Hearing God's Words

When correspondence is written to us personally, it changes the way we receive it.  I remember holding letters from local politicians up to the light to see if it was actually signed by the dignitary or merely printed coloured ink.  If it was signed by hand it wouldn't have changed my view of the policies--but I would have respected our government representative more.  Personal letters ought to be taken personally, for they were sent to an individual in particular.  A letter directed to you ought to have more impact than a news article or encyclopedia entry, for within could be a call to action or request that requires a response.

The reading of the Law of Moses certainly made an impact on king Josiah after it was found in 2 Kings 22:10-11:  "Then Shaphan the scribe showed the king, saying, "Hilkiah the priest has given me a book." And Shaphan read it before the king. ¹¹ Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes."  Tearing clothes was a sign of grief and mourning, and the king gave the command in 2 Kings 22:13:  "Go, inquire of the LORD for me, for the people and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found; for great is the wrath of the LORD that is aroused against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us."  Needless to say, king Josiah took God's words very seriously.  I would be hard pressed to say reading the Bible ever provoked such a strong, immediate response like this.

As born again Christians, the Bible ought to have a powerful influence upon us because we believe it is God's word spoken to us personally.  God's word is living and powerful, and it is sharp as a two-edged sword that pierces our hearts and exposes our motives.  Our lack of any emotional response to the Scripture can be an indication of hardness of heart in us and even dullness from much hearing.  One thing the Bible cannot be is boring, for it holds forth the words of life to our thirsty, starving souls by our awesome Creator who loves us.  The truth of the Bible washes over us, purifying our minds from deceptions and assumptions we continue to carry, and guides us into all truth.

While we may not tear our clothes after hearing a passage of Scripture, the God who looks upon the heart takes notice.  2 Kings 22:18-19 tells us the message of God through the prophetess:  "But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, in this manner you shall speak to him, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel: "Concerning the words which you have heard--¹⁹ because your heart was tender, and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you," says the LORD."  King Josiah heard the word of the LORD and wept, and in response God also heard him.  Josiah sowed in tears and reaped in joy as he received God's words of comfort and peace.  Let us be those who read God's word with humble, contrite hearts, for such are the ones who will hear our Father's voice in fellowship.

Seeing the Big Picture

While drawing spiritual parallels from biblical historical accounts can provide insights, we must remain vigilant to survey the big picture.  For example, this morning I read 1 Samuel 7 which explains how the Ark of the Covenant remained in the home of Abinadab for 20 years before the children of Israel returned to the LORD with all their hearts, put away their idols and served God only.  For a long time the nation of Israel had been oppressed by the Philistines, and drawing near to God according to His covenant was an important step in their restoration.  The Hebrews gathered at the word of Samuel and humbled themselves before God in acknowledging their sin with fasting and repentance.

The Philistines heard the Hebrews had gathered in Mizpeh, and they decided it provided an opportune time to attack.  The people were likely weakened from their fast and not organised to fight a battle, so it seemed they would be easy prey.  Some might read this passage and draw a spiritual parallel, that when God's people take steps to be right with God and serve Him the enemy of our souls will muster forces to attack.  We do observe it was after Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness and hungry from an extended fast Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread.  While this interpretation may have merit, it is not the whole story.  If we hold fast to this interpretation of events on a spiritual level, we do a disservice to ignore what happened later.  Focusing on the enemy attack or satanic temptation results in poor--even unbiblical--personal application.

When the people saw the advancing Philistines, they were afraid and asked Samuel to intercede on their behalf with God.  Samuel cried out to God, and God heard him.  1 Samuel 7:10 reads, "Now as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But the LORD thundered with a loud thunder upon the Philistines that day, and so confused them that they were overcome before Israel."  In response to the cries of His people, God delivered them from their adversaries with a mighty hand, for He thundered against them.  The passage goes on to say in 1 Samuel 7:13-14, "So the Philistines were subdued, and they did not come anymore into the territory of Israel. And the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. ¹⁴ Then the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron to Gath; and Israel recovered its territory from the hands of the Philistines. Also there was peace between Israel and the Amorites."  When the enemies of Israel seized an opportunity to fight and overcome Israel, God fought for His people, overcame their enemies, kept the Philistines out of Israel's territory, and restored cities long inhabited by Philistines!  God brought peace where there had only been oppression and warfare.

For those who would use the 1 Samuel 7 passage to suggest we ought to expect opposition when we turn to the LORD and serve Him wholly, we also ought to praise God because He will deliver us!  After the temptations of Satan proved futile, the Gospels of Matthew and Mark say after the devil left him angels came and ministered unto Him.  God allowed Job to suffer at the hands of Satan with the aim to doubly bless him in the end and reveal His compassion and mercy (James 5:11).  The devil imagined he could destroy Jesus on Calvary, but by God's grace the death of Jesus ushered in the means of justification and salvation for all sinners forever.  From these passages the big picture is revealed, that whenever God allows attacks and trials God is able to redeem them as a massive win for those who love Him.

