story of Israel’s rebellion against God during their journey from Egypt to the promised land. Under the direction of God, they had reached a place called Rephidim, and after setting up camp the discovered, “there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, ‘Give us water to drink’” (Exodus 17:1-2 ESV). Moses’ response was to ask them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” (Exodus 17:2 ESV). But driven by their physical thirst, they demanded, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” (Exodus 17:3 ESV). The people were so angry with Moses that he feared for his life, suspecting that they would stone him. But God told Moses, “‘Pass on before the people, taking with you some of the elders of Israel, and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb, and you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people will drink.’ And Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the quarreling of the people of Israel, and because they tested the Lord by saying, ‘Is the Lord among us or not?’” (Exodus 17:5-7 ESV). That last line is key to understanding the story and to grasping the point that the author of Hebrews is trying to make. Influenced by the negative nature of their circumstances and their own physical desires, they doubted the presence, power and provision of God. This was in spite of all He had done to deliver them from Egypt and secure their freedom from slavery. The miracles of the ten plagues and the wonder of the Red Sea crossing faded into oblivion at the first sign of trouble. Suddenly, their God was no match for their personal problems. And they grumbled. They complained. They revealed their ingratitude for all that God had done. And yet, in the face of their rebellion, God graciously provided them with water – from a rock. The apostle Paul provides with insight into what was going on behind the scenes.

I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground. In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. All of them ate the same spiritual food, and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. – 1 Corinthians 10:1-5 NLT

The rock was Christ. It was a representation of the mercy and grace of God that would one day be expressed through the gift of His Son. Moses was instructed to strike the rock. The rock was beaten and from it came living water. God provided for them the very thing for which they had grumbled and complained. But while they “drank the same spiritual water,” God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. They never made it to the land of promise, the place of rest. The psalmist clearly portrays the anger of God with those who had doubted His saving power. “For forty years I loathed that generation and said, ‘They are a people who go astray in their heart, and they have not known “my ways.” Therefore, I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall not enter my rest’” (Psalm 95:10-11 ESV).

The letter to the Hebrews provides us with the application. “Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still ‘today,’ so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ” (Hebrews 3:12-14 NLT). The author is not suggesting that we can lose our salvation. But he warns against having “evil and unbelieving” hearts. The danger the Jewish believers in his audience face is turning away from the saving grace provided by God through Jesus Christ and returning to their old, familiar faith in Judaism. Warren Wiersbe writes, “every believer is tempted to give up his confession of Christ and go back into the world system’s life of compromise and bondage.” Again, this is not about losing our salvation, but missing out on all that God has promised us as believers in this life. By turning away from God and doubting the sufficiency of His Son’s saving work, F. F. Bruce provides with the context: “a relapse from Christianity into Judaism would be comparable to the action of the Israelites when they ‘turned back in their hearts unto Egypt’ (Acts 7:30); it would not be a mere return to a position previously occupied, but a gesture of outright apostasty, a complete break with God’ (F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews).

There will always be the temptation to doubt God and return to whatever way of life we lived before. We may even be tempted to try something completely new and different, other than the walk of faith. That is why the writer of Hebrews warns us, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12 ESV). The issue is one of unbelief. That is why we are to “exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today’’ (Hebrews 3:13 ESV). We need to encourage one another to keep the faith, to remain committed to the cause of Christ. We must not allow circumstances or our own personal passions to drive us away from God and back to the false promises of this world. We must continue to believe in and rest on the promises of God, in spite of all we see happening around us. As the writer of Hebrews puts it a little later on in this letter, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6 ESV).

Trust Me.

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Behold, the siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and because of sword and famine and pestilence the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it. Yet you, O Lord God, have said to me, “Buy the field for money and get witnesses”—though the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans. – Jeremiah 32:24-25 ESV

Jeremiah 32:17-25

Things could not have looked any bleaker than they did when Jeremiah prayed this prayer. The armies of Babylon were camped outside the city of Jerusalem, siege mounds surrounded the walls, and disease and famine were commonplace within them. God was bringing the judgment Jeremiah had long warned would come if the people did not repent and return to Him. And yet, in the midst of the eminent threat of defeat and the looming reality of captivity, God had given Jeremiah a small glimpse of what was to come. He had instructed Jeremiah to buy a field. In essence, He was asking Jeremiah to invest in the future of Israel. It was a case of insider trading, because God knew something Jeremiah could not have known. God had already given Jeremiah a heads up about what was to come. “For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:10-11 ESV). But now God wanted Jeremiah to have some personal stock in the reality of that promise. He wanted Jeremiah to put his money where his mouth had been and invest in the future of Israel, based on nothing more than the promise of God.

