A classic case study on at least two topics

And the LORD spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they would not listen. 11 Therefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the army of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh with hooks, bound him with bronze fetters, and carried him off to Babylon. 12 Now when he was in affliction, he implored the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers...  2 Chronicles 33:10-12 

Manasseh is a classic case study on at least two topics.

First, Manasseh was arguably the most evil king Judah ever had.  Even though he experienced the severe judgment of God, he repented.  God not only saved him, but restored him to the throne—a case study in God’s amazing grace to the worst of sinners.  Never stop praying for the lost, no matter how lost they are.  God can and does save even the most wicked among us!

Second, when the now godly Manasseh was restored as king, he tried to bring about revival in the land.  Sadly, v.17 says the people continued in false worship.—a case study in the fact that godly leadership is no guarantee of a godly citizenry.  Do not think that if only we had a godly president (and there isn’t one currently running), the nation would repent from our current evil situation.  If true revival is to come to our land, it will not be based on who lives in the White House, but by how we live in our houses!

Comfort in Christ Jesus

“Comfort, yes, comfort My people!” Says your God. “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, That her warfare is ended, That her iniquity is pardoned; For she has received from the LORD’s hand Double for all her sins.”
Isaiah 40:1-2

The first thirty-nine chapters of Isaiah are heavily weighted with judgment.  Sure, those chapters were lightly seasoned with comfort an hope, but for the most part, not so much.

Thank God for chapter 40, the dramatic turning point of the writings of Isaiah—that through the end of Isaiah in which comfort and blessing for the glory of God are generously predominant.

Ironically, there are 39 books on the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament for a total of 66 books.  This mirrors the reality of so much judgment in the Old Testament followed by the grace of God revealed in Christ in the New Testament.

Reading the OT is good to be reminded that religion—including the God ordained religion of Judaism—can never accomplish for us what  Christ has done, is doing, and will do for those who trust in Him.

May our trust be in Christ, and may we be marked by gratitude for the  “Comfort, yes, comfort” we have in Christ and in His forgiveness of our sins.

Lessons?  God is loving and patient.  He meets my needs even when I am unfaithful to Him.  Am I in a position therefore to “live it up” since His love is undying?  Only if I am a fool and fail to understand His grace.

God's Love even when we stray

For she did not know That I gave her grain, new wine, and oil, And multiplied her silver and gold—Which they prepared for Baal. "Therefore I will return and take away My grain in its time… I will punish her For the days of the Baals to which she burned incense. She decked herself with her earrings and jewelry, And went after her lovers; But Me she forgot," says the LORD.
Hosea 2:8-9a &13

When we stray away from the Lord, He continues to love us and care for us.  When we look to the world and the flesh for satisfaction and enjoyment, even then our Father meets all our needs and more.  Like Hosea’s unfaithful wife, we look to other “lovers” for satisfaction, and when we do not meet disaster, we, like her, are apt to think that our new interests and pursuits are delivering the goods.  But even then, it is God who looks after His beloved—even when we seek pleasure in the arms of another.

In this passage, after 150 years of Israel’s spiritual adultery, God’s patience is exhausted. He is now writing Israel a bill of divorcement and plans to withdraw His support of her for her unfaithfulness.  He promised to take her back at a later date, and He did.

Lessons?  God is loving and patient.  He meets my needs even when I am unfaithful to Him.  Am I in a position therefore to “live it up” since His love is undying?  Only if I am a fool and fail to understand His grace.

Asking for blessing or the gift of repentance?

Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment…”
Amos 2:6 

Amos, a prophet from Judah, went north to prophesy in Israel.  He began with pronouncements of God’s judgment on Syria, Philistia, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, and Moab (1:1-2:3).  The inhabitants of Israel were probably happy to hear of God’s displeasure with their pagan enemies.  In 2:4-5 Amos pronounced God’s judgment on Judah.  This probably pleased the folks in Israel even more.  Everybody loves to hear what’s wrong with “the other guy,” and we secretly enjoy contemplating them getting their “comeuppance.”  After all, “other people” are the problem in the world, aren’t they?

Then beginning in 2:6, through chapter 6, Amos unleashed a litany of God displeasure and judgment on Israel.  (Note how much more ink is devoted to Israel’s pending judgment than on God’s anger with her neighbors.)

We Americans had better be careful about contenting ourselves that we are better than our international enemies, or even our political adversaries at home.  We in America have received far more of God’s blessing than any other nation currently in existence.  We are, therefore, far more accountable.  And yet, wallowing in our supposed prosperity (that is floating on debt that we cannot repay), we expel Christ and the gospel from our public institutions, worshiping the creation instead of our Creator.

Might we be a bit presumptuous in asking God to bless America, when what we deserve is His judgment?  Maybe the blessing we should be asking for is the blessing of the gift of repentance—before God sends an Amos our way.

Running from God--Fat chance!

But Jonah arose to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to Tarshish; so he paid the fare, and went down into it, to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Jonah 1:3

Where can a man go to escape the presence of God?  Since 100% of God is everywhere all the time, it would appear that finding a place where God is not is patently impossible.

Jonah didn’t like what God wanted to do in his life, so he tried to flee to Tarshish (modern Spain) which was about as far away from Israel and Nineveh as Jonah could imagine.  As though God was not there!  Not only did Jonah try to flee from the presence of God to a place as far away as he could imagine, he even paid for a ticket to get there.  Money can neither buy God’s presence, nor can it secure escape from it.

How am I like Jonah?  God has plans for my life also.  Because I do not always understand them, like Jonah, I often do not like them.  Like Jonah, there are times when I somehow think that I can absent myself from God to do my will instead of obeying His.  And like Jonah, I am often willing to pay to follow my lusts rather than to enjoy His love.

What a fool I can be.

The good news is that God did accomplish His will in and through reluctant Jonah; and He will in and through me as well.  Why do I so often resist Him?

Lord, forgive me for my stubbornness and my willful sin.  Please never stop pursuing me when I am running from You.  Have mercy on me and please, may my affections be transformed, from what they so often are, to what You desire them to be.

Rejoicing in others problems?

But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress.
Obadiah 1:12

Obadiah is the shortest book in the Old Testament (fifth shortest in the Bible).  It is only one chapter of twenty-one verses; 670 words total.  There is disagreement about the events that prompted this prophecy, and therefore about the date when it was written.  That notwithstanding, it contains a sober reminder for all people of all time.

The Edomites—the people to which it is addressed, had cheered Israel’s invaders and gloated in Israel’s defeat.  God promised to punish them for that.  What’s the message for us?

I have been wronged by people who later experienced trials in their lives.  When that has happened I have had a tendency to feel a smugly vindicated.  That is sin.  In some cases, by the grace of God, I have felt genuinely sorry for the individual.  Yet for others, the temptation to gloat surfaced.  Even though I haven’t run around telling others how the guilty are receiving justice, the thought has rolled around in my head.  That is sin.

If you have never done this, pray for me.  But if like me and the Edomites, you have experienced this kind of tugging in your heart, let’s agree together that we will confess our heart-sin as soon as we are aware of it, repent, and pray for God’s blessing on those who are suffering—even if we have suffered at their hands.

Winning the support of those you lead

And they spoke to him, saying, "If you will be a servant to these people today, and serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever." 1 Kings 12:7

What’s the context?  Solomon was dead and his son, Rehoboam, was now king.  The young king sought counsel on how to rule. 
1 Kings 12:7 records the wise advice from older counselors.  Other advice from his young peers counseled Rehoboam to lead oppressively. 

The young king passed on the advice to leads with a light hand, opting to rule with the rod.

Leaders are routinely tempted to coercively exert their authority rather than leading as servants.  The best leaders are strong, but winsome.  The worst leaders are tyrannical.  This is true regardless of where one leads; whether at home, at work, at church, or in government.

The perfect Leader is King Jesus, who is also the Good Shepherd.

But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave-- just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."    Matthew 20:25-28

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!  Psalm 150:6

Psalm 150 is most instructive about worship:

Who to Worship?

v.1a Praise the LORD!
[God and only God!]

Where?

v.1b Praise God in His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament!  
[Everywhere.]

For What?

v.2 Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! 
[For all He does, and for Who He is.]

How?

v.3-5 Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! 4 Praise Him with the timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! 5 Praise Him with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals!  
[With all kinds of instruments, reverently, yes.  And also with exuberance!]

Who is to worship God?

v.6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!  
[Everyone and everything that breaths!]

Solomon and Jesus are both temple builders

Now Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the LORD had appeared to his father David… 2 Chronicles 3:1

David wanted to build a house (temple) for God.  God forbade David to build the temple.  God allowed David’s son and successor, Solomon to build the temple.  The record of the construction of Solomon’s temple takes three and a half chapters of 2 Chronicles (3:1-5:12) and more than two chapters of 1 Kings (6:1-8:9).

It was truly a marvel!

But as Solomon was only a partial fulfillment of God’s Davidic Covenant (which was fully revealed in Christ Jesus), so Solomon’s temple, as awe-inspiring as it was, is only a type of the temple Christ promised to build (Matthew 16:18) and is currently building (Ephesians 2:19-22, 1 Peter 2:4-10).

Solomon used only the choicest of materials to build his temple.  By way of contrast, Jesus uses only damaged materials—we who are ruined by sin!  But what Christ is building will be infinitely greater—not because of the materials He uses, but because He is the Master Builder!

Soli Deo Gloria!

How long will the wicked triumph?

LORD, how long will the wicked, How long will the wicked triumph? Psalm 94:3

It isn’t new!  There have always been times when the redeemed have wondered why the ungodly seem to prosper while God’s people suffer. 

The most important answer is that God never promised smooth sailing for believers.  Quite the contrary, He promised that in this life we shall encounter tribulation and even persecution.  Conversely, the suffering that accompanies faith in Christ doesn't touch those who do not believe.  No wonder Jesus instructed us in the Sermon on the Mount that many are on the broad path that leads to destruction, while there are few on the narrow path that leads to life.

A second answer is that, believe it or not, hard times are part of God’s plan for the elect to strengthen our faith and facilitate our sanctification.

A third answer is revealed in Psalm 94, in answer to the beleaguered cry of saints surrounded by sinfulness in a wicked world:

Psalm 94:22-23 But the LORD has been my defense, And my God the rock of my refuge. 23 He has brought on them their own iniquity, And shall cut them off in their own wickedness; The LORD our God shall cut them off.

With these words we are comforted that God will deal with the wicked in the end.

Discipline is proof of God's love

“I am in great distress. Please let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” 2 Samuel 24:14

Driven by pride, David made a big mistake.  He set out to count the people in Israel, presumably so that he could see how great his kingdom was.  God sent Gad, a prophet, to rebuke the king.  God determined to discipline David.  Yes, God disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:5-11).

God gave David three choices: (1) Seven years of famine, (2) three months fleeing from his enemies, or (3) three days of a plague.  David chose number three, resigning himself into the hands of God rather than to the hands of men.  Why?  Because David knew that even in discipline, God is merciful.

How do we handle the chastening of the Lord?  It certainly is not pleasant, but it does “yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11).  Let us not, therefore, “despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when we are rebuked by Him.”  It is proof of His love. (Hebrews 12:5-6).

Let us realize that we are safe and secure in His hands, even in the midst of His displeasure.  He is merciful, even when wielding the rod of correction.

Even the most godly people are still sinners

Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said thus: "O my son Absalom--my son, my son Absalom--if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!"  2 Samuel 18:33

David wept.  His household was in disarray.  One of his sons (Amnon), raped a half-sister (Tamar).  Tamar’s brother (Absalom), treacherously murdered Amnon.  Absalom was exiled for three years to Geshur.  David wept for Absalom every day (2 Samuel 13:37-38).  Absalom was finally invited back to Jerusalem.  He returned, but was disallowed to see His father, David.  Absalom rebelled, driving David from Jerusalem.  A civil war erupted.  Though David demanded that Absalom be spared, he was killed.  David again wept for Absalom (2 Samuel 18:33).  All this (and more) is recorded in 2 Samuel 13-18.

