Closed Heart Surgery

“For God maketh my heart soft, and the Almighty troubleth me: Because I was not cut off before the darkness, [neither] hath he covered the darkness from my face.” (Job 23:16-17 AV)

Isn’t that the truth?  Hardship, whether chastening or trial, has a way of softening the heart.  In this sense, the word soft means tender and or weak.  It does not mean God humbled Job.  Job was a righteous man.  He did all that was expected of him.  When he failed, he quickly made amends with God.  He helped others and took care of his family, both physically and spiritually.  It is even said that when God turned the case of Job, that Job offered sacrifice for his friends.  Those would be the ones who accused him of wickedness equal to his situation.  Those would be the ones who did everything they could to make Job’s situation worse, and not better.  Job did not need to be humbled.  He already was.  What his tragedies did accomplish was to prepare his heart for a lesson that was hard to learn.  One he thought he knew.  One he thought he was already living by.  God allowed the events in his life because He trusted Job.  Job was the example of godliness that all should aspire to.  God allowed Satan to touch him because He knew that in all that Satan would do, Job would not sin with his lips.  Yet, Job still had to learn that even though he lives godly and pleases God in all things, God is still sovereign and can require anything of His creation which He as determined to accomplish His will.  There was only one way to learn that lesson.

Seeing a toddler surrender to the authority of his parent is a precious thing.  If it is done right and love is the motive, that toddler gives in, not because he knows the consequences if he does not.  He gives in because he has learned that surrendering the heart is far more pleasurable than fighting his parent.  Have you ever had to break a child of the habit of temper tantrums?  This can be accomplished several ways.  The child must learn that temper tantrums do not accomplish the goal he intends for them.  He will not get what he wants while he is throwing one.  Punishment equal to the emotional level of the temper tantrum only makes it worse.  That child knows the only control he has is emotional.  If he can get the parent to react emotionally, he controls the parent.  He will do this even if it means harsh consequences.  To him, the temper tantrum is a battle of the wills with control as the objective.  The best recourse is resolve.  If the parent responds dispassionately, not reacting in kind to the temper tantrum, and removing the child from any ability to influence his environment, it will not take long before he or she learns that pitching a fit doesn’t work.  When they reach that point, they are usually so exhausted physically and emotionally that they have no self-will left.  They have a tender heart.

Those who truly love the LORD welcome a soft heart.  Even if it means hardship must be the means to that end.  A soft heart is a precious possession.  A soft heart must be broken of all self-determination, pride, and desire.  A soft heart is pliable and trusting.  A soft heart is something highly valued by the one who is the benefactor of such a gift.  When my child gave up and came to me, hugging me as hard as he could, it was precious.  His fit was over.  He realized that Dad was in charge and that nothing would ever change that.  Not only did he realize Dad was in charge, but he also knew Dad could be trusted, even if he did not understand.  A tender heart is the most precious gift we can give to our LORD!  A broken heart that is ready for divine molding, healing, and strengthening.  A tender heart is that which God values the most.  Unfortunately, it often takes events that are unpleasant.  It often takes situations we would rather avoid.  It often requires we get pushed to the edge.  But a tender heart is a pleasure both to the LORD and to use.  To be totally emptied of self is like taking a shower or that feeling when your fever finally breaks.  All the bad is gone.  All the wrong has left.  All the hardness is now soft.  It is a wonderful feeling.  It is too bad that it takes hard lessons to learn it.

The Finish Line Is Motivation

“When a few years are come, then I shall go the way [whence] I shall not return.” (Job 16:22 AV)

Job is not suicidal here.  This is not an indication that he is ready to die.  Rather, Job is comforting himself by the reminder that life is temporary.  No matter the trouble we experience, it is only temporary.  If we have repented from our sin and unbelief, accepted that Jesus Christ is the only way to forgiveness and heaven, and believed with our whole heart that He died for us, then we can take comfort as Job did.  We don’t know how old Job was at the time of this tragedy.  We know he had ten children.  But we also know he and his wife had ten more.  That being the case, Job was more than likely middle aged.  If so, usually uttered by those who are close to the end of life.  When we have lived the bulk of our lives, we tend to look upward.  Job, because of his tragedy, has placed his heart one eternity.  Robbed of everything important to him, the LORD is his sole interest.  The statement above is not one of hopelessness.  It is quite the opposite.  It is one of great hope!

Growing up in the snow belt and living on a corner lot, we had our share of work to do.  When it snowed, we were committed for the better part of a morning.  Add to the double nature of the sidewalk a six or seven car driveway, and you get the picture.  I don’t remember a lot of it, but I do remember one such evening.  It had snowed for a couple of days.  When the garage door opened, we were faced with snow up to our knees.  With about four or five boys to knock this out with the help of a sister or two, you would think it no big deal.  Think again!  When faced with such a daunting task, one is overwhelmed.  Then there are the dynamics of cold and tired siblings who quit too early, and one can imagine what we were facing.  The driveway came first.  Then the sidewalks.  It was 1800 square feet of shoveling.  That is a lot!  Imagine how long the blizzard of ’77 took!  One encouragement to finishing the job was seeing we were past the halfway mark.  Once the driveway was done, which was about 980 square feet, the rest became much easier.  The driveway/parking lot was the most difficult because there was only one way we could shovel it.  It has to go to the north and heaped up in two piles.  The sidewalks could be shoveled to both sides.  Knowing the parking lot was clear, there was energy to finish.

That is how Job is looking at his situation.  Yes, he is despondent.  But he also knows he has lived a good chunk of his life and even if things do not get better, glory is all that much closer.  I can identify.  Each day I arise, I am one day closer to meeting my Savior.  I am not in a rush to get there, nor do I resent being here.  In fact, knowing my eternal state is closer than ever before, there is a feeling of patience, invigoration, and hope for the future.  Whatever it might be.  Funerals of believers never lose their wonder for me.  Whether it is the look on the face of the departed or the peace on the face of those left behind.  There is a calm assurance of a future filled with hope.  Yes, there will be a hard time of adjustment at the loss of someone so close.  There will be loneliness and sorrow, the depths of which we had never experienced before.  But as Paul wrote in his letter to the church in Thessalonica, we will meet together in the clouds and forever be together with the LORD.  It will be here sooner than we planned!

When Crisis Produces Wrong Ideas

“For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.” (Job 13:26 AV)

Job uttered these words in the midst of trying to figure out why the LORD would allow or cause all his misfortune.  He is looking at his current life and cannot pinpoint any sin that would warrant such a tragedy.  So, he does what we all do.  He goes back to old sins.  He figures they were so bad that God much continually judge him for them.  Job believes the LORD’s grace was not sufficient for the sins of his youth.  He has done all the law would require.  He offered sacrifice and repented of those sins.  But in the back of his mind, they were so bad that the things that befall him in the present are meant as a reminder of things he had done in the past.  The same happens with us all.  When things are bad, we revert to mistakes of the past.  Regret swells and we become despondent to the point we erroneously think God will never forgive them on this side of glory.  Every major event is seen through a lens of unforgiveness, forgetting that God has cast our sins as far as the east is from the west.  Crisis has a way of doing that.  The devil likes to bring up our past.  It is his way of keeping us in a state of defeat.

In this day and age, escaping our past is impossible.  With the electronic data age upon us, everything we have ever done, good or bad, has a trial.  Even if the event is one that is supposed to drop off after certain number of years, it doesn’t take much to discover it.  Several years ago, we discovered a distant relative lived in the same city to which we moved to.  The new state is three states removed from where the bulk of this family has settled.  We found it be happenstance.  When moving to a new city, a cookbook from a ladies’ society located in the new city was buried in a box of inherited belongings.  That box hadn’t been touched since it was left to us more than a decade earlier.  We read the inscription inside and found that the relative that left it to the relative that left it to us lived in this city and was a member of this ladies’ society.  It was uncanny how a cookbook dating over a hundred years ago would end up in our storage room and discovered at the exact moment we were moving there.  We did some research and found things out things that were not so flattering.  We wanted to see where this relative lived so we could drive by the house.  In the process, we discovered a newspaper article that revealed this relative had an affair wherein both marriages were dissolved.  There was a judgment and fine against both individuals.  They ended up married.  The newspaper article was publicly available.  Photocopied from the early twentieth century, this relative’s sins followed beyond the grave.

