Faith to Go or Remain

After the LORD led David and his men to recover their families and goods from an Amalekite raiding party, David established a statue in Israel that the spoil would be split evenly between those who fought on the field of battle and those who remained behind with the stuff.  Those who went were not to be rewarded more than those who served by staying.  Both played vital roles to the same victorious end, whether they pursued the enemy or protected their position.

God told Abraham to leave his family and country and go to the land God would show him.  He demonstrated faith in God through his obedience to God's command.  It can also be a demonstration of faith to stay and settle when you would rather be elsewhere.  The Jews were taken into captivity in Babylon and God told them it would be for 70 years.  The temptation was to hope the time would be shortened so they could return to the land of their inheritance in Israel, to resist putting down roots in Babylon because they wanted to move on.  What was the point of the drudgery of moving rocks, digging wells, laying foundations, tilling the ground and building fences on property that wasn't your own?  Well, by faith in God is a simple answer.

God spoke through Elasah and Gemariah to His people in Jeremiah 29:4-7:  "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who were carried away captive, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit.⁶ Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters--that you may be increased there, and not diminished. ⁷ And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the LORD for it; for in its peace you will have peace."  It is important to point out these weren't the only voices God's people heard, for there were many false prophets and diviners who were spouting forth the opposite.  They claimed to have revelations from God in dreams and prophesied in God's name, but He did not send them.  The message preached by Elasah and Gemariah required faith in God to receive and submit to, to stay and send down roots in a foreign land when their preference was to go home.

Knowing the LORD God had sovereignly caused the captivity of His people helped them to walk in obedience to Him.  By faith in God they were enabled to accept the fact they may not live to see the day they would return to Israel, but in seeking the peace of the city where God brought them practically and in prayer they would find peace in the LORD's presence.  Those who trusted and obeyed God, who spent their money and made the effort to put down permanent roots in Babylon, would be fruitful and blessed by God's grace.  Paul's exhortation to servants is fitting for us in Colossians 3:22-24:  "Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. ²³ And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ."  I expect many who were slaves could think of little else but obtaining freedom, yet they could stay in that role and be made fruitful by faith in God Who grants the "reward of the inheritance."  There is no one more free than those set free by faith in Jesus Christ.

Keep Believing in God

When I was in year 2 at a private school we learned to write in cursive and the multiplication table up to 12.  The following year I began attending a local public school where students in year 3 were taught these for the first time!  I remember the teacher being skeptical when I told her I already learned to write in cursive and she had me come up to the board to demonstrate my skill or experience public humiliation.  I ended up being her "assistant" for that portion of the class in the following months.

The style of schooling I was exposed to in both a private and public setting was to learn the basics and then move onto something new.  Students are taught to add and subtract, then multiply and divide, and then incorporate what they have already learned into problems with fractions and decimals.  There comes a time when you have taken your last formal maths course and graduate from school, likely pleased that season of life is now complete.  This concept of taking a class, learning and finishing the work can seep into the Christian life and lead us to believe once we learn facts from the Bible or comprehend the basics of the Gospel we grow up, graduate and move to our chosen electives of interest--like prophecy, eschatology and spiritual gifts!

One thing we must learn and be continually reminded of is knowing does not mean we are doing.  The ability to define sanctification does not mean we are embracing it daily; to be able to turn to passages that exhort us to forgive others does not mean we are free of resentment and bitterness towards people we know.  We may have come to Jesus and placed our faith in Him as young children, but this does not mean we are trusting Him today.  With every moment God provides new opportunities to believe and rely upon Him like never before, so we can exercise the most basic and fundamental aspects of Christian faith.  There are many examples in scripture of this, and Daniel comes to mind.  He was an intelligent man brought from Jerusalem and trained in the language and laws of the Babylonians and then was appointed to a high-ranking leadership role in the Median and Persian empire as well.

Though Daniel had been brought from his city, people and culture, he continued to pray three times a day to the almighty God.  He did this even when legislation passed that forbade praying to anyone but the king for 30 days under punishment of death.  Daniel had never faced a situation like this before.  He didn't need to know anything new or require a fresh revelation from God to continue seeking the LORD he served in prayer and thanksgiving.  Daniel was arrested and thrown into the lion's den, and God miraculously preserved his life from the ravenous beasts.  Daniel 6:23 reads, "Then the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God."  Daniel was hauled to safety unhurt and was delivered because "he believed in his God," the living God who created all things, knows everyone who trusts Him and is a Saviour.

Daniel believed in his God when he prayed three times a day in his own room, and he also believed in his God when he was thrown to the lions--a situation he had never before experienced.  His fellow rulers were like lions, prowling around and stalking him as prey, but God delivered Daniel from their schemes because he believed in his God.  Belief in God is a simple concept a child can understand, but we are called to keep believing God in everyday situations and in unprecedented ones like being thrown into a burning furnace or a den of hungry lions.  The fact Daniel trusted God in the lion's den did not guarantee he would trust God in trivial matters later that morning or afternoon.  Belief in God isn't something we do and move on from doing because it is impossible to grow spiritually or be pleasing to God without exercising it.  To advance in knowledge while neglecting simple belief in God means we are regressing, not progressing.

Our Hope In KING Jesus

I've been reading a compilation of A.W. Tozer's sermons titled Going Higher With God in Prayer.  One thing I appreciate about Tozer is he places the stronger emphasis on Jesus Christ and what is true rather than a critique of what the church can get wrong.  He observed on page 78, “We have gotten into this soft humanism in our time when we weep over rebels and imagine this is the divine order.”  Humanism is indeed a snare, for this godless worldview places undue focus on man and what he can do to benefit himself and others rather than God who rules over all.

