Made Free Indeed!

After years of warfare and a siege, the city of Jerusalem was finally broken up during the reign of king Zedekiah.  Instead of surrendering to Nebuchadnezzar and serving him as directed by God, he tried to flee by night by way of the plain.  Jeremiah 52:8-11 details what followed, and it is not at all pleasant:  "But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king, and they overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. All his army was scattered from him. ⁹ So they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he pronounced judgment on him. ¹⁰ Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. And he killed all the princes of Judah in Riblah. ¹¹ He also put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him in bronze fetters, took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death."  Zedekiah's army was scattered and could not save him, and he was taken captive.  He was found to be guilty, was made to witness the excecution of his sons, was rendered blind, bound and remained incarcerated until his death in Babylon.

It is unimaginable to consider what king Zedekiah went through as a consequence of his rebellion against the king of Babylon.  He was taken to a foreign land shrouded in darkness, fed the bread and water of affliction by those who despised him and there was no one to take him by the hand.  Zedekiah was subjected to unspeakable horrors in a prison without hope of escape or release.  His degradation was complete as he rotted away in chains until the day of his death, hopeless and in inescapable darkness.  It occurred to me this is a spiritual image of many people today who are bound by sin, hopeless and helpless to deliver themselves.  God has already given the standards of His righteousness in the law and judgment in His word, for He says "The soul who sins shall die" (Ezekiel 18:20).  Such spend the remainder of their time on earth in bonds of iniquity awaiting eternal judgment without hope of salvation or redemption.

Unlike Zedekiah, these people are not in physical chains in an actual prison.  Their physical eyes can see the bright blue sky as they enjoy fine dining fit for a king and travel at their pleasure.  Their family increases in size as does their portfolio.  They have armies of close friends and acquaintances who view them with respect and affection.  But they do not realise spiritually they are imprisoned in darkness, without hope, blind to their need of spiritual regeneration, dead in sins.  In a parable Jesus told it was not until the younger son lost his inheritance and was finally "in want" that he came to his senses and considered returning to his father as a servant.  I do not know if Zedekiah repented in his cell and turned to the LORD, but would have been wise to do so as there is everlasting hope, comfort and peace in Him.  This is a redemptive aspect in trials allowed by God, for even blind Samson called out to God for strength and was heard.  It took being physically blinded by Jesus for Saul to call Jesus LORD who opened his eyes to see and changed him from inside out.

Praise the LORD Jesus has come and fulfilled the words written in Isaiah 61:1:  "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound..."  For those who need healing, are held captive, to those who are bound Jesus has good news!  The power of God that literally caused the bonds to fall from Peter's hands in prison and caused the gate to swing open "of its own accord" is the God who seeks to save us.  Instead of the bread and water of affliction Jesus is the Living Bread that comes down from heaven who gives eternal life and provides the Living Water of the Holy Spirit Who regenerates and refreshes our souls.  The Messiah who opened the eyes of people born blind can restore spiritual sight by His grace.  The testimony of Paul rejoicing even in chains for the sake of the Gospel confirms the word of Jesus in John 8:36:  "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed."

The KING Who Saves

Today in New South Wales has been deemed a public holiday to mourn the passing of Queen Elizabeth, the longest serving monarch in British history.  During a recent drive I heard an ABC radio presenter ask a British guest and royal expert if there was a special place in heaven for those who reigned as kings and queens on earth.  After a brief explanation from a general Christian worldview, the guest replied there was not a special place for royals in heaven.  He hinted the only recognised king in heaven is the LORD Jesus Christ, the KING OF KINGS, whom Queen Elizabeth worshipped as His loyal subject.  Those who are faithful in service and honour God in their duties as Queen Elizabeth did embrace virtues intrinsic to Jesus Christ Himself.

As I viewed clips of the royals singing hymns and the national anthem "God Save the King," it struck me members of the British royal family sing these songs to God and these words are not a petition to themselves.  In the simple act of singing, whether or not a royal actually believes in the existence or anointing of God, it demonstrates the king, queen, princes and princesses are all under God whose reign is everlasting and sovereignty absolute.  On earth people make requests of their rulers, and those who rule best are those who submit themselves under the almighty God.  The history of Israel makes this plain, as the kings who feared God gained the respect and adoration of the people.  The outpouring of mourning for the passing of Queen Elizabeth into eternity is a testimony of God's favour upon her and her people.

I imagine since Queen Elizabeth had faith in Christ, her view would align with king David who said he would be content to be a doorkeeper in the house of the LORD than be anywhere else.  The apostle Paul said he preferred to be in the presence of God in heaven rather than remain on earth in his body.  By the power of the Gospel every believer is on the same footing as adopted children of God and look forward to our eternal habitation with Jesus in glory.  In the kingdom of God both royals and common folk, Jews and Gentiles are united in the body of Jesus Christ the church, having been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ.  In a biblical sense those who are born again are royalty, having been accepted into the beloved.  As royalty, we are privileged to serve God in a unique capacity.  On earth kings and queens are worthy of honour, having been appointed by God, and it is our honour to serve the KING OF KINGS Jesus Christ because He is worthy in Himself.  Jesus is the God who saves, the LORD to whom British royals and commoners alike sing:

God save our gracious King!

Long live our noble King!

God save the King!