This is what the adversary does.  He finds pleasure in reminding us of how sinful we are and were.  Yes, the Holy Spirit convicts.  But He only convicts over unconfessed and unforsaken sin.  The LORD does not bring up the sins of the past.  Job was under deep distress.  Who wouldn’t blame him?  Faced with great tragedy and failing health, he wanted to know why.  He couldn’t find any reasonable explanation.  The one he was left with above is that God was bringing back the sins of his past.  The only open door for him was the one Satan provided.  If he wasn’t in sin in the present, it must be something he did many years ago.  Something for which he didn’t receive sufficient chastisement.  Something that was so egregious that the LORD felt it necessary to punish him afresh.  We have to be careful and understand where that comes from.  It is not of the LORD.  It is either from within, or from the Devil himself.  If we have forsaken our sin, received correction for it already, and strive to live above it, then we need to let it go.  Please, for the sake of your sanity, let it go.

Blessed Ignorance

“Canst thou by searching find out God? canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? [It is] as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof [is] longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.” (Job 11:7-9 AV)

Let me ask a question.  If you could know God to the fullest, would you want to?  There is something to be said for ignorance.  Not that we ever could know God to the fullest.  To do so would require we become like God.  We would need to have all His attributes for us to truly know Him and He is known to Himself.  If that were to occur, God would cease to be God.  He cannot deny Himself.  Therefore, it is impossible to know God to the fullest.  And that is a good thing!

We may not comprehend exactly how weather works.  We can predict weather to a relative certainty, but not exactly.  Otherwise, there would be no loss of life.  No deaths from tornados.  No loss of life from hurricanes.  No loss of life from tsunamis.  If weather was completely predictable down to every detail, there would be no loss of anything.  We could live and move as the weather moves.  We may not like the weather, but weather is necessary.  It is comforting to know there is rain or snow in the clouds.  It is a piece of good news when the seasons change.  We enjoy the colors of the fall, the crispness of winter, the freshness of spring, and the heat of summer.  We may not understand every detail of every material thing down to the cellular level.  But we can appreciate the material universe and enjoy what it has to offer.  Flying on an airplane, I may not understand the principles of aerodynamics.  But I can appreciate someone knew enough about that science to design a plane that, even if it lost some functionality, could still land safely.  These things are too high for me.  I cannot attain unto it.  The nature of being more complicated than I can understand is not a threat to me.  It is a comfort to me.  I don’t have to understand how molecules work.  I have a doctor that does.  I am secure in the fact he is able to know what I cannot know.  I don’t have to know how a plane flies.  We have a pilot who has it all under control.  I don’t have to know how weather works.  I have forecasters who can do that for me.

The same is true of life.  There is no way we can understand it all.  That is where faith comes in.  Knowing that we cannot fully know God is a good thing!  That requires we know Him by faith.  That means we can surrender our lives, and the events of our lives, to someone who is greater than we can ever comprehend.  When we fly on a plane, we can react in one of two ways.  We can be a nervous wreck because we cannot control every aspect of that flight, or we can reason the pilot has done flown thousands of times and never lost a plane or passenger.  We can let go of our worries and leave it to the pilot.  We have never met him.  We know nothing of him.  Yet, if we trust him, he will get us from one place to another without too much trouble.  Not knowing, in a sense, can be more assuring than knowing.  Surrendering to ignorance can be more peaceful than fighting it.  I, for one, am grateful I cannot know God as He knows Himself.  That means my life, and the events of my life, are fully in someone infinitely greater than myself.  Praise be to His name!

Daily Prayer For Guidance

“Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.” (Ps 143:8 AV)

Just a friendly reminder.  Nothing new today.  The sweet psalmist prays his prayer first thing in the morning for guidance and direction.  Before he starts his day, he asks the LORD to show him the way wherein he should walk.  He wants to know, specifically and continuously, the right choices he should make.  His waking hours are dedicated to pleasing the LORD.  Thus, he seeks the Spirit to guide him every step of the way.

Many years ago, I used the Franklin-Covey system of day planning.  The idea was to define specific goals for roles you fill.  Father, pastor, personal goals, child of God, brother, spouse, etc.  For each role you identified, there were tasks created and assigned.  Then a value was placed based on priority.  You gave it an A, B, or C.  Then you organized those tasks by assigning numbers following the letter.  You might have an A1, A2, A3, A4, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3, C4, and so on.  Goal was to knock off as many tasks as you could, starting with the ‘A’s.  Each morning, you would sit down with your daytimer and transfer any pending tasks from the day before into the current day.  At this point, you would add additional tasks that came up.  It was a rather efficient tool that helped the user become productive and organized.  The point was to start the day with a plan.  There were no penalty points if you failed to complete a task, so if something came up, no problem.  If an emergency occurred or an unplanned task interrupted your plan, that was ok.  At least there was a plan.

When it comes to living for the LORD each and every day, we may have a plan.  We may have certain things that need to be done.  Daily devotions and prayer are two of them.  There may be tasks in our different roles that have to be done every day.  For this, the psalmist is not praying.  That for what he is praying is guidance along the next sixteen hours or so.  He is asking the LORD to guide him in the midst of this plan and to steer him where the plan needs to be changed.  He is asking for strength to withstand temptation.  He is asking for wisdom in knowing what is a divine appointment and what is not.  He is asking for wisdom that if there are things that take more priority than what he has planned, that he sees the hand of God and reacts accordingly.  The Psalmist is seeking God's ever-abiding presence in all his decisions, goals, and plans.  He wants the LORD to show him every right way for every moment of that day.

Sad if true

“Call now, if there be any that will answer thee; and to which of the saints wilt thou turn?” (Job 5:1 AV)

On the face of it, this is a pretty distressing question.  Especially when considering the situation.  The suggestion of this verse is rather cruel, and probably a bit untrue.  Job had suffered great loss and now sat in great pain.  He suffered the loss of all that he had and was left alone with a wife who wanted him to die.  His children were dead.  All his material wealth was gone.  Job was reduced to an ash heap as the sole source of comfort.  Eliphaz the Temanite insinuates here that Job’s situation was caused by sin, and it is that sin that separated him from any potential help.  He alone, with his three friends, was the only friends Job had.  Or so Eliphaz thinks.  The question above is not one that would encourage another.  What Eliphaz is saying to Job is that Job is in such a state because of his sin and unless he repents, there isn’t a saint out there to whom he could go for desperately needed comfort.

It is a pretty sad state of affairs when other misjudge a situation and you cannot find the comfort that you need.  If Eliphaz truly believed that, he should have kept it to himself.  What strikes me as important is how truthful his statement might have been.  At the very least, that it might appear to be truthful.  Imagine what it would take for all to condemn Job to the point of colluding, refusing to aid and comfort.  Society would have to collectively agree that Job’s situation was caused by sin.  Then there would be peer pressure that caused marginal saints to withhold compassion.  No one knew the facts.  It would have to be assumed all believed something of which they had no firsthand information.  Even Job’s four friends could not discern the origin of or cause for Job’s troubles.  This ignorance would have to be universal.  But that is how we are.  The human race is apt to prejudge things and people before we have all the facts.  Pride keeps us from changing that opinion once all the facts are in.  For Eliphaz to make this statement, he has to presume on the character of everyone else.  He has to assume everyone else was just like him and his three friends.  The statement above is both arrogant and discouraging.

The only way to defeat such a statement is to take initiative.  Job should not take Eliphaz’s statement as the truth to reality.  He can take the initiative to prove the statement right or wrong.  He can seek help from the saints.  The saints can prove Eliphaz wrong by taking the initiative.  They can care without prejudice.  It is not up to them to discern why this all happened.  They can offer comfort without the need to discern why.  They can prove Eliphaz wrong.  Which is where you and I come in.  Let us forget the opinion of others.  They don’t know anymore than we do.  Only God knows.  We need to tell Eliphaz and his three friends to take a hike.  What someone needs is not judgment.  God can take care of that.  What the Jobs of this world need is a listening ear.  They need a soft shoulder.  They need compassion and prayer.  Sorry, Eliphaz, there are saints who care and don’t need to know why.  Let us hope we are one of them.

Great Restrain for a Great God

“In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.” (Job 1:22 AV)

I thought about this and wondered if I would have been as spiritual.  For Job to lose everything and not with his lips to express anger toward God is more than admirable.  Just the other day, we were watching a program where one of the closing scenes was a graveside service for someone very close to the main characters.  A flag was presented to the mother of the deceased and it was very moving.  The day before, I watched another scene of a murder victim.  The friends and family were casting mementoes into the grave as they departed.  The last in line released a dove.  I remember making the statement that I hope I never have to attend another funeral, much less officiate one.  The emotions involved are getting a bit too much to handle.  The pain that cannot be healed but be the touch of God is too deep to internalize.  I know that in the future, there may come a day when I will have to lie to rest the body of someone whom I love dearly.  I hope the rapture happens before then!  Now, multiply that ten times over, all at once, and add leprosy to it.  Just about the time that sinks in, your bank calls and tells you all your assets are gone, they are calling the loan on your home, and there is a freeze on all your accounts.  When you seek relief from church folks, none can be found.  The only help you get is four close friends who condemn you for none-existing sin.  If I were Job, I am not so sure I would have been able to hold my tongue.