While David’s children were responsible for their own sin, humanly speaking, so much of what went wrong in David’s family was the result of David’s many failures as a father.  David was a godly man who had a heart for the Lord, but he was anything but sinless—or a good father.

Are there any lessons to learn?  

• Even the most godly people are still sinners.  

• Let us humbly acknowledge that none of us has ever come close to perfect parenting.  

• Let us own our failings, and give all glory to God if our children follow the Lord—in spite of our failings.  

• Let us refrain from criticizing others because of their children—whether the parents’ failures are the cause or not.

Mothers' Day 2024

Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice.
Proverbs 23:25

It is Mother’s Day.  Mother’s Day is not a Christian holiday or a patriotic holiday.  It is a cultural holiday.  Even though I wonder if the greeting card companies and the florists dreamed it up, it is a good idea.  We should honor our moms (and dad’s) every day, but taking one day out of the year to pay special honor is a good thing, don’t you think?

How should we honor them?  What should we do?  There is no end to the nice things we can do for our moms.  Taking her out for dinner, buying gifts, flowers, and of course a card; all that is great.  I hope that you are able to do something nice for mom today.  And if your mom is no longer living, as my mom isn’t, I hope you remember her fondly and honor her memory.

There is something beyond dinners, gifts, and cards that you can do for your mom today.  God, speaking through Solomon, bids us to give our moms something to rejoice about.  What might that be?  Everyone knows how to break mom’s heart, so don’t do that.  But to cause her to be glad and to rejoice?

I can only speak on behalf of Christian moms, but my advice is: be godly.  That woman who bore you and who cradled you in her arms will most certainly rejoice if you will be godly,  walking with the Lord.  Oh, that they would receive that from each of us!

“How can a God of love send anyone to Hell?”

Six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 17A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, 18A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that are swift in running to evil, 19A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren.  Proverbs 6:16-19

 We live in a fallen sinful world that thinks we can define God.  One of the world’s favorite definitions of God is “God is love.”  That is true and biblical, but the fatal mistake is that the world insists on defining God by the world’s flawed definition of love.  Thinking biblically, we must define love by how the Bible defines God.

People who do not know God often say, “How could a God of love do this or that?  A favorite is “How could a God of love send anyone to Hell?”  I’ll come back to that.

The world insists that love demands that we endorse and affirm everything, but that could not be farther from the truth!  Even humanly speaking, a loving parent hates, and will kill, a wild animal that is attacking that parent’s child.  Likewise, because God is not only loving but holy—He not only disapproves what is unholy, He hates sin because it is unholy.  Because God is holy, He must judge and condemn sinners. 

So the question, “How can a God of love send anyone to Hell?” is based on not knowing God and therefore not understanding love.  Because all people are sinners (having repeatedly violated God’s law) the better question is, “How can a God who is holy not send everyone to Hell?”

The answer to that better question is: Because (thank the Lord) God is also gracious through Christ Jesus!  

Loving enemies

Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the LORD and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword.
2 Samuel 1:11-12

Saul had jealously pursued David, seeking to kill him for nearly ten years.

Twice during that time David had opportunity to kill Saul, but refused to take the life of the man God ordained to serve as Israel’s first king.

When David heard that Saul was killed in a battle with the Philistines, David was grief-stricken.  He even rewarded the men who saw to it that Saul received a decent burial (1 Samuel 31:11-13).

This is a quintessential example of what Jesus was talking about when He uttered the following words in the Sermon on the Mount:

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you…  Matthew 5:43-44

Who, besides me, is thankful that Jesus loved us when we were His enemies (Romans 5:10)?

Who, besides me, needs to work on loving our enemies?

Humility

And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt. 1 Samuel 18:4

Jonathan was the son of King Saul, and therefore the heir to the throne of Israel.  God had already transferred the role of king from Saul to David (Chapt.16).  Saul refused to cede that throne to David and spent the rest of his life trying to kill David.

Jonathan rightly loved and respected David more than he did his father, King Saul.

In an act of jaw-dropping humility, Jonathan gave David his royal robe, his armor, and weapons to David. 

Think of what he was giving up: the right to rule, agreeing instead to be ruled by David.  Jonathan prefigured the incarnation of Christ by laying his glory aside to lift up another.  Here are two application:

Let us surrender our lives to Christ Jesus our Redeemer and King.

Let us walk in humility with one another.

Sins of the parents...

Then the LORD said to Samuel, "Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel...  On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. 1 Samuel 3:11-13

God’s law speaks of the sins of fathers visiting their children (Exodus 20:5).  This does not mean that the children are to be punished for the sins of their parents (Deuteronomy 24:16).  But this does not mean that the sins of the parents will not affect their children, nor does it mean that the sins of children will not affect their parents. 

I am sure that you can think of ways a person’s sin most assuredly does affect others, including family members.

Eli, the high priest, knew of the gross sins his incorrigible sons were committing, but he did nothing to stop them.  Had Eli at least tried, maybe the curse on that family line would not have happened.  But Eli “did not restrain them.” and so Eli and his entire family suffered the effects!

Let us beware: our sins do not merely affect us, but others as well.  And when we are in a position to hold others accountable, woe to us if we do not!

Resurrection Joy!

But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." John 20:11-13

Think of the incredible sadness experienced by those who loved the Lord Jesus when He was arrested, tried, and condemned to death.  How deeply must their hearts have ached when He was beaten, crucified, and then buried.  How much more must Mary’s heart must have been torn in two when His body was missing!

Contrast those emotional torments with the incredible joy they all must have felt when they saw Jesus risen, and believed!

Most of us will not know the depth of their despair because we did not live through those hours of Christ’s torment.  Most of us did not understand His death until after we knew that He rose. 

Oh, that we might feel some sense of sadness over our sin, since it was our sin for which He suffered His anguish!  May we feel the sting of sorrow for our sins, for which our Savior bled and died.

And may our sorrow be turned to the greatest joy ever, because after He died for us, He rose for us!

May our sorrow be turned to joy!

But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him."
John 20:11-13

Think of the incredible sadness experienced by those who loved the Lord Jesus when He was arrested, tried, and condemned to death.  How deeply must their hearts have ached when He was beaten, crucified, and then buried.  How much more must Mary’s heart must have been torn in two when His body was missing!

Contrast those emotional torments with the incredible joy they all must have felt when they saw Jesus risen, and believed!

Most of us will not know the depth of their despair because we did not live through those hours of Christ’s torment.  Most of us did not understand His death until after we knew that He rose. 

Oh, that we might feel some sense of sadness over our sin, since it was our sin for which He suffered His anguish!  May we feel the sting of sorrow for our sins, for which our Savior bled and died.

And may our sorrow be turned to the greatest joy ever, because after He died for us, He rose for us!

Please do not deceive yourself

“But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you…”
Deuteronomy 28:15

God never grades on a curve.  The pass or fail test called life, determines where we will spend eternity upon graduation from this life. “Pass” requires 100%.  Anything less than 100% is “Fail.”  We must carefully obey “all” God’s commandments.

Every sane person, whether they like admitting it or not, knows he is less than perfect.  The result is universal failure. (Rom.3:23).  The universal consequence is eternal death (God’s judgment).

This would be infinitely bleak, except that God is not only a just Judge, but He is also a loving Father who has provided one way to be forgiven and viewed by God as having never sinned, ever.

The one and only way to be forgiven is Jesus Christ, who lived sinlessly for, and died in the place of, everyone who acknowledges his sinfulness before God (who is holy), and trusts in no one or nothing but in Jesus Christ.

Please do not deceive yourself that this is not all true, or that it doesn’t matter!  Please, look to and trust only in Christ and be saved!