When I was 8 or 9 we lived one block from the elementary school. One month the PTA had a meeting where all the kids put on skits for the parents. After the skits were over, we kids were all outside having a great time playing on the playground. My mother was tired so she let me stay and play with the other kids while she went home. After a while she sent my older brother to tell me it was time to come home. There were still a couple of kids there, so I told him no. Being the obedient older brother, he tried to make me come home, but since it was my playground, I knew how to evade being captured by him. He decided that I wasn’t worth the effort and that he had performed the assigned task, so he went home. After waiting in hiding and being sure that he wasn’t around, I decided to go find my friends again. To my dismay, in the amount of time that I had spent eluding my mother’s command through my brother, I found that my friends had gone home with their parents. There was no longer anyone to play with. There was no desire to stay there, but now I had to face my disobedience to my mother’s command.
We find in the last days of Judah:
All the leaders of the priests and the people transgressed more and more, according to all the abominations of the nations, and defiled the house of the LORD which He had consecrated in Jerusalem. 15 And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. 16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy.
When the people of God will not rise up and fulfill the command of the Lord, He will raise up the ungodly to do it! He is the sovereign God. Note that He used both Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus to do this. As such, He does not sit around waiting and biting his nails to see if we will do what He commands in order to accomplish His plan. His plan will be accomplished. The only question is, “Will I cooperate with Him in accomplishing His plan, or will He establish it in spite of me?” He has issued His commands. It is His glory to accomplish them. Will we enjoy continued fellowship with Him by joining with Him in His work, or will we suffer His discipline because we refuse to obey because we want to choose our own desires which will soon dissipate anyway? Why am I such a disobedient child? It is His glory to accomplish His plan with or without me. I might as well enjoy the benefits of obedience. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
PROVERBS 31
Laura has told me on a number of occasions that this is one her ‘unfavorite’ chapters of the Bible. (I hope I am not in trouble for revealing that, but then I suppose that this an ‘unfavorite’ chapter for a lot of women. It holds an incredibly high standard for the virtuous wife. Certainly, if I were a woman, I would not be able to meet the standard.) But let us look beyond the literal meaning of this chapter to a different level. Since the theme of the Bible is the restoration of the Kingdom of God, what does that look like as we illustrate it? One of those illustrations is marriage. Our marriages are to reflect the marriage of God and humanity. When the kingdom was train wrecked with Adam and Eve’s sin, the marriage of God and humanity experienced a postponement, a divorce; Jesus became a widower. The theme of Scripture is not only the restoration of the Kingdom of God; it is also the marriage of Christ and His resurrected bride.
As Lemuel’s mother gives him instruction for being a king, she tells him to not give himself to ways that destroy kings, particularly giving his strength to women. There are many other things that he should do as king, avoid intoxication, uphold and pursue justice, plead the cause of the poor and needy. All of these things Jesus has done and does. But Lemuel’s mother’s greatest instruction is to find a virtuous wife. Could it be that one of Jesus’ chief goals in His interaction with humanity is to find a virtuous wife? Certainly that would be the indication of Ephesians 5:22-33 and Revelation 19:1-10. When the whore who sought to supplant the bride, is judged, and the preparation of that virtuous wife is complete, we see the coming forth of the Bridegroom to destroy those who resisted Him by resisting His bride (Revelation 19:11-21). So we see that it is the intention of the Lord to raise up for Himself one great bride. He will not give Himself or waste His strength of the whore of this world.
So what does this bride look like? I think that Proverbs 31: 10-31 could be a metaphor for what Jesus desires in His bride. As we fulfill that metaphor, we bring glory to Him, just as this virtuous wife brings glory to her husband. Jesus trusts in His wife because she is constantly seeking to do Him good and bring Him gain (v.11). She searches the world over to bring Him riches (missions v. 12-14). She works tirelessly to provide food for household (v.15). The glorious bride, the church, provides a rich diet of the word of God for her household. She girds herself with strength (v. 17). Where does our strength come from but from the Spirit of God? She helps the poor and needy when the needs of her own household have been met and because that is the work of her husband the King (v. 20-21). Her husband is made known in the gates because of her proclamation and work (v. 23). As the church proclaims the Gospel of the Kingdom, we are making the name of Jesus known in the world. She is dressed in fine linen (v.25), the righteous acts of the saints (Rev. 19:8). Her husband praises her (v. 28). We shall one day stand before the bema seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:9-17). Our works shall be judged by fire. The good works shall remain, and we shall receive the praise of our Lord and husband. He shall say, “Well done, you good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.” Great, attractive and entertaining programs of churches are deceitful and passing, but a congregation that fears God shall be praised by Him (v. 30).
You see, when we are this kind of wife, we bring glory to His name. When we are not, we bring shame to Him. It is all about His glory, not ours. Our marriages are to reflect this. Proverbs 31 is a goal for women to reflect what the church should be like. Men, we should reflect what Jesus is like. He “loved the church and gave Himself for her.”(Eph. 5:25). Proverbs 31 demands a great deal out of wives; Eph. 5:25 demands more. Men are we doing it? When we do, we bring glory to Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Be His glory in your marriage today!
--Pastor john
P.S. Laura, my darling, in my mind you fulfill Proverbs 31, even though you do not think you fulfill it. You are my virtuous wife! You are marvelous, and I am so proud that you are my wife!
REVELATION 22
Remember as a child when waiting for Christmas seemed like an eternity? Even though it was just a day away, it seemed as if it was taking forever to come? But the waiting seemed to make its coming better. We are awaiting the coming of our glorious King. He is the One who has the river of life which flows from His throne. He is the One who will cause a tree of life to grow in the streets. The fruit of the tree will bring healing to the nations. He is the One who will reverse the curse. He is the One who will change our seeming eternal nightmare into an eternal day dream—a pleasant one. He is faithful and true. Unlike the promises of a deceptive salesman, we can count upon His promises. He is the One who is righteous in all His ways. When He comes, He will bring righteousness with Him. It will no longer be an option among many. He is the Bright and Morning Star, in the midst of a dreary night, He is the promise that morning is coming, the light is dawning, the night is coming to an end. He is the Groom for whose resplendent glory we long to be united. And He is coming. In the parched desert of this life, He is the true water of life who will quench all our thirsts. Maybe this year will be the year that will set into motion all of the events that must take place before His coming. He is coming. He is coming quickly. If waiting for Christmas seemed like an eternity, then waiting for His return must surely seem longer. But His coming is all the sweeter because of the wait. Lord Jesus, it is Your glory we want to see. Come! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor john
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