Category: Bible Study

Save me, O God!  For the waters have come up to my neck.  I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me.  I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched.  My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.  More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies.  What I did not steal must I now restore?  O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.  Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel.  For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach, that dishonor has covered my face.  I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s sons.  For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.  When I wept and humbled my soul with fasting, it became my reproach.  When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.  I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards make songs about me. (Psalm 69:1-12 ESV)

If you are reading this, I hope that you can never understand David’s deep feelings of abandonment, betrayal, and loneliness.  The shepherd-turned-king was once the revered subject of the songs of the masses, after he killed the giant, Goliath.  Now, something has happened to change the tune.  For some reason, all his friends and family have left him and the only songs sung about him are songs of derision sung by drunks around the campfire (verse 12).

What amazes me about this Psalm is that David does not just cry out to God so he can be relieved of his pain.  David is concerned about any dishonor that his actions may have brought to God’s house and God’s holy Name.

David’s phrase, “For zeal for your house has consumed me” is quoted by Jesus’ disciples in John chapter 2 to describe why Jesus cast the money-changers from the temple courts.  Jesus had the same concern for the integrity and respect of the Father’s house and His Name.  Jesus also experienced the adulation of the crowds and the abandonment and ridicule that followed.  Unlike David, Jesus, the Son of David, did nothing wrong to deserve any of this.  Instead, He experienced the betrayal by a friend’s kiss, the abandonment by all those closest to Him, and even execution between two criminals, for the crimes against God’s Name that you and I committed.  He experienced the ultimate humiliation so I could experience His glory.

In the study of the Hebrew Scriptures, one sometimes runs across the genre of “wisdom literature.”  A distinction is often made between knowledge (facts and information) and wisdom (the ability to use knowledge to live life).  Wisdom literature includes Proverbs, the Song of Songs, Esther, Job, Ecclesiastes, and parts of the Psalms.

The Bible tells us that the “fear of the LORD” is the beginning of both wisdom (Psalm 110) and knowledge (Proverbs 1:7).  This fear describes having a healthy and accurate idea of who God is, and then responding to Him with wonder, awe, and obedience.  (For further treatment, see A Season of Fear.)

A wise person knows who God is and how that knowledge of God helps him live life.  In contrast, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14, 53).  The “fool” in ancient Hebrew thinking was not one who was an atheist.  Atheism really didn’t exist in a culture where the starting point was, “In the beginning, God…”.  The fool in Hebrew culture was one who, despite knowing there was a God, lived life like there wasn’t any God.  In a way, fools were “practical atheists.”

When wisdom literature reminds the reader that having a proper concept of God (along with a proper response to Him) is the beginning of really understanding the world and knowing how to live in it, a new definition of wisdom arises.  Wisdom is, “living life with God at the core.”

It is interesting that wisdom literature was written during times of great transition for the Jewish people, when they had many questions as to how to live life as everything around them was changing.  Examples include when Jewish society became a monarchy, when the Jews started to have settlements based in cities rather than in tribal villages, and when the Jews changed from being a monarchy to being a people in living in exile.

Why does wisdom literature describe such practical living, as is presented in the Proverbs?  Why give people filled with questions about their changing and uncertain lives practical advice in areas such as finance, speech, marriage, and child-rearing?  Why is Job considered wisdom, when Job has so many questions and so few answers?  Why is Esther included, when the name of God is not even mentioned in the book?  Why is Ecclesiastes a wisdom book, when the main topic is “meaninglessness.”  And why is the Song of Songs, a book about romance and sex given to people struggling with change?

The main question the Jewish people were really asking was, “Where is God in times of change and suffering?”  Wisdom literature gives the answer – He is there.  Always there.  He is in your marriage and family, in your work, and in the daily struggles of life.  The message of Job is that He is there when you have unanswerable questions.  Esther shouts at us that even if God is not mentioned, He is there, saving His people and working behind the scenes setting up and taking down kingdoms.  (Esther, by the way, is a Persian name that sounds like the Hebrew word for “hidden”.)  The Song of Songs reminds us that if God is anywhere, He is present in marital love, which shows us what His love for us is like.  When everything around us is falling apart, when we have many questions, when we wonder where God is, and how we should live in such times of transition, wisdom literature helps us out.  It has a message we all need to remember – He is there even when you cannot see Him.  Look for Him.  And live like He is there.  This is wisdom.

The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.  Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the LORD does valiantly, the right hand of the LORD exalts, the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!”  I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD.  The LORD has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death.  Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.  This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it.  I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.  The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.  This is the LORD’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.  This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:14-24 ESV)

As we prepare our hearts for our Easter celebration, we have explored how Jesus is the King who sets up God’s everlasting Kingdom, the Priest who brings sinful men and a holy God into relationship, the Housebuilder who gives us an eternal home and makes His own home in our hearts, the Giver of Children to the barren, the Passover Lamb who is our sacrifice and pays the penalty for our sin, and the Covenant-maker who fulfills the covenant-relationship responsibilities for both God and man.  It is Jesus who is the Promise Maker who enables us to enjoy God’s promise and blessing, even though we don’t deserve either.  Jesus is incredible!

Yet, today’s passage reminds us that while Jesus is the perfect Cornerstone upon which to build our lives, we don’t want Him.  We don’t want the promises He offers.  We don’t want any part of His Kingdom where we would have to bow before His Kingship.  He is everything we need, but we reject Him.

Jesus quotes Psalm 118 in Mark 12, where He tells the story of a wealthy landowner who makes all the investments needed to make his land a fruitful vineyard.  He then hires workers who will tend to the vineyard in his absence.  When he sends various servants to collect his share of the crop, the tenants beat them or kill them.  When the owner in desperation sends his own son to solve the problem, they kill him, too.

Jesus is this rejected Cornerstone.  He is the Son sent by the rightful Creator and Owner of all things who is killed by those rejecting His authority.  Jesus is rejected and killed, but then on the third day rises again, defeating all enemies who would rise against Him.  May we repent of our rebellion and rejection toward our Creator, and embrace the forgiveness and life that the rejected One, Jesus, offers us despite our rebellion and sin.

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”  He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.  Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”  I will tell of the decree: The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.  Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.  You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”  Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth.  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled.  Blessed are all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 2 ESV)

This “royal Psalm” describe the Kingship of the Son, Jesus Christ.  The Jewish people had their hopes that one of the kings of the line of King David would somehow usher in the kingdom they hoped for.  One descendant of David could set up the Kingdom we all hope for and need, Jesus Christ.  The reason that Jesus could do for us what no other king could do is because He is also the Son of God.  Jesus’ Kingdom is eternal, and allows us to be free from all the enemies we now face, including sin and death.  Which kingdom today boasts such claims?

Some see a problem in being part of a kingdom – there is always a king.  The peoples and rulers of this world reject Jesus the King and His wonderful Kingdom, simply because they don’t want to accept His Kingly rule over their lives, despite how wonderful His rule and reign would be for their well-being.  We are so proud, we don’t want anyone else to tell us what to do, even if it is best for us.  Let’s heed the wisdom of this Psalm – serve the LORD and take refuge in Him!

The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”  The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter.  Rule in the midst of your enemies!  Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours.  The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”  The Lord is at your right hand;    he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.  He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth.  He will drink from the brook by the way; therefore he will lift up his head. (Psalm 110 ESV)

A few days ago, we explored how all earthly priests fell short of their calling – to be mediators between and holy God and sinful men.  Perhaps the fact that all such priests are sinners themselves makes such a task impossible.  We also saw how the sinless God-Man, Jesus, is the perfect priest, not of the tribe of Levi but from the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 4-7, Genesis 14).  He alone can truly bring holy God and sinful men into relationship.

Today’s reading highlights the priestly role of Jesus, but also clearly portrays Him as King.  How do we know that this Psalm, the most quoted Old Testament passage by the New Testament, is prophetically referring to Jesus?  One hint is that no earthly, Jewish king can be both priest and king.  Jesus is both the One who brings God and man together in relationship, and the One who rules and reigns on high for all eternity!  Jesus is at God’s right hand – the place of ultimate authority.  Jesus rules over all His enemies, including the greatest enemies of all, sin and death.  Jesus has all power and is dressed in holiness.  Jesus rightly executes perfect justice among the nations.  Jesus alone is the perfect Priest and King.  Who better to give your life to than He!

Now when the king lived in his house and the LORD had given him rest from all his surrounding enemies, the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent.” And Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.”  But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: Would you build me a house to dwell in? (2 Samuel 7:1-5 ESV)

…from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” In accordance with all these words, and in accordance with all this vision, Nathan spoke to David. (2 Samuel 7:11-17 ESV)

King David built a comfortable palace for himself, and felt a little guilty that His God still had a “house” that was a tent called the tabernacle.  Of course, trying to place God, a Spirit who is everywhere at once, in a little tent is rather absurd.  But God, wanting a relationship with men where they could have a home with Him, condescended to man’s finititude and told the Jews to build a tent where God could dwell with man.

The tabernacle was patterned after the heavenly dwelling place of God.  It is that heavenly home where He invites all who belong to Him to dwell with Him for all eternity.  The portable structure seemed to be appropriate for a God who was “wild” and not controlled by man’s restraints.  YHWH (lit. “I am who I am, I will be whom I will be”), the God of the Jews, would go wherever He wanted to go whenever He wanted to.  It certainly helped the Jews to have this tent to meet with their redeeming God as they wandered through the wilderness and as they settled into the promised land.  But now the land was settled.  The King had a palace.  And God still had a tent.  This did not sit well with David, so He asked His God if he could build Him His own palace – the temple.

God’s response was that David’s son (Solomon) would indeed build God a temple.  And while David would not build God a house, God would build David’s “house” – his royal family line.  From David’s royal family line would come the greatest King ever, the Messiah, or anointed One.  The Messiah would build God’s Kingdom that would inhabit the entire world, not just a palace.  But the Kingdom of the Messiah was not just a physical place for man and God to dwell together, it would also be an internal, spiritual home.  The Messiah will ultimately provide an entire new heaven and new earth in which God’s subjects will dwell with Him as family.  But He also gives His subjects new hearts, in which the infinite God would dwell.  Man and God both have a new home.  The question is, does God feel at home in your heart?

 

And there came a man of God to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Did I indeed reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt subject to the house of Pharaoh? Did I choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me? I gave to the house of your father all my offerings by fire from the people of Israel. Why then do you scorn my sacrifices and my offerings that I commanded for my dwelling, and honor your sons above me by fattening yourselves on the choicest parts of every offering of my people Israel?’ Therefore the LORD, the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that your house and the house of your father should go in and out before me forever,’ but now the LORD declares: ‘Far be it from me, for those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me shall be lightly esteemed. Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your strength and the strength of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. Then in distress you will look with envious eye on all the prosperity that shall be bestowed on Israel, and there shall not be an old man in your house forever. The only one of you whom I shall not cut off from my altar shall be spared to weep his eyes out to grieve his heart, and all the descendants of your house shall die by the sword of men. And this that shall come upon your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, shall be the sign to you: both of them shall die on the same day. And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what is in my heart and in my mind. And I will build him a sure house, and he shall go in and out before my anointed forever. And everyone who is left in your house shall come to implore him for a piece of silver or a loaf of bread and shall say, “Please put me in one of the priests’ places, that I may eat a morsel of bread.”’” (1 Samuel 2:27-36 ESV)

Hophni and Phinehas, being part of the Jewish Levitical priesthood, were to fulfill the duties of priest.  These include: “to go up to my altar, to burn incense” and “to wear an ephod before me”.  At the altar, the priests would act as intercessors, mediators who would help a holy God and sinful men to meet by performing various types of sacrifices.  Burning incense had to do with sending up the worship and prayers of God’s people before His heavenly throne.  Wearing an ephod was part of the priests’ role to seek God’s wisdom and guidance for a people who wanted to be obedient to Him.  This is what priests were to do.  But Hophni and Phinehas instead performed their duties for personal gain.  They served God and His people to fill their own bellies for their own satisfaction.

God rebukes their sin and pronounces their punishment but also gives a prophetic message of hope to His people.  He promises to one day send a “faithful priest” who would truly bring God and man together.  This priest will do what is in God’s heart and mind.  Of course, this faithful priest comes not from the tribe of Levi, but from the “order of Melchizedek” (see Hebrews 4-7).  This priest is named Jesus, and is the only One who can reconcile sinful men to a holy God.

And Hannah prayed and said, “My heart exults in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD.  My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.  “There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.  Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.        The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength.  Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.  The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn.  The LORD kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up.  The LORD makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts.  He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor.  For the pillars of the earth are the LORD’s, and on them he has set the world.  “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 2:1-10 ESV)

In ancient Israel, there was no greater shame and pain a woman could experience than being barren.  In a day when ladies did not pursue careers outside the home, and when their identities were found exclusively in their families, to no have a child was a great disgrace.  If a couple remained childless, and specifically had no male heir to carry on the family name and inherit the family fortune, it was as if they had never lived themselves.  Their name, their heritage, must carry on.  In addition, the greatest hope of every Jewish mother was that she would give birth to the promised Messiah, the Great King that God would send to set up His Kingdom in this world.

In chapter one, Hannah was childless, without hope and full of shame.  Others preached that having children was a blessing and that barrenness was a curse.  Did her neighbors whisper behind her back, wondering what great sin she committed to deserve such a punishment?  While loved by her husband, her heart was still as empty as her womb.  To make matters worse, her husband had a second wife who had children, making their home an impossible competition Hannah could not win.  So, in utter desperation Hannah went to the house of God to sacrifice and to pray.  And God heard her prayer.  Her son Samuel was born.  Not just any son, Samuel grew up to be a mighty prophet of God!

No wonder she now prays again, this time with lips filled with praise to a God who takes care of His people.  It is the Lord who makes low and raises up. Our lives don’t always respond up to our attempts to control them, but God always remains in control.  He is to be praised!

Hannah’s song reminds me of another song (Luke 1:46-56) from the lips of another mother named Mary, a young girl who unexpectedly and miraculously gave birth to a Son, Jesus.  Her song also was a song of praise and a reminder of God’s power, mercy, and sovereignty.  Mary, of course, was that one Jewish mother who experienced the blessing to be the mother of the Messiah.  And because He was born, God’s Kingdom can be experienced by all desperate people who cry out to Him in prayer.

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.

“Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts. And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. (Exodus 12:1-13 ESV)

After centuries living as slaves in Egypt, the Jewish people are about to embark on their miraculous, God-led journey into freedom and ultimately into the land and new life God had promised them.  Their exit from the land of their captivity was not welcomed by their captors, who made quite a profit having slave labor at their disposal, so God had to “convince” Egypt’s king and its people that they should let God’s people go.  He did so through a series of awful plagues, each showing how the God of the Hebrew people was vastly superior to the gods the Egyptians settled for.  The last plague was the worst.  The firstborn son of each family would die.

The Jews did have one way of deliverance – if they sacrificed a lamb and placed the blood of that sacrifice on the doorpost of their home, death would “pass over” that home.  Notice that the Jews weren’t more deserving of any escape from death than their captors were.  Their firstborn would also die, unless they obeyed.  It was only through an act of trustful obedience to God’s instruction that God provided a way of escape.

The same is true of all of us, who deserve death (separation from the One who is life, itself) because of our sinful rebellion toward our Creator.  We aren’t deserving of deliverance from our punishment.  But God still graciously provides a sacrifice for us, the death of His Son, who’s blood applied to our sinful lives frees us from death and enables us to experience life.  We must simply trust that His blood is enough for our deliverance.

“Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you.  Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up.  He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?  The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.  Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes.  His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. (Genesis 49:8-12 ESV)

The last two days, we explored the promise given to Abraham that his descendants would become a great nation that would bless the entire world.  In this passage, Abraham’s grandson, Jacob, prophetically foresees some of those descendants – those coming to his son Judah’s family.  Judah was one of twelve brothers who made some very poor choices in his lifetime (see Genesis 38), but was still chosen by God to be one held in a position of prominence and power.  His descendants would be the rulers of the nation coming from Abraham, the alpha-lion that would rule Abraham’s tribe.  Judah’s family would be truly blessed, despite their ancestor’s sin.

David was one of the well-known kings from the tribe of Judah who is still beloved and held in high esteem among the Jewish people.  But another Lion from the tribe of Judah is portrayed in Revelation.  In chapter 5 of John’s visionary book, we meet a Lion ruling and reigning Who alone is worthy and able to open a scroll which begins the process of God’s kingdom coming fully into our world.  But when John sees the Lion, He is a Lamb, slain for sacrifice.  How can the ruling Lion be a sacrificed Lamb?

Of course, this descendant of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah is Jesus Christ, the One who is truly the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and who will rule and reign in His Glorious Kingdom for all eternity!  How does the Lion bring this kingdom of blessing into the world of sinful men?  By being the Lamb, slain to pay for the sins of those sinful men, so their hearts can be changed and so they can then enter God’s holy Kingdom.  Unless our King became the Lamb, there would be no way for us to be part of His rule and reign.

After these things, God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from afar. 5 Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.” 6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So, they went both of them together. 7 And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 Abraham said, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So, they went both of them together.

9 When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built the altar there and laid the wood in order and bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then Abraham reached out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 12 He said, “Do not lay your hand on the boy or do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” 13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called the name of that place, “The LORD will provide”; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided.”  (Genesis 22:1-14 ESV)

Yesterday we focused on God’s covenantal promises to Abraham, which included descendants of Abraham being the instrument of God’s blessing to the world.  There was one problem with that promise – Abraham was 99 years old, and his wife, Sarah, was 90 and well past childbearing when the promise of Genesis 15 was given.  They had no children.  How could their descendants bless the world if there were no descendants?

God miraculously gave this couple a son, Isaac, the “son of promise.”  Now, in Genesis 22, God makes a strange demand to Abraham – “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”  The question now is like the first.  How can Abraham’s future descendants bring God’s blessing to the whole world if the only direct descendant of Abraham is killed?  And how could a father sacrifice his beloved son?

Abraham must have struggled with these questions, but being a man of faith and trust in his Heavenly Father, he obeys.  Isaac dutifully carries the wood for his sacrifice up a mountain and is placed on the altar of sacrifice.  Abraham takes his knife to sacrifice his son, but before he plunges it into Isaac’s heart, God stops him and provides a ram to be sacrificed as a substitute for Isaac.  What a gripping story!  What an incredible ending!  What faith Abraham displayed?  What love the Heavenly Father exhibited!

About 2,200 years after this event, another Father sent His Son to carry wood up this very same mountain for the sacrifice of His Son.  This time, God did not cry out, “Do not lay your hand on the boy,” because this Son, God’s only begotten Son, was the substitute sacrifice.  Jesus, “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” died in our place, taking the penalty we deserved to pay because of our transgression against the Giver of Life.  What an incredible ending!  How could a Father sacrifice His Beloved Son?  He did so, and Jesus obeyed, so we could also become sons of the Father.

7 And he said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9 He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” 10 And he brought him all these, cut them in half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut the birds in half. 11 And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away. 12 As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him.

17 When the sun had gone down and it was dark, behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, 19 the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”  (Genesis 15:7-12, 17-21 ESV)

Yesterday, in looking at the story of Noah, we were introduced to an important biblical concept called “covenant.”  We said, “A covenant is simply an agreement that binds two parties together and lays out what is expected of each party if they are to have a relationship.  It also describes what the relationship will look like if the parties live up to their end of the agreement, and lays out the consequences if a party does not live up to the terms of the covenant.”  Today’s story continues with this theme.

Sometime after Noah, a man named Abram (later Abraham) was given a promise from God (Genesis 12) that includes the prophecy that God will make Abram a great nation and from this nation God will bless the entire world.  God reaffirms that covenant in our reading for today.  Abram is told to bring various animals and cut them each in half.  He then is to divide the halves.  Many scholars believe that this “cutting of a covenant” is a picture signifying what will happen if a party to the covenant does not live up to their end of the bargain.  In other words, even God is promising that if He doesn’t fulfill His covenant responsibilities, He will become like the dead animals (see Jeremiah 34:18-19).  What a picture!

Then something incredible happens.  Normally, both parties would walk through the cut-up animals together, showing that each is committing themselves to the consequences of not fulfilling the covenantal terms.  But in Genesis 15, God makes Abram fall into a deep sleep, where he is unable to walk through and make such promises.  God walks through alone.  As we saw yesterday, mankind has always failed to live up to his end of the deal when it came to having a relationship with a holy God.  God understands our inability to do so, so He walks through and makes the promise for both parties.  As we saw yesterday, this is what Jesus did when He became a Man – He entered the world to live a perfectly righteous life (thus living up to our end of the bargain for us) and taking the punishment for not being able to live up to the covenant upon Himself (thus, being crucified in our place).  Because He did what He did for us, we are now truly able to have a covenant relationship with God!

[8] Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, [9] “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, [10] and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. [11] I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” [12] And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: [13] I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. [14] When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, [15] I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. [16] When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” [17] God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.” (Genesis 9:8-17 ESV)

Yesterday, on what is commonly known as Ash Wednesday, we explored how when Adam and Eve sinned against the holy character and law of God they experienced curse and death.  Adam was told, “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  We are dust.  Our lives are temporary and fragile.  And they are so because they are corrupt and rebellious.

A few pages after the story of Adam comes the story of Noah.  By Noah’s day, we read “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”  This is what things look like when over time man’s sin continues and multiplies.  As in Genesis 3, a holy God must deal with such corruption.  God destroys this great evil with a great flood, sparing only the righteous Noah, his family, and the animals taken aboard the ark.

After the flood, a new concept appears in the pages of Scripture – that of the “covenant.”  A covenant is simply an agreement that binds two parties together and lays out what is expected of each party if they are to have a relationship.  It also describes what the relationship will look like if the parties live up to their end of the agreement, and lays out the consequences if a party does not live up to the terms of the covenant.

In Genesis 9, God promises that He will not again wipe sinful man off the face of the earth with a flood.  Why?  Did man suddenly become good?  No, man’s heart remained wicked and evil.  If over time man’s sin continues and multiplies, now millennia after the flood, how evil and corrupt has our world become?  (Just think, Nazi Germany.)

God doesn’t make this promise because man can now suddenly live up to the stipulations needed to have a relationship with a holy God.  Man proved repeatedly that He fails in every attempt to have a covenant relationship with God.  (See how successfully the Jews lived up to the Mosaic covenant that God gave Moses on Mt. Sinai.)  God knew man would fail, so He sent His only begotten Son to become a Man.  Jesus then, as our substitute, lived the perfectly righteous life required for man to live if he would have a relationship with a holy God, a life we could never live on our own.  And He died to pay the price required for those who do not live up to expectations necessary to have a relationship with a holy God, a price we could never pay on our own.  Because of this, we can now experience the life and blessing that comes for those who have a covenant relationship with God.  Jesus fulfilled our end of the covenant, and God’s end, too.

The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.  I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”  To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.  Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”  And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.  By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  Genesis 3:14-19

These sobering words following the disobedience of the first man and woman to God’s law and their obvious rebellion toward His rightful rule over their lives reminds us that the result of rejecting God leads to curse and ultimately death.  This makes sense, since removing ourselves from a relationship with the One who is blessing and life itself can result in nothing less.  Adam, who was created from “dust” will not live forever in a physical state of rebellion but will one day breath his last and have his body return to dust.  The same is true of every one of his descendants who have made the same choice to rebel against the One who is blessing and life.

