When we read the story of the Old Testament, we see how God looks into the fallen world to build His own nation of people from among the world's nations. Abraham was called out from among the Babylonian people, and through him, God would create a nation distinct from all the nations around Him.
As God created this nation by turning a family into a mighty people, He set up rules that made them distinct from everyone else. He would not only be their God, but He would also be their King. They were to put their trust in Him alone for their salvation and their protection. They would have no other God before Him, nor would they look to man for the things they needed.
But God knew human nature, and He knew that the day would come when they would want to be like the nations around them and have a human king. Though it would break His heart that they would reject Him as their King, God would give them what they wanted.
In 1 Samuel, the people had come to this point, and they approach Samuel for a King:
“Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah
and said to him, “Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.” (1 Samuel 8:4-5 ESV).
This displeased Samuel greatly because God had set him as judge over the people. But God knew that they weren’t rejecting Samuel, they were rejecting Him as King, and He told this to Samuel.
“And the LORD said to Samuel, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.” (1 Samuel 8:7 ESV).
So, Samuel tells the people that God will give them a king. But he warns them that having a king will not be the wonderful thing they imagine it to be in their minds. The King would take from them and turn them into servants. But the people still insisted on having a king to be like the nations around them.
This wasn’t the first time the children of Israel heard these warnings about their king. All the way back in Deuteronomy, God told the people this day would come, and He addressed what the King should be like when it happened.
“When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, 'I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,'
you may indeed set a king over you whom the LORD your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother.” (Deuteronomy 17:14-15 ESV).
What followed was a picture of what a faithful king would be like. Among many other things, God told the people this interesting, unique thing about the future king they would appoint:
“Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, 'You shall never return that way again.'“ (Deuteronomy 17:16 ESV).
From the beginning, God told the people that the king should not acquire many horses. Many may find this prohibition odd. Why would God say this? The answer lies in how God still viewed Himself with the people. Even though the people replaced Him as king with a flesh and blood king, God would still be their deliverer and protector. They would not need the might and power of war horses or chariots to be their salvation.
But back in 1 Samuel 8, when Samuel warned the people about what their king would do, God knew that they would not listen to this prohibition and still try to build a mighty army to rely on:
“He said, “These will be the ways of the king who will reign over you: he will take your sons and appoint them to his chariots and to be his horsemen and to run before his chariots.” (1 Samuel 8:11 ESV).
David didn’t amass many horses and chariots. In fact, the Bible says that after he defeated Hadadezer,
“And David took from him 1,700 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots.” (2 Samuel 8:4 ESV).
And even in the days of Joshua, God did not want Israel to rely on these military powers for their hope.
“And the LORD said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” (Joshua 11:6 ESV).
God always wanted His people to look to Him for their hope and their salvation. Horses and chariots represented military power that the people put faith in. The nations with the most horses and chariots of iron were seen as strong and invincible. But God didn’t need military weapons to defend His people. He could be their protection without them, even when the nations coming up against Israel had a multitude of military might.
The prohibition against multiplying horses was so the people would always trust in the Lord for their strength and not in themselves. Yet, as human nature so often does, the people of God began to put their faith in things they could see rather than in the Lord. By the time Solomon became king, this prohibition against providing many horses was thrown out the window, and from then on, the people of God would struggle with not trusting in their own power to save themselves.
“Solomon also had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots, and 12,000 horsemen.” (1 Kings 4:26 ESV).
The Psalmist captured God’s purpose in putting trust in Him instead of their military might:
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” (Psalm 20:7 ESV).
This lesson about not acquiring many horses is a lesson of faith. On one hand, we have the choice of providing the things we think we need for our salvation. On the other hand, we simply come to the Lord, empty, relying on Him for what we need. That is a big step to take.
When we look at the violence in the world, do we put our faith in horses and chariots? Do we look at our mighty military power and find a sense of safety and comfort, or do we rest in the Lord? Are our prayers a mere formality because we have Patriot missiles and nuclear subs to protect us?
God can very easily empower a nation armed with rocks and sticks to bring down a mighty superpower if He wishes. The label “superpower” is a testament to the trust we place in horses and chariots to defend ourselves. We need to be careful that our faith in our own power to defend ourselves doesn’t eclipse our need for God.
In the tiny book of Obadiah, God pronounces judgment upon Edom. These people lived in the mountains and believed that no one could attack them. Their pride made them forget about the power of God:
“The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?” (Obadiah 1:3 ESV).
Well, God answered that question decisively in the next verse:
“Though you soar aloft like the eagle, though your nest is set among the stars, from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD.” (Obadiah 1:4 ESV).
While I am not advocating that our country destroy its weapons, I strongly suggest that the people of God be cautious in the trust we place in these weapons as our protection and sole means of defense. We need to bend the knee to God as our defense and our hope. We need to see Him as sovereign over the nations and put our trust in Him.
God is sovereign over the nations. We must put our faith in Him and not in our own ability to protect ourselves. Only then can we sleep at night without fear of what man can do to us.
I am in Isaiah in my daily Bible reading. One of my favorite prophecies comes from this part of my reading. In chapter 45, Isaiah writes about the Persian leader, Cyrus, 200 years before the king was born. Not only does Isaiah prophesy about Cyrus, but he also mentions the future king by name.
“Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped, to subdue nations before him and to loose the belts of kings, to open doors before him that gates may not be closed:” (Isaiah 45:1 ESV).
We know that everything written by Isaiah about Cyrus comes true. I particularly love this pragmatic verse:
“For the sake of my servant Jacob, and Israel my chosen, I call you by your name, I name you, though you do not know me.” (Isaiah 45:4 ESV).
This verse speaks to God's sovereignty like none other. God can take a world ruler, call him by name, and accomplish His purpose through this man even though “you do not know me.”
God does not need man to line up behind Him to accomplish His purposes. God's will is not dependent on what we do or do not do. God chose to work through Cyrus 200 years before he was born, and nothing Cyrus could do would thwart God's purposes.
This passage is such a powerful testimony of the God we serve. There is none like Him, as Isaiah goes on to say:
“I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me,
that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.” (Isaiah 45:5-6 ESV).
What a wonderful, marvelous, powerful, and awesome God we serve, the God who can call Cyrus by name 200 years before this world leader was born.
I am in the book of Isaiah in my daily Bible reading. What an indictment we read in chapter 58. God is stunned that people worship and call upon Him, yet at the same time, they harbor wicked hearts toward others. God looks at this and concludes in incredulity:
“Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD?” (Isaiah 58:5 ESV).
God goes on to explain how His followers should engage in worship and fasting before Him:
“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?” (Isaiah 58:6 ESV).
What does it look like to loose the bonds of wickedness, undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? God answers those questions in the next verse:
“Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” (Isaiah 58:7 ESV).
While we need to do what the Israelites did when they approached God in worship and devotion to Him, we must not do it while harboring evil hearts toward our neighbor at the same time. We must go beyond having warm and fuzzy feelings toward our neighbors, especially those in need. We must lift our hands to provide relief. We must work to provide relief.
Otherwise, we simply say, “Be warmed and filled,” and God will ask in the same incredulity to us, “Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD?”
Chapter 58 is an uncomfortable indictment for all of us who feel comfortable with our worship to God while forgetting our responsibility to do right to others.
Remember, God never said to stop serving others to worship Him first. But He has said,
“leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:24 ESV).
How we treat others is of the utmost importance to God.
The Kingdom of Heaven is not only characterized as the way we worship God, but also as the way we serve others and put them before ourselves. Is this what Jesus sees in us as he looks upon us?
“if you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.” (Isaiah 58:10 ESV).
I am in 1 Corinthians in my daily Bible reading. There is so much I could highlight in my reading. Rather than focus on the sins and ills this Greek church struggled with, something else caught my eye that made me ashamed. Let me share it with you this morning.
