Stuck to the Sword

The Bible is filled with accounts of God's people doing mighty deeds.  I was reminded of Eleazar this morning, the second of David's top three mighty men.  2 Samuel 23:9-10 tells us, "And after him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. ¹⁰ He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword. The LORD brought about a great victory that day; and the people returned after him only to plunder."  When the men of Israel retreated before the Philistine onslaught, Eleazar stood his ground armed with his sword.  He fought to the point of exhaustion.  He gripped the sword so tightly his hand cramped and stuck to it!  Because Eleazar refused to quit, God brought about a great victory that day.  Only after he defeated the Philistines did people return to plunder the slain.

Perhaps Eleazar faced the temptation to follow along with his fellow Israelites and flee in the face of the Philistine attack.  Some men undoubtedly saw their swords as a burden and cast them to the ground in their haste to save their skins!  But Eleazar refused to back down.  He clung to the sword and kept fighting.  What a good example this is of the diligence and resolve required in the spiritual battle we face against Satan, the flesh, and the wisdom of this age.  When a man takes a stand for righteousness in a fallen world, he will face merciless attack.  Sometimes we may be called to stand alone.  Even then, we are not alone because God is with us.  We are not without weapons to face the battle which presses against us.  God has given us the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Eph. 6:17).  In the heat of battle the temptation may come to lay aside the Word of God because we are weary and feel all have forsaken us.  But even in the fiery trial God will sustain us, and His Word will protect us.

Eleazar knew what it took to win.  He knew that unless he gripped the sword with all his strength, he would lose his best offensive and defensive weapon at once.  In holding fast to his sword, he clung to life.  Even so, this is true for Christians concerning the Bible.  It contains the words of life.  God is looking for mighty men to stand today with drawn swords, willing to stand alone if necessary.  May God grant us the grace to say with Paul at the end of our days, "I have fought the good fight, I have kept the faith, and I have stayed the course."  Our Saviour will never leave or forsake us.  He is our righteous foundation upon which we stand, and His Word is our battle axe and weapon of war.  When the attacks come, let us use it to give an answer for the hope which is within us.  May God give our hands strength to cling to the Sword!  The victory is ours when we stand and fight!

To Those Looking for a Saviour

The needs of people today for survival are the same they have always been.  People need water to drink, food to eat, air to breathe, adequate shelter and sleep.  These days many more things have been tacked onto the list:  mobile phones, transportation, the internet, coffee, and social media.  I recently saw a television commercial of a new Holden car which boasts Facebook access from the center console!  A lot of the things people believe they need are not necessary for life.  Many of the activities and things purported to enhance our lives and we have come to believe we could not possibly live without them actually drain it away.

Times change, but the spiritual needs of people remains the same.  Even in this digital age of technology and information, many people remain in the dark ages spiritually.  Blinded by materialism, caught up in the pursuits of this earthly life, countless people are ignorant of their need for forgiveness and salvation.  Life is filled with many diversions which labour to lead us from the sole source of true wisdom and life.  The greatest need of man is God.  Our stomach tells us we are hungry, and our burning eyes reveal how tired we are.  It is the conscience of man which agrees with the righteous law of God that he is indeed a sinner and is without hope in himself.  It is only when a man is without hope that he desperately searches for a Saviour.

After Andrew met Jesus Christ, John 1:41 tells us:  "He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah" (which is translated, the Christ)."  Andrew was a Jewish man who was familiar with the Law and prophets.  The fact that he "found" the Messiah means that he was looking for him.  He was looking for the Messiah because he desired to meet and commune with Him.  Had he not recognised a need for himself or the nation for a Saviour, why would he be excited about finding Him?  Andrew was a fisherman who possessed wisdom and discernment the learned in Israel did not.  Andrew's excitement could not be contained, and he sought to tell his brother the great news of his discovery.  Both Andrew and Simon Peter would become followers of Jesus Christ, leaving everything behind for that privilege - an honour and privilege most people didn't even recognise.

Do you need a Saviour?  Have you been looking for Him?  Know that Jesus Christ has been revealed as the promised Messiah, the One who saves His people from their sins.  There is no life found in mobile phones and Facebook.  There is no life even in water, food, or air itself.  These things merely support life for a season.  In the end, we will all perish because the wages of sin is death.  Death has entered the world and death through sin.  But grace, salvation, and eternal life have come to this desolate world through Jesus Christ.  Peter boldly speaks today even as he spoke to the elders of Israel in Acts 4:10-12:  "...Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. ¹¹ This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' ¹² Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."  Looking for a Saviour?  Look no further than Christ!

Proclaiming Peace

The law in the Old Testament is full of useful principles and insights into the character of God.  People have the mistaken view that there is a difference between the "God" portrayed in the Old Testament and the New.  This is simply not supported in scripture.  God's love and grace is on full display throughout all scripture for all who will see and hear.  God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Never has He suggested "Do as I say but not as I do," but has always kept His Word in righteousness.

One of the stumbling blocks for people is how God granted the children of Israel land which was obtained through warfare.  As the body counts rise, so do the eyebrows of some people.  "How could a loving God allow and encourage such carnage?"  God has always given people opportunity for salvation.  He has never visited His wrath upon people or nations without warning.  Noah was a preacher of righteousness for over 100 years before the flood, warning people of the wrath to come.  Because people refused to heed him and seek refuge in the ark before God shut him in, they were all destroyed.  A day is coming when God will judge the world in righteousness and fire.  Jesus is returning in glory with fierce vengeance against all those who war against Him.

Consider this principle in the law, a principle God has always followed.  Deuteronomy 20:10-13 reads, "When you go near a city to fight against it, then proclaim an offer of peace to it. ¹¹ And it shall be that if they accept your offer of peace, and open to you, then all the people who are found in it shall be placed under tribute to you, and serve you. ¹² Now if the city will not make peace with you, but makes war against you, then you shall besiege it. ¹³ And when the LORD your God delivers it into your hands, you shall strike every male in it with the edge of the sword."  It was a law in Israel that before the Hebrews destroyed a city in the land given them by God, they would first give the inhabitants and offer of peace.  If the people submitted to the offer and opened their gates in peace, they would be servants and be permitted to live.  But if the people refused the offer of peace, the Israelites would destroy the city and those within it.  The principle God always follows is before destruction there must always be a proclamation of an offer of peace.  For those who hear and submit to His offer, they will be given life.  All those who refuse His offer make themselves enemies of God and will be subject to His fierce wrath.

Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the LORD'S, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein."  God owns all things, being Creator of heaven and earth.  He has created every living thing, having breathed into every human being a living soul.  Though we are doomed to destruction, having been separated from God by our sin, God has spoken peace to us through Jesus Christ.  When angel's heralded the birth of Christ of the virgin Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit, they sang together in Luke 2:14, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"  In sending Jesus Christ as Messiah and Saviour, God has made an offer of peace to all men through the Gospel.  The conditions of salvation are repentance and faith in Christ.  Acts 17:30-31 reads, "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, ³¹ because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."

God has spoken peace to all people.  Jesus spread His arms in love, allowing His hands and feet to be nailed to the cross.  Romans 5:8 explains, "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  It is not God's will that any perish but that all would come to repentance.  Should God be blamed because He is righteous and just and men are stubborn sinners who refuse His conditions of peace?  God has made a way for all to be saved from the flames of hell at the cost of His own blood (Acts 20:28).  1 John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  The pride of man keeps him from surrendering to God's terms.  He thinks nothing to stand in judgment of God and the Bible without even reading it!

The offer of peace through Christ is extended to you today.  He graciously extends His arms to you in friendship.  He freely offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who will submit to Him as servants.  It is not that God needs more servants but desires to adopt all who repent and believe in Christ as His own sons!  If you refuse His offer today, tomorrow, all the way until the days of your life expire, you will experience death and everlasting torment in hell.  Do not delay to accept God's conditions of peace, for what man among you knows the day of his death?  Without Christ you are dead even now!  Now is the accepted time, today is the day of salvation.  Should you choose to war against God, God's fury will be righteously poured out on you without intermission.  He pleads with you through me.  Drop your weapons; lay aside your poor excuses.  Choose instead to open the gates of your heart in peace toward Him!  He will accept all who receive Him.

Broken Reeds

Has anyone you trusted let you down?  God allows circumstances in our lives to teach us that He is the only one worthy of worship and absolute confidence.  Even after we make a decision to follow Christ, we can lean on our own understanding rather than trusting in God.  It is good when God forces us to let go of our false supports and learn only to rely upon Him.  What is a primary way God makes a man decide to let go?  Pain.  When we pick up something hot, the message of searing pain tells us to drop it quick!

There is an instance in scripture when King Hezekiah rebelled against the king of Assyria.  He sent a messenger named Rabshakeh to intimidate the people of Samaria to surrender.  Though he was a false accuser, a blasphemer, and did not fear the true God of heaven and earth, Rabshakeh held forth some valuable insights in 2 Kings 18:20-21:  "You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? ²¹ Now look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him."  Rabshakeh accused Hezekiah and his people of looking to Egypt to save them, which was not true in this instance.  But the analogy of the staff piercing the hand is a good one to consider.

A staff is a walking stick, a sturdy piece of wood selected to carry in the hand to provide stability and help when traversing difficult country.  People commonly carried a staff during travel to support themselves.  We may not carry a staff as we walk through the city, but there are things we rely upon just the same.  We trust in our mobile phones and apps that will help us to safely navigate the city or to call for aid.  You may look to your job or financial situation to provide security.  We rely upon our health and mental well being.  There might be people in your life like parents, your spouse, children, a mentor, or pastor you trust or rely upon for direction and help in time of need.  But compared to God, all of these supports are false.  They are all like a staff that pierces your hand and causes painful injury.  The trouble is, once we have had our hand stabbed through we are increasingly reluctant to extend that hand to others.  Even when God reaches out to help us in love, we withdraw our hand because we've been hurt before.  This is ironic because only God has the power to heal our soul, mind, and body.

The hands God extends to you have been pierced:  the nail-pierced hand of Jesus Christ.  Jesus only trusted the Father and performed His will, yet the sins of the world - your sin and mine - were placed upon Him on the cross.  Jesus knows our pain and He only did what was right.  The pain which we experience in this life God allows so we might toss aside all false supports and trust in Him entirely.    The Bible tells us those who seek to be rich pierce themselves through with many sorrows.  You may have been burned by people.  The betrayal has cut you deep.  When the depth of our pain is unbearable and the temptation is strong to withdrawal from fellowship with God or others, consider that the intensity of the pain often correlates to the weight you place on that broken reed which could not save.  When we lean lightly on broken reeds, the damage is minimal.  When all our weight is pressed upon false supports, far greater damage is inflicted.

Christ reaches out to save us with His scarred hands.  May we extend our wounded hands to grasp His, for salvation and healing is found in Him alone.