02/252019

There are at least three questions the believer can expect to be asked about God.  I have been a Christian since I was 26 years old.  I am now 82.  So that is 56 years of hearing unbelievers voice their questions about God.  The following are questions the Scriptures recognize.

1.      Psalm 73:11-12 And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”  Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches

Does God know?  In this Psalm the writer gives 3 reasons for the question.

Verse 3-Arrogancy  Verse 6-Pride   Verse12-Wickedness.

2.      Psalm 115:2-3   Why should the nations say,“Where is their God?” Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

Where is your God?

A.    The first reply is that God is exactly where He is supposed to be.  He is in Heaven on His throne.  Doing what His title, King of Creation, tells us.  He eternally does.

B.     But there is a second answer here.  Here in the heavens on His throne “He does all that He pleases.” Let this be duly considered by all, both believers and unbelievers who think He has any real opposition. cf Psalm 11:4.

3.      Psalm 78:19 They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?

Can God provide for us at our deepest time of need?

Can you believe that Jesus died for your sins and was raised for justification?  Is so, you are saved. 

Can you believe God created the heaven and the earth?  Can you believe in 2019 God can set up a table for you?  This is your test.  Not for salvation, but for bravery when the contest gets hot.  He can.

02/23/2019

II Peter 1:19

¹⁹ And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,

Very early as a Christian I became dependent on the Scriptures for my understanding of Christ, the Church, and my responsibility.  Both on the radio and in Bible School I would hear explanations I could not find in the Scriptures.  There was a pastor of a Bible Church in Houston, Texas who also had a radio program.  He was thought to be an excellent Greek scholar.  He once said a certain Greek word could only be translated by “emptying a slop bucket out a window”.  I did not then believe that, and know now it was an exaggeration at its best and deceit at its worst.

Because of this I made for myself certain rules I would follow in understanding the Scripture.  Both then and now they have served me well.  Let me give them to you.

1.      As much as possible understand the Scripture in its plain common sense.  Fanciful allegory and extreme prophetic interpretations do not interest me.

2.      Take the words of the Scripture in their plain natural sense.  “South to Israel” did not then and does not now mean China.  It has always meant Egypt.

3.      Always allow the context to govern the understanding of a word, passage, or book.

I’m sure that other rules are equally important.  These were simple correctives and great help to me.

02/21/112019

I Kings 3:1; 4:25

Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.

²⁵ And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon. 

Solomon again.

In Solomon there is the best of Israel and the worst of Israel demonstrated.  Note in 3:1 the words Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt.  This is the common politics of Solomon that he practiced through 1000 wives and many concubines.  Solomon, according to what would be applauded as political savvy brought peace for Israel with marriage alliances.  Faith in God’s power and protection are never an issue with Solomon.  He doesn’t need them.  He is Pharaoh’s son-in-law.  His alliance with Egypt, the mightiest nation in their world, guaranteed the military safety of Israel.  And if not?  There were other marriages of convenience that would follow.

Look with me to Solomon’s integrity, I Kings 5:5-6, 12; 9:10-14.  If you carefully read these verses you probably will come away saying, “that Solomon is a crafty fellow”.  But whether you do or not there is surely a bad taste left with you, for Solomon uses his wisdom for political advantage and craft for his own gain.  But remember above all—remember his name, II Samuel 12:24-25.

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him ²⁵ and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.

02/20/112019

2 Samuel 11:23

²³ The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate.

At the time Solomon became king Israel was famous for two reasons.  One was the great deliverance they received in the plagues and the overthrow of Pharaoh’s army. The second was the power of Israel’s military might under the leadership of David.  This was summed up in the fear the surrounding nations accorded David.

But now Israel has a third level of fame.  The wisdom, knowledge, and wealth of Solomon had made him famous. A look at 11:24-25 gives a picture of the respect Solomon commanded.