It is that last phrase that strikes me as very admirable.  To charge God means to assume God is unjust, unfair, or uncaring.  It is to suggest the Creator of the universe is directly responsible for allowing unfortunate circumstances which we do not deserve.  To charge God foolishly is to make God something that He is not.  Again, this is a hard temptation to avoid.  In our scheme of things, we have an idea of how life should work and how God should respond.  As Job, we think if we talk in faith and obedience, life should be a bowl of cherries.  If we do right, God responds in kind.  That is our hope.  If we do evil, He will likewise.  He will send bad things our way if we walk in rebellion toward Him.  This is more true than not.  But not always true.  There is an entire psalm written by someone working through feelings of bitterness over the prosperity of the wicked.  He doesn’t understand why the LORD refuses to immediately judge the sinner for their sin.  There is a man of God who deeply desired God to remember him for the good he did even though the people he lead did not follow.  There is a reasonable expectation that if we please the LORD, He will bless us.  So, the temptation to charge God foolishly would be a natural response to those expectations.

What sets Job apart is his willingness to accept at the hand of God, both good and evil.  He knew God had the right to do as He wished.  He simply didn’t know why.  If he could not know why, then it made no sense to him and he lacked the motive needed to endure through it.  Say what you will about Job.  I think he crossed a line or two in the processing of his grief.  He saw no purpose in it, so he questioned the purpose for his existence.  BTW, everyone goes through this at one time or another.  Most face that question at the end of life.  They wonder why they must suffer if there is no purpose in it.  When faced with impossible situations, just remember Job.  For some of us, silence and discipline of mind are the key.  Until the LORD visit us in our trouble, keeping both mind and mouth closed is the better part of valor.  Checking ourselves and giving God the benefit of the doubt is the more reasonable and wiser thing to do.

Presence and Gratitude

“Surely the righteous shall give thanks unto thy name: the upright shall dwell in thy presence.” (Ps 140:13 AV)

Punctuation gives explanation to the words written.  Sometimes, we assume all punctuation, like periods, commas, or question marks, simply break up a paragraph or parts of sentences.  However, a colon has a very specific purpose.  The colon, as seen above, gives cause or explanation to what was written.  The colon tells us that the second part of the psalm explains the first part.  Or, putting it plainly, because the saints will dwell in the presence of God, they will give thanks.  This leads us to a very simple application.  Dwelling in the presence of God should produce a heart of thanksgiving.  If we are not walking with God in sweet communion with Him, we murmur, become resentful, or even suffer depression.  The more consistently we walk with God, the more grateful we become.  Even in times of deep trial, those who walk with God in humility and faith have something for which they can thank God.

Recently, we went through several bouts of different health issues.  It wasn’t cancer this time.  The potential diagnosis or outcome was actually much worse.  Cancer was of little concern.  This caused my wife and me to radically change the nature of our relationship.  What was important to me became impossible.  That which I relied upon as the definition of a close relationship became non-existent.  That which she needed became strained.  When severe illness interrupts our normal lives, it is not an easy road to travel.  When that which we have grown accustomed to is removed, something needs to fill that gap.  Something; or someone.  Getting older and suffering the events that age brings along has been a learning experience for me.  In many ways, aging is one of the hardest things God asks us to do.  Life brings with it radical change.  Not just physically.  Emotional and spiritual changes are also dramatic.  There are many issues one is confronted with.  But they all boil down to one common idea.  The nature of our relationship with the LORD was not what we thought it was.  As life changes, the nature of that relationship changes.  We thought we were close to Him.  When life changes, we realize how far we truly were.  It takes challenges of mind, heart, and will for us to come face to face with the reality of where we are and where we need to be.

