There is justice in the instance when there seems to be no justice. This has to be among the grossest stories told in the Bible. There was no king in those days to execute justice. The tribe of Benjamin refused to bring forth justice for the concubine. I say justice for the concubine because the husband certainly was not righteous. So God brought forth justice. The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel. Yes justice was served. There was no mercy. As a whole, the tribe protected the evil rapists and murderers. As a whole, the tribe was almost destroyed because of its unwillingness to execute justice. What would have happened had the tribe been willing to execute justice and the guilty men repentantly begged for mercy?
I don’t usually ask for justice for myself from God. If God gave me justice outside of Christ, He would kill me. Instead, I ask for his unfailing loving kindness. He gives it abundantly. His justice has been abundantly shown in my case as well. He poured it out upon Jesus upon the cross. Now that is glory, only glory that He should have. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
PSALM 36
For just one second the light was out. It was long enough to know that I had forgotten how dark utter darkness is. We were in Hezekiah’s tunnel. If you have ever been in a cave or cavern without light or in a photographic darkroom, you know exactly what I am talking about. You can try to see all you want, but it will never happen. In the midst of Hezekiah’s tunnel, I began having thoughts of what if. What if, my cheap $1.00 dollar flash light wasn’t strong enough to make it to the end? What if, I dropped it in the water? What if I did not have the emotional stamina to walk 500 meters in utter darkness? What if, the tunnel had a fork that led you into a loop from which you could not feel your way out? The last question was leading me into unreality. I had read about Hezekiah’s tunnel, and I knew that there were no loops. Sure it twisted and turned a lot, but there were no loops. But then, right before we entered Hezekiah’s tunnel we came to the entrance of the Canaanite Tunnel or the dry path. I had never heard of that before. What if there were other such tunnels at the end, which I had not read about. What if... Darkness is unsettling.
What makes the wicked, wicked? David says that it is, “There is no fear of God before His eyes. He flatters Himself in His own eyes.” The wicked takes the spiritual vacuum in his life and says, “I know what is here, and this god, who is here, is like this. . .” In reality he has no concept of the true God. Will this gracious God leave us to wander in darkness and all its attendant fears? The wicked think they know what true pleasure and delight is. They think that the true God only wants to take those pleasures away. They think that His light depletes their pleasure. They think this because there is no fear of God before their eyes. Will God leave him to wander in spiritual darkness? Will he spend his days wandering in loops of utter spiritual darkness? Have I not at times been there, and are there not times when I am there? I am convinced that this is the plight of every child ever born on the planet earth, save, of course, Jesus.
But this is where the glory of the Lord Jesus comes in. He is the fountain of life. He is the fountain of true pleasure. In His light we see light! When He is before our eyes, when there is a true fear of Him, we can see reality. Yes, we see the ugliness of things around us, but we also see that His pleasures can eventually wash the ugliness away. Drinking from and walking in His waters washes away the ugly dryness of our souls. It causes true beauty to gradually emerge and begin growing. We don’t have to try to manipulate the darkness because we see His reality. Hezekiah’s tunnel was truly refreshing. As we walked through the cool waters of the tunnel with our little flashlight, we were refreshed from the heat of the day above ground. Jesus is the same way. As we walk in the waters of His cleansing fountain, in the light of His path, we are cleansed, healed and refreshed and gradually see the true nature of reality. The whispers of ‘what if’ fade away in the pleasure of the fountain of His water and the glow of His light. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
EZEKIEL 5
I still remember my first trip to the barber shop where I paid for my own haircut. Until then Dad had always cut my hair. He did a good job, but in junior high in 1968, his style had not changed in the 13 years that he had been cutting my hair. I could have him cut it to any length and style I wanted it cut, as long as it was his. I had a paper route; I could afford to pay a barber, even though it cost a great deal in relation to how long it took me to earn the money. All I wanted was to look a little more like everyone else. In 1968/69 the Broadway musical, Hair, had rocked the nation. Hair had become a symbol not of mere style change but of challenging the moral system of the nation. The Cowsil’s recording of Hair climbed to Billboard’s #2, and helped a hair style become more than a fashion statement.
Hair has long been more than a fashion statement. It has also been a moral statement. Under the Old Testament Law, when one took a Nazarite vow, one never cut one’s hair until one had completed the Nazarite vow, then he would shave his head. Thus when Samson, who had a life-long Nazarite vow, cut his hair, it was the final breaking of the three signs of his Nazarite vow, and it demonstrated his complete abandonment of his moral commitment to the vows. Two women in Jesus’ day washed Jesus’ feet and dried them with their hair. Both were acts demonstrating extreme devotion to the Lord. In the days of New Testament Corinth, long hair on a woman seems to have been a symbol that she was in submission to her husband or father. It would appear that the prostitutes in Corinth (of which there were many) often shaved their heads. Long hair was a public statement of a woman’s submission and fidelity to her husband.
The Lord uses Ezekiel’s hair to make a judgment statement. What Ezekiel did with his hair graphically portrayed what God was doing in judging the nation. Judah had been unfaithful to Him. Therefore, He was judging her. He was cutting her off. She was receiving double for her sins. Let us never forget that a great part of the glory of the Lord is that He does judge. It is unpleasant for us to view, but nevertheless, it is His glory! Whenever we see His judgment, we should remember that it is also His glory! It is amazing that he can even use our hair to bring glory to His name! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
ROMANS 8:22-39
I long for the day when my body is redeemed—no more muscle aches, intestinal cramps, headaches, fevers, pulled muscles, broken bones, arthritis, back pain, toothaches. But more than the physical pain, I long for the day when I will be conformed to His image. Indeed, the whole creation longs for that day. Until that day we live in a foreign land. C.S. Lewis called it living behind enemy lines. As we live in enemy territory, He takes every work of the enemy and causes it to eventually work together for us for our good, namely to conform us to His image. There is no work of the enemy that can separate us from His love. His love for us is His motivation to conform us to His image. His glory is seen in each circumstance of our lives that we dislike or like, because He is using them to conform us into His image! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John
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