The gods Are Future

“Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;” (De 11:16 AV)

Other gods were future.  When the LORD warned Israel, He was making the obvious statement that temptation is future.  The false gods they knew were destroyed by ten plagues.  They knew no other God but Jehovah.  That wouldn’t last very long.  Once the land of promise was invaded and settled, there would be a fresh batch of false gods with which to contend.  Just because God had given victory against the greatest of all false gods of the ancient world did not mean He preemptively gave victory over all.  If one is a bit pragmatic, why give victory over gods they may never know of?  There is no victory needed where a threat does not exist.  What struck me is the reality that temptations come no matter what.  Often, we know nothing of them until they arrive.  The LORD if giving Israel a heads up.  There will be temptation.  The specifics may not be known.  But it is coming.  Beware of it.  Be not deceived by it.  Turn away from it.

Grocery stores of the same franchise tend to be laid out the same way.  If you enter a Walmart that you’ve never been in before, generally speaking, it is laid out the same as your regular store.  We shop at Pick N Save, Aldi's, and Meijer's.  They are similar in many ways.  This means if there are certain foods the shopper is supposed to avoid, he or she knows ahead of time which way to go.  I avoid the baked goods section, the highly processed sections, and the liquor section.  Not a hard thing to do.  Yet, there is a tradition here in Milwaukee.  Because there is a high concentration of Polish, there is a baked good that is common during the Easter season.  These are laid out on a specialty aisle that is usually in one spot every year.  However, sometimes it moves.  Sometimes it is in a space that one would not normally find such a thing.  Not fair at all!  Stores know this.  End-caps and checkout lines are filled with impulse items.  One store we shop at has chocolate or other candies at one end of the check-out area.  It is that dark chocolate that gets me every time.  Temptation can be predicted.  But sometimes it cannot.  It is the discipline to turn aside that determines our holiness or depravity.

I hate the battle.  There isn’t a day that goes by that I ask the LORD for deliverance.  I hate having to live as though there could be a stumbling block around every corner.  But how else can I be motivated to retain God in my knowledge at all times?  It is temptation that drives me to God.  It is the fear of falling that stretches out my arms of prayer to a Father who will hold me up.  It is the gods that I don’t know about that cause me to seek the face of my God because I just don’t know if I can fight them all.  The LORD kept some enemies of Israel in the land.  Why?  Why not give them complete and total victory all at once so that they could enjoy the land free from paganism?  Because if He did, they would have forgotten God a lot quicker.  Perhaps we dislike the spiritual battle required of us.  We wish it would end.  And for good reason.  But if God took it all away, unless we resided in glory, we would forget about Him.  Remember, temptation is future.  It is coming.  The gods are hastening our way.  It is best to turn aside.  Lest we forget God, we need to flee every appearance of evil.

Suffering Need Provides a Need

“And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every [word] that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” (De 8:3 AV)

Sometimes, the necessities of life are not as necessary as we might think.  Israel was never as desperate as they thought they were.  Egypt, in a manner of speaking, spoiled them.  In exchange for hard labor, Egypt provided Israel with their basic needs.  They had food and shelter.  No matter what, they had a roof over their heads and food to eat.  According to their complaints, it wasn’t scraps, either.  They yearned for the garlic and leeks of Egypt.  They were not fed pig slop.  Egypt provided the average diet anyone would enjoy.  Now that they were free, the finer things of life were not provided.  In some cases, it appeared as though the necessities of life were not apparent.  Twice they lacked water.  The reference above is to Israel’s immediate needs for bread.  They had animals they could slaughter, but they had no crops or fields in which they could plant crops.  They were not dying of hunger, but they did suffer need.  God deliberately allowed them to suffer these needs so they could learn a very valuable principle.  The most needful of all needs is spiritual; not physical. 

Note in particular that God does not say it is one or the other.  He does not.  By using the word ‘only’, the LORD is establishing priority of the spiritual over the physical.  We are very physically minded.  Our temporal needs and goals seem to be the most important.  The flesh screams for attention.  If we miss a meal, we feel it.  If we are thirsty, we know it.  If we have pain, we will do what it takes to be rid of it.  The body is that part of our being which demands the most attention.  But the body is temporary.  The body will perish and rot away.  Our souls and spirits are eternal.  The body is in a constant state of decline.  The soul and spirit are in a constant state of growth.  Our bodies scream the most.  Our souls and spirits often take a back seat.  One thing I have noticed is the serious consequences of ignoring the soul and spirit because the body is the most demanding.  Emotional collapse is around the corner.  The will to live diminishes.  There is little concern for that which lasts.  Ignoring the soul and spirit often ends with the destruction of the flesh.  Therefore, one of the greatest lessons we can learn is to deny the flesh so we can experience growth of the soul and spirit.

This is not new.  Paul states, “But I keep under my body, and bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” (1Co 9:27 AV).  He also states, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” (Ro 8:13 AV).  This does not come naturally.  So, the LORD introduces circumstances of life wherein we learn that the flesh can be denied so the spirit and soul can grow.  This is what the LORD was trying to teach the Jewish people.  By denying some of life’s basic needs, they learned the soul and spirit are also important.  By temporarily withholding what the body needed, the word of God became far more important.  We may not like suffering needs.  But I have noticed that those who plan life well and suffer no needs are often the least spiritual of all.  Not all the time, but it is a pattern.  Only when the body is denied what it thinks it needs can the soul and spirit walk after the God who Created all things.

Service of Remembrance

“[Then] beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.” (De 6:12-13 AV)

God has given us the means by which we can remember Him.  Above, there are three provisions.  These are fear, service, and ordering our character.  To fear God is to respect Him and His word.  It means to yield to His law and accept the consequences when we fail to obey.  To swear by His name means to be identified with Him to the degree that our character and lives are defined by His existence.  But it that second one that I care to contemplate this morning.  Service is as old as the garden of Eden.  God gave Adam a task.  One that He could have done Himself.  God could have created a garden that needed no tending.  The LORD created plant life that takes care of itself.  Just take a walk in an meadow and you will quickly realize that the LORD could have, if He so wished, to create a self-managed world.  Rather, He gave Adam responsibility to  tend to the garden as a means to worship and remember Him.  Service to our God is a great way to have Him in the forefront of our minds.

Around our home, Saturday was chore day.  We had paper routes to finish.  We had our bedroom to clean.  Our beds were stripped and remade.  Then there was preparing Sunday’s papers to deliver.  There was recycling to tend to.  There was yard work, there was straightening to do.  We were busy from sunup until dinnertime.  My dad had us doing something.  It was impossible to forget why we were busy.  We were busy because my father asked us to do these things.  It was impossible to separate our business from the one that assigned us the task.  As children, we resented the business.  All we wanted to do is play.  Yet the wisdom of my father kept us close to him where we could be protected, mentored, and affirmed by him.  Working for him meant we could not escape his presence.  He may not have been in the vicinity, but the task was from him and he was as good as there with us.  Serving my father meant we could never forget who it was that gave us life, provided our needs, and took measures to assure we were raised right.  Serving my dad kept him alive.  It kept him close.

This is why serving God is a good way to keep Him in memory.  When our lives are all about Self, forgetting God becomes easy.  Those believers who are filled with joy and seem to love God more than others are usually those who are also serving God.  Show me someone who is doing nothing for God, and I will show you someone who does not read their Bibles, pray, or talk of Him.  Those who do not serve the LORD soon forget the One who died for their sins.  David served the LORD with all his might.  No wonder he was a man after God’s own heart.  David defined his existence by the purpose for which God created him.  Sure, the LORD could do everything Himself.  He is God.  He created man to know Him.  He provides service as a means to do just that.  Adam kept the garden because God asked him to.  In keeping the garden, he remembered his Creator.  If we are forgetting God more and more, perhaps we need to find something He wishes us to do and do it with all our might.  After all, if my dad wrote me a note with detailed instructions of something he needed done, it would be impossible to forget him as I was working through the project.  Find that which God wants from you and do it.  You will never forget God while doing the things of God.

Treasures Are Acceptable

“[There is] treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; but a foolish man spendeth it up.” (Pr 21:20 AV)

That word ‘treasure’ has me intrigued.  The simplest understanding of the word is anything stored up for future use or pleasure.  When we tend to think of treasure, we tend to think of a pirate’s treasure of plundered goods stored for mere ego’s sake.  When we think of treasure, we often think of materialism.  We think treasure is the amassing of things we don’t need nor will ever use.  When we think of amassing treasure, we think of it as sinful.  Yet the understanding above is actually a virtue.  The simplest application of the verse above is that the wise save up while the wicked spend everything they have.  And more!  Yet, it is the word ‘treasure’ that has me intrigued.

As I have mentioned before, I watch a program of an archaeologist who travels the world trying to solve the mysteries of history.  About half of his adventures are looking for lost treasure.  In the last episode I watched, they were looking for a horde of wealth left behind by a early lady leader of the English.  She is not well known.  This feminine warrior defeated the Roman legion more than once.  Yet one day she fell ill and died.  It is said that before she died, she buried a large sum of treasure somewhere in the English hillside.  As the archeologist was searching, they stumbled across a field that contained two dozen Roman coins cast of silver from the third century.  Apparently, the pagans would offer precious metals to their deities by scattering and burying their wealth in a field of significance.  As this archeologist scours the world looking for different treasures, the pursuit of wealth is what drives him.  And many others as well.  This is not the meaning of the verse above.