The God of the Bible is revealed to be infinitely good, merciful, just, sovereign and eternal.  When we place our faith in this God who is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance--and sent His only begotten Son to redeem lost sinners--we gladly submit to His rule.  There are many who proudly act as judge over the almighty God and find fault with Him, making excuses for their rebellion and condemning our only means of forgiveness and salvation.  Is it sin to weep over rebels?  I do not believe so.  But there is a time when doing so places more sympathetic focus on rebellious people rather than glorifying the good God from Whom they have chosen to rebel.

This situation played out in the life of the prophet Samuel.  He had high hopes for Saul whom God directed him to anoint as king.  The man who began his reign with humility and grace in a short time became proud, rebellious and disobedient to God.  Seemingly oblivious to his folly, Saul tooted his own horn, made rash oaths, sought glory for himself and feared the people rather than God.  After Saul's failure to destroy the Amalekites as God commanded, Samuel sternly addressed Saul's pride and folly to his face.  Saul's heart was unmoved; he found no place for repentance at all.  1 Samuel 15:35-16:1 says, "And Samuel went no more to see Saul until the day of his death. Nevertheless Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel. ¹ Now the LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons."  Sin led Samuel and Saul to separate from each other, and this was hard for Samuel.

Samuel loved God, Saul and the children of Israel.  Thus Samuel mourned for Saul, desirous for his repentance and restoration before the LORD.  Because Saul had rejected God (and continued to reject Him), God rejected Saul as king and this was difficult for Samuel to accept.  There came a time when God made it clear Samuel ought not remain in perpetual mourning over the man who had chosen to reject Him and the godly counsel he had been given by Samuel.  God moved Samuel to fill his horn with oil and anoint a new king He had provided for Himself:  king David whose line would lead to our LORD and Saviour Jesus Christ, the KING OF KINGS.  Jesus is the One who wept over the tomb of His deceased friend Lazarus, and it is fitting for us to weep over those who are dead in sins.  Yet we ought not grieve like those without hope, for Jesus is a Saviour for all who trust in Him.  Our wounds, grief and mourning ought not be perpetual for there is healing and salvation in our King who has provided all we need for life and godliness.

God's Ways are Truth and Judgment

King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that troubled him and wanted to know the interpretation of it.  He called the wise men and astrologers of Babylon to him and demanded they tell him his dream and interpretation.  They confidently said they would tell him the interpretation once he had told them the dream.  Nebuchadnezzar would not budge:  if they were able to understand the meaning of the dream by divination, they would as easily be able to reveal what Nebuchadnezzar dreamed in his own bed.  They balked at this command, claiming the king's command was most unorthodox and unreasonable.  The king accused his wise men as wasting his time and then commanded they all be slain--Daniel and his fellow captives from Israel included.

Daniel and his friends who feared the living God of Israel prayed, and that night God revealed the king's dream and interpretation to Daniel.  After Daniel praised the LORD for this revelation he notified Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, he would make known the dream and interpretation to the king.  Daniel was brought before the king and told him more than the king had required, even Nebuchadnezzar's thoughts that preceded the dream as he lay on his bed.  He explained that through the dream God had revealed future events, that the dream was certain and the interpretation sure.  Daniel 2:46-47 reads, "Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. ⁴⁷ The king answered Daniel, and said, "Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret."

One thing I love about this passage is the king was interested to know the future.  Nebuchadnezzar wanted to test his wise men to see if they were actually wise or charlatans.  He desired to demonstrate his power and authority by determining by a difficult challenge and destroying the unworthy.  God had a completely higher aim that transcended all Nebuchadnezzar's thoughts and plans:  to reveal Himself to a king who was ignorant of Him.  In telling the king's dream God revealed Himself to be the God of gods, the LORD of kings.  In chapters that follow God revealed himself as an unrivaled Deliverer when he saved Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego from the fiery furnace.  God would deprive Nebuchadnezzar of his sanity for 7 years, and at the end of his time Nebuchadnezzar looked to the God of heaven as the One whose ways are truth and judgment, He rules over all nations of the earth and is able to humble the proud.  Nebuchadnezzar desired answers to his questions, glory for himself, to demonstrate his authority, and to find satisfaction in his success--but God answered all these desires with a revelation of Himself.

I wonder:  how often are we like Nebuchadnezzar?  We desire people or God to answer our question or give us insight.  Perhaps our earnest aim is for other people to change their minds about a subject or to consider the facts we want to present.  We can want others to prove themselves to us or have the opportunity to prove ourselves to them.  What we needed more than revelations about future events is a revelation of God who was, is and is to come as the glorious God of gods, the LORD of kings, an unrivaled Deliverer whose ways are all truth and judgment, He rules over all, and those who walk in pride He alone is able to abase.  We can know, by God's dealings with Nebuchadnezzar, that He is working to an end beyond our expectation to reveal Himself to all.  In light of the glory of God we ought to follow the example of the humbled king in Daniel 4:34-35:  "And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. ³⁵ All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, "What have You done?"

Rather than questioning God, let us bless His holy name, praise and worship Him today.  Let us honour Him in trusting His plans and timing, for He is true and just.  God's will shall ultimately be done, and no one can cause His word to cease or frustrate His wisdom.  Glory in God and honour Him today!