It's All Good

“She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.” (Pr 31:12 AV)

 

The writer is speaking after his mother warned him about the pitfalls of relationships.  His response to his mother’s advice not to give his strength to a woman is followed by a description of a virtuous and godly wife.  It is almost as if the writer is taking his mother’s advice, but is countering it with the fact that all women are not as the woman she warns him of.  I can certainly state this to be true!  If there has been any evil in my days, it was self-inflicted.  Strong’s Numbers says of the word ‘good’, “good (as an adjective) in the widest sense”.  What a perfect word!  There are so many ways in which a wife can be ‘good’.  There are ways in which she cannot be so good.  But in using this term, the writer is saying that a virtuous wife is good in all her ways to the benefit of her husband.  Yes, men, these ladies exist.  And I married one.

I don’t know how many more years I will be blessed with my dear Lisa.  It could be several more decades.  Or, not.  Only the LORD knows how many more years we have on this earth.  One thing is for sure, we have been married thirty-four years this year and she has done me good and not evil all the days of our marriage.  When I think of all the good, this page cannot be long enough.  She is my life!  She is more than my other half.  She is the completer.  She is the one for whom I arise from bed every morning, regardless of the circumstances, and look forward to the day.  The LORD has blessed me with more than a wife.  She is more than a companion.  She is more than my right hand.  She is the very definition of our lives together.  When I think of the good she has done the thing that pops out to me is Lisa being Lisa.  Her personality is as unique as a star.  There is no one else like her.  She is so special there will never be anyone like her ever again.  Her attitude is better than merely pleasant.  She is the bubble in my bath!  She is the sunshine that breaks through a cloudy day.  She is that ray of hope when I have lost mine.  My Lisa make me laugh more than cry.  She worries about me when she really has no cause to.  She had cared for me, she has held me up when I felt like falling, and she has always known the LORD can do for and with me more than I realize myself.  She had done me good and not evil ALL the days of my life.

When the writer states that a virtuous wife does her husband good and not evil all the days of his life, he is stating the deep truth that a wife is a good thing from the LORD.  She is a blessing beyond words.  When he uses the specific adjective of ‘good’, he relays that she is not merely good in a few ways.  Rather, she is good in every way.  I can honestly say this is true.  If we were to stop and take stock in the wife whom God provided, we can agree with the writer above. That is, if we have been the husband we should have been, then our wives would have followed our example and done us good and not evil all the days of our lives.  I don’t know what the future holds.  I don’t know what type of trials face us.  No doubt, Lisa and I will have to go through some deep waters before we graduate into glory.  However, one thing I know for sure.  I know it as sure as I know the sun will rise tomorrow.  That is, she will do me good and not evil all the days of my life!

A God That Remembers

“But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.” (Le 26:45 AV)

 

This statement is made in the context of warnings to Israel regarding the forsaking of the law, and in particular, the sabbath.  They are warned there would be consequences including the invasion of enemies and captivity in foreign lands.  This is exactly what happened.  Israel forsook the ceremonial law and went after the false gods of their neighbors.  They forsook the Sabbath for four-hundred-plus years.  So the LORD carried away Israel to Assyria and Judah to Babylon.  However, the LORD makes this promise above.  No matter how disobedient Israel may have been or will become, the LORD will remember the covenant He made with Abraham, Isaac, and David.  He will honor those promises and be their God that they might be His people.  What grace!

Without doing a word search, I think I can safely say that when God says he will do something, the majority of the time it is for His own glory or His own name’s sake.  The minority of times does the scripture say that for the sake of creation or mankind, or as is above, for a nation’s sake He will perform something.  Herein is one of those times.  Which makes the statement even more gracious.  At a time when the LORD could send mercy to a backslidden and disobedient people for the sake of His reputation as a merciful God, He states He will remember the covenant He had made with their forefathers for their sake.  For the fact they are helpless and wicked people who are in desperate need of God’s mercy lest they suffer consequences from which they would never recover otherwise.  It was the mercy of God that protected the nation with the ascension of Esther as queen.  Her presence as the king’s wife saved the nation of Israel from complete extermination.  It was the mercy of God that opened Cyrus’ heart to allow Israel to return and rebuild the temple and city walls.  It was the mercy of God that kept Israel as a people through four-hundred years of constant attack.  Two thousand years in the diaspora and God still remembered His covenant with Israel for their sakes.  A World War and the Great Solution came around.  Yet this resulted in the proclamation of 1948 which organized the Jewish State in the land of Palestine.  Down through the millennia, God has never forgotten His people and the promise of the unconditional covenant made to the children of Abraham and Isaac.  No matter how they treated Him, He never saw fit to cancel the covenant.  He did it for their sakes.

When we stop and consider the same faithful God who made covenants with Israel is the same God which the saints worship, we can take a similar comfort in that He will remember His tender mercies towards us, too.  He has promised to keep us until the day of redemption.  He has promised that nothing can separate us from His love.  He has promised to always be by our side and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will never leave.  He has promised the church will survive no matter the attack from Satan and the world.  He has promised a glorious home in heaven where all our troubles will cease.  He has promised that if we truth Him, He will use us as an instrument in His hand to be a witness of His love to a lost and dying world.  He does all this for His name’s sake – yes.  But He also does all this for our sakes.  What love!  What mercy!  What grace!  To think that a God who is perfect and without flaw, demanding complete holiness from His creation, would still consider all of mankind who has failed Him!  To think the wondrous God who must judge wickedness had sent His Son to be our offering to satisfy His wrath.  And after we have trusted in His Son, we fail Him in wicked ways, yet He still honors His love towards us!  What love!  What grace!  To have the confidence that no matter what happens in life, there is one thing the world, the flesh, the devil, and death cannot take from me.  That is, the presence of a holy and loving God who will be my strength and my high tower!  What love!  What grace!  Let us live every day in the remembrance of this God whom we say we know.  What love!  What grace!

Wear The New Jersey

“Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you, That brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD.” (Le 22:32-33 AV)

 

The word ‘hallowed’ means to be set apart, made sacred, and to be consecrated.  There is an understanding here between God and His people.  God’s people will hallow God and His name and God will do the same with the people.  The precedent for this is because God brought Israel out of bondage to Egypt.  He separated Israel from all other nations to give them promises and in turn, they would promise to live according to His holy law.  The benefits of living according to God’s holy law were natural consequences of living according to the Designer’s intent.  Another benefit would be their testimony to a lawless world that God’s law is better than man’s law thus drawing mankind to God.  However, that which we wish to consider is the hallowing of God and His name by the child of God.  The entire existence of the nation of Israel was wrapped up in the identity of Jehovah God.  He was their definition.  They had set apart their nation and a nation that declared God and His right to rule mankind.  In particular, we want to dwell on the truth that the main purpose for salvation itself is that God be the center of the saint’s life and when others see him or her, they should easily discern this fact.

It amazes me when I see coaches who are fired and then hired for a new team.  They are all in.  They wear the team’s sweater on the sidelines.  They were the team logo whenever they appear in public.  Even those coaches or managers who have had great success in one location, when moving to a new one, never reflect their former team.  Joe Madden managed for the Florida Marlins.  Then he came to the Chicago Cubs.  Don’t be a hater, but I am a Cubs fan.  Any team that wears red, white, and blue is a good team!  Anyway, he managed a team that broke the longest streak of non-championship seasons of any professional team.  The Chicago Cubs won the 2016 world series and he was one of the main reasons they broke a drought that lasted over one hundred years.  If I managed a miracle team like that, I think I would never fail to wear Cubs paraphernalia or my former jersey no matter where I ended up.  However, Madden and the Cubs parted was a few years back and now he manages the Angels.  Whenever you see him, he is in the red and white with the yellow hallo around the A.  He is all in.  There is no reference to the Cubs.  In the context of his life today, the world series win does not matter.  He is all in with the Angels.  He has separated himself from what he was to what he is now.  His very life is defined by his new heartbeat.

So, too, should the saint be with the God who gave him or her eternal life.  Unfortunately, we have compartmentalized our faith for the rest of our lives.  Our church is striving for a campaign of being vocal about our faith.  We are asking the LORD to embolden us to speak to 10,000 souls and hand out 7,500 tracts.  This is pretty aggressive for such a small congregation as we are.  However, what it really boils down to is how we define our existence.  If we are defined by the God who saved us, then we will naturally speak of Him to others.  If we are defined by sports, that of what we will speak.  If we are defined by our human relationships, we will speak of them.  Because Jesus saved us from our sin, He should be the center of all we do, think, and speak of.  Jesus Christ separated us from the world but left us in the world.  He did so that we might be an instrument of separating others unto Him.  This can only be so if we hallow His name.  This can only come to pass if we hallow Christ himself.  Jesus must be the very definition of our lives.  Otherwise, He is not hallowed.  We are one foot in and one foot out.

Time To Stop Running

“The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.” (Pr 28:1 AV)

 

The benefit of living right as manifested above is peace of mind.  When we live wrong or do wrong, one of the fears we live with is being found out.  What happens if what we did ever came to light.  So, we are cautious with how much we allow ourselves to be put at risk.  We wonder what would happen if we made ourselves a target for others to do a little bit of digging.  Now, no one is perfect.  We all have skeletons in the closet.  We all have those things we hope no one discovers.  Those things that we have evaded and covered.  Those things which only you and God know about.  Those things for which we have sought and gained forgiveness.  Those things which God has put in the past and we should too.  We all have those things.  But this is more than mere mistakes or sins of the past.  This is present sin.  The wicked above are presently wicked.  They have not repented.  They have not sought God’s mercy and forgiveness.  They live in constant anxiety and fear that one day, someone will discover who and what they are.  Not what they once were.  The protection against this anxiety is living righteously.  Not perfectly.  Righteously.  That means we strive to live free of sin, but if we fall, we seek mercy and forgiveness.  Then we seek empowerment from the Holy Spirit to live after the Spirit and not after the flesh.

My father was insistent that we keep our accounts up to date with our paper route customers.  His purpose was two-fold.  First, the longer we allowed an account to lapse, the longer it was that we felt we couldn’t ask our customer for the past-due balance.  Some wonderful customers put aside their payments weekly.  When I knocked on their door to ‘collect’, the funds were neatly placed in an envelope.  Then some never thought about it until I came to ‘collect’.  Then they scrambled to find the funds.  Then some told me to come back some other time.  Finally, some went on vacation and never informed me.  They had a neighbor gather their paper.  So, I would knock on their door for several weeks.  When the ‘stubs’ began to accumulate, it was more intimidating to ask the customer to make their account current than it was to simply stop collecting.  I would pay their bill out of my tips.  Then, my father knew that a good customer made a good citizen.  He wanted us to collect on past due accounts so that we could drop a customer who was a problem.  All of this made for a stressful early childhood.  Confronting adults was not a comfortable thing to do.  But that is what my dad wanted.  As stated before, when I was too intimidated to seek payment, I calculated how much tip I had accumulated and would pay off some of the past due accounts.  The problem is, I had three other siblings who also had routes.  There would be a pattern of tips to fees ratio.  Comparing the other three routes to my own, my father could quickly tell if I was using tip money for something other than what it was intended.  Having gotten caught several times, I simply chose to hide the fact there were a few customers who hadn’t paid their bills.  This can be hidden rather easily by simply stating a certain percentage of customers had paid their bills.  No one had to know it was the same group of customers every week and there were a few that owed months' worth.  This bothered me.  I would even rip out the stubs and throw them away so my father wouldn’t find out I had lapsed on a few customers.  Living in a constant state of deceit is stressful!  Not until I confessed to my father what I was doing was I able to report every week.  Being the father he was, he went with me one Friday night and collected on all the back accounts I had allowed to lapse.

The point is simple.  The LORD desires us to live righteously.  He wishes we would live perfectly.  However, we have the old man to contend with.  If we are living in a state of sin, our anxiety level is completely out of control.  We run when we do not have to run.  Like Adam and Eve, we seek to hide rather than to fess up.  When the world brings up our past sin, we have a defense.  That defense would be in the mercy of God.  That is where our boldness lies.  But to live in contrariness to the will of God is to live in fear.  Even when we are not being pursued.  We live in the fear that eventually, we will be caught.  The only hope is to keep short accounts.  Fess up to God and those whom we have injured, seeking restitution and mercy, and we no longer have to flee when no man pursues.  Then, accept the account as satisfied and closed.  If the self-righteous decide to bring it up, then plead the mercy of God and let the self-righteous deal with it!  But for heaven’s sake, stop running!

Celebrate The Cure

“Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop:” (Le 14:4 AV)

 

How exactly these items were used, we are not told.  Some suggest the cedar and hyssop were wrapped in the scarlet wool forming a sort of brush when dipped in the blood and water sprinkled on the bird.  I guess that is as good an idea and any other.  This rite was for the cleansing of a leper.  When a leper was declared clean, this rite with two birds and the above items was performed.  It was done so in a public manner so the entire nation would know the individual had been declared clean.  The priest would examine the person’s sores and could tell by simple inspection whether the individual was still suffering or was now healing.  If the indications were his body was fighting back and he was on the mend, then he would be declared clean.  The above sacrifice was to be made.  What struck me by the Spirit this morning is the nature of the items above.  Cedar and hyssop are extremely aromatic and the scarlet wool was extremely vibrant.  Add to that the reaction of a bird set free that was held captive and dowsed with blood and water, and one gets the picture of a rite that was dramatic.  In the word of God, leprosy is a type.  It represents sin.  The rite that celebrated victory over this sin type was done vibrantly and dramatically.

Over the years, the LORD has brought my way a few souls struggling with alcohol.  Many of them needed to come to Christ.  Many of them had been through AA and for a while, it was successful.  There was a tradition they shared.  They would celebrate anniversaries of being sober.  First, it was weeks, then months, and finally years.  Some chapters gave their clients a coin, badge, or another memento to remind them of the victory which they accomplished.  These trinkets were designed to be a constant reminder of victory rather than to constantly dwell on defeat.  On top of that, the AA client is proud to tell you how long they have been sober.  That’s great!  We should always brag on the successes which the LORD brings our way.  Another is those who diet.  They step on the scale.  As long as the number goes down, there is a celebration.  There is elation.  Knowing that sugar or carbs lost this week is sweeter than a pound of sugar.  Knowing to liberty one has because a vice no longer controls us should be a time of vibrant celebration!

Jesus Christ came to save us from the consequences of sin; that being hell.  But more importantly, He came to save us from the control of sin.  One can only imagine what it must be like to live with leprosy.  From what I understand, this disease is a cruel one.  People can lose limbs.  They can even lose their lives.  They are pulled from society and placed in isolation.  They live in leper colonies apart from the rest of the world.  They are ostracized.  They are ridiculed.  They cannot have a normal life.  Once and only imagine when they were cured of this horrible ailment.  What a burden that must have been to carry it.  But even a greater release when declared clean.  Like that bird who sails off rapidly and anxiously, the care and burden of being a leper were immediately gone.  I remember the morning Jesus saved me from my sin!  What a morning that was.  I felt lighter than air.  My guilt and shame were all gone.  I had no sense of God’s wrath on my heart.  It was totally gone.  What a drive home that was!  The sky was brighter.  The birds sang louder.  The whole day was a brand new day!  What a sweet day!  This is how it should feel whenever the LORD gives us victory over sin.  There should be a vibrant feeling of victory that carried the day!  Celebrate freedom.  Freedom from sin!

A Wiser Fool

“Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.” (Pr 26:12 AV)

 

This is kind of an interesting proverb because, on the face of it, it doesn’t seem to be true.  Solomon is comparing a wise man who is conceited with a fool.  What they are is what they are.  The wise man is wise.  The foolish man is foolish.  The wise man will make far fewer mistakes in life than a fool.  However, Solomon says a humble fool has more hope than a conceited wise man.  Pride is at issue here.  Not who makes the least number of mistakes.  The reason a proud wise man has less hope than a humble fool is the humble fool as the potential of becoming wiser.  However, the proud wise man will reach a plateau of wisdom and will go no further.  He is the final authority of what he believes.  That is what conceit here means.  He sees himself as wise regardless if he is or not.  He is wise in his own eyes.  For the most part, he might be right.  But those times he is wrong will never be corrected because he sees himself as wise.  We are all a bit like this!

We are all quick to formulate opinions.  We want to be right.  The difficulty arises when we have to admit we are not right.  When I was younger, it was difficult to take advice from older adults.  Call it youthful pride.  It was especially hard to take advice from my father-in-law.  There were times when I flat out disagreed with him because I thought I knew what I knew.  Yet, I married into the most gracious of families.  More times than not, he shared his opinion with me, but let me be me and learn the hard way that he was right.  There are too many examples from which I can pick, but one little incident will suffice.  Lisa and I lived in the country and we had some mechanics of our house that were new to me.  One such item was an electronic water heater.  I had always used gas.  The in-laws came for a visit and he noticed that our hot water was hotter than he would have had it.  So, he suggested I turn down the thermostat on the water heater to save energy.  I had already tried to do that and could not find a thermostat anywhere.  To which I declared our heater did not have one.  We debated back and forth.  I told him I looked high and low for a stat and had declared one did not exist.  So, he took me down to the heater and removed a panel.  The panel that would normally house access to the heater coils.  And there it was.  Stink!  Larry was right again!  Don’t you hate that when your father-in-law is right!  Ugh.

The whole proverb can be summed up in one quality.  Humble teachability.  If someone can be taught, then they can become wiser.  But this requires that he place himself at the feet of another.  Not his own feet.  I come from a family of self-taught people.  If there is a skill we have, it probably comes from time spent in our own efforts independent of other influences and learning by trial and error.  The thing is, learning that way we are limited by our own thinking.  We block out any other possibilities that other influences could bring.  Learning a musical instrument takes head knowledge and hand knowledge.  There are techniques we might not be able to learn unless someone else shows us.  Simply because in our limited thinking, we may not be able to imagine it.  A wise man who is wise in his own conceit is limited by his own ability.  He will not, nor can not, humbly admit he doesn’t know what he doesn’t know and submit himself to someone who does.  The fool has hope because he might be humble enough to admit he doesn’t know and needs to learn.  He knows he can’t learn and will allow others to influence him.  There is more hope for a mistake-ridden humble fool than a wise man who makes few mistakes but will not allow others to teach him.

Bragging About an Empty Box

“Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain.” (Pr 25:14 AV)

 

I had always read this verse to mean a person who boasts about a spiritual gift or ability which he does not have is like clouds and wind without rain.  This is not what the commentators are saying.  The commentators all agree the gift above is an offering or benevolence promised but never given.  The Hebrew agrees with their assessment.  The Hebrew word for ‘gift’ here is, “a present; gift, reward”.  Therefore, a person who boasts of a gift promised is like clouds and wind without rain.  This boasting could go either way.  Either boasting of a gift that he cannot honor, or boasting that he gave something that he never gave.  Think Ananias and Saphira.  There are so many ways to consider this.  The observation of those who see the wind and clouds is one way to look at it.  The boasting of the false benefactor is another.  Quite a show that would be.  However, there is another way we can look at it.

Having spent almost a decade serving in a farming culture with the real treat of tornados gives me a different perspective.  Rain is essential for the farmer to make a living.  He needs rain.  And plenty of it.  He watches the weather broadcast with anticipation.  He reads The Farmer’s Almanac in the hope the publication is correct.  He watches the signs in the skies for much-needed precipitation.  There are many folklores regarding the weather in such an area as this.  There was one regarding fog.  If there were so many fogs in the time specified, it was an indication of the type of season coming later.  Then there was how many rainstorms during a specified time as an indication of what type of summer it would be.  Bugs were another indication.  One thing was for sure.  The folk in this area were very attuned to the weather and the signs that would accompany them.  Then came the weather forecast.  If the weatherman forecasted a certain outcome, the old farmer could tell by the signs in the skies if it was right or not.  If rain was in the skies, there was a great hope it would drop.  Their livelihood depended on it.  This brings me to our point.  Wind and clouds are part of a storm.  The farmer will put up with a lot of storm damage if rain was part of it.  As he looks at the lowering and darkening sky, he is grateful for that which his crops desperately need.  He can put up with a little inconvenience if it means his crop had a greater yield.  If he has his preference, he would do without the wind.  But it is part and parcel of the rain that will follow.

A person who boasts or promises something which he cannot deliver is worse than a rainstorm.  He is a storm that causes a ruckus but leaves nothing behind of any benefit.  There is damage in his wake.  There is inconvenience behind him.  There are dashed hopes. There is profit which was counted on that now require adjustments to be made to plans laid because of the failure of his promises benevolence.  This isn’t just about monetary promises.  This proverb is about any time someone promises something which others count on and fail to deliver.  When these promises are broken, the one who made them figures if they didn’t have it before I promised it, they aren’t going to miss it if I don’t deliver.  But that is not the case.  When promises are made and not kept, it does cause damage.  When someone affects the hopes, dreams, and plans of another and then fails to live up to his promises, there are consequences.  Like a farmer who now has to fix the roof of the barn but looks over his parched fields, those who plan on a promise have to go on in the wake of those broken promises with no hope it was worth it.