In going through deep waters, we can respond one of two ways.  We can either become resentful at the change demanded of us.  Or, if we slow down our emotional response to it, we can become grateful the LORD brought us through it with grace and strength.  We can either grow closer to the LORD.  Or, because we resent the change, we can drift away.  We can stop and meditate on where we have been and where we are, realizing God has a plan for it all.  Or, we can be short-sighted and only think on how it immediately affected us.  We can be angry with God.  Or, we can the thankful.  Our psalmist suggests the closer we are to the presence of God, the more thankful we become.  I, for one, am grateful for the experience.  I will not lie.  It was hard.  It was near impossible.  In the years to come, it will become even more difficult.  I have only witnessed the tip of the iceberg.  But, one thing I have learned.  God loves me, has a purpose for everything, and in the middle of all this, He is changing me to be more like His Son.  I wish it could be done some other way.  But I am not the Creator.  It is not up to me to decide right and wrong.  I have no authority to determine what is fair and what is not.  God is God and I am not.  What I am most thankful for is that He doesn’t abandon the works of His hands.  Whether blessing or trial, He knows what is best.  Praise God for a loving Father who loves us too much to give up on us!

Take a Seat!

“Then went Haman forth that day joyful and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king’s gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai.” (Es 5:9 AV)

This is not the first time Mordecai refused to stand for a prince.  He had done this before.  In fact, it was his refusal to pay the respect Haman demanded that resulted in a decree that allowed the extermination of the Jews.  Haman had manipulated the king into decreeing a law that on a particular date, all who wished to could slaughter the Jews and take whatever spoil they wished.  The law of the Medes and Persians cannot be altered.  Once sealed by the ring of the king, not even the king can change it.  Therefore, what follows is even more impressive.  There is a saying we use; poking the bear.  It means to agitate an enemy that is already formidable and unlikely to yield.  It means to agitate an adversary that has built in advantage.  By poking the bear, you are making a foe even more angry.  This foe is unlikely to lose.  It would be akin to David taunting Goliath.  Not smart.  This is what Mordecai was doing.  At least from Haman’s perspective.  Mordecai was doing what Mordecai had always done.  He refused to show respect due a sovereign to a prince with an ego.  The odd thing to me, however, is why not try to lessen the impact of the coming conflict?  At least that is what compromise might do.

Compromise is a funny thing.  It is founded upon lies.  If Mordecai learned his lesson, wouldn’t you think he might stand for Haman and pay that respect in the hope he might limit the damage to come?  That would be my first response.  Lesson learned.  Haman is not backing down.  This is an unwinnable battle of the wills.  He is a prince and I am not.  I have occasioned the death of countless countrymen because I was too stubborn to show respect to a ruler.  After all, what eternal consequence would it be if I stood regarding a leader who didn’t deserve it?  I’ll cry uncle and you can tell those who would have the better of the Jews to lay off.  Maybe Haman would find the kindness in his heart to let us go.  All these are lies.  There are assumptions and not facts.  They are dreams and hopes vacant in Haman’s heart.  Compromise would have Mordecai stand in the vain hope that it would change what was coming.  Standing would have been a surrender of the will to a person who did not deserve it.  Standing would have been a vain show that brought nothing by loss of all credibility to Mordecai.

There is such an idea of standing on principle regardless of the outcome.  What is even more impressive is when the saint stands on a principle, knowing he has already lost.  That is what Mordecai did.  He sat while Haman passed on principle.  It is like the wrestling matches my brother Christopher and I had.  He was two years older than me, six inches taller, and outweighed me by twenty percent.  He tried to pin me.  I tried to get the best of me.  But one thing I would not do.  I would not cry uncle.  Even if it meant bodily harm, he would not have the satisfaction of breaking my will.  He could have everything else, but not that.  That is where Mordecai was.  Haman could destroy the people of Israel.  But he could never break their spirit or will.  They will defend to the death the right to be who God called them to be.  He would sit in that gate and refuse to acknowledge a self-serving prince who disrespected the king.  No way was Mordecai giving to Haman the one thing he could control.

Not Too Big To Be Small

“Though the LORD [be] high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.” (Ps 138:6 AV)

Looking at the definition of the word ‘…respect…’, I cannot help but to be impressed with the LORD’s attitude toward the lowly.  Space hinders me from giving the entire definition as found in Strong’s numbers, but to boil it down to a succinct definition, I would say it means that God observes, searches, perceives, and then considers the person of the lowly.  This is no small thing.  God is infinite in size and quality.  He possesses all His attributes infinitely and equally.  There are no bounds as to what the LORD is.  That which He is, He is without measure.  Solomon testifies of this in his prayer for the temple.  The heaven of heavens cannot contain God.  The material universe which God created is, but a speck compared to the person of God.  It is smaller than the smallest atom when compared to the vastness of who and what He is.  To say that a being who is infinite in size and scope is delicate enough to respect the lowly is something that boggles the mind.

