Tag: Jeremy Martin

Has Christ Been Divided?

2 Samuel 13-14

Psalm 55

*1 Corinthians 1

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Today’s reading in 1 Corinthians 1 hits me a little close to home, in a lot of ways.  I “self-identify” with a number of labels; and it makes me feel better, as if I am part of a larger whole, a part of “my team”.  We all do it to a point, and to a certain degree it is helpful in identifying like-minded folks.  I self identify, because of my scriptural beliefs as: a Biblical Unitarian, a Dynamic Monarchian, a Restorationist, a Biblical Monotheist, and a Primitive Christian.  I’m proud of all of those things, and believe that I’ve come to those labels by studying scripture, finding the truth in God’s spirit, and my labels keep me warm when I wrap myself up in them.  Our reading today, however, chastens me and lets me know that I should be cautious when labelling myself, and humbly acknowledge that what we really are is just servants of the Christ, who is himself the servant of God.

            In my time at the Bible College all of my teachers were amazing, and there were two professors there that I’m going to quote today as examples; Joe Martin (my dad, who is awesome even above my own personal bias) and Kent Ross (who gave the sermon at camp that caused me to get baptized).  Both of them believed in both grace and truth as critical aspects of religion, but each held a different view on which was predominant.  “GRACE!” my father would say, “but truth is important.”.  “TRUTH!” Kent would say, “but grace is also important.”.  Brother Kent has fallen asleep now, and my father’s eyes have been darkened (but not his mind nor his spirit).  I find myself agreeing with both of them, and sometimes it is difficult to find the perfect balance between these 2 critical aspects of the same coin.

            Today in the Christian world, there are an estimated 45000 denominations.  This is just Christians alone, but worldwide.  There are 4 to 10 sects of Judaism, with other sub-groups that make it harder to put an exact number to (although there are 3 sects that are predominant).  The Muslim faith has 2 primary branches, and numerous “schools of thought”, and is predicted to have division of 73 different sects.  Why have we divided ourselves, so much?  Aren’t we all children of the same God?  Each of these groups, each individual sect or subsect, believes that they have a critical aspect of truth that makes them unique.  I will absolutely agree that with so many different and sometimes opposing beliefs, some of them will be incorrect, but the most critical thing that I take away from today’s reading is: that’s not for me to decide for anybody else, but with fear and trembling to work out my own salvation (Phil 2:12).

            In our 1 Corinthians 1 reading today, Paul calls us all back to unity.  In 1 Cor 1:10, he urges us to “all agree (or, “say the same thing”) and that there be no divisions among you…“(LSB).  In 1 Cor 1:11-12 he continues on to say that he knows of quarrels and divisions among the church, with some of the brothers claiming Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas as their “self-identifying” position.  With so many differing opinions it’s going to be difficult to “all say the same thing”, so how should we proceed?  The key and critical verse here is in 1 Cor 1:13, where he asks bluntly: “Has Christ been divided?“.  The answer is, clearly, no.  It is men who have become divided, and I will even venture to say that it is mostly because of pride.  “I’m right, and you’re wrong, so I win!” is a mentality that we must avoid at all costs, because that is just straight up pride speaking, and God mocks the proud.

            “But truth!” you may exclaim, and you are right.  We should all agree, and what we should agree on is specifically God’s word as it has been given to us in scripture: where scripture speaks loudly we should also speak loudly, and where scripture is silent, we should be silent.  I am in no way saying we should not speak truth, the Bereans fiercely sought truth by checking everything in scripture and were commended for it.  What I am saying is that when we speak the truth, it should be in love, spoken with patience and longsuffering mercy, not as to a combatant who is speaking lies but as to a brother or sister who may be mistaken, just as we could be mistaken.

            “Grace!” I say, but also, the truth is important.  Not so important that I want to jeopardize my entry into the kingdom of heaven by not showing you the love that God showed me, but I will patiently and lovingly, with great concern for your feelings and person, with overwhelming forgiveness and mercy (just like God had for me) discuss with you my understanding of scripture if you like, and hope that you find a relationship with my King as I have.  The God who made us, the same God who patiently reached down and pulled me to Him, will do the same for any who seek after Him. 

            Since my King who was innocent humbly took the offenses given to him quietly and without raising his voice, should I do differently?  The Christ has not been divided, he has been nailed to a cross for my transgression, so that our God could “cut a covenant” with us anew.  That does not place me in a position of authority, but of humility.  I’m not even a Jew, but a dog of a Gentile! (Matt 15:27).  What right do I have to get puffed up with pride?  I am just a man, I could be mistaken, I have changed the way I believed about certain things based on scripture, and these things are important to me but that in no way changes the fact that I am the tail and not the head: God is the head of Christ, and the Christ is the head of me (1 Cor 11:3).

            But God, our Creator and our Sustainer, who thought so highly of us that he sent us our king Yeshua (Jesus) to redeem us offers us a way.  Considering others to be greater than ourselves, we should entreat them with love to examine the scripture, and examine it ourselves even more deeply.  Then, not just reading the word, we should do our very best to reflect the amazing love and character of our God to all of our fellow creation, living in obedience to the best of our ability to God’s word, and remaining humble. 

            Our King didn’t say we had to have a perfect understanding to enter into the Kingdom, our King said that “Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven…” (Matt 5:19, LSB).  This is super important, because it seeems to indicate that you can have an incorrect doctrine and still enter in to the kingdom (but it may impact your status there).  Is the truth important? Yes, of course it is, especially to you, but obeying God and showing others the grace that God showed you is, I would argue,  even more important (but I am just a man and I could be wrong).  Grace to you, and truth, and may God lead us.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Have you ever changed the way you believed or thought about something based on scripture?
  2. When you discuss your faith with others who believe differently, do you always reflect God’s character?
  3. DO you ever discuss your faith with others who believe differently, and why or why not?
  4. Is there a perfect balance, a way to express truth while exhibiting God’s patient and compassionate grace?
  5. What are some ways we can reflect God’s love to our fellow creation?
  6. Are you able to, like Christ, take an offense given, both patiently and humbly?

PRAYER

Lord God, thank you for my life, and for the breath You have breathed into my lungs, for the fact that I woke up today.  Forgive me of my many iniquities and shortcomings, and instruct me in the way that I should go to be a servant who pleases You.  May the lips of all of Your creation offer you praise, and bow to the king that you have anointed, to Your glory.  Father, let me show Your love today.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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Who is Your God?

*2 Samuel 11-12

Psalm 55

*Romans 16

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Have you ever focused so much on yourself that, whether accidentally or on purpose, you excluded God?  I have, and I say that to my shame.  Even now, as I’m trying to seek God with my whole heart, I find that I’m disturbingly easily distracted.  It’s embarrassing and concerning to me.  I have to maintain a constant vigil and firmly correct myself when I’m looking off to the side because I know from my own personal and painful experiences that “bad things” happen when I don’t let God rule my life (See 2/5 devotion).  In our reading in Romans 16 today, there’s a short little blurb in v18 that says “For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own stomach…“(LSB).  Ouch.

            The verse above is strikingly reminiscent of Phil 3:19 which states “whose end is destruction, whose God is their stomach…who set their thoughts on earthly things.” (LSB).  The (many) creature comforts that we have been given are nice, but if they are distracting us from proper service to and worship of our God then they have become a juicy, tasty looking worm on the end of a very sharp, barbed, and deadly hook to us.  We see from the above verse that the end of (exclusive) self gratification is destruction, and Paul clearly tells us it’s a bad idea.  Just think of what you could do with 30 pieces of silver though…but was it worth it? It wasn’t, it never is.  We were bought at a (very high) price, and to act solely in our own self interests is to dishonor the one who paid it for us.  Don’t set your thoughts on earthly things.

            In our 2 Samuel reading today, it’s not his stomach that has become his God but another anatomical bit, and David sets his thoughts on earthly things.  He sees from the roof of his house a woman bathing: she’s beautiful and he makes inquiries about her, finding out that she’s Eliam’s daughter and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.  Despite this, David sends for her, sleeps with her, and she becomes pregnant (2 Sam 11: 1-5).  This is not only a violation of God’s law, but one of the basest social human betrayals that you could possibly imagine once you understand who Uriah was.

            To understand better, King David had a mixed army of about 288,000 men, these were organized into 12 divisions of around 24,000 men each.  This consisted of a paid standing army (regular troops whose job it was to fight), a militia designated by tribe (armed citizens who fought under veteran commanders) who took turns by month serving unless there was a special need and all of the people where called, and then his “Mighty Men” or “The 30“; a small but elite group of about 37 men (later expanded to 80) that were very much the equivalent of the Special Forces of the time, the ancient Jewish equivalent of Navy Seals, or probably more accurately, “Mossad”.  (external sources include: chabad.org, biblicalwarfare.com, and it aligns logically with what we know from scripture).  Uriah was one of the Mighty Men.

            The Mighty Men of David were generally thought to have been the fierce and loyal followers who stayed with him when he was fleeing King Saul (or at times exceptional fighters who joined later and gained their position from extraordinary feats of bravery). At the very least, they fought side by side with him. Uriah’s closeness to David is illustrated by how closely he lived to the palace, you could see his house clearly from the roof of David’s house.  There is a special bond formed when men fight beside each other, when their lives are in danger, and when they are forced to rely on each other for survival.  David considered all of this, and then chose to betray his close friend in order to feed his earthly appetite.           

            Then, as sin often does, it got worse.  David tried to conceal his crime (2 Sam 11: 6-13) by trying to get Uriah to go sleep with his wife (and failing because of Uriah’s fierce loyalty and code of honor), and then resorts to having Uriah killed (2 Sam 11: 14-27).  Understanding how fiercely loyal his friend Uriah was and how David repaid that loyalty is truly cringe-worthy.  I can’t think of a deeper betrayal that one human could do to another, it’s definitely the low point of David’s life.

            This is all starkly shocking considering the favor that God has shown David, but it should highlight the painful fact that we are all subject to the lusts of our own flesh and must constantly discipline ourselves to remain true.  David was a man after God’s own heart, but he was still a man, and all men have fallen short.  In this case he broke a number of commandments, killed one of his closest friends, and betrayed the trust of a nation and his God.

            When Nathan shows up to speak to David in 2 Sam 12: 1-14, he tells David a parable of a rich man who took advantage of a poor man and took his one beloved ewe, and David reacts in outrage and says that the man should be killed, after which Nathan explains that it is David himself who was that rich man, and offers a bit of punitive prophecy in v10-12 and v14 (war, betrayal of David, his wives taken publicly, and the baby will die).  He is also told at this time that God will forgive him (v13), but all of these dark prophecies against him will still take place as a result of his sin.  This shows us yet again that our God is indeed a God of justice, but also of mercy.

            David’s actions at this point should be a template to us when we sin: he weeps, he prostrates himself before God, and fasts intensely.  He begs and pleads with God.  We can presume that he tore his robes and put ashes on his head (although it doesn’t specifically say that) as was customarily done in those days to express regret.  He does his absolute very best to humble himself and to, if possible, avert the catastrophe that Yahweh has promised in return for his sin.  In this instance, God did not revoke his judgment and the baby dies, but later when Solomon was born it says (in 2 Sam 12:24) that “God loved him”.

            As a side note, in 2 Sam 12:26-30 there is a “war event” that requires a mustering of all of the forces (probably around 288,000 men, as noted above).  This is usually noted by the phrase “all the people”, or sometimes “all of Israel”, as in v29.  There’s a bit of disturbing information towards the end of this chapter in v31 that describes the practices of the conquering armies to their enemies that just highlights how brutal war was (and is).  I recommend you don’t read it if you don’t have a strong stomach, but if you do read this please note that these were the practices of men and not the commandments of God, and make that clear distinction in your mind.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Each of us is very different, but we are also much the same.  Reflect for a moment on David’s greatest sin, what was the worst sin that you have ever committed?
  2. When you repented of that sin, how specifically did you ask God to forgive you?
  3. Is that sin still poignantly fresh in your mind?  Whatever your answer is, why?
  4. What steps did you take in order to never commit that same sin again, and were you successful?
  5. How can we be successful against temptation to sin?  What are your specific weaknesses and what measures can you personally take that will help you to overcome them?

PRAYER

Father God, please forgive me of all of my sin, whether intentional or unthinking.  Please show me the way into Your kingdom, and cleanse me of all my wrongdoing and many shortcomings.  Help me to listen and to obey Your word, and to honor the price that was paid for my salvation.  Thank you Lord God for sending us Your son to teach us, and to be an example of obedience.  Discipline us God, not in Your wrath lest we be destroyed, but according to Your mercies.  Thank you Father, in Jesus name, Amen.

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A First Century Jew

2 Samuel 9-10

Psalm 54

*Romans 15

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            I really like Paul, he just strikes me as the kind of guy who has what they used to call “grit”; he’s feisty, and blunt to the point of offensive at times.  When he’s writing the book of Romans (@ 56 AD, give or take a couple years) it seems like he’s writing to folks he hadn’t actually met yet (Rom 1:8-15) but considers fellow believers, is praying for them, and hopes to visit them soon (he’s arrested in Jerusalem before that can happen).  This letter was most likely written from Corinth, around the time of his 3rd missionary voyage. 

            Paul was a “Jew’s Jew” (Phil 3:5, it actually reads “Hebrew’s Hebrew”), the guy was fiercely zealous for God and initially saw believers in Christ as a threat to Judaism (see activities just prior to his conversion: Acts 7:57-8:3, Phil 3:4-6, and Gal 1:13-14), but after he is converted he brings that same feisty zeal to the service of the Christ.  He was a Pharisee (1 of the 4 Jewish “philosophies”, more on that later), a student of Gamaliel (a renowned rabbi), a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin, and a Roman citizen (he was born in Tarsus, a city in the province of Cilicia that held the status of a “free city” within the Roman Empire, which granted legal Roman citizenship).

            I was very surprised (and amazed) that some modern day “apologists”  on YouTube have recently begun to claim that Paul espoused doctrines that weren’t even existant until the 4th century.  Here’s the thing: Paul was a Jew, not just that but a “Jew’s Jew”,  and ALL of the Jewish people (since the time of the return from the Babylonian captivity) have been FIERCELY monotheistic.  According to Sir Anthony Buzzard, to even begin to comprehend scripture properly it must be examined through the lens of a 1st century Jew.  I agree.  Saying anything different is just not doing your homework, and stating that a 1st century Jew such as Paul believed in a speculation that didn’t even exist in any form until the 4th century is clearly an anachronism (and a prime example of  ‘confirmation bias’, and shoddy homework).

            We can see Paul’s theology in the first chapter of Romans, it’s very clear, as it is in most of his letters.  In Romans 1:1-4 he refers to the promises of God made in advance through His prophets  about The Messiah (or Christ) as being a Jewish man descended from David genealogically, and designated as the son of God in power (Gen 3:15, Deut 18:18, 2 Sam 7 to name just a few of those prophecies).  Romans 1:7 states “…Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the **Lord Jesus Christ.”, as he does similarly in most of his letters, showing a clear delineation in Paul’s thinking between the two.  Paul did have a radical change in thinking, but it was from the Pharisee’s view of “the messiah is yet to come”  to his post vision understanding that “The Messiah has come, this man Jesus who was a descendant of David.” (not any of the later speculations from the 4th century).  **=Please note that the translation “Lord” here in “Lord Jesus Christ” is accurately “my lord“ (no caps) and not “THE LORD” (all caps), and every time you read “Christ” in scripture it is the title of a man whom God has anointed as King (and not somebody’s last name).  “THE LORD” (all caps) is a later textual corruption done with good intentions (and bad results),  mistranslating the name of God (which occurs about 7000 times in the old testament as “YHVH” or “YHWH”).

            If Paul had somehow, against all logic and reason, ever changed his fiercely monotheistic Jewish understanding of God there would have been a VERY clear and direct dissertation on it to at least one of his many churches, more realistically a whole lot of dissertations to all of them; Paul wasn’t what I’d call a “subtle” guy, he was very direct.  We would have entire books devoted to explain this new “doctrine”, and that just never happened.  Quite the opposite.  The only real doctrinal controversy Paul ever chimes in on is “should the gentiles be circumcised“ (he says not).  Paul was probably, however, the single greatest (human) force in bringing the gospel that was delivered originally exclusively to Jews (by Jesus and then his apostles) over to the gentiles.  In our reading today in Rom 15:16, we can see Paul (despite being a devout Jew himself) has now self-identified as a minister of the Messiah Jesus to the Gentiles (non-Jewish folks), a priest to them.

            Even when he is ministering to the Gentiles, though, he constantly refers to the scriptures that the Jews were familiar with at the time: what we call the Old Testament.  These were just the scriptures that a first century Jew had available, and the vast majority of the intended audience at this point were also first century Jews (keep in mind the New Testament wasn’t compiled in it’s entirety until later); numerically there were just fewer gentiles at this point in the development of Christianity than there were Jews, and they had a much clearer and simpler understanding of these scriptures.  The later believers’ “complex” problems were of their own devising, and didn’t occur until after the (then numerically superior) gentiles brought their mythology and speculation in to the church around the 4th century.  We see clearly in todays reading Paul’s reliance upon and belief in the ancient Jewish scriptures in the Old Testament.

            In Romans 15, Paul quotes Jewish scripture (that’s the Old Testament to you gentiles) 4 times in this one chapter, with the intention of unifying “God’s people” (the Jews) and Gentiles (we who were “grafted on”).  In v9 he (Paul) quotes 2 Samuel 22:50 (or Psalm 18:49), where David rejoices that God has mercy on the Gentiles.  In v10 he quotes  Deuteronomy 32:43, urging the Gentiles to rejoice with God’s people. In v11 he quotes Psalm 117:1, calling all nations to praise the Lord, and in v12 he quotes Isaiah 11:10, describing the root of Jesse who will rise to reign over the Gentiles, in whom they will hope.  His whole point here in chapter 15 is to encourage the Jews and the Gentiles to “accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God” (Romans 15:7, LSB).  I honestly don’t doctrinally agree with most of the mainstream Christian folks out there right now, but I do try to accept them as brothers (and sisters) in Christ, because after all who am I to judge the servant of another (Rom 14:4)?

            I’ve heard a lot of  folks take the stance that the Old Testament doesn’t matter, because that was for the Jews and we are “Christians”, and I disagree (in love).  The New Testament didn’t in any way negate the Old Testament, it just clarifies it; all together it is just one long and unbroken story of the love that God has for His creation, and the overwhelmingly beautiful character of our God.  Jesus, the servant of God (Acts 3:13), quoted extensively from the Old Testament.  Paul, the servant of Jesus, who was the servant of God, quoted extensively from the Old Testament.  We, who strive to be grafted on to the branch of God’s people (the Jew’s), by right of belief in the “root of Jesse who will rise to reign over the Gentiles” (the son of David: Yeshua, Jesus), should humbly acknowledge that the branches die without the root.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Do you read the Old Testament or the New Testament more often, and why?
  2. Have you ever allowed doctrinal differences to cause you to view any of your brothers or sisters in Christ in a negative light? Why?
  3. Have you ever allowed doctrinal differences to cause you to view any of  your fellow Children of the Book (Jews and Muslims) in a negative light? Why?
  4. Do you think that what you believe or how you behave is more important in terms of your entry into God’s kingdom, and why?

PRAYER

Father God,  Creator and Sustainer of all life, thank you for my life.  Please lead me, and allow me to humbly be a servant who pleases my master.  Teach me wisdom, Father, and whisper in my ear.  Help me to seek the old ways, and to know the truth about You.  Please grant me Your spirit so that I can love my fellow creation and faithfully follow the instructions of my King, the one whom You sent for us.  Father God, have mercy upon me.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Prophecies of the Messiah

*2 Samuel 7-8

Psalm 54

Romans 14

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Today’s reading in 2 Sam 7 is one of the most critical prophecies in scripture to understand, if you want to understand about the nature of Jesus, and also get a glimpse into the character of God.  This is one of the clearest passages of scripture that is written about the requirements of The Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ or “Ha Meshiach” in Hebrew, which is where we get the term).  When the ancient Jews were told about The Messiah, this is one of the “go to” scriptures that lists and explains what the expectations should be.  Always go to the “original sources” when you are trying to understand something, and this is one of the best original sources about the Messiah that there are in scripture.  Victor Gluckin has an amazing series on Restitutio.org in the form of podcasts on this that’s better than anything that I could ever do, search for “Victor Gluckin, Restitutio, Son of David” and listen.

            As we start to read in 2 Sam 7:1-11, a lot of the character of David and then God is revealed.  David says to Nathan (a prophet), “Hey I live in a nice house here, but God’s in a tent.  I should build Him a nice house too”.  Nathan replies, “Sure, do it.”, but then God talks to Nathan and tells him to go back to David and tell him “Oh, you think you’re going to build ME a house?  Nah man, I’m going to build YOU a house.” (this is all obviously and painfully paraphrased, but read the scripture, the gist is true).  What we see from this is that God is a rewarder of those who seek to please Him, and that David was trying to please Him.  This is important background to know going in to the next section of scripture, where the meat of the prophecy is.  This is a direct response by God to his servant, David

            First though, know that each one of the gospels (and really the rest of the NT as well) was written for the express purpose of explaining that Jesus (יֵשׁוּעַ )  of Nazareth was this prophesied Messiah(Or, Christ.  Messiah=Christ=”Anointed One”, they all mean the same thing: Christ is not a last name, it is a title of authority).  This is detailed in each of their thesis statements (Matt 1:1, Mark 1:1, Luke 1:30-32, John 20:31).  Jesus himself explains to the samaritan woman that he is, in fact, the Messiah that has been foretold (John 4:25), and commends Peter for getting the correct answer in Matt 16:15 when he asks “but who do you say that I am?”.  He is the Christ, the Messiah.  Every time you see “Christ” in the new testament, it is a confirmation that Jesus of Nazareth is The Christ (Greek for “anointed one”),  or, The Messiah (Hebrew for “anointed one”): they mean the same thing: the man anointed to be king.  What does that mean, though?

THE CRITERIA OF THE MESSIAH (or, Christ).  These are requirements, these MUST all be fullfilled in order to claim the title of The Christ

  • REQUIREMENT 1– (2 Sam 7:12-13)- “When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, ***I will raise up one of your seed after you, who will come forth from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.  He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kindgom forever.”(LSB).  The Messiah MUST BE a human descendant of David, there is not an option for a different understanding because this is the promise God made to David (and God always, always, always keeps His promises). 
  • REQUIREMENT 2– (2 Sam 7:14-15)- “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will reprove him…but My lovingkindness shall not be removed from him…” (LSB)  The Messiah MUST BE the son of God.  Keep in mind that scripturally, the “sons of God” could refer to heavenly beings (Gen 6:2, Job 1:6, Ps 89:6) and that the term is also used metaphorically to refer to humans or groups that have a special relationship with God (as in Ex 4:22 , Ps 82:6, or Mal 2:10).  In the instance of Jesus of Nazareth, both the literal and metaphoric explanations could be fully applied (because of his miraculous conception, but either would have been sufficient to fulfill this prophecy).
  • REQUIREMENT 3– 2 Sam 7:16: “And your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”  To be The Christ you MUST establish a kingdom that will endure forever.  We as Christians believe that when Jesus returns, this requirement will be fulfilled.  In Jesus’ day, his disciples asked “So, uh, is this when you’re going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6, paraphrased).  He explains to them “I don’t get to pick that, only God knows when that’s going to happen” (Acts 1:7, also paraphrased: See also Matt 24:36).  We believe that when Jesus ascended and was sat at the right hand of God, this was our clear indication that our King had been chosen by God for this future kingdom,  which we all strive to enter and be a citizen of as our core desire and primary reward.  We know that even though this hasn’t been completely fulfilled yet that God always, always, always keeps his promises, and we see many clear prophecies and sermons about this kingdom which will be established on the earth.

            ***NOTE: This is actually an example of “progressive revelation” about the Messiah: Gen 3:15 states the “seed of the woman” will crush the serpent (a human), Deut 18:18 says God will “raise up one of your brothers from among you” (speaking to the Israelites, so now we have an Israelite human), and then 2 Sam 7:12-13 clearly shows it will be a descendant of David so the progressive revelation reveals that the Messiah will be (in order): (1)Human, (2)Israelite Human, (3)Israelite Human of David’s genealogical line.  Note that in progressive revelation the base information never actually changes, it is simply clarified.  This is important, so pay close attention here: you can’t just make something up new and call it progressive revelation.  When you make up something new and add it to scripture, that’s called fabrication and it’s something else entirely.

            So why does this matter?  Firstly, we need to know that our gracious, merciful, and loving God is a rewarder of those who seek Him.  While God certainly didn’t need David to build Him a nicer house (See Psalms 24:1), He respected and reciprocated the intent to please Him.  We need to believe that there is a God, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him diligently (Heb 11:6).  Secondly, men are not only confusing but confused.  If someone is teaching you any doctrine that opposes what the scripture clearly says, this scripture, stop listening to them and go back to the original source; even if a majority of people say you’re wrong, because God is greater than man.  It’s important for you to understand the scriptures you read, just as it’s important for you to submit yourself to God and receive the holy spirit, because God seeks those who worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23).  He will find you, if you seek in spirit and truth!

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Did you ever really give deep, serious thought to what “Jesus (the) Christ” actually meant?  Do you feel as if this scripture helped clarify some?
  2. Do you think a working knowledge of the Old Testament is relevant to you as a Christian? Why, or why not?
  3.  Are you trying your absolute hardest to please God, or are you more focused on pleasing yourself?  Why?  What is your expected outcome for either?
  4. What does is say of God’s character, that when we try to please Him he repays us a thousandfold, as seen in this scripture today?
  5. Why do you think God gives us such an abundance of prophecy in the scriptures? Discuss.

PRAYER

Father God, Creator of all things, thank you so much for telling us of the things which are to come.  Purify us so that we can be holy.  Please teach us your ways, grant us wisdom, and help our eyes to see and our ears to hear.  Help us to circumcise our hearts and walk humbly before you, and to do the things that please you.  Thank you Father, most of all, for sending us the Christ.  Please grant that we may listen to all that he has spoken, and obey in truth and spirit.  In Jesus’ name, Amen

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Dance with All Your Might

*2 Samuel 5-6

*Psalm 53

*Romans 13                                               

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            In our reading of Psalms today, we are reminded as the “sons of men” that we ALL have fallen short.  In Ps 53:2-3 we see that, “God looks down from heaven…to see if there is anyone who has insight, anyone who seeks after God.” and that “Every one of them has turned back: together they have become worthless; There is no one who does good, not even one.”  This is pretty harsh but if we are being completely honest, which one of us comes even close to accurately reflecting the merciful, loving character of our God?  David notes this communal shortcoming on our part and laments (and prophecises) in Ps 52:6 “oh that the salvation of Israel would come…!”.  At our very, very best we all don’t even hold a tiny sputtering candle to the blazing glory of God’s love and mercy. 

            Well, I say “all” but there was one son of man that did a pretty good job of it later.  Here’s just one more of those really, really cool bits of foreshadowing in scripture that you don’t even see unless you’re digging a little.  “The salvation” here in Ps 52:6 is literally יְשֻׁע֪וֹת (yeshuot), a variant of Yeshua.  There are all kinds of hidden subtleties in scripture just like this one.  David is lamenting that the salvation of God, Yeshua, hasn’t come yet; but when Jesus (Yeshua) came there was one son of man who did NOT fall short, the man whom God sent and would anoint as our King later in scripture, the Christ (Christ means simply “The Anointed One”, ie, anointed by God).   Our role model Jesus (who self-identified as the “son of man” 72+ times in the scriptures)  lived as an example to all of us other sons of men (ie, us human beings).

            When the son of man came, Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth, he completely submitted to the will of God.  When his will and God’s will differed (and they did at times, see Mt 26:39), he sacrificed his own desires and submitted to the Most High God.  As our role model and as our anointed King, it’s our job to strive to imitate that humility before God.  In our Romans reading today, it speaks at length of submitting to the governing authorities.  I suggest that additionally our governing authority should be our King, Jesus, who represents perfectly the will of God who sent him.  “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Mt 6:33), and “make no provision for the flesh in regards to it’s lusts” (Rom 13:14, one of my favorite self correction verses).

            In 2 Sam 5-6 today we see David is coming in to power and is made king, and eventually the split kingdoms of Judah and Israel are once again reunited (@1004 BC) under his monarchy.  In chapter 5 it details the elders coming to David and asking him to be king, his initial victories and accumulation of power, gathering more wives and concubines, and battling the Philistines.  Then in the beginning of chapter 6 we see David gathering up a large group of men and going to recover the Ark of the Covenant from Abinadab’s house, where it had been sitting for 40-60 years.  Wait a minute, why has the most precious relic of Israel been sitting at some guy’s house for the last half century-ish!?  Well, to find that answer we’ll have to dig a little, and flip back over to 1 Sam.  To really get the full flavor of the story I recommend starting about 1 Sam 2:12 and reading (slowly and carefully) through about 1 Sam 7:2 (this is a great story).

            In 1 Sam 2:12-17 it details some of the sins of Eli’s children (priests, sons of the High Priest) against God, and the High Priest fails to honor God over his sons.  This provokes a dire promise from Yahweh to Samuel in 1 Sam 3:11 that “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle“.  The only time this specific verbage was used later (2 Ki 21:12, Jer 19:3) was just before the temple was destroyed and the Babylonian exile commenced, so you know that this was going to be a really big deal, and really bad.  As a culmination of this particular warning, Eli and his sons die, and the Ark of the Covenant (the most holy relic) was captured by the Philistines (1 Sam 4).  This was bad.

            Speaking of bad, the Philistines soon learned to their dismay that taking the Ark of the Covenant and keeping it were two very different propositions.  God struck them with confusion, plagues, and tumors (*the afflictions seem to be in the form of confusion, desolation causing/crop eating mice, and tumors based on their proposed solution in 1 Sam 6:1-18).  They brought it initially to Ashdod and set it up in the temple of Dagon (a pagan ‘deity’, ie, idol), and it broke their “god” (repeatedly) and then “made them desolate and struck them with tumors, both Ashdod and it’s territories.” (1 Sam5:1-6).  So, in terror, they sent the Ark to Gath (where Goliath was from), and  they too were struck with confusion, tumors, and plagues (1 Sam 5:8-9).  The Gath lads had enough and sent it to Ekron, where the Ekronites cried out “They have brought the Ark of the God of Israel around to us to put us and our people to death!“,  were similarly afflicted, and then they all decided to get rid of it by sending it back off to Israel (1 Sam 5 10-12). 

            When it arrived in Beth-Shemesh over 50,000 men were “struck down” because they foolishly looked into the Ark (1 Sam 16-21).  They asked the folks at Kiriath-jearim to come take it please, and there it sat in Abinadab’s house (who took special precautions) for the next 40-60 years.  Please recall God’s warning (and the cautionary tale of Nadab and Abihu) in Lev 10:3; God will be treated as holy by those who come near Him.  Brian Froehlich did a great devotional on this on 5/3.

            So now back in 2 Samuel, David has become king, and sets out to retrieve this most holy relic for the nation of Israel.  So, he got a new cart to carry it on and set out with much pomp and celebration (2 Sam 6:1-5).  Then, the new cart almost tips over so Uzzah (Abinadab’s son) reaches out to steady it and is struck dead (2 Sam 6: 6-8) and “David was afraid of Yahweh that day” (2 Sam 6:9), and decides to leave the cart (and the Ark) there nearby along the route in the house of Obed-edom (2 Sam 6:9-11).  When David later hears that Obed-edom is being blessed, on account of the Ark, David decides maybe he should go get it after all (2 Sam 6:11-12).  Thus begins Operation Retrieve The Ark, take 2.

            The second attempt, they had the celebration music again as before, but this time whenever those who were carrying the Ark took six paces he sacrificed an ox and a fatling (2 Sam 6:13).  Think about that a moment: step, step, step, step, step, step: stop, sacrifice.  Repeat, all the way to Jerusalem.  How far was it from Obed-edom’s house to Jerusalem?  I’m not sure, but I’d wager “too far” if you were an ox or a fatling.  Do you think they’d learned their lesson, and began to treat God as holy?  It rather sounds like it to me, and the whole time this was going on, David was dancing with all his might in an ephod (his underwear) before Yahweh (2 Sam 14).  Almost manically as if his very life depended on it, you might say (and you would be correct).  Clearly David thought so, at the very least.  “…“It is what Yahweh spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be glorified.’”  (Lev 10:3).  Dance, with all your might!

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. We know that we have all fallen short.  How can we stand, and get closer to God? (list or think of 3 actions that will personally assist you in getting closer to God)
  2. At times, do you “make provision for the flesh”, and how can you instead make provision for heavenly matters? (list or think of a couple specific personal changes in behavior)
  3. When you come near God, do you treat Him as holy? How can you do better?      

PRAYER

Lord God, Most Holy God, I know that I have fallen short of your will for me so many times and I am so sorry.  Forgive me, Father.  Please help me to draw nearer to you, to humbly seek to do your will at all times, and to listen and obey when you speak to me.  Please guide me, instruct me, and discipline me when needed.  Help me to reflect your character to all of my brothers and sisters, to honor You, and to be a servant that pleases You.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Bought at a Price

Judges 3-5

Psalm 39

*Acts 12                                          

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Today we’re going to talk about some deep things.  We mostly like to kind of brush past some of the harder bits of truth, but sometimes we need to acknowledge that they exist in order to appreciate the overwhelmingly high favor that we have been given without cause, and through no merit of our own. 

            **As a side note, I would also like to strongly encourage you to check it out every time scripture is quoted.  Look up every bible verse anyone ever quotes (including  me!)  just to make sure they’re not mistaken, quoting partial truths, or being misleading: be a good Berean and check.  Examine context, make sure it’s quoted correctly, and that it’s used properly.

            I sometimes wonder at how much I should share, but this might be important to someone.  This is the extremely edited version of a true story.  An old friend of mine, back in the bad old days (see 2/5 devotional) and I were having an inebriated conversation.  During this conversation talk turned to God, and he started saying the actual name of God, and I got scared (because we weren’t behaving properly), which amused him.  He continued to do it a few times, then I bowed up and let him know that the next time he drew attention to us in our current state that he and I were going to have a full on brawl (I was a little scrappy in my youth).  He laughed and moved on to other topics.  A few months later, I had escaped from that life and was safe in a different state,  no longer a criminal but attending a Bible college (talk about a culture shock!).  A month or two after that I received word that he was dead.  Let him who has ears, hear.

            The name of God (YHVH, Yahweh, Yehovah) is a sacred name, and not to be used frivolously.  It absolutely should be used in reverent prayer and meditation, but never frivolously.  God will be treated as holy, and honored before all people (Lev 10:3).   I believe part of the reason I’m alive today (aside from my parents’ constant intervention through prayer) is detailed in Malachi 3:16, and I remember Joel 2:32 as well, but I  wonder at times at the cost of my freedom from that life that I was in.  It is very sobering and very humbling.  The price of soul is costly and beyond your ability to buy (Ps 49:8).

            In our reading of Acts 12 today, we see this concept written painfully in blood, but most people miss it because it’s just a little blurb in the neat and somewhat funny (at points) story about Peter being freed from jail by an angel.  We start out the chapter very seriously indeed with Herod beginning the first (but certainly not the last) persecution of the believers, the “ecclesia”, or what some would call “the church”.  This would be Herod Agrippa I, the last “client king” of Judea, the grandson of Herod “the Great” (who was in actuality not so great).  Herod (Agrippa I) was a skilled diplomat who gained favor in Rome by backing Claudius’ imperial succession, who leveraged his friendships with emporers Caligula and Claudius to reunify the territories of Samaria, Judea, and Galilee under a single rule (his).

            Being a skilled politician who had just reunited rule on the territories around Judea, he sought to solidify his power by any means necessary.  So while he maintained his Roman alliances and friends, he zealously sought and enforced orthodox Jewish policies in order to secure the loyalty of his Jewish subjects of that territory.  So with that historical knowledge in the back of your head, now read in Acts 12:1-2 that after persecuting the early believers and killing James “and when he saw that it pleased the Jews” (Acts 12:3 LSB), he arrested Peter. 

            Remember that this is an ambitious politician, ruling over a territory of Jews, attempting to solidify his political strength in the land; so when he has Peter arrested, we can only assume it was to have him publicly killed later (since that is what pleased the Jews with James).  What was the cost of one man’s life to him, in order to gain power?  Just some fisherman, not anybody politically important, not even wealthy; a small price to pay to solidify your power over the territory, right?

            So when Peter is arrested, he takes extra steps to secure his prisoner, because this is political gold for him.  This is one of the leaders of that new upstart group causing dissension among the Jews, his subjects now.  In Acts 12:4 it says, “When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to 4 squads of soldiers, to guard him…” (LSB).   The actual word here translated as “squad” is “quaternion”, and a quaternion was composed of 4 soldiers each, so: 4 quaternions (of 4 soldiers each) equal 16 soldiers, trained and hardened professional Roman soldiers.  When sleeping, Peter was chained with 2 chains between 2 soldiers, and there were other soldiers in front of the doors.  Stop and think about the level of force here for a moment, Herod is not taking any chances.  You don’t secure a prisoner that securely if you’re planning on giving public high fives when you bring him out, Peter was going to die here.  It says at the end of 12:4 that he was “intending to bring him out before the people”, to kill him publicly in other words. 

            There follows an inspiring and miraculous tale of victory when an angel comes to free Peter, releasing him from prison, leading him through multiple obstacles safely and then departing.  The story then becomes slightly amusing as Peter is left standing outside the gate of his friend’s house while the amazed servant forgets to let him in and rushes to tell the other believers that Peter is there, and after some disbelief, all of the believers rejoice.  This is detailed very well in Acts 12:6-17.

            In Acts 12:19, though, there’s a tiny little blurb that states:  “And when Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution...”.  Let me clarify that for you.  A Roman examination was, simply put, torture.  It consisted less of  a close examination of facts, and more of horrific slow and painful torture until you confessed; less fingerprinting and more of a painful removal of the fingers, followed by death.  16 men were tortured and died in order that 1 man might go free.  This is what I want you to consider today, because the cost of a soul is high.

            That is why it is so important as slaves of The Christ, as servants of The Messiah, to know that when our lives were bought, we were bought at a price (1 Cor 6:20, 1 Cor 7:23); an overwhelming price higher than we could afford or deserved, the blood of God’s innocent servant (1 Pet 1:18-19), His Anointed One, whose blood was given for you.  I remember my dead friend, I remember even more God’s chosen Messiah, the son of God, who willingly shed his blood for me.  How much was my sorry life worth?  The price of a soul is high, but my King, my innocent and humble King, paid it willingly for us.  It makes me cry.  Father God have mercy.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Do you think that Peter ever humbly meditated on the fact that 16 men died in his place when he escaped?

If you had the same experience, how would it make you feel (even if you knew that if they hadn’t died, you would have)?

Are we daily living in a manner that honors and respects the (too high) price that was paid for us?

PRAYER

Oh my Father God, have mercy on me.  I am completely unworthy of the price that You paid for me.  Please forgive me, help me to honor You in every word, in every action, in every thought.  Thank You for redeeming me; without cause, and at too high a cost, but thank You.  Please help me to live every moment from this point forward reflecting that overwhelming love and generosity towards You and Your creation.  In the name of Yeshua, Jesus the Christ whom You sent, Amen.

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God’s Children

*Judges 1-2

Psalm 38

*Acts 11

  -Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)   

       Today we enter the time of the Judges, one of the most turbulent times in the history of ancient Israel.  I would like to point out that the preceding books of scripture are exceptionally important and critical, not just to us of the Christian faith but also to the Jews and the Muslims.  If you don’t study these early books often, I would encourage you in the strongest terms to do so. 

            Most folks don’t realize it, but this portion of “The Book” we share in common with our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters.  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy combined are the Jewish “Torah” (“Law”, called in Hebrew Bereishit, Shemot, Vayikra, Bamidbar, and Devarim), and called the “Tawrah” in the Islamic faith.  Each of these religions shares this portion of scripture.  All of the Children of the Book believe in them.

            I am going to say something controversial here, but before you pick up a rock to stone me, consider it carefully: before we judge any of our fellow creation because they have theological differences, keep in mind that we are all children of the same God, we have all been given the scriptures as a guide, and that if we are being honest and scriptural that as gentiles we have the least legal claim to God’s mercy.  We should be humble, and exist in a state of awe and wonder that God saw fit to include us at all.  Simply put, the Jews are the chosen people of God according to scripture, but God made some very strong covenants with Abraham.  Muslims are considered to be the spiritual descendants (and some to be the actual descendants) of Abraham through Ishmael as well.  As Christians, we consider ourselves to be the spiritual descendants of Abraham through obedience, but most of us can’t claim a direct lineage. 

            So before we place ourselves in a position higher than we have earned or even have a right to: consider the character of God, who is the judge of all, who is the Most Merciful, the Most Gracious, and who extends His hand to all of His creation and offers salvation to those who will seek it, even the stubborn disobedient folks who have a hard time listenening (and thank God He does).  Remember before we start to judge our fellow creation: we already have a judge, that position has been filled, and your services in that area are neither required or desired.  Be humble.

            Today, however, we have arrived at the time of the Judges in our reading, a constantly shifting political time, hugely turbulent in the Jewish history, and a very good template throughout it for “how not to act”.  Keep in mind that prior to this book, from Exodus to Joshua, the Israelites had very strong leaders, Moses and then Joshua, leaders who God communicated with directly (usually through shaliah, see 1/27 devotional), and who unwaveringly did what God commanded. Then we come to the time of the Judges, and starting almost right away, things go sideways (as detailed here in Judges 1).

            Judah started out pretty good (Judg 1:1-20), but then folks started making exceptions and taking the “easier” path.  The sons of Benjamin didn’t dispossess the Jebusites (Judg 1: 21), the house of Joseph made deals with some of the inhabitants (Judg 1:24-26), and the sons of Israel seem to have decided largely at the time that free labor ( Judg 1: 28, 30, 33, 35)  was pretty handy and forced a lot of the locals into “forced labor” (or, slavery).  This was directly contrary to God’s instructions (see Josh 23: 1-16, among others). 

            Remember, that the covenenants that God made with the Israelites were in large part conditional.  In Judges 2: 1-4, the angel of Yahweh shows up and chastises the people for not obeying, lets them know that since they have broken their promise and have not listened that the nations will become a “thorn in their side”, as promised.  The people wept, made sacrifices, and then went to their own places and by the next generation had forgotten about God again (Judg 2:10).

            Judges 2:11 starts a terrible cycle that is repeated throughout this book, “Then the sons of Israel did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh and served the Baals...” and as a consequence (Judg 2:14) “… the anger of Yahweh burned against Israel…” (LSB translation).  Then after a time of punitive distress for the nation, “God raised up judges who saved them…” (Judg 2:16, LSB).  This happens throughout this entire book. 

            This cyclical dysfunction is repeated nationally 7 times at least by my count in this book alone.  Over, and over again: Israel sins (by forsaking God), God allows oppression, Israel cries out, God mercifully raises up a judge to deliver them, there’s peace during the lifetime of that judge, then the judge dies and the people return to idolatry which restarts the cycle.  This is a truly painful book to read, particularly when given the recent miraculous and amazing redemption and direct intercession by God on their behalf.  What about you, though? Do you remember and celebrate all of the times that God delivered you, in loving awe and obedience?  Think about it.

            Moving forward to our awesome NT reading today, we find a landmark that you should never, ever, ever forget: for the first time, salvation is shown to have been given to gentiles (that’s most of us) in Acts 10, and then acknowledged in today’s reading  (in Acts 11:18).   When Jesus came to speak God’s word, he went almost exclusively to the Israelites (See the story in Mark 7:24-30 for clarification, and a good sense of how humble we should be), but we know from scripture that he was to be a light to all the nations (Is 49:6).  THIS is the time when that prophecy is fulfilled, and praise God for it! 

            Before this point in history, as a gentile, things were not looking so great for you.  “But God…” (I love that phrase), being merciful and gracious, and showing overwhelming forgiveness and equity for all of His creation, made a way.  Know in your heart that if you should be favored enough to enter into God’s kingdom, the one Jesus came to tell the world about, then know that it is not because of your righteousness or birthright but because of the overwhelming love and mercy from Yahweh God, our Creator and Father of all.  Nothing you have ever done or ever will do is enough to grant you this privilege, “but God”… He is the most merciful, the most gracious, the one who constantly seeks to bring us back to His fold, who cared enough to send His own son for our redemption.  You are not your own, you were bought at a price (1 Cor 6:20): be humble and fearfully obedient, and know that none of us are worth the price that was paid for our salvation.  “But God…”

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. In Judges, we can clearly see the cyclical dysfunction of the nation of Israel.  Do you have any cyclical dysfunctions in your own life?  Are they national, familial, or personal dysfunctions?  How can you overcome them? (You should write these down).
  2. Why do we tend to forget God, and how can we break this cycle?
  3. Do we tend to judge our fellow human beings?  Why?
  4. Have you ever thought about how lucky you are that God made a plan for YOU, especially if you’re a gentile?

PRAYER

Father God, thank you.  You have been merciful to me without reason, and gracious to me without cause.  Your love overwhelms me.  Please, forgive me my shortcomings, and allow me to overlook the shortcomings of others.  Let me be an example of your love and mercy to my fellow creation.  Please grant me Your spirit, and teach me the way to reflect Your character, and to enter in to Your kingdom.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Reprove me not in Your wrath

*Joshua 23-24

*Psalms 38

*Acts 10                                 

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            Today’s readings have such important, landmark verses and concepts in them that we’ll be bouncing around in all of them.  First, let’s talk about discipline.  I grew up (many years ago) in an age that believed in physical discipline; in a time that folks believed that if you lacked proper direction then a firm impetus on the posterior would propel you properly towards the direction of righteousness.  I was personally propelled towards righteousness on a number of occasions, but I have to confess that it was always deserved and always administered fairly.  Even so, when I was younger I did my absolute best to avoid being punished: I shoved books down the back of my pants once, I remember hiding my father’s belts on at least one occasion, and I took long extended walks to the river hoping that the extra time would cause my offenses to be forgotten.  It was rather silly, really, the foolishness of a selfish child.    Thinking back to some of those instances really made the Psalms reading today resonate within me.

            In our Psalms reading, it says in 38:1: “…O Yahweh, reprove me not in Your wrath, And discipline me not in Your burning anger. ” (LSB).  This is David asking for a “cool off” time, for correction with justice rather than wrath which could destroy him; not an avoidance of punishment but temperance in it’s administration.  In v3-8 he freely confesses his sin, and is asking God to correct him, but in a manner which allows growth.  This sentiment  is echoed beautifully in Jeremiah 10:24, when the prophet says “Discipline me, O Yahweh, but with justice; Not with Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing. ” (LSB).  The purpose of discipline is to correct behavior, but know also that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10) is not an idle statement.  If you believe that your heavenly Father loves you, you will understand that the expression of that love is to correct your behavior at times before you continue in a course that will lead you to destruction. 

            Hebrews 12:6 says “FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE FLOGS EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” (LSB).  It is the expectation that our heavenly Father will correct His children, in love, to prevent us from engaging in activities that will lead to our destruction.  That’s just what a good dad does.  The discipline of God can come in many forms; a painful conscience, an unrest in our soul when we know that we’ve done wrong, or even a more tangible and physical discipline.  Is it going to always be comfortable, and in a manner that we prefer?  Usually not.  If we are NOT receiving that corrective discipline though, we should be very concerned and ask ourself “why?”.  I’ve heard it said that God usually gently guides his children, but I can tell you truly that sometimes he picks them up by the throat and the short hairs (as in my case) until they listen.  Do not run from, or dread, the life saving corrective discipline from our Father in heaven who loves you.  Embrace it, and take to heart the lesson He is trying to teach. 

            When the Israelites, in our last chapters of Joshua reading this morning, are getting their last instructions and guidance from their leader Joshua before he dies they are reminded of all of the blessings that God has given them, and then warned of this very thing in Joshua 23 “…15 And it will be that just as all the good words which Yahweh your God spoke to you have come upon you, so Yahweh will bring upon you all the calamitous words, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which Yahweh your God has given you. 16 When you trespass against the covenant of Yahweh your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of Yahweh will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.”  (LSB).

            Then, Joshua tells the children of Israel that they have a choice, but clarifies his choice in one of the most beautiful (and most quoted) verses in the Bible, located in Joshua 24:15: “If it is evil in your sight to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.”  (LSB).

            In our reading of Acts 10 today, there is a landmark moment, a fulfillment of prophecy so huge that to give it proper scale of importance this entire chapter should be in huge bold font with giant exclamation points at the beginning and the end of the chapter.  Every time you turn to this section in the Bible, you should hear the trumpets of angels sounding in your head, it’s that important.  For the first time in recorded history, in this chapter, salvation is offered to the gentiles!  That’s the majority of us, unless you’ve got some remote biological link to Abraham.  This is in a direct fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah 49:6 where it is written: “He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to cause the preserved ones of Israel to return; I will also give You as a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.‘” (LSB).

            I will point out something that most folks conveniently overlook.  This guy Cornelius, in addition to being a gentile (a Roman centurion, specifically), was “a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the people and prayed to God continually” (Acts 10:2, LSB).  He was a devout man, he practiced tzedakah (look it up, please!) and enacted God’s justice to the people, and prayed constantly.  This is what got God’s attention, because God sees the heart of a man.  This was not a random choice.  In Acts 10:4 the angel of God says “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God.”  This is a guy who put his money where his mouth was, and his wallet where his heart was.  We should emulate his actions to the best of our abilities, if we desire to please our God.

            After the events detailed earlier in the chapter, Peter goes on to say at the beginning of what could be considered his 4th recorded sermon in  Acts 10:34 “I most truly comprehend now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the one who fears him and does righteousness is welcome to Him.” (LSB).  He then finishes this sermon, as the holy spirit falls upon all those listening to his words, as the Jewish believers who came with him were astounded that gentiles had received the gift of the holy spirit, by asking “Can anyone refuse water for these to be baptized who have received the holy spirit just as we did?”

            Today, with the overwhelming number of gentiles who profess to be Christians, we kind of take it for granted, but before THIS SPECIFIC MOMENT in history: salvation was for the Jewish people alone, the chosen people of God.  This was the exact moment in time when God clarified for all humanity: it’s not who your father was (genealogically), but who your Father is (in your heart) that matters.  This is what God has been saying from the beginning, in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, but now the gift of salvation is being offered up to all the nations, to all those who fear God and do righteousness (again, please go look up tzedakah for a clarification on this), to those who seek and accept the discipline of our Father.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Did you ever try to avoid being disciplined (by God or men), and what were the results?

Think of a time when you received divine discipline.  What was the result?

Have your alms ascended as a memorial to God, or are they stacked up in your bank as a memorial to your own greed?

PRAYER

Father God, please discipline me gently and allow me to receive the instruction that is offered through it.  Correct me when my course goes astray, and forgive me of my many shortcomings.  Help me to reflect your love and character to all of Your creation.  Thank you for all of the blessings, and especially for sending us Jesus and his words of instruction.  In his name, Amen.

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Claiming Your Inheritance

*Joshua 13-14

Psalm 35

Acts 5

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            In our Joshua reading today, we see once again one of the primary reasons that the Israelites were seemingly obsessed with lineage: all of those “who begat who begat who” passages that we come across in scripture.  The reason is, put simply, that’s where you got your inheritance, if you were a Jew.  That’s how you knew what your inheritance even was.  Your inheritance, to some degree, affected the level of your wealth, your occupation, everything.  Let’s say you wanted to be a fisherman; well, if your inheritance of land doesn’t have a large body of water with fish in it, you might want to consider shepherding as an option.  If you wanted to be a priest, you’d have to prove that Aaron was an ancestor of yours at some point.  Joshua 13 breaks down a number of these very specific physical inheritances for the Israelites, which were non-negotiable and non-transferrable.

            When you have been especially faithful though, and when you have the gumption to ask for it, sometimes you can receive an extra portion; this is what happens in Josh 14:6-15 (and continuing  on some in chapter 15, as far as some of the details go) when Caleb approaches Joshua and says specifically “So now, give me this hill country about which Yahweh spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps Yahweh will be with me, and I will dispossess them as Yahweh has spoken.” (Josh 14:12, LSB).  It then goes on to say: “Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb…because he fully followed Yahweh the God of Israel.” (Josh 14:14, LSB).  Read the whole section carefully, starting when he approaches Joshua.

            If you have not read yesterday’s devotion, you should go back and do it now because we’re going to talk for just a little bit more about giants; also called “the Anakim” or “the sons of Anak” (among other things).  Josh 14:15 gives us a big (no pun intended) clue here, when it says “Now the name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba; for Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim…”  (that’s from the LSB version, also note that Kiriath means “city”, so “City of Arba”).

            Let’s consider for a moment.  The only giant whose height and size we know fully in scripture is Goliath of Gath, and he stood approximately 9′ 9″ according to the masoretic text (which I tend to agree with, on the basis of their impeccable and zealous exactly accurate transmission of the scriptures).  In contrast to this, the Septuagint, some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the historian Josephus place his height at approximately 6′ 9″ (due to a textual transmission discrepancy between the Hebrew and the Greek).  If you have any historical knowledge of the Masoretes and their almost psychotic zeal for accurately reproducing scripture, you’ll understand why I favor that first number of 9′ 9″.  We also know that Og (one of the Rephaim, another group described as giants) the king of Bashan’s iron bed was 13.5′ long by 6’wide (see Deut 3:11), and that seems logically like it’d be a little too much empty head or foot space if you were just under 7′ tall, but pretty reasonable if you were around 10′-13′ tall.  King Og is mentioned briefly in Josh 13:31.

            So we don’t actually know how big this Arba fellow was, but we DO know that he was “the greatest among the Anakim”.  So, let’s just say “really really big”.  I could speculate that he was most likely well over 10′ tall, probably by a large portion, but that’s just speculation.  The point is, he was really a big guy.  So when Caleb asks for this special inheritance, it’s with the understanding that “Hey, even though I’m 85 years old now, I’m going to go whip the biggest giant there is, and take his land.  Also, any offspring of his who are also giants, I’ll whip them too, and take their land as well.” (that’s clearly paraphrased, but spot on accurate, the bit about the offspring is noted in chapter 15).  So what’s the point of this little digression into speculation and size?

            The point is this: it’s not always easy to claim your inheritance.  Sometimes, it’s going to take a bit of gumption, and maybe a scrap.  You may have to be bold, and brave, and act with what some might call “temerity”.  Sometimes, you have to look at the biggest guy there is and go “Yea, I can take that guy.”, and if you’re Caleb, that’s not always going to be a metaphor.  In our case, it might be (or it might not, who knows?).

            In Matt 25:34 it explains that our inheritance as followers of Ha’Mashiach (The Anointed One, or The Christ)  provided that we obey God’s word, is the Kingdom of God.  Please take a moment and read the words of our King in Matthew 25:31-46.  This plainly explains to us that not our lineage, but our actions, will qualify us for our inheritance, the Kingdom of God.  Jesus tells us that to actively seek our inheritance, the Kingdom of God, should be first in our priorities (Matt 6:33), and that all the other stuff will be taken care of.

            As gentiles, we should be very cognizant of the fact that we will have to qualify for our inheritance, it doesn’t matter what your lineage is.  Note I didn’t say earn, nothing that we could ever do would be enough to enter in to the Kingdom of God, but to even qualify for consideration we need to represent the character of God correctly to our fellow creation, to enact tzedakah (look it up) and love our neighbor as ourself, and to successfully love YHVH God with all our heart, soul, and might.   Sometimes as Christians, we tend to think we should be meek and quiet, but we know that James has written “you have not because you ask not” (James 4:2).

            It may be that at times we have to act with temerity. We know that there are things that can disqualify us from our inheritance (1 Cor 6:9-11), so we must fight tooth and nail against the enemy who tries to present these things to us as desirable. We WILL have to fight giants, whether real or metaphorical.  You are going to have to go through some things, in order to qualify.  It doesn’t matter though, because nothing compares; no suffering which you may have to endure will in any way compare to the glory of the Kingdom of God (Rom 8:18).  Be like Caleb, in other words, and go boldly to claim your inheritance.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. What is it that you dread?  If you are afraid of something that is hampering your obedience whether it’s  a situation, a person, a conversation, starting an action, stopping an action, changing a habit, whatever it might be – that is your giant.  Of course it’s scary, now go fight it.  You need to identify it for yourself first though (we tend to be really good at pretending it’s not there).
  2. What things have you allowed into your life that you are seeking first, instead of your inheritance (The Kingdom), and how can you change that?
  3. Think for a moment about what steps you can take that would assist you in qualifying for entry into the Kingdom?  List out 3, and then implement them into your routine.

PRAYER

Father God, thank you.  All of these things I have, they have come from Your hand.  Please help me, lead me and guide me, grant me wisdom and humility, and if it is Your will allow me to enter into Your kingdom.  Grant me my inheritance Lord, and help me to be a servant who pleases.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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“Here There Be Giants”

*Joshua 11-12

*Psalm 35

*Acts 4

-Devotion by Jeremy Martin (TN)

            As we start off in Acts 4 today, the priests, the captain of the guard, and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John “greatly agitated” because they were teaching and proclaiming in Jesus (Yeshua) the resurrection from the dead.  If you recall the breakdown of the “4 Philosophies” at that time, the Sadducees were “A priestly and aristocratic group who accepted only the written Torah (Pentateuch) as authoritative, rejected the oral law, and did not believe in resurrection or an afterlife.” So of course they were greatly agitated, because as a group they did not believe in resurrection…”So they were sad, you see?”  (that bad joke was stolen from Sean Finnegan’s wonderful and highly recommended podcast on Restitutio.org, which you really should give a listen to, seriously).

            The chapter goes on to tell that the religious authorities of the day grabbed them, detained them and questioned them fiercely, then released them but not before threatening them to stop talking about such things.  Their response is telling: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to hear you rather than God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:19, LSB).  Bear in mind, these were not just some guys, these were the religious leaders of the day, the authorities, the high priest (and his descendants, Acts 4:6) and represented the final say in spiritual matters at the time.  It’s no wonder that they were marvelling at their confidence (Acts 4:13), this sort of behavior was unheard of amongst the Jews, you just didn’t defy the priests typically. 

            After they are released, they went to their own people and offered praise to God.  Please pay special attention to their wording, because it clearly defines the doctrine of the earliest church here in Acts 4: 24-31.  Without belaboring this beyond the last 2 days devotionals, please note that there is a clear delineation here, and a tiered level of authority that is clearly demonstrated with God (YHVH, the Creator, the Most High God)  in authority over His servant Yeshua, Ha’Mashiach (Jesus, the Christ, the Anointed One) who is in turn in authority over his servants, us (the ecclesia, or church).  We serve God through Yeshua, His servant and our King, whom God has anointed and established over humanity.  This is repeated throughout scripture and succinctly restated in 1 Cor 11:3.  It is highly problematic to insist on any other doctrinal statement, at least if you don’t want to stand in opposition to scripture.  Peter and John confidently stood firmly against the religious giants of their day, the religious authorities who had gotten off course, and continued to speak the word of God.  We face our own giants today, don’t we?

            Here’s an interesting thing.  Even if you have a map, even if you plan your route well, even if you have a compass; if you get even just a tiny bit off course you don’t end up where you wanted.  A matter of just 1 degree off, and you could end up hundreds of miles away from where you wanted to be.  The farther you go, the greater the error becomes.  In my youth, I had gotten off course (see the Feb 5th devotional for some of the sordid details).  I was in genuine fear for my life, because I was facing giants, and I knew that I could not win.  I had resigned in my mind that the best I could hope for was to inflict maximum damage in return on my way into death and was quite prepared to do so.  Psalms 35 really reminds me of that time, and of the mercy of God, who saved me.  I won’t go into detail here, but know that this Psalm is an intensely personal one for me because it accurately sums up a time when I faced giants, and lived.  Not by my actions, but by the grace of God alone and because God intervened in ways I could not have predicted or understood to remove the threat from my path (literally and physically, in some instances).  Then, in an overwhelming display of unwarranted love, he corrected my path.  I don’t even have the words to express my appreciation.  Praise God!

            As we dip into our Joshua reading today, we’re going to focus on a couple things that a lot of folks just skim over.  Remember the old song, “12 men went to Canaan land (10 were bad and 2 were good!)”?  That story is detailed in Numbers 13 and 14, and gives us a bit more understanding.  In Num 13:33 it says “There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” (LSB).  There’s a very simple and straightforward reason for this, and it’s because those guys were giants!  So who were the Nephilim?  Great question!  Flip back over to Genesis 6:4 where it says: “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, and they bore children to them…” (LSB)**.  So the Nephilim were the offspring of “the sons of God” (ie, angels or some other form of heavenly being which God created) and humans, according to scripture.  **For an extremely interesting apocryphal account of this, read the book of Enoch (it’s quoted in the book of Jude, but didn’t make it into the cut for “canonical”).

            So, when the Israelites encounter ACTUAL GIANTS on the way in to the promised land, they got scared, rebelled, and as a result ended up wandering in the wilderness for another 40 years until the voices of dissension had (quite literally) died out (see Num 13&14 for the full story).  In Joshua 12, we’ve returned after 40 years to “try again”.  Now, when the Israelites are doing as God commanded and taking the promised land, it states: “Then Joshua…cut off the Anakim…(and) devoted them to destruction.  There were no Anakim left…only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod some remained” (Joshua 12:21-22, LSB).  In Josh 12:4, “Og king of Bashan” seems to be another one, “one of the remnant of the Rephaim”.  Remember where Goliath was from, by the way? See there (I slipped in another cross reference)?  Do you think he was larger or smaller than the others of his kind like him? Trivia aside though, the point is: this time they obeyed God, and they succeeded. 

            My point in bringing up these things is this: in our lives, sometimes we are given tasks that seem daunting.  Sometimes, we are called upon to fight giants.  Giants are, by their very nature, big and scary.  Many times they will stand and taunt us.  I’d point out in counterpoint that we’ve got a great big God; much bigger than any giant, and He fights for us, when we are doing His will.  It doesn’t matter how big your particular giant is, God is bigger.  As I write this devotion, it is the Sabbath before Easter Sunday.  When I consider the overwhelming love and power of our God, and the generous offer of salvation to us gentiles, I am truly humbled.  When I think about what His Anointed One suffered on my account, I am overwhelmed.  When God raised up His servant Jesus again, it let me know that there is no giant that can overwhelm me.  I may go down into the dirt, but I will stand again.  God has this.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS

  1. Did you ever realize, or even think about, where the actual biblical “giants” came from?
  2. Each of us have our own metaphorical “giants”.  What are yours?
  3. How many times has God conquered a giant for you; a problem you just couldn’t see a way around, a danger that you couldn’t escape, an intimidating moral dilemma?  Reflect on them all for a moment, and consider the goodness of God.
  4. Why is it that when we see a “giant” we forget how big God is sometimes?

PRAYER

Father God, Creator and Sustainer of all life, thank you.  Please help me to remember that I am not my own and that you bought me, and that the price paid for me was far too high.  Please forgive me when I am scared, and give me the strength to do your will, even if it’s to conquer giants.  Thank you for sending Yeshua, my King.  Thank you for life, breath, and all things.  In Jesus name, Amen.

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