How often we overlook our sin by reminding ourselves “we are only human.”  Yet, our sin is not a trivial thing that God ignores.  His holiness does not allow for that.  His perfect righteousness deals with our unrighteousness.  He justly deals with all rebellion against His righteousness.  What does that mean for rebellious sinners such as us?  Do we have any hope?  Are we doomed to experience only the result of our sin – separation from the One who is life and blessing?  On this day when many will go to church and have an ash cross applied to their forehead, let us remember that we are but dust.  But let’s also remember this:  Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith (Galatians 3:13-14).

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. (Colossians 1:15-18 ESV)

And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:22-23)

There is no doubt that according to the Scriptures, Christ is the Supreme Head of the Church, His Body.  The Church is here defined not as a building, not as a social club, not as a weekly appointment, but as the people of God redeemed by the blood of Christ.  These people have been born again.  They have passed from eternal death to eternal life.  They are now adopted by their Heavenly Father to be part of His family forever.  Everything about them is different.  They are completely transformed, now that Christ has changed them.  They are indeed “new creations” in Christ.

When we fail to define the church in this way, we get into all kinds of trouble when we “do church.”  If we think of the church as a building, those who put up the brick and mortar and those who paid for the brick and mortar see the church as “their church.”  (What then happens when someone else wants to paint the brick and mortar?)  If we think of the church as a social club, those who pay their “dues” expect certain perks to be given to them from the “paid staff,” whom they can fire if they don’t like what they are receiving, because “We pay their salary.”  If they see the church as another weekly appointment, they can cancel the appointment if another more fun and “profitable” use of their time can be found.  After all, their time is their own, and they can choose to do with their time what they choose.

All of these misconceptions about the church flow from a popular concept communicated in our churches today – “ownership”.  We want our people to feel “ownership” in the church so that they become more involved.  There is nothing more destructive than this.  When someone feels like they are the “owner,” they think they can control what they paid for.  They expect a certain return on their investment.  If what they own does not give them what they want and the cost outweighs the benefit, what do they do?  They sell.  Ownership is all about what you pay and what you get in return for your investment.

Is there anything more unbiblical?  I don’t want people to think that the church is theirs – it belongs to Christ!  And if they are part of the true church (the called-out redeemed ones), it is because they belong to Christ!  He is our Head – our owner.  He calls the shots.  It is all about what He gets in return for His investment.  He paid for the church by His shed blood!

Instead of feeling like owners, I want people to feel like they belong to the church because they belong to Christ.  If people feel like they are the owners, for them the church becomes all about power and control and getting a return for their investment.  This is one of the greatest reasons the western church is so unhealthy and unfruitful.  In the west, we base our church structure on a corporate model where we try to make all the people co-owners, with the staff being some kind of controlling partner.  But in this model, I guarantee that there will be a power struggle between investors and staff.  Each wants the church to be what they want it to be.  After all, aren’t they “the owners”?

I repeat – Christ is the Head of His Church!

The book of Nehemiah chapter 8 holds a beloved passage of Scripture: “…the joy of the Lord is your strength.”  We sing these words in a chorus, but what do they mean?

Nehemiah is a story of restoration.  God’s people had been exiled because of their sin and unbelief, but now a portion of them have returned to the promised land and were rebuilding.  In chapter 8, the wall around Jerusalem has been rebuilt, but now there needs to be a rebuilding of the people.  The building project brought safety, but it couldn’t change their sinful hearts.  To begin this internal rebuilding, Nehemiah asks Ezra the priest to publicly read the law of God.  Nehemiah makes it clear that before there can rebuilding, there needs to be an acknowledgement that things are broken and the law does just that.

They held the gathering at the “water gate.”  In the Scriptures, water is a picture for the Word of God, which cleanses (John 15:3, Eph. 5:26).  It is also a picture of the Spirit of God, Who gives joyous life which satisfies our parched soul (John 7:37-39).

When they heard the Word, the people mourned over their sins, “for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”  They had just observed the Day of Atonement, and had spent 10 days examining their hearts.  Now the Word confirmed their guilt.

But revival doesn’t end with people feeling guilty.  When they repent (lit. a change of mind that brings a change of heart that brings a change of will that brings a change of life), they are cleansed, and they should rejoice in their forgiveness.  True repentance brings joy and restoration with their God!  The Feast of Tabernacles (a fun, celebratory festival) follows the Day of Atonement.  During the Feast, they lived in “booths” to remind them of their 40 years in the wilderness that resulted in their entering of the Promised Land.  What joy!  Warren Wiersbe said, “Conviction is followed by cleansing, then celebration.”

The Word brings conviction which leads to repentance.  It also brings joy.  “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by your Name (Jer. 15:16).”  “The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart (Ps. 19:8).”  “Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart (Ps. 119:111).”  “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands (Ps. 112:1).”  “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night.”

When we truly repent, we are forgiven!  The past is gone.  The Feast of Tabernacles in the book of Zechariah (14:4, 9, 16-20) is a feast that looks forward to a glorious future when Jesus will return.  That is why the “joy of the Lord is your strength (8:10).”  When your hope is gone, when your joy is weak, think about where you have come from.  Think about where you are going because of Christ.  That gives you the strength for today.  We can live lives of obedience today (8:13-18) because of the joy of the Lord.  The joy of the Lord is your strength!

As we begin this new year, many are thinking of new jobs, new financial streams of income, and a “new you.”  Many are also thinking of new relationships.  But how many are thinking of a new relationship to God’s law?

I was reading from chapter 5 of Matthew this morning, the first chapter recording the famous “Sermon on the Mount.”  I don’t know how many times I have heard even those who don’t follow Christ say, “I like the teachings of Jesus.  The things He said about love – the things He said on the Sermon in the Mount – those things are beautiful!”  Let me agree.  It is a beautiful sermon.  But if you actually read what Jesus said, it is also terrifying!  After the beatitudes (“blessed are the…”), Jesus tells us that if we aren’t salty enough, we are good for nothing except to be path pavement.  He tells us that unless we are more righteous than even the most religious, we won’t see His Kingdom.  He clarifies that we are guilty of breaking the laws of His Kingdom not only if we murder, but even if we get angry.  The same is true of adultery – we are guilty of breaking this law not only when we commit the physical act, but when we lust in our heart!  He proclaims that most who get divorced and remarried are committing adultery.  He says that if we don’t keep our word, if we hold something against our brother, if we try to retaliate against our enemies, in fact if we don’t LOVE our enemies, we are not living up to the standard of His Kingdom, which is, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  If we honestly read this beautiful sermon, we have to admit, we’re in big trouble!

This sermon is a “kingdom sermon.”  It describes what God’s Kingdom is like, and how His kingdom people are to live.  Right before this chapter, we read, “Jesus went throughout Galilee teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.”  Jesus talked about His Kingdom, and He demonstrated the power of the Kingdom.  In this context He gave us a sermon about the Kingdom.  It is much like the giving of the law in the Old Testament.  The law describes the character of God and what the character of His covenant people should look like.  Paul accurately teaches that on our own, none of us can live as God’s people.  On our own, with our sinful hearts, none of us can live as Kingdom people.  That is the purpose of the law – to tell us we can’t be good enough on our own (read Galatians or Romans).  What we realize when we see God’s standard is this – we need new hearts, indeed new lives, to truly be Kingdom people who live like the King!  And only Jesus can make us new and give us the circumcised hearts that His people must have.

In other words, you won’t be able to live up to the requirements of the Kingdom unless you have been made a citizen of the Kingdom – unless you have been made into a new creation.  Unless you have been born again.  Only then, after this miraculous transformation, will you have a heart and a life capable of living like the King.  It is then that you have a new relationship with the law and with this message of the Kingdom.  It no longer condemns you as guilty and incapable of living right.  When you are made new, it now describes who God is and who He has made you.