Send him victorious,

Happy and glorious,

Long to reign over us,

God save the King.

Thy choicest gifts in store

On him be pleased to pour,

Long may he reign.

May he defend our laws,

And ever give us cause,

To sing with heart and voice,

God save the King.

The Scriptures and Power of God

In a single statement speaking to the Sadducees, Jesus connected man's tendency of error with ignorance of what God has said in the the Bible and the knowledge of God's power.  The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, and thus presented Jesus a contrived question they thought was a real stumper.  The problem was, in their attempt to expose Jesus and His doctrine as false their own folly was exposed in unbelief.  Their ignorance of the scriptures led to great error as Mark 12:24 shows:  "Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?"

The word "mistaken" or "err" in the KJV has the sense in the original Greek, "to cause to wander, to lead astray."  When we say a person "made a mistake" it could be synonymous with saying someone accidentally said the wrong thing or misspoke.  Jesus said this was more than than, for the Sadducees were deceived, having wandered from the truth of God's word, and likely influenced others to do the same.  It is written in Psalm 119:105 of the scripture, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."  With the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth, a born-again believer can rightly divide God's word and thus discern good and erroneous doctrine.  Knowing the scriptures prevents us from being misled by lies and wandering from Jesus.  What we know and believe deeply impacts the way we think and how we live.

Jesus said the mistaken notions of the Sadducees also stemmed from ignorance of God's power.  The Sadducees did not believe in the miraculous, so it might be said they did believe in the God of scripture Who spoke the world into existence according to His infinite wisdom and power.  It is seen plainly in the first chapter of Genesis, not to mention throughout the whole Torah.  The Bible comprised of 66 books we hold in our hands today is filled with examples in the Old and New Testament which reveal God's power that God would be feared and worshipped.  Reading of God's power does not become truly personal until we are born again by faith in Jesus Christ, and then the power of God becomes real to us by the indwelling Holy Spirit who regenerates us.  After Jesus opens our understanding to comprehend the scriptures, our understanding of God's infinite power increases also.

How valuable is knowledge of the scriptures and the power of God to keep us from deceptions, wandering from the truth, and prevent us from leading others to ruin!  The scriptures will endure forever by the power of God, and we are saved and kept by God's power displayed by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  What God says He will do, and His mighty works reveal His power now and forever.  May we receive the truth of God's word and walk in light of it, our lives a proclamation of His power to raise the dead to new life.

God-Fearing and Withholding

God tested Abraham by directing him to offer his only and beloved son Isaac as a burnt offering, and Abraham obeyed God without question.  Three days later after the altar had been fashioned, the wood placed in order, Isaac willingly bound and laid thereon, Abraham picked up the knife to slay his son.  The Angel of the LORD cried out from heaven and said in Genesis 22:12:  "And He said, "Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."  I was quite struck by what God said and how He said it.

God did not say in so many words, "Now I now you fear God since you offered your only son to Me."  One reason why this is significant is because it is common for people to point to the things they do to justify themselves as righteous or being "God-fearing."  They go to church, read the Bible, give generously to people in need.  They could be like King Saul who masked his disobedience and greed by sparing the best of the flocks and herds of the Amalekites to offer a sacrifice to the LORD when in God's estimation to obey is better than sacrifice.  A Pharisee in a parable Jesus told illustrates the one well who looks to their deeds as worthy of favour in God's eyes (and thus despise others who do not measure up to their standard) in Luke 18:9-12:  "Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰ "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'"  This man justified himself by what he did, and did not consider what he withheld from God.

A passage that speaks powerfully on the danger of withholding from God under the guise of giving all is seen in Acts 5 with Ananias and Sapphira.  They sold a possession, schemed to kept back part of the proceeds for themselves and gave with the clear claim they gave all.  In lying to the Holy Spirit they lied to God by withholding part of the proceeds, and Ananias and Sapphira within hours died one after the other.  It is likely many would have touted their righteous deeds and pious generosity when it masked greed, covetousness and deceit God knew about.  In connecting this passage with Genesis 22, our decision not to withhold from God what is most precious is a better indicator if we are walking in the fear of the LORD than all we give Him.  Perhaps Ananias and Sapphira lay the larger portion at the disciples' feet, but their choosing to withhold from God exposed a lack of the fear of God by their deceit.  The rich young ruler walked away from Jesus sad because he was unwilling to obey Jesus and give all.  His choice to keep his goods was not an indictment against having possessions but of the heart that withholds obedience from Christ.

As we are to honour God with our lives and possessions, we ought to honour Him with our words.  After God spoke to young Samuel about what He was going to do, the high priest Eli pressed him with an oath to tell him all God said.  1 Samuel 3:17-19 reads, "And he said, "What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you." ¹⁸ Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, "It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him." ¹⁹ So Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground."  Because God was going to bring judgment upon Eli and his house, it would have been tempting to withhold from saying all.  But Samuel told him everything and hid nothing.  Notice what followed:  Samuel grew in maturity, the LORD was with him and let none of his words fall to the ground.

Isn't this what we desire as followers of Jesus, to grow in spiritual maturity, to experience the LORD's presence and for our words to count?  If we are held back in our walk with our Saviour, the lack of our fear of God can have something to do with it.  Rather than justifying ourselves for all we have given, a better indicator of our hearts is to consider if we have chosen to withhold anything from God.