Tue, 20 June, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Psalm 116:1-4

¹ I love the LORD, because he has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
² Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
³ The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
⁴ Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!”

The Psalmist tells us that he has cried out to God in his moment of dire need, and God worked in his life. The result was that he came to love God.

What do we learn from this?

When we run into difficulties in our lives, we come to God and beg for His help. We plead with Him in prayer, because we are so distraught about our problems. But then, when God brings us through the trouble, either by a great work or by something less dramatic but equally effective, we forget all that God has done. We fail to remember and to thank Him for what He has done.

It should not be this way. We should remember what He has done, and thank Him for it. It should cause us to grow to love Him for what He has done. It should cause us to praise Him.

Where is Christ in this passage?

What has God done for us that should cause us to love Him? Above all, He has provided salvation for us in Jesus Christ. When we call out to Him for mercy from the guilt of our sins, He provides justification, declaring us to be righteous in His sight, all on account of what Jesus Christ has done.

What should be our response? To declare our love for Him.

Mon, 19 June, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Deuteronomy 24:19-22

¹⁹ “When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. ²⁰ When you beat your olive trees, you shall not go over them again. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. ²¹ When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not strip it afterward. It shall be for the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow. ²² You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I command you to do this.

God commanded the people of Israel to provide for those who had no ability to provide for themselves by allowing them to glean from the crops grown on the land.

What do we learn from this?

Those who can do work should do work. There are people who can’t provide for themselves and their families. Although we should be concerned to help them, we should not do it in a way that encourages their laziness.

In Israel, if the poor wanted food, they were allowed to glean after the harvesters. Thus they got food, but at the cost of their own labor. They had to work to eat.

I think this speaks to how we should administer help to the needy today. In our charity, we must also encourage people to work for their sustenance. We should not just give handouts and teach those we are helping that they need do nothing toward their own support. Of course there are cases when people can’t work, but if someone can work, they should.

Where is Christ in this passage?

In remembering the poor of the land and in giving them assistance, Israel was to recall their own bondage in Egypt and how God had freed them.

So too, as we act to help those in need around us, we are encouraged to remember what God has done for us in bringing us out from our bondage to sin. We have come to God through faith in Jesus Christ and so we have are now no longer slaves to sin.

Sun, 18 June, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Revelation 20:1-3

¹ Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. ² And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, ³ and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

Today we come to the only place in scripture that talks of Satan being bound for a thousand years. There have been numerous books written on the topic of the millennium. There are many different views on exactly what it means. People have spent countless hours studying it, debating it, and coming up with their own theories of what will happen when in the millennium. But all that effort to explain this one thousand year period is based upon this one passage that mentions Satan being bound for a thousand years.

What do we learn from this?

In studying scripture, we should always be careful to explain the obscure passages in light of the clear. There are passages in scripture that are not clear to us, either because we are ignorant of the situation and circumstances of the original audience, or because the language and customs are so different from ours, or for some other reason.

The book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ is a highly symbolic book, and it isn’t always clear exactly what the symbol means and how far we can take the interpretation.

What we can confidently say about this passage is that God is in total control of Satan and his activities. Satan can only do what God allows him to do. What a comfort that is for us to know that the great enemy of God and of His people is completely under God’s control. Even though he is in rebellion against God, he can’t go one step beyond what God allows.

Specifically, we see that during the millennium Satan is bound so that he might not deceive the nations any longer. There is a purpose to this leash God puts him on. For a time, Satan is limited in a way he was not previously, and this limit will be removed after the period of time.

Where is Christ in this passage?

I believe this time of Satan’s binding refers to the gospel era as the church brings the good news of Jesus Christ to the world. It started in Jerusalem, and then moved out to Judea and Samaria, and on to the ends of the earth. The gospel has been successfully progressing through the world because Satan has been limited in his ability to deceive people.

According to how I understand this passage, we are living in this period of time. We can confidently tell others about the problem of sin and the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ knowing that we will meet with success. Satan is not allowed to blind everyone to the truth of the gospel, and some will respond in faith. The gospel will continue to spread and the kingdom of God will grow, because Satan is bound and is not allowed to deceive the nations.

Sat, 17 June, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Isaiah 49:1-6

¹ Listen to me, O coastlands,
and give attention, you peoples from afar.
The LORD called me from the womb,
from the body of my mother he named my name.
² He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow;
in his quiver he hid me away.
³ And he said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”
⁴ But I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my right is with the LORD,
and my recompense with my God.”

⁵ And now the LORD says,
he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him;
and that Israel might be gathered to him–
for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD,
and my God has become my strength–
⁶ he says:
“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel;
I will make you as a light for the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Isaiah tells us of the servant of the Lord, called and formed from the womb to serve.

What do we learn from this?

