THE FRUIT OF IDOLATRY 

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Hosea 4:1 NKJV

Hear the word of the Lord,
You children of Israel,
For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land:

“There is no truth or mercy
Or knowledge of God in the land. 

God’s complaint against Israel in chapters 4 and 5 are an indictment of Israel’s spiritual commitment to idolatry.  This is illustrated in the marriage of Hosea to Gomer the prostitute.  Israel was married to idolatry and his offspring, the fruit of the idolatrous relationship, were also rejected. 

From 4:1B-5:7 the charge is laid out clearly.  But the interesting part of the charge is VSS 4:1B-2.  It begins with willful failure in truth, love of neighbors, and a denial of any responsibility to know the true God. 

What follows is an enumeration of criminal charges against the inhabitants of Israel. 

1.       Swearing and lying.  All regard for the commandment of taking the Lord’s name in vain and bearing false witness is forgotten or denied.  This is found later in the charge of Jeremiah.  He charges Judah with an absence of truth.  No one is to look to his fellow for truth either under oath or in conversation.  Where once you could expect the truth now you must suspect a lie. 

2.      Murder has become ordinary.  It neither causes fear or concern.  When murder is tolerated it is a sure sign of contempt for God.  The image of God in man, each and every individual, gives man his value.  It guarantees that every life has worth and anyone can be converted.  When life is devalued this image is denied and God’s law no longer exercises any restraint. 

3.      Stealing is accepted as a useful way of provision.  There are two sure signs of societal failure, lying and theft.  When truth is not there as the glue which binds society and there is no respect for the property of others there is nothing which guarantees the structure from which we get our support.

There is no penalty for lying in our society except when the government is concerned.  And the only thing you are to expect in the occasion of robbery or burglary is a case number to give your insurance. 

4.       Adultery is more common than fidelity which should mark our conduct.  But if life, truth, and property have no value why should fidelity in sexual conduct fare any better?

There is no law against any sexual crime no matter how extreme when committed by adults.  This must have extensive consequences.  One illustration please.  There is no law against adultery.  A person may have as many adulterous partners as they please.  These partners even have standing in court.  This of course means there is no longer an effective law against polygamy.  The mere fact that there aren’t multiple court approved marriage contracts is of no consequence as these other partners have legal standing in the courts and what else is a court issued contract supposed to represent.  By the by sociology has a name for modern day divorce, serial polygamy. 

What is the crux?  Conduct is a theological issue.  Idolatry has consequences.

THE SOUL SATISFIED 

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Job 15:11  KJV

¹¹ Are the consolations of God small with thee?  is there any secret thing with thee? 

The question by Eliphaz to Job is his assumption that he and his two friends had truly spoken the truth of God to Job.  Their comfort and encouragement given quietly should have satisfied him.  Job had been unimpressed with their attempts to counsel him in his low estate.  Therefore Job, and I suppose we also, should consider this a presumptuous conceit on Eliphaz’s part. 

But the question is a good one.  As a Christian is God’s provision lacking in my estimation?  Has He failed to come up to my expectations?  I find this attitude to be, all too often, that which characterizes my thoughts toward God. 

In direct contradiction the Psalmist in Psalm 87:7 writes, “All my springs are in you.”  Let the following quotation suffice us as a commentary most helpful.

C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 125

“’All my springs are in thee.’  Whatever conduit pipe be used, Christ is the fountain and foundation of every drop of comfort; Christ is the God of all true consolation.  It is not in the power of all the angels of heaven to give any soul one drop of comfort, nor can all on earth give you one dram of comfort.  They can speak the words of comfort, but they cannot cause the soul to receive comfort.  God comforts by them, 2 Cor. 7:6.   Titus was but an instrument.  Comforting is called frequently in Scripture the speaking to the heart, Hosea 2:14.  Who is able to speak to the heart but he who is the Lord and commander of the heart?  God hath put all the oil of spiritual joy into the hands of Christ, Isaiah 61: 3, and none but he can give it out.  He that wants comfort must go to Christ, he that hath received any true comfort must ascribe it to Christ.  ‘All my springs,’ saith the Church, ‘are in thee’ __ Ralph Robinson.                  

OBSERVATIONS FROM DEATH ROW

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Romans 13:1-4   NKJV

Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God.

² Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

³ For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same.

