The Danger of Forsaking God (Part Two)

Hosea 2:2-13

And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals when she burned offerings to them and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers and forgot me, declares the Lord (2:13 ESV).

Previously, we considered that old covenant Israel abandoned the Lord by refusing to acknowledge God as the source of the blessings she enjoyed. Next, we see that Israel also abandoned the Lord by giving to her false gods what God had given to her (2:8).

You can sense the Lord’s disgust with her conduct. What a wretched woman Israel had become, taking from her husband to give to another lover. Notice her twisted thinking. She thought her blessings were the pay from her lovers, and then she returns a part of her pay for her meretricious conduct to the lover who had used her (2:13).

America, the wealthy nation, is rapidly heading for the day when she will find herself impoverished by seeking after idolatry and pantheistic forces. People refuse to look at the present misery of those who serve idols, and instead gladly welcome foolish, idolatrous ideas as the latest and greatest way to prosperity.

What should be done to a fallen woman like Israel? In this section, God uses the “powerfully tough” approach that we mentioned in our start pf this series. How would the Lord punish Israel for her sins?

First, the Lord would punish Israel by putting obstacles in her path (2:6). The Lord sometimes places “stop” or “warning” signs in the ways of sinners, because he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. God commands all people everywhere to repent. Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30). These obstacles were intended to help Israel lose her adulterous way of life. When we can’t reach satisfaction in our sinning, we should be glad. God is opening a way out of the mess we have made of our lives. Consider the story of the lost son (Luke 15:17ff). Are you experiencing dissatisfaction in your sin? Turn back to the Source of joy!

Second, the Lord would punish Israel by judging her productivity (2:3, 9, 12). The Lord threatens to take back what he had given. This is a most just judgment on those who refuse to praise God who blesses. The Lord threatens to ruin what had supplied her with happiness and sustenance.

Third, the Lord would punish Israel by exposing her wickedness (2:10). Wherever you have sinners, you will have sins. But western civilization has delighted in displaying her debauchery to a watching world. We should listen to what the rest of the world says about us. No one would be able to deliver Israel when she fell into the Lord’s hands. Let us reflect on Hebrews 10:31. People have hated the sermons of Jonathan Edwards for nearly 300 years. One day the haters of the truth will know the terror of the Lord.

Fourth, the Lord would punish Israel by ending her religious festivals (2:11). God had given Israel set times throughout the year to remember him and to thank him for the blessings he showered upon her. Every opportunity to thank God ought to be considered precious! But God would end it all. He tired of the travesty of having celebrations seemingly intended to remember him, but which were really riotous worship of idols.

Will you remember the Lord this week? Is he really precious to you? As I write, YouVersion is having a twenty-one day Bible challenge to read God’s word each day during that time. Certainly, we ought to read properly. But will you invest time in listening to God’s Word? You don’t need YouVersion. All you need is a Bible.

Grace and peace, David

The Danger of Forsaking God (Part One)

Hosea 2:2-13

Rebuke your mother; rebuke her. For she is not my wife and I am not her husband. Let her remove the promiscuous look from her face and her adultery from between her breasts. Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her as she was on the day of her birth. I will make her like a desert and like a parched land, and I will let her die of thirst (2:2-3 CSB).

We must always keep in mind God’s revelation of himself. Almighty, holy, sovereign and self-sufficient, God still wants to share his love and glory with people. Amazingly, God reaches out to people who have not wanted God in their lives. He does this in order to draw them into a deep relationship of love, which God sets forth in terms of marriage and family.

Sadly and tragically, people wander away from the living God, who overflows with love. In this passage, God reveals one way he responds to such conduct. This response to rejected love should not surprise us. God is surely right in bringing justice on those who despise his overflowing love. Again, the language in this section is blunt, racy, and shocking. God intends it to be. He wants us to wake up and realize that offended love responds powerfully!

How did Israel forsake the Lord? Israel abandoned the Lord by refusing to acknowledge God as the source of the blessings she enjoyed (2:5). In contrast, the godly person sees God as the supplier of what we need to sustain and enjoy life. As Paul told a group of non-Christians, who had a wrong view of God, Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy (Acts 14:15-17 NIV; cf. Matthew 6:25-34; James 1:15-17). God provides us with what is necessary to sustain life and to have joy in our lives.

Israel’s troubles began when she forgot the Lord, though she had been warned against so doing. And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals when she burned offerings to them and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry, and went after her lovers and forgot me, declares the Lord (Hosea 2:13 ESV; cf. Deuteronomy 8:6-14). In our culture, where both marriage partners often work outside the home, it is easy to miss the point of the wife depending on her husband for support. How could Israel forget the husband who provided her with all she needed to live? She had forgotten the lesson of the manna.

As Israel forgot the Lord, it is not surprising that she did not acknowledge God as the source of her blessings (2:8). The average person in western society thinks that their skill and hard work or clever use of government entitlements are the source of blessings. But who gives you your abilities? Who has provided wealth to our nation? All comes from God.

Israel abandoned the Lord by taking idols as her lovers. She wrongly believed that her false gods provided her with the blessings of life. She worshipped idols like Baal as the ones who controlled nature (2:5). An error in the content of faith or doctrine leads to errors in our worldview, which leads to absurd, disgusting and immoral practices. An example of this is the different ways that people look to harmonize their environment, in order to be successful or have a sense of well-being or for other reasons.

Israel wildly pursued her false gods in her adulteries (2:7, 13). Notice the lack of purity (2:2) that led to a spiritually immoral lifestyle. When God exposes our attitudes and actions by the word, it is not the time to mutter a mere “I’m sorry,” but to have a deep change of mind. “Lord, give me the mind of Christ—an inner person of the heart that is zealous for you.”

Grace and peace, David

Clouds and then Sunshine (Part Two)

Hosea 1:4-2:1

Yet the Israelites will be like the sand on the seashore, which cannot be measured or counted. In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called ‘children of the living God’ (1:10 NIV).

The third child was named Lo-Ammi, which means “not my people” (1:8-9). God’s message through the prophet Hosea was that he would cast Israel away. Israel was overconfident about her covenant relationship to the Lord, even as she turned from the Lord to Baal. It is much like the modern American, who somehow falsely assumes America is a “Christian nation”, while the Lord’s name is blasphemed, his worship forsaken, and a godly way of life is abandoned, mocked and resisted like the plague.

The Bible tells us that God cannot be mocked. Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap (Galatians 6:7). People may pretend to be Christians today, but God will not own them as his own on the Judgment Day. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23 ESV).

The fact that God gave this message through the naming of the children, which took a few years, demonstrates that he gave Israel the opportunity to repent. God has issued many warnings to this world over the last hundred years: terrible wars, terrorist attacks, floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, landslides, ice storms, plagues, and blizzards. Yet people have not turned back to God. How much longer do we have before far more destructive judgments fall from heaven?

However, in a setting of apparent hopelessness, the living God offers a word of hope, a promise of restoration (1:10-2:1). The foundation is that God keeps his covenant promises. Remember his promises to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:4-6; 22:15-18). God’s grace is greater than human sin and weakness.

What did the Lord promise? The place of rejection would become the place of restoration. There would be another reversal of the name Jezreel! God is able to restore, even when it seems impossible. Keep on praying and believing. Never give up! As the New Testament makes clear, this was also a promise of salvation to the nations (Romans 9:22-26; 1 Peter 2:9-10).

God would restore the names of love and relationship to his chosen people. They would again be honored as God’s people. They would experience anew that they were loved by the Lord. God has freely chosen to have a family relationship of love with people that were rebellious against him. He makes this happen through his Son, Jesus Christ. The Messiah died to pay for our sins and rose the third day that we might be declared right with God when we turn from our sins and trust in the Lord. Are you right with God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? If you are, worship God. Expressing your joy in God through worship is God’s great purpose for you.

Stop and think for a moment. What about your relationship with the true God? Are you able to say with good and right Biblical reasons that you belong to God and that God loves you? There is hope, living hope, when we turn to the Lord for mercy and grace. Today is the day he offers salvation and righteousness. Are you right with God? You may be today by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. If your life has been thick with clouds, there is a glorious ray of sunshine. God has brought you to a place where you can hear his good news. We pray that God will be exceedingly merciful to you. Seek the Lord today, while he may be found! Isaiah 55:6-7

Grace and peace, David

Clouds and then Sunshine (Part One)

Hosea 1:4-2:1

Our passage is like a day that begins with thick, dark clouds. A storm is brewing, and skies put an ominous feeling into one’s heart. Far off, you can hear the low roll of thunder, and you sense that now is the time to prepare for the storm! In our previous posts we looked at the opening words of this prophetic message. God reveals his message through the symbolic actions of his prophet and then through revelation by word. Hosea was to marry a sexually immoral woman to show how Israel herself had been unfaithful to the Lord, who loves his people. The storm clouds were beginning to rise.

Now the scene is darker. Clouds fill the sky with the naming of Gomer’s children. The first son is clearly said to be Hosea’s, but the others may have been the offspring of Gomer’s adulterous adventures. As each child is named the storm draws nearer. Will there be any escape from it? Is there any ray of light amid such darkness?

We hear symbolic names for Hosea’s children (1:4-9). The Lord names all of the children to warn Israel of judgment that would soon come, if Israel did not repent.

Jezreel (1:4-5) was the first child. God’s message is that we must do God’s work in God’s way. The child’s name recalls the atrocities of Jehu (2 Ki 9-10). This would be like naming a child Andersonville, Dachau or My Lai to cite just three notorious examples. God had appointed Jehu as his executioner (2 Kings 9:6-10). And so Jehu went to Jezreel and put Joram, Ahaziah, and Jezebel to death. But in the process, Jehu used deceit and brutality to carry out God’s commission. His heart was not right with God, though he did what the Lord righteously willed to be done (cf. 2 Kings 10:6-31). He was not working for the Lord in the Lord’s way.

Jehu was like the Assyrians (Is 10:5-7); he was just like an ax used to cut down a broken tree, but he paid no attention to the desires of the owner in cutting the tree down. We must always do God’s work in God’s way. It is necessary to renounce the ways of deception, coercion, and manipulation. It does no good to get someone to make a decision, if they lack any heart for God in his or her decision. In fact, it compounds their problem before the Lord.

The reversal of a name’s significance. Jezreel had been the birthplace of Gideon’s greatest victory (Judges 6:33-7:21). Think of Saratoga or Gettysburg or Normandy in our history. But now it becomes the sign of Israel’s complete military defeat by the Assyrians. The military power of the northern kingdom was destroyed forever.

The second child was Lo-Ruhamah, which means “not loved” (1:6-7).  God’s message is that he is not merciful to the unrepentant. The people of the northern kingdom had walked for centuries in the ways of Jeroboam I, and also they had turned to Baal worship and astrology (2 Kings 17:16-17). Therefore, God announced that he would no longer be merciful to Israel. They had been living like God did not care about what they did. The name of this girl would show that God did care and would judge them for their guilt. Hosea’s message is a wake-up call to those who assume God doesn’t judge the guilty.

However, God would continue to have mercy on Judah, the southern kingdom. While Israel fell to the Assyrians, God would protect Judah without human help (2 Kings 19:35-36). God is very able to deliver his people. Israel’s fall was not due to any lack of power on God’s part. This is true today. The sovereign God is still able to turn the hearts of people to himself, and yes, he is doing that today! Jesus still saves sinners.

How concerned are you about God’s mercies? Are you crying out to him for mercy? We have not yet prayed as we should!

Grace and peace, David

God’s Perspective (Part Two)

When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son (Hosea 1:2-3 NIV).

Next, let’s turn our attention to the plot of Hosea. The opening story has upset many people. Hosea was commanded to marry a sexually immoral woman. Although the old covenant priests were required to marry virgins, the prophets were not so restricted. Nothing in the law prohibited such a union, though she deserved to die (Leviticus 20:10), just like David and Bathsheba.

The language of the original language is rough, racy and blunt. Go, marry a whore, and get children with a whore, for the country itself has become nothing but a whore by abandoning Yahweh (Jerusalem Bible). In spite of the arguments of some, the Hebrew word zenunim, while referring basically to illicit sex, can refer to prostitution.

Hosea’s life became complicated and sorrowful. He pledged himself to be faithful to an unfaithful woman, and he became the father of children who resembled their mother in their behavior. Before you complain about your lot in life, you would do well to look at others and consider what God has called them to endure for his name’s sake. We need to get our eyes off ourselves and fix them on the Lord Jesus. Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2 ESV).

Hosea’s broken marriage would illustrate the relationship between the living God and his covenant people Israel. God is like Hosea, the faithful husband and loving father. But Israel was like Gomer, the unfaithful wife. In every area of life, Israel was an adulterous.

  • In religion, she committed adultery by loving other gods—many other gods.
  • In politics, she committed adultery by selling herself to other countries for military protection.
  • In morals, she committed adultery by engaging in literal sexual immorality, and indulging in greed and violence.

In this disgusting picture, the Lord reveals his way of ruling over the world and his people. In Hosea we do not see One who rules by using brute power, nor do we see One who helplessly wrings his hands. But we see God acting in various ways to make known his manifold glory.

  • Sometimes he is sovereignly cool, letting his people walk in their own way.
  • Sometimes he is powerfully tough, bringing well-deserved judgment on them.
  • Sometimes he is patiently tender, refusing to give them up. Isn’t it great that God doesn’t give up?
  • Above all, he is amazingly gracious, forgiving the vilest adulteries when people ask for mercy.

God is not the magician of our childhood fantasies, who solves all problems with the wave of his magic wand. No, the living, personal God works through the complexities of personal relationships to show his glory. For God that meant sending his Son to death on a cross. We see also that God loves the unlovely; in fact, he even loves those who despise him and walk away from him. We should only say, “Amazing love, how can it be?”

Grace and peace, David

God’s Perspective (Part One)

The word of the Lord that came to Hosea son of Beeri during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and of Jeroboam son of Jehoash, king of Israel (Hosea 1:1 CSB)

Think about a child’s impression of the adult world. “They make the rules,” he or she thinks. “There’s power for you! And they have the money, however much they moan about not having much—there’s freedom! Just think what we children could do with all that freedom and power!” (Compare Kidner’s comments.) Kids long to be adults; then all their problems will be solved! No oppressive adults telling them what to do, and with all the money they’ll have, they’ll be able to buy anything they want. All their dreams will come true! But what really happens when you become an adult?

Christians, too, can have childish dreams about God’s rule of the world. If only God would do things our way, we think, the world and national situation would improve rapidly and dramatically! Just speak a word of omnipotence, and all will be right! The Lord can calm a storm, can’t he? Didn’t he create the universe just by speaking? Yes, he did. Then it’s so simple, isn’t it?

Please excuse me for suggesting this, but perhaps we all are too simple-minded. We confess to believe what God has told us about himself, but then promptly forget all that we say we believe. We hear some truths about God’s sovereignty, holiness, justice, love or mercy, and quickly choose one of them, and then ride that one selected truth like some people will buy only one brand of vehicle.

What we forget is God’s ultimate purpose—to display his own majestic glory (Romans 11:36; Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14). What we fail to consider is that God’s glory is not defined by one of his characteristics, but by all of them in harmony. To help us understand more about his glory, in the book of Hosea God pictures his rule over the world as a husband leading his family. The picture is surprising, even shocking! God presents the truth of displaying all his glory like this. It is not the picture of a husband who calls all the shots and whom no one dares to question. Nor does he present a husband with an adoring wife and perfect children. Instead, we read of a husband whose wife has left him and whose children are bent on destroying themselves. Some find this picture disgusting, but the Holy Spirit has not smoothed the rough edges to meet prudish Victorian standards of propriety. Without further introduction, let us turn to Hosea’s prophecy about God’s love to unlovely people.

God put his copyright on this message. In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways… (Hebrews 1:1 NIV). He gives the publication data. This is like the information you find on one of the opening pages of a book. You remember—that stuff you had to write down to make a bibliography.

  • The messenger is Hosea. He was a prophet who lived in the northern kingdom of Israel. Nothing else is known about him apart what we read in this book. It does not matter that people know of you; what matters is that God knows you.
  • The time of God’s message through Hosea was during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah of Judah and Jeroboam II of Israel; in other words, during the eighth century B.C. The ministry of Hosea is God’s call to repent to a people on the brink of destruction. Compare this with Jonah. In Jonah a group of Gentiles repent, but God’s visible people refused to listen to Hosea’s message!

However, there is a publication problem in the opinion of some people. They simply do not approve of how God spoke through and by the prophet Hosea. What happened to him offends their ‘moral sensibilities’. First, we should realize that God sometimes had his prophets illustrate their message by performing some action (cf. Jeremiah 16:1-9; Ezekiel 5:1-4). God presented a play, and then handed out “Cliff Notes” explaining what the play meant.

Second, what God commanded Hosea was unpleasant and brought much trouble into his life, and God didn’t even ask for Hosea’s permission! The Lord does not usually lead his servants to walk on smooth, level, dry paths. Some of our paths are hilly, rocky, and perhaps mucky and swamp-like. Our mission is to serve God wherever he leads, regardless of the inconvenience or suffering that it brings (cf. 2 Corinthians 6:4-10). This is not to say that we like suffering, but we value the glory of God so much that we persevere through suffering for Christ’s sake. Grace and peace, David

Why Christ Came (Part Two)

Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll—I have come to do your will, my God’” (Hebrews 10:5-7 NIV).

Our second text makes known why the Messiah came in relation to the story of God’s glory. God chose to work out his plan through a series of covenants. There are five covenants clearly identified in the Holy Writings, and they are usually linked to major characters in God’s plan. So we speak of covenants associated with Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Christ. The covenant with Abraham is called the holy covenant (Luke 1:72) or the promise (Galatians 3). The covenant with Moses is called the law or the old covenant in many places; it is also called the first   covenant (Hebrews 8:7; 9:1). It is important to keep this last designation in mind in order to understand Hebrews ten properly. The covenant of which Christ is the substance (Isaiah 42:6; 49:8) is usually called the new covenant, though in Hebrews it is also called the better or the second covenant (8:7 CSB, ESV, NLT). Now let’s focus on this second reason for Christ’s first coming.

The Messiah said, I have come to do your will, my God. Now surely he always pleased God the Father. When you read the Gospel of John carefully, you learn that all his works and words were exactly what the Father desired. When he did signs and wonders, each one was the will of the Father. When he spoke, he spoke what the Father told him to speak. How he acted was to reveal the Father to us (John 1:18). If we read this text through the lens of systematic or practical theology, we will think that this phrase is speaking of our Lord’s general obedience to the Father, and how he is our pattern to do the same. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with either systematic or practical theology, but we must not allow them to interfere with a proper understanding of any Biblical text. What is the will of God that Christ came to do?

First, in the above verses, notice the contrasts between sacrifice and offering with the body God prepared for the Messiah, and between offerings that could not please God and doing God’s will. Weren’t sacrifices and offerings established by God (see especially Leviticus) and so his will? Yes, they were! But they could not please God in the sense of being able to take away sin and cleanse the consciences of those who sinned. The Messiah had to come to provide a better sacrifice for sins, the offering of himself.

Second, notice what the writer of Hebrews said about the old covenant. The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship (10:1 NIV). It was a shadow and its sacrifices can never… make perfect those who draw near to worship. Now a shadow is good for the purpose for which God made shadows. They show us that something of substance is nearby. But that does not make the shadow better than the substance. And when we have the substance, we no longer need the shadow. For example, my shadow might show my wife that I am walking toward her. So she is alert to my presence. But I don’t want her to kiss my shadow; I want her to kiss me!

There are too many Christians in our time that are in love with the shadows of the law covenant. Such shadows proclaimed that the Lord was near his old covenant people. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12 NIV). But now that Christ, who is the better covenant, has come and accomplished redemption, we no longer need the shadows of the law, because Christ is now in us.

Third, Christ came to fulfill the law, set it aside because it was fulfilled, and to establish the new covenant. Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Hebrew 10:9-10 NIV). Notice what the Spirit caused to be written. He sets aside the first to establish the second. The first is the law or old covenant and the second is the new or better covenant. We are no longer under the law, written on stone tablets and given to Israel on Sinai. We are in Christ, and the Spirit of Christ who lives in us is our leader in following Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Grace and peace, David

Why Christ Came (Part One)

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 4:10 NIV).

I write this during the Christmas season, which remains a major cultural holiday in the western world. Every follower of Jesus the Messiah views Christmas differently from the people of the world. To us, it is more than a cultural holiday. It is the time we remember that the Son of God took on true humanity. The King of all was born in the lowliest circumstances, and his mother Mary made up his first bed in a manger. There the Shepherd of God’s people received his first visitors, a group of shepherds who would go and tell the good news of his birth. To the world, this is a strange story. To those who believe in God through Christ, this was the first step to the great events of the gospel, the good news of Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection, ascension,and second coming in glory. We know that the cradle led to the cross and then to the crown. But to accomplish this great purpose, many other purposes were included. Let’s consider them together.

Our first text clearly presents the core purpose that the Father sent his Son to accomplish. God, having decided to rescue his people from eternal ruin, knew what was necessary for our deliverance. A Savior must come to rescue us from the cause and the corruption of our sins. What makes sin such a great evil that a divine Rescuer is needed? Sin is the rejection of God as God, the refusal to love him completely, and rebellion against God and his will and ways. Sin is a heinous crime against the Divine Majesty. Therefore, God sent His one and only Son to do all that was necessary to pay the penalty for our sins and to make us right with him.

To do this, the Son had to become the atoning sacrifice or propitiation for our sins. He had to become what would satisfy God’s righteous wrath against sin and so turn it away from us. To do this he had to be a perfect sacrifice, without spot or blemish, and also powerful enough to absorb the wrath and to provide righteousness by his perfect obedience and sacrifice. Consider what happened when Christ died as the propitiation for our sins. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed… Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief (Isaiah 53:4-5, 10a ESV). Ponder what he suffered from God’s hand and weep for our sins that he died for.

Why did God send his Son to die as an atoning sacrifice for our sin? The simple, and beautiful and truly amazing, answer of the Holy Writings is this. God loved us. He loved sinners, who had rejected him as God, refused to love him with the total love that he deserves, and rebelled against his will and ways. John pushed aside any other reason with the all-encompassing rejection of any suggestion that we loved God. Our salvation is traced back to a single source, the love of God.  Christ came because God loved us. Read that and weep also, but for a more glorious reason. Love sent the Lord of glory as a tiny baby. Love caused him to endure the sufferings of life in this broken world. Love took him finally to a cruel cross. And there, redeeming love showed itself in an atoning sacrifice for our sins. This Christmas, focus on God’s love, regardless of all the brokenness and evil that surround us.

Grace and peace, David

The Appointment Elijah Did Not Keep (Part Three)

2 Kings 2:1-14

Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over (2:13-14 NIV).

Let us think on the hope of the believer. Elijah’s exit from earth is a reminder that there is life beyond the present world of our experience. How much of our lives is involved in the struggle to provide ourselves with food, clothing, shelter and security! How easy it is to become caught up in the pursuit of these things! So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them (Matthew 6:31-32 CSB).

Elijah’s visible transfer to glory by a whirlwind is a call for us to set our minds on things above. This life is not all. There is a heaven to gain and a hell to avoid! Let us then become heavenly-minded. Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4 NIV).

Elijah’s exit from earth is a reminder that not all believers will die. We should be looking for the Lord Christ to return. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed (Titus 2:12-13 NLT). Though many saints have died already, some will be alive when Jesus comes again. The dead in Christ will rise to life and those still alive will be changed without dying. Both groups will enjoy the glory of the Lord together. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:50-54.

Yet, at the same time, we must remember the continuing power of the living God. When people are facing cataract surgery, their surgeon might give them the option of correcting one eye for distance, and one eye for closeup. This avoids, at least for a time, the need to wear “drug store glasses” for reading. It is common as we age to think more about eternity than we did when we were young. Few can keep one eye on the future and another on the present. We all need to be heavenly-minded, as well as continuing to think about serving the Lord in our generation.

Elisha had made a request of Elijah before he was taken away. He asked for a double portion of Elijah’s spirit. Observe that Elisha asked before Elijah went to heaven. The Bible never once tells us to pray to departed saints. If you would ask the saints for anything, ask them while they set in worship and fellowship with you now. His request signified his desire for inheritance. The oldest son was to receive a double portion (Deuteronomy 21:17). The son in the ministry (Elisha) asked his father in the ministry (Elijah) for this inheritance. Elisha’s concern was to be equipped for ongoing usefulness. God answered this prayer.

Then came the great moment. Was God still able to act in human history? Too many people focus on God’s servant instead of God. They think that there is something special in the man. How they will become excited about a famous pastor or well-known Bible teacher! There is too much of a lust for superstars in our time. But what happens when the big man is gone? Elisha directed his attention in the right direction. There was no prayer for Elijah to help him. No, he called upon the LORD, the God of Elijah.

I have good news for you today. The LORD, the God of Elijah, is still in charge of all things today. Many good men have come and gone since the time of Elijah and Elisha: Peter and Paul, Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Owen, Flavel, Bunyan, Whitefield, Edwards, Spurgeon and Lloyd-Jones to name only a few. But the living God still has all his power today.

You do not need to roll up your coats to strike a river, sons and daughters of God, but you should lift up holy hands in prayer. The Spirit of God lives within us, Christ our mediator sits at the right hand of the Father to intercede for us, and the Father loves us with an everlasting love. Up, up, let us rise and call upon the name of the living God. Let us trust him to work in our time, and let us praise his name!

Grace and peace, David

The Appointment Elijah Did Not Keep (Part Two)

2 Kings 2:1-14

Fifty men from the sons of the prophets came and stood observing them at a distance while the two of them stood by the Jordan. Elijah took his mantle, rolled it up, and struck the water, which parted to the right and left. Then the two of them crossed over on dry ground (2:7-8 CSB).

The Bible tells us reality of the supernatural. With our physical senses, we experience the natural realm constantly. This is the usual and the normal. Anything supernatural is a very unusual experience. But it does happen! When Sharon and I saw the pictures of three new arteries that grew on my heart in answer to prayer, we had a glimpse of God’s supernatural power. (The arteries weren’t there when I had a heart attack, but they were there a year later after prayer.) When we see people who have lived in rebellion against God suddenly turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God (Acts 26:28b NIV), we also experience God’s supernatural power in what is called the new birth.

God is able to reveal his will to mankind. The Lord told Elijah, Elisha, and the company of the prophets what he was going to do, and they were able to understand his revelation. In the Bible, God speaks plainly to us. Our failures to understand are related to our failures in listening. Some people are unwilling to invest the time required to listen. Many are prejudiced against what the Lord says and do not want to listen. Others listen through the grid of the traditions of people and only hear what they have been told to hear. And we could give other examples. But when we simply and attentively listen, we discover that God’s word is plain. The men in this account knew what God was going to do. As God was able to speak to them in dreams, visions or some other way, so he is able to speak to us through his written word. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV).

God is able to act in the natural realm with supernatural power. Remember the crossing of the Jordan river, when Israel crossed into the Promised Land. God acted through Elijah to do something similar for his two prophets. Here was something beyond natural experience. I have said to people in Pennsylvania, “Which of you rolls up his coat, strikes the Delaware River, and crosses over on dry ground when you want to go to the Jersey shore?” They probably use one of the bridges to cross the river. But in this account, we are talking about supernatural power, displayed according to God’s will. It prepared the younger prophet Elisha for what the Lord was about to do for Elijah.

Elijah would not keep the usual human appointment with death. God would act to take of Elijah alive from this world. Death brings separation. You talk with someone, but then death seals their lips and you can speak with your loved one no longer. You experience the pain of separation. But this pain of separation would not be the suffering caused by death, but the shocking intervention of the supernatural. Elisha was talking to Elijah when suddenly a chariot of fire separated the two. Elisha then saw Elijah go up to heaven in a whirlwind.

Why did God act with his supernatural power then? Because he wanted to make his power known and honor his servants. The Lord chooses his times to so act. One day, he will take his people to be with him forever. Some will be raised from the dead. Others will rise alive to meet the Lord in the air. Our faith looks forward to supernatural acts, all done by the great power of the true and living God.

Grace and peace, David