We are not to amass wealth as a testament to our own accomplishments.  Our egos are not the motive for storing up treasure.  But at the same time, it is not necessarily wrong to have some things of value.  There is nothing wrong with having some nice things that we can enjoy as the fruit of our labors allows.  Pride is issue here.  I have seen millionaires who eat like the poor just because they are trying to amass wealth.  But I have also seen wealthy individuals who understand that treasures are to be used.  Hording gathers dust and rust.  Just like Jesus told us they would.  Using the wealth God gives is the balance between spending it up and storing it up.  I guess what the LORD has for us this morning is to ease our overly guilty conscience regarding the possession of treasures.  It is ok.  We don’t have to live like church mice if that is not God’s will for us.  If His will is that we live comfortably while using what He has given for His glory, there is nothing to confess.  We are right with God.  Treasure is ok.  It is not wrong to have.  What it produces will determine the ethics of our possession.

A Picture of Abiding in Grace

“Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession.” (Nu 35:28 AV)

The law of the avenger is a great picture of our practical security in Christ.  If someone accidentally occasioned the untimely death of another, they had protection under the law.  For instance, if they were working the field and loose stone unpredictably fell on another, then they negligently occasioned the death of another, but not with malice.  If someone had an animal that spooked and accidentally killed someone, it was not by intent.  It was an accident.  If the slayer fled to the city of the high priest, he could remain there alive until the death of the high priest.  Once the high priest died, he was free to return home without any fear of repercussions.  As long as he stayed within the walls of the city, he was safe.  The victim's family was justified in killing the slayer if he wandered from the protection of the high priest.  It was the grace and authority of the high priest that protected the slayer from malicious revenge.  This reminds me of our protection in the presence of Jesus Christ.

The world hates on two fronts.  It hates us for the wicked things we have done.  That is understandable.  But it also hates us for our relationship with Jesus Christ.  The world and the Devil hate us on two fronts.  It is often the incidental things that were wrong, but don’t seem to garner consequences, for which they hate us the most.  Those things we did without forethought or malice are the things they despise the most.  Perhaps in our immaturity we made choices of questionable character.  God did not punish us because they were impulsive but without rebellion.  Foolish choices of the flesh come to mind.  We didn’t have the knowledge or discipline to reject the temptation.  I can think of a few of those choices in my own life.  It was those choices which the world seems to forgive the least.  Choices that do harm, but that we were too naïve to avoid.  The world holds saints to higher standards than they do themselves.  What is ok for them is not ok for us.  They will crucify the saint for an indiscretion where their best friend who is lost is gold.  Being in the presence of Jesus Christ and His grace is our refuge.

We will never be fully accepted by those who don’t have the love of Christ in their hearts.  They cannot.  They don’t have the capacity to love as Christ loves.  The great news is that our High Priest will never die.  The presence of Christ is permanent.  We would be foolish to leave the intimacy found in Christ and go back to those who hate us.  In our passage, if the slayer left the grace of the Priest’s protection, it was a guaranteed death sentence.  No doubt the victim’s family set up camp right outside the city just in case the slayer was foolish enough to venture out.  Anyone who would leave the gracious protection of the Priest is not thinking right.  Yes, liberty is restricted.  But life can still be enjoyable.  There was no restriction for the slayer’s family to join him.  He can have a full life in the presence of the High Priest.  We would be foolish to resent what we cannot have and not enjoy what we can have.  Within the city, the slayer had liberty to enjoy life.  He was free to make a life for himself.  The same is true with us.  As long as we stay within the grace and mercy provided by an intimate walk with God, we are secure.  Who cares what the world thinks? 

Always In Control

“The mighty God, [even] the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.” (Ps 50:1 AV)

The calling of the earth refers to the universal judgement of all mankind.  From the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof means for twenty-four hours.  The sun is rising and setting somewhere.  God is not idle.  It may seem that way, but He is not.  The Mighty God is always in control, and whether we can recognize it or not, He holds us all accountable.  Our God is sovereign.  He is active.  His plan often escapes our perception.  Yet He still works.  He still calls all people at all times to account for the choices they make.  We can look at this truth several ways.  We can meditate on the holiness and consistency of God.  We can look at it as a rebuke knowing that we will be held accountable.  Or, we could look at it as a comfort that God is just and will hold our enemies accountable for the injustice we have suffered at their hands.  There are many other ways in which to dwell upon this truth, but it all boils down to one glorious understanding.  God knows all things, nothing escapes His observation, He is sovereign, and there isn’t anything that can frustrate His will.  He is on control.  All the time.

Sometimes, I marvel at the things man can make.  For instance, I marvel that an automobile can run for years as long as it has fuel.  I marvel that a plane can fly without dropping out of the sky.  I marvel at machinery that seems to run forever.  Then this writer considers creation.  It is a marvel that our bodies function for as long as they do.  Especially when considering the abuse we take it through.  Broken bones, avoidable illnesses, bad life style choice, etc.  Our hearts continue to beat.  Our lungs continue to breathe.  Year after year.  Month after month.  Week after week.  Day after day.  Hour after hour.  Minute after minute.  And second, after second.  This wonderful biological machine functions with little interruption for decades.  There are other creatures that live far longer.  Certain trees can live for thousands of years.  There are some that have been here since the flood of Noah.  Why?  Because the Creator sustains it all.  He calls the earth from the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun.  There isn’t a place on this earth where God’s hand is not.

This is a wonder to consider.  Our God is not merely omnipresent.  He is actively omnipresent.  God is not selectively omnipotent.  He is omnipotent everywhere and at all times.  When David states that God calls the entire earth from the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun, he is making an astounding theological statement regarding the person and work of the Creator.  When we worry or frustrated, we can rest assured that God has not slacked His hand.  We can know that no matter where we are or what we may be going through, God is there, and He is working.  He has called the entire earth from the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun.  He is there, and He is not going anywhere.  Nor will He stop His work among the children of men.

Courage For The Little Dogs

“Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil, [when] the iniquity of my heels shall compass me about?” (Ps 49:5 AV)

Some think that David is referring to the annoying enemies who are nipping at him like little troublesome dogs.  They think he might be referring to those little things that challenge a king.  Alone, they are insignificant.  Put them all together, and it quickly becomes stressful.  We have rats in our city.  I hate rats.  However, one rat I can deal with.  A bunch of them are beyond distasteful.  This could be the idea David is trying to convey.  There might be another understanding here.  Perhaps David is speaking of his own iniquity.  Perhaps what David fears the most is not the iniquity of others.  Perhaps that which David fears the most is the prevalence of temptation and his tendency to yield to that temptation.  I certainly can relate.  Every child of God who desires an intimate walk with God will hate sin.  He or she will do all they can not to fall.  It is our greatest fear.  We pray for the day when the trumpet blows.  We will be given a new body and mind that cannot be tempted to sin.  True liberty from the old man is coming.  Until that day, the day of evil will be our fear.

An old country church had a heart for a man who was stricken with drunkenness.  His wife and children prayed with their church family that God would save him.  Every morning, this man got up for work and crossed the only bridge into town.  On his way to work, he would pass by several bars located on the city side of the bridge.  There was no other way to work.  He had to cross that bridge.  The stresses of the job found him visiting the bars as he journeyed home.  That was how it all started.  So, the family and church prayed for him.  The fasted for him.  They loved on him.  Finally, one glorious Sunday morning, he repented of his life of sin and trusted Jesus Christ as his Savior.  The following day, he went off to work.  This time, when he passed by the bars, he had no desire to stop by for a drink.  Rather than relent, he rejoiced.  He praised the LORD for the deliverance.  This went on day after day.  But say after day the bars were always there.  Over time, rejoicing because a struggle.  Each trip on the way home became more and more of a challenge.  One particular day, when his boss was particularly relentless, the stress of work seemed too hard to bear.  On the way home he stopped and stood outside the bar.  He stood there for the longest time.  But God gave him victory, and he headed home.

That is what the life of the believer seems to be.  There is a constant battle for holiness.  Temptation stands in front of us from the moment we awake until we drift off to sleep.  Temptation is our way of life.  It scares us.  We hate it.  We cannot wait until the day it will never nip at our heals again.  Gone is the devil.  Gone is the world.  Gone is the flesh.  The battle is over.  Until then, we can pray the same prayer David prayed.  We can pray for continual deliverance from the dogs of sin that nip at our soul from moment to moment.  The prayer above is framed as a question.  It is a rhetorical question.  The answer is obvious.  The answer is that with the ministry of the Holy Spirit there should not be fear of temptation.  There should be concern.  This pushes us to prayer.  But never should we feel that sin is so big that even God cannot deliver.  Temptation is an annoying little dog whose bark is worse than its bite.