It amazes me when I learn about something man accomplishes under the strongest microscope.  Scientist at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology were able to write the entire Bible of 1.2 million letters onto a disk no larger than the tip of a pen.  The only way to read it is with an electron microscope.  To accomplish such a feat would take genius abilities from multiple individuals.  I hear of surgeries that can be done at the cellular level.  If I am not mistaken, there was a technique used on several patients, of which I was aware, wherein several intersecting laser beams performed an oblation on single-cell groups with a patient to destroy harmful tissue.  Another example is the artifacts we sometimes see on Antiques Roadshow.  Whether it is a six-hundred-year-old clay sculpture, a four-hundred-year-old crystal lamp, a two-thousand-year-old Chinese vase, or a hand-written document dating back to the middle ages, I am amazed at how generations of owners handled these pieces with the delicacy required to guarantee their value.  Then there are the health care workers in NICU who must handle premature babies with the carefulness of balancing an egg from ten feet in the air.  Every movement could do serious or fatal damage to that young life.

We can see the tenderness, carefulness, and skill mentioned above.  The principle is certainly understood.  Yet the scope isn’t even close.  When the sinner or saint comes to God completely crushed by the weight of his own sin, trials of life, or persecutions from the adversary, God handles us with delicacy and respect that we cannot even begin to understand.  Sometimes, we forget just how great God is, yet He still works with finite beings.  We forget how mighty God is, yet willing to condescend to men of low estate.  We forget how infinitely greater He is, yet His heart breaks with our pain.  God is not out to destroy anyone.  His offer of mercy and grace are to all!  No exceptions.  The tenderness of the LORD is open to all who call upon His name.  God is not too big to become small.  God is not so far above us that He is unable to come down to us.  When I read the underlined portion of our passage, I am comforted to know that no matter how great God is, He can still fix me and comfort me without crushing me.  I see love.  I see concern.  I see patience.  I see tenderness.  I see a miracle!

The Hard Choice Of Taking a Stand

“And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and [some] of my servants set I at the gates, [that] there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice.” (Ne 13:19-20 AV)

It is easy to forget those who were locked out on the Sabbath included fellow Jewish citizens.  We are tempted to think that only the Gentiles or Samaritans were merchants.  However, by the time Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem, the Temple had been repaired and those who had returned to accomplish this task settled outside the city gates.  Once the temple was restored, those who had returned repaired the homesteads of their forefathers.  They planted again the fields that had lain fallow.  They built again the houses and sheepcotes that remain idle.  They put up fences, markers, and established again their heritage.  They started afresh the trades that were once practiced in the outlaying areas.  So, when Nehemiah shut the gates to the city on the Sabbath, he shut them to his own people.  Furthermore, if they refused to remain on their own land and camped around the city during the city, waiting for the gates to be opened that commerce might commence, Nehemiah shot arrows at them to chase them away.  There would be no commerce, nor thinking about commerce, on the LORD’s day.  While the gates were opened six days in seven, they were more than welcome. Nehemiah had to take a biblical stand against those who identified with the Jewish culture and sacred calling.  Nehemiah was not going to compromise the command of God simply because they shared a lot in common.

Being the odd man out is not a good feeling.  Sometimes, for sake of conscience, it is necessary.  That does not mean we have to compromise our convictions in order to be cooperative.  It simple means that there cannot be perfect unity in all things.  For a few years, I taught Bible class in a Christian High school.  The church did not take a stand on bible versions.  I am Only King James.  That differs from King James Only.  The church that had the school used the King James, but did not criticize the equal use of other versions.  Since I was the odd man out, I had to be careful.  This school participated with other schools in the Midwest in areas like sports, academic competitions, and continuing education for teachers.  This also meant that I was the odd man out.  Because we had education as our primary goal, this issue was a non-issue.  The school that I taught at did not broach the subject of scriptural criticism, nor did I, so we got along.  However, when pastoring a church, we are careful of the speakers we invite.  I remember many years back, my pastor invited a dynamic evangelist to speak.  The problem?  He was a Baptist-Brider.  We were not.  So, there were rules in place.  He could not preach or teach on the subject, nor could he sell any of his materials that mentioned that doctrine.  We got along just fine as long as we respected the conviction of the host; whether it was a school or church.

