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                                                                                                                            

The Key to Overcoming When All Hope Seems Lost - Day 174 Through the Bible

One of the few remaining swinging bridges over the South Toe River in Yancey County -near Mt. Celo Church

My Lessons and Applications from Today's Readings

God in the Midst of the Impossible - 1 Chronicles 11 and 12 and Acts 6 - Even the New Testament reading today chronicles God's OT walk with His people.  Stephen, having been seized on false charges of blasphemy against the law of Moses and the temple, addresses the accusing council.  He begins with God's call to their father, Abraham, to leave Ur of the Chaldeans for a land that would be his descendants' possession.   The 400 years of exile of the people due to sin and the return to God are revealed to Abraham. We remember these stories we have studied, and Stephen reminds the council...of the covenant of circumcision..of the promised child Isaac...who is the father of Jacob...who is the father of the 12 patriarchs...one of whom is Joseph who is sold to the Egyptians because of the jealousy of the brothers...of his trials and triumphs through faith...how Egypt forgot the goodness of Joseph...persecuted his descendants...through genocide killed the male children...but Moses was saved that he might save his people for God.  The Chronicles tell of the valiant men that came to support David in his years of exile from Saul, as he is made king, and throughout his reign. God remembers the faithfulness of His people, of their valiant deeds through and for Him.

My Lessons and Applications - All of these were given gifts, training, life experiences (some very hard) that would prepare them for the mission God gave them.  We remember that Abraham was 99 and still childless when told by God he would have a son and be the father of a nation.  He waited 10 more years for the fulfillment of that promise. We recall the 40 years that Moses was raised in the courts of Pharaoh, which would be important when he was sent back to tell Pharaoh to let his people go...of Moses murdering the Egyptian to protect a fellow Israelite, who turned on him.  It was not his time, not in the power of God...of the 40 years Moses spent in the wilderness before the call of God...of the 40 years of leading a complaining, ungrateful people through the wilderness because of their sin...a people who so angered Moses they caused him to sin and lose the privilege of entering the promised land.  We know David was prepared as a young shepherd boy to shepherd his people Israel...how he waited 15-20 years to become king after being anointed by Samuel, spending those years in exile in fear of his life.  Joseph spent 11 years in Potiphar's house, 2 years in prison, 9 years as overseer before his brothers came to him, fulfilling his dream at age 17 that brought about their selling him into slavery.  Stephen now recounts the persecutions that Joseph endured and the greatness he achieved until his death at 110.  Stephen also becomes a great servant of God, but his persecution will lead to his death. The lives of the Biblical saints were never devoid of persecution, usually required many years of waiting for God's promises to be fulfilled, often were given missions that led to their deaths, occasionally sinned against God but whose lives were characterized by an obedient walk and prayer life with God.  Is this also the dominant trait of my life?  Am I trusting in God, waiting through the years for the fulfillment of His promise?  Do I recall the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11 to lift up my heart in times of trial?

Key to Overcoming Tough Times - Charles Stanley says, "The key to surviving tough times is learning to live with the continuing awareness of the presence of God...you are always in the presence of Almighty God who is sovereign...loving...all-knowing....faithful." And I would add to this... providential.  Their trials/tragedies were used by / engineered by God in the fulfillment of His kingdom work. Look back at the lives of the saints mentioned above and in Hebrews 11.  There were choices made...a decision to trust God, despite the circumstance...to remain obedient to God, regardless of what others did to them...to keep the faith, even when God's promise was not seen by them on this earth...by faith they overcame.

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.  Hebrews 12:1-3