Recounting Victory

When we read the Bible and observe what God has done in the past, we are reminded of God's power to save today.  We glory in the LORD who previously delivered His people in Scripture, and we can also be confident in God's salvation in the future.  God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  It is we who are forgetful and need reminders of God's faithfulness to help and deliver His people.

Psalm 78:40-42 shows the awful consequences when God's people forget what God has done:  "How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, and grieved Him in the desert! ⁴¹ Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. ⁴² They did not remember His power: the day when He redeemed them from the enemy..."  The Hebrews in the wilderness may have remembered the series of plagues God brought upon the Egyptians, but they forgot His power and redemption to save them in current distress.  They provoked, grieved and tempted God because they acted like He was distant and small, unable or unwilling to help them in time of need.  Had they remembered God's purpose in the plagues that led to them being set free in the past it could have resulted in faith in God presently.

After the children of Israel departed from Egypt, Moses told Joshua to fight against Amalek.  When the hands of Moses were lifted up Joshua prevailed, but when his arms dropped Amalek gained the advantage.  Moses was provided a stone for a chair and Aaron and Hur helped support his arms, and the LORD brought a great victory.  Exodus 17:13-16 reads, "So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. ¹⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." ¹⁵ And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner; ¹⁶ for he said, "Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."  Moses was directed to write down a memorial of the LORD's victory and promise to contend with Amalek until he and his people were eradicated and left without memory.

Not only was a record of God's victory written, but it was to be recounted or rehearsed in the hearing of Joshua.  Over the years Joshua would have many battles against the Amalekites, and they would continue to be thorns in the eyes of Israel for many years.  As Joshua approached another future battle with Amalek, he was to remember the time when God gave him victory in the past and take heart in faith God would ultimately defeat and destroy Amalek in the future--permanently.  This reminds me of the victory Jesus won on the cross by defeating Satan, sin and death.  Skirmishes still continue to this day in our lives, but God will see the blight of Satan, sin and death destroyed forever, even blotted out of memory.  Knowing what Jesus has accomplished and what He has promised moves us to trust and praise Him in current conflicts, knowing He is our Saviour will deliver us.  How good it is we are reminded of God's victories in the past, because in doing so we are assured of His future deliverance and ultimate victory.

Random Blessings

I am often intrigued by the odd and unusual--especially in advertising.  Yesterday it was a brand name that sparked my interest:  Random Harvest.  This is apparently a well-known brand used for gift hampers in Australia that has been in business since 1981, but not well-known enough for me to have heard of it after living Down Under for over a decade!  It was amusing to consider how tasty a salad dressing could possibly be if it was compiled of a harvest of random ingredients.  I would imagine the dressings and chutneys produced would render the brand infamous and be out of business before long.  If by "random" it implies unexpectedly good perhaps it works, yet it remains a stretch.

This prompted me to think of an occasion in the Bible when a random harvest had terrible consequences.  2 Kings 4:38-40 reads, "And Elisha returned to Gilgal, and there was a famine in the land. Now the sons of the prophets were sitting before him; and he said to his servant, "Put on the large pot, and boil stew for the sons of the prophets." ³⁹ So one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and sliced them into the pot of stew, though they did not know what they were. ⁴⁰ Then they served it to the men to eat. Now it happened, as they were eating the stew, that they cried out and said, "Man of God, there is death in the pot!" And they could not eat it."  During a famine food was scarce, and when men found wild gourds on a random vine they included them in a stew.  It seems some who ate the poisoned concoction experienced sudden violent illness from the gourds and no one could (or would!) eat the stew after that.

Then the LORD did an amazing thing through Elisha the prophet in 2 Kings 4:41:  "So he said, "Then bring some flour." And he put it into the pot, and said, "Serve it to the people, that they may eat." And there was nothing harmful in the pot."  It seems random Elisha asked the people to bring flour and he put it into the pot--an ingredient typically used to thicken a stew, not purge it of poison.  When the people followed the directive of Elisha and by faith in God ate, the ill-effects of the gourds were neutralised.  While the addition of flour was unexpected, the provision of food was not random at all:  it was a means of God revealing His power over death and ability to provide sustenance for those who trust Him even in the midst of a famine.  To us God's ways seem random at times, but He has good plans and redemptive purposes even in a bad stew.  A failed dish can frustrate us even when no one has been poisoned, but even should that happen God is still worthy of our trust and obedience.

Seeing God at Work

Today in church we sang "Battle Belongs" by Phil Wickham.  The lyrics go, "When all I see are the ashes, You see the beauty, thank You, God.  When all I see is a cross, God, You see the empty tomb."  We often need to be reminded of God's love, power and purposes in the past, how He has been faithful to redeem trials for our good and His glory.  Should we be left to our own devices and walk by sight or how we feel, we can miss the redemptive power of God who uses tribulation to draw us to Himself.

