Tag Christian

God Deserves a Standing Ovation

Todd R 1 Comment

Do you ever clap for God?  Maybe we’ve clapped during a worship song or after a speech or sermon, but do we just clap for God because He’s God and we’re joyful about it?  Psalm 47:1 tells us to:

“Clap your hands, all peoples!
            Shout to God with loud songs of joy!”

Ok, but should we, really?  After verse 1 above, verse 2 begins with “For…”, a transition which usually means the writer is about to give us reasons for the thing previously mentioned, which is that we should praise God with clapping and shouts of joy.  So, seeing the “For…” we should ask “Why should we praise God?” and expect an answer in the next verses, which say:

“For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared,
            a great king over all the earth.

He subdued peoples under us,
            and nations under our feet.

He chose our heritage for us,
            the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah”

Each of the 3 verses gives us reasons to clap our hands and shout in praise.  First, these verses remind us He is “king over all the earth.”  There are many authorities in the world, and many authorities we follow.  We have governments that rule us, cultures that influence us, and even spiritual forces that strive to pull us away from God.  But, however high and mighty these other authorities may be, only the Lord is “Most High”, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  While every other authority is flawed and can lead us astray, He is not and does not.  This is a cause for a clap of praise!

The next verse reminds us that He has overcome many opposing people and nations in the past:

“He subdued peoples under us,
            and nations under our feet.”

To its original audience, this probably referred to God’s victory over Egypt at the Red Sea, or the conquest of Canaan, however it can be read more broadly as God’s victory over any nation that seeks to rival Him.  Consider the Roman Empire, which to many at that time seemed like it ruled the entire world.  Roman emperors such as Nero and Diocletian tried to stamp out Christianity forcefully and violently, but in 410 AD, Germanic tribes would sack the city of Rome and eventually overthrow the empire.  No nation will outlast or overrule the reign of God.  This also is a cause for praise!

Lastly, verse 4 reminds us that however our circumstances might look to us, He loves us, provides for us, and will give us eternal refuge:

“He chose our heritage for us,
            the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah”

Being chosen by God is infinitely better than winning the lottery or anything else we might hope for in this world.  We might say we’ve won the spiritual lottery, only it was not won by chance, but by the favor of the Lord.  Our inheritance, our heritage, is guaranteed by Him.  Another reason to praise Him!  So…

“Clap your hands, all peoples!
            Shout to God with loud songs of joy!”

Photo by Guillermo Latorre on Unsplash

A Scurry of Ebenezers

Todd R 1 Comment

What is an Ebenezer?  In the Old Testament, an Ebenezer was a “stone of help,” a kind of monument to times God helped His people.  These markers were a reminder of God’s faithfulness, providing strength for the present and future.  Sometimes in the Bible, these moments where God intervenes are noted by the phrase “but God” followed by a change in the direction of the story.

Ebenezer (pictured) is also a squirrel, and this blog’s mascot.  He represents these “but God” memorials in the Bible.  As a squirrel suddenly and unexpectedly draws our attention, Ebenezers draw our attention to reminders of God’s influence on history and our lives.  If so, a “scurry” of squirrels, as a group of them is called, should get our attention even more!  In the story of Joseph from the book of Genesis, Ebenezer (“but God”) appears multiple times:

  • Genesis 45:8 – “So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.”
  • Genesis 48:21 – “Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers.”
  • Genesis 50:20 – “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”
  • Gen. 50:24 “And Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.’”

The story of Joseph is long and complicated but is really a story of extreme sibling rivalry and jealousy being turned by God into a story of salvation for all of God’s family.  God intervened in many ways.

Joseph was favored by his father over his brothers, and when he shared his dreams that his family would one day bow down to him, his brothers despised him more and sold him into slavery in Egypt.  Joseph’s brothers directly were responsible this, “but God” accomplished much for Joseph in Egypt, according to Genesis 45:8.  The result of one “but God” is that Joseph had risen to a position of great power.

In addition, Joseph’s brothers hated him enough to not only sell him into slavery, but they also lied to their father, saying Joseph had been killed by wild animals.  “But God” not only used these evil intentions and acts to raise up Joseph, but through Joseph God also “meant it for good,” as Genesis 50:20 says, keeping many people alive.  Joseph had been placed in charge of the distribution of food in Egypt during a long famine.  When Joseph’s brothers came from Canaan to buy food, Joseph concealed his identity and tested them, but eventually revealed himself and gave them a new home in Egypt, providing food and a livelihood for them for years.  God made something great out of the evil of Joseph’s brothers.

There are more bad events in Joseph’s life that God overcame, without a direct “but God” reference.  Joseph had been wrongly accused of attempted rape by the wife of his earlier Egyptian employer, Potiphar.  While spending time in prison on this charge, Joseph also suffered an extended sentence because the cupbearer, who promised to advocate for Joseph to Pharaoh, forgot about him for 2 years.  All of these things Joseph overcame, with God intervening all along the way.

One last example.  Joseph also prophesied another “but God” in the future, in Genesis 50:24.  While Egypt initially welcomed Israel with open arms, giving them land in a choice area of Egypt, as the nation of Israel grew, they were eventually bound in slavery when a Pharaoh saw their size as a threat.  Joseph knew Israel would be delivered from this slavery, and “God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”  The people would return to Canaan.

What does this mean for us?  That God is always intervening in our lives in more ways than we know, or probably could even comprehend.  Sometimes our lives can seem out of control and overwhelming, “but God” intervenes in our past, present, and future.

Every moment, we are surrounded by a scurry of Ebenezers, including many we are not aware of.

“God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.” – John Piper

Bible in a Year: Week of February 19 – February 25

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Fellow travelers:

Photo by Rod Long on Unsplash

Below are the chapters to read this week if you’re following along in my Bible in a year schedule, divided into morning and evening readings.  Follow along any way you want: just do the evening reading, flip the morning and evening, read it all.  Whatever works for you and your schedule!

This week, we’re 1/3 of the way through Psalms’ 150 chapters and done with Genesis, so on to Exodus.  If you’re wondering when we get to the New Testament, the answer is “not for a while.”  The New Testament has 260 chapters, while the Old has 929, but when we get to the New Testament it will be in focus for the rest of the year.

Monday, February 19
Morning: Psalm 50, 1 Kings 9
Evening: Genesis 50

Tuesday, February 20
Morning: Psalm 51, 1 Kings 10
Evening: Exodus 1

Wednesday, February 21
Morning: Psalm 52, 1 Kings 11
Evening: Exodus 2

Thursday, February 22
Morning: Psalm 53, 1 Kings 12
Evening: Exodus 3

Friday, February 23
Morning: Psalm 54, 1 Kings 13
Evening: Exodus 4

Saturday, February 24
Morning: Psalm 55, 1 Kings 14-15
Evening: Exodus 5

Sunday, February 25
Morning: Psalm 56, 1 Kings 16-17
Evening: Exodus 6

The Heavenly Holy of Holies

Todd R 2 Comments

The temple King Solomon built in Jerusalem was not just as a place of worship and sacrifice, but also an image, or a model, of the cost of sin and of redemption.  The many courts, chambers, and walls were an object lesson in man’s separation from God because of his sin, and the required cost of restoring that relationship.  The most interior part of the temple, and hardest to get to, was the Holy of Holies, a room shaped like a perfect cube: 20 cubits by 20 cubits by 20 cubits.[1]  This cubed space was so sacred, and so holy, that only the high priest could enter it, and only once per year, and only after elaborate sacrifice.

However, by Christ’s sacrifice, we have hope: “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf.” (Hebrews 6:19-20a).  In Mark’s gospel, we learn that when Christ died on the cross, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.”[2]  This curtain was the barrier covering the entrance to the Holy of Holies, and with Jesus’ death, entrance isn’t limited to just the high priest, but open to all who would believe in Him.  He entered “on our behalf” and anchors us to this most holy destination.

The Bible was not finished drawing this picture, though.  In Revelation 21, a new city – a new Jerusalem – is seen by the apostle John in a vision, coming down from heaven, and verse 16 says: “The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal.”  This vision was not meant to tell us that in Paradise we will all live inside a big cube.  As pastor Glenn Parkinson wrote: “Certainly all physical beings must exist somewhere, but this is not a vision of where God’s people will live, but how they will live when the former things have passed away.”[3]

Don’t put Earth in a box. Photo by The New York Public Library on Unsplash

Earlier, Revelation 21:1 referred to a whole new heaven and earth, so the new Jerusalem probably represents something about life everywhere in this new creation, and in this image, God would have used things familiar to John, the author of Revelation, otherwise the visions wouldn’t make sense.  The only other architectural cube John would probably recall from Scripture would be the Holy of Holies, but what does that mean?

I believe it means that all of the new heaven and earth will be inhabitable by both God and His people.  All of Paradise will be holier than even the Holy of Holies, but because the church will be fully sanctified, God’s people can enter His presence without the many temple courts and chambers and walls symbolizing man’s separation from God.  Relationship between Creator and created will be fully restored.  Everywhere will be holy, and everyone will be holy.

No, the New Jerusalem isn’t literally a cube, but it symbolizes that in the new world, the temple is not even needed, because all is as it should be between God and man:

“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.” – Revelation 21:22

Praise God Almighty and the Lamb!

[1] 1 Kings 6:20 (a cubit was roughly 18 inches)
[2] Mark 15:38
[3] Parkinson, Glenn.  Tapestry: The Book of Revelation (2015).

The Scale of Our Trials

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The apostle Paul begins 2 Corinthians with the usual greeting, followed by a section on the comfort God provides us when we suffer or are afflicted for Christ’s sake.  2 Corinthians 1:5 makes this statement: “For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”

On that verse, Charles Spurgeon wrote this analogy: “The Ruler of Providence bears a pair of scales—in this side He puts His people’s trials, and in that He puts their consolations. When the scale of trial is nearly empty, you will always find the scale of consolation in nearly the same condition; and when the scale of trials is full, you will find the scale of consolation just as heavy.”[1]

Therefore, when living for Christ brings trouble and opposition, remember also that our Father is ruler of all and fully intends to share His comfort with us through Christ eternally.

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” – Romans 8:18

[1] From “February 12” of Spurgeon’s Morning by Morning commentary