If we only focus on the likelihood of attacks for seeking the LORD and serving Him, it follows people may conclude opposition is validation of their piety.  A better interpretation and application is to realise our sovereign God is able to deliver, save and minister to us because He preserves us by His grace.  Let us be those who cry out to Him for salvation and abide in His word.  John 8:31-32 says, "Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. ³² And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."  In Christ we are free from the shackles of worry, sin, fear and pride, and we are free to worship, praise and thank God for His salvation.  As it is written in Psalm 34:6, "This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles."  More than focusing on enemy attacks or what we must do to overcome, how good it is to rejoice in our Saviour who hears and saves us out of all our troubles.

Rejoicing in Christ

I enjoy reading good books that provoke reflection and provide insight into living like Jesus Christ.  I especially like concrete examples that aid personal application of points being made.  In Spiritual Leadership, a list from the Life of Robert E Speer was provided for leaders to measure their maturity in practical and timeless ways.  Most of those listed were things to avoid because it is our natural, fleshly inclination we all suffer from in various degrees.  Here are some I found most useful:

• Not to murmur at the multitude of business or the shortness of time but to buy up the time all around.
• Not to groan when letters are brought in; not even a murmur.
• Not to magnify undertaken duties by seeming to suffer under them, but to treat all as liberties and gladness...
• Before censuring anyone, obtain from God a real love for him.  Be sure that you know and that you allow all allowances that can be made.  Otherwise, how ineffective, how unintelligible or perhaps provocative your best-meant censure may be.
• Oh, how well it doth make for peace to be silent about others, not to believe everything without discernment, and not to go on easily telling things.
• Not to seek praise, gratitude, respect or regard from superiors or equals of age or past service.
• Not to feel uneasiness when your advice or opinion is not asked or is set aside.
• Never to let yourself be placed in favorable contrast with another.
• Not to hunger for conversation to  turn of yourself.
• To seek no favor, no compassion; to deserve, not to ask for, tenderness.
• To bear blame rather than share or transmit it.
• When credit for your own design or execution is given to another, not to be disturbed, but to give thanks. (Sanders, J. Oswald. Spiritual Leadership. Marshall Pickering, 1986. pages 118-119)

There is much in the world, in the church and in ourselves that can be disheartening when we focus on faults and failures.  But when we learn to trust God, continue to cast our cares on Jesus, and expect to see the goodness of God in the land of the living, we will experience comfort from the LORD as we rejoice in our Saviour.  Examining the motivations of our hearts and walking in integrity before God and man is our calling and a blessing afforded us as God's beloved children.  By God's grace and the power of the Holy Spirit we can implement Philippians 4:4 in all seasons of life because Jesus is our Life:  "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!"

Saved to Stand

History has shown even those who believe God exists and attribute power to Him often choose to reject Him.  The Egyptians realised the God of the Hebrews fought against them when suddenly their chariot wheels began falling off as they tried to pursue them through the Red Sea.  The testimony of Rahab in Jericho showed the miraculous, marvelous power of God had been voiced throughout the region with the plagues He poured out on Egypt, yet those in Jericho did not worship Him.  In a passage I read this morning, the Philistines believed the God of Israel was responsible for the deadly tumours and plague of mice that ravaged the land wherever the ark of God was carried, yet they continued to cling to their idol Dagon.  God's own people were guilty of forsaking the worship of God in their service to idols who never once saved them.

In a rather humorous way, the Bible describes what happened when the ark of God was captured and placed by the image of Dagon in the Philistine temple.  1 Samuel 5:3-5 says, "And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again. ⁴ And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon's torso was left of it. ⁵ Therefore neither the priests of Dagon nor any who come into Dagon's house tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this day."  It is likely the image of Dagon had never toppled over until the ark of God was brought into his temple.  The irony is after Dagon fell over a second time and his head and hands broke off--leaving only a stump--the Philistine priests and people reverenced the threshold where Dagon fell rather than transferring their allegiance to the God before whom Dagon bowed.

Recently I viewed a clip of a hardened atheist who railed upon God for the suffering He allows people to endure, yet his worldview does not provide him or anyone else comfort from suffering in this supposedly godless world.  All the rage the fellow expressed remained impotent to redeem the past or provide a bright future for him:  so it is for all who make a covenant with death.  The amazing thing about the living God is He chose to come to earth as a man and suffer a bloody death at the hands of murderous humanity on the cross on Calvary so whosoever might believe in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.  The resurrection of Jesus from the dead and ascension to heaven reveals His power over sin and death, and by faith in Him we have a living, enduring hope.  God demonstrated His love for us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us so we might live with Him.

The God who created mankind has suffered more rejection than everyone else combined, yet He remains gracious and loving towards us.  Despite people throughout the ages to this day who reverence rocks, stones and themselves over the true God, He stays faithful and is worthy to be praised.  Let us be numbered among those who cast aside our idols and wrath and faithfully cling to Him, for He able to set us back on our feet after we have fallen.  When we suffer, He draws us to Himself with words of comfort, love and peace.  He supports us, despite our wretchedness and folly, with His redemptive power and everlasting arms.  Psalm 20:6-8 expresses our great confidence in Christ:  "Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed; He will answer him from His holy heaven with the saving strength of His right hand. ⁷ Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. ⁸ They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright."