Consider Them / Consider Him – Day 320 Through the Bible

“Saint Paul Writing His Epistles” fresco by Ben Long IV in St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Wilkesboro, NC – part of the Benjamin F. Long IV Fresco Trail , sponsored by the Blue Ridge Heritage Area. The trail extends to the Crossnore School – near Mt. Celo Church and on into Asheville and surrounding counties.

My Meditations on Today’s Readings

(Ellipses are mine and are used for contemplation.)

Key Words/Phrases:  Then they shall know that I am the LORD (x5); vengeance, destruction, in/by/through faith (x 12) Note:  The author of Hebrews is unknown.  Most scholars believe Paul wrote it, though attribution has also been given to Luke, Apollos, Barnabas, Priscilla, and Clement of Rome.

Gloating over Judgment of God’s People – Ezekiel 25 and 26 – (Facts: What It Says – Summarized)  The Evil of the Enemies of the Chosen Nation: The enemies of Israel and Judah are exulting in the destruction of God’s People and the Nations as a result of His divine judgment.  “Because you said, ‘Aha!…Look! The house of Judah is like all the nations…Aha! She (Jerusalem) is broken who was the gateway of the peoples; now she is turned over to me; I shall be filled; she is laid waste”….clapped your hands, stamped your feet…rejoiced in heart with all your disdain against My sanctuary when it was profaned…the land when the land of Israel was desolate…when they went into captivity…for taking vengeance on Judah…greatly offended by avenging itself on them…dealt vengefully and took vengeance with a spiteful heart to destroy because of the old hatred…God’s Response: Ammon, Moab, Seir, Edom, Philistia, and Tyre will become the possessions of other nations…be cut off…perish…be destroyed…become desolate. “I will execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes.” And to Tyre specifically, “I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; though you are sought for, you will never found again, say the Lord GOD.  God’s Reason: “Then they shall know that I am the LORD.”  Principle:  The Bible warns us to not take pleasure in the destruction of our enemies.  How much more dangerous it is for unbelievers to gloat over God’s judgment of His own people. When God Judges Our Enemies: Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, 
and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, 
and He turn away His wrath from him. “(Proverbs 24:17-18) When God Judges His People: “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me. I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him, until he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to the light, and I shall behold his righteousness. Then she that is mine enemy shall see it, and shame shall cover her which said unto me, Where is the Lord thy God? mine eyes shall behold her: now shall she be trodden down as the mire of the streets.” (Micah 7:8-10)

Precursors of Old Testament Blessing  – Psalm 128:1-6 (Facts: What It Says – Summarized) The Precursors:  “Everyone who fears the LORD…who walks in His ways…when you eat the labor of…your hands.” The Blessings: 1) You shall be happy, 2) It shall be well with you, 3) Your wife…shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of…your house, 4) Your children…will be like olive plants…all around your table. The Psalmist’s Prayer:  “The LORD bless you out of Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life.  Yes may you see your children’s children.  Peace be upon Israel!”  Principle:  There is a distinction between Old Testament blessings and New Testament blessings.  While the precursors listed to the blessings here may be generally true, they are not always the result of godly living under either covenant – the Mosaic or the New Covenant.  The lives of Christ, the apostles, the prophets, and many Old Testament saints are illustrative of this.  The blessings may be eternal and/or temporal.  This is another reason for the necessity of knowing the “whole counsel of God” rather than choosing a verse or two on which to build your hope and faith.  Hebrews 11 (The Hall of Faith) gives further illustration of this truth.

Consider Them / Consider Him - Hebrews 11:13-40 – (Facts: What It Says – Summarized) Eternal – Not Temporal - Fulfillment of the Promises:  “These all…died in faith…not having received the promises…but…having seen them afar off…were assured…of them…embraced them…and confessed….that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” What These Saints Did…By Faith: 1) By faith…Abraham…when he was tested…offered up Isaac…his only begotten son…concluding…that God was able…to raise him up…even from the dead.  2) By faith…Isaac…blessed Jacob and Esau…concerning…things to come. 3) By faith…Jacob…when he was dying…blessed each of the sons of Joseph…and worshipped…leaning on the top of his staff. 4) By faith…Joseph…when he was dying…made mention of the departure of the children of Israel…and gave instructions concerning his bones. 5) By faith…Moses was hidden by his parents…and they were not afraid of the king’s command.  6) By faith…Moses refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter…choosing rather…to suffer affliction…with the people of God…than to enjoy the passing pleasures…of sin…esteeming the reproach of Christ…greater riches…than the treasures in Egypt…for…he looked to the reward. 7) By faith…he forsook Egypt…not fearing the wrath of the king…for…he endured…as seeing Him who is invisible.  8) By faith…he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood…lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. 8) By faith…they passed through…the Red Sea as by dry land…whereas…the Egyptians…attempting to do so…were drowned.  9) By faith…the walls of Jericho fell down…after they were encircled for seven days.  10) By faith…the harlot Rahab did not perish with those…who did not believe…when she had received…the spies with peace.  Through faith Gideon…Barak…Samson…Jephthah…David…Samuel…the prophets… 11) subdued kingdoms, 12) worked righteousness, 13) obtained promises, 14) stopped the mouths of lions, 15) quenched the violence of fire, 16) escaped the edge of the sword, 17) out of weakness were made strong, 18) became valiant in battle, 19) turned to fight the armies of the aliens, 20) women received their dead raised to life again. 21) others were tortured, not accepting deliverance…that…they might obtain a better resurrection. 22) Still others…had trial of mockings and scourgings 23) of chains and imprisonment; 24) they were stoned; 25) they were sawn in two; 26) they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins 26) being destitute, 27) afflicted, 28) tormented, 29) wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.  These Saints’ Lives Relative to the World and to Us:  “of whom the world was not worthy.” And all these…having obtained a good testimony…through faith…did not receive the promise; God having provided something better…for us…that they…should not be made perfect…apart from us.”   Principle:  The saints lived lives that glorified God…by their faith…through their actions…for the kingdom of God…being assured of the eternal – not temporal – fulfillment of God’s promises.

My Lessons and Applications:  Other than meditating on the Passion and Life of Christ, this chapter in Hebrews has impacted my life more strongly than any other through the decades.  The obvious lesson and application follows immediately in Chapter 12: 1-3 and is the clarion call of every believer in the kingdom of God through the centuries:  “Therefore…we also… since…we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us…and let us run with endurance… the race that is set before us…looking unto Jesus…the author and finisher of our faith…who for the joy that was set before Him…endured the cross…despising the shame…and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For…consider Him…who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself…lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.”

It is one thing to love the ways of the Lord when times are easy but quite another to cling to them during all kinds of discouragements and difficulties.  The kiss of an outward profession is easy, yet worthless.  Actually clinging to the Lord, which reveals itself through a holy decision for truth and holiness, is no small matter. Have we counted the cost, and are we sincerely ready to suffer all worldly loss for the sake of the Master?  The future eternal gain will be abundant compensation, for “the treasures of Egypt” (Heb. 11:26) “are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Rom. 8:18)   Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening