29 June 2008

Jehovah God

(Kent Heaton)

"’To whom then will you liken Me that I would be his equal?’ says the Holy One. ‘Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the one who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power, not one of them is missing’” (Isaiah 40:25-26). How we view Jehovah God is how we submit to Him. If He is nothing more than a saintly white haired man sitting on a golden throne, we do not know Jehovah God. If we view Him only as a terrible vengeful God of wrath and destruction, we do not know Jehovah God.

What can we liken Him to? What is in the language of man that can fully describe the complete nature of Jehovah God? How can we begin to cross the threshold of understanding to one who calls every star by name and not one of them is missing? The best attempt man can find to picture Jehovah God to mortal man is the Bible – no other book can even measure in the smallest degree. Contained within this wonderful book is the grandest of pictures of Jehovah God.

His power spoke and the world was created (Genesis 1). He gave law to man that was clear and without contradiction yet man disobeyed (Genesis 2,3). In the darkest moment of man’s creation Jehovah God showed mercy by offering a sacrifice for the sin of man (Genesis 3:15; Galatians 3:16). The sacrifice for sin was His only begotten Son (John 3:1-21). “By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory” (1 Timothy 3:16).

King David wrote that Jehovah God is “full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth” (Psalms 86:15). He showed His compassion upon the world in saving Noah and seven others (Genesis 6-9). His longsuffering is measured by the steps of the children of Israel through the wilderness wanderings. The truth of Jehovah God is established in the promises carried out to Israel; in blessing and in cursing (Deuteronomy 28-30).

Paul wrote: “Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God's kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off” (Romans 11:22). There is a side of Jehovah God that is filled with wrath. He destroyed the world (Genesis 6); wiped out the cities of the plain including Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19); punished the rebellious Israelites at Kadesh (Numbers 14:26-38); gave laws that were punishable by death (Leviticus 19,20,24); destroyed the nations of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and the cities of Babylon, Nineveh, Tyre and Jerusalem.

The Bible is filled with stories of Jehovah God’s wrath upon disobedience and His mercy to those who follow righteousness. This character has not changed for man today. He remains a God of mercy and judgment. His judgment today is against all ungodliness (Romans 1:18) and yet His mercy is given to those who obey Him (Ephesians 2:1-10). To whom can we liken Jehovah God of the Bible? His majesty is far above the mind of man and yet we are challenged to embrace the Creator of this world in all His goodness and severity. Thank you Father.

Psalm 23

(Sewell Hall)

"Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" are to be sung "with the Spirit and with the understanding" (1 Corinthians 14:15). This suggests that we are to express their sentiments as our own. If the Psalms were songs to be sung, their sentiments were to be personalized and expressed as the sentiments of the singer. Though we may not sing them now, we should make them our own as we read them. We praise as we read Psalms of praise, and we pray as we read Psalms of prayer. Otherwise, much of their value is lost.

The first part of Psalm 23 is David's meditation on himself as a sheep and God as his shepherd. “To feel in any measure the force and beauty of the similitude, and get into sympathy, with the soul of the psalmist, we must...dress our thoughts in the bright colors of Eastern life, we must see the shepherd opening the well-guarded fold and walking at the head of his own flock, calling now one, now another, by its name, while the sheep willingly follow, for they know and love their shepherd's voice; see him in dewy morning choosing their pasture, at hot noon leading them to some tranquil pool or hidden well, ever on the watch; ready, like David, to do battle with lion, bear, or wolf, in their defense; rather laying down his life than leaving them to perish” (Joseph F. Excell in the Pulpit Commentary).

A Sheep In The Lord's Flock: -- When I make Psalm 23 my own, I am a sheep, I am helpless to find my own food supply, to defend myself from attack, to find my way home when I am lost, to tend my own wounds or heal my own sickness. Both in the Old Testament and in the New, the ultimate picture of hopelessness is that of sheep without a shepherd.

Making the sentiments of Psalm 23 my own, I praise God that I have a shepherd. And what a shepherd! "The Lord is my shepherd." I can know Him even better than David did. David could only know Him as the God who appeared on cloud enshrouded, quaking, smoking Mount Sinai and spoke in such thunderous tones that even Moses said, "I exceedingly fear and quake" (Hebrews 12:21).

If David could see Him as a loving compassionate shepherd, how much more clearly should I recognize Him as this, since He came to earth as a man-- who did not quarrel or cry aloud, whose voice was not heard in the streets and who would not so much as break a bruised reed (Matthew 12:19,20). A man who fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young" (Isaiah 40:11). A man who took little children in His arms and identified Himself as "the good shepherd" (John 10:14).

My shepherd knows me by name (John 10:3). He knows my needs better than I know them, He knows how best to supply those needs, and He "is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20). Above all, His love for me is such that He is not only willing to lay down His life for me; He has actually done it to rescue me from the "roaring lion" that had captured me.

In the care of such a shepherd, "I shall not want" for any good thing. The "green pastures" into which He leads provide me with "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3) so that, having taken my fill, I can contentedly lie down for meditation (Psalm 1:2). The still waters by which He leads me become "a fountain springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14).

We all "were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of [our] souls" (1 Peter 1:25), and when I return, "He restores my soul." Peter knew that from first-hand experience, having had his own soul so patiently and lovingly restored after his ungrateful denial of his Shepherd (John 21:15-17).

"O Lord, I know they way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps" (Jeremiah 10:23). However, I can trust my shepherd Who does not drive but "leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." I have but to "follow His steps" (1 Peter 2:21,22).

Even "the valley of the shadow of death" holds no fear for me, for I know He is with me and is, by His own experience, familiar with the path. I cannot see Him, but I am comforted by the sound of His rod, the crook of which can rescue me from any pit; and of His staff that has already defeated "him who had the power of death, that is , the devil" (Hebrews 2:14).

A Guest In The Lord's House: -- In verse five, as I sing with David, I am no longer a sheep but now an honored guest accepting the invitation of the Lord -- no longer a shepherd but now a gracious host. He has prepared a table for me without regard to the accusations of my enemies. In contrast with the grudging hospitality of Simon the Pharisee (Luke 4:46). He anoints my head with oil as a token of His warm welcome; and He fills my cup to overflowing as a foretaste of the generous provisions that are to follow.

With such a host, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." And how could eternity be described in words more appealing than that "I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever"? Little wonder this psalm has become what is most likely the most popular and comforting of all the psalms.

When Brethren Compete

(Jamey Hinds)

When brethren compete, there are no winners. The Lord does not gain from our competing against one another; the congregation doesn’t either. And instead of there being a close fellowship, at best there will be an undercurrent detrimental to the work of the Lord; the worst is open animosity.

In Galatians 5:13–15 the apostle Paul wrote, “For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be consumed by one another.”

The imagery the apostle uses here is graphic—we can well imagine a jungle seen in which animals bite at and devour one another. We already have an enemy who is seeking to devour us: “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Sometimes the problem of competition among brothers and sisters originates from pride — we think too highly of ourselves than we should (see Romans 12:16). How do we become the standard of determining right and wrong for others? “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.’ . . . Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God” (Romans 15:1–3, 7). “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love” (Ephesians 4:1, 2). The parallel passage comes from Colossians 3:12, 13 — “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.”

In putting on a heart of compassion, we should understand that this is a deliberate choice to be made and put into action. It does not come accidentally — it is deliberate: we choose to do this. The reason why we choose to put on a heart of compassion is because we love our brethren. “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. . . . If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 3:14-15, 20).