Tag Archives: rebuke

THINGS THAT DAVID SAID – 5

Devotion,

GOD LAUGHS!

Psalm 2…one of my favourite psalms. Why? I love it because it puts the world, my world, into the right perspective.

David looked out on his world. It seemed topsy-turvey compared with his understanding of God. Where was God in the mess he saw around him? Even in his day, and against the background of his own love and pursuit of God, people around him didn’t seem to care about God. He saw wickedness and unbelief flourishing. The surrounding nations were bent on destroying his own people. Even as a young lad, he was pulled into the conflict between his people and the neighbouring Philistines. He had a giant to kill, which he did in God’s name. Israel was in a never-ending struggle for survival.

Does this sound familiar?

When David stopped long enough to factor God into the picture, his understanding changed. He realised, despite all appearances, that God was really in charge.

This mob of godless rulers who were trying to unseat God were a joke. Really! Did they really think they could tip Him off His throne by their antics?

Psalms 2:2-3 NIV
[2] “The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, [3] “Let us break their chains and throw off their shackles.”

Like a mouse shaking its fist against an elephant!

God chuckled at their foolishness. Then… He laughed at their stupidity. Then… furious at their defiance, He announced His solution.

Psalms 2:5-6 NIV
[5] “He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, [6] “I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain.”

Wow! This doesn’t sound much of a solution, does it? What? No military might? No nuclear bombs? No drones or stealth bombers? Just a new king?

Yes, just a new king, but…look who this New King is. It’s Jesus, God’s own Son! When He takes the throne, things look very different.

Who is this king?

Revelation 19:11-16 NIV
[11] “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. [12] His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. [13] He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. [14] The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. [15] Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. [16] On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.”

There is no doubt about the identity of this warrior-king, the same one John wrote about in his gospel but was now unveiled in all His glory.

John 1:1-2, 14 NIV
[1]” In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [2] He was with God in the beginning…
[14] The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

The Word… the Son… Jesus! That’s who God’s king is, whom He has installed on His throne in Zion, His seat of government.

It’s this king who makes all the difference. He has the authority to govern and the power to overthrow all opposition. Why? He owns the nations. God gave Him the nations as a coronation gift.

Psalms 2:7-8 NIV
[7] “I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. [8] Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.”

God gave His Son, His king, the mandate to rule the nations. His God-man-king set up the standard for humans to please God, lived as a human according to His own rules, was unjustly punished as a criminal for allegedly breaking His own laws, and then confirmed His own innocence by defying death and coming back to life again.

So, He is infinitely qualified to apply His rule to the nations. As God, the second Person in the Trinity, He has the power to control the nations and to guide them towards His desired end.

What are the standards by which He rules? First, His standards are inflexible. He never flip-flops from one policy to another to find out which ones work!

Psalms 2:9 NIV
[9] “You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.”

Jesus is not capricious like earthly rulers. Although this sounds like despotic rule, another look at the original Hebrew words gives the sense that He will shatter the evil to reshape the nations with His rod or sceptre of authority, like a potter who works on clay, removing the impurities and creating a vessel to His serve purposes (understood).

His standards are those of a perfect government which are… justice, righteousness and peace.

Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV
[6] “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. [7] Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.”

God set the standard for earthly government…two requirements, to punish wrongdoing and to reward those who do right.

Romans 13:1, 3-4, 6 NIV
[1] “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God…
[3] For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. [4] For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer…
[6] This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.”

Human government, however imperfect, should be a reflection of the government of God’s kingdom.

However, even if it fails, and even if people are oppressed by wicked and despotic rulers, of one thing we can be absolutely sure. Jesus rules over the nations now. He is moving all history towards His intended end. He is coming again to shatter all evil and to establish His eternal kingdom of righteousness, justice, and peace.

Romans 14:17 NIV
[17] “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit”…

So, don’t despair. Jesus is here. Jesus is in charge. Jesus is coming again. You see, God has already set up His throne in Zion and crowned His king to rule over the nations and, what’s more, He has given His people the honour of ruling with Him when He comes.


Who Is This?

Bible Study, , , , ,

WHO IS THIS?

That day when evening came, He said to His disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd behind, they took Him along, just as He was, in the boat. There were also other boats with Him.

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was on the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to Him. ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to His disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’ They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!’ (Mark 4: 35-41).

Such a familiar story that it hardly moves us any more. Of course we know who this is – Jesus, the Son of God!

But put yourself in the shoes of these twelve men. They thought that they were learning to be disciples of the latest graduate from the Beth Talmid. However, they soon began to realise that, in following Jesus they had bitten off more than they could chew. He just was not what they expected.

First of all, He was unpredictable. Just when they thought they were with a very successful rabbi, crowds following Him, amazing teaching flowing from Him, He took off for another place and started all over again. Why didn’t He stay in one place and build His ministry where He was successful?

Then He kept falling foul of the authorities. Sometimes it was quite embarrassing – the way they attacked Him and the way He talked back to them. Fairly undressed them with His words! One thing they realised – He was smart. The religious types tried to get the better of Him but they could not get it right. He always had an answer right out of the Torah and, enraged though they became, the boffins knew in their hearts that He was right. This didn’t make for good relations with the authorities. Somehow His disciples knew that He would overstep the mark and the religious leaders would get Him.

But He didn’t seem to care. He had His own agenda and no amount of antagonism or opposition He aroused seemed to slow Him down. It was as though He was being guided from another source – not His circumstances but a Person with whom He was in intimate contact all the time.

Did He know, when He decided to go on a boat ride, that He was about to take His men into a crisis? Why put their lives in danger? He knew very well how the weather behaved on the Galilean lake – one moment bright sunshine and calm, the next a furious wind whipping up huge waves on the water. Perhaps He wasn’t aware of what was about to happen. After all, didn’t He take things as they came?

He was worn out after all the teaching and healing and clamouring crowds, desperate people all wanting attention. He also needed to take time out and where better than on the other side of the lake where He could escape the people for a little while? The boat had hardly set sail when He fell asleep on a cushion. How considerate of Peter to have a cushion in the boat just for Him!

Then the wind began to blow. Clouds gathered and blotted out the sunlight. The once sunny sky turned dark and gloomy. The calm water was whipped up into mountainous waves. The tiny craft rose and dipped like a cork on the water. The frightened men tried desperately to keep the boat facing the waves so that they would not be swamped and capsize but, in spite of their experience and their strength, these seasoned fisherman were losing the battle.

And Jesus slept through it all! How could He sleep in the midst of such a furore? The disciples were not only afraid, they were indignant. Didn’t He care about them? At least He could help them although He didn’t know anything about sailing a boat!

They shook Him awake with a sharp rebuke. “Don’t you care what happens to us?” Jesus nonchalantly stood up and spoke to the storm. Just like that! How would that help? “Be quiet!” He commanded the wind. “Be still!” He rebuked the waves. And it happened. One minute they were up on a crest and down in a trough and the next, perfect calm, clouds gone, sun out as though it had never happened.

The disciples were stunned. How did He do that? Another startling experience to add to their list of baffling questions. Who was this Man? Then He turned on them. “What is wrong with you guys? Why are you so scared? Don’t you trust me?” Was this the reason for this outing – to expose them to another aspect of their Master so that they would grow an unshakeable trust and conviction that He was, indeed, the Son of God?

One day they would have to answer His question, “Who do you say that I am?”

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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If You Believe

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IF YOU BELIEVE 

“‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died…'” John 11:21 NIV.

“‘Yes, Lord,’ she replied, ‘I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.’ John 11:27 NIV.

How important these moments were with Martha before Jesus went to the tomb! He knew what He was doing. His delay and Lazarus’ death were part of a much bigger plan but…He needed to re-establish the bond of trust between Him and the sisters before He could give them their miracle.

“When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’” John 11:32 NIV

They were disillusioned and disappointed because He had failed them in their crisis. The first words they uttered when they saw Him revealed their heart attitude. Betrayal! He had betrayed their trust and they let Him know it.

He was straight with Martha. She was the practical one, the tough one, the vocal one, the one who took the lead. No words of rebuke in response! He made a simple, straightforward statement: ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha had a general appreciation of that fact but it did not ease the pain of losing her brother. Jesus knew that.

He took her on, one step at a time from acknowledging her belief in the resurrection to centring it on the one who stood before her. ‘I AM…’ Jesus assured her. Did she get the impact of that statement? No-one could claim to be I AM except the God who revealed His name to Moses in the desert. She answered Jesus’ challenge with an affirmation of her conviction that He was who He had revealed Himself to be…God’s Son and Messiah.

“…Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ‘Take away the stone,’ He said. ‘But, Lord,’ said Martha, the sister of the dead man, ‘by this time there is a bad odour, for he has been there four days.’

“Then Jesus said, ‘Did I not tell you that, if you believe you will see the glory of God?'” John 11:38-40 NIV.

No, the impact of Jesus’ statement had not yet hit Martha. She did not connect the I AM with the rotting corpse in the tomb. Jesus was about to show her just how real resurrection was. This was not the final resurrection when bodies long decayed and returned to dust would come out of the graves, refashioned into the likeness of His glorious body, yet to be revealed after He too, like Lazarus, had tasted death; but God’s power, nevertheless, was displayed in bringing a decomposing body back to flesh-and-blood life!

Martha’s embryo faith had not yet reached that level of trust but, from Jesus’ point of view it was faith enough, although it was as minute as a grain of mustard seed. There was a flutter of hope; the connection had been made and He could reverse the process of death and show the grieving sisters and all who were there to sympathise with them the mercy and compassion of God.

What lesson did the sisters learn from this painful experience? What can we take for ourselves from the story? Is it worth trusting God when He seems silent and unmoved by our plea for help? If He says nothing, does nothing, never give in to the devil’s lie, ‘God does not care.’ He is preparing for a much bigger miracle, one that will put His glory on display and leave no doubt of His love and His power.

“God will not answer your prayers until He had put all the structures in place to maintain that answer.” His only answer is, “Will you trust me?”

Dead And Disillusioned

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DEAD AND DISILLUSIONED

 “On His arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him, but Mary stayed at home.

“‘Lord,’ Martha said to Jesus, ‘if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.’

“Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha answered, ‘I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?'” John 11:18-26 NIV.

Two worlds! Two perspectives! Two sisters; Martha and Mary — disappointed, disillusioned, devastated! Were they more distraught about Jesus’ failure to come when they needed Him than they were about the death of their brother? Like Job, the Lord whom they passionately loved and believed in was not there for them in their darkest hour.

When He did finally arrive it was too late. Did He miss the seriousness of Lazarus’ illness? Was this the one time in His life when He was out of touch with reality? His head in the clouds, had He misjudged the whole situation and fallen short of their trust?

Martha was quick to respond to His arrival. She had to let Him know how she felt about His behaviour. Her rebuke fell from her lips before she had time to think. She blurted out her disappointment, perhaps in the hopes that she might at least get an apology from Him. Does God ever have to apologise? Perhaps an explanation? Something beyond His control had delayed Him and He was ever so sorry that He could not come in time…

Another world! Another perspective! Jesus; the Son of God — fully aware of what was going on in the natural as well as the unseen world. His delay had been purposeful, fully under the Father’s control. There was something bigger in this situation than another healing to notch up on His proverbial belt. This was a setup from God to give those nearest to Jesus — as well as His opponents — the biggest shakeup of their lives.

Of course He knew exactly what was happening! This was no error in timing or in judgement. Everything was perfectly on course, including Lazarus’ death and what was to follow. He had to wait until the spirit of the dead man, whom the Jews believed remained in the vicinity for four days before leaving, had finally departed for the other realm.

His response was not an apology or an explanation, as Martha possibly expected. Instead Jesus spoke some of the profoundest and most riveting — and comforting — words He had ever uttered. At first Martha misunderstood His reassurance, ‘Your brother will rise again.’

We do not know what Jesus had taught this little family during the times He spent in their home. No doubt, from Martha’s response, He had fleshed out with them the hope of resurrection which was not much more than a vague idea in the Old Testament writings. Martha had the comfort of knowing that there was a life to come, but that did little to ease ache of her loss. She needed something more substantial to fill the terrible void left by her brother’s death.

Jesus’ beautiful plan was much more imminent than that. He was there — Jehovah Shamma; Immanuel — God in the flesh, and wherever He was, He reversed everything the curse had brought to mankind. He was the Lamb of God, slain from before the foundation of the world. In Him was life and the power to restore life, both physical and spiritual. What He needed was a response of trust from the two sisters who were the link between Jesus and their brother.

He was not out of options. Did Martha believe that? Did she realise that everything He did was purposeful? No, He had not misjudged anything. He was about to reveal, through the death of their brother, everything that He was — the Son of God who had overcome the enemy’s most vicious weapon — death! Lazarus would live again — for now; the day was coming that they would all live again — forever; Lazarus, their brother would be the incontrovertible sign that not even the Jews could deny.

“I AM the resurrection and the life.”