August 7

JUDGES 21
Verse 15 says, “And the people grieved for Benjamin, because the LORD had made a void in the tribes of Israel.” Can this be? Was it the Lord who made the void in Israel? Ultimately, the Lord allowed it. Does that mean He did it? The Lord allowed Adam and Eve to sin. Does that mean He did it? He could have made them where they had no choice to obey, but He did not. Does that mean He made them sin? Ultimately, He allowed it and had the power to not let them do it. Does that mean He did it? How far do we press responsibility? The people grieved because they thought the LORD was responsible.
Was He responsible? Was he the one who killed all the people? No He was not. Did He tell them to kill all the men of Benjamin? Well, yes He did. We looked at that issue yesterday. Did He tell them to kill all the men of Jabesh Gilead? No, He did not. I think at this point the people are overstepping their bounds. The chapter and the book ends with this thesis statement, “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” He is trying to teach us to do only what is right in His eyes and not our own eyes. The Book of Judges is what happens when we resort to our own wisdom. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

PSALM 37
Look at all of the commands that the Lord gives us in this Psalm. He has a lot of things for us to do and to focus upon! It is really easy for me to focus upon the commands. His commands are for our good.

Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
3Trust in the LORD, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4Delight yourself also in the LORD,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
5Commit your way to the LORD,
Trust also in Him,
7Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
8Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.
27Depart from evil, and do good;
And dwell forevermore.
34Wait on the LORD,
And keep His way,
37Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace.

Why are all these commands here? Running mixed with these admonitions is the underlying teaching that God is righteous. In the words of R.G.Lee’s famous sermon, there is a “Payday Someday.” In this values-mixed-up world it is easy in to lose sight of that very basic fact. God is righteous. When all is said and done, righteousness will prevail, one way or another. In relation to man, righteousness will prevail. Wrath against all unrighteousness will fall either on Jesus on the Cross where wrath’s demand is satisfied, or it will wall on those who refuse to receive the mercy of the Cross by receiving Jesus. What a motivation that should be to us to obey these commands!! It is not a motivation of fear but a motivation of gratitude for His great mercy and love. When I realize and contemplate upon His great mercy and love for me, how can I but love Him? If I love Him, how can I but do His commands? OH He is soooo wonderful! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

EZEKIEL 6
Ever been in a romance that went bad? Perhaps it was a boyfriend or girlfriend whom you really liked, but they decided that they did not want you anymore? Perhaps it was a marital mate. Perhaps it was a good friendship that went sour. Remember the anger? Even more, there was the feeling of being crushed by their rejection. Is it not strange that we should refer to the beginning stage of a romance as a ‘crush’ and to the breakup of a romance as being crushed by it?
I do not find the anger of the Lord to be surprising when we reject Him. After all, He is the perfect One. To reject Him is to reject perfection. It’s just, wrong. But do you ever stop to consider that He is ‘crushed’ by our idolatry? In verse 9 the NKJV says, “I was crushed by their adulterous heart which has departed from Me, and by their eyes which play the harlot after their idols.” The Lord of Heaven says that he is emotionally wounded by our adulterous heart! That is hard to understand. That is part of His glory. That is a facet of His love which I must grasp, but I don’t grasp it. Have you ever heard Him say, “I am crushed by your adulterous heart, your sin?” Lord, change my adulterous heart so that I might be pure only for You! Give me eyes only for You! Indeed, we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john

ROMANS 9:1-15
Paul reveals two things of interest to me of the glory of Christ in verse 5.
1. He is over all! Wait a minute Paul. He is over all? You’ve experienced prisons, beatings, hardships and sicknesses and you say He is over all? Paul has seen enough of the glory of Christ that He knows Christ is over all. He feels no need to explain the hardships or the rejection of Israel. He is content to rest in Christ’s sovereignty. Let come what may, which he cannot avoid; Christ will make good out of the bad. He is content to let God be God. God will have compassion on whom He will have compassion and mercy on whom He will have mercy.
2. He is the eternally blessed God! The adverse or positive effects of our temporal state do not effect the state of God’s blessedness. My state of blessedness always seems to be rising and falling with the condition of the circumstances of my life. Not so with God, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is eternal. Being eternal, that which is true of His nature yesterday is true of His nature today. That which is true of His nature today is true of His nature tomorrow. That which is true of His nature yesterday, today and tomorrow is true of His nature forever. He is blessed. Jesus is happy. Jesus is joyful. Do you ever view Him that way? I think some people view Him as some kind of Cosmic Grouch. Perhaps they are thinking of His justice and wrath when they think that. Indeed, He is a God of wrath. But because of His blood we are not destined for wrath. We know His joy. He is eternally blessed!
Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John