⁴ For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 

Some fifteen years ago I was asked to go to the Texas Death Row to lead a Bible study.  This request came from Death Row inmates.  I applied for and received permission to be a Voluntary Chaplain at the Ellis Unit in the Huntsville system.

There I was furnished the time and access to the Death Row inmates from which I came to understand some of the problems of capital punishment.  I came to know with a broad degree of familiarity about 30 inmates and by introduction at the least all who were awaiting execution. 

At this point I need to state that I support capital punishment.  I do this for the same reason I oppose abortion.  I find both to be a clear Biblical mandate. 

Early on in my time at Ellis Unit I met and became friends with a man named Michael who was one of the founders of­ Prisontalk, a Death Row monthly paper.  This paper had a circulation and contribution throughout the U.S.  Michael was the first man whom I knew well that was executed.  He was a serial killer.  And he was man whom I found to be a very sincere Christian.  He was also the most articulate opponent of capital punishment that I have ever known.  You might say it was a matter of life or death with him. 

The argument he represented and the only Biblical argument I know was based on opposition to the application of the 5^th commandment in the Mosaic Law.  This argument stated that support for capital punishment based on the Mosaic Law put the supporter in an indefensible position.  If he supported the death sentence for murder then he must support it for all the offenses to which it is applied in the Mosaic code.  As this is not done and few would ever argue for this thorough application, R. J. Rushduny excepted, you cannot argue for its application in selected instances. 

I found two things about this argument.  First it is compelling and if it is argued well undefeatable.  Secondly I see it as a straw man.  The Mosaic Code does furnish some case law, but it is not the basis for capital punishment. 

There are two Biblical supports for capital punishment that are undeniable.

The first is in Genesis 9:5-6  Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man. From the hand of every man’s brother I will require the life of man.  ⁶ “Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed; For in the image of God  He made man.

  This statement is in the context of the Rainbow Covenant, 9:9-16.

⁹ “And as for Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after you,

¹⁰ and with every living creature that is with you: the birds, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you, of all that go out of the ark, every beast of the earth.

¹¹ Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

¹² And God said: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations:

¹³ I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be for the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.

¹⁴ It shall be, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the rainbow shall be seen in the cloud;

¹⁵ and I will remember My covenant which is between Me and you and every living creature of all flesh; the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh.

¹⁶ The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

¹⁷ And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I have established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.” 

In 9:12-13 both the perpetuity and scope of the covenant is established.  It is forever to be applied and in VSS 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, it is extended universally to all flesh.  I think that this lies behind the Mosaic demand of death for the shedding of blood. 

Again in Romans 13:4 the “sword” which is put in the hand of “governing authorities” must under any fair intention of sound exegesis extend to capital punishment.  The whole idea of “the sword” is the right of government to punish.  The words in VS 4 indicate the most extreme power of punishment.  Look at Paul’s warning; “be afraid”, “an avenger”, and “executes wrath”.  For anyone to say this stops short of the most extreme penalty is naïve to say the least. 

With this in view I found a bias in the application of an unsound law.  I say unsound because I assure you fully one half (and probably more) of the murders in Texas do not come under the capital punishment code.  The bias I find is not racial or educational.  It is economic.  This is not to say the law is baised against poor people.  But the system is.  Poor people cannot afford good legal representation.  Therefore they overwhelmingly furnish the population of Death Row. 

This is not to say that the rich get away with murder.  This does not seem to me to be so.  But they very rarely are given capital sentences.  Their legal representation is good enough that it is able to keep them off the table.

Of all the men I met on Death Row – bank robbers, burglars, child-killers, murder-for-hire, mass murders, and serial killers, I know of only one who there was any chance of him having decent legal representation. 

I never met an inmate whom I sincerely thought was innocent.  I am not saying there are not some innocent men there but they are scarce as hen’s teeth. 

This leaves me to one personal observation.  I do not believe, “that it is better for 100 guilty men to go free than for one innocent man to die”.  I might change my mind if I was the innocent man.  If this philosophy is extended through society, we cannot have firemen, police, a standing army, or any who put themselves in harm’s way for the greater good.  There is a transcendental good.  Society is preserved by the law being upheld.  This is not a perfect world and there can be some terrible injustices.  The wicked will go free, but they should never have a free pass. 

I wonder if you have ever looked around and said, “What the dickens has happened to us?” 

For Mike Sharp 

Life is sometimes hard and always brief,

Often bringing unbearable difficulties and filled with grief.

Why is it we hang on to this frail tent with such desperation?

When it is so much easier to let go without a question. 

There was a man I knew, young and strong,

A man strong of heart and quick in thought.

Desiring equity and justice, he wrote from a lonely cell.

But truth cannot be bound and justice will prevail. 

This man doesn’t live here anymore.

We do not and will not say he does not live.

For he, by grace, has received his reward,

“To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord”.

A SONG FOR LOVERS

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Canticles 8:6-7  NKJV

⁶ Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death,
Jealousy as cruel as the grave;
Its flames are flames of fire,
A most vehement flame.

⁷ Many waters cannot quench love,
Nor can the floods drown it.
If a man would give for love
All the wealth of his house,
It would be utterly despised. 

A writer on the Song of Solomon says this Scripture has more different interpretations than any other in the Old Testament.  Of these, I am familiar with only three.

There is the older understanding that it is a love poem of Christ and His bride, the church.  There are very few internal facts that support this.  And there are far too many that are strong arguments against it.  This does not have a lot of support today. 

Again, some would have this to be a love poem Solomon wrote to the young woman who was brought to David in his last days.  The identification of this lovely young woman can be found in I Kings 1:2-4 ² Therefore his servants said to him, “Let a young woman, a virgin, be sought for our lord the king, and let her stand before the king, and let her care for him; and let her lie in your bosom, that our lord the king may be warm.” ³ So they sought for a lovely young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite, and brought her to the king. ⁴ The young woman was very lovely; and she cared for the king, and served him; but the king did not know her.  Here again there are too few reasons to recommend it and far more which discourage the literalism this requires and is not found in the Canticles. 

The third view is that this is an inspired love poem written to Christian lovers for encouragement and directions in courtship and marriage.

I am deeply indebted to Craig Glickman and his commentary, A Song For Lovers, for the help he gave me in understanding this beautiful and extremely important love poem.

I am including a free translation of the verses listed for today, page 150-151.

“O, my darling lover, make me your most precious possession held securely in your arms, held close to your heart.  True love is as strong and irreversible as the onward march of death.  True love never ceases to care, and it would no more give up the beloved than the grave would give up the dead.      

The fires of true love can never be quenched because the source of its flame is God himself.  Even were a river of rushing water to pass over it, the flame would yet shine forth.  Of all the gifts in the world, this priceless love is the most precious and possessed only by those to whom it is freely given.  For no man could purchase it with money, even the richest man in the world.” 

This poetic picture of true love between a man and a woman is without doubt worthy of our closest interest and understanding.

1.       The seal is to deny all other interest and completion.  It encloses the deepest internal commitment and the broadest external interest.  These are to be the bounds of true love.  It is to be held in the heart and respected in all of life’s social activity.

2.      Its straight and protective interest are for all of life.  Death is not the end.  It is the far limits of its circumference.  The strength of love extends through the problems of youth and the dullness of age.  Death is its true limit.

3.      The flame of the Lord as the intent of the Hebrew is as the NKJV has translated it, “a most vehement flame”.  The meaning here is that there is no hotter flame than this.  It is a consuming interest for those who experience it.  This is to complete the thought of the preceding clause.  Its boundary in time is all of life; its boundary in quality is as a consuming fire.

4.      Love knows no real discouragement.  Just as water may retard a vehement flame but cannot quench it, so the vicissitudes of life may furnish discouragements to lovers they do not change the fact of their affection. 

But this description is not satisfied until it is understood that this affection described is not one you “fall out of”.  The description given to this point guarantees the mutual interest is more than lust.

5.       The conclusion of the description points up the fact that some have always thought of love commercially and it assures the reader this is as far from true as can be imagined.  All the wealth of a wealthy person cannot purchase this affection. 

I once heard this illustration:

“There are four things money cannot buy:  a baby’s smile, a good man’s friendship, a good woman’s love, the grace of God”.  Amen

THE WILL OF GOD

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Colossians 1:9  NKJV

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 

Christians often ask the question, “how can I know God’s will for me?”  The Scriptures are filled with statements about God’s will.  They are far too numerous to try to make any complete reference to them.  So the question mentioned above is not out of order nor is it one that cannot be answered. 

Paul’s prayer for the Colossian church was that their character would be a testimony to their knowledge of the will of God.  But this testimony had a real content.  It was to be knowledge characterized by wisdom and spiritual insight.

It seems fair to me to apply this to all Christians and say all should have the knowledge of the will of God.  The understanding that God’s will for His people is something secret and only has a mystic revelation is as strange to Scripture as to say God’s will is not revealed.

Again Colossians 4:12 points the Colossian believers to their privilege of “standing perfect and complete in the will of God.”  I would find it strange to consistency of subject and intention for the Apostle to be speaking of something different from his subject in Colossians 1:9.

The will of God in this verse Col. 4:12  Epaphras, who is one of you, a bondservant of Christ, greets you, always laboring fervently for you in prayers, that you may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God,  has the same content and intent as Hebrews 13:21, “Make you complete in every good work to do His will.”  The understanding is becoming increasingly clear, that God’s will is knowable and that it is doable. 

Paul, speaking to the Thessalonian church makes this plain.  He writes in 4:3 exactly what the will of God is, “your sanctification.”  He follows with a description of ‘sanctification’ in VSS 4-12.  Read these verses carefully. 

Again in I Thessalonians 5:16-18 Paul tells the Thessalonian Christians how they can do the will of God.  They are to rejoice, pray always, and give thanks for all God’s supply.  We can see how the Thessalonians knew this.  They had Paul’s letter.  Our understanding of God’s will in these matters comes the same way.  We read Paul’s letter. 

In Romans 12:2 the will of God is described as good, acceptable and perfect.  But there is something even more clearly taught.  The mind of the believer must experience a makeover.  New content must be received and old content removed.  This is where the words of Jesus in John 17:17 “Sanctify them by your truth.  Your word is truth,” become so helpful.  How is the mind changed, the conduct transformed and God’s will known?  It is known by knowing the word of God and knowing God in His word. 

Look closely at Hebrews 10:35-36 ³⁵ Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. ³⁶ For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.  The will of God is doable.  What is the purpose of the Scriptures?  Our old and dependable confession tells us that God’s purpose in the Scriptures is two pronged:  “to know God and how to serve Him”.

This is as old as written revelation.  Moses in Deuteronomy 29:29 ²⁹ “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” gives all the content we need to direct those who desire to know the will of God.  Look closely into those things that are revealed in order to do them.  For there is great reward in keeping His law.

Psalm 1:2-3

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
³ He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.

THE PROPHET DANIEL

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Daniel 10:19 NKJV

¹⁹ And he said, “O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!”  So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” 

Three times Daniel is addressed as the man “greatly beloved”, 9:23; 10:11; 10:19.  It is not as if God’s love for Daniel as a believer or a prophet is unique.  The Scriptures are replete with the assurance that God loves His elect.  It is that this is a peculiar way of God addressing one of His servants. 

Daniel was beloved by God in whom he believed and served.  Calvin on 10:11 writes “I (incline to think) him so called through the force of his desires, because he was dear and precious to God.” 

In the whole of Daniel’s faithful service to God there is never a moment in which he appears as a common or ordinary man.  Daniel is always in that position and character that sets him apart. 

Daniel could have been ordinary.  He certainly had the opportunity to be.  Compare Daniel with Elijah who was translated in the body to heaven.  Elijah had some very ordinary days - but Daniel, never.  Compare him to Jonah, who holds a most important and extraordinary position among the prophets.  But Jonah had some very ordinary days - but Daniel, never.  So Daniel is addressed as one greatly beloved. 

But Daniel was greatly beloved by those heathen kings he served.  Nebuchadnezzar’s confession in Daniel 4 is one of the high points of the Old Testament.  The king was a disciple of Daniel. 

There is a picture painted in Daniel 6 that so expresses the heathen King Darius’ love for Daniel that I never read it without deep emotion.

Daniel 6:18-23

¹⁸ Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no musicians were brought before him. Also his sleep went from him. ¹⁹ Then the king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. ²⁰ And when he came to the den, he cried out with a lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

²¹ Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! ²² My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.”

²³ Now the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God.

After reading Darius’ anxious concern for Daniel it is easy to say about those he served, he was greatly beloved. 

What about among his peers?  Was Daniel well thought of among the people of his time?  Ezekiel refers to Daniel three times, Ezekiel 14:14, 20, 28:3. 

In the first two references he places him in the company with Noah and Job.  These two men are both painted in scripture as those whom God had chosen and had shown special favor.  These two men had lived in very difficult times.  They had served God under trying circumstances and were known for their faithfulness to God.  The statement God madeto Satan about Job emphasizes this, Job 1:8 “There is none like him on earth.”  This is not poetry but by God’s judgment a fact. 

Ezekiel again in 28:3 speaks of Daniel’s wisdom.  As Ezekiel condemns the pride of the King of Tyre, he accuses him of thinking that no secret could be hidden from him.  In the context of 28:3 it should be understood that Daniel’s great wisdom lay in that no secret he needed to know was hid from him.  This is the inspired judgment of Ezekiel. 

Daniel was beloved by his masters, his fellow servants and God whom he loved and trusted.

This should draw our minds and hearts to God’s love for His church.  Paul, writing to the Roman church to encourage them in faith and service, can and does assure them of God’s love.  In 1:7 he addresses them and us as “beloved of God”.  We find this strain continued in 5:8.  But it is when we reach the close of chapter 8 that Paul overwhelms us with the Divine answer to the all- consuming question, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?”  His answer is a conclusion that both warns and assures every believer, “no created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

Have you ever really considered the heroes and models sacred history has given as, “of whom the world is not worthy”?

THE QUESTION OF ETERNAL IMPORTANCE 

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Mark 8:27-29 NKJV

²⁷ Now Jesus and His disciples went out to the towns of Caesarea Philippi; and on the road He asked His disciples, saying to them, “Who do men say that I am?”

²⁸ So they answered, “John the Baptist; but some say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.”

²⁹ He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.” 

In the text before us Jesus asked two questions.  One was directed to the general population who were familiar with Him, both His life as the son of the carpenter Joseph, and His traveling ministry. 

It is evident that these were religious people with a background in the Hebrew Scripture.  They recognized something different about Him and were willing to accord Him a place among the Prophets.  Even further they admitted He evidenced a special mission from God.  They could say John the Baptist had risen from the dead, or He was the promised appearing of a revived Elijah.  He was accorded a special religious place among them.  They honored Him.  But they didn’t know Him.

The confession of the Jews of that day is the common confession of false Christianity known as Moderates or Liberals.  They cannot deny the historical fact of the man Jesus.  So they make Him to be what suits them, a great teacher, a mystic of great influence, or a revolutionary who was caught in His own web of deceit.

 They cannot deny the fact of His existence.  They can deny what they do not, will not, cannot believe that His was a supernatural existence from a supernatural purpose with a supernatural conclusion.

This brings Jesus to the second question.  This was directed to a different audience.  This was directed to believers.  The response is entirely different.  The confession is both true and necessary.

In Matthew 16:13-17, a parallel passage, after the response Jesus makes a statement that one overlooks to his great loss.  “Flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.” 

There are three basic truths that are so primary they must not be overlooked.

1.       Jesus in His fullness cannot be known by natural intelligence.  This was not a new fact for those disciples.  In Matthew 11:27 He plainly states the mystery of the incarnation.  In Matthew 16:17, He states the source of His identity known by all His disciples.

The identity of Jesus is a revelation God makes to His elect.  This is no new fact that began with Jesus.  In Acts 7:2 Stephen states Abraham’s introduction to God, “The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham.”  This is the principle of the saving knowledge of God.  Paul’s statement to the Corinthian church in I Cor. 2:6-14  is the same. “ However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing”.

⁷ But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,

⁸ which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

⁹ But as it is written:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

¹⁰ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.

¹¹ For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

¹³ These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

¹⁴ But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

2.       Please look closely at verses 10,11, 14.  Look at the absolutes of man’s ignorance of God. It is a misunderstanding of Scripture to believe that anyone separate from a personal visitation of God’s Spirit can know Jesus in a saving way.

3.      That person and that person alone is blessed who truly knows the identity of this man Jesus.  All of the darkness of humanity lies in this failure. John 1:9  That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 

Paul in Romans 3:11 takes this saving knowledge one step further.  Not only does the natural man not know God, but he has no desire for God.  He doesn’t “seek after God.” 

This brings us back to Jesus’ question.  Do you really know who that very ordinary appearing man with the most unusual credentials really is?  This is the question which will be point of divide between those saved and those lost.

 

Charles Wesley, in verse, describes this revelation of Christ to the blind sinner. 

And Can It Be

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature's night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray-
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

THE PRICE OF FOOLISHNESS 

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Proverbs 28:21 KJV

To have respect of persons is not good: for for a piece of bread that man will transgress. 

 

Matthew Henry has this to say about the text named above.

Those that are partial will be paltry. Those that have once broken through the bonds of equity, though, at first, it must be some great bribe, some noble present, that would bias them, yet, when they have debauched their consciences, they will, at length, be so sordid that for a piece of bread they will give judgment against their consciences; they will rather play at small game than sit out.” 

My interest is the abject foolishness demonstrated at the Democratic convention in the Wednesday session.  The featured speaker was former President Bill Clinton.  What I write is not based on politics, whether I agree or disagree with the Convention’s politics or former President Clinton’s.  My observations are directed toward the commentary of his presence, importance, and acceptance both by his fellow convention attendees and by the public in general. 

What does an informed look at this man reveal?

1.       Fact:  He is a liar of gigantic proportion.  Not just because of his statement regarding the affair with a young governmental employee.

We should understand that he knew the foolishness of the statement, “it’s not about sex.”  He knew it was about sex.  And his lies which were continual were evidence that he has no regard for truth.  Truth is just a means to an end to him.

2.       Fact:  He is an admitted and convicted sexual predator.  The repeated expose`s of sexual activity are enough to convince any sane thinking person of his predatory nature.

It is of little doubt that any company, corporate manager or CEO who did what he did with a very junior employee, on company time, on company property, and using company personnel to protect him would have been convicted of aggravated sexual harassment.

3.      Fact:  He is a thief.  Leaving out all the accusations from Arkansas, after his term in office of President was finished and he had moved to a private residence, there were officials who came to his residence to retrieve White House furnishings he and his wife had carried away.

4.      Opinion:  He is a traitor to his country.  During his term a scandal developed.  It was found that China had come into possession of our secret technology.  This was tied to a single Chinese citizen in the U.S.  He was a lobbyist who was very close to the Clintons and known to have contributed heavily to their political campaigns.  As the investigation closed in on him, he escaped to China where there is no extradition.

When he stood before the microphone, polished and distinguished looking, he is still the same man, unrepentant and reveling in his ill-gotten gain.  Am I to forget that?  I think not.  Do I hate him?  No!  Do I want him or anything like him as president of my country?  No! 

We have had bad presidents.  We have had wicked presidents.  But we have had no one else as genuinely evil as Bill Clinton.  He does not understand why he is so disliked by Conservation.  Maybe there are not many who have it as clearly defined to themselves as I do, but they recognize the stench of Old Ned on this man. 

We do not know men’s latter end.  That is the prerogative of God.  But separate from repentance he has not demonstrated so far he must anticipate a forbidding eternity.

Proverbs 13:5

A righteous man hates lying:

Psalm 97:10

You that love the Lord, hate evil.

SEEING THE INVISIBLE 

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible…. 

Hebrews 11:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ² For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. 

The content of Hebrews 11 is overwhelmingly enjoyable.  This is one of the high points of Scripture.  The author begins with creation and takes us through time to the Lord’s return.  In the process he introduces us to the heroes of the faith beginning with Abel and including a converted harlot. 

This chapter contains one of the most important statements in all of Scripture.  This is Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. The importance of this verse cannot be over emphasized.  The simplicity of faith is plainly stated.  God is, and as He is, He is the rewarder.  The debate of whether faith is mere intellectual assent or that it must include trust is answered here.  Those – and those only – who seek Him are rewarded.  This is by a simple recognition of words more than intellectual assent. 

Of all those named there are two that are given the most ink, Abraham and Moses.  I am concerned here with Moses.  He described in four features of his faith.  They are:

1.       VS 25   choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,

Moses understood the passing attraction of sin.  He could have “enjoyed” sin in Egypt.  This we know about Moses.  He was “beautiful”.  He was very bright.  He was well educated.  He had all the favors of wealth and position.  He was called the son of the most important women in the land of Egypt.  Moses, if he had chosen, could have had anything wealth and position provided.  But he refused this.  Why?

2.       VS 26 esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.  He looked for a different reward.  Hebrews 11:16 gives us a brief glimpse of that reward.  It is a city.  And what a city it must be.  The description of it is that it is one of which God will not be ashamed.  That is to say God is proud of this city.  What a city, what a reward this must be.

3.       VS 27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.  This is the picture the writer puts before us.  There is a traveler.  He is so weary with his journey that every step seems to be his last.  But there is before him a sight that so enlivens him that he cannot despair, be fatigued, or rest short of the end of his journey.  It is not the city, not the reward, but the rewarder.  He sees the invisible one, “the evidence of the unseen,” has given him a strength he did not know he possessed.  Faith works.

4.      VS 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.  Moses truly understood “the fear of the Lord.”  The promise was to Israel.  It was described and communicated.  All who kept those instructions would be delivered.  But those who did not would suffer the judgment described.  This was as much to be believed as the promise.  The judgment extended from the dungeon to the King’s palace and nothing between escaped it.  Moses feared and obeyed. 

The last time we see Moses in the Old Testament (Deut. 34:1-8) is his visit to Pisgah’s heights as he looks longingly into a land which is denied him.  All the Old Testament saints who had access to this scripture must have felt at least some disappointment for Moses. 

But we have another visit with Moses, (Matthew 17:2-3).  Moses is in the promised land.  He has a better country.  And he sees Him who was invisible. 

There is an American poet who has captured a bit of this beatific vision.

When we walk the pilgrim pathway,

Clouds will overspread the sky;

But when traveling days are over

Not a shadow, not a sigh. 

Let us then be true and faithful,

Trusting, serving every day;

Just one glimpse of Him in glory

Will the toils of life repay.

                                                          Mrs. J. G. Wilson

DAVID:  AFRAID 

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible…. 

I Samuel 27:1 NKJ

David thought, “Some day the powerful hand of Saul will destroy me. So the best thing I can do is escape. I’ll go to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop looking for me everywhere in Israel. His hand won’t be able to reach me. 

I think it was FDR who said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”  I know it is Paul who tells us, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and a sound mind”, II Timothy 1:7.  But David was fearful. 

This is all the more thought provoking when we consider the victories he had won and the unusual deliverances he had experienced.  Surely, if anyone should have confidence in the security of God’s promises, David should have. 

But David’s fear shows us two inevitable reasons that believers fear.

1.       Believers fear because of unbelief.  Think of the promises that David had.  He was anointed by a prophet, Samuel.  This was in direct obedience to divine inspiration.  Nothing would ever happen to David that could prevent his ascension to the throne of Israel.  This should have assured him. 

David had experienced numerous warnings of danger and deliverance from Saul.  It was Saul who was in danger from David rather than David from Saul.  Should he have chosen, he could have already killed Saul.   

2.       Believers will fear when they are separated from the appointed place of worship.  The separation of David from his place of worship was providential.  But it was no less a deep discouragement to him.  He was separated from his family and all with whom he had worshipped. 

This singular fact should convince any believer of the dire consequences of failing to be regular at their appointed place of worship.  Personal fellowship with God is an absolute necessity.  But this does not substitute for the privilege and responsibility of corporate worship. 

Think of the great believers in the Scripture who were fearful.  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our covenant fathers, were fearful; Israel when the spies returned were fearful and caused themselves to spend 40 years wandering; and our great hero, the Apostle to the Gentiles - Paul, was fearful.  Acts 18:9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Keep on speaking. Don’t be silent.

 

There are two admonitions which should encourage every believer in times when fear is an option.

Luke 12:32   “Little flock, do not be afraid. Your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.

I John 4:18  There is no fear in love. Instead, perfect love drives fear away. Fear has to do with being punished. The one who fears does not have perfect love. 

David feared, Paul feared, and it is doubtless that we will all at some time be fearful.  But we must refuse to accept it as our lot and every believer must understand with disciples who were in the boat with Christ upon Lake Galilee in that fearful storm, it is not the storm outside the boat - it is who is in the boat with you.

Mark 4:39-40 ³⁹ He got up and ordered the wind to stop. He said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down. And it was completely calm.

⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Don’t you have any faith at all yet?”