Are You Headed In The Right Direction?
Psalm 121, 123-125, 128-130
All of the Psalms in today’s reading are labeled “A Song of Ascents” with one of them having the additional label of “of David”. The songs of ascent are part of a package of 15 Psalms also called “songs of degrees”. These were all “travel songs”; that is to say that they were Psalms, or songs, a pilgrim sung on the way to Jerusalem. God had commanded the Israelites to “go up” to Jerusalem three times a year to worship. These songs were sung each day as they progressed toward that holy city. They would start with Psalm 120 and end with Psalm 134.
In fact, if you think about Jesus in the New Testament you’ll remember a story where his family had gone up to Jerusalem on one of these three occasions and that on the way back home His mother and father discovered that He wasn’t with them. They went back to Jerusalem and found Him preaching in the Temple (Luke 2:41–50). Jesus, along with the rest of His group, would have sung these Psalms as they progressed toward Jerusalem.
These Psalms can also be a picture of the Christian life. Let me quote J. Vernon McGee here.
“There is a spiritual meaning in these fifteen psalms. It is interesting that many writers of the Talmud pointed out the fact that life is like this—it is an ascent. We come to God as sinners who are away from Him, separated, and alienated. We come to Him for salvation, and having come for salvation, we go on to sanctification as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of Christ; it is a constant going up. We are to be climbing in a spiritual way. My friend, you and I ought to be farther along today than we were last year.”
McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the Bible commentary (electronic ed.). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
I couldn’t have said it better. In context of our chronological reading, David can be seen as a preview of the Christian life. God chose him and called him to be His anointed. This set the world against him. David had to struggle as a result of his calling, but God was with him every step of the way. Finally, God won the victory for David and he ascended to take his place in the city of God. It was a long and hard road to where God intended him to be and this is the case for you and me.
As Christians, people who have submitted their lives to the authority of Christ, we too are ascending toward the holy city of God. We too have been chosen and God goes with us on the journey. The struggles that we face are intended to strengthen us and prepare us for our ultimate home. As we continue through the struggles and progress down the road we come ever closer to being the men He created us to be. The question each of us must ask is “are we still moving in the right direction?” Have we sat down on the road and stopped progressing? Have we gotten turned around? The Holy Spirit who is within us will continually point the way if we will only listen. Our task is to continually place one foot in front of the other until we have reached that place which Christ has prepared for us.
Along the way let us sing God’s praises. Let us rejoice in Him. Let us seek His guidance and His comfort and let us be found faithful!
Have a blessed day!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve!
The Day of Atonement
Leviticus 15-18
Today’s reading had many things on which I thought to comment but I was drawn to the “Day of Atonement” and the “Scape Goat” in particular. In studying this topic, I read, and enjoyed, an introduction to Leviticus 16 by J. Vernon McGee. I’ll let that be the comment for today’s reading.
“This chapter holds the greatest spiritual lesson for us. The subjects treated so far in Leviticus have been offerings, priests, and sin. None of these have dealt finally and completely with sin. We now come to that which more completely than any other deals with the subject of sin. It at least points more specifically and adequately to the work of Christ in redemption. It is a shadow of His redemptive work.
“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ” (Col. 2:16–17). A shadow is a picture. Although a picture is a poor substitute for the real thing or the real person, it points to the reality. Years ago Hengstenberg commented, “The elucidation of the doctrine of types, now entirely neglected, is an important problem of future theologians.” The picture, or type, of this great Day of Atonement merits our careful study.
Dr. Kellogg states the significance of the great Day of Atonement in this fashion: “ [It] was perhaps the most important and characteristic in the whole Mosaic legislation.” The rabbis designated the Day of Atonement with the simple word Yoma, “The Day.” It was on this day that sin was dealt with in a more adequate way than in any other ceremony of the Mosaic system.
Notice in verse 16, “… and because of their transgressions in all their sins.” Then in verse 22, “And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities …” and in verse 21, “… and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel ….” He will make atonement for all their transgressions, all their iniquities, all their sins! This was the best that the Law had to offer until Christ should come.
The instructions and restrictions of this day grew out of the historical incident of the rebellion and disobedience of Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, when they intruded into the Holy of Holies of the tabernacle, and were immediately put to death by the direct judgment of God (chapter 10). Some writers treat these two chapters together.