But somewhere here in the way Solomon left his concern for God’s approval of his agenda.  He ignored God’s primary instructions to any King of Israel, cf Deuteronomy 17:15-17.

¹⁵ you may indeed set a king over you whom the Lord your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. ¹⁶ Only he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the Lord has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’ ¹⁷ And he shall not acquire many wives for himself, lest his heart turn away, nor shall he acquire for himself excessive silver and gold.

His flagrant disregard of these instructions gave him incomparable wealth, a trading business that was very prosperous, and political alliances through his marriages that brought him peace on all sides. But at what price?

Following in the ability of his father David, he was also a genius but his accomplishments in every instance were lacking in that which would make or break Israel—Faith.

02/19/112019

2 Samuel 5:23-25

²³ And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. ²⁴ And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” ²⁵ And David did as the Lord commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.

By this time David had proven himself to be an immensely competent and brave military commander.  And it is equally true that he was the Lord’s servant.  So there is an interesting bit of information about David in this Scripture.

When Saul was told by Samuel to wait and Saul knew that was God’s instructions, he did not wait but became impatient and disobedient.

David as a successful field marshal might well have depended on his experience and success to go ahead into battle.  But this is where we see the difference in David.  He puts the army at rest.  They sit in a small forest and wait.  As you look at this, it is rather silly.  An army is sitting at rest waiting for the wind to blow in the trees.  But these are David’s instructions, “Wait until you hear the rustle of the wind in the trees.”

What do we learn about David?  First he is obedient.  He does not go ahead of God’s instructions.  Note Isaiah 40:31.

¹ but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Secondly he is a man of faith.  He asked for victory.  He is told to do this to achieve it.  So he does what he is told for this end, verse 25.e does not go ahead of God’s intruH

02/22/2019

Matthew 12:42

 ⁴² The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

The greater the area of exposure the greater the opportunity for sin.

Jesus could have chosen any of the Old Testament heroes to compare Himself to, but He chose Solomon.  This is at least an encouragement to think that Solomon owned an excellent greatness above any other to which He may have made a comparison.

This excellence to which Jesus refers is that which the Queen of Sheba came to see, and that which we find described in I Kings 10:6-9.  We have no reason to take this excellent description by the Queen at anything less than face value.  The court of Solomon overwhelmed her to the point that the description by which she had made her journey was only half accurate.  And this wealth and wonder was a demonstration of God’s gracious love for Solomon.

It is statements such as this, which begins at his birth and continues throughout his reign, that cannot be squared with anything less than divine gracious election.  God loved Solomon.  God blessed Solomon.  Solomon did not consistently return God’s love.  But we don’t either.

What then was Solomon’s hope and ours?  “One greater than Solomon” is among us.

02/21/112019

I Kings 3:1; 4:25

Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh's daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the Lord and the wall around Jerusalem.

²⁵ And Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beersheba, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, all the days of Solomon. 

Solomon again.

In Solomon there is the best of Israel and the worst of Israel demonstrated.  Note in 3:1 the words Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt.  This is the common politics of Solomon that he practiced through 1000 wives and many concubines.  Solomon, according to what would be applauded as political savvy brought peace for Israel with marriage alliances.  Faith in God’s power and protection are never an issue with Solomon.  He doesn’t need them.  He is Pharaoh’s son-in-law.  His alliance with Egypt, the mightiest nation in their world, guaranteed the military safety of Israel.  And if not?  There were other marriages of convenience that would follow.

Look with me to Solomon’s integrity, I Kings 5:5-6, 12; 9:10-14.  If you carefully read these verses you probably will come away saying, “that Solomon is a crafty fellow”.  But whether you do or not there is surely a bad taste left with you, for Solomon uses his wisdom for political advantage and craft for his own gain.  But remember above all—remember his name, II Samuel 12:24-25.

²⁴ Then David comforted his wife, Bathsheba, and went in to her and lay with her, and she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. And the Lord loved him ²⁵ and sent a message by Nathan the prophet. So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord.