Clean-up In Aisle Seven

“LORD, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah. Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned [thyself] from the fierceness of thine anger. Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?” (Ps 85:1-5 AV)

At first glance, it seems as though the writer is confused.  Has God taken away His wrath or not?  In verses 1-3, the writer thanks the LORD for His grace and mercy.  He thanks the LORD that His divine wrath has been removed.  Yet, in verses 4,5 he asks that the wrath of God be removed.  So, which is it?  Context is everything.  If we note that the captivity of Jacob has been removed, that gives us a clue.  It is obvious that the writer is speaking of the return of Israel to Palestine following the Babylonian captivity.  The return of Jacob to the land is our evidence.  It is also evident that the forgiveness and covering of all their sins is reflecting in this return.  However, the consequences of their former disobedience remain.  The wall around Jerusalem is in ruins.  The temple is burned with fire.  And the land returned to a fallow state with no one to tend it for over seventy years.  Upon returning, Israel fell into some old habits.  They began to intermarry with non-Jewish women.  They were losing their culture and language because of it.  In short, God may forgive all our trespasses, but the effect of them may last while we learn a lesson.

Rather than thinking this to be a negative thing, let us consider exactly what it is that the writer is seeking.  Forgiveness; check.  Reconciliation; check.  Re-establishment; check.  Restoration; not so much.  There is repair work to be done here.  There is damage control.  There is a mess to clean up.  There is strength to resist further temptation to seek.  In short, the writer is seeking God’s intervention to undo as much damage as can be undone by the mess created from centuries of rebellion.  The wrath of God spoken above is not ongoing anger.  Rather, it is the ashes from which God brought them that not need to be removed.  When studying the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, one is impressed by how much Israel needed the LORD.  Cleaning up their own mess in their own strength would have been just for God to require.  Yet, they knew, and He knew this task to be impossible without divine intervention.  There were still enemies in the land.  There was temptation all around.  God provided the leadership, but the people must respond.  They, too, needed the LORD.  If the wall is to be rebuilt, the temple repaired and used, and the fields sown, God would have to do it through them.

This is encouraging.  We can make a mess of things.  We can make so much of a mess that it is impossible for us to repair.  We are like that three- or four-year-old who plays with his toys.  Each and every one of them.  He does not put one away before he chooses another.  When it is time for bed or time to go away, he is told to pick up his room.  The mess he has created so overwhelms him that he sits down in a blank stare.  It is only when mom or dad come into the room, devises a plan, and begin to assist that the child is focused and motivated.  That is what the writer is seeking.  He is seeking the LORD’s help to clean up the evidence of His wrath on His people.  The writer is seeking the removal of the evidence of God’s wrath that is making life impossible to live.  By God’s grace, they repaired the temple, rebuilt the wall, and reaped crops from their fields.  Their homes were repaired, their families were established, and they went on to sustain the nation until Messiah came.  God answered their prayers.  And by His grace, He will answer yours.

Faith is Oft Misunderstood

“And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.” (1Sa 17:28 AV)

Courage and faith are often misinterpreted by those who have none.  As a Shepard boy, David defended his flock.  In supporting his offer to confront Goliath, David relays an experience wherein he kills a lion and bear who attempted to make off with a lamb.  This event had to be known by his brothers.  That is not something that one keeps quiet.  David’s courage and faith were a matter of record.  So, when David arrives to bestow gifts and food to his brothers, he naturally sees Goliath as a threat to be dealt with.  His brothers react by charging David with arrogance and lack of forethought.  They see the courage and faith of David and misinterpret that courage and faith as baser human instincts.  The thing is, if his brothers do not possess faith, it would be hard to define it as such.  Those with little to no faith will often misunderstand the faith that others possess.

The important thing to remember is that others need not understand.  David approached Goliath with zeal and faith.  He didn’t walk to him with fear and trepidation.  The Bible says that he ran to meet him.  David didn’t offer up a silent prayer and fling the stone.  He verbally insulted his enemy as one who knew the victory was his.  David did not slither up to the fallen body of Goliath as though he might still be alive.  He ran to him, jumped on top of him, drew the enemy's sword, and cut off his head.  The courage and faith of David were infectious.  Those who at first saw him as arrogance the impulsive followed him into battle.  Once the enemy fell and David pursued the enemy, the people followed.  This would include his brothers who charged him with pride and immaturity.  David did not wait around until he could convince enough people to believe in the LORD as he did.  He knew what God called him to do and did it.  Their misinterpretation of his faith did not stop him.