The Day of Atonement was observed in the seventh month and on the tenth day. These numbers are significant in most of Scripture. The seventh is the sabbatic month and denotes rest and cessation from works. Surely it is not amiss that this month was chosen to set forth the rest of redemption that is in Christ. “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his” (Heb. 4:10).
Ten is another prominent number in Scripture, and seems to convey the idea of that which expresses God’s complete will and way. There were the Ten Commandments—God could have given another, but He did not. God requested the tithe, the tenth, and the remnant of Israel is defined as a tenth (Isa. 6:13). Ten expresses God’s mind and purpose. The tenth day expresses the truth that Christ came to do the will of God. It pleased the Lord to bruise Him, He hath put Him to grief. He came in the fullness of time, at the appointed hour.
The word for “atonement” is the Hebrew kaphar, which means “to cover.” God did not take away sins in the Old Testament; He covered them until Christ came and removed them. There are a number of Scriptures which teach this. “And the times of this ignorance God winked at [overlooked]; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation [that is, a mercy seat] through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forebearance of God” (Rom. 3:24–25). “And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance” (Heb. 9:15). “The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience” (Heb. 9:8–9).
The Day of Atonement pointed to Christ and His redemption as did no other sacrifice, ceremony, or ordinance of the Old Testament. It reveals Christ, as our Great High Priest, going into the Holy of Holies for us.”
McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the Bible commentary (electronic ed.). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Have a blessed day!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve!
Let’s Stop Partying!
Malachi 4 – Matthew 4
Chapter 4 of Malachi is very short; only five verses. It draws the curtain on the Old Testament. The day of wrath is coming. Be in right relationship with God and rejoice. The final two verses of the Old Testament tell of the return of Elijah.
The Bible goes silent at the end of the Old Testament. It is four hundred years between the time of Malachi and the time of Jesus. A lot has changed in the world since then. Whereas the world was dominated by Medo-Persian Empire at the end of the Old Testament it was dominated by the Roman Empire at the birth of Jesus.
In returning from an exile brought on by wanton worship of foreign gods, the people of Israel turned to a frantic quest for legal holiness. Now, instead of worshiping foreign gods they worshipped the Law itself. They exchanged one form of idolatry for another. In this time two major parties arose in opposition to each other. They very much remind me of the two major parties in America today.
The Pharisees were the defenders of the Jewish way of life. They were strict legalists and were extremely nationalistic. They were a religious-political party. Today they would be called fundamentalists and far right politically.
The Sadducees were the other party and they were made up of the wealthy and more liberal minded. They were liberal in their theology and rejected any notion of the supernatural. They were seekers after physical pleasure as a way of overcoming them. It is interesting to me that these liberal types were made up of the rich. This is much the way it is in our country today.
Before we start taking sides here, remember that Jesus condemned both parties. Neither of them got it. The same can be said of the two parties in America today; neither of them get it. That is why there is a Tea Party today. The American people are rejecting both parties. But I digress.
I have done a lot of paraphrasing of our friend Dr. J. Vernon McGee in the material above but he provides an excellent couple of paragraphs on the Scribes and I will share that word for word at the end of this post.
The New Testament begins with a recap of the genealogy of Jesus the Christ. Matthew was written to a Jewish audience to prove that Jesus was indeed the Messiah. The genealogy would be important to this group as Jesus could not be the Messiah if He didn’t have the right pedigree. As Matthew builds his case for the messianic nature of Jesus he says “this happened and it fulfilled this prophecy concerning the Messiah; and this happened which fulfilled this prophecy”, and so on. There is a lot of Old Testament quoting going on in the first chapters of Matthew as he provides Jesus’ bona fides.
So much happens in these first four chapters of Matthew that it is hard to focus on one theme. Since we are all pretty familiar with much of the story I thought I would point out some things that occurred to me as I read today.
Matthew 3:8-10
“Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
I have been quite taken with the book of John; the verses that deal with fruitfulness in particular (John 15). These verses above, spoken by John the Baptist, foreshadow exactly what Jesus says in John 15 as he prepares His disciples for His arrest and eventual departure from the earth. “Bear fruit in keeping with repentance”. I think this is an extremely important verse. If you have repented – and you must repent to truly receive Christ – then you will bear fruit. The fruit is the evidence of your repentance and salvation. Salvation does not come without genuine repentance.
