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.

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

02/18/112019

Genesis 12:2-3

² And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

At this place in Scripture we read the first blessing of Abram.  And we should say he is as blessed or saved as he will ever be.  From this point forward he is blessed Abram.

But in this context from verses 4-13 there are two sides to Abram which are revealed.  The first is verse 4, “So Abram went”.  I have driven in Europe and in as many as 35 different states.  So it might seem a small thing for Abram to travel this short distance.  But this was a major undertaking and a mighty act of faith for him.  As far as he knew all the world was his enemy and his people could come under attack at any time.  His only security was God who sent him.  His was a great faith.

Look again at verse 13.  This is the same Abram.  Blessed and faithful Abram is fearful and hiding behind the skirt of his wife.  The promise of God is forgotten and unbelief overwhelms him.

These two acts of Abram, his faith and his fear, are common to us as well.  Our security is never in our faith.  It is always in the blessing.  Our faith may fail at any time—only the promise of God is unfailing.

02/10/112019

A POLITICAL FOLLOWUP

The analysis of the Green Dream or is it a nightmare? If the naked emperor has entered our society this is him. "Look Ma! The Lady is naked.” And she truly is. If she would look at her activity from the time she arose in the morning until the time she stood before the cameras, from her tooth brush and her hairbrush to the glasses she used and the shoes she wore, it was all hydrocarbons that she was using.

The vexing question is where do we get the energy to live. Without an almost infinite supply of energy we return to a caveman society.

One of answers is wind mills. And then we must ask how do we get the windmills, how do we get them to the locations, and how do we erect them?  I travel every so often on an interstate highway. It is not unusual to see the blades of these windmills being transported to their locations. If you have not seen them they are in excess of 60 feet long and are transported by a full size transport truck for each blade. We haven't talked about the manufacture of the blade. What material is used for its construction? I don't know but my best guess is something in same content as that toothbrush and those glasses, some carbon based material.

02/13/2019

Romans 9:17

¹⁷ For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

The repeated statements in Exodus and this one in Romans has caused continued discussions through the centuries about what does it mean for God to harden the heart of a person.

A review of Pharaoh's experiences well help us. Moses met with him and Moses's staff became a serpent but Pharaoh ignored it. Then the plagues began. Pharaoh ignored them. At one point the plagues were so dreadful Pharaoh’s counselors begged him to let the Hebrews go. But in his stubbornness he wanted to negotiate. There is a powerful certainly with God. He does not negotiate with rebels.

After Pharaoh’s experiences with the ten plagues he apparently admits defeat and drives the Hebrews from Egypt and concedes to Moses's demands. But that is an outward concession. Pharaoh's heart has not changed. He has one last attempt to have his way with them. He pursues them with an army to destroy them. He and his army are drowned in the Red Sea.

What sane person would not agree that Pharaoh was one hard-headed dude.­­  Even to the point of his destruction.  That stubbornness in the face of so much evidence is his hardening.

Illustration:  “Don’t blame the wreck on the train.”