That seems to be how God works with us so often. He had told Noah to build an ark and fill it with animals, when there wasn’t even enough water to float a boat anywhere on the planet at that time. He asked Abram to leave his homeland and head to an unknown destination, all based on what had to sound to Abram like an impossible dream. God had David anointed the next king of Israel, but then allowed him to spend the next years of his life running from Saul, the current king and resident madman. Jesus chose His twelve disciples, told them that He was going to establish His kingdom on earth, and then they had to stand by and watch as He was crucified on a Roman cross. The promises of God don’t always appear as we might expect them. They don’t always work out according to our timeline or in the manner we might prefer. But faith is about trusting God. The author of Hebrews describes it this way: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 ESV). Assurance and conviction in the unseen and, as yet, unfulfilled. It is a determined belief in the reality of what has yet to take place. God was asking Jeremiah to put shoe leather to his faith and some cash behind his conviction. All based on nothing more than the word of God.

And as soon as Jeremiah finished his prayer, God would respond with a rhetorical question: “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?” (Jeremiah 32:26 ESV). In a way, He was asking Jeremiah, “Don’t you trust me?” He knew that this was all a lot for Jeremiah to take in, so He gave Jeremiah some further assurances. “Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Jeremiah 32:37-38 ESV). He let Jeremiah know that His word concerning the punishment of Judah was be fulfilled, but that would not be the last word regarding their fate. He had more in store. He had a timeline and a plan in place that would assure their restoration to the land. And God would keep that plan perfectly and faithfully.

Sometimes all we have are the promises of God, and they can appear vague and distant to us. We may not fully understand the nature of those promises or understand how God is going to bring them about. But He asks us to trust Him. He asks us to have assurance and conviction, based on nothing more than His character and reputation. God told Jeremiah, “Just as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them” (Jeremiah 32:42 ESV). He had kept His word regarding the coming destruction of Judah, so why would He not keep His word concerning their future restoration? God doesn’t lie. He doesn’t make promises and not keep them. God had promised to send the Messiah and He did – in the form of His own Son. He has promised eternal life to those who believe in His Son. He has promised to send His Son again. He has promised to restore righteousness to the world. He has promised to put an end to sin, death, sorrow, pain, and suffering. Will we trust Him? Are we willing to invest ourselves in the present based on the future promises of God? Is anything too difficult for our God? Can He bring about what He has promised? Will He do what He has said He will do? Faith operates on the basis of trust and hope in the fact that He can and He will.

Not By Might.

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He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail.  The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed. – 1 Samuel 2:9-10 ESV

1 Samuel 2:1-10

As Hannah wraps up her prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God, she stresses His strength and dominion over everything and anyone that exists. She also emphasizes His constant care over those who remain faithful to Him. It is not by our own strength that we are to survive and thrive, but by resting in the power and on the provision of God. Those who stand against Him will ultimately fail. Those who remain faithful will be exalted. This is not a blanket promise that every child of God will live a carefree life devoid of all trials or troubles. It is a statement of faith in the ultimate sovereignty and justice of God. He will right all wrongs and see to it that all injustices are one day paid for in full. Even in her prayer, Hannah reveals her belief that God will one day send “his king” to rule over the nation of Israel. The people of Israel knew that God had made a promise to Abraham that included a long line of kings, but to this point in the story, there had been none. “I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you” (Genesis 17:6 ESV). Hannah believed that God would fulfill His promise to Abraham and to His people. Just a few short chapters after Hannah prayed this prayer, the people of Israel would demand that God give them a king (1 Samuel 8:4-7). For the people of Israel, a king was seen as a deliverer, protector, leader, and warrior. He would be God’s human representative, providing them with justice, guidance and protection from their enemies. He was act as God’s agent on behalf of the people, standing against the enemies of God and bringing peace and prosperity to the land.

But ultimately, Hannah knew that it would not be by human might that the nation of Israel would stand. It would be by God’s power. He alone was sovereign. Any king God might provide would find success only as long as he relied upon God. It is God who guards the feet of His faithful ones. It is God who cuts off the wicked. It is God who breaks His adversaries in pieces. It is God who will judge the ends of the earth. But the sad truth is, the Israelites would end up forgetting this most important detail regarding God’s sovereignty over them. In demanding a king for themselves, they would be rejecting God as their king. When the prophet Samuel heard the people’s demand for a king, he was displeased, but God told Him, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them. According to all the deeds that they have done, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are also doing to you. Now then, obey their voice; only you shall solemnly warn them and show them the ways of the king who shall reign over them” (1 Samuel 8:7-9 ESV). Even after Samuel warned them of what would happen if God granted their request, the people said, “No! But there shall be a king over us,  that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles” (1 Samuel 8:19-20 ESV). Rather than trusting God to be their judge, King and protector, they were demanding a flesh-and-blood king. But it wasn’t their request for a king that was wrong, it was their rejection of God.

Hannah’s simple prayer reminds us that our faith and hope are to be in God and in Him alone. Our strength and security are to come from Him alone. We are not to turn to anyone or anything else. Even a divinely appointed human king was not to be a replacement for trust in God. David, while hand-picked by God to be the king of Israel, was never to be a substitute for God. He was simply God’s representative. It was the king’s who remained faithful and committed to God who saw their reigns blessed and their kingdoms flourish. Those, like Saul, who rebelled and against Him, saw that their might was insufficient and their reigns, short-lived. God has called each of us to acknowledge His rule and reign over our lives. He has earned the right to be our Lord and Master. It is to Him we must turn in times of trouble. It is He we must trust when things look bleak. It is His power on which we must rely when our strength grows weak. As God told Zerubbabel, when he was faced with rebuilding the destroyed temple in Jerusalem, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6 ESV). Our hope, strength, and salvation must always come from the Lord. He alone is sufficient for all that we may face.

Keeping God’s Word.

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I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. – John 17:6 ESV

John 17:1-26

At this point in His prayer, Jesus switched the emphasis from Himself to His disciples. In fact, this section is the longest of His entire prayer and focuses solely on the future well-being of His disciples. But before He lifts up the disciples, He acknowledges that He has manifested God’s name to all those He had given Him out of the world. Jesus had lived His life in such a way that He revealed that nature and character of God. His very existence made the true nature of God recognizable and knowable to men. Paul described Jesus as “the image of God” (2 Corinthians 4:4 ESV). John wrote, “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known” John 1:18 ESV). Again, Paul emphasized that Jesus was “the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15 ESV). When Jesus stated that He had manifested the name of God, He was saying that He had made the very essence of God known to man. Through Jesus they had come to know who God really was. After His resurrection and just before His ascension back into heaven, Jesus told His disciples, ““I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him” (John 14:6-7 ESV). Jesus had made God known. But the exact nature of God is only knowable to those whom God has chosen to reveal Himself. Jesus believed that His Father had given Him all those who chose to believe in Him. Earlier in His ministry Jesus had said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37 ESV). This is one of those tension-filled concepts in Scripture with which many wrestle and struggle. It involves God’s sovereignty and man’s free will. Did God choose us or did we choose God? Jesus clearly viewed those for whom He prayed as having been given to Him by God, not as those who had chosen to follow Him. At the end of the day, Jesus believed in and counted on the sovereign will of His Father. Yes, the disciples had each chosen to follow Jesus. They had left everything else behind and willingly walked after Jesus. But Jesus seemed to believe that even their decision to do so was the will of God. He had prayed throughout the night before He chose the twelve who would be His disciples. God had clearly directed His choice of the original twelve. Jesus saw everything as having been directed by and controlled by God. His sovereignty even extended to choice of all who would eventually believe in Jesus as their Savior. Later on in this same prayer, Jesus says, “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours” (John 17:9 ESV). This belief is why Jesus could be so confident when He thought about the future of His followers. They were in the hands of God. They belonged to Him. Interestingly enough, Jesus said, “Yours they were, and you gave them to me” (John 17:6 ESV).

Then Jesus emphasized that those whom God had given Him had kept the word of God. They had believed on Jesus as the Son of God. At the baptism of Jesus by John, God had spoken these words: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (John 3:17 ESV). At the transfiguration of Jesus, three of the disciples had heard God say, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (John 17:5 ESV). God had made it clear that Jesus was His Son. He was the Messiah, the Savior of the world. He was not just another man, a prophet, rabbi, or miracle worker. He was the Son of God. And those who had accepted that fact, had “kept the word of God.” They had listened to Jesus. They had believed the words of Jesus. They had accepted the fact that Jesus was the way, the truth, and the life and the only way to the Father. When Jesus had asked the disciples who they believed Jesus to be, Peter had spoken up and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16 ESV). Then Jesus had responded, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 17:17 ESV). In other words, Peter did not come to his realization on His own. God had revealed it to him. God had made it possible for Peter to recognize and comprehend the divine nature of Jesus. And that same testimony – that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God – would be the basis for every other person to come to be reconciled or made right with God.

The disciples did not live completely obedient lives. Neither will we. But we can keep God’s Word, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, by continuing to rely on Him as our Savior and sin substitute. We can continually rest in Him as the way, the truth and the life. We can persistently believe that Jesus is the Son of god and the Savior of the world.

1 Samuel 31, 1 Corinthians 2

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Misplaced Hope.

1 Samuel 31, 1 Corinthians 2

 And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley and those beyond the Jordan saw that the men of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled. And the Philistines came and lived in them. – 1 Samuel 31:7 ESV

King Saul was dead. Mortally wounded in battle with the Philistines, he ended up taking his own life rather than allow himself to be taken captive alive and be subjected to a slow and humiliating death at the hands of his enemies. When news of Saul’s death and that of his son, Jonathan, made it into the camp of the remaining Israelites, they panicked. They lost all hope. Their king was dead and so was his likely successor. In fact, all of Saul’s sons had been killed in battle, so their was no heir to the throne. So all the Israelites living east of the Jordan abandoned their homes and cities, leaving them to be captured and occupied by the Philistines. They had placed their hope for the future in an earthly king and now found themselves leaderless and hopeless. Rather than trust God, they had decided to invest their loyalty and allegiance in a man. In their minds, it had all made sense. When they had demanded that Samuel, the prophet of God, give them a king just like all the other nations, it had seemed like such a logical and wise decision. Samuel was getting old and his sons were wicked. So it made sense that they needed a leader, and when they looked around, all the other great nations had kings. So they went with the worldly wisdom of the day and demanded a king for themselves. Now the body of their king hung lifeless and headless on the wall of a Philistine city, and they were running for their lives.

What does this passage reveal about God?

This was not God’s preferred plan for their lives. He had wanted to bless them and make them successful. He had wanted to give them victory over their enemies. They were to have been the most powerful people in the land, feared by their enemies and known for the strength of their God. But now the Philistines were worshiping the power of their own gods for having given them victory over the Israelites. Rather than fear the Israelites, they saw them as weak and powerless. And they viewed the God of Israel as inferior and weak, incapable of rescuing His own people from destruction and defeat. Conventional wisdom would have supported this view. From a human perspective it would have appeared that the gods of the Philistines were more powerful than the God of the Israelites. But the wisdom of this world can’t comprehend the ways of God. The Philistines were gloating over their victory. The Israelites were running as a result of their defeat. But God was going to use this bleak moment in their history as yet another lesson and as a “demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Corinthians 2:3 ESV).

What does this passage reveal about man?

Worldly wisdom and godly wisdom are two different things. Men tend to believe their wisdom is superior and fully capable of providing them with the answers they seek and the direction they need for success in this world. Relying on human wisdom is a dangerous mistake. It may sound logical and make all the sense in the world, but Paul would remind us that placing our faith in the wisdom of this world rather than in the power of God will always lead to a less-than-perfect outcome. The people of Israel learned that lesson. So did Saul. Paul knew that the wisdom and rulers of this age “are doomed to pass away” (1 Corinthians 2:6 ESV). They come and they go, but God remains. And His wisdom is hidden, unavailable to men unless He chooses to reveal it to them. The wisest men of Jesus’ day were totally incapable of recognizing who He was and unable to understand the truth of what He was offering them. Paul said, “None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:8 ESV). Instead, they relied on their own wisdom and determined that the best plan was to put Jesus to death. Human wisdom resulted in their decision to have Jesus crucified. It made logical sense to them. But they were blind to the reality of what they were doing. They were incapable of understanding the will and the thoughts of God, so they relied on human reason alone.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

I have been given the ability to understand the mind of God because He has given me His Spirit. “So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:11-12 ESV). God has equipped me with the capacity to comprehend His will and His ways. I am not left to rely on human wisdom or the wisdom of this age. I have access to a greater source of wisdom that can not only direct me, but protect me from placing my trust and hope in the wrong things. Paul reminds me, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV). I have the Spirit of God living within me. I have no excuse for not understanding God’s will. I have no reason for refusing to trust God and place my hope in Him. But sadly, I still do. Even with the Spirit of God living within me, I can still find myself relying on human wisdom. I can still easily justify my own actions and determine that my ways make more sense than God’s ways. But I have no justification for relying on anything other than God. I have them mind of Christ. I am indwelt by the Spirit of God. I have access to the Word of God. I don’t have to rely on faulty human wisdom. With the help of the Spirit of God, I can comprehend the thoughts of God and live with my hope firmly placed on Him.

Father, I want to live with my trust in You, not in me. I want to live according to Your wisdom and not my own. Show me how to become increasingly more dependent on Your wisdom. Let me seek it through Your Word. Make it clear through the power and presence of Your Spirit. May I continue to learn to rely on You and place my hope and trust in You. Amen

Ken Miller
Grow Pastor & Minister to Men
kenm@christchapelbc.org