The Only Dumb Question is the One You Don't Ask

“Wisdom is too high for a fool: he openeth not his mouth in the gate.” (Pr 24:7 AV)

 

The gate was the place men gathered to converse and debate.  It was like the local water cooler.  In the movie Fiddler On The Roof, one of the opening scenes is when the milkman brings his cart into the village.  All the townsmen are coming for their milk and cheese. In the process, they remain gathered and debate back and forth.  Their bantering is not rude or disrespectful, it is merely a way to gather more information or formulate what truth truly is.  In the above proverb, this practice is in mind.  However, the fool, because of his foolishness, does not see wisdom as something he desires or can understand.  So, he avoids public discourse because he thinks those things of which others speak are above his abilities or desires.  One thing to bear in mind, the book of Proverbs constantly compares wisdom and foolishness.  However, there are varying degrees of both.  The description of the fool is often seen as a derogatory thing.  However, foolishness is natural for the sinner.  It is how we are born.  It is our nature.  Being that there are degrees of foolishness, the above observation could simply be natural foolishness rather than a deliberate one.  In other words, the fool assumes present wisdom will always be out of his reach so he doesn’t bother to sit and learn.

As a child, my father required us to take music lessons which he taught.  He started us out on the piano and then we went to an instrument of our choosing.  I chose the guitar.  As a child, you really are not falling in love with practice and lessons.  We would rather be outside having mud wars with our brothers or running to the park.  Or priding our bikes.  Who wants to sit and practice for half-an-hour a day when there were far more fun things to do.  This made for difficult lessons to learn.  Who cares about chords or plucking patterns?  There we sat.  My father would chasten us for making chords the wrong way.  He would go over the lesson for the day.  More and more we would learn. Much to our dismay.  What I learned years later was I had a large hole that was missing. Key structure and construction of chords were an important part.  When friends of mine showed me the pattern, I called my dad and asked him why he never taught this to me.  Because I really didn’t care to learn.  That was his response.  The fool does not open his mouth to gain more wisdom because he thinks it is too high for him to understand.  However, if he were to simply apply himself and give himself more time, he can get it.

We tend to throw up our hands when faced with something we think we will never understand.  We may never be a rocket scientist, however, the basic principles of it can be understood to avoid being hit by one.  This is the understanding above.  Throwing up our hands in an attempt to understand something when we do not think we can is a foolish thing.  I have three sons.  When it comes to asking questions in the classroom, two of them couldn’t be different.  One was as silent as a church mouse.  The other asked questions non-stop.  The first really didn’t need to ask.  He could figure it out on his own.  The other was a bit slower but just as intelligent.  He simply needed to verbally work out.  He was not a fool.  He never looked at something as impossible to understand.  He learned that asking questions and working it out was the way to come to a deeper understanding.  A fool will not.  He will assume he will never understand it and pass by it.  The problem is, wisdom does not relax or the ignorant.  Ignoring what we should know simply because we think it is above our heads will only come back to bite us.

There Is No Such Thing as a Stupid Question

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” (Jas 1:5 AV)

 

When we quote this verse, we are usually drawing attention to the liberality of the wisdom of God.  We point out God’s readiness to bestow upon us answers to questions if we seek His face.  Wisdom, being the discipline to apply knowledge, is something the LORD deeply desires to share with His children.  We know the LORD wants us to grow more and more into the image of Christ.  This takes knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.  What I have never heard is an exposition on three little words in the center of this verse.  And upbraideth not.  The word ‘upbraideth’ means, “to defame, rail at, chide, or taunt; of undeserved reproach, to revile.”  What this verse says to me is that when we ask the LORD for wisdom, He will not chide or defame us for asking.  What a comfort.

We have all sat through this or done this.  Perhaps a student is sitting in class and asks a question.  The teacher becomes irritated because he or she has covered that information and assumes the student wasn’t paying attention or didn’t really care to ascertain the information.  So, a snarky remark is added to the answer.  “I’ve already told you once.  Do I really need to go over this again?” “If you were paying attention, you would have gotten it the first time.” “Well, obviously someone didn’t do their homework.”  “Why do you want to hold the whole class back because you don’t want to apply yourself?”  Responses like these can discourage anyone from asking any questions.  One trap I find myself falling into is expecting a base knowledge in the people I am teaching.  It is easy to forget they may not have a base of knowledge from which to work and I have to go back to basics.  Another frustration is teaching the same thing over and over again.  It doesn’t occur to us that some do not learn as quickly as others, and impatience is not going to help the situation any.  This is particularly true when we are teaching the Bible.  It is easy to forget that others cannot understand what we are saying because, if they are lucky, they have read their bibles for a total of one hour a week while we ministers get paid to study it all day long.  Why is it, those who are closest to us often receive the least patience when we mentor in wisdom?  Why is it when our spouses or children seek answers, we are a bit irritated, but if a church member asks, we are patient as the day is long?

When thinking about this part of the verse, I wondered what application, in particular, the LORD had for me.  The first is mentioned above.  I can be much more patient with those who seek Bible answers.  That is what God called me to do.  But there is another that applies to us all.  That is, God is patient and we need not fear chastisement from the LORD for simply being too slow or ignorant to get it.  Do I deal with the ghost of past mentors who had no patience with me?  Do I allow those experiences to stop me from asking the LORD for more wisdom?  Am I too afraid my inquiries are so simple the LORD will be displeased at me for asking?  Do I consider my need for wisdom too childish that I don’t bother asking at all?  Do I seek God’s face completely embarrassed that I lack wisdom and that in asking for it, somehow His opinion of me will change?  The point is a God who could very easily make us feel really small for asking does just the opposite.  His deepest desire is to lead His children into a life of deeper holiness and happiness.  This takes wisdom.  He would not be so cruel as to lose patience with us as we seek His wisdom.  Tender and merciful is our Father who will share with us any wisdom which we seek without a personal commentary on how we should have known better, how we continue to disappoint and fail Him, or how we are not worth His time.  What a gracious God we serve!

Whose Truly In Charge?

“And Moses said unto the LORD, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.” (Ex 33:12-13 AV)

 

Initially, it may appear as though Moses is expressing anxiety over his calling into leadership.  However, Moses is asking the LORD to remind him who is the true leader of the people.  That being, God.  When he mentions the LORD has not let Moses know who God will send with him, he is not asking for the knowledge of how will stand with him and support his leadership.  He has Joshua, Aaron, Eleazar, and others.  What Moses is asking is for guidance in the form of human mentoring.  The conclusion of his prayer is really the answer he needs.  He laments he has no human mentor, but in working out his concern in the process of prayer, he realizes the answer is to know God, seek God’s grace, and remember the responsibility of leading God’s people is God.  When Moses has stated God to consider Israel and His people, what Moses is doing is removing the anxiety he must have felt in being a leader and placing the primary responsibility of leading God’s people on the One to whom it belongs.  God Himself.

As a leader, one carries with him or her a burden and responsibility that few understand.  Whether a parent, a teacher, a civil or military leader or a pastor, one carries with him or her the responsibility to see the whole body of those who follow succeed.  They carry a burden on their shoulder to see that everyone has the opportunity to grow and advance.  He or she must work and lead so the whole is a conducive unit all working together to achieve the same object.  This task is a daunting one.  Especially if there is no one to whom you can go for guidance.  We have our forefathers.  We have commentators.  We have wisdom found in writings.  Moses had none of these.  He was the first human penmen to put down in writing the words of God.  There were the words and history of the patriarchs.  Yet none of them led a nation.  He was all alone to try and figure out how best to lead.  He didn’t have a fellow national leader to converse with.  Pharaoh, Abimelech, and the five kings of Mesopotamia didn’t know the LORD so their opinion would not have been helpful.  The last time Moses had a mentor was when he spent some time with his father-in-law.  Now he feels the task is too daunting without some human help.

A former pastor of mine used a thought quite frequently.  He would often use the phrase, “getting you off the hook.”  What he meant by that is sometimes we place more blame or responsibility upon ourselves that we deserve or are expected to carry.  We put ourselves on the hook for things.  We take one hundred percent of the blame or responsibility when indeed, it should be shared.  In this case, Moses asks the LORD to remind him that Israel is God’s people.  Not Moses’ people.  Moses may be the human instrument that the LORD uses, but ultimately, Israel is God’s responsibility, first.  This goes for a family, a community, a classroom, and a church.  These belong to God.  When we assume leadership more than God intended, that is when we get into trouble.  When we try to lead the home without God as the central figure of leadership, we fail.  When we try to control a classroom without God in the midst, this is when we create a mess.  When we attempt to pastor His sheep without remembering it is God who leads in the person of Christ, that is when we have issues.  As we are seeing in our nation, when we elect leaders who do not have a fundamental belief in the sovereignty of God, that is when we have a nation that falls apart.  The point here is simple.  If you or I am called to lead in any way, we must remember those whom we lead belong to God, and ultimately, He leads and not us.

God The Sanctifier

“And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest’s office.” (Ex 29:43-44 AV)

 

God is in the process of instructing Moses on the law of the tabernacle.  The LORD is going through the pattern of the tabernacle, the furniture, and the implements.  He is giving Moses the form of sacrifice and the priest’s role in it.  The LORD is giving the pattern for the clothing of the priests, especially of the high priest.  Moses is receiving the rite of cleansing which Aaron, his sons, and those that follow must adhere to in order to perform their tasks.  God is giving all these instructions of assembling the center of worship and the practices of cleansing.  They are very specific.  They are somewhat cumbersome.  If followed to the letter, the result will be a representation of God’s holiness to a lost world.  However, one must notice that just because the letter of the law is fulfilled, it does not automatically result in the tabernacle or priesthood as considered sanctified.  Just because they fulfill the pattern, purpose, and process of worship does not mean they are sanctified.  They are sanctified because God makes them as such.

I am shocked by my wife.  I thought she loved me.  I truly did.  I thought my heartbeat was her heartbeat.  I thought what I loved, she loved.  I thought she would follow me in every interest of life and be second only to me.  I thought my favorite foods would be hers.  I thought my favorite hymns would be hers.  When it came to sports teams, I fully expected this loving and endearing best friend that I vowed to be with all my life would buy matching jerseys.  I thought for sure when the game was on, she would root for my team.  After all, wasn’t that part of the wedding vows?  It should have been.  What happened?  She went along with it for a while.  She had a sweatshirt with my team’s logo.  She sat and watched the games with me.  And even cheered when they scored.  Then along came the kids.  And the in-laws felt my paradise had to be interrupted.  Low and behold my oldest and youngest felt the best way to get close to dad was to root against my favorite team.  The in-laws meddled and not only encouraged my sons and wife to abandon my teams, but went one worse.  They turned my entire family into haters!  My sons, I would expect.  Not my dearest friend who promised to be my soul mate.  What my sons and my in-laws did was manifest the true heart of my lovely wife.  No matter how much she wore the jerseys; no matter how much she rooted for the team; no matter how much she even wanted to buy me tickets and go to a game; her heart was never truly with me.  She could conform to an outward fan, but inwardly, she was a hater.

Sanctification is just that.  Sanctification must include outward conformity to laws and standards.  However, sanctification is not partial.  Outward conformity may make for outward sanctification.  When it came to the law, God demanded it all.  Not just and outward sanctification.  But an inward one as well.  The warning of approaching the Holiest of All uncleansed and in a state of impurity is a dire one.  The consequences of attempting such a feat only go to show the LORD is after complete, and not partial sanctification.  Thus we have the statements above.  The tabernacle and priesthood could be in full compliance with the law, but they are not sanctified until the LORD makes them thus.  And the way He did that was resting His presence on them both.  Paul puts it this way, “But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.” (Ro 2:29 AV)  The inward must be just as pure as the outward.  We can handle the outward.  It is the inward we have a problem with.  The outward is important and required.  But it does not stop there.  That is a job half done.  Only God can complete that work.

An Intercessor Who Cares

“And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.” (Ex 28:29 AV)

 

One of the most personally edifying studies I have done was on the Jewish tabernacle.  I limited my studies on the temple and the priesthood.  What is almost universally accepted and that which the Bible clearly tells us in Hebrews, is the tabernacle was a form of what was coming.  It was, in a matter of speaking, a word picture of the nature, ministry, and affect of the coming Messiah.  Here, we see the high priest with a vest made of cloth, precious metals, and gems.  Each gem represented one of the tribes of Israel.  The priest was to go into the holy of holies with the breastplate adorning his chest.  Nearest his heart.  He was to approach the mercy seat and place the blood of the sacrifice thereon.  This intercession accomplished a temporary satisfaction for sin until Shiloh (Jesus) came.  What the high priest did above is a wonderful picture of the intercessory work of our Savior!  He has us near to His heart as he approaches the Father.

In the distant past, I had been surrounded by lawyers.  Regardless of the specialty of their practice, very few took a personal interest in their clients that went beyond the case involved.  Much like a doctor who is more of a clinician than a physician, lawyers are more about winning the case than the personal experience of their clients.  Perhaps it is supposed to be that way.  Perhaps they are supposed to compartmentalize their emotions while dealing with a client's case lest their emotions cloud their judgment in practicing the finer points of the law.  When I worked as a superintendent of a large office building full of lawyers, there was a handful that broke that mold.  I could tell simply by how they treated me.  I was a minimum wage maintenance guy who was working his way through Bible college.  No college degree.  Nor formal training.  Performing a menial job.  What did they have to be impressed with?  However, there were a few who truly treated me like a human being rather than something or someone they needed for the simpler things of life.  Specifically, there are two that come to mind.  John was a real estate lawyer.  He was one of the nicest and humblest fellas you would ever meet.  The other shared space on the same floor as John.  He actually ran a practice with a few junior associates.  I cannot remember his name, but I can distinctly remember his face.  He is the one that really jumps out at me because he was an established attorney who was well known in the county.  If there was ever someone who would ignore my presence, it would be someone like him.  But he didn’t.  He actually engaged me in conversations.  He offered his service free of charge if I ever needed it.  I took away from these two men and others like him that having a legal representative who cared about me or my situation is far better than someone who is simply going to argue my case on the merits of the law.

The writer of Hebrews states, “But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” (Heb 7:24-25 AV) The writer is referring to Jesus Christ, who is our chief advocate, before our heavenly Father.  What is the difference here?  Well, it would be one thing if our Savior dispassionately went to the Father simply to argue the merits of our case to acquire some relief.  But this is not the case.  Like a doctor and lawyer might compartmentalize their emotions to keep from burning out, our Savior does not have to.  His attributes are without limits.  So, His mercy and love can never burn out.  He placed us close to His heart as He approaches the Father that He might argue our case with passion and care.  He is not dispassionate.  He is not neutral.  He is all in with His heart covered by our needs.  When we consider a Savior who has our case closest to His heart, regardless of how it might turn out, we can rest assured He cared!  Sometimes, that is sufficient for the situation.  It should always be sufficient to the situation!

Be A Mountain Guide

“Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.” (Ex 24:9-10 AV)

 

Imagine what it must have been like to have an encounter with the God whom Moses spoke with!  The seventy elders along with Aaron and his two sons were exposed to an experience that no others would ever witness.  They went unto higher ground with the man of God.  They met with God, unlike any others.  The spiritual and civil leader of the nation had an encounter with God others might envy.  They saw the Almighty God in ways that could take the lives of others.  We could apply this in several ways.  One that comes to mind is an experience with God does not guarantee a holy life.  These men would descend from the mount having seen God like no others, and within forty days, craft a golden calf to worship in the stead of the God with whom they just met.  Just because we have a once in a lifetime experience with God does not guarantee a life of holiness and righteousness.  Puzzling as though that truth might be, it is nonetheless true.  But what the Spirit desires we contemplate this morning is the role of Moses in the exposer of God to these men.  It is the calling of the man of God to lead those who follow to a closer and more intimate relationship with the God whom he walks with.

When my wife and I were engaged, a funny ( and bordering on embarrassing ) thing happened.  She paraded me around to all her friends and wanted them to know we have gotten engaged.  I distinctly remember going to one of my brother-in-law’s basketball games where everyone who was anyone in our church would be there.  We arrived fashionably late and came in the door, walking towards the bleachers.  Little did I know what was going to transpire.  By the look on Lisa’s face, they could tell what had happened.  Of course, you heard the chorus of responses over and again. “I just knew it!  You two are perfect for each other!”  I was introduced and Lisa’s fiancé.  After a while, I was allowed to use my first name.  LOL.  But then the barrage of questions flew.  Who was I.  What did I do for a living?  When did I accept Christ?  What was my plan to take care of Lisa?  When they heard I was called into ministry, they were even more elated.  They wanted to know if I had started school or how far along I was in my studies.  They wondered exactly what I was going to do.  Would it be a pastorate, evangelism, or missions?  Then came the day I had to be introduced to friends closer to where her parents live.  Same thing.  But then came the day I was introduced to her family who lived out of state.  What an experience that was.  Every time Lisa introduced me to those who were important to her, I didn’t say a whole lot at first.  I didn’t need to.  She babbled on and on about the catch she reeled in.  She bragged on me because she knew me more intimately than any other.  Her joy and love were that which brought others into a deeper relationship with someone they barely knew.

In like manner, it is the calling of those who walk with God to bring others into a deeper knowledge of the one with whom we walk.  Depending on the circumstances, we are either Moses or Aaron.  We are either the one who is walking with God in a deeper way than the one who we are leading, or we are the one needing someone to lead us into a deeper walk.  We can be one or the other at the same time.  It is our job to lead others who are not where we are.  But it is also our deepest need to walk as others walk who are further ahead than we are.  Those men and women who have walked where we have not walked are invaluable to our spiritual experience.  Whether they be authors or men of God who have gone into rest, leaving behind sage words by which to live or contemporary saints who have a relationship with God few understand, it is incumbent upon us to seek them out.  We need to find them and ascend the mountain to the footstool of God that we might know Him as they know Him.  At the same time, others are looking at that same mountain and see you and me a bit further up the slope than they.  We must reach out a hand and assist them as they reach forth into what they see we have.  Moses went up.  But he brought seventy-four men with him.  He didn’t go to God alone.  He brought others with him!

And Moses When Up

"And the LORD came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up.” (Ex 19:20 AV)

 

This single verse does not paint an adequate picture of what is transpiring here.  Mount Sinai is on fire.  It is filled with smoke.  Thunderings and lightenings are coming on the top of the mountain.  The Bible tells us the ground shook.  The people were so terrified they would not approach this mountain.  They were instructed to, but they delegated that step of faith to Moses.  Then we read the underlined portion of our text.  As though it were an afterthought or a foregone conclusion.  Moses simply went up.  The people saw the same things Moses saw.  They saw the LORD work ten horrific plagues in Egypt.  They saw the parting of the Red Sea.  They saw Pharaoh’s army completely destroyed.  They saw all of this.  The same as Moses.  They experienced God’s mercy and grace.  Their safety was a testament to the benevolence of God.  Yet, when they came to this mountain and saw the power of God, they would not approach.  Yet Moses went up.  Why?  What was different?  What did Moses have that others did not?  They were initially instructed to approach the mountain just like Moses.  They felt what he felt.  They saw what he saw.  Yet, Moses went up and they did not.  They were then forbidden to go.  But Moses went up.

My father was a teacher for our town’s Catholic High School.  He was known as a disciplinarian.  Even though it was difficult, I appreciate his stand and demeanor in the classroom and on campus.  It did cause the making of friends a rather difficult proposition.  But that was a small price to pay for the security of having a dad who enforced the law.  My father was also a scoutmaster in the Boy Scouts of America.  Back when that organization was something different than it is today.  He was the same man he was in the classroom, but his interaction with students was different.  I was far more personable during the scout meeting than he was in the classroom.  And since the boys wanted to be there and wanted to learn, discipline was not an issue.  When my father had to be stern, it was more to focus young boys on the skill or task at hand so they could advance.  However, in the meetings, he was more of a mentor than he was a disciplinarian.  In the classroom, somewhat different.  He had to control the classroom so that students could learn.  He mostly dealt with kids who had to be there because his class was required.  Those who wanted to be there were far fewer.  So, more disciplinarian than a mentor.  But he was the same person.  As my siblings were required to sit in his class, their discourse was different than it would be at home.  Mr. Gerwitz was what his own children called him.  They had to lest the attitude of the entire class is diminished to a level of familiarity which would make for an unruly situation.  However, my siblings, although required to show respect different than home, knew dad like the others did not.  The scouts saw dad differently than all others.  How he was approached had more to do with how familiar that student or scout was with him than any other factor.  The more familiar, the less intimidated they were.

Israel saw what Moses saw.  They heard what Moses heard.  But the reason Moses was not intimidated and that he went up was his familiarity with the God whom he served.  The more time God spent with Moses and the more time Moses spent with God, the less intimidated Moses was to approach a holy God.  The more time Moses spent with God, the more it became second nature to spend time with God.  Moses went up.  He did not dilly-dally.  Moses went up.  I think I would identify with the people on this one.  I don’t even like the threat of tornados.  Seeing a mountain on fire and watch lightning that constantly hit that mountain, I believe I wouldn’t be putting my hiking boots on.  No, I believe I would stay with the people at the bottom.  However, the two men who ascended that mountain were free from the temptations of the flesh.  When Moses went up, he went up with the old man left behind.  He went up to speak with God.  He did so because it was his pattern of life.  He did not go because he lacked fear.  He did not go because he was curious about what God might do.  He went up because he has spent countless hours in the presence of a holy God and was not intimidated to do so.  The point is clear, the more time we spend with God, the more likely it is we will spend time with God regardless of the circumstances surrounding it.