Fri, 21 July, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Judges 4:1-10

¹ And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD after Ehud died. ² And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. ³ Then the people of Israel cried out to the LORD for help, for he had 900 chariots of iron and he oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.

⁴ Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. ⁵ She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. ⁶ She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, “Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun. ⁷ And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand’?” ⁸ Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” ⁹ And she said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.” Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. ¹⁰ And Barak called out Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh. And 10,000 men went up at his heels, and Deborah went up with him.

In today’s reading in Judges, we go through another round of sin, judgment, repentance and deliverance. God sends another deliverer, Barak. But Barak refuses to carry out God’s orders without the prophetess Deborah’s assistance in the war.

What do we learn from this?

God ordered Barak to lead Israel into the war. He is God’s appointed instrument for the salvation of the people. Barak’s refusal to carry out God’s command without making conditions is a serious violation.

God will still accomplish His own will despite the imperfection and rebellion of His instruments. Deborah goes with Barak, and the victory is won. But due to his conditional obedience to God’s command, the glory of the victory does not go to Barak.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Barak was one of Israel’s deliverers, bring temporal salvation to God’s people, and so Barak points us to Jesus Christ, the perfect deliverer of His people.

Thu, 20 July, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Mark 2:1-12

¹ And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. ² And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. ³ And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. ⁴ And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. ⁵ And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” ⁶ Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” ⁸ And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? ¹⁰ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” –he said to the paralytic– ¹¹ “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” ¹² And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

In the gospels, we see Jesus healing numerous people. He obviously had a great care for those who were suffering, and so we see Him intervene to heal them and releave them from their distress.

Jesus points out that it is easy to say that you forgive someone’s sins. How can anyone tell if the sins really are forgiven or not? There is no objective way to tell from our earthly perspective.

Since people can’t tell if Jesus truly has the power to forgive sins, Jesus then publicly heals the man. He purposely does this to prove His authority and ability to forgive the man’s sins.

The task of actually forgiving sins is much harder to do than to heal a paralyzed man. The words are easy to say, but the act of forgiving sin is more difficult. So Jesus does the lesser, objectively verifiable act of healing to prove the reality of the forgiveness of the man’s sins.

What do we learn from this?

Jesus didn’t come for the purpose of healing the sick. That was always just a sidelight to the real reason for His coming. We see in this episode, Jesus first deals with the spiritual issue of sin before He heals the man of his paralysis, and the purpose of the healing is to validate the forgiveness of the man’s sins.

We must care about the physical wellbeing of the people around us. That is a legitimate concern to them, and we must not ignore it. But there is a deeper, more significant need: salvation of their souls. We must never forget that in dealing with them. We can’t only deal with their physical needs, nor should we just offer them the gospel without any concern for their physical needs. We must deal with both the greater and lesser need while never forgetting their true priority.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Christ is the one who has the power to forgive sins, and He has proven it by His authority over sickness. He is the Sin-bearing Substitute, so He takes the penalty for the sins of His people. And He is the High Priest who prays for His people, pleading for their salvation before the Father. He is the one who has earned the salvation of His people, and He is God, so He can offer this salvation and declare His people to be right in His standing.

Wed, 19 July, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Jeremiah 15:1-2

¹ Then the LORD said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! ² And when they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD:

“‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence,
and those who are for the sword, to the sword;
those who are for famine, to famine,
and those who are for captivity, to captivity.’

There are some major people in the Old Testament who stand out. Moses and Samuel are two of the most prominent men in Biblical history. They are obviously favored by God, and if anyone has the ability to influence Him, they could do it.

Yet God tells Jeremiah that the pleas of Moses and Samuel for the Israel of Jeremiah’s would be futile. They had rejected God, and as a consequence, God has rejected them.

What do we learn from this?

We can plead for God’s mercy upon the lost around us, but ultimately, we can’t save them. It is possible that God could hold back on some of the judgment that is due, and they will be spared some suffering in this life because of the prayers of the righteous. But their comes a point when God will not hold back His anger against a wicked and rebellious people, and the intercession of even the most righteous person are of no avail.

This is a frightening thought when I consider the nation where I live. God has been amazingly patient with the United States. God has greatly prospered the United States despite the great sin that is openly celebrated in the public life of this nation. I assume this is because He is sparing the nation to spare His people and He is granting His blessing upon their intercessory prayers. But if the nation continues in its open rebellion against Him, there will be a point when He will no longer spare the United States the judgment that is due to her disobedience, even if Moses and Samuel were to plead on her behalf.

Where is Christ in this passage?

The intercession of Moses and Samuel is limited. They are just men, and their prayer can’t forgive sin. The guilt of the sins of the people must be paid, regardless of the intercession of Moses and Samuel. Though they plead on behalf of sinners, their pleading can’t save the souls of anyone.

But the intercession of Jesus Christ is not limited. He is the God-man who came to earth for the purpose of winning the salvation of His people. He paid the price for the guilt of the sins of His people by dying for them on a cross. He lived the life of perfect obedience that is credited to His people as perfect righteousness. So when Jesus Christ intercedes on behalf of His people for the forgiveness of their sins, their sins truly are forgiven. The penalty is paid and they are accepted as perfectly righteous.

Thus, the Father will never say, as He says here of Moses and Samuel, “Though My Son Jesus Christ stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people.” For if Jesus Christ stands before the Father pleading for His people, the Father will turn to them and accept them, for Jesus Christ’s sake.

Tue, 18 July, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Acts 5:1-11

¹ But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, ² and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. ³ But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? ⁴ While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.” ⁵ When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. ⁶ The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

⁷ After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸ And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” ⁹ But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” ¹⁰ Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

Sometimes people will say, “The Old Testament God is angry and full of wrath and punishment. But the New Testament God is full of love, mercy and forgiveness. I believe in the loving New Testament God, not the angry Old Testament God.”

I guess these people have never read Acts 5.

What do we learn from this?

The God of the Old Testament is the same as the God of the New Testament. Can’t choose one over the other, because they are the same!

We see displays of God’s love and mercy in both testaments, and we also see examples of God’s anger against sin in both testaments. In this passage, we see God discipline Ananias and Sapphira in the most extreme fashion because of their sin. They lie to the church, and by extension to the Holy Spirit. As a direct consequence, God kills both of them.

God hates sin. He cannot and will not tolerate sin. Thankfully, He usually does not kill us immediately when we commit a sin against Him, for if He did, not many of us would be left for very long. But God would be justified to kill us when we sin. He has the right to do so, and it is only because of His great mercy that He does spare us daily.

But notice the end result of God’s discipline on these sinning believers: Great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

The whole church and the surrounding community saw that God is holy, and that He takes sin seriously. This got their attention, and I’m sure it caused many people to think about the sin in their own lives. The thought had to cross many people’s minds, “That could have been me. God takes sin seriously, and I’m not living right. I’ve got to clean up my own act and start living right so something like this doesn’t happen to me too.”

Where is Christ in this passage?

There is an unanswered question here: Were Ananias and Sapphira saved? Were they true believers who were really trusting in Jesus Christ for their salvation? If so, then despite this capital discipline they experienced, they are in heaven right now.

Scripture doesn’t tell us the ultimate fate of Ananias and Sapphira. All we know for certain is that they were members of the church body who had made some public profession of faith and were accepted into the congregation of the believers. That profession didn’t exempt them from discipline. We all as members of a local body of believers are subject to discipline when we are found to be in sin.

But our ultimate salvation, just like Ananias and Sapphira, is not due to our keeping from sin and avoiding God’s discipline. Our salvation is based upon the work of Jesus Christ applied to us by faith as we trust God for our salvation.

A true believer can fall into serious sin and face dramatic consequences in their lives as a result. We don’t want that to happen. Christians should fight against their own personal sin and hopefully avoid such serious results in their lives. But unfortunately, true believers can get involved in serious sin.

The good news is that for the true believer, Jesus Christ bears the ultimate penalty for this sin, as He does for all the rest of their sins. They must bear the consequences of their sin in this life, but because of the work of Jesus Christ applied to them, they will spend eternity in heaven with the guilt of that sin fully paid and forgiven.

Mon, 17 July, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Joshua 24:14-15

¹⁴ “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. ¹⁵ And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

We have come to the end of Joshua. God has fulfilled His promises to Israel and has given them the land. Joshua is an old man now and is soon to die. Joshua’s final act recorded in the book is to challenge the people to make a clear decision about serving God.

What do we learn from this?

There is no middle ground in committing ourselves to serve God. We either serve Him or we don’t. Often times we think that if we do the external acts of service to God (like attending church on most Sundays, praying before meals, and reading the Bible occasionally) we are fully covered, regardless of whatever else that might be going on in our lives.

But Joshua challenges us. We must make a decision if we are going to serve God or not. A middle ground of giving God portions of our time and our interests while holding back in other areas is not a viable option. We can’t harbor an area of sin in our lives while “serving” God, for in reality, when we do this we are serving the gods of the land.

Joshua calls us to consider our own lives and our commitment to God. Whom are we serving? God or the gods of the land?

Where is Christ in this passage?

There is no middle ground in serving God. We know that. But unfortunately, like Paul in Romans 7, we keep finding ourselves loving God’s word but doing that which we hate. We “have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.”

We make the commitment to live fully for God, but find ourselves equivocating. We sin. We do what we committed not to do.

Just like Paul, we cry out for one who will save us from this wretched condition, and find the answer in Jesus Christ.

Joshua calls us to take a stand for God, and this we should do. But after making our stand, we will break that commitment and sin. Our only hope is to flee to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness we need. Our salvation isn’t based upon our ability to keep the commitments we make to obey God. Our salvation is based on Jesus Christ’s obedience, not our own.

Sun, 16 July, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Matthew 26:1-5

¹ When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, ² “You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.”

³ Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas, ⁴ and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. ⁵ But they said, “Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people.”

The chief priests and elders decided to kill Jesus, but with on provision: they would not kill Him during the feast.

What do we learn from this?

Jesus is completely in control of the events around Him. He tells His disciples that the chief priests and elders will kill Him at the one time they had determined not to kill Him. They have determined to not kill Him at the Passover. He has determined they will kill Him during the Passover.

Jesus is in control of His own death.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Jesus came to live the perfect life and to die for the sins of His people. It was His purpose to do so at the Passover as He is the fulfillment of all the Passover foreshadowed. He is the lamb whose blood was shed so that the angel of death would pass over His people.

Sat, 15 July, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Jeremiah 11:1-8

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ² “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ³ You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant ⁴ that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, ⁵ that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.”

⁶ And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. ⁷ For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. ⁸ Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”

God made a covenant with Israel to give them the land upon condition of their obedience to the terms of the covenant. Their disobedience to the terms results in their eviction from the land.

What do we learn from this?

The land promise to Israel is conditional and works based. In it God clearly ordered the people to obey His commands and receive His blessing or to disobey His commands and suffer His curses.

There is a principle here of obedience leading to God’s blessing and disobedience leading to God’s curse. When we live a life of disobedience, we face God’s curse upon disobedience, and when we obey, we receive His blessing. But God’s blessings and curses don’t always happen in a way that we can see a direct relation to our actions according to our timing. These blessings and curses usually don’t work out as we expect. Nor is there a one to one relationship between our individual acts and God’s obvious response.

Yet we see there is an underlying principle that in general obedience leads to God’s blessing and disobedience leads to God’s curses.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Though the land promise to Israel is conditional, God has made an unconditional promise of salvation for His people. He will save all His people by bringing them to faith in Jesus Christ.

Fri, 14 July, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Acts 1:1-3

¹ In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, ² until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³ To them he presented himself alive after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.

Luke wrote the Gospel of Luke, and continues with the book of the Acts of the Apostles. What is his intent? Why did Luke write these books?

He tells us the reason. The Gospel of Luke relates all that Jesus began to do and teach. The book of Acts continues to relate what began in the Gospel.

What do we learn from this?

Jesus didn’t stop acting and teaching when He ascended. Just because His human body is now present in heaven does not preclude His acting and teaching.

But notice, the action and teaching of Jesus Christ in the book of Acts is now through the Apostles. He uses people to bring the gospel to people and to act. We are the ones who bring the word to those around us. But in the actions of His people, He Himself is acting.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Jesus told us at His ascention that He will be with His people to the end of the age. As we do His work in the world, He Himself is with us and is acting to bring about His will in the world. He is building His kingdom and subduing the nations to Himself as He is acting and teaching through His people in the world.

Thu, 13 July, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Joshua 18:1

Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them.

The land is subdued before Israel. God has fulfilled the promise to give the people of the land into the hand of Israel. Now He fulfills His promise to give them a place for the people to come to worship. He has chosen Shiloh to be the resting place of the tent of meeting.

What do we learn from this?

We see God fulfilling His promises, providing a resting place for the ark of the covenant and the tent of meeting. There is now a central place for the people to come to worship God. No longer will the people wander around the wilderness following God’s manifestation in the pillar of fire and cloud, but instead they enter the promised land and gather to Shiloh for the worship.

God grants His people rest and worship. He provides the land for them and grants them rest from their fighting. Now they gather together periodically at Shiloh to meet with God and His people. They gather to worship God and thank Him for what He has done for them.

God grants us a day every week to gather together with His people and to worship Him. We gather in our local congregations, take up His rest, and worship Him, thanking Him for all that He has done for us.

Where is Christ in this passage?

Shiloh is the place for people to come worship God. But because of the sins of Israel, God will eventually destroy Shiloh and move the place of worship to Jerusalem. Later in the Old Testament, the ruins of Shiloh will stand as a reminder of God’s judgment against sin.

The people came to trust in the place of God’s worship and the furnature used in the worship. The were living in disobedience to God, but they knew the ark of the covenant and the tent of meeting would keep them safe from God’s wrath.

It did no such thing, as God vented His wrath at the people by destroying Shiloh.

Once again, we see that our faith in things will not save us from God’s wrath. Shiloh couldn’t save disobedient Israel, and God caused it to be destroyed to teach that lesson. We must trust only in God and His work on our behalf, rather than trusting in ourselves. We must trust in Jesus Christ, who has won the salvation of everyone who comes to Him in faith.

Wed, 12 July, 2006: Today’s Bible readings.

Matthew 22:1-13

¹ And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, ² “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, ³ and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. ⁴ Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ ⁵ But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶ while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. ⁷ The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸ Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. ⁹ Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ ¹⁰ And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

¹¹ “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. ¹² And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. ¹³ Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Jesus tells this parable to teach us about the invitation to be a part of the kingdom of heaven.

What do we learn from this?

The people first invited to the kingdom were the Jews. Many rejected Jesus as the Christ, and the Jewish leaders led the people in calling for Jesus’ crucifixion. And just as Jesus told His disciples, they took the gospel first to the Jews, and then to the Gentiles. So we see the invitation goes out the roads to gather both the good and the bad into the kingdom.

Where is Christ in this passage?

The invitation goes out to the roads, but those who come into the kingdom must have a wedding garment. Those in the kingdom must be dressed in the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. Their own righteousness will not do. All those who come before God dressed in their own righteousness will be thrown out of heaven and will spend eternity in hell.

The gospel calls us to come to God in faith, taking up the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We wear it like a garment, and it covers our own unrighteousness, making us presentable in God’s sight.