Background to the Psalm:

The psalm is attributed to David and the subject of the psalm appears to be the setting up of the Tabernacle on Mount Zion after David’s second and successful attempt to bring the Ark of the Covenant up to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6).  As the Ark symbolised the very presence of God to the Israelites, not only was this a momentous occasion, but it also raised questions about how the worshippers were to approach God.  So that’s the question that the psalm sets out to deal with.  It is also a question that’s very important to us in this day and age. How can we best prepare ourselves so that we can have true and deep fellowship with the Lord when we come to worship?

Just a note of caution before we take a closer look at the psalm. The psalm typifies Old Testament righteousness. An example of this would be Job who was seen as blameless (Job 1:1) which would mean that people would have looked at Job and would have seen no obvious moral defect.  So obviously this psalm needs to be taken in the wider context of scripture least we succumb to a legalistic righteousness rather than what is gained through Christ work (2 Corinthians 5:21).  As Craig C. Broyles notes the Psalm: ‘is not to be used as a checklist of qualifications; rather it is to be endorsed as Yahweh’s “torah” and embraced as the seeker’s ambition.’[1]

Outline of the Psalm: 

Ø  Who may approach God: question (v1).

Ø  Who may approach God: answer (vs2-5a).

Ø  The benefits of approaching God correctly (v5b).

Some Observations on the Text (All Quotations ESV):

As is not uncommon in certain psalms the psalm starts with two rhetorical questions which are closely related to each other (v1). The word ‘tent’ immediately alerts us that this is the Tabernacle, particularly when it’s linked with the phrase: ‘your holy hill’ which can only mean Mount Zion in Jerusalem in this context. The question concerning these two places is a very simple one concerning who can approach the Lord and have meaningful fellowship with him. Rather interestingly, the questioner makes it clear that this is an act of pilgrimage as a literal translation would be: ‘who can camp’ which shows that the psalmist: ‘is inquiring not about taking up permanent residence as a priest or Levite’[2] but rather an act of pilgrimage.

Verse 2 highlights outward and inward attributes as the start of the answer to the question in verse 1.  Firstly, it lists the quality of blamelessness. But this is no outward show of righteousness as it is coupled with the phrase: ‘and speaks the truth in his heart.’ This signifies that the outward attribute of blamelessness is found in an inward desire which seeks to please the Lord.  This indicates that integrity in our actions is essential if our worship is to be of any value at all!  In fact, Derek Kidner notes that: ‘The word blamelessly is a little negative for the Hebrew, which implies what is whole, or whole-hearted, and sound.’[3]

Not surprisingly, as well as positive actions to be embraced, there are negative actions to be avoided. The tone of verse 3 once again shows that these actions can be both outward and inward in their attitude.  The act of slandering someone is undoubtedly an outward action, but the intent to do that in the first place originates in a person’s heart.  So, the psalmist’s intention is clear, the appearance of tolerable morality is not enough when we come to worship. After all, the Lord looks on the heart of the worshipper and sees its true state!

Yet, as verse 4 makes clear, unless our heart is right with God our outward actions will not measure up to a standard acceptable for worship.  Our attitude to things that displease the Lord gives a clear indication what our spiritual state truly is. We are to: ‘despise’ evil, yet we ought to honour: ‘those who fear the Lord.’ We are to seek to do good, even if that comes at a cost to us!  That theme is carried on, to some extent, in verse 5. Once again this is a picture of doing good and not taking advantage of those who are vulnerable. Once again, the emphasis is on denying oneself, as it was at the end of verse 4.

The Psalm ends on a positive note with the words: ‘He who does these things shall never be moved.’ Although this Psalm starts with the emphasis on pilgrimage, this concluding phrase suggests an ongoing fellowship with the Lord well after the physical pilgrimage has come to an end. This acts as a reminder that worship is something that continues outside the Church doors once the service has ended. Our day to day attitude and interaction with people is as much our worship as when we enter the Church on a Sunday. As John Calvin summarises: ‘This psalm teaches us that for God’s chosen ones among whom he dwells, there is the inescapable obligation to be a holy people, living just and upright lives.’[4]

[1] Craig C. Broyles, Psalms, New International Biblical Commentary (Massachusetts, Hendrickson publishers, Inc, 1999) 93.
[2] Broyles, Psalms, 91.
[3] Derek Kidner, Psalms 1-72, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press, 1973) 81.
[4] John Calvin abridged by David C Searle, Commentary on the Psalms (Edinburgh, The Banner of Truth Trust, 2009) 65.

We could corrupt  political journalist Noel Parmentel Jr famous line and apply it to Jacob: ‘would you buy a used camel or donkey off this man?’  Given Jacob’s track record my gut feeling would be “not likely”

Jacob has used every trick in the book, to get the upper hand over his brother Esau.  We get an insight into this in Genesis 27 where Jacob, aided by his mother Rebekah, takes advantage of his aged father’s culinary tastes and failing eyesight and shockingly invokes the Lord’s name in his deception, leaving Esau minus one fatherly blessing (27:1-40).  Therefore, Esau holds a considerable grudge,  vowing to kill   Jacob when his father Isaac dies.  So Jacob takes off for Paddan Aram to stay with his mother’s brother Laban (27:42-46).  But here the story takes an unexpected twist.  During a night’s rest Jacob has a dream in which God tells him the promises he made to Abraham and Isaac will be applied to him! Jacob is not unaffected by this and makes a vow to the Lord which will be with fulfilled if he ever gets back to his father’s house (28:10-22).

However, the next part of Jacob’s story isn’t without its humorous side.  After working for seven years for the hand of Laban’s daughter Rachel, Jacob gets a nasty shock when, the morning after the wedding, he discovers he’s married the older daughter Leah!  You can imagine Laban saying “O did I forgot to tell you about our quaint little custom, the older daughter always marries first. I’ll tell you what, work another seven years and you can marry Rachel.”  Jacob has met an even bigger trickster than himself!  Jacob eventually gets the upper hand in his dealings with Laban, but then receives word from the Lord that it’s time for him to go back: ‘to the land of your fathers and to your relatives’ (31:3).  So Jacob does a runner!  There’s just one problem, his wife Rachel has stolen her father’s idols and Laban isn’t too impressed with Jacob taking off without saying goodbye!  To cut a long story short, Laban never gets his Idols back and Jacob gets a few things off his chest concerning Laban’s treatment of him and things are peacefully resolved.  But now Jacob faces a bigger threat.  There’s no way he can avoid a meeting with Esau and, when they parted, brotherly affection was not high on his list of character traits that Esau wished to work on!

So in chapter 32 Jacob is heading for a showdown!  This raises the question, when we find ourselves in tough times, how do we conduct ourselves and can any good come out of them?  So let’s take a look at this extraordinary encounter Jacob has with God.

 Jacob sends a very respectful message to Esau. But the news his servants bring back is far from encouraging.  Esau is coming with a contingent of 400 men, as the Hebrew expression that is used here is sometimes used to express hostile intent,[1]  Jacob reckons this is too big to just be a welcoming committee and: ‘was greatly afraid and distressed’ (vs6-7)!

So Jacob turns to God.  Verses 9-12 are a great example of how we are to approach God in prayer.  Firstly, Jacob remembers who he is addressing.  This is the covenant God, the one who has made promises to his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac.  Jacob invokes this as well as the promises that God has made to him in the recent past (31:3).  Secondly, Jacob remembers he is totally unworthy of the Lord’s favour towards him and yet the Lord has made him prosperous.  The phrase he uses is: ‘I am not worth of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant’ (v10).  The word for ‘steadfast love and faithfulness’ in Hebrew is ‘hesed’. Bruce Waltke points out that this word: ‘relates to a superior who out of kind character, meets the needs of a covenant partner who cannot help him or herself.’[2]  Lastly, he prays for God’s protection for himself and his family and relates this to God’s promises for him.  How can they be fulfilled if the Lord doesn’t protect him?  The question is how often do we pray prayers like this when we’re in trouble.  I’m sure we’re very good at asking for God to get us out of the situation we find ourselves in, but do we, like Jacob, remember God’s faithfulness in the past?  Do we realise our complete unworthiness of any flavour he shows us?  In other words do we understand his ‘hesed’, his ‘steadfast love and faithfulness’.

Having prayed Jacob moves his family across the Jabbok River.  The Jabbok River may be significant as it is mentioned a number of times in scripture as a boundary line during the Israelite occupation of the East Jordan.[3]  One can’t help thinking that something fairly major has got to happen before Jacob enters the Promised Land.[4]

In verse 24: ‘Jacob was left alone’.  If he was still apprehensive about meeting Esau he now gets a shock as he is ‘jumped’ by an unidentified assailant and finds himself fighting for his life!  And it must have been some fight as it continued to daybreak!  Jacob had always lived by his wits, but his best tricks aren’t working here!  On the other hand his assailant isn’t making any headway either, but in a nifty move, Jacob’s assailant manages to dislocate his hip (v25)!  At this point Jacob’s assailant makes the request that Jacob let him go, which would seem to be a reasonable as Jacob is properly in unbearable agony.  But Jacob says: “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (v26).  Something has been dawning on Jacob; his assailant is no ordinary man!  The extraordinary thing is he actually gets his blessing!

It might seem extraordinary that his assailant asks Jacob his name.  But names have meanings and Jacob is admitting to years of lying, scheming and cheating where his family and relatives are concerned when he gives it.  It reinforces the unworthiness he expressed in his prayer (v10).  He has confronted his sinful past and realised he is totally undeserving of any blessing (v27).But what a blessing he gets!  When someone confered a name change on someone it was firstly asserting authority over them and secondly giving them new description of who they are.[5]  Jacob no longer has a name that describes him as a grasping deceiver!  With the name ‘Israel’ the description of him is: ‘he struggles with God’[6] in contrast to his deceitful struggling with family and relatives!  Jacob practically has a conversion experience!  He’s been given a new start.  This is a major blessing as it is totally undeserved!

Jacob concludes that this remarkable event is none other than a meeting with God!  When asking the stranger’s name, Jacob receives an ambiguous answer (v29) which could be paraphrased: “Why do you ask my name? You have a very good idea who I am.”  So Jacob draws an incredible conclusion, he has: ‘striven (struggled)’ with none other than God and yet he has been spared!  The blessing that Jacob was given was not easily won, but there’s no doubt that this blessing was instrumental in shaping Jacob’s character and relationship with God.  There may be times we have to involve ourselves in the continual struggle of prayer, but these are the kind of prayers that will shape our character as God seeks to change us and deepen our relationship with him just as he did Jacob.

A key theme is Jacob remembering who he is in relation to God.  Back in verse 10 Jacob realised that he was totally unworthy of any flavour from God. This theme reached a conclusion in verse 30: ‘So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face-to-face and yet my life has been delivered.”’  Commentators are divided on which person of the Trinity Jacob contested with.  But the text is explicit, Jacob saw God: ‘face-to-face’ yet his life was spared!  Why?  Because we have an intercessor in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jacob’s experience is just a taste of the Lord’s remarkable intervention and Christ’s work being foreshadowed in the events of the Old Testament.

But can I draw your attention the most remarkable aspect of this.  God started a fight!  John Calvin states: ‘it is not said that Satan, or any mortal man wrestle with Jacob, but God himself.’[7]  So why did God instigate such a contest?  I think the answer is fairly simple, Jacob was going through a change brought on by the extreme events that he’s facing.  But he needed to confront who he was, and that took the Lord’s intervention!  Derek Kidner makes this observation: ‘Jacob emerged broken, named and blessed.’[8]  That is not a combination that we ourselves can manufacture, or would want to!  Only the Lord can bring about such a remarkable change in a person’s life.  John Calvin comments that: ‘adversity is either rod with which he corrects our sins, or the test of our faith and patience.’[9]  Either way, times of testing are a way that the Lord can drive us to our knees and to a greater dependence on him.  But it is God who initiates this!  And, would you know it, this bruising encounter has turned out to be the answer to the prayer that Jacob has prayed back in verses 9-12.  Think about it, he has contended with someone who’s very presence should’ve meant death!  If he has wrestled with the Lord and received a blessing rather than death, then he can be reassured that the meeting Esau will turn out okay.  This is a major turning point for Jacob spiritually as the intervention by God is welcomed as he has ‘prevailed’ (v28) in his struggles with men, as we see in the next chapter! Bruce Waltke comments in relation to Jacob’s struggles that: ‘The man who was prayerless and cause so much trouble, sorrow, and anguish is now transformed as he commits himself to God in prayer.[10]  Let me stress when troubles come it won’t necessarily be easier for Christians.  We may seriously wonder the point of it!  It may be that the trial has changed us in some way so we are of greater use in the Lord’s service.  But whatever the outcome we need to adopt the attitude that Jacob has here so that when the tough times come we too can hold on for the blessing that the Lord can surely bring about!  The trial shaped Jacob in a way that may never have happen in years of peaceful walking with the Lord.  The overwhelming question it leaves us with is, are we prepared for the Lord to use difficult times and trials to fast track our growth and trust in him?  Because if we are we, like Jacob, can have a new understanding of the Lord’s love and care towards us, even in the midst of the storms of life!

[1]Bruce K. Waltke with Cathi J. Fredricks, Genesis, A Commentary, (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, in 2001) 442.

[2]Waltke, Genesis, 443.

[3] Numbers 21:24, Deuteronomy 2:37, 3:16, Joshua 12:2 and Judges 11:13 and 22.

[4] Andrew Reid, Salvation Begins, Reading Genesis Today, (Sydney South, Aquila Press, 2000) 221.

[5] John Currid notes this and the fact that it: ‘it is an assertion of the adversary’s authority and power to impart new status to Jacob (cf. 2 Kings 23:34; 24:17).  This is no mere ordinary man.’  John D. Currid, Genesis, Volume 2, An EP Study Commentary, (Darlington, Evangelical Press, 2003), 137.

[6]NIV footnote.

[7] John Calvin, Genesis, Geneva Series of Commentaries, (Edinburgh, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1965), 195.

[8] Derek Kidner, Genesis, An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, (Nottingham, Inter-Varsity Press, 1967), 180.

[9] Calvin, Genesis, 195.

[10]Waltke, Genesis, 449.

As we we come to the belated end of this series of three posts  on the subject of Hell (see What’s the Real Issue with Hell? Part 1. and What’s the Real Issue with Hell? Part 2: How are we to Understand Jesus’ Teaching on Hell?) it would be good to recap.   Firstly, we’ve learnt from various parts of scripture that God is giving time for people to repent as he would rather they repent than punish them.  Jesus teaches about Hell more than he teaches about heaven.  He mentions Hell twelve times in the Gospel’s and numerous other times when he refers to fire, darkness and eternal suffering!  He also uses descriptive and distributing metaphors to warn people, leading us to conclude that in reality Hell must be infinitely worse!

But, that leaves us with the question why would a loving God  condemn anyone to eternal torment as described in the parable ‘The Rich Man and Lazarus’?  In that parable we get these disturbing words:   ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame’ (Luke 16:24)!God maybe a God of love, but that doesn’t mean he loves everything.  This is illustrated very clearly in Psalm 5:4-5: ‘For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you. The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.  You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.’  The phrase: ‘evil may not dwell with you’ tells us that God is holy and this is proved in his hatred of sin.  What we have here is a fully rounded picture of God.  His character is consistent as his hatred of evil makes no compromises.  His anger against sin is right and proper.  Jonathan Edwards in his sermon ‘Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God’ illustrates this well. ‘They (sinners) deserve to be cast into hell; so that divine justice never stands in the way, it makes no objection against God’s using his power at any moment to destroy them.  Yea, on the contrary, justice cries aloud for the infinite punishment of their sins.  Divine justice says of the tree that brings for such Grapes of Sodom, “Cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground?” Luke XIII 7.  The sword of divine justice is every moment brandished over their heads, and it is nothing but the hand of arbitrary mercy, and God’s mere will, that holds it back.’[1]

If we have a problem with Hell it says more about our attitude to sin than about God!  To quote one of the most well-known verses in the Bible:  ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him’ (John 3:16-17).  This is a wonderful illustration of God’s love, but the sad thing is we can be guilty of ignoring the next verse.  ‘Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God’ (John 3:18).  And that’s a tragedy because this verse illustrates our desperate need and God’s love in sending Jesus!

In the end if we insist on rejecting Jesus’ offer of forgiveness we will find ourselves deficient.  We fail to live up to God’s prefect standards!  So it’s right and proper to accept the gracious offer of a loving God who is only doing what we should long for, judging evil in a right and just manner!

Many years ago I was on a walking holiday with some friends in the Lake District . On the second day I slipped and fell about 40 feet and rolled another 150 feet down a slope. One of my friends walked considerable distance to get the mountain rescue and eventually I was taken to hospital by helicopter.  So I’ve always been grateful to my friend Colin.  But suppose I never mentioned him in relation to that event or spoke about him in disparaging terms? You’d think I was a cold hearted and a contemptible human being and you’d be right!

How much more is that the case if we ignore Jesus’ offer of forgiveness.  God must punish our sin or else he fails to be just and right as:  ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’  But the next verse tells us the good news that we can be:  ‘justified   by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 3:2324).  So let’s see sin as God sees it and marvel in his great love in sending Jesus to be our Lord and Saviour!

[1] Jonathan Edwards, Basic Writings, (New York, Signet Classics, 1966) 152.

The parable of the ‘Rich man and Lazarus’ is covered in the sermon Why the Miraculous can’t Cut it when it comes to Conversion!  Feel free to take a listen.

As we noted last month, almost all the Biblical teaching on Hell comes from the lips of Jesus! This being the case, we need to take what is said very seriously.  But what exactly did Jesus teach, and how are we to understand it?  Is it to be taken literally or metaphorically?

Jesus gives several descriptions of Hell. On several occasions he refers to “unquenchable fire” Matthew 5:22 and Mark 5:48 being two examples.  The Mark 5:48 reference also notes it as being a place: “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” which gives rise to the notion of it being a place of eternal punishment.  This fits well with the description of: “eternal fire” as mentioned in Matthew 25:41 when Jesus is teaching the ‘Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (or preview as I prefer to call it).  Yet, on the other hand, Jesus, in the ‘Parable of the Net’, refers to fire once again, but adds that: “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:50).  To complicate matters further in Matthew 25:30 in the ‘Parable of the Talents’ although hell is not mentioned it’s clearly inferred with the wicked and lazy servant being cast out: “into the outer darkness” where once again: “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

But these descriptions present us with a problem if we take them literally. A few years ago I was reading a book by a notable Christian writer which treated each bit of Jesus’ teaching on Hell this way.  This led to a problem as about halfway through the book I was scratching my head and thinking the author was contradicting himself with the conclusions he drew!  For a start, fire and darkness don’t sit well together.  So presumably this means that we must take Jesus’ teaching as metaphorical and therefore symbolic!  This approach is made even more feasible when we realise that many of the references to hell from the lips of Jesus could actually be translated ‘Gehenna’. This was a literal place in the valley of Hinnon, and when Jesus mentioned it those listening would have had a reaction of sheer horror!  It was an accursed place due to its unsavoury history of idolatry and, if that wasn’t bad enough, a place where in the past child sacrifice had taken place (Jeremiah 7:31 and 19:2-6)!  In Jesus’ day it was used as a rubbish dump where fire was continually burning and the bodies of condemned criminals were left to rot!  Perhaps it’s this picture that best helps us understand Jesus teaching on the subject. No good Jew would want to go near the place due to its unsavoury history, general unpleasantness and the fact that you would be incredibly ceremonially unclean (hence you would excluded from worship) if you went anywhere near it.  Could the picture be any clearer, this was not a place where anyone would want to visit or stay, it was a place you avoid at all costs and would want to get as far away from as possible!

As Jesus uses this combination of symbols rather than literal descriptions this leads us to conclude that the reality must be far worse and more indescribably horrific than we can imagine!  This is a place where any of God’s goodness is null and void because of its unholy and unclean nature!  But the reasoning is simple, this is a place to be avoided at all cost and hence Jesus is warning people to turn from their rebellion, which the Bible calls sin, turn to him and repent!  It’s now up to us to heed this merciful and gracious warning!

To be continued……..

Feel free to listen to this sermon which includes the ‘Parable of the Net’: More Parables and a Prophet without Honour! Matthew 13:44-58.

With the recent comments of the Australian International rugby player Israel Folau the subject of Hell has had more attention in a few days than it has had in years!  But perhaps that’s not surprising as the subject of Hell has become less and less preached on in the church.  Let’s face it, it’s seen as one of the embarrassments in the Bible.  Just the mention of ‘Hellfire Preaching’ conjures up the picture of some demented, Jabbering, lunatic in a dog collar and dingy clerical robes.  Surely such a subject belongs to a less enlightened age.  Far better to focus on the love of God rather than a subject no-one wants to hear about!  But over the next few months we’ll be taking a look at what the Bible teaches about Hell and why it’s essential that we understand the doctrine of ‘Eternal Punishment’.

God doesn’t want to punish anyone!

The caricature of the ‘God of the Old Testament’ is one of a vengeful God dishing out punishments left, right and centre.  But is that a true reflection?  In the middle of Ezekiel, a book that has a fair amount to say about judgement, the Lord makes this statement: ‘Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel?  For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live’ (Ezekiel 18: 31-32)   This is about as far as we can get from the caricature of a vengeful God.  This is a God who relents in sending calamity upon people unless absolutely necessary!  Jonah, probably the most reluctant prophet in history, points out:  “I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster” (Jonah 4:20) when the Lord spares the people of Nineveh after their repentance.  This sentiment is carried into the New Testament.  Peter, in his second letter, points out: ‘The Lord is not slow to fulfil his promise as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.’ (2 Peter 3:9).  The picture is clear, God will judge, and punish where necessary, but only if people won’t repent!

What about Jesus?

There’s been a tendency, in some parts of the church, to present Jesus as some kind of messianic ‘Flower Child’, a divine ‘Hippy’ as it were, preaching peace and love to each and all!  The problem is that doesn’t really square up with the first words out of Jesus’ mouth in Mark’s Gospel.   ‘Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel”’ (Mark 1:15-16).  The implication is clear; the gospel is good news, but only to those who repent!  This brings us face to face with the overlooked fact that Jesus taught more about Hell than he did Heaven and almost all the teaching we have on the subject comes from his lips!  Now, if that’s the case, we must take his teaching on the subject very seriously!  At the end of a series of parables found in Matthew 25 Jesus contrasts the fate of believers and unbelievers.  In the parable (as it’s called, preview is a better description) of the ‘Sheep and Goats’ after welcoming believers into the kingdom he addresses the unbelievers.  “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).  The passage ends on a sombre note: “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:46).

In conclusion.

Jesus had much more to say about Hell which we’ll look at next month, but the theme of his teaching is very clear and fits with the picture of God’s reluctance to punish.  In Mark 9:43 Jesus uses a form of Jewish teaching which used extreme metaphorical examples to make its point.  ‘And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.  The point is clear, Hell is to be avoided at all costs!  The consistency of the Lord urging his people to turn from their sins and repent in the Old Testament coupled with Jesus’ consistent message of repentance in the New illustrates this.  None of us are deserving of God’s mercy yet: ‘For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God’ (2 Corinthians 5:21).  In other words, Jesus, through his death on the cross, took our punishment and the justice of God was satisfied.  As such, the teaching of eternal punishment is part of scripture and needs to be taught alongside the call to repent and experiencing the wonderful mercy and grace which the Lord freely offers!  Just think about it, otherwise, what have we been saved from?

To be continued….

Feel free to listen to this sermon on the subject of the Final Judgement from Matthew 25:31-46: Be Real!

My mother had severe dementia for the last years of her life.  But that didn’t mean that she couldn’t enjoy life.  Indeed there were certain things which she enjoyed greatly because her long-term memory was not badly affected.  One of these was the TV programme ‘Dad’s Army’ so we bought her the DVD box set.  There was much to keep mum giggling, but one character in particular could be guaranteed to reduce us all too helpless laughter and that was Lance Corporal Jones.  The reason was simple, although his spirit was obviously willing, as he gave his trademark cry of “fix bayonets” or “there’s no substitute for the cold steel,” you got the impression that at his age he was hardly up to it physically or maybe even mentally for the job in hand!  When we come to this passage which concerns Caleb there’s a danger of forming a similar picture!  Caleb is not a young man, he’s 85 years old and he is going on about still being as strong as he was 45 years ago!  It does sound a bit like the Corporal Jones syndrome in that it could be construed as being unrealistic about one’s capability! But let’s take a closer look and we will find that Caleb’s enthusiasm and faith was founded on more dependable things than just his own zeal and strength!

The background to this passage are the events of Numbers chapters 13-14.  Moses sends out men from each of the 12 tribes to spy out the Promised Land with Caleb and Joshua among them.  The initial report from the spies is encouraging, the land (metaphorically at least): “flows with milk and honey” (Numbers 13:27).  But, on the other hand the people of the land: “are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large” (Numbers 13:28).  But this doesn’t bother Caleb as he is convinced that Israel can take the land.  However, the spies who had sprinkled their report with negativity, are only just getting going in presenting an extremely pessimistic view.  After giving a list of the tribes that inhabit the land they embroider their report with extreme negativity.  It’s not just that the people of the land were strong it’s that they had actually seen: ‘the descendants of Anak’ -‘the Nephilim’ in the land (in Deuteronomy 1:28, which is in all likelihood is a reference to these people, some texts translate the part of the verse refers to the stature of these people as ‘giant’)[1] who made them look and feel the size of grasshoppers.  The ‘Nephilim’ also had another to dimension to their character as the word has elements which can be translated as: ‘to fall’ whether this means they were of a fallen nature (or as we might say practically evil and nasty) or that people just fell literally in terror before them is debatable.  What does seem to be inferred in the text of Genesis 6:4 where they are first mentioned, is that they asserted themselves: ‘unlawfully and without measure.’[2]  They would have seemed to the Israelites to be their worst nightmare, an enemy that was large, warlike, brutal and unreasoning. The report was guaranteed to make the spirits of the people hit rock bottom. Yet Caleb risks the possibility of being stoned, along with Joshua, Moses and Aaron, and insists to the people, that: “the land which we passed through to spy it out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey” (Numbers 14:7-8).  So let’s fast forward 45 years and find out the basis for Caleb supreme confidence when he approaches Joshua at Gilgal.  I think there are three reasons.

Firstly, Caleb followed the Lord exclusively.  We have already noted he was not swayed by the argument of the majority.  Back in Numbers chapter 14 the Lord commends Caleb for having: “a different spirit” and following him “fully” (Numbers 14:24) and: ‘wholly’ (v8).  For this reason Caleb’s judgement was not compromised.  If the Lord had promised them the land, then he would deliver on his promise, and for Caleb it was as simple as that!  This is the stand we desperately need to make today, because we are constantly being challenged by the world around us.  I remember hearing a prominent Church leader say it was a shame that the Church had failed to adopt a new stance and pass certain legislation because it showed the Church was: “out of step with the world.”  Yet Caleb was prepared to be out of step with the majority because in that way he would be obeying God rather than following the crowd!  We should be more alarmed when the world shows approval of new ideas that are being implemented in the Church!  Caleb could do this because he understood the Lord’s nature.  In Numbers 14:24 the Lord has promised that Caleb would survive to see the land and have his descendants inherit it, after all Moses had said as much in relation to what the Lord had promised (vs9-10).  It was quite simple the Lord had said it, so Caleb believed it and he acted as if he did!  I don’t quite know what’s behind this statement: “I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming” that we find in verse 11.  Had Caleb been keeping himself fit and strong in preparation for the invasion of the land?  I don’t know, but Caleb believes the Lord has kept him alive in the light of his promise, concerning him, which was made to Moses.  So here we see the inner workings of Caleb’s mind and his spiritual outlook.  If he was continuing to hit the ‘gym’ (or the ancient Israelite equivalent) and could still bench at 85 what he could bench at 40 it was in the light of the Lord delivering on his promise.[3]

This brings us to the next reason; Caleb understood the nature of the Lord’s promises. The Lord, as we have seen, had made a promise through Moses.  But the interesting thing is that Caleb seems to set no conditions on how and when those promise would be fulfilled.  He must have expected after Israel’s rebellion, which we can read about in Numbers 14, that the promise made to him wasn’t likely to be fulfilled any time soon.  But I doubt even he had expected to wait another 38 years!  But whatever his expectations were, he does not refer to that time.  At this point in the book of Joshua we are in the second phase of the invasion of the Promised Land.  Victories had been won, but it seems the peoples of the land were regrouping and still putting up a resistance.  The second part of the campaign had been hard graft as we read in 11:18 that: ‘Joshua made war for a long time with all those kings.’ The point is the Lord had promised he would deliver the land to them and there were good reasons to do it slowly (Exodus 23:29-30 and Deuteronomy 7:22).  His method, as we can see from the campaign, varied from miraculous acts that aided the Israelites to just plain ordinary warfare.  So I suspect that Caleb realise that time was not the issue as far as the Lord was concerned.  So he’s been patient and never brings up the fact that it was not his or Joshua’s fault that the promises made to him had been so long delayed.  No, for Caleb the promise, and now its fulfilment, was enough.  What a contrast to the ‘Wealth, Health and Prosperity Gospel’ with its “you can have it all and have it now” attitude!  What an encouragement to faithful Churches working away diligently, staying true to the Gospel yet seeing very little growth or those involved in long-term prayer and witness for an unbelieving family member. Caleb had to wait but now he was on the eve of seeing the Lord’s promise being fulfilled.

Yet verse 11 makes it clear that Caleb does not expect this promise to be served up on a plate for him.  He, at the age of 85, is ready to go and fight for it and be the means by which the Lord’s promise is fulfilled.  He’s been waiting, but now he is ready to go to work.  But how could he say this at the age of 85 even if he was in good shape?  Quite simply with the Lord’s help as that’s the motivation for Caleb’s zeal and faith for the task ahead.  But the Lord’s help has an interesting dimension as Caleb clearly believes the Lord will equip him for the task ahead by giving him the ability.  No doubt this links with Caleb’s faith which although considerable was reasonable.  He had witnessed God at work at various times during the campaign when the Israelites faced greater and superior forces.  But here the help is of a more personal nature.  A. W Pink puts it particularly well: ‘God does nothing by halves: when he appoints a man for any particular work, he also equips the worker and furnishes him with everything needful.’[4]  That is the only reason that Caleb could speak confidently and my word he’s confident!  John Currid puts it rather colourfully: ‘Caleb although eighty five years old, is like a dog straining at the leash!’[5]  It is not he has ‘God-given ability’ as we often think of it when we really mean a person is naturally gifted, but that God will give him the ability needed for such a task.

Thirdly and lastly, in the light of the Lord’s promise and his equipping Caleb for the task, Caleb realised he was thoroughly dependent on the Lord.  The task was huge and Caleb knew it.  The odds of Israel driving out the nations living in the Promised Land seemed impossible, but Caleb was looking at it with the eyes of faith and that’s what made the difference.  Dale Ralph Davis recounts a story that he’d read in the ‘Presbyterian Journal’ some years ago.  ‘An American shoe company sent a salesman to a foreign country.  He had hardly arrived before he cabled for money to come home.  His reason: “nobody over here wears shoes.”  The company brought him back and sent another salesman over.  Soon he cabled: “Send me all the shoes you can manufacture.  The market is absolutely unlimited. No one here has shoes.”’[6]  The moral is simple, the eyes that lack faith see difficulties and very quickly get discouraged, but the eyes of faith see an opportunity!  How much more should that be the case for Christians for the simple reason that the Lord is involved?  The result of Caleb’s attitude and faith is that the Lord really did enable him to go up against those who very possibly were physically giants and defeat them.  In the next chapter we read that: ‘According to the commandment of the Lord to Joshua, he gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh a portion among the people of Judah, Kiriaharba, that is Hebron’(15:13).  In the next verse we read: ‘And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai, the descendants of Anak’ (15:14).  There’s no doubt that the Lord made good on his promise.  The chapter ends with Joshua blessing Caleb and giving him Hebron as his inheritance (vs13-14).  We are informed that Hebron was a name change as formerly it was called: ‘Kiriath-arba ’after Arba, who was the greatest men among the Anakites’ (v15).  The point is simple and that is the land was truly Caleb’s and Israel’s.  The Lord had delivered where his promise was concerned just as Caleb had trusted him to do, despite the many years of waiting.

This story is particularly refreshing to us as Christians today.  Some areas of the Church have fallen prey to the ‘I want it all and I want it now!’ a philosophy which, if we make the mistake of teaching it will build false expectations.  So what can we learn from the example of Caleb’s faith and realism?

Firstly, our timetable is not God’s.  Put simply God is not governed by what we want and when we want it!  The apostle Peter in his second letter reminds Christians who are being mocked about their belief that Christ will come again: ‘that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day’ (2 Peter 3:8 undoubtedly inspired by Psalm 90:4).  However, he reminds them that they are to live: ‘lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming day of God’ (2 Peter 3:11-12).  His point is a simple one, God has promised it, it will happen, but it is not for us to reason when and how, we are just called to be faithful, something that Caleb clearly understood.

Secondly, through the many years of wandering in the wilderness Caleb had lived in the light of the promise given to him and had followed the Lord wholeheartedly.  In other words he lived a holy and godly life.  Caleb got on with the business of serving the Lord rather than being distracted.  Both these points are important to us as Christians and Churches today.  We should seek to be faithful and focus on marching to God’s tune, not the worlds.  The Israelites didn’t have to adopt the tactics or the style of the Anakim or even become like the Anakim to beat them, they just had to serve the Lord and Caleb is held up as an example of this![7]  The church is not to adopt the culture of the world in order to try and win the world for Christ, it will not work!  No, it’s called to be faithful to the Gospel and to promises of the Gospel and that is all that it is called to do!  The Bible gives us all we need to know when it comes to living godly lives and seeking to reach the lost with the good news of the Gospel.  The ministry of the word and the spirit can change the most stubborn heart.  Paul when writing to the Corinthian Church outlines that the gospel message is not popular.  He reminds his readers that Satan aims to keep people blind to the glory and message of the Gospel (2 Corinthians 4:4).  It just goes to show nothing has changed; evangelism was just as hard in Paul’s day as it is today.  But, and this is one incredible ‘but’: ‘God, who said “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4:6).  Satan the enemy may be strong, but God is stronger!  The term that Paul uses is the language of creation, but here it is re-creation the re-making anew the human heart!  Satan may have owned the old one, but God remakes it giving it a love for him and his ways that never existed because formerly it was at war with him.  Whatever the Lord’s timing is where we as individuals or as a Church are concerned we should remember this.  God takes a situation that looks impossible and wins the day for his people.  Listen again to the apostle Paul when he describes the victory that has been achieved through the cross.  ‘And you, who were dead in your trespasses and uncircumcision of your flesh.  God had made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.  This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.  He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to shame, by triumphing over them in him.’(Colossians 2:13-15).  Paul’s readers would have understood this picture instantly, here’s the spectacle of a Roman General returning in triumph and parading his captives so that all can see the extent of his victory.  More and more I am come across Christians and churches that are not living as triumphant people, but how can that be so when we serve a God who does the impossible in taking the spiritually dead are making them alive!  Caleb at the age of 85 went up against those who were considered giants and thoroughly defeated them because the Lord was with him and the Lord enabled him!

Finally it’s not for us to surmise how the Lord may act. The first part of the campaign he acted through miracles the second part it was a case of hard soldiering which resulted in gradual conquest.  It’s often the same today.  God can bring about miraculous blessings by his Holy Spirit when a church sees a good number of conversions over a short period of time because nothing impossible for him.  But often it’s a case of steady grafting for the Gospel, nothing more than continual witnessing and faithfulness to God and his word!  But if the Lord’s with us, we may not know when, or how and we stay faithful to him and his word we will see his blessing.  Let’s pray we learn from Caleb’s faith and even when we go through tough times, we too will have faith and will hold out for a blessing!

Want to listen to a sermon on this passage?  Caleb, Holding on for a Blessing.

[1] J.D. Douglas, editor, The Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Part 1, Aaron to Golan, (Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press, 1980) 48.
[2] John Calvin, Genesis, Geneva Series of Commentaries, (Edinburgh, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1965),   244.
[3] “What can you bench?” is a question that is often asked around gyms and refers to the bench press exercise for chest, which is seen as an indication of one’s overall strength.
[4] Arthur W. Pink, Gleanings in Joshua, (Chicago, The Moody Bible Institute, 1964), 352.
[5] John D. Currid, Strong and Courageous, Joshua simply explained, (Darlington, Evangelical Press, 2011), 178.
[6]Dale Ralph Davis, Joshua, No Falling Words, (Fearn, Christian Focus Publications, 2003), 120.
[7] Peter Masters, Joshua’s Conquest, was it moral? And what does it say to us today? (London, The Wakeman Trust, 2005), 84.

Background to the Psalm:

It’s easy to see why this psalm occupies the place it does in the book of Psalms. The first four books of the Psalter end with a doxology but the fifth rounds off the whole book with a psalm that is devoted to praise! The book of Psalms came together over a prolonged period of time reaching its complete form in about 250-150 BC, but obviously the editors of the book could only see one place for this psalm and that was at the end as it’s the pinnacle of everything the book had been building to. There’s been a progression of a theme of praise building since Psalm 146 to this point and the word: ‘praise’ is used 13 times in the psalm. But the Hebrew readers of the psalm would have been conscious of another word which binds the psalm together which Michael Wilcox notes we miss: ‘in our English versions, because it is hard to translate consistently’ and that is the word ‘rejoice’![1]

 The structure of the Psalm:

• Where to praise God (v1).
• Why to praise God (vs1-2).
• How to praise God. (vs3-6).

 Some obviations on the text (all quotations ESV):

Verse 1 answers the question where’s the best place to worship God? The answer is very simply everywhere! The readers are told to praise him: ‘in his sanctuary’ and to: ‘praise him in his mighty heavens!’ Although some writers make a case for the: ‘sanctuary’ being the heavenly tabernacle (Hebrews 8:5), that seems unlikely when we look at the way we are to praise God with the list of earthly instruments (vs3-5). The point is simply made, there’s no one place that is specially set aside for God’s praise. He is to be praised for his holiness which is reflected in the word: ‘sanctuary’ a place of worship, and: ‘mighty heavens’ which can mean both the place of his dwelling as well as the vastness of the cosmos!  Quite simply there’s nothing that’s not subject to him. Christopher Wright sums this up brilliantly in his comments on Deuteronomy 10:14: ‘There is absolutely nothing in creation “up there or down here” that does not belong to him’.[2]

Secondly, verse 1 gives us the reasons why we should worship him. Two titles are used for God in this verse.  The first is: ‘LORD’ or ‘Yahweh’ as it is rendered in the Hebrew, which is the Covenant name for God.  That name illustrates his relationship with his people.  Whether we think in the terms of the ‘Old Covenant’ or the ‘New Covenant, both show that God was, and is committed to his people.  He has made promises to them which indicate his care for them.  These promises have been fulfilled in various ways and at various times.  But they have particularly been fulfilled in the coming and work of Christ.  The second title in the Hebrew is ‘Elohim’ (see: ‘God’ in verse 1), which means ‘creator’ and which indicates God’s creative power!  So we worship him because he is caring and committed to his people as well as powerful and worthy of praise which is amplified in verse 2 with the phrase: ‘Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness!’

Lastly the psalm indicates how we are to worship such a great and mighty God! The list of instruments is extensive and indication seems to be ‘make it long, make it loud but please make it joyful!’ Worship is an issue that has become very divisive within the Church with the battle lines being drawn up and deeply entrenched!  We could go into the ins and outs of the regulative vs. the normative principle when it comes to worship, but there’s a huge danger in missing the point of what the Psalmist is saying here if we try to bolt such theologies on to the psalm.  The key theme, as Michael Wilcox has pointed out, is praise which is to be conducted in a joyous attitude!

The Psalm acts as the climax to the book of psalms as well as being the climax of the four psalms before it. In Psalm 146 an individual praises God for his grace, power and faithfulness to the needy.  In Psalm 147 the inhabitants of Jerusalem are exhorted to praise God for the blessing and security they had experienced in the years following the exile.  In Psalm 148 every creature that has breath is exhorted to praise God everywhere and by every possible means!  And Psalm 149 invites the saints to praise God in the light of their salvation and the punishment of their enemies!  Now in Psalm 150 we reach the climax with the culmination of the theme of these four psalms in one psalm!

Much ink has been spilt over the subject as whether or not all these instruments were used in temple worship and rather sadly it has become a rather contentious issue which I feel has been dangerously exploited by those on both sides of the regulative vs the normative argument. Yet the issue here is about everyone being involved.  Trumpets, possibly rams horns would have been blown by the priests, Harps and Lyres by the Levites, Tambourines by the woman and strings, Flutes and Cymbals by the men.  The key thing is this is not so much rules for worship, it is more about everyone being joyfully involved and, if we are to praise God: ‘with the loud clashing cymbals!’ (v5), loudly!  Perhaps, if we are going to draw regulative principles here, there is the case for loud joyous worship that: ‘engages the mind, voice, body and heart’ of the people of God![3]  This is about people joining in as a ‘collective whole’ rather than a group of musicians leading the worship and deafening the worshippers in the process!  Max Anders very helpfully points out: ‘one is acknowledging the greatness and grandeur of God. Flat worship is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms, an inconsistency of the highest order.  Empty, tired praise is an insult to God, insinuating that his matchless glory is anything but glorious.’[4]

The bottom line is that: ‘everything that has breath’ is to: ‘praise the LORD’ (v6).  As is often the case in the psalms, this being the main theme, the line is repeated to give it added emphasis.  Perhaps the best way to sum it up is to paraphrase it as ‘give it all you’ve got!  I suspect psalms like this one were in Paul’s mind when he wrote to the Ephesians Church that they were to address: ‘one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Ephesians 5:19-20). In the end James Montgomery Boice rather helpfully sums up the place of this psalm in the Psalter. ‘The Psalter doesn’t even end with a doxology, although it could. It does not end with an amen. It ends with a call to praise God which is itself our great doxology to which we add our own sincere and loud “Amen”’[5]

[1] Michael Wilcox, The Message of the Psalms 73 -150, Songs for the People of God, the Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, Inter-Varsity Press, 2001) 285.

[2] Christopher Wright, Deuteronomy, New International Biblical Commentary (Massachusetts, Hendrickson Publishers, 1996) 146.

[3] Craig C. Broyles, Psalms, New international Biblical Commentary (Massachusetts, Hendrickson Publishers Inc, 1999) 519.

[4] Max Anders, Holman Old Testament Commentary, Psalms 76-150 (Broadman and Holman Publishers, Nashville, 2003) 376.

[5] James Montgomery Boice, Psalms Volume 3, Psalms 107-150 (Grand Rapids, Baker books, 1998) 1292.

Psalm 32

Background to the Psalm:

This is the second of the seven ‘penitential’ psalms.  It is the first given the title ‘A Maskil’ an expression which can mean ‘a skilful song’, ‘a song of instruction’ or ‘a contemplative poem’.  It is generally attributed to the time when David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and his subsequent failings before the prophet Nathan confronted him with his sin.  It was probably written after Psalm 51 as that psalm has a more immediate feel to it and this one seems to be more contemplative in its nature.

The structure of the Psalm:

• David starts by praising God for his now happy state (vs1-2).
• David reflects on his former state before repenting and how it had damaged his relationship with God (vs3-4).
• The effect his of repentance and his reflection on that (vs5-7).
• The Lord’s answer to the prayer and his instruction to David (vs8-9).
• David’s reflections on the benefits of his relationship with the Lord (vs10-11).

Some obviations on the text (all quotations ESV):

In verses 1-2 David uses three terms to express his sin.  The first is: ‘transgression’, which is rebellion against a rightful authority.  The second is the actual word: ‘sin’, which means to constantly miss the mark or to fall short.  Lastly he uses the word: ‘iniquity’ which can also be translated as crookedness or to deviate.  In relation to this he also uses three terms that apply to forgiveness.  The first is: ‘forgiven’ and the last is: ‘the LORD counts no iniquity’ (v2).  The second however is: ‘whose sin is covered’ (v2).  This one is particularly interesting as it is reminiscent of the blood of the sacrifices being sprinkled by the priest on the mercy seat on the ‘Day of Atonement’, hence symbolically covering over the sin from the condemnation of the Law!  Because of his experience of God’s forgiveness David starts the Psalm on a note of praise which could be translated: ‘happy is the one whose transgression forgiven’.

Verses 3-5 contrast the state before and after David confessed his sin.  There seems to have been a considerable time before David confessed his sin which happen when he was confronted by the prophet Nathan (1 Samuel 12:13).  These verses described that period of time and the real sense of turmoil he experienced which seemed to take on physical manifestations (v3).   David suffering is expressed by the phase: ‘your hand was heavy on me’ (v4).  Yet in verse 5 with its impression of instant forgiveness there is a real sense of David knowing the slate has been wiped completely clean when he makes what is a complete confession of the sin he’d committed. David now urges others to do as he has done and not hide anything from God.  After all David realizes from this and other experiences that real security is found in the Lord and him alone (vs6-7).

In verses 8-9 it is God who speaks in answer to the prayer and also to command David to instruct others as verse 9 is in the plural and not the singular of the previous verse.  In the last verses David makes to two observations.  Firstly, sin is not a fun thing and in the end will not lead to a happy life (v10).  Secondly real security and happiness can only be found in the Lord’s way and to go against that is complete and utter folly that will deny the believer his happy state in serving God.  David now invites other believers to join him in praising the Lord (v11).

Like to hear a sermon on this passage?  The Refreshment Repentance Brings.

When I was in my late teens I attended a job interview for a TV rental firm. The interviewer was quite aggressive and plied me with all kinds of questions.  I don’t know quite what he expected, as by the time we were about 10 minutes into the interview I was convinced I didn’t want the job and no doubt he was convinced he didn’t want to give me the job!  However, one particular question has stuck in my mind.  What were my expectations of working for him?  I’m not sure he’d have appreciated me saying: “well I expect in six months I’ll have your job.”  On the other hand, I don’t think he would of have been impressed if I’d said: “well if I end the month with a few bucks in my pocket I’ll be happy.”  But it raises the question of what our expectations in life are, and in particularly, what they are in our Christian life.  You see I believe, a bit like my imaginary answers at my job interview, there are two extremes.  Some expect the Christian life to be a continual experience of near miraculous blessing!  On the other hand, some are happy to experience whatever blessing God gives them, whereas others would say such an approach lacks faith!  So what’s the right answer?  Although there are other examples in the life of the prophet Elisha, this particular episode is one that can help us understand how God might choose to work or what we might expect.

At this point in Elisha’s career as a prophet things are going pretty well. Firstly he’s recognised as Elijah’s successor.  People can see: “The spirit of Elijah” rests on him (2 Kings 2:15).  Secondly the Lord’s worked some amazing miracles through him.  So it makes sense that the widow of one of the: ‘sons of the prophets’ approaches him due to her desperate situation, and desperate it is!  The creditor was at her door and seems to be a pretty heartless individual!  Okay, he’s within his rights (see Exodus 21:1-11, Leviticus 25:39-41 and Deuteronomy 15:1-11) but without her sons and no social security she’s in a desperate state both now and then later in her old age.  So she approaches Elisha, for help as he clearly knew her husband and his godly character.

But this raises a question. Why is the Lord letting it happen to the family of someone who was such a faithful servant in his cause?  It’s the old chestnut, why do bad things happen to good people?  But this proves that Christians are not spared from being caught in the crossfire of living in a fallen world!  There are many examples of the Lord’s people suffering in Scripture!  Jesus himself told his disciples: “In the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33).  God’s people suffer and this is just another example to help us be realistic about the subject, but also to ultimately encourage us!  So how can it encourage us and help us when life, to put it bluntly, can sometimes seem to be unfair!

Well firstly we can learn a lot from the attitude of the widow. She’s desperate, but, as Dale Ralph Davis highlights: ‘hers is a faithful desperation.’[1]  How can we tell that?  Because, by approaching his prophet, she cries to the Lord for help.  In other words she seeks a word from the Lord, which, in its modern context means turning to Scripture!  If we want to hear the Lord speak, that’s where we should look first.  The Bible’s called God’s Word for a reason, he speaks through it!  The rather encouraging thing for her is Elijah’s response.  He is immediately concerned and seeks to be compliant in helping her as he recognises genuine faith that seeks an answer from the Lord!  We might think: “well he’s a prophet, isn’t he supposed to go around helping people and being compliant with their requests?”  Yet we only have to look back at 3:13 where the godless King Jehoram, who was living up to his parents Ahab and Jezebel’s legacy, is basically told by Elisha: “why should I talk to you, if you want help in this situation why don’t you go to those prophets your father and mother used to employ” (the prophets on Baal in his mother’s case or false prophets in his father’s case).  Elisha’s attitude is different here because this is genuine faith as opposed to the: “can you get us out of a tricky situation that we’ve got into because we haven’t consulted the Lord” attitude of King Jehoram!

This being the case, we might expect to see, in the light of Elisha’s ministry, an impressive miracle. So verse 2 comes as a bit of a surprise as Elisha asks her what she’s got around the house.  Her reply doesn’t seem to hold a lot of promise as all she’s got is: “a jar of oil” demonstrating her poverty!  Elisha seems completely unfazed by this and instructs her to go to her neighbours and get as many jars and utensils as possible (v3).  Jesus himself acted in the same way when he fed the 5000.  When his disciples come to him with a question as to how they were going to deal with the crowd. After throwing the question back at them he then asks them how much food they’ve got (Mark 6:38), that being the prelude to an amazing miracle!  But that’s often the way the Lord’s deals with us.  You may be praying for family or friends to come to know Christ.  Well who’s the best person to invite them to an evangelistic event at your Church?  It’s you!  By all means pray, after all, we’re dependent on Lord, but the answer is you’re the Lord’s instrument in that time and place!  Sometimes, even when we don’t think we got many skills to use in the Lord Service there may be a good number of ‘jars of oil’ that are available, but not being used!  Just as Elisha starts with what the widow has, the Lord often starts with the most basic gifts we possess and uses them for his service!  I’m sure the widow could have thought that that jar of oil was completely insignificant and hardly worth mentioning, but she trusted Elisha and he was able to use it in a remarkable way to solve her problems.

The widow, obeying Elisha’s instructions, shuts herself in her house, just as Elisha has told her to. She then carries out his instruction concerning her jar of oil which is to: “pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside” (v4).  After all the vessels are full she asks her son to bring another vessel, but he replies that all have been used.  At this point the passage makes it clear that then, and only then, is the oil used up (vs4-6)!  Some commentators suggest that the Lord’s blessing was limited by lack of faith in not getting more utensils.  However, this seems to be based on conjecture of what isn’t there!  It assumes there were more utensils around the village or town, but there seems no indication that she didn’t follow the Prophet’s instructions to the letter.  Indeed, when she reports back to Elisha he simply gives the instruction to: “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest” (v7).  It appears that he sees the mission as accomplished![2]  The point seems to be that the Lord has sufficiently provided.  But let us note it is sufficiently, not luxuriously!

So how should we understand this? Is there any evidence that she could have experienced a great deal more blessing if she’d only had more faith?  I’m in the camp that says no there isn’t and I’d go even further and say that to pursue such thinking misses some very important points concerning this woman’s faith and the wonderful miracle that the Lord brought about through Elisha!  Firstly, the Word of the Lord is always enough!  Now if we grasp that, it makes a major difference to us as Christians.  Very sadly there is teaching around that suggests that the Lord always works through the miraculous supernatural works and if those things aren’t happening in your Christian life then you’re missing out as you lack the sufficient faith to experience them.  Some Christians become dependent on this kind of experience.  So what happens when there’s an absence of such an experience?  Having counselled such people I find often depression and doubts set in as they don’t have the foundation, which incidentally, the Holy Spirit provides.  The Bible is a book inspired by the Holy Spirit, therefore, it is logical to draw the conclusion that he speaks through it!  In that sense it’s his greatest work!  In Hebrews 4:12 writer describes the nature and action of God’s Word in this way: ‘For the word of God is living and active, sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing the division of the soul and of the spirit, of joint and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.’ A sword like that slices and penetrates the human body!  Likewise God’s Word cannot be stopped from going anywhere or exposing anything, it’s that powerful!  But then we get a key phrase in the next verse: ‘And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account’ (v13).  Rendered in the original Greek this phrase contains a wrestling term which means to force ones opponents head back or throwing one’s opponent down and proving one’s dominance.[3]  This is if describing literally coming face-to-face with God in his Word each time we open the Bible. The Word of the Lord was sufficient for this widow and her two sons.  She could have said: “that’s the most ludicrous suggestion I’ve ever heard” in relation to Elisha’s remedy for her problems.  But she recognised this was the Word of the Lord and she took it seriously!  The question is do we?  Do we see the Bible as God’s Word and therefore sufficient for each situation we find ourselves in?  If we do we will never have an ordinary or routine Bible study again!

Secondly, God’s grace is always sufficient. The widow was able to pay off her debts.  I stress again this could be termed adequate or sufficient blessing, no more, no less!  But that can often be the way the Lord blesses.  In 2 Corinthians we find Paul under attack from false teachers who liked to give themselves the title of ‘Super apostles’.  One criticism was he wasn’t very impressive as a speaker.   Another (which turns out to be wrong) was he never had extraordinary revelations from the Lord.  Paul defends his ministry, incidentally commenting on an extraordinary revelation that he had experienced, but then refers to what is referred to as ‘Paul’s thorn’.  What exactly he’s describing in 2 Corinthians 12:7 is not clear.  Some think it was a physical problem or a temptation of some sort.  Paul prayed it would be taken away but received this answer from the Lord. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:8).  And do you know what?  He was content with that answer!  It was enough to know God’s grace kept him going.  He didn’t have the luxury of having the problem taken away, rather he experienced the grace and blessing of being able to continue in the work of the Gospel despite it.  That’s sufficient blessing!  There’s no indication the widow and her sons became rich through this miracle, but they were definitely provided for!

Lastly, God often works in miraculous ways which remain practically invisible. How many people do you think realised a miracle had taken place?  The neighbours probably had an-inkling something was going on, but the miracle unfolded behind closed doors so it’s likely only Elisha, the widow and her sons had any indication something miraculous had happened.  So what we need to ask is do we recognise this kind of thing as a blessing?  We must never neglect to thank God when we see sufficient blessing and grace in our lives or as a Church.  I think there’s a real danger that we can forget to thank God for his sufficient blessing and grace day-to-day.  We often make the mistake of the assuming the Lord owes us as Christians or Churches.  But to quote the verse that I partially quoted earlier Jesus, responding to the worried disciples in the upper room said: “I have said these things to you, that in me may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).  As that comes from the lips of Jesus we would do well to see it as summing up the Christian experience.  Sometimes the Lord chooses to bless us well beyond what is normal.  But let’s not forget to thank him for his amazing and sufficient day-to-day blessing!

Would you like to hear a sermon on this passage? Sufficient, not Luxurious, Grace! 2 Kings 4:1-7.

[1] Dale Ralph Davis, 2 Kings, The Power and the Fury, (Fearn, Christian Focus Publications, 2005), 55.

[2]Elisha had no problems pointing out that his instructions have not been followed to the letter as we see later in 2 Kings 13:19 where King Jehoash does not show sufficient faith in his excursion of Elisha’s instructions!

[3] Paul Ellingworth, The Epistle to the Hebrews, The New International Greek Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1993), 264.

We ended chapter 2 with the fish vomiting Jonah on to dry land, probably to the relief of both of them! From there the story is relatively simple as we saw in the last post.  Jonah is given a second chance to go to Nineveh and preach the message that God has given him.  This he does with very unexpected results when the Ninevites repent.  The book ends with Jonah being an exceptionally angry prophet who resents God forgiving the Ninevites.   But now I want to focus on two things, one fairly briefly as it relates to the time spent inside the fish and the second in a bit more detail as it relates to his prayer in chapter 2.

Any time that Jesus mentions someone by name from the Old Testament we should always take note, and he does this twice concerning Jonah. In Matthew 12:38-40[1] he makes a reference to the three days and three nights Jonah spent in the fish.  Jesus compares this to his dying and resurrection three days later.  But what are we to understand from this?  Firstly, although some commentators make a case for Jonah dying and being resurrected I see no evidence for this.  Jonah compares his plight as being similar to dying, but that’s as far as he goes.  But there’s a sense that Jonah is suffering the Lord’s judgement but is not abandoned to the grave which is what he feared.  This has major parallels with Christ as the apostle Peter points out on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:27 quoting Psalm 16:10).  This illustration is the sign Jesus gives to the unbelieving spiritual leaders of Israel.  The second (which I believe was another occasion) is in Luke 11:29-30 and seems to be aimed at those in the crowd who wanted to see Jesus perform a miracle.  Jesus infers that he’s going to be a sign to that generation just as: ‘Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh’ (Luke 11:30).  There’s some speculation over what he means by this, but I think it’s relatively simple.  If Jonah, with his forthright disobedience could be forgiven, the Ninevites could be as well!  Salvation would truly come from the Lord!  In his commentary on Jonah Hugh Martin speculates that Jonah must have shared ‘the terrible death which he endured, and the blessed resurrection which he experienced – can we doubt that the mercy and   miracle of their prophet’s resurrection was at once the ground and the gleam of hope which they caught hold of, as an encouragement to repent and call upon the Lord?’[2]  Through Jesus’ death and resurrection anyone who seeks forgiveness can receive it as the Ninevites did!

This brings us to the second point in relation to Jonah’s prayer, and that’s how we relate his prayer to his later anger which is directed at the Lords compassion and forgiveness of the Ninevites. And my word, he was angry!  Verse 1 of chapter 4 can be translated: ‘To Jonah it was a disaster, a great disaster. He became angry.’  The phrase: ‘He became angry’ in Hebrew is expressed by the word: ‘harah’ which can be translated as: ‘burning as with fire’ or: ‘was inflamed.’[3]  How can I put this?  The book just shouldn’t end this way with Jonah red faced and foaming at the mouth or jumping up and down in a frenzy of what may have been uncontrolled anger!  Now we know that in a way it doesn’t, God has the last word!  But the book is left hanging concerning Jonah’s attitude towards the Lord’s compassion for the Ninevites!  So how do we understand this?

Firstly, there’s a danger in the writing off Jonah completely. Anyone who is as angry as he is ends up saying things that they will regret later and we would do well to remember that in relation to what he had prayed earlier.  But I believe it highlights a weakness in Jonah’s theology.  He had not understood the extent of God’s grace.  He could understand it when it was extended to him; after all he was one of the Lord’s covenant people, but the Ninevites weren’t.  They didn’t ‘know their right hand from their left’ (4:11) which probably means they were not acquainted with God’s law as Jonah was.  The point was that God was prepared to extend his love and forgiveness to them despite their limited understanding due to their genuine repentance (see 3:6-9).  But Jonah had his theology as to who the Lord should save and whom he shouldn’t.  He figured the Lord shouldn’t relent where the Ninevites were concerned, hence his anger!  In chapter 4 verse 2 Jonah pretty much quotes Exodus 34: 6-7.  He properly thought it was a wonderful verse when applied to Israel.  He had no problem with the second part of verse 7 about God’s judgement upon the guilty: ‘to the third and fourth generation’ as the Ninevites were well-qualified as those who deserved punishment.  But we should be beware of a theology that imposes what we wish on God’s Word and leaves no room for God’s infinite grace, mercy and compassion.  That’s Jonah’s mistake here!  Such an attitude will only damage our relationship with God as it does when Jonah declares that he would rather die than go on living (vs3 and 8-9), which is effectively declaring “I don’t want to be the prophet of a God like you!”  Maybe, as I said, it was said in a fit of anger but we should note how much damage it does to the prophet’s relationship with God as at this point in the book he is reduced to disapproving and angry prayers!

The question for us is can we go through tough times and during them acknowledge God’s goodness to us, just as Jonah did in his prayer, and yet not really understand fully that the Lord may have been teaching us a poignant lesson about ourselves? Just because the Lord has been gracious to us in the past and we have seen his help, does not mean that he should always act as we think he should.  We can end up like Jonah, disapproving of God’s character and even starting to think he owes us something. We then end up as ‘rollercoaster Christians.’  We are going through a good time and experiencing the Lord’s blessing, God loves us!  But then we dive down into the depths of despair and depression.  There are family troubles (the worst kind), or we start to struggle with economic hardship through the loss of a job, or a much loved family member or relative dies.  The danger is that then we can forget the extent of God’s grace at a time we should be remembering it.  We decide God hates us, or even if we don’t use such a strong words, we believe he just doesn’t care!

Yet, if we looking for consistency, it is only found in God and his concern for those he has created. The characteristic of God that is shown in 4:2 and throughout the book of Jonah occurs again and again in the Old Testament![4]  That’s what we see in the book of Jonah, God is the only constant throughout!  Even Jonah acknowledges this and we should acknowledge it too and look to one who is consistent and a real foundation when we face times of trouble.  It may be hard, due to our sinfulness, but we are not to put conditions on God!  Jonah had prayed: ‘Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love (2:8) but he had made an idol of his theology regarding Jews, Gentiles and sin!  He hadn’t learnt the right lessons from his experience.  The question for us is have we made, or are we in danger of making, idols of questionable personal beliefs about God that have little or nothing to with the Bible?  If so we need to repent and change.  Let’s pray that from this point on we are aware of, and avoid, Jonah’s mistake so it never becomes our mistake!

[1] Jesus references the: ‘sign of Jonah’ again to the Pharisees and Sadducees again in Matthew 16:1-4.

[2] Hugh Martin, Jonah, The Geneva Series of Commentaries, (London, The Banner of Truth Trust, 1870), 221-2.

[3]James Bruckner, The NIV Application Commentary, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, (Grand Rapids, Zondervan, 2004), 109.

[4] See Exodus 34:6-7, Nehemiah 9:17 b, Psalm 86:15: Psalm 103:12, Psalm 145:8 and Joel 2:13.