Scripture Fulfilled Today

It is important when reading, interpreting and applying Scripture we realise no verses or books of the Bible are intended to stand alone, to be understood apart from the immediate context or other verses that complement it.  The Bible contains the word of God spoken to a specific audience which can reveal the unchanging character and promises of God that can be applied to the reader.  I have heard it estimated about 30% of the Bible is comprised of prophecies that can have multiple fulfilments.  Those who fear and trust God ought to take Him at His word, and exposure to the whole Bible with a sound hermeneutic is a valuable resource that prevents confusion and error.  Having the Holy Spirit within us is absolutely indispensable for Bible comprehension.

Sunday at church we read Psalm 34:18-19:  "The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. ¹⁹ Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all."  This passage teaches us of the character of God, that He is near to the brokenhearted and saves the contrite person.  Like many promises of God, there are conditions our lives must align with to receive the benefits freely offered.  In this case, a broken and contrite heart leads to God saving from trouble.  Everyone faces affliction--even those who trust in God and walk in His ways--but the LORD will deliver the righteous out of every affliction.  This speaks of God's knowledge, power and desire to deliver and save all who trust in Him.  This is fleshed out more in the New Testament with the revelation of Jesus Christ and the Gospel of grace.

The verse immediately following reads in Psalm 34:20:  "He guards all his bones; not one of them is broken."  God not only delivers those who trust in Him from all afflictions, but He protects every one of their bones.  Is this saying no believer in God will have a broken bone?  Certainly not, for in contrition for sin David said of God's discipline in Psalm 51:8, "Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice."  David likely spoke figuratively, but even with broken bones the child of God can rejoice and rest in our Father's embrace.  One connection people under the Covenant of Law may have made was the requirement for sacrifices offered to God and the Passover lamb needed to be completely intact, without a single broken bone.  This verse was literally fulfilled in the case of Jesus when He was crucified on the cross, for instead of breaking His legs His side was pierced with a spear.  John 19:36 says, "For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken."

It would be a mistake to limit the fulfillment of Psalm 34:20 only as relating to Jesus on the cross but is intended to encourage the humble who are afflicted to trust in the LORD.  God's goodness is immutable and can always be counted on, and thus His divine protection of our bodies and souls remains in full force today.  God allow afflictions that include broken bones and chronic pains for His good purposes, yet we are called to look to Him in faith even as our bodies fail.  History tells of many Christians made to suffer awful tortures that tore them physically apart, yet by faith in Christ gained a glorious entrance into heaven forever.  It may be you have not broken a bone until now, but should the LORD break multiple bones we can rejoice today as David because of our God who protects, delivers and saves us forever.  As it is written in in Jude 1:24-25:  "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, ²⁵ to God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen."

Deeds and Character

New South Wales has recently introduced legislation to abolish the "good character references" in sentencing for criminal offences.  Previously when someone was found to be guilty of committing a crime by a court, they could supply "good character references" which would be taken into account and likely minimise the punishment doled out by the court.  People could use their prior good social standing or personal connections to reduce their culpability.  Their past good conduct or ability to find others to write positive descriptions of their character in no way lessens the severity of the crime committed and should not remove strong consequences criminal activity deserves.  Our deeds are better indicators of our character than what people say about us.

It may be a surprise to some, yet God's word sets a precedent for this positive change.  God said the wicked man who turned from his ways and did good would be pardoned, yet the one who turned from righteousness and did wickedly would bear the full brunt of the Law in Ezekiel 18:24:  "But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die."  God emphasised how He did not punish the son because of a wicked father, nor would He punish the father for the wickedness of his son:  each would answer and be judged for his own sin.  God said concerning the repentant sinner in Ezekiel 18:21:  "But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die."

The audience of the prophet Ezekiel took issue with God's judgment and accused Him of His ways not being equal!  God responded, "My ways are not equal?  Your ways are unequal!"  God's ways are gracious, just and entirely consistent.  The children of Israel pushed back upon God's judgments because they were not just or merciful.  They were not inclined to forget the wrongs people had done, and they would give people of good reputation a free pass to do wickedly.  They would blame and punish the father for the wickedness of the son, and they also would condemn the son of a convicted criminal.  I have observed this many times, where a church or ministry leader is condemned because someone in a church or organisation does wickedly, or a current government is vilified because of what happened many years ago when other people were at the helm.  We see a badly behaved child and we may instinctively blame the parent for a lack of discipline, but consider how God is the best Father and the way His children sometimes behave.

God emphasised the need for sinners to repent and revealed His inclination to forgive (unlike people who criticised Him) in Ezekiel 18:30-32:  "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. ³¹ Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? ³² For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!"  A convicted felon could supply many good character references to the court, but God's judgment is the only one that matters.  God knows better than anyone that iniquity will certainly be the ruin of all those who walk therein, and He takes no pleasure in the destruction of sinners--but that sinners would turn and live.  By faith in Jesus Christians are declared righteous, and the wise will continue to repent of sin and turn to Jesus in willing obedience.

Contrition in Repentance

"The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit."

Psalm 34:18

Contrition for sin is an important facet of genuine repentance.  When we were kids, the snide tone or snarky way people said sorry were reasons to reject an apology as insincere.  We wanted people to at least act like they cared when they were apologising for doing wrong.  Conviction of having done wrong is not just a thought that passes through our minds but includes a recurring stab of regret or unsettled feeling inside of us.  The Bible says David's "heart smote him" after he cut off the corner of Saul's robe.  Though he did not kill him as was suggested by his men, his guilty conscience would not let the act pass unnoticed and without repentance.