Recently in conversation a friend of mine referenced "hard ground" in ministry, how it seems difficult or nigh impossible to make an impact on others when they are resistant to the Gospel.  In thinking over the phrase, it struck me how man has discovered techniques and developed tools to deal with hard ground.  If digging a hole for a post or tree is too difficult for a spade, a mattock or digging bar may do the job.  It is sometimes advisable to soak the area with water to soften the soil or to try digging after rain.  Should a rotary hammer or jackhammer fail to make headway through rock in a mine, professional earth-moving equipment or even dynamite has been used to blast through hard ground.

It is good for us to acknowledge there is hard ground beyond our ability to dig through by our efforts, yet at the same time to focus on God's miraculous way of cutting up hard ground without breaking a sweat.  Indeed, we likely are able to recognise hard ground in others because we have that same tendency in our own hearts:  the hard ground of pride, self-sufficiency and unbelief in God often develops inside us.  I take great comfort in God's word in Zechariah 4:6-7:  "So he answered and said to me: "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the LORD of hosts. ⁷ 'Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of "Grace, grace to it!"  How awesome is God?  The hardest heart can be pierced by God's word easier than a spade cuts through loose sand.

We might lament the ashes of our ruined dreams, the high cost of obedience, or the hard ground we wish was soft, yet we can gladly turn our eyes to God Who can move mountains with His word alone.  While we struggle to dig a small hole in the earth, God can shift mountains of unbelief by the power of the Holy Spirit.  He can redeem the death of His only begotten Son and provide grace and salvation to all lost sinners by grace through faith in Him.  Rather than being an obstacle, the mountain is an opportunity for God to show His might, majesty and sovereignty over all--starting with us believing Him.

Insight From Cain

It is one thing to point out the folly of those who reject God and do not believe in Him, yet it is far more relevant and needful for believers to recognise our folly so we might repent of it.  God's people were unable to enter the land of Canaan because of unbelief in God, and thus were unwilling and disobedient.  Those whose carcasses fell in the desert after the exodus from Egypt are an example for followers of Jesus today, for they illustrate our sinful tendencies that remain after being born again.  There are countless examples in the Old and New Testament that demonstrate the prevalence of sin and the sobering consequences.

One might think after Cain was called out for the murder of his brother Abel, he would admit he was guilty.  Not so!  When God asked Cain where Abel was he replied, "I don't know.  Am I my brother's keeper?"  His lying response had an accusatory tone, as if God was inquiring about a situation that was none of His business.  After God revealed He knew all about Abel's murder, instead of expressing repentance or sorrow he blamed God for chastening him:  "My punishment is greater than I can bear!  You have driven me out this day from the face of the earth!" ( quotes from Gen. 4:8-14)  Now lying and murder were not explicit commands Cain broke, and thus he did not transgress a law--but sin that lay at the door overpowered Cain, and he rebelled against God in pride.

Would you believe Christians can be guilty of the proud, rebellious attitude we see on display in Cain?  Though Cain sinned, he was preoccupied with himself and how badly he was being treated.  This is rich, coming from a fellow who just killed his brother in cold blood!  Cain painted God as the villain in his story when Cain's refusal to fear God and humble himself led to his pains as the consequence of his foolish choices, even after God warned him.  We can feel sorry for ourselves with a "Woe is me!" hopeless attitude without the second part of Isaiah's statement, "I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips..."  Isaiah owned his sin and the sins of his people, citing his unworthiness to see or speak with God in humility.  In Cain we see no contrition whatsoever:  he only felt bad about himself and lamented the curse sin brought upon him.  Cain was angry to be driven out from the presence of the LORD, yet the reality was he had spiritually checked out long before then.  What should have been a reality check to prompt repentance, Cain used as an excuse to spitefully blame God and go his own way.

When we are convicted or made aware of our sins before God, rather than trying to deflect blame on anyone else (including God) or feel sorry for ourselves, let us confess and repent of our sin daily in humility.  Just because we have fallen short of God's glory makes Him no less glorious and powerful to save.  Imagine our failure to do right being a wedge that hinders us from submission to the holy, righteous God Who is our life!  Hebrews 3:12-13 says, "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; ¹³ but exhort one another daily, while it is called "Today," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."  Sin is so deceitful we can come to a place of blaming and condemning God for sin we chose over Him and the consequences of sin in our lives.  God allows us to fail and fall into sin so we would realise how much we have yet to rely on Him fully.  He helps us begin to see the ugly, sinful truth about ourselves when we imagined we could overcome sin by the effort of our flesh when only God can do that.  Do not allow the ugliness of your sin rob God of His beauty and worthiness to be praised, trusted and obeyed.