Kingdom Renewal

At the people's request and God's permission, the prophet Samuel anointed Saul as king over Israel.  The ironic thing is people demanded a king yet many rejected the king at his coronation.  They weren't satisfied even when their request was granted in full.  This lack of contentment and refusal to accept or submit fully to God's authority is a chronic malady in man.  There were many people who were loyal to king Saul, gave gifts, and honoured him as the anointed of the LORD, though in the eyes of the majority he was without authority or power.  The following passage illustrates this.

1 Samuel 11:1-4 reads, "Then Nahash the Ammonite came up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead; and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "Make a covenant with us, and we will serve you." ² And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, "On this condition I will make a covenant with you, that I may put out all your right eyes, and bring reproach on all Israel." ³ Then the elders of Jabesh said to him, "Hold off for seven days, that we may send messengers to all the territory of Israel. And then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you." ⁴ So the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and told the news in the hearing of the people. And all the people lifted up their voices and wept."  When Nahash the Ammonite came against Jabesh Gilead they offered to serve him--because they were not really serving the king God anointed to rule over them.  They took it upon themselves to make deals with potential enemies instead of immediately sending word to their king of their predicament.  They did not even believe Saul was able or willing to help them for they said, "We will send messengers to all the territory of Israel and if no one will save us we will come out to you at the expense of our right eyes."  Isn't this insane?

What the men of Jabesh Gilead didn't count on came to pass:  Saul was incensed when he heard their predicament, gathered hundreds of thousands of men to fight for their deliverance, and destroyed the Ammonites in a day.  After the people rejoiced in salvation of the LORD through Saul's leadership, a compelling event took place.  1 Samuel 11:14-15 states, "Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there." ¹⁵ So all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the LORD in Gilgal. There they made sacrifices of peace offerings before the LORD, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly."  Saul was crowned king in the previous chapter but it took the incident at Jabesh Gilead to consolidate the power and authority of the kingdom upon the LORD's anointed.  The kingdom was renewed in Gilgal because it was evident the people had not been viewing Saul as their king.  Saul was the LORD's anointed, but the people tried to make peace with enemies themselves.  The renewal of the kingdom lead to great rejoicing because they accepted God's appointment of Saul united as one man.

This is an illustration of the renewal we need in our personal lives after trusting in Jesus Christ as our King, the anointed One of the Father.  Though He is our LORD and Saviour we can be like the men of Jabesh Gilead where we are not regarding Jesus as the rightful King He is.  We can try to make peace in vain with enemies Jesus has the power to destroy in a moment, and we wonder if anyone could possibly help us.  We suffer reproach not for the sake of faith in Christ but for our lack of reliance upon Him to guide, provide, and protect us.  Having delivered us from eternal punishment  we deserved due to our sin, we ought to place all our confidence in Jesus our King.  When we have been distant from our King let us renew our relationship with Him in the kingdom of God by returning and communing with Him.  Distance from God leads to despair, but when we follow Jesus Christ closely we experience rest and peace.

The Surfactant of Relationship

Due to a prolonged drought in NSW, level 2 water restrictions are now being enforced.  This means sprinklers and hoses are no longer permitted for watering lawns or washing cars.  All watering must be done by hand with a bucket or watering can.  Had I known water restrictions were coming I wouldn't have put so much effort or time to beautify the lawn in spring!

Because it has been so dry and hot lately when I bucket water on burnt spots the water just runs off.  The soil and roots desperately need water but the hardness of the ground repels it.  When I was trained to remove asbestos as a union mechanical insulator it was common to add a "surfactant" or wetting agent to the water before spraying the material to be removed.  Because asbestos is most dangerous when airborne a key part of the removal process is to thoroughly wet it.  The high surface tension of water does not allow it to penetrate the material and much of the water is wasted as runoff.  But when a little detergent is added to a sprayer it is remarkable to see it almost magically absorbed by a previously hydrophobic surface.  What a difference a surfactant makes!

It isn't just soil which can become hard and dry:  it can happen to our hearts as well.  The irony is love, kindness, and grace do not always penetrate a hard heart that thirsts for it, just like a bucket of refreshing water can run off hard ground without effect.  After we are rebuffed it may seem like a waste to "invest" or continue to pour ourselves into people who repel our efforts.  It occurred to me today a surfactant can make all the difference.  When removing asbestos it didn't matter what brand or kind or detergent was used, and only a few drops made a huge difference.  In a similar way there are many things which impact the hearts of people like a wetting agent which enables them to receive instruction, care, and love.  Shared experiences, building rapport through faithfulness, gentleness, and patience are key.  If I boil it down, the key wetting agent for hard hearts is loving relationship.  Having a genuine relationship with a person makes them more apt to receive what God graciously supplies through others.

Building and cultivating relationships is much more difficult, time consuming, and costly than maintaining a green lawn in drought conditions.  But praise the LORD there is never any restrictions on His infinite supply of love, grace, and goodness.  Like the widow's oil and flour that was miraculously replenished day by day according to God's Word, God provides the Holy Spirit for those who are born again by faith in Jesus without measure.  Every vessel has a limit of capacity, but Jesus has promised He will cause Living Water to overflow from us.  We are not sufficient for these things, yet God is!  Instead of despairing over perceived hardness of hearts in others, we ought to ensure we are humbling ourselves to walk in love and be spiritually well-hydrated ourselves in our relationship with God.  It is good to identify ourselves as the only hard-hearted one we have a responsibility to change through repentance, submission, and obedience to God.  Let us not write-off those who repel our efforts to love and minister to but labour to add the surfactant of loving relationship. 

Gift of Repentance

Speaking of Jesus Christ, Peter and other apostles told Jewish rulers in Acts 5:31:  "Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins."  Jesus humbled Himself to be crucified for sinners, and God exalted Him above all by raising Him from the dead in eternal glory.  Jesus willingly laid down His life on Calvary and took it up again according to His Word, and provided salvation and redemption for all through the Gospel.

Peter's explanation provides insight concerning repentance and forgiveness.  When people think of repentance it is often in the context of something we must do, an obligation and responsibility of a sinner before a holy, just God.  Repentance is more than being sorry or feeling guilty:  it is when a person sorrowfully acknowledges their sin and guilt and turns from it in submission and renewed agreement with God.  It means to change, to reform, to turn from sin to doing what pleases God instead.  It is a change of mind which results in an amended life.

Have you ever thought of "repentance" as a gift from Jesus Christ?  It is!  The awareness of our need to repent from sin, the opportunity God has granted us to turn to Him from sin in repentance, and the forgiveness, cleansing, and salvation resulting from repentance are all of God's grace.  How privileged and blessed we are to be able to repent, be forgiven, and have the righteousness of Christ imputed to us through the Gospel.  Without Jesus being the Way, the Truth, and the Life there would be no atonement for our sins.  Repentance, forgiveness, and salvation are gifts from God we ought to be grateful and thankful for.

Repentance is a gift that keeps on giving because it is not a disposable or "one use" item:  as long as we are in a body of flesh we will need to repent because we are sinners.  The worldly wisdom concerning sin is to do anything but repent:  try to justify ourselves, make excuses, deny guilt, deflect blame upon others, pander to sin, flaunt and embrace it.  After they sinned Adam and Eve wove fig leaves to cover their nakedness, but God had already defined sin and would hold them accountable despite their vain efforts to hide.  We can use language to cover up the truth but God looks upon the heart.  We cannot justify ourselves, but when we repent of our sin and trust in Christ God justifies us.  By grace through faith in Jesus all our sins are expunged and we are declared righteous as He is.

Praise Jesus for the gift of repentance and forgiveness of sins through Him!  How blessed we are to be loved, accepted, and forgiven by God.

Longsuffering Love

God is infinitely good, and one of the aspects of His character I have appreciated lately is how longsuffering He is.  We labour to avoid suffering however we can, and when we suffer our main objective is to find relief.  If God was not longsuffering, patient, and compassionate He would have wiped us wretched sinners from the globe ages ago.  See how Paul introduces a description of God's love in 1 Corinthians 13:4:  "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up..."  Love suffers long.  The death of Jesus Christ on Calvary was a demonstration of His love:  every insult, physical blow, and slanderous accusation against Him was patiently received.  With every step towards Calvary His longsuffering character was on display.

Having been born again through faith in Jesus Christ, it is God's will this longsuffering love of God would be displayed as we bear our cross daily.  It involves self-sacrifice to walk in love when we are hurting.  I was reminded of this the exhortation to pastor Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:1-2:  "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: ² preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching."  Those who labour in the Word of God rejoice when we see a hunger in people to feed on God's Word and apply it personally to their lives.  As long as we preach the Word, however, there will be a continual flow of people who do not or will not receive it.  If this were not the case why would rebuke, exhortation, and longsuffering continue to be necessary?  I do not say this as one who has great knowledge or understanding but as one who owns being a weak, flawed, and foolish sinner.  It is only by the grace of God I stand and speak.

Oh, to be longsuffering like Jesus!  As He physically hung on the cross covered with His own blood and the spit of people who rejected Him Jesus said, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."  The longsuffering love of God continues beyond what is humanly possible to experience.  When God tells us to love one another, follow Him, and daily bear our cross we cannot do this--I cannot do this.  It is not a difficult thing to walk on the narrow road of the fellowship of Christ's suffering with joy:  it is an impossibility only made possible by the life of Jesus Christ living through us because we by faith have been crucified with Him.  To suffer is never man's aspiration, but to be longsuffering is the calling of every believer.  Suffering naturally produces bitterness, but God's love suffers long and is kind without envy, boasting, pride, and keeps no record of wrongs.  How great God's love is!