Present Grace Greater than Past Failures

“But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, [who were] ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:” (Ezr 3:12 AV)

Israel had served out their seventy years of captivity and now the LORD was restoring them to their land.  The first order of business was to rebuilt the destroyed temple.  The next, build a wall around the city.  When they laid the foundation of the temple, there was a mixed reaction.  Those who had never seen the temple shouted with rejoicing.  Those that had seen the temple, mourned with weeping.  It is those who mourned which caught my attention this morning.

I do not think these elder men were ungrateful.  I do not think they were upset that Zerubbabel laid a smaller foundation because he could have laid a larger one.  The fact of the matter is, some of what Solomon built needed not to be included in the temple itself.  Three floors of apartments and storage were completely unnecessary.  There is also the concern of stability.  If the new temple were laid directly over the foundation of the old, the building may not have been stable over time.  Whatever the reason for making this temple smaller, the aged generation felt remorse.  What I believe is they compared the glory of the old temple with the diminished glory of the new and it was a reminder of what they had lost because of their past rebellion.  The new temple was a reminder of what they had failed to do more than it was that God’s grace had come again.

There are so many people I meet that cannot get over the mistakes of the past.  They hound them and continue to rob them of the joy they could have in the present.  No doubt, there is a loss of what might have been.  We all suffer for the choices made and we all could have had a better life if only we would have not made certain choices.  But that does not mean we should rob ourselves of the joy which we can experience today.  A smaller temple is much better than no temple at all!  Yes, we have all made horrible mistakes in our past.  But if we dwell on them and not on how God is blessing in spite of those choices, we live a miserable life!

What's The Difference?

“And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and turned his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt.” (2Ch 36:4 AV)

This is the first time that a foreign country chose the leader of God’s people.  The only standard they had was the oldest should be king.  Jehoahaz was the people’s choice.  However, he was two years younger than Eliakim.  The choice didn’t much matter.  Both sons did evil in the sight of the LORD.  It wasn’t like one was an improvement over the other.  Both were equally wicked.  What this does show is God’s hand of protection and guidance is officially removed.  When the people choose the same quality as the world does, then God is nowhere to be found.

It is a sad state when the world becomes the authority over God’s people because God’s people have failed in ruling themselves.  It reminds me of the condition of our churches today.  We cry against the immorality of our world, yet we will not deal with it in the body of Christ.  We complain of the filth in movie and TV, yet we support it with our finances.  We rightly point out the evils of substance abuse, yet when given a choice, we make no preference for a business that does not serve or sell alcohol over one that does.  We complain about our drop in attendance at church, yet we frequent business on Sunday making it impossible for those who work to be in church.

In the verse above, the only difference between these two brothers was their age.  This is so sad because their father was a very godly man.  When God’s people do not even have a decent choice for a leader, then we are in a sad shape.  Godliness matters.  Holiness matters.  We are not perfect.  We often fail!  But our general direction should be towards holiness.  Not away from it!  When the church becomes like the world, then the world will govern it!

When Partial Obedience is Better Than None

“For a multitude of the people, [even] many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one [That] prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though [he be] not [cleansed] according to the purification of the sanctuary. And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people.” (2Ch 30:18-20 AV)

This is an interesting passage and a hard one to apply.  Israel had, for many decades, slipped into idolatry.  This revival was right around the time of the ten northern tribes exile into Assyria.  Either this was just prior to, or immediately after, Assyria’s carrying away of Israel.  So, the four tribes of the northern kingdom who participated in this Passover were either those who knew judgment was coming and wished to worship before the chastisement, or they were the remnant that was not immediately carried away.  These four tribes were the ones directly to the north of Benjamin.  They would have been the last to be invaded or the last to be carried away.  At any rate, it appears there were those of the north who wished to do right but time and opportunity did not allow them to be completely right when they did so.  At this point, a partial step of faith and obedience is better than none at all.  And that is the point.

Sometimes, we wish those who are not right with God to get everything right all at once.  But it doesn’t work that way.  It wasn’t that these four tribes didn’t want to.  Traveling to Jerusalem against the general opinion of their brethren took courage and faith.  It took expense on their part.  It took integrity on their part.  It was simply an issue of opportunity and time.

We are not saying that we should accept partial obedience when full obedience can be had.  We are not saying we need to show grace when someone, who can take a full step, refuses to because he is writing his own rules.  We are not saying that we should pray and ask the LORD to show grace on someone who is halfway there because he refuse to go the last mile.  We are simply observing that a king prayed for his brothers who wanted to do right but ran out of time.  Sincerity was never the question.  Ability was.

Where is that one man?

“And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, [There is] yet one man, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same [is] Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.” (2Ch 18:7 AV)

While reading this passage, I was struck by the condition of Israel and why it would be that any prophet of God would want to be there.  Ahab was perhaps the worst of the worst when it came to Israel’s kings.  Married to a pagan wife, Jezebel, he did more to corrupt Israel than any other king before or after him.  He has 400 of his own prophets that will tell him anything he wants to hear.  There is no hope for revival in the terribly backslidden nation.  They have rejected the LORD that brought them out of Egypt and gave them their own land.  They have turned their back on Jerusalem.  They are closer ot the heathen nations around them than they are their fellow Hebrews to the south.  There is nothing of any future there.  So, why would anyone be there who wants to do a work for God?  What would possess him?

But, thank God for that one man!  Thank God for Mecaiah!  Thank God for the one who would confront Jehoshaphat and tell him he was making a big mistake.  Thank God for that one man who stood and declared the word of God without compromise or care for his own welfare.  Thank God for the one man who is a testimony to so many men of God after him to stay the course and preach the word no matter the consequences.  Thank God that there was at least one man!

There are so many times that I want to quit!  So many times, I look across the horizon of compromise and carnality.  There are so many times I see what other false prophets are doing and how they are enticing the multitudes into an emotional driven shallow religion that has no lasting change in the lives of those it touches!  I am so tired of the failure of the so-called church and wonder what it is that I am doing here.  But Mechaiah was that one man that continued to fight.  He suffered in the darkness of a prison.  He was rag tattered and filthy.  Yet, there is one man!  There is one man!

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of [them] whose heart [is] perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.” (2Ch 16:9 AV)

Something happened to Asa.  As he aged, he changed.  The Asa of younger years took on Jeroboam being disadvantaged 2:1.  They met in the hills of Ephraim with 400,000 on Asa’s side against 800,000 to Israel’s side.  While Asa stood upon the hills communing with the armies of the north, encouraging them to surrender to a much lesser army, Jeroboam surrounded him.  Caught by and ambushment, Asa cried out to the LORD and the LORD delivered to the tune of killing 500,000 of the Israelites.  A great battle to be sure.  But something happened.  Israel made a league with Syria.  Syria came and fortified the border city of Ramah.  Asa, believing he was severely threatened by the assistance Syria brought to Israel, he paid them off to turn on Israel.  Asa did not seek the LORD has he did in his younger years.  This is the cause for the above prophecy.  From that day forward, Asa would have trouble because he did not trust in the LORD for every battle.  The next few verses also tell the tale of Asa refusing to trust the LORD for his diseased feet and instead, turned to all the physicians.

The point to be made is this.  As Asa aged, his boldness to trust the LORD lessened.  It should have been just the opposite.  But in our nature, it isn’t.  Something happens to us as we age.  There is a time when fear begins to grow.  We forget all the lessons which life taught us.  We forget how the LORD met us time and again to provide miracles greater than the ones we need in our later years.  We forget all the great preaching and all the great meetings.  We forget all the battles won over the Devil himself.  We forget all that and seek to find our own answers.  We react too quickly and seeking the face of the LORD first becomes something of the past. This is foolishness.  No matter how old we get, seeking the LORD first, before we turn to other helpers is what the LORD desires!  He is still God.  He is the same God as he was thirty, forty, or fifty years ago as He is today.  The same yesterday, today, and forever!

Raw Food Goes Bad, But Prepared Food Is Always Good

“And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD.” (2Ch 12:14 AV)

When we use the word prepared, we think of something that is done quite a bit.  Such as, mom prepared dinner.  We think of it as a temporary state that has to be repeated because once the dinner is eaten, the mom has to prepare another one tomorrow.  However, that is not what that word means.  It means to establish something to an enduring and permanent state.  For example, when Mom has prepared a roast for dinner, it cannot become a turkey.  When it is fully prepared, it cannot become unprepared.  The roast cannot go back to its raw state.  The prepared Sunday roast cannot become Saturday’s hot dogs.  Prepared is a permanent state that happened in the past.  It cannot be undone.  Once it is established, then it cannot go back.

In our text, the king did evil because he had not determined that his heart be permanently oriented towards the LORD.  Not something that had to be decided on a daily or moment by moment thing, but rather, a permanent habit of life.  The king had to do this.  He was asked to make decisions on a regular basis.  That was the very purpose of his life.  To lead and make decisions.  Therefore, his heart must be established to seek the LORD.

Sadly, we suffer from the same weakness today.  God is not the God of Sundays and Wednesday only.  God is not the God of trials and temptations only.  God is not the God that shows up only when we listen to our favorite sermon or song.  God is not the God that only shows up at church.  God is not the God that comes and goes in a spontaneous basis.  He is ever-present.  Our churches and pews are shallow today because we have compartmentalized God.  God is a relationship.  Not something that we do.  When and if we ever establish our hearts to be always God conscience, seeking His presence and guidance, will we ever overcome the sin that rules our lives.  God is not a part of our lives.  He should be the very definition of it!

The Burden Not Meant To Be

“But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou [hast been] a man of war, and hast shed blood.” (1Ch 28:3 AV)

I had always thought the reason God did not allow David to build Him a house was because of something he did wrong.  I thought perhaps the shedding of blood was in reference to Uriah the Hittite.  However, cross referencing to 1Chron 22:8, the shedding of blood had to do with all the wars David campaigned.  It wasn’t something David did wrong that disqualified him from building the temple.  It simply was not the calling God had for David.

It makes perfect sense.  If David, a king of war, erected the temple, it would have had a completely different meaning.  As the conquering King, this temple would have been seen as a temple erected in honor of a God who gives victory on the battle field.  It would have been a memorial (at least in the eyes of the heathen) to all the losses which they had suffered.  Not the right optics for a nation that wishes to be the nation which was supposed to bring the world unto the one true God.  In short, it was not David’s calling.  He was not disqualified from building the temple because he did something wrong.  He was disallowed because he was doing something right.  The two callings simply do not mix.

In the mind of David, he saw no contradiction.  That is because he knew and walked with the God of grace but also warred for Him.  He could understand the balance.  But those around him could not.  Specially those who did not know the LORD as well as he did. Sometimes, no matter how deep something might be in our heart, it is not the will of the LORD because He has given us a different calling.  Although there might be disappointment on David’s part, he understood that his place in life was not conducive to what he desired in his heart.