Contrition is not beating oneself up for doing wrong, for this can be from pride as much as anything.  Webster defined "contrition" as:  "1) The act of grinding or rubbing to powder; 2) Penitence; deep sorrow for sin; grief of heart for having offended and infinitely holy and benevolent God. The word is usually understood to mean genuine penitence, accompanied with a deep sense of ingratitude in the sinner, and sincere resolution to live in obedience to the divine law."  Having a broken and contrite heart due to sin is surprisingly rare--given the amount of opportunity there is for it to be displayed with the amount of sins we are guilty of.  We can be sorry for our sin due to embarrassment, to be exposed as flawed, that we will face negative consequences.  Feeling sorry in itself does not mean we are willing to take any steps to change our ways or do what is right going forward.

I read an article the other day that provided examples of the antithesis of contrition for sin.  The article spoke of a woman who stole an item of clothing from a shop, and after being caught out by security footage admitted she did wrong to the owner of the shop and her online followers.  In her apology she called the theft a "silly mistake," and that "she was only human."  While admitting she knew she did wrong, it seems (unintentionally or not) minimised the severity of her offence by implying, "Everyone does this."  I have noticed a tendency to substitute less confronting words for the sinful reality, like calling someone a "shoplifter" rather than a "thief."  She also offered reasons she claimed contributed to her "silly" decision, that she "had a few drinks" and had a "brain injury" from repeated blows to the head.  These reasons sounded a lot like excuses--quite unlike the contrition David showed when confronted for his sin.  He simply said, "I have sinned against the LORD."  No deflection, explanation, justification or attempt for damage control.  Contrition for sin describes it in all its ugliness before God without trying to soften the blow to protect ourselves or our reputation.

It is possible to sin and feel sorry for ourselves, but godly sorrow and contrition leads to a changed life by God's grace.  After writing a sharp letter to the church in Corinth, Paul followed up with encouragement for the change it fostered in 2 Corinthians 7:9-11:  "Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing. ¹⁰ For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. ¹¹ For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: what diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter."  God is near to those who have a broken and contrite heart, and our LORD is pleased to save such sinners.  Selfish sorrow leads to sinners feeling like victims when it is God who has been wronged.  If our sorrow for sin does not lead to change in our lives for good, it may be we lack contrition before God whom we have sinned against.

The Sovereign Judge

In Ezekiel 15, God compared the usefulness of vine to a tree in doing work and making things.  From the wood of a tree, boards can be milled and structures can be built.  Wood from trees would have been used to make many things:  carts, tools, doors, furniture, crates, ships, musical instruments and much more!  In stark contrast, the building potential of a vine was nil.  Trying to make dowels out of the soft runners would be a pointless waste of time.  In regards for doing work, what the vine was best suited for was to be burned in the fire.  At least it could provide a bit of fuel for a short time until it was reduced to ash.

God spoke through the prophet in Ezekiel 15:6-7:  "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 'Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the inhabitants of Jerusalem; ⁷ and I will set My face against them. They will go out from one fire, but another fire shall devour them. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I set My face against them."  The people of Israel were like a vine that bore no fruit, and the only profitable use for them was to be made fuel for the fire.  They had been unfaithful to God and sinned against Him, and Jesus made mention of this common practice in John 15:6:  "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned."  Those who by faith abide in Jesus will be made fruitful, yet those who are unfaithful and depart from him will be consumed in the fire of God's judgment.

Because vines are not suitable for building anything, no one would question the wisdom of landowners who gathered and burned the vines that littered the ground.  Wood from trees was a valuable resource that was employed for useful purposes rather than burning it all.  The ironic thing is, people who would not think twice to dispose of vines by burning can fault God for bringing fiery judgments upon anyone--even those who have cut themselves off from God through wilful sin.  The owner of a property has the right to do whatever he wants with his vines, and the sovereign Creator has every right to do as He pleases with His creation.  By His wisdom everything we see He created, and without Jesus Christ nothing was made that is made (John 1:1-3).  Doesn't God have the most basic rights to ownership we claim for ourselves, to do as He wills?

A literal example of God's fiery judgment was seen long before the season of Ezekiel's ministry in Leviticus 10:1-3:  "Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. ² So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. ³ And Moses said to Aaron, "This is what the LORD spoke, saying: 'By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; and before all the people I must be glorified.' " So Aaron held his peace."  Aaron, the high priest and father of Nadab and Abihu who were killed before the LORD for their trespass, knew his sons were to blame--for God did no wrong to judge those who do wickedly.  Peter remarked it is time for judgment to begin at the house of God, and if it begins with God's people what will be the end of those who do not obey the Gospel (1 Peter 4:17)?  Nadab, Abihu, and the suffering of God's people in Jerusalem in Ezekiel provide sobering clarity on the subject.

It is the sinner who does wrong, and the just and righteous God has every right to judge sinners as He sees fit.  Praise the LORD He has provided a means of atonement and forgiveness by His own gracious sacrifice.  Should God be blamed for the severity of His judgments when mankind refuses His sure remedy by repentance of sin and faith in Jesus?