I remember reading somewhere once that Martin Luther froze in fear of God at the first occasion of His presiding over communion. He could not do it! The fear of God was so great upon Him! At one point in His quest to love God, he indicated that He hated God because the standard God set was so high that he could not attain it! In his ill-directed pursuit of God he pursued all kinds of self-inflicted penance in hopes of satisfying the wrath of God against his sin. He descended to the depths of self-flagellation in hopes of bringing life under control to appease God. But it was to no avail until he embraced salvation by grace through faith. He could not provide the sacrifice needed.
The people were terrified as they considered the wrath of God in relation to His design for authority. Finally, they are beginning to get the importance of His wrath as it related to them. There is a set order of authority that God gives to bring the removal of sin from His people. Yes, the path is through sacrifice, but the people thought anyone could sacrifice. That was the essence of Korah’s rebellion. The people accused Moses of killing the rebels. They still did not get it. The problem was one of a recognition of authority. They did not realize that they did not have the authority to take matters into their own hands. They did not understand their place in God’s redemptive purpose. They wanted a place which did not belong to them.
Then the Lord brought forth another miracle to designate to them the source of redemption. The leader of each tribe had to bring his staff or rod. The rod was a symbol of their authority or power to rule their tribe. The rod was left in the tabernacle overnight. The next day only the staff of Aaron, representing the tribe of Levi, was fruitful. It bore buds, blossoms and ripe almonds. Clearly the miracle indicated that only the line of Aaron bore the authority for priestly intercession. Then they began to understand a little bit more that redemption comes from God, not man. They realized that they had been trying to grasp a place which they could not obtain and had made a mockery of God’s mercy and grace. Num 17:12–13 So the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, “Surely we die, we perish, we all perish! Whoever even comes near the tabernacle of the LORD must die. Shall we all utterly die?” They get it.
Chapter 18 is God’s answer to their fear. Yes He is the one who redeems, but He chose a specific order for the distribution of that redemption. The Sacrifices spoke of the redemption to come, but it was administrated through the priesthood. They would bear the guilt of the people. The people could relax and let the sacrifice take care of it. But they also needed to remember their place among the people of God. Because of their tremendous responsibility, the priests had no inheritance in the land. The Lord was their inheritance.
Today, Jesus is our sacrifice. It is still administered through Him as our High Priest, but we are all now all a holy priesthood. Our inheritance is in Him. Is that not marvelous? I have the awesome privilege of having Him as my inheritance! But there is still a principle that was seen in Aaron’s day. There still are appointed positions of responsibility that God appoints and raises up within the body of the priesthood of believers. There are still apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers etc. Everyone has a position appointed to them by the Lord, we need to find who we are and be that. We also need to be careful about taking someone else’s responsibility.
The Glory of Jesus is that He takes away our sin so that we can come boldly before the throne of God. He takes our fear and replaces it with joy. We need not cringe before Him, but we should repent and enter into his courts with praise, with thanksgiving and with joy. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
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PSALM 128
I spent the morning with a man who is estranged from his wife and children. His life is not very pleasant right now. Granted he has his faults and probably does not love his wife like Jesus loved the church, but His estranged wife has also not dealt faithfully with him. I am so appreciative of the fantastic woman that God gave me. She is truly a gift from Him. She makes it a joy being home. She is better than the finest wine. And my children, they are great! I am not sure why I would want a lot of olive plants in my house, but I guess in David’s culture that is a reference to intrinsic riches. If that is what the Psalmist means, then O Lord, I am so glad for the riches which you gave me in my children!
This is another Psalm of Ascent. In other words, it was a Psalm sung while going up to Jerusalem to worship. The OT festivals were family affairs. The whole family would go together whenever they were able. Consequently, they probably would have traveled with other families, perhaps one huge extended family. This Psalm, like 127, is focused on the family. Can you imagine looking others, with whom you are traveling, in the eye and singing this? All of a sudden, it becomes, or should become intensely personal.
Somehow it seems a little foreign to me to think of turning to one of my brothers in the Lord and saying to him, “Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table.” It just seems a little weird, but why? Maybe it’s the metaphor. Maybe it’s that there is something wrong with me. Maybe it is that in our culture men do not often express delightful desires for other men in relation to family. At least, I, for one, do not have any memory of any other man expressing to me that he hopes my wife will be like a fruitful vine and my children like olive plants in my house. Honestly, I think if another man wished that for me, my initial reaction would be to laugh.
Why would I laugh? The essence of humor is a pleasant unexpected circumstance. That is why timing is everything in being a good comedian. If another man wished me that about my wife and children, it would be unexpected, and it would be pleasant, maybe even uncomfortably pleasant. But it is the glory of God that we should genuinely desire such pleasantries for our brothers, and that we express it to them. Otherwise, I don’t believe He would have put this in His word. It is God’s glory that we desire the best for our brothers and this is a best. So for all you guys out there who might be reading this, “May your wife be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, your children like olive plants all around your table.” When that happens, know that it is from our glorious Lord! My Lord is glorious. I see His glory in my wife and children and my children’s children. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
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ISAIAH 39
It is my delight as a pastor to be able to occasionally visit people in their homes. It is not uncommon that when I visit a family that has young children (2-6 years) that those children will bring out some of their stuff for me to look at. It could be toys or a book. Children like to show off their stuff. I personally think it is a mixture of motivations. It could be a little bit of them wanting you to know that they accept you, or just inviting you into their world, but I think a major reason is it is their way of finding out if you think they are significant. So, they bring out their stuff to see if you also think that it is great stuff.
Why did Hezekiah show the Babylonian officials all of his stuff? I get the impression that the Lord was displeased with this action, and thus the prophecy was also a discipline for his action. Why did this displease the Lord? Babylon was the chief rival of Assyria, from whom the Lord had delivered Jerusalem. I suspect that the visit was an exploration of making the Babylonians their ally against Assyria. The Lord had always discouraged making allies with other nations for the national defense. He always insists that we depend upon Him alone as our defense. He is both capable and willing to defend us. To rely on alliances is to repudiate His glory. Hezekiah had probably gained much treasure with the destruction of the 180,000-man-Assyrian Army. He was probably proud and wanted to show off to the Babylonia officials all the wealth, which he had gained with the destruction of Assyria, but did He tell them anything about the Lord who destroyed the Assyrians? If I were a poor man and invited you to my humble house and told you about my magnificent Lord, would you be impressed with my Lord? If I were a rich man and invited you to my palace and told you nothing of my Lord, would you be impressed with Him? What would make me significant in your eyes, my stuff, or my Lord?
To be honest, most of us gain our significance from our stuff. It is often more important than the One we call our Lord. The reality is that our significance comes simply from Him, not our stuff. It appears that Hezekiah let the stuff trap catch him when his greatest significance and wealth came from our Glorious Lord. When I share the glory of my Lord with someone else is when I have the most significance before men. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
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JOHN 1:1-28
I have a lot of negative memories of football, mostly because I was so lousy at it. One particularly lousy memory is of a day in football practice when I was sophomore or junior. It was a 90+ degree day, and the coach was really hammering away at me for my inability to play the position properly. I don't know whether it was because he thought that I wasn't trying to play up to my potential, or he was trying to make me mad hoping anger would make me a better player, or whether he was hoping that I would quit, so that he wouldn't have to mess with me anymore (I was on the last level of the depth chart). I've never been a quitter. As he raved more and more, I became more and more embarrassed. As I became madder and more embarrassed, I tried to hit harder and harder. It seemed futile. I couldn't do the job. The coach continued to press the issue in progressively less flattering terms. Finally, near physical exhaustion and emotionally worked to the limit, my throat began to shut down. I couldn't breathe without making a loud rasping sound, and I couldn't bring in enough oxygen. I learned how dependent I am upon oxygen. The coach, hearing me rasp for air, told me to leave the line up until I could breathe again. There have been few times in my life when I have been more humiliated. If you have ever had to struggle for air you know what it means to realize your dependency upon something else to live.
It is not so with Jesus. In Jesus is life, and the life is the light of men. All things were made through Him, and apart from Him nothing was made that was made. He is dependent upon nothing to live. He is life. You and I are dependent upon the environment, which He holds together, He is not dependent upon it. If we want to travel far very quickly, we need trains, planes or automobiles. He does not need them. We are dependent upon the air. He made the air. We are dependent upon water. He made the water. We are dependent upon clothing. He can clothe Himself in Light. We are dependent upon light. He is Light. He could exert Himself and not become oxygen deficient. Not that is glorious! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
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