steadfast

When you are backing away from a bully, the worst feeling in the world is when your back touches the wall.

Israel had received some advanced notice that not one but three armies were on their way and intent on their destruction.  Their king, Jehoshaphat, calls for a nationwide fast to seek help from the LORD (2 Chronicles 20:3-4) and at the assembly the king prays a candid but desperate prayer calling upon God to keep his promise (2 Chronicles 20:6-12).  It contains three questions: "Are you not . . .?", "Did you not . . .?" and "Will you not . . .?".  

The prayer ends with their back against the wall, but their eyes focused, not on the bully, but on their Savior.

2 Chronicles 20:12b

"We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

To which God answers through the Levite Zechariah who then spoke through the Spirit our call to worship this week:

2 Chronicles 20:17

You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”

They go out to battle, led by worship.  They sing:

2 Chronicles 20:21b
“Give thanks to the Lord,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.”

For, God's promise of "steadfast love" (ḥeseḏ) cannot be broken . . . and they watch as their enemies consume each other!  

delivered

 This week we begin worship with:

Psalm 34:4-5

I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 

Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.

With these two verses David explains what happened to him, when he sought protection from God, and encourages others to do the same.  

Empty handed and alone, he escaped Saul, and went to seek the provision, if not the protection, of the Achish, the king of Gath.  Yes, that Gath, the home of Goliath, whom he had slain.  He sought the protection of the Philistines!

And yes, by the time he reached Gath, he was carrying the very recognizable sword of Goliath.  For, on the way, he was given the sword by Ahimelech (1 Samuel 21:8-9).

But rather than receiving protection, the court of king Achish identified David as a dangerous enemy.  David quickly understood that he was in danger.  So, he pretended to lose his mind, and by acting insane, he was allowed to depart.

He left and went to the Cave of Adullam, where a band of soldiers began to rally around him and from which he emerged beginning to seek God (1 Samuel 22:3).  The remaining chapters of 1 Samuel continue to descend ultimately to a stunning defeat when David's wife and daughters are captured, and at which:

1 Samuel 30:6
And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the Lord his God.

It was from this pit that God began to lift him up to reign over Israel.  And it is for that reason, the pinnacle verse of this Psalm is an invitation for us to:

Psalms 34:8
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

 

husband

 This week we begin worship with:

Isaiah 54:7-8

For a brief moment I deserted you,

    but with great compassion I will gather you.

In overflowing anger for a moment

    I hid my face from you,

but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”

    says the Lord, your Redeemer.

This is not the "brief moment" when you were overlooked for a promotion, or when your stock pick did not work out, or your date for the prom backed out.

This is an epic God-sized moment, when He cast off Israel because she forsook His covenant with her (Ezekiel 16).  Chosen and cared for from birth (Ezekiel 16:5-7), Israel took her place among the nations, but trusted in her own beauty and prostituted herself (Ezekiel 16:14-15).

But after this "brief moment", God calls her back:

Isaiah 54:4-6

“Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;

    be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;

for you will forget the shame of your youth,

    and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

For your Maker is your husband,

    the Lord of hosts is his name;

and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,

    the God of the whole earth he is called.

For the Lord has called you

    like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,

like a wife of youth when she is cast off,

    says your God.

He calls her back to a renewed covenant that is eternal:

Isaiah 54:9-10

“This is like the days of Noah to me:

    as I swore that the waters of Noah

    should no more go over the earth,

so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,

    and will not rebuke you.

For the mountains may depart

    and the hills be removed,

but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,

    and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”

    says the Lord, who has compassion on you. 

relents

This week we begin worship with:

Joel 2:12-13

“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with

fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your

garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow

to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.

When? “Yet even now, . . ”.  It is never too late in this life to repent. Never will God turn you away.  Never.

What?  “with all your heart”.  He wants all of you.  Not one bit should be held back. Not one bit is too far gone to be revived and made new. 

How?  “rend your hearts and not your garments.” A priest would tear their priestly garments to defend the honor of God when they heard someone speak blasphemy (Matthew 26:65)  We are instead to tear down any pretense that we are sovereign from within our own self.

Why? “abounding in steadfast love” Because God loves you, He will prevent the disaster that awaits the unrepentant soul.  He will “relent” (nāḥam), and take pity on you.  

The word is also properly translated “repent” (KJV).  God will prevent your punishment because it would be wrong of Him to do it.  We come to understand in the New Testament that it would be unjust.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

abundant

This week we begin worship with:

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

The context of this verse is the sheepfold and the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-18).  Into that quiet and tranquil scene comes a thief, whose goals are the theft of as many sheep as possible, the death of the shepherd, and the destruction of the fold in which they are protected. 

Our verse also gives the goal of the Good Shepherd.  That of providing a place in which the lives of the sheep would not only be protected, but abundant (perissos)!  This is not average.  It is extraordinary, above the mark, and record setting.