The next thing that really caught my attention was the temptation of Christ. Take a look at this:
Matthew 4:5-10
“5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”
As Satan would tempt Him, Jesus would swat the temptation away with a quote from scripture. The verses above show that Satan adjusted his approach and started quoting scripture as a way of justifying the temptation; fighting fire with fire if you will. I am a firm believer that we all should read the Bible from beginning to end just as God put it together at least once if not several times. I believe this because reading it this way you get the story as the Author intended.
It is very important that every Christian have a solid understanding of Scripture. There are those who read the Bible with an eye toward finding “Scriptural support” for whatever behavior they wish to perform. This is not reading the Bible to receive the message of the Author but to find a stick with which to beat back challenges to sinful behavior. The best example of this today might well be the defense of homosexuality.
Some will take the message of love that Jesus preached and say that it is not loving to condemn homosexuality. Of course it is God who condemns homosexuality in the very Bible from which they cherry pick their defense. Those same defenders of homosexual behavior completely ignore the fact that Jesus said that not one iota or dot would be removed from the Law until heaven and earth pass away (Matthew 5:17). That is the same Law that says homosexuality is an abomination before God. It is God who condemns homosexuality, not me. The proper response to such a blatant abuse of Scripture is to point the abuser back to Scripture. That is what Jesus did with Satan and it is an example for all of us to follow. You can only do what Jesus did, however, if you know ALL of Scripture and receive the message of the Author.
Finally, the entire purpose of Jesus’ earthly ministry, and the ministry He expects us to continue, is summed up in this final verse.
Matthew 4:17
“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Is the kingdom of heaven at hand? It was then, and it is today. You only get one life and this is it. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. The decisions and choices you make today determine your eternal destiny. There is no “do-over”. Accept Christ and live or reject Christ and die. It is just that simple. “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” Say it loud and often; a desperate and dying world need to hear it before it is too late!
Have a blessed day!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve!
P.S. From “Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee”:
“SCRIBES—The scribes were a group of professional expounders of the Law, stemming back from the days of Ezra. They became the hair-splitters. They were more concerned with the letter of the Law than with the spirit of the Law. When old Herod called in the scribes and asked where Jesus was to be born, they knew it was to be in Bethlehem. You would think that they would have hitchhiked a ride on the back of the camels to go down to Bethlehem to see Him, but they weren’t interested. They were absorbed in the letter of the Law.
My friend, there is a danger of just wanting the information and the knowledge from the Bible but failing to translate it into shoe leather, not letting it become part of our lives. Through study we can learn the basic facts of Scripture, and all the theological truth contained in it, without allowing the Word of God to take possession of our hearts. The scribes fell into such a category. In our own day, I must confess that some of the most hardhearted people I meet are fundamentalists. They are willing to rip a person apart in order to maintain some little point. It is important to know the Word of God—that is a laudable attainment—but also we are to translate it into life and pass it on to others.”
McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the Bible commentary (electronic ed.). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Delayed Obedience Is Disobedience
Jonah 1 – Micah 3
We read the books of Jonah and Micah today. Well actually, all of Jonah and half of Micah. I’ll give you an outline of Jonah today and I’ll give you Micah tomorrow. At some point I may have to give you two outlines in one post!
I love the story of Jonah. There are many important issues addressed in this book. I often think of Jonah as representing those that run away from God. While this is true on a superficial level I think he doesn’t simply represent the lost. I think he represents more specifically those who actually have a right relationship with God. The lost can, and do, hear God calling them, and God does use all people to His purposes but Jonah was not a person lacking in a relationship with God. In fact the story we read today demonstrates that Jonah had a rather vibrant relationship with God.
Jonah was a prophet. He had a close enough relationship with God to be able to discern God’s directions. He knew what God wanted him to do; he just didn’t want to do it. In my lifetime I have witnessed several high profile pastors publicly disgraced by disclosure of immoral acts. I find it hard to believe that a man who has committed himself to declare the Word of God would be ignorant of God’s will for their behavior. By committing their immoral behavior they acted as Jonah had; with disobedience.
I can hear some of you now, “Bill, some of these pastors committed adulterous, and sexually perverse acts. How can those acts be equated with what Jonah did?” There we go again with our scale of sinfulness. All sin is disobedience. God does not share our man-made sin scale. He calls the shots and there are no scales. You might also say that Jonah was only disobedient for a short period of time and eventually relented and obeyed. Yes, Jonah repented of his sin and eventually obeyed God. I could argue that these fallen pastors may well have repented as well and faithfully returned to God; such is the power of grace.
I once heard Pastor Roy Fisher say from the pulpit “Delayed obedience is disobedience!” I believe he was quoting the late Adrian Rogers but regardless of the origin of the phrase, truer words are rarely spoken. God asked Jonah to do something and he did not do it. Don’t quibble with me. He attempted to run away from God’s presence, as if that could be done, and God had to discipline Jonah before instructing him once again to go to Nineveh. In between the first and second command to go to Nineveh was a great deal of suffering on the part of Jonah.
That is how it is for you and me my brothers in Christ. Can we really claim to be ignorant of what God is asking of us? How could any of who have been on this journey through the Bible together claim such a thing? We know that everything is God’s and that we are only stewards of that which He has placed in our hands. We know the difference between right and wrong. We know that we are to make disciples of all nations. We know that in everything we do we are to bring glory to God. Any time we fall short of any of this we are being disobedient. In that moment of disobedience we have rejected the Lordship of Jesus Christ and placed ourselves at the head of our own little universe. We know how God responded to Israel and Judah for following after foreign gods. How do you think He would respond to you and your self-proclaimed deity?
I wonder sometimes if we really get that. Do we get that every time we sin, whether we consider it a small sin or a big sin, we have proclaimed ourselves a god? Jonah had to sit for three days in the belly of a great fish, seaweed wrapped around his head, considering the error of his ways. Do you get the significance of Jonah being in the belly of the great fish for 3 days? Jonah says he cried out from the belly of Sheol. Sheol is the Hebrew word for Hell. Jonah equated his 3 days of imprisonment with 3 days of death.
Jesus Christ rose from the grave after 3 days. As Jonah said:
Jonah 2:9
“…Salvation belongs to the Lord!”
Disobedience leads to pain, and for the lost it leads to death. You have accepted Christ but are you obedient? If not, expect to be disciplined. Your salvation is secure for it does indeed belong to the Lord. That does not mean there are no consequences. What is it that God has been instructing you to do? Are you doing it? If not I wonder how things have been going for you. If you haven’t experienced discipline yet you will. If you have or are experiencing discipline the good news is the that obedience brings restoration. Return to God. Obey Him and celebrate the blessing of salvation that only He can bring!
I will close by sharing a little outline of Jonah provided by J. Vernon McGee. I found his lead up to the outline interesting because it mentions Nashville, the city in which I live, back when trains still ran through Union Station down town.
Outline
There are two approaches to the study of the Book of Jonah. The one that is the most popular and is followed by most commentators is to note the striking resemblance between Jonah and Paul. Both Paul and Jonah were missionaries to the Gentiles, both were cast into the sea, both were witnesses to the sailors on board the boat, and both were used to deliver those sailors from death. There are other striking comparisons, which a careful study would reveal. Including his trip to Rome, which I consider to be a missionary journey, there were actually four missionary journeys of the apostle Paul. The four chapters of the Book of Jonah may be divided into four missionary journeys of Jonah. The first journey was into the fish; the second was to the dry land; the third was to Nineveh; and the fourth brought him to the heart of God.
That is a very good and reliable division of this little book, but it never actually satisfied me, and I have attempted to make an outline of the book without making a comparison with Paul. Very frankly, I had more difficulty outlining the little Book of Jonah than I did the Book of Revelation.
I have another approach to outlining Jonah, and I want to tell you how it came about. Many years ago, I was waiting for the train one night in Nashville, Tennessee. I was returning to seminary, and at that time I was working on outlines for each book of the Bible, for I started early in that type of ministry. But I couldn’t figure out an outline for Jonah. When I got to the Union Station in Nashville, I discovered that the train was late and that I would have to wait thirty minutes to an hour. I did what I’m sure you do whenever you must wait in an airport or railroad station. I walked around for quite awhile before I sat down. I walked by the popcorn machine; I walked by the cigar stand (today they call them gift shops); I walked by the soda pop vendor; and I walked by the restaurant that was there. I just kept walking around, and I came to the railroad timetable. As I was looking at the timetable, it occurred to me that the Book of Jonah could be outlined according to a timetable.
Three important things are to be found on a timetable. The first is the time and place that the train or plane is leaving. Second, there is the destination of the train or plane. Finally, you need to know the time it will arrive at its destination. I go to many places today on speaking engagements, and if I fly, there are three things that are important to know: the time I leave, my destination, and the time of my arrival.
