Tag: Jeremy Martin

From the Rising of the Sun…

*Isaiah 21-22

*Psalm 113

*Revelation 11

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Here in America where I am from, most of us have been so richly blessed and for so long that we have come to view a position of comfort as an expectation, like a child who has grown up never wanting for anything, and like that child unfortunately the mentality often becomes one of entitlement and self promotion. Additionally, most humans tend to think “regionally” (look up the theory of the Monkeysphere for an interesting theory on the limitations of human empathy).  We also tend to think in terms of “us” and “them”, which is a mistake when you consider that there is only “us” (God made all mankind), and we are told to love our neighbor as ourselves.

            I love the reading of Psalms today, as it not only highlights a very important (and sometimes forgotten) fact about God, but also has one of my favorite songs in it (From the Rising of the Sun).  The song goes like this “From the rising of the sun, to the going down of the same, the name of the Lord shall be praised” and then repeats and goes into a chorus of “So praise ye the Lord!”.  Beautiful, beautiful stuff.  In my LSB translation of the Bible Ps 113:1-4 reads (more accurately, but perhaps slightly more difficult to sing) :  “1Praise Yah! Praise, O slaves of Yahweh,Praise the name of Yahweh. 2May the name of Yahweh be blessed From now until forever. 3From the rising of the sun to its setting The name of Yahweh is to be praised. 4Yahweh is high above all nations; His glory is above the heavens.”

            All servants of the Lord, praise His name.  From now until forever, from the rising of the sun, every day, the name of Yahweh is to be praised.  It doesn’t matter where you’re at regionally, or what your circumstances are:  because our God is high above all the nations, and bigger than any of your circumstances.  Why is that important?  The next few verses tell us:  “5Who is like Yahweh our God, The One who sits on high, 6The One who brings Himself low to see The things in heaven and on the earth? 7Who raises the poor from the dust And lifts high the needy from the ash heap, 8To make them sit with nobles, With the nobles of His people. 9He makes the barren woman of the house sit As a glad mother of children.  Praise Yah!” Ps 113: 5-9, LSB.  Our God is watching what we do (see verse 6*), and He’s paying attention to His creation.  He is actively helping and blessing us.

            There’s a theory called “Deism” that states that while God did create the world, He is no longer involved in it, and just letting it wind down on it’s own to see what happens (this is also called the “Clockmaker Theory”).  I disagree with that theory pretty strongly.  Ps 113 seems to contradict that theory, because not only is God observing, but He is taking action.  Additionally, we know that in the last days God will pour out His spirit upon mankind, and I believe I’ve personally experienced some of that.

            While we tend to equivolate blessings with divine accolade and approval (particularly here in America where I’m writing from), it is very clear in our Isaiah reading today that there are times when we should eschew some of the finer things, and humble ourselves before our God.  Isaiah 22:14-16 says: “12Therefore in that day Lord Yahweh of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, To shaving the head, and to wearing sackcloth. 13Instead, behold, there is joy and gladness, Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, Eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.” 14But Yahweh of hosts revealed Himself in my ears, “Surely this iniquity shall not be atoned for you Until you die,” says Lord Yahweh of hosts. “ (LSB).

            Today in our Revelation reading, we see the fascinating and intriguing story of the 2 witnesses who will come, just before the last trumpet is sounded.  This is right near the end of the reign of nations, just before the kingdom of God is established on the earth** (as it is written in scripture).  I’ve always been fascinated by these guys.  First and foremost to keep in mind, these are witnesses of God.  They will come and judge the earth, speaking a witness to God’s word and having authority to inflict massive damage in various methods upon the earth for it’s transgressions.  We know from previous studies that God (who is love) generally inflicts punitive action in order to change behavior (see yesterday’s devotion) for our benefit.

            Most people now don’t like to be corrected though.  The people of the earth are so caught up in living the good life in these final days that they see this effort from God as an intrusion more than the attempt at restoration that it is.  That’s why it says (in Rev 11: 10) about the witnesses after they are killed: “10And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and celebrate and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth.”  LSB.  This should worry us all, because it seems like these are the times that we are living in.

            I remember as a very young lad, when my life had no worries in it except for if I would get to go play by the river that day,  running from my father once to avoid a spanking.  It did not work out well for me, and my actions increased my punishment exponentially.  Had I been wiser, I would have humbled myself before my father, admitted my shortcomings, and begged for his mercy.  Do you see what could be a simple correlation for the modern day believer?  May I suggest that even when your life is overflowing with rich blessings and goodness; take the time occasionally to humble yourself before God, admit your shortcomings, and beg Him for mercy.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Do you ever take time to fast and pray? How often?
  2. Do you ever pay forward the blessings that God has given you, to His glory (and not your own)?
  3. How else can we diminish ourselves and grow God in our life?

PRAYER

Father God, Abba, I’m sorry for my many shortcomings.  Please forgive me.  Correct me gently, and restore me.  Help me to grant you ultimate authority over all aspects of my life, and guide me in the best way to honor and glorify You.  Have mercy upon me, a sinner.  In Jesus name, Amen.

* In the interests of non-biased and complete transparency, I am going to throw some of my more traditional, “orthodox” brothers who like to claim “sola scriptura” (scripture alone) as the basis for their doctrine a very small bone here.  Ps 113:6 says “brings Himself low”, which is the closest thing I’ve been able to find in scriptures that could even possibly be construed as “God became a man”.   It’s pretty slim, admittedly,  and it’s not really enough in my opinion to base an entire Christology on, but since there is literally no scripture that says “God became a man” this is the closest you’re going to get using only the Bible as a validation for this later developed theory of the nature of the Christ.  I’d still recommend reading  1-all of the prophecies regarding the requirements of the coming messiah (Gen 3:15, Deut 18:18, 2 Sam 7, Ps 89,  etc, etc), 2-who the disciples thought Jesus was (Acts 2:22, Romans 5:15, and 1 Tim 2:5 etc, etc), 3-who Jesus thought he was (a “son of man” @80 times, ie a human, also see John 8:40, and John 20:17) , and finally 4-reading closely again through the stories of the birth of Jesus (in Matthew and Luke).  Then compare all of that to the things that God actually does reveal about himself through scriptures and see if that matches up with what’s been taught .  A much clearer scriptural understanding is that Jesus was an Israelite man born of the line of David who was empowered by the holy spirit of God to perform miracles due to his overwhelming obedience to God, but feel free to use the above as a proof text if you couldn’t find one that scripturally backed the (admittedly slim) traditional stance.  You’re welcome!-J

** “Heaven” in scripture refers to the area above (outside) of the earth, wherein God and the heavenly host/heavenly court dwell currently, not a vacation residence upon demise.  The “Kingdom of God” or the “Kingdom of Heaven” (as it is alternatively called) will be established here upon the earth, according to scripture, see for reference Zech 14:9, Rev 11:15, Rev 21:12, among myriad other verses).  The Christian hope is that after being resurrected and judged that we may be made citizens of this Kingdom (see for reference Acts 17:31, Matt 25: 31-46).  When we die we don’t “go” anywhere; we just rest in the dirt until these events occur as it is written in scripture  (in direct opposition to some later teachings of the “orthodox” church in the 4th century which have become prevalent in modern day interpretations).

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Bare Necessities

Isaiah 19-20

Psalm 112

Revelation 10

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Before we dig into the juicy bits of the devotional today (which is a fun one), there’s a verse that we should take note of.  In Isaiah 19:22 it states: “And Yahweh will smite Egypt, smiting but healing; so they will return to Yahweh, and He will be moved by their entreaty and will heal them. “ (LSB).  It’s important to note that our God, the creator of the universe, always, always acts in a manner that is for long term benefit.  Yes, there are recorded instances of  punitive action towards individuals or groups, but it seems like almost every time the reason is to bring about a correction in course, a change in direction, a return to the God who made us.

            Consider the exile.  This was a horrific time for the Israelites, who had been struggling with idolatry.  We see the Israelites going back and forth between the Most High God and worshipping the false gods of the local region over and over until God finally has enough and strikes them.  The people are scattered, the temple is destroyed, and the entire nation is taken away in captivity.  The alotted time passes (70 yrs, see Jeremiah 25:11-12, 29:10, and also Daniel 9:2), and then Israel is returned.  When they return, they never again as a nation have a problem with idolatry as before, even today.  The people have been returned, the temple is rebuilt, never again did idolatry rear it’s head in the nation: problem solved.

            We know through scripture that God disciplines those he loves (Hebrews 12:6), and that he loved the whole world so much that he gave his only son (John 3:16).  We also know that God is love (1 John 4:8), and we can extrapolate from the entirety of scripture that ever since the beginning of creation, when we rebelled against our Father and our creator, God has stood with hands outstretched toward his creation seeking to restore that relationship.  As Christians, we believe that it is through the Christ that God reconciled us to Him, and Him to us.  That concept is also found in Romans 5:12-17.  Like any good parent, our Father disciplines us in order to correct our behavior, in order that we might be healthier and whole children. 

            My point in bringing this up is that this verse (Isaiah 19:22) really highlights and reminds us why sometimes what we in the heat of the moment perceive as “bad things” may be happening, there’s a very good chance that the circumstance is being used for instruction and growth.  I’m not saying every “bad” thing that ever happens happened because God wanted it to, but what I am saying is that “all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord”.  James 1:1-3 really leans into this, saying we should even consider these trials as joy.  In these instances, it’s very helpful to remember 2 important things; that (1) we are not the center of the universe around which all creation revolves but (2) our Father is.

            I think it’s also an interesting side note that in Isaiah 19: 23-25, it seems as if Egypt, Israel, and Assyria appear to be united: one large kingdom.  Since nothing like this has occured yet since the time of Isaiah, this seems to be a prophetic vision.  Had you read that little bit before, and if so, what were your immediate thoughts on it?  Do you agree or disagree with my initial opinion, or what other interpretations did you have?  Just some thought provoking things to consider. 

            So, did you ever want to be a prophet?  It was normally a pretty tough gig.  God often commanded His prophets to do a “visual sign” for the people, sometimes so extreme that the sanity of the prophet was questioned.  Ezekiel was told to lay on his side for 430 days, to bear the iniquity of the nation: after 390 days bearing the iniquity for Israel, he got to roll over (Whew!) and lay on that side for another 40 days (Ez 4:4-6).  Hosea was told to marry a prostitute, and have children with her (Hos 1:2), and to name those children names which probably caused a lot of conflicts at school.  Jeremiah hid his undergarments and retrieved them in a ruined state to show the corruption of Judah (ew).  Keep in mind also, these were just the “on the job” requirements.

            In addition to all of that, while some of the prophets died naturally (or were taken, unnaturally), the majority of recorded deaths of the prophets in biblical tradition involve violence or martyrdom.  The prophets were beheaded, stoned, killed by the sword, and our prophet in today’s reading Isaiah was “sawed in 2 under king Manasseh” (Hebrews 11:37 references this). 

            In our reading today of Isaiah 20, there’s a brief little bit that sums up what I can only assume to be a very uncomfortable 3 years for Isaiah under the hot desert sun, “2 at that time Yahweh spoke by the hand of Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go and loosen the sackcloth from your hips and take your shoes off your feet.” And he did so, going naked and barefoot. 3 And Yahweh said, “Even as My servant Isaiah has gone naked and barefoot three years as a sign and wonder…” (LSB).  It’s so short you’ll miss it if you blink, but Isaiah went naked and barefoot over 3 years.

            Let’s think about that for a minute.  Can you imagine, as a parent of a young child, having to quickly cover their eyes at the temple at a nice Sabbath morning worship, when Isaiah came in ? Don’t look, Jacob! What about in the market, when the naked prophet came up to buy a loaf of bread?  Where did he pull the money from? Just imagine the awkward discomfort of trying to maintain eye contact if the prophet ever approached you and wanted to have a theological discussion regarding the state of the nation. My eyes are up here!  He wasn’t allowed to go cower in his tent, he was told to do this as a sign, which means he had to interact regularly with his community, but in his birthday suit.  I don’t care how you slice it, or how respected of a prophet you were, that had to make it weird.

            Now, let’s compare and contrast that level of unswerving dedication and obedience to the modern believer.  “Oh, it was really hard to get up and go to church today…”.  Was it, really?  Did you get to wear your clothes? “I know I’m supposed to forgive them but I’m really mad…” Oh, are you, are you really?  Are your clothes on, though? “I just don’t know if I can love (insert name here), they make it so hard…” Oh yea? Is that with or without pants on?  “Oh I know I’m supposed to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, but I’ve really got to prioritize finances right now…”  Ok, so, do we get to wear our clothes when we go to the bank?  That’s all kind of tongue-in-cheek and funny, but think about it seriously for a moment.

            We have become so distracted and disobedient in this evil age that even the bare (no pun intended) necessities, the basic minimum efforts are commonly dramatized and made to appear as hugely heroic actions in our spiritual walk.  We really need to understand and appreciate how much easier we have it currently, and be grateful and even more obedient in the small things that we are given to do.  Just be grateful, and obedient. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS
  1. What specific areas in your life could be improved, in terms of obedience to Christ?
  2. How can we be more intentionally grateful in our lives?
  3. Is there anything more that we can do, to ensure that we are being servants who please their master?
PRAYER   

Father God, you have given us so much, and ask for so little in return.  Thank you, for the abundant blessings which you have showered us with.  Help us to be both more grateful for these gifts, and more obedient to You.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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Praise Yah!

*Isaiah 17-18

*Psalm 112

*Revelation 9                                                

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Today is 9/11, it’s appropriate to remember and reflect.  In today’s Revelation reading we’re continuing on with some of the things from yesterday, so  if you’ve not read through that, go ahead and take a second to get caught up.  Today as we start reading on Revelation 9, the 7th seal has been broken, and 4 of 7 trumpets have sounded, and things are about to get worse for those on the earth.  Even still, during all of this man won’t repent but continues to “worship demons, idols of gold and silver, nor repent of their murders or sorceries or sexual immorality or their theft” (Rev 9:20-21).

            That being said, our primary focus today isn’t going to be the apocalyptic events that are going down, but more a study of “how we got here” to this dark time, and how we might be (possibly) spared from the righteous wrath of God in that day (see Rev 9:4).

            So let’s take a step back and look at things.  We know that God, our creator, owns not only us but the entirety of the earth and everything on it (and the heavens, etc, etc, see Ps 24:1 for reference).  He’s proud of His creation, because He thinks (and I agree) that He did a good job when He made it (see for  reference:  Gen 1:4, 1:10, 1:12, 1:18, 1:25, and 1:35).  I think any reasonable being looking at the beauty of the creation would agree, particularly if you overlook the glaring ugly things that we’ve done to the planet, the giant tacky roadsigns along the freeway of creation.  God did an amazing job.  The creation, as it was and as it was intended, is beautiful.

            We also know that, as the proud Father of this creation, one of the biggest pet peeves that God has is that His creation gives the praise and glory that is due to Him to something or someone else.  That’s why when God warns the people about idolatry, He let’s them know right off the bat that it’s because he is a (rightfully) jealous God (see Ex 20:5, 34:14).  Imagine for a moment if you spent a long time planning, designing, and then building a beautiful (insert anything you’d like to imagine here).  You finish it, it’s fantastic and beautiful, and absolutely surpasses all expectation.  You nailed it! 

            Then a group of folks come up and admire your (whatever it was), and they are just brimming with praise: “Great job!  Lovely work! Beautiful!” and you are justifiably happy, because you really did a good job and it’s being acknowledged.  Then one of them goes “Yea Bob, great job!” and they all turn, pat one of the folks on the back repeatedly, and walk off talking about what a great job Bob has done.  WAIT A MINUTE! Who’s this Bob guy?  YOU did all the work, Bob wasn’t even nearby.  What the heck?!  Now stop for a moment and think: how do you feel right now?  That’s probably kind of how God feels when we give the praise and glory that is due Him to any other thing, or being.  When we do such things, we may be worshipping demons.

            A very good portion of the Old Testament before the Exile was essentially an object lesson against idolatry.  Here in Isaiah 17:10-11, we see again as a warning: “10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation And have not remembered the rock of your strong defense. Therefore you plant delightful plants And set them with vine branches of a strange god. 11In the day that you plant it you carefully fence it in, And in the morning you cause your seed to flourish; But the harvest will be a heap In a day of sickliness and incurable pain.” (LSB).  So, the branches of a “strange god” can seem “delightful”.  We can hedge and fence it in and think it’s pretty, and we can cause these fabrications to flourish, but the harvest of such an abomination will be “sickliness and incurable pain”.

            I believe no man can know the mind of God, or fully understand Him.  That being said, there are things that God reveals about Himself.  He has feelings, He’s offended when we act rebelliously, and He loves us fiercely.  He’s proud of what He made.  There is only one of Him, and He made us and everything we can see.  Through the ages, men have planted delightful plants, and set them with the vine branches of a strange god, fenced them in, and made them look appealing.  God has warned us about this, so it is the absolute height of folly to worship any other God than has been revealed to us in scripture.  That’s why it’s so important to be discerning when reading scripture.

            When Jesus is asked what the greatest commandment was, he said “the greatest commandment is this: Listen!  God (YHWH) is the only God, and you should love Him with your heart, mind, and soul.  Second to this, you should love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:29 and following).  In his ministry, Jesus gave all glory and credit to God.  Be like Jesus.  Give God the credit He is due, love Him for it, and exhibit that love as an action by loving the other people that God created as much as you do yourself, that’s how to honor God.  We don’t need to add strange stuff to the bible to make the story beautiful, it’s already beautiful.  When we add to what is written, we’re planting “delightful plants with vines of a strange god”.  It’s just not what God told us, He’s actually specifically told us not to do such a thing.  Don’t do that.  The word of God is enough.

            In our Ps 112 reading today we see a number of critical understandings on how to give God the glory (all following from LSB).  Firstly: “1Praise Yah! How blessed is the man who fears Yahweh,“.  Secondly: “4Light arises in the darkness for the upright; He is gracious and compassionate and righteous. 5It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; Who sustains his works with justice.”.  This would fall under that “love your neighbor as yourself” bit that Jesus quoted just above.  Be compassionate and gracious, righteous and generous to your fellow creation.  This is reiterated, and noted additionally that this type of behavior will be rewarded here: “9 He has given freely to the needy, His righteousness stands forever; His horn will be raised in glory.”  Set yourself up for success, and begin trying to love your fellow creation, radically.  Conversely and by comparison, “10The wicked will see it and be vexed. He will gnash his teeth and melt away…”. 

            So, we need to honor, fear, and love the God who made us.  We see that we can do this by listening to God, honoring God as He has revealed Himself to us (and without adding bits), and by loving the rest of the humans He created as much as we love ourselves.  It’s simple, and it’s important.  Listen now though, and I will tell you a great secret, an opportunity for you to help cover any foolishness and sin that you have done.

            I have 2 dogs, and 1 is named Bo.  Whenever something is destroyed, when something is chewed up or broken, when my bread is gone off the top of the counter, we always know: “it was Bo.”  It’s always Bo.  He is just terrible, he eats our food, he tears up our trash, he chews up things we need.  He is also the most loving dog I’ve ever met.  When I prostrate myself on the ground to pray, Bo will come and lick my head until I get up.  Then he’ll try to wiggle his head under my head and lick my face, and lay down with me, trying to get his head in a position where he can (continue to) lick me all over my face profusely.  My point in bringing this up is: Bo is the bad dog.  Bo is the one who destroys things.  It’s always Bo.  It’s also almost impossible to be mad at Bo when he’s so loving and he’s licking your face repeatedly for about half an hour.  Take the hint.  We need to “be like Bo” in the manner of our affections towards God – also, stop stealing the bread.

REFLECTION QUESTION

What are some practical things we can do to ensure that we aren’t planting strange vines in our garden, and to be more loving toward God?  Try to think of at least 3.

PRAYER

Father God, You have made me and all things in this place.  All glory belongs to You.  Thank you.  Please forgive me when I fail you, and help me.  I love you.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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The 7th Seal

Isaiah 15-16

Ps 111

Revelation 8                   

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)                                    

            “The time has come,” the walrus said, “to talk of many things: Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax— Of cabbages—and kings” – Lewis Carroll, The Walrus and the Carpenter, (Through the Looking Glass, Chapter 4, 1871)

            Forget all that other stuff, today we’ll be be speaking of kings.  There is a famous line from a Mel Brooks movie where Mel repeats numerous times throughout the show, “It’s good to be the king!”  Being the king isn’t always a fun job though, sometimes being the king means doing the hard things that need to be done, sometimes doing the hard things that no one else can do.

            There is a nice little supplemental to the many prophecies of the coming Messiah, when it says in Isaiah 16:5:  “And a throne will be established in lovingkindness, And a judge will sit on it in truth in the tent of David; Moreover, he will seek justice And be prompt in righteousness.” (LSB).  This seems to be a nice foreshadowing of our king Yeshua, the Messiah, the Christ.  These little bits are all throughout the Old Testament, just a little nod that one day our king will be coming, and a reminder that he will be from the house of David, and that he will also seek justice and be righteous.

            Here’s the thing though: most of us don’t want justice, we want mercy (and with good reason, if we’re being honest).  In our Revelation reading today we see an ominous revelation (thus, the name of the book) of things to come, and we begin to see some of the harder things that the king must do to fulfill his function. 

            Earlier on in the book (Rev 5) we see that God has in His hand a scroll with 7 seals and that initially no one was found in heaven or on earth or under the earth that was able to open the scroll, and then we see that our king, the lamb of God, the Christ (or Messiah) from the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has overcome so as to open the scroll and it’s 7 seals. 

            Revelation 5 is a very clear picture of the hierarchy of heaven.  There is God, all powerful and holy, surrounded by “myriads upon myriads” of angels and the elders, sitting on the throne and holding a scroll of great power that is sealed.  Then coming before the throne is the Lamb who was slain and by his obedience granted authority by the God who rules over all, the man chosen from the house of David to be given authority, by God.  This is a very clear and unambiguous picture of the relationship of the Most High God, and of His chosen king whom He has granted authority: the Lamb of God.

            In Rev 6 we see that the Lamb (whom we understand to be Yeshua/Jesus) takes the scroll from the right hand of God and begins to open the seals.  It’s important to understand that only the ruler whom God granted authority and dominion would be able to do such a thing.  There was no one else found worthy in heaven, earth, or under the earth to do this job.  We see back in Rev 5:9-10 that he is worthy specifically because: “…you were slain and purchased for God with your blood people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and you made them to be a kingdom…”. Observe that God is still seated on his throne, the ultimate power, when the Lamb (Yeshua/Jesus) begins to open the seals, to perform one of his first functions as the chosen king.

            We see clearly that the Lamb is the one who is opening the seals in Rev 6:1, under the authority of God.  This is what I referred to earlier as having to do the hard things as king.  It should be noted that all of these seals as they are broken have a calamitious effect upon the earth, getting progressively more horrific.  The first 6 seals that are opened (in Rev 6) sound pretty scary.  When we get to our reading today of Rev 8, it sounds downright terrifying.  When the 7th seal is opened, there is complete silence in heaven for about half an hour (Rev 8:1).  That sounds ominous.  I have a couple points to make here. 

            Point 1 is, we aren’t 100% sure of the timeline of these events.  Like all prophecy, it is somewhat obscured.  Different folks have different beliefs on how much of this we’re going to have to endure.  There are Pre-tribulation, Mid-tribulation, and Post-tribulation theories on when the faithful will be taken, each theory having their own supporting scriptures or interpretations.  I have my own opinions, but I also believe that stating them dogmatically is foolish since I’m just a man.  Here is my suggestion though: hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.  I would also suggest that it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets any better.

            Point 2 is: all of the earth, and everything (and everybody) in it belongs to God (See Ps 24:1).  Before we get all “ach, waily waily waily, how could a merciful God…”: stop it.  It’s all God’s, including us, and He can do whatever He wants with His stuff.  Yes, this might be a terrible time, but consider that anytime you are building a new and magnificent structure, the first thing that needs to be done is a demolition of the old rickety structures that were there already.  This is that.  Do you remember that guy who lived in the bamboo hut underneath where the Taj Mahal is located now?  Me neither, because that hut had to go to make room for the new building.  That’s what’s going on here.  All of these things need to happen so that the kingdom of God can be established here on the earth.

            After the 7th seal is broken, the trumpets begin to sound.  The 1st trumpet brings hail and fire mixed with blood and a third of the earth and trees and all of the grass is burned up.  Trumpet 2 brings a great burning thing thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea turns to blood and a third of the living creatures in the sea die and a third of the ships are destroyed.  The 3rd trumpet brings a star falling that causes a third of the waters to become poisoned, or “wormwood”.  The 4th trumpet causes a third of the sun, moon, and stars to be struck so that a third of them would be darkened.  This is literally some apocalyptic stuff going down.

            As if that wasn’t enough, the last verse in chapter 8 is the most worrying: “13Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!””  (LSB).  This is going  to be a dark and scary time for any of those left on the earth.  Knowing this, we as Christians should be taking extreme steps to make sure that we’re living a holy life that is pleasing to God, seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  Are you living in a bamboo hut right now? Well, act right and you might be relocated once the new facility is in place.

            The best advice I can offer is from Zeph 2:3 –

“Seek Yahweh, All you humble of the earth

Who have worked His justice; Seek righteousness, seek humility.  Perhaps you will be hidden In the day of Yahweh’s anger.” (LSB)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS -based on the above verse

  1. Are you humbly seeking Yahweh?
  2. Are you working His Justice here upon the earth?
  3. Are you seeking righteousness and humility?

PRAYER

Father God, blessed be Your name.  You have created the earth, and all that is in it.  You have told us in advance of the things to come.  Please help us to humble ourselves and to be servants who please You.  Help us to work Your justice.  Help us to be a righteous and holy people who do Your will.  Protect us in the coming troubles.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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The Mediator

Job 8-9

Psalm 95

Hebrews 9

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)                

            We begin our reading today with Job again arguing with his “friends”.  His buddy Bildad leads (in chapter 8) with “2′How long will you say these things, And the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?‘”, which seems to be a less-than-gracious approach at best (and pretty rude at worst) from someone who’s supposed to be your friend when you’ve hit rock bottom.  He then goes on to say that God rewards the righteous, and offers a number of helpful suggestions to Job on how to regain his righteousness, assuming that Job has become unrighteous in some way.

            Job steadfastly insists on his innocence, but points out the futility of arguing with God.  In Chapter 9 he says “5God is the One who removes the mountains, they know not how, When He overturns them in His anger; 6The One who shakes the earth out of its place, And its pillars tremble; 7The One who says for the sun not to shine, And sets a seal upon the stars; 8Who alone stretches out the heavens, And tramples down the waves of the sea;” to highlight the futility of arguing with such a powerful being, and then comes a key understanding later on in this same chapter.  This is the heart of his argument, the point of pain in his disagreement with his treatment.

            Job understands that he is just a man, a mortal human being, and that God is the creator and master of the universe.  What argument can you offer?   Job feels hard done by, and it boils down to this: “32For He is not a man as I am that I may answer Him,That we may go to court for judgment together. 33There is no adjudicator between us, Who may lay his hand upon us both.“.  He feels as if he has no recourse, there’s no one to stand between him and God and offer up a defense.

            David also, even though his tone and approach are different at the time, acknowledges this simple fact in Psalms 95: “3For Yahweh is a great God And a great King above all gods, 4In whose hand are the depths of the earth, The peaks of the mountains are His also. 5 The sea is His, for it was He who made it, And His hands formed the dry land. 6Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before Yahweh our Maker 7For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand...”.  All of this is true, God is the Creator of all, the ruler of all, a great King above all, who owns the very earth we live on because He created it.  The very level of His power can be, to a tiny insignificant human, a little bit intimidating.  Enraging the Most High God is generally just not considered to be a good career plan. 

            Throughout scriptural history though, there are a few very special men who pleaded with God on behalf of others, insanely brave men who placed themself in the gap and risked their own selves for the compassion of others.  Abraham pleaded for Sodom and Gomorrah in Gen 18:23. If Moses had not interceded with God on behalf of the Israelites after the events of the golden calf in Exodus 32, we might have had a very different account in scriptures.  Very rarely, historically, a man would stand in the breach and plead with God for the sake of others.  Then Jesus came.

            So here’s a quick age test: did you ever watch an older black and white episode of Perry Mason?  What would have happened to any of his innocent clients if Perry had not taken their case?  Our reading today in Hebrews 9 explains to us fully that now we have a mediator, that we now have a new covenant, and that our mediator is the Christ: “15And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the trespasses that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”.  Hebrews 9 goes on to list a number of the differences between the old and the new covenants, and explain how and why the new covenant is better.  A very good portion of Hebrews is written for the express purpose of showing that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ, whom God had chosen from among the people (see Heb 5) to become the high priest and mediator of the new covenant.  He’s representing us as a mediator right now, in the Courts of Heaven (see Aug 5 devotion for a better understanding of the Courts).

            Think about this for a moment.  If Jesus had succumbed to temptation in the wilderness, would we be reading about Jesus today in scripture?  Jesus became our mediator specifically because of his complete devotion and utter obedience to God.  We know that sin and death entered the world through the actions and disobedience of one man (Adam), and we also know that through the actions and obedience of one man (Jesus) that God grants us grace and life (Romans 5).  It specifically says that in Romans 5, “through one man”, go read it.  I have some friends of a more “complex” interpretation of scripture that this is a hugely difficult text for, because they say “how could a mere man atone for the sins of the world?“, and they will usually offer the rationalization of “oh, well that was because when he died it was as a man…” as an argument (implying that after the resurrection and ascension, Jesus wasn’t a man any longer).

            That argument doesn’t hold water though.  Scripture is very clear, that there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5).  This was written by Paul in @62-65 AD.  That’s about 30 years after Jesus died and was raised again by God, well after the ascension of the Christ.  What’s the holdup?  What’s wrong with Paul, doesn’t he understand who Jesus was?  The answer is clearly yes, Paul has a very clear understanding of who Jesus was but today’s modern orthodox understanding has become greatly confused except by a very lucky few:  Jesus was born as a man, died as a man, and sits now even still at the right hand of the Ancient of days as a man (see Dan 7:13-14).  A man glorified by God, but a man nonetheless.

            That is the reason Jesus is qualified to act as our high priest (for every high priest is taken from among men, Heb 5:1), and being a man is the only reason he is qualified to act as a mediator between God and the other humans, because he went through the exact same trials and temptations that we go through every day.  The difference is, our mediator, our high priest…he passed every test.  He was obedient, even unto death (and beyond).  He is the perfect role model of humanity, and teaches us the way of complete love and obedience to the Father, while acting on our behalf as a compassionate and understanding intercessor between us and God.  God is an ultimately fair and righteous judge, but I am still very thankful to have Jesus to plead my case before the Father.  I can only speak for myself, but I need all the help I can get.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

Have you ever had to go to court  (or seen a court trial taking place on tv)?  Do the defendants usually fare better or worse without representation?

We have a great big God, and God is loving and fair, but have you ever considered how blessed we are that we have a mediator who speaks to God on our behalf when we fall short?

PRAYER

Father God, you are just and fair.  You have created us, and loved us, and we have been rebellious and proud.  Please forgive us.  Thank you for sending us Jesus, help us to follow his instructions, please grant us your spirit and teach us wisdom.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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What is man, that You magnify him?

*Job 6-7

Psalm 94

Hebrews 8

 -Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            I’ve  been married for 28 years now, and even in the depths of my dumbness (which as mentioned previously in other devotions, can run pretty deep), one of the things I learned early on in the relationship is that we hear and react to conversation differently.  For the longest time this caused conflict, because when a problem is presented to me (eg, “I feel like I’m being unproductive at work”), my problem-solving skills as a man immediately kick in and I started proposing a (very helpful, in my opinion) list of solutions that would help my wife overcome the “problem” of X (in this example, being unproductive).  “Oh, a problem? That’s what I do, I’m a manly man, I fix stuff! Let me give you a list of solutions.”  If you’re laughing out loud right now, you’ve been there too, and know exactly where this is going.

            As I presented my (again, extremely helpful) list of solutions to my wife, I could see the stormclouds gathering in her expression.  When the storm burst, she would always exclaim something along the lines of “I don’t want you to fix it! I just want you to listen!”.   The keyword in the beginning of her statement, that I didn’t key in on, was “I feel.”.  She just wanted me to listen to, understand, and sympathize with her feelings.  What I heard instead was, “here’s a problem I need your help resolving.”, which is not at all what she was saying.  It’s just a social (and perhaps cultural) difference in how we’re wired as men and women.  Sometimes, life is hard, and we just want a little empathy.

            This sounds like exactly what was going on in the early chapters of Job.  His friends are all offering an extremely helpful list of solutions (eg, “God is good to the just and only punishes the wicked, what did you do? let’s talk about it, and maybe we can fix you”…), but what Job needs is just a little bit of empathy.  In our reading of Job 6-7 this morning, we can really see the stormclouds bursting as Job replies to his friends “I don’t need you to fix me, I just want you to listen!” (obviously paraphrased).

            Why do bad things happen to good people?  Why would God allow X to happen to this person?  These are great questions, and cause a lot of people to reject God, but we know that “time and chance happen to all men” (Ecc 9:11).  We also know that God tests men (James 1:3, 1 Pet 1:7), and that the reason for this testing is not only to gauge where we’re at spiritually, but to refine us and provide spiritual growth (Prov 17:3, Rom 5: 3-4).  God disciplines those he loves (Heb 12:6, Rev 3:19), just like a parent disciplines their child at times, in order to correct their behavior.  Here’s the thing, nobody likes to be tested.  It’s usually stressful physically, mentally, and emotionally.    Tests are, by their nature, testing.  Here are a couple deep points to consider though: we do not advance without tests, and we usually don’t get the test results immediately.  You may not even get the results in this lifetime, but keep in mind: *beeeep* this is a test, this is only a test.

            In Job 7:7-8, Job laments his fleeting mortality and then asks God a question in 7:17-18: “17What is man that You magnify him, And that You set Your heart on him, 18That You examine him every morning And test him every moment?” (LSB).  In v19, Job then asks “Will You never turn Your gaze away from me, ,,,” because he’s basically saying “I’m an  insignificant man, why are you testing me so hard?”.  Interestingly, in Psalms 8:4, David asks the same exact question: “What is man that You remember him, And the son of man that You care for him?” but when David asks it, it’s out of a devout awe of God, an awestruck attempt at understanding why God would show such favor to him, an insignificant man.  So let’s think about it for a moment: what is *man? (*by man we are clearly not talking about gender, but mankind or humanity in general, more accurately).

            In Genesis 1:26, God says “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, so that they will have dominion …”. (LSB, See 8/5/26 devotion on my opinion why God says “us” here, btw).  So, God made us in His image so that we would have dominion on the earth.  That is a much bigger deal than most people think.  Consider this for a moment: rulers both ancient and recent alike  put their “stamp” on things, in order to claim ownership.  In ancient times, one of the first things a ruler/king/pharoah would do when they conquered a land would be to put up a statue of themselves in that place.  This is just a plain statement to everyone that “This is mine!”.  That’s why you’ll find all across the ancient world statues, obelisks, steles, arcs, and other various memorials.  Each one makes a specific claim, each one has specific communications it’s trying to convey, but at the end of the day what they are all saying is “MINE!”.  We see that even today.  Modern rulers don’t go in for statues as much as they used to in ancient times, but they will paste their names on large buildings, monuments, or bridges.  It’s all just a claim of ownership.

            In Psalms 24:1, it says “…The earth is Yahweh’s, as well as its fullness, The world, and those who dwell in it “.  Let’s consider that for a moment: everything, and everybody, on this planet belongs to God.  “But what about the…” Yep.  “Well, what about the…” Yep, that too.  “But surely you don’t mean…” Yep.  EVERYTHING, and EVERYBODY that are existing, have existed, or will exist on this planet belong to God, because He created us.  If you can see it, smell it, hear it, taste it, feel it, talk to it, etc…it belongs to God.  As humans, we have taken a rather proprietal view of “our stuff” and “our lives” and “our (insert anything here)” but the reality is: both we and everything that we think we own belong to God.  Everybody.  Everything.  It all belongs to God.  Full stop.

            So in answer to the question “What is man, that You magnify him?”, well, God told us at the beginning.  We are created in the image of God, because we are here as representatives of God, and we have been given dominion over this earth, in God’s name.  We’re actually a big deal, not because we are anything more than insignificant little winds passing quickly through His marvelous creation, but because He placed us here with His image so that we could represent Him.  This particular iteration of creation was created for us, and we are supposed to be representing God in it.

            So as representatives of the Most High God, as human beings who have been given dominion/rulership over this beautiful creation, a good test question might be “so, how’s that working out for you?”.  Unfortunately, as we look around at our society, at our dysfunctional systems, and our hardened hearts I think if we’re being honest the reply would be “Not great, Bob.“.  There is coming a day though, and coming very soon unless I am greatly mistaken, when the Kingdom of God will be established here on the earth.  When our king the Christ will return and cause us all to seek to represent God again, with all our hearts.  When all of us who have passed our tests and pleased our God will enter as citizens of the kingdom.  What is man?  We are God’s representatives.  Let’s act like it.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Think of a test or trial in your past: when it was over, looking back, are you able to see how you had advanced or developed because of it? 
  2. Think of a test or trial that you are currently undergoing: what do you think the intent or desired outcome of this test is? 
  3. If you are not undergoing a test right now, consider that God tests those He loves, and ask why not and what can you do differently?

PRAYER

Father God, what is man?  Help me to be the person that I was created to be.  Help me to reflect and represent Your perfection here on Your creation.  Please forgive me of the many times I fall short, and when I stumble please lift me up.  Help me to overcome.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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Testing the Spirits

Job 4-5

Psalm 94

Hebrews 7

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            There are going to be some bits in today’s reading that are going to be a little bit scary once we dig a little, fair warning.  Potentially terrifying, if you hyperfocus on it (don’t).  If you are an anxious type of person already, you may want to skip over today’s devotion and quickly skim over the Job portion of the reading without looking too closely, and I’m being completely serious.  Nothing to see here folks, move along, move along…

            Last chance.  No?  Ok, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.  Today we’re going to be talking about some disturbing stuff.  If you are ever fortunate enough to look at a really, really old world map (mappae mundi, or “map of the world”, there are about 1100 surviving from the middle ages) that ancient mariners used, you’ll see a number of interesting illustrations and often a written note to warn the sailors along the lines of “Heere therre be Monsters“.  Well, they be here too, let’s talk about it.

            Firstly, are you aware that God sometimes tests and instructs us in our dreams?  It’s true, it’s scripturally and experientially proven.  If you want to do a deep dive on that subject, check out the devotion from 2/21/26 (my birthday!).  Job 33:14-18 has one of the clearest explanations of that: “14Indeed God speaks once, Or twice, yet no one perceives it. 15In a dream, a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, While they slumber in their beds, 16Then He opens the ears of men, And seals in their discipline, 17That He may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep man from pride; 18He holds back his soul from the pit, And his life from passing over to death by a weapon.” (LSB).  This tells us clearly that God (or, God’s agent/s) not only speaks to us in our dreams, but instructs us, for the purpose of correcting our conduct and keeping us safe and from dying.  It also lets us know it’s often subtle, so subtle that we may not perceive it (unless we’re really paying attention).

            In Job 4:12-19 (or -21 if you prefer the longer reading) we see a very disturbing thing.  It appears that spiritual beings that are not of a benevolent disposition can also communicate in this same manner.  “12“Now a word was brought to me stealthily, And my ear received a whisper of it. 13Amid disquieting thoughts from the visions of the night, When deep sleep falls on men, 14Dread came upon me, and trembling, And made the multitude of my bones shake in dread. 15Then a spirit swept by my face; The hair of my flesh bristled up. 16It stood still, but I could not recognize its appearance; A form was before my eyes; There was silence, then I heard a voice: 17‘Can mankind be right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? 18He puts no trust even in His slaves; And against His angels He charges error. 19How much more those who dwell in houses of clay Whose foundation is in the dust, Who are crushed before the moth!” (LSB).  Is it just me, or does this diatribe seem like it’s coming from a disgruntled former employee?  The scary thing to me is, this is clearly not a benevolent spirit.  I’m not sure if it’s actually malevolent or not, but it’s certainly seditious.  It reminds me of the character Wormtongue, in the Lord of the Rings books/movies; using clever words to plant seeds of death and decay. 

            I pointed this out a few months ago to a beloved friend of mine who attends a bible study with me, and the information genuinely disturbed her.  The thing is, in our modern “scientific” world, we often disregard anything that we can’t explain away conveniently.  Scriptures tell us, however, that the world around us is much, much bigger than we perceive with our limited senses.  We know that there are spiritual beings, because scripture tells us there are.  I’m not talking about ghosts and stuff like that, I’m talking about spiritual beings that are outside our immediate range of perception, other species that exist differently than we do.  Do we understand it entirely? Probably not.  Do we have evidence of it’s existence in scripture? Absolutely.

            2 Kings 6:16-17 describes Elisha praying for his terrified servant to “open his eyes”, the servant can then see the myriad flaming chariots of God’s army surrounding them.  In Daniel 10: 12-13 we see a messenger angel telling Daniel that he was delayed because “a prince of the kingdom of persia” resisted him (we assume this is a spiritual being).  In Acts 12, we see Peter freed by an angel from a prison where he was soon to be executed.   Paul warns us explicitly in Ephesians 6:12 that we don’t fight against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of evil, and John tells us in 1 John 4:1 that we must “test the spirits, to see whether they are from God.”.  As human beings, our perceptions are limited, there are things unseen that we dwell within and among.  It’s very scary, it’s hard to punch something in the face if you can’t see it, even harder if you can’t or won’t even acknowledge it’s existence.  So, what are we to do?

            Right now would be a very good point to ask you to take a peek at yesterday’s devotional about the “Courts of Heaven” if you haven’t already.  In it there’s a very important understanding: every heavenly being and spiritual creature is under the authority of the Most High God.  In Job 1, when Satan (literally, “The Adversary”) wanted to do Job harm, God’s express permission was required before it was allowed.  EVERYTHING IN EXISTENCE IS UNDER GOD’S AUTHORITY.  That’s not in and of itself a guarantee of your personal safety, but here are a couple practical steps that you can take to help you in the spiritual battle:

PRACTICAL SPIRITUAL SELF DEFENSE (AND OFFENSE)

  1. Be a child of God.  Fathers protect their children, fiercely.  God will tear apart anything that tries to harm His children.  If the spirit of God is within you, lesser beings will flee.
  2. Pray, constantly and without ceasing.  When you see a cute bear cub you’re unlikely to go try and pet it if Mama bear is staring at you, growling loudly, hackled up and drooling while baring her teeth.  If you are talking to your Father, He is listening and watching closely and the spiritual enemies that seek to offer you harm will slip away and try to avoid notice.
  3. Put on the Armor of God.  Read Eph 6:10-18, it’s no accident that this comes during the same talk about being in spiritual warfare  Every defensive item listed is there to protect you.  Examine and then put on every item discussed.
  4. Carry a Sword.  In that little Armor of God section, there is only 1 offensive weapon that we have, and that is the word of God.  It’s not a coincidence that as a response to every temptation that Jesus overcame, he responded with scripture.  Carry your sword, the bible.  I don’t mean just put a bible in the glove box, I mean read it, study it, memorize it, and apply it to your life.  Don’t take lightly the fact that God gave His words, the same words that can birth galaxies and life, to you as a roadmap.
  5. Love God.  Know in your heart that God is supreme.  There is nothing greater than God.  No force, no power, no being, nothing is more powerful than God.  Lean into that, and cling to God.  If God allows something, even if it may be painful momentarily, know and trust that it will be for your benefit in the long run because “God works all things together for the good of  those who love Him”. (Rom 8:28)

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Have you thought about this much?
  2. Were the above steps helpful to you? What other ideas can help?
  3. Have you ever been under spiritual attack?  Consider the instance(s) and the outcome(s), what could you have done better?

PRAYER

Father God, Creator and Ruler of all things, thank you for my life.  Please guide me, teach me, help me to be a child who pleases, and keep me safe from those who wish to do me harm.  Instruct me on the way that I should go, and grant me Your spirit.  Thank you, in Jesus name, Amen.

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The Courts of Heaven

*Job 1-3

Psalm 93

Hebrews 6

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            The book of Job offers us insights and understanding in some areas that surpass any other sources: it’s a really good book to study deeply.  Authorship of the book of Job is commonly thought to be Moses by the majority, but as with anything that old there is some debate among scholars.  Job is thought to be the oldest book written in the Bible as well due to it’s linguistic and thematic antiquity, written as a stand-alone book.  It also just happens to be the book that has “my” verse in it,  technically verses: which would be Job 33:14-30 for those of you who are interested (it’s why I’m alive).  That bit is not technically in today’s reading, so no need to look it up unless you’re really interested, or want the extra credit points.

            The thing that stands out to me the most in today’s Job reading is the description of the Courts of Heaven.  This picture of God is one that resonates within me, as a great and omnipotent ruler, sitting on a heavenly throne and being attended to by myriads of the “sons of God” (ie, angels or spiritual beings, heavenly creatures created by and serving God, but not human).   The picture of all of these heavenly beings acting as supplicants before the Almighty, attending to Him like a group of courtiers, and seeking how best to serve and gain favor with their King is just fascinating to me.  I imagine the vying to get nearer, to be favorably noticed, and to advance in the politics of the heavenly realm.  I do not understand it completely, because I’m just a man, but the mental image of it strikes a chord in my heart.  I actually have a theory about the members of the heavenly court, but as it is complete speculation I’ll keep it to myself.  Suffice it to say that it is absolutely understandable to me that the Most High God should have thousands upon thousands of intensely powerful beings in attendance, all seeking how to please the Most High God and gain favor in His courts.

            When God says “Let us make man in our image…” back in Gen 1:26, I think this court described in Job 1 is who He was talking to.  I’ve heard other theories, some better than others, but I tend to lean into this explanation.  Without getting too deep into physics, dimensions, or the nature of God (that’s a very deep speculative pond that we could dive into), we do know a couple things because scripture specifically tells us.  Firstly, God is spirit (John 4:28).  Do we fully understand that?  Of course not, we’re dumb humans: but it’s safe to say that God exists at a whole different level than we do (eg; eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, etc etc).   Secondly, no man has ever seen God (at least His face) directly,  See for clarification Ex 33:20, John 1:18, and 1 John 4:12.  Now this would seem to be contradictory at face value to some specific interactions that men have had with God at different times, until you understand the “law of agency” or “shaliah”.  Basically that’s just a fancy way of saying “God interacts with His creation through designated agents”.  Not exclusively mind you, but in large part.

            Let me give you what (I believe) is the first example of this in scripture.  If you flip over to Ex 3:2-4 the law of agency (or, shaliah) is clearly shown for the first time (although it can be implied in a number of earlier interactions in Gen) by comparing and contrasting Ex 3:2 (“And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of the bush“, LSB) with Ex 3:4 (“And Yahweh saw that he turned aside to look, so God called to him from the midst of the bush“, LSB).  In the above example, the angel of Yahweh is addressed as Yahweh.  In Jewish culture “the one who is sent” speaks with the full authority of the sender, so it’s absolutely kosher to address the angel of Yahweh as Yahweh, but it’s caused some confusion among modern non-Jewish readers because we didn’t understand the culture or the context properly.  This is also exhibited in Ex 23: 20-21 when God says to listen to the angel because “My name is in him” (ie, the angel has been granted the authority to speak on God’s behalf), and repeatedly throughout the book of John when Jesus explains (about 40 times) that he has been sent, and further explains that the words he speaks are not his own.  There are innumerable examples of God interacting with his creation through agents in scripture, moving on.  God also interacts with His creation through dreams and visions, and in the purest form, the pouring out of the holy spirit upon flesh.

            Before I dug into this, as a child I had a somewhat solitary picture of God; not the thriving, active, and busy central hub of governance that is described in scripture.  Job 1 is one of many chapters that offer a description of the Courts of Heaven and their functionality.  1 Ki 22:19-22 and 2 Chron 18:18 show the prophet Micaiah having a vision of God on His throne and the entire host of heaven in attendance, deciding on earthly matters.  Daniel 7:9-10 shows a vivid vision of the Ancient of Days on a flaming throne with thousands attending.  Ps 82:1 states that God presides in the divine assembly.  Rev 4-5 depict a throne in heaven with “myriads upon myriads” of angels and heavenly beings praising God and The Lamb (the latter for his obedience to God), and describes a scene of continuous worship and governing.  Zech 3:1-5 depicts a scene reminescent of a Perry Mason courtroom, where Satan accuses Joshua the high priest before the angel of the Lord, who in turn rebukes him.  Rev 20:11-12 depicts the final judgment at the great white throne, where all humanities deeds are weighed and they are rewarded accordingly.  These are all great verses, look them up if you get a chance.

            I love these small peeks behind the curtain, where we get little glimpses of the sovereignty of God, get small nods of understanding as to how just and truly merciful God is, and how holy He is.  Here’s the thing: do you remember the story about when 1 angel (see June 16th devotional for this year) killed 185000 of the most technologically advanced troops of it’s day?  There are myriads upon myriads of those beings, angels or whatever title you want to give them in the Courts of Heaven.  There are at least 3 distinct types of these beings (Seraphim-Isaiah 6, Cherubim-Ez 1, and Living Creatures- described in Rev) in scripture.  We have no idea as to the actual number of them, but each one has the potential ability and power to wipe out an entire army or nation.  Each one of  them has power and wisdom beyond our understanding.  Even though they are different in form and function though, they all have one thing in common, even our Adversary who occasionally makes an appearance at the courts.  Have you figured out what it is?

            They are all subservient to the Most High God.  Every single one of them.  They are mostly described as awaiting His pleasure, to determine how they can best serve the Most High God.  Innumerable beings of immense unfathomable power, all with the bended knee and bowed head to YHWH God, the Creator and Sustainer of all life.  This is the same God, the ruler of the entire universe, the entire multiverse (if such a thing exists), the ruler of all things…who reached out His mighty hand to save me, a tiny insignificant nothing.  Who reached out to save you, even when you were ignoring Him.  It is fiercely humbling, when you consider the scope of His authority and power, that He takes the time to draw you to Him.  He knows you by name, and knows the number of hairs on your head.  He knows you better than you know yourself, and He still loved you enough to send His son to die for you, to cleanse your sin.  Holy God above have mercy, we are completely undeserving of such high favor.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Had you ever previously considered the hierarchy and governance of the Courts of Heaven?

Did considering this and some of the other descriptive verses of the Heavenly Courts change how you perceived God?

Have you ever considered just how blessed and highly favored you are that God seeks you?

PRAYER

Father God, Most Holy Creator of all things, who gives life, breath, and all things; thank you.  I am completely undeserving of the high favor you have shown me.  Please forgive me when I fall short, lead me into your will, and help me to be a servant who pleases, in Jesus name, Amen.

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Every High Priest

Esther 9-10

Psalm 93

*Hebrews 5

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Hebrews 5 is a critical chapter in the Bible that gives us a better understanding of the Christ, and really leans in to the explanation that Jesus is now our high priest.  Hebrews 5-8 really focuses in on this topic, but to my mind one of the most important bits of understanding that’s normally quickly brushed past is right at the beginning of chapter 5, in v1-5 it states: “1For every high priest taken from among men is appointed on behalf of men in things pertaining to God… 4And no one takes this honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was. 5In this way also Christ did not glorify Himself to become a high priest…” (LSB).

            So where is every high priest taken from? From among men.  Who then calls them out from among men to fulfill that role? They receive the position when they are called by God.  We are very blessed to have the simple understanding that there is one (1) God (Deut 6:4, Mark 12:29) and that there is one (1) mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus (1 Tim 2:5).  So when we read that God has called His high priest out from among men, it’s a very simple and straightforward understanding.  Allow me to elaborate.

            To be the high priest or the Messiah, according to scriptures and prophecy, it is a requirement to be a man.  We know that Jesus was a man because he told us so (John 8:40), because that’s what his best friends understood (Matt 16:16, Acts 2:22), and because that’s what God told us, as was prophesied from the beginning (Gen 3:15, Deut 18:18, 2 Sam 7:12, Ps 89:19 to name just a few).  This is not a “mere man”, but the chosen man to redeem, judge, and rule the entirety of humanity (Acts 17: 24-31), chosen by God.  This is the man through whom  the singular sin of Adam which cursed all humanity would be removed (Romans 5:15).  As Christians we like to say that Jesus (Yeshua) rules in our hearts, but we also know that one day he will also physically rule over our bodies, in the kingdom.  

            We see from Hebrews 5 that Jesus is our high priest, and also The Christ (the anointed one, or, the king).  This was prophesied as happening in both Psalms 110 and Zechariah 6 where the Messiah would be “a king and a high priest”.  This is the first time historically that these two positions are consolidated, another fulfillment of prophecies which grants an even higher status to Jesus, which partially explains the phrase “crowned with many crowns” in Rev 19:12.   This is a huge deal.  We know from Hebrews 5:1-5 that God Himself selects the high priest from among the people, but who anoints the king?

            1 Samuel 10:1 states (REV translation) “1Then Samuel took the vial of oil and poured it on Saul’s head, and kissed him and said, “Is it not that Yahweh has anointed you to be ruler over his inheritance?”.  So who anointed Saul?  While we can see that while it was Samuel’s hand that poured out the oil over Saul’s head, it was God who commanded it and then Samuel clearly says to Saul that “Yahweh has anointed you”.

            In 2 Kings 9:1-3 it says (REV) “1Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak under your belt and take this vial of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth-gilead.2When you arrive there, find Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi; and when you have come, have him rise up from among his brothers and take him to an inner room.3Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘This is what Yahweh says: “I have anointed you king over Israel.”’ Then open the door and flee; do not linger.” So who anointed Jehu?  According to “one of the sons of the prophets” that Elisha sent, the one who physically poured the oil over Jehu’s head, Yahweh has anointed him king.  Over and over again, repeatedly in scripture, we see that God sends an agent to anoint the man that He has chosen to be king.  It is Yahweh God who ultimately anoints the king, even if it is His agent that carries out the actual pouring out of the oil.  God does regularly interact with His creation through agents, though.

            This perfectly aligns with  1 Corinthians 11:3, which breaks down exactly and in no uncertain terms the “corporate flowchart” of the Christian believer: “3But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man…and God is the head of Christ.” (LSB).  Jesus the Christ is our king, the king anointed and chosen by God, and God is Himself in authority over our king (unless you’ve got a very imaginative alternate reading of that verse).  Who anoints the king? God does.

            To say that God has become the Anointed One (as many Christians today do) is to completely misunderstand:  God has no need to be anointed, He is already the Most High God, the Creator and Sustainer of all life, He already is the highest and most exalted authority and being in existence.  Yahweh God is the one who anoints (or, causes to be anointed by an agent) the king, thereby granting that king the authority of rule over a kingdom, but that anointed king is still in every way subservient to the Most High God Yahweh.  Anointer, anointee: there’s a very clear delineation of authority, and the power that the latter has is granted by the former.  Jesus is, according to all of scripture, “The Christ” or “The Anointed One”, so who is he anointed by? Again, GOD.

            In much the same manner, it is God who chooses the high priest from among men, and the purpose of that high priest is to act as a mediator between God and humanity, to reconcile the Creator with His creation.  That’s why it’s a requirement that the high priest be a human. This is all a very important understanding to be able to interpret scripture properly: if you are trying to adjust the lens of an orthodox traditional understanding of the nature of God and of His Christ, you will be tweaking the lenses all day and still may never get a clear picture. 

            Do you know what’s even more important though? Listening to the king and high priest that God has appointed.  Many times we get so caught up in our theology, and our correct understanding of it, that we aren’t focusing on what our king actually says.  I am fully convinced that everything that any person needs to know about salvation and how to attain it can be found in Matt 5-8.  Every now and then, go back through and read all the red letters (assuming you’ve got a red letter version).  While it’s very important to understand the nature of the scriptures that we read,  it’s even more important to try and follow what it says (and that’s a fair bit more difficult, if we’re being honest). Read Matt 5-8 again, and see if you agree:  everything that any person needs to know about salvation and how to attain it can be found in Matt 5-8.  Test it out, see what you think. 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS:

  1. Have you given much though to the responsibilities of a high priest/king, and the importance of having those positions combined?
  2. What is a “son of man” ?
  3. Which is more important: a proper understanding of who Jesus is, or a humble attempt to do what he said?  Why?

PRAYER

 Father God, thank you for life, breath, and all things.  Please circumcise our hearts, and grant us the wisdom to listen to and live out the words of Your chosen king.  Please help us to see the world through holy eyes, and to be servants who please you.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God…

Esther 7-8

Psalm 92

*Hebrews 4

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Today I’d like to challenge you a bit, and ask you to examine some things that you believe traditionally.  I think tradition is a fine thing, for the most part, and helps to give a certain amount of structure in our worship and daily routines in general.  I think scripture is an even finer thing, and should be the guidebook of our life: the word of God given to men as a template by which we should structure ourselves.  Both are important, I just give more weight when comparing them to scripture (since the traditions of men are rather flexible and change constantly); but the word of God is “living and active, sharper than any 2 edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12).  Out of love I’m going to do my best not to be too passionate, so I’m touching this very lightly, but please check it out for yourself.

            The thing is; sometimes our traditions can be good, and sometimes our traditions can be silly.  For instance: when we’re crossing the street here in America, the “tradition” is to stop and look both ways to make sure the way is clear.  This isn’t a “law” as such, but is what is considered a “rule” of tradition, and it’s a good one: countless injuries have been avoided by following this simple tradition.  It just makes sense.  There are hundreds of these in play every day that we don’t even stop to consider anymore because, well, it’s tradition and it just works, so there has to be a good reason, right?

            Here are some rather interesting traditions that are still active in our world, and some of them raised my eyebrow a bit when I researched them.  In Madagascar, the Malagasy people exhume the bodies of their ancestors every 5-7 years, wrap them in silk shrouds, and dance with the corpses around the tomb to live music (this is called “Famadihana”).  In Brazil, young men of the Satere-Mawe tribe wear woven gloves filled with live “bullet ants” for 10 minutes, 20 times (200 minutes total), as a coming-of-age ceremony, enduring stings that are compared to being shot by a bullet.  In Cooper’s Hill, England, a 7-9 pound cheese wheel is rolled down a steep uneven hill and chased frantically by participants in the event, frequently breaking bones and incurring serious injuries (there are videos of this that are…quite educational, incidentally).  In the Karnataka region of India, infants born after the parents vow devotion to the Sri Santeswar temple are thrown from the roof of the temple into the waiting arms of their parents below, who believe the ritual brings good luck (as long as you can catch).

            In the church, we have some fine traditions as well, some of which have been handed down for hundreds or thousands of years: the longer a group is around, the more traditions they come up with.  Some of these are very useful for organization and structure, and some of these could possibly be considered a little bit silly when compared with scripture.  The problem is, as humans, we tend to just keep on doing what’s familiar.  It’s interesting to note historically that moving the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday (the “glorious day of the Sun”) occured around the same time (Mar 7, 321 AD, look up the “Edict of Constantine”) for the purpose of unifying the empire  and from the same source that we got other popular traditions, like the theory of the trinity for instance.  Remember that the Bereans were commended because they questioned what they had been told, and sought out and compared the teachings with scripture to come to a conclusion.

            Today I’d like to offer you the opportunity to re-examine the Sabbath.  This can be a very polarizing and divisive thing, and I know for a fact that churches have split over the topic.  Let’s establish some ground rules before you dig: this is for your personal edification, not a call to revise corporate worship.  I live in Knoxville TN and I am here to tell you, if you are blessed enough by God to have found a group of mostly like-minded worshippers who believe even 80% like you do, praise God and thank Him every day for such a blessing.  We need to focus on unity, not necessarily uniformity (we don’t always have to believe the same exact thing, but we should be united in our focus and our purpose).  I’m a member of the Unitarian Christian Alliance for that reason (among others):  there are a great number of folks in that group who have slightly different beliefs on some various things than I do, but we share a common understanding of the important bits and agree that this is more important than pushing any specific particular.  Let’s embrace that mindset, in humility.

            I grew up going to church every Sunday with my parents.  Statistically, you probably did too.  I still go to church every Sunday, but I’ve also started honoring the Sabbath.  I came to this on my own, by reading scripture.  When I compared verses like Gen 2:3, Ex 20:8-11, Matt 5:17, and then today’s reading of Heb 4:9, and then read the frequency of the topic throughout scripture, it convicted me in my heart that I should also honor the Sabbath.  So, on Saturdays now I don’t do any work, don’t buy stuff, and try to read the bible and focus on God for the entire day.  On Sabbath, I rest.  I still go to church every Sunday too, that’s my “corporate” time with God, but the Sabbath is my personal time with God: not a burden but a gift.

            Do I think that everybody needs to believe the exact same thing as I do? Nope, not even close.  We must each with fear and trembling work out our own salvation (Phil 2:12).  Am I saying that if you come to a different understanding that you should march up to your pastor and demand that worship be done on Saturdays now instead of Sunday?  May the God in heaven forbid it, no, that’s not even close to what I’m saying.  What I want you to do is simply this: examine what you believe and why, and compare it to scripture.  If you still believe the same way, great!  If you believe differently, that’s fine too.  This is a personal journey, I don’t want to change the corporate structure of worship, but I would like us each to strive to change our hearts towards God.

            Look at it this way: irregardless of your specific belief in the topic of the Sabbath, if you were to take a specific day (Saturday) and devote it to seeking to get personally closer to God, what’s the downside?  At worst you lose some productivity/shopping/garage sale time; compare that against potential gain.  Cost vs Value, that seems to me to be a positive net outcome. Conversely, what if you’ve been wrong about the importance of the Sabbath?

            I have had people who are better than me, some of my former professors and current relatives, that have argued (sometimes passionately) with me about my belief.  There have been some very good arguments made, but here’s the thing: it’s my belief, and I came to it through reading scripture and praying. I don’t mind if you disagree, but I feel as if God has led me in a specific direction and if you disagree, should I listen to men or to God? (Acts 5:29). 

            I absolutely and certainly do not wish to cause division within the body of Christ, there’s already been enough of that.  What I do want (and want you to do as well) is to seek God with my whole heart.  I want to please God, and I acknowledge with great humility that I’m a very imperfect being, doing the best I can to worship and please a perfect God.  “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God” (Heb 4:9, LSB), and as people of God, I invite you to join me in it.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Have you ever given this much thought? Why or why not?
  2. Are there any traditions in your church that are different than other groups? What are they, and how did they come about?
  3. The Sabbath is listed as one of the 10 commandments.  Why do you think that is, and do you think it applies to Christians today? Why or why not?

PRAYER

Father God, please lead us and grant us wisdom.  Forgive us of our many shortcomings, and help us to be servants who please you.  Thank you for the many blessings that you have given us.  Place a deep love for all of our brothers and sisters in our heart.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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