But our verse does not give how this will be done.  Are we to win the lottery, have a successful career, a loving family, or worship at a vibrant church?  Yes, those would be nice, but our ticket might not be a winner, our career might not end on a positive note, not every one in our family might love each other, and our church might be full of strife. None of these are the abundance of this verse.

If we went out to find pasture under any hired hand, our life would be filled with the fear of abandonment.

John 10:12-13

He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

Fear is the natural state of a sheep.  This is why they herd.  This is why they instinctively follow other sheep . . . for protection.

We have an abundant life for one reason:

John 10:11

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Our Good Shepherd has laid down His life for us, His sheep.  He has defeated the thief.  We need never fear.  That is abundance.

Ashamed

 This week we start our worship with:

Philippians 1:18b-20 

Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.

This passage declares that “now as always Christ will be honored”.  That will happen no matter what.  And because that is his hope, Paul could then confidently say “I will not be at all ashamed”, even if death is his “deliverance”.

The prior verse to which this passage was saying “Yes”, expands Thai though to include the means:

Philippians 1:18a

What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

So as you walk into today, by whatever means or destination, if your hope is aligned with the honor of Jesus Christ you will not be ashamed. 

Despise

This week we begin worship with:

Psalm 51:17

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

The first two words of this verse in Hebrew are a construct (zeḇaḥ ĕlōhîm). The equivalent in English would be a hyphen to convey connection rather than possession. “God-sacrifices” rather than “sacrifices of God” (ESV) or “My Sacrifice” (NIV).  They are what would be appropriate to give over and devote to God.

The second two words are the construct “broken-spirit” (šāḇar rûaḥ) and, yes, broken means broken and suitable to be discarded.  The word “contrite” does not mean voluntarily humble.  It means crushed under the weight of one’s guilt (dāḵâ).

And the last word “despise” (bāzâ) is what Cain thought of his birthright (Genesis 25:34), when he valued an immediate serving of soup more than his future inheritance. 

So, the Psalmist wants us to know that when we approach God with our worst-self and give that heap of failures and short-comings to Him, we are acceptable.  Not “acceptable” meaning a barely passing grade, but rather as a sacrifice worthy to be given to the Almighty God.

Roar

This week we begin worship with:

Psalm 104:21-22

The young lions roar for their prey,

    seeking their food from God.

When the sun rises, they steal away

    and lie down in their dens.

This verse comes from a Psalm that speaks of the rhythms of life and their Creator.   And more than simply the Creator, our supplier:

Psalm 104:27

These all look to you,

    to give them their food in due season.

When the lion roars or when we commute to work we receive not from our own efforts but from God's hand.

Psalm 104:23

Man goes out to his work

    and to his labor until the evening.

So as you start this day, and every day, roar!

by by by

 This week we begin worship with:

Proverbs 3:19-20

The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.

In this verse the Psalmist marvels at creation and the design that went into it.  Wisdom (ḥāḵmâ), understanding(tāḇûn), and knowledge(daʿaṯ) are ascribed to the LORD.

I had always wondered about the details in the creation account concerning separating the waters that below from the waters that are above (Genesis 1:6-10).  But a few years ago science caught up to scripture and the following scholarly article was published:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180309170700.htm

A more readable popular version is available at: 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-022-01077-z.pdf

And now just this past week, another discovery was published in a scientific journal concerning the ambipolar electrostatic field and how it increases the height of our protective atmosphere.  The scholarly article can be found here;

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07480-3.epdf

and a more readable version is available at:

https://www.livescience.com/space/astronomy/nasa-discovers-planet-wide-electric-field-around-earth-thats-shooting-bits-of-our-atmosphere-into-space#

Indeed we served a great God, who designed all of this!

 

Worship

This week we begin worship with:

John 4:23
"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him."

The reason is given in the following verse.

John 4:24
"God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth."

The physical worship of the Jews must be transformed because God is spirit.  Paul wrote:

Romans 9:4
They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.

The"worship" (latreia) or "service" (KJV) was the sacrificial system of physical worship and atonement. Paul then wrote as the capstone verse of Romans:

Romans 12:1
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

In this "spiritual worship" (logikos latreia) we become the sacrifice.  We become every Burnt Offering, every Grain Offering, every Peace Offering, every Sin offering, and every Guilt offering (Leviticus 1-6).

So one must ask oneself, how am I sacrificing myself today?  For this is how we worship Him in "spirit and truth.".

Name

This week we begin worship with:

Psalm 124:8

Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

Contrast this with when the Psalmist was seeking the answer.

Psalm 120:1-2

I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come?

My help comes from the LORD,

who made heaven and earth.

You have to know the name.  God is not anonymous.  He does not act under any pseudonym.  If you do not know the name you are without help.  You have no one on whom to call.