Therefore, if we look at the Book of Jonah as a timetable, this becomes my outline for the book:
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LEAVE
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DESTINATION
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ARRIVE
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Chapter 1
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Israel (Samaria or Gath-hepher)
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Nineveh
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Fish
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Chapter 2
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Fish
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Nineveh
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Dry Land
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Chapter 3
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Dry Land
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Nineveh
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Nineveh
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Chapter 4
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Nineveh
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Gourd Vine
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Heart of God
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McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the Bible commentary (electronic ed.). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
Have an obedient day brothers!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve!
Pride Goes Before A Fall
Amos 6 – Obadiah 1
Boy, they are starting to come fast and furious aren’t they? A new book of the Bible every day it looks like! Well, I’ll give you an over view of Obadiah since we start him today.
Obadiah
Introduction
The name Obadiah means “servant of Jehovah.” He is one of four prophets about whom we know absolutely nothing except that he wrote prophecy. The other three prophets are Habakkuk, Haggai, and Malachi. These four prophets are cloaked in anonymity. Obadiah is like a ghost writer in that he is there, but we do not know him. He lived up to his name, for he was a servant of Jehovah. A servant boasts of no genealogy neither exploits nor experiences. He doesn’t push himself forward. He has to demonstrate by what he does that he can even claim the place of a servant. So Obadiah is just a prophet who wrote one of the great prophecies of the Scripture.
…The chief difficulty with the prophecy of Obadiah is where to fit it into the history of the nation Israel. There are some who give the date of 887 b.c., which fixes the time during the reign of Jehoram and the bloody Athaliah (see 2 Kings 8:16–26). Dr. Pusey placed it during the reign of Jehoshaphat (see 2 Chron. 17:7). Although the name Obadiah does occur in this passage, it was a common name in that day and probably was not the same Obadiah who wrote this prophecy. Canon Farrar gave the date as 587 b.c., and Dr. Moorehead concurred in this, suggesting that Obadiah was probably a contemporary of Jeremiah’s. The whole question seems to hinge on verse 11: “In the day that thou stoodest on the other side, in the day that the strangers carried away captive his forces, and foreigners entered into his gates, and cast lots upon Jerusalem, even thou wast as one of them.” Either this was written as prophecy before it happened or it is an historical record of what did happen. The natural interpretation, of course, is to accept it as history rather than prophecy, which places the date of Obadiah’s prophecy around 587 b.c., after the Babylonian captivity and during the ministry of the prophet Jeremiah.
The little kingdom of Edom is the subject of this brief prophecy. Verse 6 is the key verse: “How are the things of Esau searched out! how are his hidden things sought up!”
Outline
I. Edom—Destruction, vv. 1–16
A. Charge against Edom, vv. 1–9
B. Crime of Edom, vv. 10–14
C. Catastrophe to Edom, vv. 15–16
(Poetic justice [lex talionis]—law of retaliation)
II. Israel—Restoration, vv. 17–21
A. Condition of Israel, v. 17
B. Configuration of the House of Esau, v. 18
C. Consummation of All Things, vv. 19–21
(“And the kingdom shall be the Lord’s”)
McGee, J. V. (1997). Thru the Bible commentary (electronic ed.). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
We read today of what God had to say through Obadiah about Edom. Edom is the nation that descended from Esau, Jacob’s brother. Remember him from way back in Genesis? He was the guy who got cheated out of his birthright by his conniving little brother. The conniving brother and his descendents would be remembered forever as being the people through whom God revealed Himself and sent His Son; Esau and his descendents are all but forgotten to history.
We saw Esau back in Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament. Did you know he is also mentioned in the last book of the Old Testament?
Malachi 1:2-4
“I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’ ”
Why would God love Jacob but hate Esau? Now realize that God is not saying he hated the individual Esau. He is saying He hated the nation the descendants of Esau became. Here in Obadiah we learn why God hated Esau.
Obadiah 1:3
“The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?”
Why did God hate the descendants of Esau? What was their great sin? Their sin was pride! Is that all? They basically disappear from history because of pride? Brothers, I’ve said before and I’ll say it again, God doesn’t have a scale of sin with one being worse than the other. It seems to me, however, that if He did pride, would be at the top of the list. It is at the heart of all sin really; a desire to be god, to focus on one’s self, to call your own shots.
Look at just a few examples of what the Bible has to say about pride.
Psalm 31:23
“Love the Lord, all you his saints!
The Lord preserves the faithful
but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.”
Proverbs 8:13
“The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.
Proverbs 16:18
“The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.
God hates pride and Edom is evidently eaten up with pride. God hates Edom.
Proverbs 6:16-19
“There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers.”
“Haughty eyes” is another way of saying “proud look”. Pride is more of a problem than most of us realize. Brothers, have you anything you can be proud of? I hope not. Each of us deserves painful, eternal separation from God. There is no good thing in any of us but the love of Christ. The only good thing in us comes from God. We can take pride in nothing. Jesus did not come as a prideful conqueror. He came as a humble servant. He gave glory to the Father. We are to be like Christ. We are to have the mind of Christ. Let us cast aside our pride and put on the humble mind of Christ.
Have humble day brothers!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve!
Daniel Had A Good Father
Ezekiel 47 – Daniel 1
Well, we finish Ezekiel today and proceed into Daniel. I want to make just a short comment about an image from the end of Ezekiel and then a thought about Daniel. I’ll then provide you with some information from a commentary about the Book of Daniel and its outline.
Ezekiel 47:1-11 discuss water that flows from the temple. Jesus referred to Himself as living water. I have discussed the idea of Christ as a flowing river of life in earlier posts. Scripture has given us imagery of the life sustaining power of Jesus Christ in the form of a tree planted by a flowing river that never experiences drought. So too these verses are a vision of Christ. His living water will flow from His dwelling place and where ever this river flows it will make things fresh.
Ezekiel 47:8-9
“And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.”
“Everything will live where the river goes”; Amen and Amen brother!
My thoughts as I read Daniel centered on his father. Daniel was, at most, a teenager when he was taken to Babylon and yet he had the courage and commitment to reject the king’s food and request simple fruits and vegetables so he wouldn’t defile himself. Does this resemble and teenager you know? This young man had a father that not only did his job, he did a good job. His son knew the importance of a close, personal relationship with God. When it would have been easier to go along so as to get along he said no. You will see that throughout Daniel’s life; he remained true to his relationship with God even when his life was on the line.
Daniel should get the bulk of the credit for this since every individual has the ability to chose for themselves. Even if we have had a horrible beginning with no parental leadership we can still choose to do what is right. And yet, for Daniel to have such a strong, settled faith by the time he is a teenager I have to believe someone pointed him to the father. Maybe it is simply my bias but I like to think it was his father. You see, that is our job. God put precious children in our care so that we would point them to a right relationship with Him. They are His children and we have been given a sacred trust to raise His children to know Him and to walk with Him. We are God’s stewards
Well, those are my thoughts on the reading today. Let me now provide you with an outline and some commentary on Daniel. The book of Daniel contains a great deal of prophecy that has already come to pass as well as much that is yet to be. Liberal criticism of this book attempts to give it a very late date of origin. This is because of their supposition that no one could predict the future with such detail and accuracy as did Daniel. In other words, since they cannot believe in a god who provides his prophets with knowledge of the future the book must have been written after the events took place. I guess that kind of approach to inconvenient evidence is what passes as scholarship in a liberal world view. That view has been widely discredited due to the fact that many ancient references to the book of Daniel have been discovered which makes the liberal later dating impossible.
Here are the words of J. Vernon McGee:
“We know more about Daniel the man than we do of any other prophet. He gives us a personal account of his life from the time he was carried captive to Babylon in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim (about 606 b.c.) until the first year of King Cyrus (about 536 b.c.). Daniel’s life and ministry bridge the entire seventy years of captivity. At the beginning of the book he is a boy in his teens. At the end he is an old man of fourscore and more years.
Here is God’s estimate of the man Daniel: “O Daniel, a man greatly beloved” (Dan. 10:11). I would not want to be one of those critics who have called the Book of Daniel a forgery. Someday I am going to face Daniel in heaven and find that he has a pretty good reputation—“a man greatly beloved.”
There are three words which characterize Daniel’s life: purpose,prayer, and prophecy.
1. Daniel was a man of purpose (Dan. 1:8; 6:10). When the king made a decree that everyone had to eat the same thing, Daniel and his friends decided they would abide by the law of Moses—and they did. Daniel was a man of purpose, and we can see this all the way through his book. Here was a man who stood on his own two feet and had the intestinal fortitude to speak God’s Word.
