New Clothes

There are many wonderful friendships that are displayed in the pages of the Bible: Ruth and Naomi, Paul and Timothy, Elijah and Elisha. But perhaps the most lovely one of all occurs between Jonathan and David. I was reminded of this once again as I read the opening verses of 1 Samuel 18:

“As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt. And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war. And this was good in the sight of all the people and also in the sight of Saul's servants.”

This friendship is all the more remarkable given the circumstances and context of this passage. The incident immediately preceding this was David’s defeat of Goliath. Yet David was still, essentially, just a shepherd boy, and Jonathan was heir to the crown of Israel. The description of their friendship, as being knit to each other’s souls, is an incredible work of God.

What Jonathan does to seal this friendship is amazing. After making a covenant with David, Jonathan literally gives him the clothes that he was dressed in. And these were not ordinary items of apparel, but a robe, armor, sword, bow and belt. These items signify the privileges that are given the son of a King. They are the very symbols of authority and power.

Now think about our Lord Jesus. We are knit together with Him as a result of His work on the cross. He stripped Himself of His glory and clothed us with white robes of righteousness. Matthew Henry describes it this way:

“David is seen in Jonathan’s clothes, that all may take notice he is a Jonathan’s second self. Our Lord Jesus has thus shown his love to us, that he stripped himself to clothe us, emptied himself to enrich us; nay, he did more than Jonathan, he clothed himself with our rags, whereas Jonathan did not put on David’s.”

If the friendship between Jonathan and David is so very precious, let us rejoice that we are, to an even greater degree, of one soul with the King of kings and Lord of lords. The covenant that God the Father and God the Son made before the foundation of time has opened the way for this friendship. Jesus has done all the work to make it so. And one day our rags will be traded in for garments befitting the sons and daughters of a King!

Better Than Dirt

I read an interesting article recently in a magazine put out by Reformed Theological Seminary. The author, Miles Van Pelt, was describing a speaking opportunity at a local Christian school. When he got up to the podium to speak, he held out a big bag of dirt. After asking for a volunteer, a sixth grader named John joined him on stage. The question he asked of the kids was this: “What is the difference between this bag of dirt and John?” After fielding some humorous guesses from the audience, he answered that essentially, there was no difference between the two. He pointed out Genesis 2:7a (“The Lord God formed the man out of dust from the ground.”) and Genesis 3:19 (“By the sweat of your brow you will eat bread until you return to the ground, because you were taken from it. For you are dust and to dust you will return.”) Not a very flattering comparison, right?

But of course, a fuller answer to the question requires the rest of Genesis 2:7 which states: “...and God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” What a difference that breath of God makes!

Van Pelt asks another question that essentially has the same answer as the above one. What is the difference between the Bible and other books? It turns out that the creation of the Bible has this very same ‘breath of God’ uniqueness. “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Here is Van Pelt’s analysis of this similarity:

“According to the biblical account, therefore, the sixth-grader and the Bible share a common animating force: the very breath of God. Consider further that nothing else in the Bible is described in this way, only man as God’s image and the Bible as God’s Word. Or, to put it another way, the gigantic difference between a lifeless bag of dirt and a living, breathing person is the same difference that exists between the Bible and every other book ever written. Thoughtful consideration of this reality should stagger us.”

What an honor and what a privilege to have the breath of God give us life. What a gift to us to have the Bible, the inspired Word of God, to read and to receive every day.

Words for the Weekend

"It is a glorious thing to know that your Father God makes no mistakes in directing or permitting that which crosses the path of your life. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter. It is our glory to trust Him, no matter what."

Joni Eareckson Tada

Farewell Address

It never ceases to amaze me how familiar Biblical passages take on new meaning from one reading to the next. Take, for example, 1 Samuel 12:19-24. The context is Samuel’s farewell address to the Israelites. He reminds them of his service to them as a prophet, a judge, and a priest; of God’s great provision for them as a nation; and lastly, in these particular verses, of their sin in demanding a king like all the nations around them.

“And all the people said to Samuel, ‘Pray for your servants to the Lord your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.’ And Samuel said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid; you have done all this evil. Yet do not turn aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart. And do not turn aside after empty things that cannot profit or deliver, for they are empty. For the Lord will not forsake his people, for his great name's sake, because it has pleased the Lord to make you a people for himself. Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you, and I will instruct you in the good and the right way. Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you. But if you still do wickedly, you shall be swept away, both you and your king.’”

There are so many lessons to be considered in this passage:

1. Yes, we should recognize and repent of known sin.

2. We shouldn’t use our sin as an excuse to then turn away from God, thinking our sin is too great to be covered by the Cross of Christ.

3. We need to put off all distractions and activities that do not cause us to grow closer to God.

4. God will never forsake us, for His own name’s sake. When God has promised something, He delivers it despite our sin and lack of devotion to Him.

5. It pleases the Lord to make a people for Himself. (Yes, that’s us!)

6. Samuel considers it a sin to cease praying for the Israelites. Could it possibly be a sin to not pray for others?

7. We should faithfully serve God with all our hearts because He has done great things for us.

8. And if we continue in our sinful ways, we run the danger of being ‘swept away’ by the Lord. Definitely not a pleasant thought...

What a farewell address! What a variety of thoughts from just a few verses! God’s Word always gives us so much to consider. Through it all we need to remember His grace (God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense). And then we need to put that grace into action in our lives.

The Winner in the Devotional Category Is...

Although I have yet to decide on a book to teach for the Women’s Study groups here at Exeter Presbyterian, I have chosen a new favorite devotional work. (See “Summertime Reading, July 21st blogpost.) It came recommended to me by a very good friend who has similar reading tastes to mine. It is entitled Voices From The Past: Puritan Devotional Readings, edited by Richard Rushing.

The daily excerpts from the writings of authors such as John Owen, Richard Baxter, Jeremiah Burroughs, and John Flavel, are on various topics. Each one is a gem - really. The preface states that most of these selections are word for word copies from the original. “In many places the old language has been retained when to modernize it would have blunted the sharp cutting edge of the original.” Because of this attempt to present the material as close to the primary documents, reading must be done slowly. The reader will be richly rewarded for the effort.

Here is just one sample of the loveliness of these writings:

“Nothing comes to pass without our heavenly Father’s permission or ordination. By this almighty providence, God overrules and sways all things to his own glory. There is nothing that comes to pass but God has his purpose in it. Though the world seems to run at random in blind confusion and rude disorder, yet God governs it to make perfect harmony out of all the seeming discords. Question: ‘If God’s providence ordains all things that come to pass according to the immutable law of his purpose, then what necessity is there for prayer? We cannot by our most fervent prayers alter God’s decrees. Our prayers cannot hasten or ripen his blessings before their time, or prevent or prolong the time fixed to bring afflictions to pass upon us.’ Divine providence does not only ordain what effects shall come to pass, but also by what means, what causes, and in what order they shall flow. God has appointed not only the effect itself, but the means to accomplish it. Prayer is a means to bring to pass that which God has determined should be. We do not pray out of hope to alter God’s eternal purposes; but we pray to obtain that which God has ordained to be received by our prayers. We ask, that we may be fit to receive what God has from all eternity determined to give by prayer, and not otherwise. Therefore, when we lie under any affliction, or if we are pinched by poverty, prayer is necessary because, as God by his providence has brought these things upon us, so likewise possibly the same providence has also determined not to remove them until we earnestly and fervently pray for our deliverance. Prayer does not incline God to bestow that which before he was not resolved to give, but prepares us to receive that which God will not give otherwise.”

WHEW. There is so much in there worth considering! My favorite is this: the idea that God appoints not only the specific answers to our prayers, but the very act of praying itself:  “...the same providence has also determined not to remove them (our afflictions) until we earnestly and fervently pray for our deliverance.”

This is the kind of encouragement that we need to continue in prayer. It is not that we are going to change the will of God, but that God has willed that we should pray, and that our praying is part of His unstoppable plan to bless us and others.

Words for the Weekend

“It cost God nothing, so far as we know, to create nice things: but to convert rebellious wills cost Him crucifixion.”

C.S. Lewis

What Would Jesus Say?

Our journey through the Scriptures on the topic of Heaven is about to change rather dramatically. And why is that? It’s because we are, for the moment, finished with the Old Testament and moving on to the New. While there are numerous other OT verses that could be used for our comfort, perhaps it’s for the best that we now enter into the realm of the Gospel accounts written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Throughout our entire previous discussion of the Old Testament, we are left with the nagging desire to actually ‘interview’ someone who has been to Heaven and back. Can you imagine the questions we might ask, or the insights that might be shared? If only we had something more than shadows and visions to hold on to while we are facing the dark night of our grief... Actually, we do!

The word “Gospel” literally means “Good News.” And the Good News for us is that the Gospels contain the words, insights, and descriptions of One who HAS been to Heaven and is willing to tell us first-hand accounts of what awaits us! Of course this traveler is Jesus Christ. Here is His own testimony:

“I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” (John 16:28)

What better person to help us in our grief than the one who has been a citizen and resident of Heaven for as long as Heaven has existed? Who has a more credible testimony than Jesus concerning the realities of life beyond death? And why shouldn’t we study and reflect upon the promises of everlasting bliss that come to us from the premiere expert witness on this important topic?

What a blessing to have authoritative words about Heaven from the person who knows it so well!