August 19, 2010

August 19, 2010 1 Samuel 11

Grudges do not die naturally. That is why the Lord calls us to forgive. Well, the Ammonites had a 400-year grudge against the children of Israel. Their leader Nahash believed he was strong enough to have a good fight against Israel. So, he picked on Jabesh Gilead, a city two miles east of the Jordan River. Now, if you remember your reading in the Judges, Jabesh Gilead had refused to partake in the punishment of the tribe of Benjamin. Remember when the Levite entered into Gibeah of Benjamin? The men of the city wanted to ravish the Levite man. Instead he gave them his concubine. The result was that she died. So, the Levite cut her in pieces and sent a piece to every tribe in Israel. The Israelites were greatly offended, and after much warfare they succeeded in killing all but 600 men of Benjamin. Those 600 needed wives. Jabesh Gilead had refused to participate in the punishment of Gibeah and Benjamin, so the Israelites killed every one in Jabesh Gilead except 400 virgins. They gave the virgins to the 600 men so that the tribe might not disappear. I guess none of the virgins had difficulty finding a husband. Saul’s hometown was Gibeah. He was a Benjamite. One of his ancestors was one of those virgins that had been taken from Jabesh Gilead. Nahash was not only attacking an Israelite city, but it was an ancestral city of the king of Israel. Saul was enraged. Nahash had picked his target carefully. He had desired to draw Saul into a fight on his side of the Jordan. He thought he could satisfy his grudge against Israel. Obviously, it did not happen.

So where is the glory of the Lord Jesus in all this tragedy? Now that is a difficult question to answer. I would say that it is simply this. The Lord is able to deliver His beloved in spite of the wrath of man. Saul’s wrath is satisfied against the enemy on the outside. After the battle, some desired to continue their wrath on those who had criticized Saul before the battle. In one of Saul’s few shining moments, he said, “Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today the Lord has accomplished salvation in Israel.” Now there is the glory of the Lord! He provides salvation for His beloved. When His beloved receive it, they are to lay down their grudges. Samuel seizes the moment and calls the people back to Gilgal to renew the kingdom. It is time to let the grudges go. It is time to be unified as one people. The Lord Jesus is like that. He has accomplished a great victory against our enemy Satan. He has defeated him. He calls us now to unify underneath Him to renew the Kingdom. Because of His glory He calls us to let all grudges go. As we stand united under Him, He will crush the head of Satan underneath our feet. That is His glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor john

1 Corinthians 2

One would think that the rulers of this age are pretty impressive. By virtue of his office, the President wields more power than any other ruler in history. The supposed wisdom of this age is fairly great too. Never have we seen so many universities and so much education made available to such a high percentage of people. But even with all our power and wisdom, war and poverty increases. Why? Ultimately, all our problems stem from one problem, sin. All the power and wisdom of this world cannot rid us of that problem. There is only one person who can rid us of that problem, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is bringing the wisdom and power of this world to nothing. Currently the power and wisdom of this world is orchestrated by spiritual rulers behind the scenes who are not human. Jesus is bringing them down. Jesus accomplished His victory when He let them crucify Him--there He won the victory over sin and death. Jesus is in the process of mopping up and claiming His victory now. Like an old western movie, our hero, the Lord Jesus Christ, silently came into town (planet earth). He destroyed the bad guys (Satan and his hosts). He has left to return later. In the meantime He expects His people (the good citizens) to spread the word of His victory. He did it all by Himself. We did not have a hand in His victory. The power and wisdom of this age is nothing compared to Jesus. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!

--Pastor John