The reason Nehemiah had an issue with his fellow Hebrews was their initial refusal to respect the convictions of the orthodox Jew.  Nehemiah and those within the city walls desired to follow the law of the Sabbath to the letter.  They would not allow work or commerce on the LORD’s day.  BTW, I remember those days.  I grew up in a city that closed down on Sundays.  The only things opened were the local drugstore and emergency services.  Not even gas stations were open.  I think it would be a good thing to get back to those days.  Anyway, Nehemiah did not go onto private land and chasten those Hebrews bent on disobeying the Sabbath.  No doubt they may have still worked their fields or traded among themselves.  But as far as Jerusalem was concerned, it wasn’t going to happen in the capital city.  Nehemiah made a hard choice.  He chose to disassociate himself with those living in disobedience while they were being disobedient.  If we are to be what God wants us to be, we have to make the same hard choices.  There will be sweet and kind believers who choose not to live according the God’s precepts.  Not occasional failures of falling into sin, but as a lifestyle choice, they have decided the word of God in certain areas need not be followed.  You and I will have to make a choice then.  Do we associate ourselves with those walking contrary to God’s word while they walk contrary to God’s word, or do we compromise and walk with them as they walk contrary to God’s word simply because we have much in common?  That will always be a hard choice.

Crying Uncle

“Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before thee, that hath come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all thy people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day.” (Ne 9:32 AV)

At first glance, the underline portion above may seem as Nehemiah’s statement of the overwhelming nature of God’s correct being a manifestation of a God who didn’t care how overwhelming it might have been.  It may seem as though Nehemiah is insinuating God is so infinitely larger that He cannot empathize with the trouble from which Israel suffers.  It could be seen as the intercessor informing an otherwise incapable God that His hand is so large upon them and God cannot appreciate the depth of correction to which they were subjected.  However, if we were to read the next verse, we understand Nehemiah is not insinuating any of this.  He admits that problems to which they were no subject were less than they deserved.  Because of their idolatry, immorality, and abuse of others, they deserved to be eradicated from the planet and the covenants made with their forefathers voided.  So, if Nehemiah admitted they deserved much worse than then got, what does the above underlined statement mean?  What I think Nehemiah, and by extension Israel, are doing is crying uncle.  They got to the point of brokenness.  They had had enough.  Whatever it was that God wanted from them, they would do it.

In a cursory search of the origins of the phrase, ‘cry uncle’, the suggestions are almost unanimous.  No one can definitively state where the phrase comes from.  Some suggest it is from an old Irish word that sounds similar to uncle and meant to seek quarter or protection.  Another suggests it came from an old Roman phrase that was uttered when a bully got the better of another.  The victim would cry out that the bully was not his uncle and was the equivalence in authority to his father.  However, most writers agree that because crying uncle is a uniquely western phrase and American in particular, it harkens back to a joke that first appeared over one hundred years ago.  It involved a stubborn parrot who would not cry uncle.  Its owner threatened his life but could not get the bird to say the word.  The bird was thrown in the chicken coop with all the other common foul.  After a bit, the gentlemen went to check on the parrot only to find the parrot’s talons upon the last living chicken as yelling the words, ‘cry uncle’.  The moral of the story is those stubborn enough to refuse submission to a greater authority often require the same from the lesser.  My brothers and I used the phrase all the time.  If a younger sibling needed to be put in his place, he would be pressed beyond his strength and tells to ‘cry uncle’ to the affliction would cease.  The phrase has come to mean a full surrender to a force greater than oneself.

I think that is what Nehemiah and Israel are doing above.  They are ‘crying uncle’.  Nehemiah is not asking the LORD to be sensitive to the degree of correction He brought as to accuse Him of bringing too much.  What Nehemiah and Israel are saying is they had suffered from the correction of God to the degree that complete and total repentance was the product.  “You did it!  You brought us to the end of ourselves and we are now willing to welcome the change You desire.”  “Your hand was not a light thing.  It did the trick!  You knew what You were doing.  We didn’t think we would survive the loss of everything.  But You knew better.  To all that You are, it might have seemed like a little thing.  But to us, it was everything.  UNCLE!”  This phrase was a statement of surrender and gratitude.  They ‘cried uncle’ and praised God for it.  There was no resentment.  There was no accusation.  A simple statement that God had gotten His way, and they were much better off for it!  What humility!  What reality!  What contriteness!  What possibility!  They now have a future they didn’t have before.  They ‘cried uncle’ and God gave them more grace than they could ever imagine.  It is too bad the LORD has to bring us to our breaking point before we learn to trust Him.  But praise be to God that He knows exactly where that point is and how to get us there!