There is a corporate nature to this servant of the Lord. He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” This servant is Israel. In our New Testament context, we understand the servant of the Lord is the church. The church is appointed to serve, and to bring the light to the nations.

The church is God’s representative in the world. We bring the gospel to the people around us, telling them the problem of sin and the salvation that is in Jesus Christ. We have been formed for this very purpose: to serve God.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Although there is a corporate nature to this servant of the Lord that clearly refers to the church, yet there is also a clear reference to Jesus Christ, the King and Head of the church. He came as the great Servant of the Lord, who served as God’s appointed Savior to win the salvation of God’s people.

Fri, 16 June, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Psalm 108:1-4

¹ My heart is steadfast, O God!
I will sing and make melody with all my being!
² Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
³ I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
⁴ For your steadfast love is great above the heavens;
your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

In Psalm 108, David tells us he will sing his praise to God in the morning with such gusto that he will wake the dawn! Why does David sing with such energy? What inspires him to praise God? God’s love and faithfulness.

What do we learn from this?

When I read what David write here, I realize what a paltry prayer life I have and how poor I am in my own worship experience. Why don’t I wake the dawn in my praise for God? It certainly isn’t because God’s love and faithfulness has diminished. Obviously, the problem is not that God has changed, but that I do not appreciate who God really is.

The reality of God’s love and faithfulness should bring us to praise Him among the nations. It should lead us to make His love and faithfulness known to the people around us. It should lead us to praise Him with our whole being and to tell others about what He has done.

Where is Christ in this passage?

David tells us that God’s love is great above the heavens. His love is so great that He sent Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, to live the perfect life and to die on the cross to pay the penalty for the ones He loves. That, my friends, is a great love.

Thu, 15 June, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Deuteronomy 20:1-4

¹ “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. ² And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people ³ and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, ⁴ for the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.’

Moses is reviewing what God has done for the people of Israel in bringing them out of Egypt. He is encouraging them by reminding them of all God has previously done. As they enter the promised land, and face the prospect of fighting for the land and battling the enemies who dwell there, Moses reminds them that they are not fighting in their own strength. Rather, it is God who fights against the enemies of His people.

What do we learn from this?

As long as we are fighting God’s battles, we do not need to fear, for He is the one who will be fighting for us. The problem for us is to know when the battle is the Lord’s. It certainly is easy for us to think that what we do is always what God wants done, and so therefore He should be on our side. But that isn’t how God works. He doesn’t work to win all our battles for us, just because they are our battles. We are not always in the right, nor does God automatically bless us with victory even when we are in the right.

But what we learn from this passage is that when God is for us, no one can stand against us.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Jesus Christ is the King and Head of the church. He is acting to guard and lead His church, bringing her the ultimate victory as He fights for her. As we serve Him faithfully, we have nothing to fear, for Jesus Christ goes with us into the fight against the enemies of the gospel and of the church.

Wed, 14 June, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Revelation 16:1-7

¹ Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.”

² So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.

³ The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea.

⁴ The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. ⁵ And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say,

“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,
for you brought these judgments.
⁶ For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”

⁷ And I heard the altar saying,

“Yes, Lord God the Almighty,
true and just are your judgments!”

As Christians, we often are apologetic about passages of scripture that speak of God’s wrath. Some people will speak of the God of the Old Testament as being a God of wrath, but the God of the New Testament is a God of love. But here at the very end of the New Testament, we come face to face with the clear statement that God’s wrath is just and holy. When God brings people into judgment, He is just giving them what they deserve.

What do we learn from this?

We don’t have to apologize for God’s wrath. We don’t have to hide from it or be embarrassed about it. In fact, the whole message of the gospel makes no sense unless we understand the reality of God’s wrath.

God is holy. He is completely sinless. He hates sin, and those who commit sin are under His wrath. This wrath is a just wrath, for sin must be punished. So when God pours out His wrath upon sinners, He is only giving them what they deserve.

God’s wrath is real, and it is something that should frighten us greatly, since we have all sinned. All of us are naturally under God’s wrath because we are sinners. We have offended God, and He has promised to punish our sins. The guilt for the sins we have committed must be paid.

It is only in this context that the gospel makes any sense at all.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Jesus Christ came to earth to live the perfect life and to die on a cross for the express purpose of turning God’s wrath away from His chosen people. He takes the full fury against all the sins of all His people from all time, so that the guilt for all their sin is paid. Then He gives His righteousness that He earned, and He imputes it to His people. Therefore, God’s wrath has been turned aside. It is paid in full, and His people can now come into His presence and stand before Him justified. They are declared righteous in His sight.

Tue, 13 June, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Isaiah 45:1-7

¹ Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus,
whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
and to loose the belts of kings,
to open doors before him
that gates may not be closed:
² “I will go before you
and level the exalted places,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
and cut through the bars of iron,
³ I will give you the treasures of darkness
and the hoards in secret places,
that you may know that it is I, the LORD,
the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
⁴ For the sake of my servant Jacob,
and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
I name you, though you do not know me.
⁵ I am the LORD, and there is no other,
besides me there is no God;
I equip you, though you do not know me,
⁶ that people may know, from the rising of the sun
and from the west, that there is none besides me;
I am the LORD, and there is no other.
⁷ I form light and create darkness,
I make well-being and create calamity,
I am the LORD, who does all these things.

Isaiah, writing more than a century before Cyrus came to power, tells that God has chosen Cyrus as His instrument. Cyrus, the pagan king of Persia, is a man who does not know or follow God. Yet he is God’s anointed servant to serve God’s purpose in the life of Israel.

What do we learn from this?

Once again we see that God works all things according to His plans. He even uses pagan kings to accomplish His purposes. His plans are so set that more than a hundred years before, He can even name the person who will execute them.

Nothing hinders God from doing what He wants to do. He can arrange it so that even those who do not acknowledge His rule will freely choose to do exactly what He would have them do. God is in control of all, from the rising and falling of nations, to the rising and falling of the smallest bird, all is under God’s control.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Notice that God calls Cyrus His anointed. Cyrus, the pagan king of Persia is God’s anointed. Cyrus will accomplish God’s purpose by rescuing His people from captivity and returning them to the land of Israel.

In rescuing the Israelites, Cyrus is a picture of the greater Anointed One who was to come to rescue all of God’s people from the captivity of sin. Jesus Christ is The Anointed one (Hebrew: Messiah, Greek: Christ) who was appointed by God the Father to save His people from their sins.

Mon, 12 June, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Psalm 104:31-33

³¹ May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works,
³² who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke!
³³ I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
³⁴ May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.
³⁵ Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Praise the LORD!

This is a psalm of God’s creation and providence. He has made everything, and He sustains everything. The psalmist ends the psalm by extolling God’s glory, and calling for the destruction of God’s enemies.

What do we learn from this?

As we look at the world around us, it should inspire us to consider God and to praise Him. As the psalmist considered the land, sea and the heavens, he thought of how God has created them and how He sustains them. This is a good practice for us as well. Think about what you see around yourself. Everything you see comes from God. He has created it, and He is sustaining it by His providential power right now. Meditate upon it, and may your meditation be pleasing to Him.

Where is Christ in this passage?

As the psalmist thought of God’s creation and providence, he had a great desire for God’s honor and glory. He longed for all that opposed God to be removed. And so at the end of the psalm, he calls for the destruction of sinners and the wicked.

This sounds very meanspirited and offensive. But consider: the psalmist himself is a sinner. He has violated God’s law, just as you and I have done. We are all sinners before God, in our natural state. We are all enemies of God, destined for His righteous judgment.

But, because of the work of Jesus Christ on our behalf, applied to us by faith, we can be considered righteous and be wicked no more in His sight. The psalmist was considered wicked no more in God’s sight in just the same way. As he trusted in God’s provision for his salvation, he was justified in God’s sight.

And so, as the psalmist is praying for God’s destruction of His enemies, God can destroy them in more than one way. He can cut them off from the earth (kill them), or He can convert them. The psalmist isn’t calling for everyone who has sinned to be sent to hell immediately. I believe he realizes that there are many people for whom hell is their ultimate destiny. But he desires the salvation of himself and other people as well.

That should be our attitude. We desire to see the destruction of all those who oppose God, particularly by their conversion.

Sun, 11 June, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Deuteronomy 16:18-20

¹⁸ “You shall appoint judges and officers in all your towns that the LORD your God is giving you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment. ¹⁹ You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality, and you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous. ²⁰ Justice, and only justice, you shall follow, that you may live and inherit the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

God is just. Justice is a great concern for Him. We see in scripture that God will bring ultimate justice in eternity, and that He often brings justice in time (although not always). But we also see that justice is not administered directly by God. In today’s reading, we see that God has established His representatives to also bring justice.

What do we learn from this?

The government is God’s representitive to bring justice to the world. When governments are doing their job properly, they punish those who do evil, reward those who do right, and protect the citizens from harm. To the extent that evil is not punished, or that the punishment is deferred, or is less than the crime, the government is failing in its God given responsibility.

We should all be concerned about justice, for the land that run justly will prosper. Where justice is not done, evil will flurish and everyone will suffer to some degree. For all in a society to prosper, then the governmeent must punish evildoers quickly and in an appropriate fashion.

Where is Christ in this passage?

The governmental judges and the law enforcement officers are acting as Christ’s representatives in society. They do not work in a spiritually saving way, but they do bring peace and safety.