God have pity today on men who claim to be His messengers to the world but haven’t got the courage to declare the Word of God. I also thank God that there are many who are declaring the whole Word of God, including prophecy, in our day. You see, the proper study of prophecy will not lead us to sensationalism and fanaticism, but it will lead us to a life of holiness and fear of God. John said in 1 John 3:3, “And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.” The study of prophecy will purify our lives, my friend.
2. Daniel was a man of prayer (Dan. 2:17–23; 6:10; 9:3–19; 10). There are several incidents recorded in this book about Daniel’s prayer life. By the way, prayer got Daniel into the lion’s den. How about that for answered prayer? Well, God also miraculously saved him from the lions. Daniel was a man of prayer.
3. Daniel was a man of prophecy. The Book of Daniel divides itself equally: the first half is history, and the last half is prophecy. Daniel gives us the skeleton of prophecy on which all prophecy is placed. The image in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (Dan. 2) and the beasts (Dan. 7) are the backbone of prophecy; the Seventy Weeks (Dan. 9) are the ribs which fit into their proper place.
The key verse to the Book of Daniel is Daniel 2:44: “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom,which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”
Dr. G. Campbell Morgan gave this theme for the Book of Daniel: “Persistent Government of God in the Government of the World.” This is the book of the universal sovereignty of God. Prophecy is here interwoven with history to show that God is overruling the idolatry, blasphemy, self-will, and intolerance of the Gentiles.
More specially, Daniel 12:4 brings together “… the times of the Gentiles …” (Luke 21:24) and “the time of the end” (see also Dan. 8:17; 11:35, 40) for the nation Israel in the Great Tribulation Period. This coming crisis eventuates in Christ’s setting up the millennial kingdom. “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end:many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased”(Dan. 12:4).
The Book of Daniel deals with political issues apart from ecclesiastical matters, giving the final outcome of events and issues which are at work in the world today. He answers the question—Who will rule the world?—not, How will the world be converted?
The Book of Daniel is the key to understanding other Scriptures. Our Lord, in the Olivet Discourse, quoted only from the Book of Daniel. The Book of Revelation is largely an enigma without the Book of Daniel. Paul’s revelation concerning the “… man of sin …” (2 Thess. 2:3) needs Daniel’s account for amplification and clarification.”
OUTLINE
I. The Historic Night with Prophetic Light, Chapters 1–6
A. Decline of Judah; Fall of Jerusalem; Daniel Taken Captive to Babylon; His Decision to be True to God, Chapter 1
B. Dream of Nebuchadnezzar about a Multimetallic Image;Interpretation by Daniel Concerning the Four Kingdoms of “The Times of the Gentiles,” Chapter 2
C. Decree of Nebuchadnezzar to Enforce Universal Idolatry;Three Hebrews Cast into the Furnace for Refusal to Bow to Image of Gold, Chapter 3
D. Dream of Nebuchadnezzar about a Great Tree Hewn Down to a Stump; Fulfilled in Subsequent Period of Madness of the King,Chapter 4
E. Downfall of Babylon Foretold by Daniel as He Read the Handwriting on the Wall at the Feast of Belshazzar, Chapter 5
F. Decree of Darius, the Median, to Enforce Worship of Himself; Daniel Cast into Den of Lions for Praying to the God of Heaven, Chapter 6
II. The Prophetic Light in the Historic Night, Chapters 7–12
A. Daniel’s Vision of Four Beasts Concerning Four Kingdoms of “The Times of the Gentiles,” Chapter 7
B. Daniel’s Vision of Ram and He Goat and Another Little Horn, Chapter 8
C. Daniel’s Vision of Seventy Weeks Concerning the Nation of Israel, Chapter 9
D. Daniel’s Vision Relating to Israel in Immediate Future and Latter Days; Historical Little Horn and Little Horn of the Latter Days, Chapters 10–12
1. Preparation for Vision by Prayer of Daniel; Appearance of a Heavenly Messenger, Chapter 10
2. Prophecy Concerning Persia and Grecia, Historical“Little Horn,”; Eschatological “Little Horn,” Chapter 11
3. Preview of Israel in Latter Days; Great Tribulation;Resurrections; Rewards; Final Word about the End Times, Chapter 12
McGee, J. Vernon: Thru the Bible Commentary. electronic ed. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1981, S. 3:527-528
Have a blessed day guys!
Your brother and servant in Christ,
Bill
Dying to self, living to serve!