“To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless,
and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;
when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.” (1 Corinthians 4:11-13 ESV).
This is what Paul says of the apostles. This is what they endured for Jesus. They had given up everything in this world for Jesus and His church.
They did not work for this world's riches but sacrificed everything for the riches in the world to come. What did this sacrifice look like?
Hunger and thirst.
Homelessness and wearing rags.
Reviled, persecuted, slandered.
They were treated like the scum of the earth.
How did they respond?
They worked.
They blessed.
They endured.
They entreated.
They went through all this for Jesus. They became spectacles to the world and even to angels.
“For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men.” (1 Corinthians 4:9 ESV).
Yet they laid everything down on the altar for Jesus. What a powerful example for us. Yes, an example. Immediately after telling us what he and the apostles suffered for Jesus, Paul says this:
“I urge you, then, be imitators of me.” (1 Corinthians 4:16 ESV).
These are the things we are called to imitate. How many sermons have we heard where preachers tell us that we are to imitate Paul in his example of the organization of the church he left for us and for his fidelity to the Truth?
While we should be imitators of Paul in all good things, that's not what he is talking about in this passage. I fear we miss the powerful message he calls us to as we lay our lives down on the altar for Jesus.
Are we prepared to experience these things for the cause of Jesus?
Hunger and thirst.
Homelessness and wearing rags.
Reviled, persecuted, slandered.
Treated like the scum of the earth.
Or do we complain to God when our cup is not filled to the brim? I don't know about you, but this passage convicts me. Yet Paul says, “Be imitators of me.” This, in context, is what he urges us to imitate.
The other things we insert here to imitate are usually more benign and less costly than these things. The things Paul calls us to imitate are not glamorous. The things we focus to imitate Paul on are often more mental and less practical.
These things we are called to be imitators of require us to invite loss for the Kingdom's sake and to do it with an attitude that can only come as a new creature made by the Spirit of God.
It is not a matter of “can” we be imitators, but “will” we be imitators in these things.
Or will we be discontent when our cup isn't full? Will we recoil at the slightest inconvenience? Will we lash out at those who cause our persecution rather than bless them?
I do not point any fingers this morning at anyone but myself in this. This is what I am struggling to hear in my reading this morning. As for you, I do not know your heart, nor do I wish to know it. This is a matter between us and the Lord as we contemplate Paul's admonition to
“Be imitators of me.”
Have you ever had a day where you can't stop thinking about the bad things you did in your past?
I had one of those days today. I'm not sure where it came from, but it didn't take long before I started feeling pretty bad about myself.
I wondered what God thought of me. I had the urge to beg for His forgiveness again, hoping He could look past the evil I had done.
But then I remembered we are all in that situation. We all have a past. We all have done things and said things that we desperately wish we could take back.
But we can't. They are forever part of who we are.
Or more accurately, who we were.
And that's exactly why Jesus had to come to earth. We all have a past, and the only way we can have a future is because of what He did on the cross for us.
I don't have to relive the past because He has made me fit to be a saint in His kingdom. It was because of nothing I had done. It was because of everything He had done.
I have a past I am not proud of, but that is no longer part of who I am. That man has died.
Now, I have a future because His blood has washed me clean and I am regenerated. I am a new creature. And His Father is working on me to make me into the image of His Son.
Yeah I have a past but because of Jesus, it's my present and my future that matters.
Nice try today, Satan. You had me thinking about the past because that's when you had me. But today, I belong to Him and none of those terrible things I did or said are part of me anymore. I have been cleaned with the most perfect cleanser there is.
And now, I have been made fit for an eternal life with God.
Another thing that differentiates Jesus from other prophets:
When Elijah was about to be taken up in a whirlwind, he asked Elisha what he could do for him before he left.
“When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Ask what I shall do for you, before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me.” (2 Kings 2:9 ESV).
Notice Elijah's response. It is one thing that will differentiate this mighty prophet from Jesus:
“And he said, “You have asked a hard thing; yet, if you see me as I am being taken from you, it shall be so for you, but if you do not see me, it shall not be so.” (2 Kings 2:10 ESV).
Now listen to Jesus when He sends the apostles out two by two to preach His message, heal the sick, and cast out demons:
“And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases,
and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.” (Luke 9:1-2 ESV).
Do you see the difference? Though one of Israel's most mighty prophets, Elijah did not have the authority to grant Elisha's ask. He had to see if God granted Elisha's request.
But Jesus had the authority to give this power. It was His authority to bestow on whomever He wished. It wasn't a hard thing for Him at all.
All prophets who came before Jesus acted on behalf of God. But though Jesus came to do the Father's will, He had the authority to do the Father's will however He wished.
We worship Jesus because He is the Son of God, a claim no other prophet before Him could make.
I just finished 1 Corinthians in my daily Bible reading. Chapter 15 deals with the resurrection of the spiritual body at the coming of Jesus.
“Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53 ESV).
I wonder if this is the day the Father tells the Son, “It's time...”
I am convinced that time moves at different speeds at different times in our lives.
At 54, it moves at breakneck speeds compared to when I was in my 20s.
How did a half a century pass? And I'm pretty sure that the next half-century will fly by.
Perhaps that's why confessing Jesus is more pressing for me now than it had ever been before.
I'm on the downward part of life where meeting Jesus is a lot more likely sooner than later.
I am in 2 Corinthians in my daily Bible reading. This letter goes into depth about the things that Paul and his fellow laborers suffered for the sake of Jesus. He was also happy to suffer for the sake of those to whom he ministered.
I think we in the United States have lived in a historic bubble for over 200 years that doesn't represent the reality of most Christians for the last 2000 years.
We have lived in peace and surrounded by people who believe in Jesus as the Son of God. We have been surrounded by people who believe God created the heavens and the earth. We have been surrounded by people who believe in heaven and hell.
But those times are starting to change. This is no longer an insight we discern; it's confirmed by the evidence around us. We are starting to join the saints who lived, suffered, and were persecuted for their faith for most of the Kingdom's history upon the earth.
I wonder what will happen to our faith when we are forced to endure persecution like we have never had to endure before. Listen to what Paul writes to the Corinthians:
“For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.” (2 Corinthians 5:13 ESV).
Another translation says that some consider us out of our minds for the sake of God. When was the last time someone said we are crazy for the spiritual things we espouse? Perhaps many of us are still in our bubble, surrounded by more people who believe the way we believe rather than being around more people who do not believe what we believe.
That is not a bad thing, but it is just postponing the persecution to come as that bubble gets smaller and smaller and the world's trials choke out hearts that are not fully converted to Jesus.
I knew the opposition to Jesus was getting stronger by what I read in the news and what I saw in videos, but now that I am being more prolific in my writings and putting it out for others via new venues, I am starting to get a taste of this vitriol from others. As I create YouTube videos, I am experiencing mocking, cursing, and personal accusations I have never experienced for Jesus.
I am not complaining, but I rejoice. And I know what I am experiencing now is nothing compared to what my brothers and sisters in other times have faced and what they experience today in more dangerous parts of the world. But I do see the protective bubble shrinking.
I am no Paul, and I am under no delusions that anything I may be experiencing is even close to what they experienced for the cause of King Jesus and His kingdom. But I do see that it is more than I have ever faced in the past.
Perhaps it's because I am putting myself out there for Jesus more than I have in the past. That may be part of it. But I believe we are starting to see the beginning of a seismic shift as evil becomes bolder and more accepted in our society.
And this can be a good thing for us. This is the avenue where we can lay down ourselves and give glory to God and our King Jesus. This is where our stewardship can blossom, and our faith can grow exponentially.
So, I mention these things less as a warning to be feared but as a pragmatic observation of what is coming so we can prepare ourselves and focus on the wonderful blessings in Jesus that will also come with this societal shift away from God. What an amazing time to be a follower of Jesus, where we can share with others hope when things start to look more and more hopeless.