We need more Davids.  David did not apologize for his faith.  But neither did he flaunt it.  In fact, when his father-in-law intended to do away with David by throwing him to battles, David humbly served his God and his king by defeating the enemies of Israel.  He did not usurp the throne.  He did not criticize his crazy father-in-law.  He relied upon his faith, courage, and humility to affect a nation.  And the Bible tells us that many loved David because of it.  Many followed David because of it.  His courage and faith were not easily understood by those who had none.  But his faith and courage ministered to them so that they, too, could grow in faith.

A Brave but Necessary Prayer

“Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD…That [men] may know that thou, whose name alone [is] JEHOVAH, [art] the most high over all the earth.” (Ps 83:16, 18 AV)

That’s a pretty brave thing to pray.  But if the saint of God was brought to humility prior to salvation, then it is a moral obligation to pray the same for others.  The writer laments the effect of the wicked on God’s creation and His people.  He is speaking as someone who leads a nation.  This is not a prayer for the spiritual salvation of his enemies.  Rather, it is a prayer for a nation tormented by God-haters.  The Psalmist is praying for the coming of the Messiah.  He is praying that the LORD would conclude that God is God, and He is in the person of the LORD Jesus Christ – the Messiah of the Jewish people.  Yet, there is an application for the New Testament Church.  Our motive and goals may be different.  But the process is still the same.  We want the wicked world to turn from their wickedness and trust in Jesus Christ as both LORD and Savior.  But the only way that is going to happen is if the wicked come under condemnation for their sins.  This is the shame of which our Psalmist speaks.  So, this is a pretty brave for the church to pray.  We are asking that the LORD send conviction and shame of face to the lost so that they might know there is salvation in Christ.

We don’t feel qualified because we think such a prayer is self-righteous.  Not so.  If we also came from where they are, then it becomes a prayer of mercy.  Knowing the damage sin does to the life of the sinner and all whom he or she touches gives us cause for such a prayer.  Note the psalmist asks for more than mere shame. He asks for shame that drives the wicked to seek the name of God.  He is asking that the wicked be so filled with the guilt of their works that God becomes their only source of peace.  The same is true for our prayers.  We don’t ask so that our sense of justice might be satisfied.  We do not ask so that revenge might come.  There are times and places for such a prayer.  But not here.  Here, we pray for shame on the lives of those who hate God that they might repent of their sin and call upon His name.

Recently, I have been reminded of the sinful condition of mankind more so that I have ever been before.  Our Creator brought forth every soul to redeem him or her, and that He might be known by them.  He loves each and every soul regardless if they love in return.  He loves us so much that He sent His Son to give His life that we might become a child of His.  By adoption we have been added to His family.  Yet, the vast majority of people will reject the free gift of salvation.  Why?  Because there is no shame.  There is no shame over sin.  Right and wrong have become a definition from the heart of the sinner.  He or she does not feel shame because God is not considered.  It is perilous at best.  A tragedy of infinite proportions.  That the vast majority of mankind will burn in eternal hellfire is a truth that can drive to madness the saint who cares.  What is our answer?  Pray for shame.  Pray for conviction.  Pray that the work of the Holy Spirit be not abated so that glorious message of divine forgiveness can shine forth from the pages of God’s word.  Please, fellow believer, pray for shame.  Not that we are any better than those upon whom we pray it, but rather, because we cannot bear the thought of one day in hell that they might suffer.

His Strength and Not Ours

“Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore.” (Ps 105:4 AV)

I was reminded of this verse upon waking in the middle of the night.  The LORD and I had a sweet time of prayer.  At issue is that which always comes to mind.  The end of the battle.  In particular, the end of the battle with sin.  Of all the enemies the child of God wrestles with, it is sin.  Paul, at the end of his ministry and life, wrote the famous internal struggle of Romans chapter seven.  A man who was the foundation of the church in the west, the writer of more than half the New Testament, and a missionary like no other struggled with the flesh until the day he died.  That is our battle.  Wishing and praying for its end is not wrong.  It is normal and right.  Wanting to be what God always designed us to be, yet frustrated by the flesh, is every saint’s battle.  In the meantime, we have a truth as expressed above.  God has not left us alone.  There is a remedy.  There is an answer.  Although only through our glorification shall we be made sinless, there is a source to which we can turn before then.  It is the power of God.

God wants us to overcome sin far more than we do.  But if we do not learn to do so as a freewill choice of our own, we will never learn what it means to be Christlike.  At least not be experience.  Like Israel who was left the enemies of Canaan as God’s means of proving them, there are enemies which the LORD allows us to face because there is no other way by which we may learn some of the greatest lessons we will ever learn.  Affliction and adversity are not comfortable.  God never promises a life of comfort.  The verse above is a great one.

When we are faced with giants in our own heart and flesh, it is the Spirit that enables us to overcome.  We cannot do it in our own strength.  It is the Spirit that empowers.  We fail when we try to scale the mountain all by ourselves.  The flesh is too strong.  It goes wherever we go.  It fights against the spirit, and the spirit fights against it.  It is the strength of the LORD that tips the scales in favor of righteousness and holiness.  The psalmist tells us to do the obvious.  Seek the strength of the LORD.  Not after we have failed, but while we are being challenged.  Seek the LORD while He may be found.  Seek His strength, and the flesh will yield to His power.

Nothing Wasted

“And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.” (1Sa 3:19 AV)

“Fall to the ground” means to be cast aside and wasted.  It means to regard something so insignificant that if it were lost, it would never be missed.  Samuel was new to the things of the LORD.  When the LORD spoke to him, he thought He was Eli.  It took three times before Eli could discern that the LORD’s voice was speaking to Samuel.  Samuel was young and tender-hearted.  Everything he heard from the LORD was remembered, learned, and studied.  Every detail was important.  Every truth was held as invaluable.  Every alliteration, historical fact, or prophetical statement was important to him.  Samuel was like a new convert who soaked everything up.  Maybe he was like many of us and made something more than it seemed simply because it was new.  Regardless, this man of God knew the value of God’s word and treated it as such.

I enjoy watching a BBC program called The Repair Shop.  Craftsmen from all sorts of fields work to restore family heirlooms.  They are as expensive as a 17th century original painting of a king to something as simple as a pair of ballet slippers.  There are all sorts of items that come through the shop. Most have more of a history and sentimental value than a monetary one.  About twenty-five percent of the items have a military history.  Mostly from WWI and WWII.  There are regular cast members.  There is a furniture restorer, a clock-maker, a leatherworker, and a porcelain worker.  There are two ladies who work on stuffed animals, there is a metal worker who repairs industrial or larger items, and an art conservator.  Then the show invites other tradesmen to guest appear.  There is a luthier, and cobbler, a blacksmith, and a goldsmith who repairs jewelry.  Each has their own special workspace with tools unique to their skill.  The jeweler has a special workbench.  The host of the show made a big deal over it.  He couldn’t understand why he needed this particular bench.  It had a unique shape.  The bench was rectangular, but it had a large semicircle cut from it on one side.  Underneath the cutout hung a thick-gauge rubber mat.  The mat had slack in it, so it could droop.  The tradesman remarked that as he worked on precious metals, the dust would fall to the mat.  He could then collect it, melt it, and reuse it.  Not one speck of dust would fall to the ground.  It would all be collected, fused together under extreme heat, and reused for one more repair.

The older we get and the more familiar we become with the word of God, the more apt we are to let some of it fall to the ground.  Samuel was no exception.  He had firsthand experience with the poor parenting skills of Eli.  Eli’s sons were immoral and greedy.  The condition of his sons is what led the LORD to anoint Samuel.  Yet what happened with Samuel’s sons?  History repeated itself.  Samuel’s sons turned out the way Eli’s sons turned out.  Samuel started out well.  He let none of God’s word fall to the ground.  He soaked it all up.  Yet, as he aged, more and more of the truth of the word of God went unheeded.  The same could be true for many of us.  We start out well.  We receive Christ and are enraptured with the truth of God’s word.  We cannot get enough.  We read everything.  We study every detail.  Then life happens.  Soon, the word of God has lost its preeminent place in our minds and hearts.  We go to church and are mentally checked in for a brief amount of time.  Most of what the preacher says goes in one ear and out the other.  When we sit down and read our devotions, too many other things occupy our thoughts, so when we are done, there is little we take away from it.  It is time to have the eyes of a newbie!  It is time for us to once again value every single word of the Bible.  It is time to make the Bible our greatest priority, and prayer follows closely.

The Only One Who Can

“The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.” (Ru 2:12 AV)

Boaz said this to Ruth as one who intended to make a full reward.  This wasn’t a cursory remark acknowledging Ruth’s sacrifice and faithfulness.  It was a vow by Boaz to guarantee that Ruth’s choice did not go unrewarded.  Boaz states that the entire village knew what Ruth had done and how she was taking care of Naomi.  The reputation of Ruth was not hidden.  Everyone knew it.  No one but Boaz was in a position to reward her dedication.  There was a nearer kinsman than Boaz, but he could not redeem Ruth lest he mar his own inheritance.  Some suggest this nearer kinsman was married already, yet with no children.  That would make all the children born of Ruth of higher rank than any his previous wife would bear.  So, Boaz was the only one.  The book of Ruth is full of alliterations.  The book of Ruth is a picture of the redemption of the sinner by the hand of a Savior.  Boaz, therefore, represents the Son who redeemed the sinner from a destitute life of sin.  Jesus, who is the only one who could redeem us, is also to only one who can adequately recompense us for the life of service we render towards Him.  Our life of sacrifice and service does not escape the notice of God and others.

Ruth is a remarkable person.  She was offered a way out and she didn’t take it.  There were no guarantees.  Naomi could not promise her a thing.  Ruth’s love for her mother-in-law and her faith in Jehovah is what motivated her.  From Ruth’s perspective, she could safely assume she was going back to care for Naomi and that would be the extent of her life.  It would be no more.  She did not know of Boaz.  She was unaware of any other relatives Naomi may have had.  She was returning out of the integrity of her heart without and anticipation of recompense or reward.  This is what everyone noticed.  They noticed the heart of Ruth that produced her actions.  Even Boaz testifies that the entire village acknowledged Ruth as a virtuous woman.  This is what God blessed her.  It wasn’t merely what she had done, but why she had done it, that was praiseworthy.  Doing the right thing with the right heart is what Boaz saw.

The LORD is no different.  He knows what we do and why we do it.  He will not allow our dedication to go unrewarded.  One other thing.  Note the faith of Ruth and where it was placed.  She came to Israel because she trusted the LORD.  In spite of a father-in-law who did not.  Despite a husband whose faith wasn’t particularly exemplary, Ruth had faith.  Maybe it was Naomi who was her example.  Perhaps it was Naomi whose faith Ruth followed.  No matter.  Ruth trusted the LORD in difficult times because her integrity would not allow her to do anything different.  This is why the LORD, through Boaz, blessed the faithful.  And the LORD will do the same for all His children.  We cannot be presumptuous in thinking all our reward comes in this life.  I hope it does not.  Rather, I’d prefer it in eternity where joy can be had forever.  God does see.  God does reward.  All we need to do is trust Him and serve Him with integrity of heart.

Your Hair Always Grows Back

“Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.” (Jud 16:22 AV)

Isn’t that amazing?  His hair grew back.  What is amazing about his hair growing back is the provision of grace in the Nazarite vow.  Let me explain.  There were three parts to Samson’s vow.  First, he must refrain from grape products.  No grapes.  No wine.  No Vinegar.  Second, he could not touch any dead thing.  That would include any relatives or animals.  Third, he could not cut his hair.  He failed the first part of the vow in walking through a vineyard.  The implication was that he ate grapes as he went.  The second was violated when he touched the carcass of a dead lion.  So, the only part of the vow left was his long hair.  As long as his hair remained uncut, God would still bless his life.  Delilah took care of that.  She enticed Samson to divulge his secret.  The Philistines came and shaved his head while he lay asleep in Delilah’s lap.  As a result, the Spirit had left Samson.  His eyes were put out, and he became a grinding mule in the house of Dagon their god.  Now, here is the amazing thing.  One would think that when his vow was completely broken, there was no renewing it.  Samson cannot undo eating the grapes.  He cannot undo the fact that he touched a dead carcass.  The only thing that could be undone was his hair.  The LORD built into the Nazarite vow the ability for reconciliation and restitution.  There was one part in three that could be undone.  Samson could be used.  He would not enjoy a life of usefulness for God’s glory had he broken none of the vows.  But at least his purpose was not totally removed.

A friend of mine sent me a short devotional this morning.  It has the same basic thought as above.  It is out of Ps 37 and is a reminder that even when David made a few missteps, God still used him.  There are work-release programs for the once-incarcerated.  Some have an aversion to that idea, but it is a biblical one.  Those who have satisfied their obligations to society are given a second, third, or fourth chance.  I understand the reluctance of some to support this idea.  But the fault is not in the idea.  Rather, the insufficient standards of justice that precede it.  There is accountability.  There are standards placed upon the released individual imposed by the court.  Just because a person may have served the term of his or her incarceration does not mean that all things can go back to the way they were before the crime was committed.  They are given a second chance, but not a second life.  There is a difference.

All things being equal, giving someone another chance after they have messed up is something God does with us all the time.  There is built into salvation the idea of restoration and reconciliation.  If we fall away, God does not cast us off.  Paul’s fear was that he might be a castaway.  Not from God’s point of view.  Rather, he was afraid that people would cast him away and he could no longer reach them with the gospel of Christ.  At least not as he had done.  God is not in the refuge business.  He is in the recycling business.  God is not interested in letting us get to a useless condition.  Grace has built into our relationship the understanding that our hair will grow back.  We might lose our eyesight, but our hair will grow back.  We may not walk throughout Israel as a Judge, but we can take it on the child in defeat of God’s enemies.  Samson’s life changed once he gave up that last vow of the Nazarite.  But God was not done with him.  His hair grew back.  There was one last chance to glorify God, and God was gracious enough in His foreknowledge to provide a way for Samson to do just that!