The Heart of the Problem

God allows His people to experience situations that put their faith and leadership to the test.  There are tests God brings that refine us, that prompt us to exercise faith in God that builds faith and results in spiritual growth as we trust in God.  There are also tests that reveal our heart, motives and actions to be sinful and in need of repentance.  Tests can reveal what our hearts carefully conceal, the reality about us the LORD knows already.  When Peter denied knowing Jesus three times, it indicated his lack of strength to resist the fear of man and his lack of faith in Christ's word--which resulted in weeping, repentance but ultimately spiritual growth and fruitfulness.

There are examples in Scripture of people who tragically were exposed as lacking faith in God and never seems they came round to repentance and renewed trust in God.  King Saul was one of these people.  He had been a king for a couple years when he commanded the trumpet sound to announce his successful attack on a Philistine garrison so all Hebrews would hear.  This had an unintended effect, for the Philistines responded by invading Israel with horsemen and chariots.  King Saul and his men were filled with fear and some hid in caves, bushes or rocks whilst others crossed the Jordan river to avoid warfare.  As Saul watched his fighting force melt away day after day, on the seventh day he sinned by offering a sacrifice to God when he should have waited for the prophet Samuel to do so according to the word of the LORD.

When confronted by Samuel, the king gave weak excuses to justify his actions:  the people were scattered from him, Samuel had not yet arrived, and the Philistines gathered together.  Instead of obeying the LORD or seeking His counsel, Saul said to himself offering the sacrifice in Samuel's stead was the best course of action.  1 Samuel 13:13-14 says, "And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. ¹⁴ But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you."  King Saul imagined his kingdom and leadership was threatened by the Philistine army, his fearful subjects or Samuel's lack of punctuality when it was his own proud, conceited heart which pried the kingdom from his grasp.

This is remarkable, isn't it?  The Philistine army was a problem for Saul, but it wasn't a problem for God.  Saul's inability to rally and inspire the troops wasn't the problem either.  The test God allowed of the invading army, fleeing fighters and the last-minute arrival of a prophet exposed King Saul as a fool.  This was affirmed when instead of owning up to his sin and humbling himself, Saul vainly tried to justify himself and continued on his proud path to ruin.  He looked to himself, to everything and everyone else rather than God and his kingdom would not be established or continue because of his faithless heart.  As Christians we do well to meditate on this matter, for many times the problems we see around us or in others isn't our problem.  God allows us to face tests that reveal the real problem is the unbelief and pride that runs rampant in our own hearts that undermines the strength and victory found in Jesus alone.

Remember God and King

Knowing we are to bear the infirmities of the weak and to edify one another according to Christ's example, Paul wrote of the Bible in Romans 15:4:  "For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope."  Reading the Scripture illuminates our hearts and minds to reveal the truth about us with the light of God's wisdom, that we naturally follow examples of those who did not trust or rely upon God.  The Bible also illustrates time and again the confidence we can have in God who is faithful to deliver people from sin, adversaries and troubled hearts.

None of us are strangers to bad news, and it seems with the lightning speed of the internet bad news reaches our ears and eyes faster than ever.  Paul's teaching leads us to conclude that what happened in Israel long ago--before the advent of what we call snail mail--remains relevant and edifying for us today.  In 1 Samuel 11, Nahash the Ammonite rose up and encamped against Jabesh-Gilead.  He offered them conditions of peace on the condition he could gouge out every person's right eye.  It doesn't take a genius to know these were terrible and unacceptable terms.  But the men of Jabesh-Gilead responded with a request for 7 days of respite during which they would send messengers with a plea to come to their aid.  If no one responded, they grimly agreed with being disfigured and reproached to save their lives.

From a Christian perspective, it is strange the men of Jabesh-Gilead did not seek the LORD.  They also did not consider Saul had been anointed king to lead God's people to victory in battle.  It was as if in the minds of the people God nor the king He anointed existed, and the people of Jabesh-Gilead had absolutely no confidence in anyone responding to their alarming message.  The passage goes on to say messengers from Jabesh-Gilead arrived at Gibeah where king Saul lived.  Instead of seeking audience with the king in person, they told the bad news to the people.   1 Samuel 11:4-5 reads, "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. ⁵ Now there was Saul, coming behind the herd from the field; and Saul said, "What troubles the people, that they weep?" And they told him the words of the men of Jabesh."  The response of the people of Gibeah were as faithless as those of Jabesh-Gilead, for they too mourned without thought of God or their king without any expectation of help, hope or deliverance!

It was only after Saul inquired he heard what was the matter in 1 Samuel 11:6-7:  "Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard this news, and his anger was greatly aroused. ⁷ So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, "Whoever does not go out with Saul and Samuel to battle, so it shall be done to his oxen." And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent."  When the king was finally informed of the trouble the people of Jabesh-Gilead faced, the Spirit of God came upon Saul and he mustered the people to battle immediately.  Within a day the people of Jabesh-Gilead were delivered from Nahash the Ammonite by God's grace, and Saul's actions galvanised the nation Israel in the fear of God.

Because this passage has been provided for our learning, it reveals the tendency of God's people upon hearing bad news is not to consider the promises, presence or power of God--nor the King He has ordained.  In the case of Christians today, when situations cause us to feel powerless and helpless, we can send messages to other men rather than seeking the LORD.  When we hear bad news that overwhelms us concerning others, we can grieve and mourn without any thought of our anointed King Jesus who is a deliverer and Saviour.  We would love to see ourselves as king Saul in this analogy, but even Saul could not do anything to help unless he had been first filled with the Holy Spirit and given wisdom by God.  It is good for us to own the fact we naturally and perhaps often resemble the men of Jabesh-Gilead and Gibeah so we might change our ways in the fear of God and look to Jesus our Saviour as we cast our cares upon Him.

Admonish as Brothers

"And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. ¹⁵ Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother."

2 Thessalonians 3:14-15

In his second letter to the church in Thessalonica, Paul issued corrections and instructions concerning those who were idle and disorderly.  He directed Christians who observed unruly believers to warn the disobedient and to avoid company with them for the purpose of repentance and restoration.  In this case social pressure to obey God and walk in holiness served a good purpose, for shame and conviction over sin provided strong motivation to repent and live in the way that pleases God and fostered unity in the church.

Paul said a fellow Christian who erred was not to be treated as an enemy but believers were to "admonish him as a brother."  Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines to admonish as, "to teach, warn counsel, to reprove with mildness."  Not only was correction and instruction to be done in a gentle fashion but with the same approach as one would with a brother.  They were not to admonish as a boss to a worker or a parent to a child:  they were to admonish as equals who shared the same God and Saviour.  While brothers have different personalities, they have more in common than anyone else on the planet.  Brothers share the same parents, genetics, upbringing, and usually a last name.  On the basis of their relationship as family, brothers ought to be committed to one another and to love one another regardless of differences or mistakes.  While people may fall short of this ideal, it is a noble aspiration.

If brothers are committed to support and help each other on the basis of their temporal relationship, how much more sacrificial our love, patience and grace be towards brothers and sisters in Christ whom Jesus loves and has purchased with His own blood?  We have been redeemed by the same Saviour and received the same forgiveness, acceptance and love of God, and thus we are supernaturally equipped by the Holy Spirit and guided to extend the same to all our Christian brethren.  Tragically we in the church--like all sinners--fall short of God's standard of perfection, and we can be unwilling to work on our sanctification or labour to admonish our brothers at all.  Somehow we imagine someone else should be held responsible to do what God demands of us.  Lack of love and unity are results when we allow grievances to fester, respond to sin with harshness, or admonish like an angry judge does a criminal when we are just as crooked ourselves.

It may be we have been admonished (and rightfully so) but not in a kind or gentle way, but we ought to receive it in the loving manner such admonition ought to have been given.  We can receive instruction and correction from the hand of our Saviour from a rude messenger as from the LORD.  Let us give grace as those who instruct as well as those who are being taught by our LORD Jesus.  We may fail to warn or reprove those who err with mildness, and we have been guilty of ignoring rebuke because it was not done with the right heart--but who among men is always right but Jesus?  Be certain of this, brothers and sisters, that the way to give and receive reproof and correction is when we walk in the love of God and one another.  Instead of seeing a Christian brother or sister as an enemy, let us admonish them (when needed!) as brethren we love and are committed to loving forever because of the relationship we share with God our Father.

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.