God's Government Will Stand

 Matthew Poole was a great writer of the seventeenth century.  He lived from 1624 to 1679.  I have come to love his commentary of the Scriptures.  I love his insight and wording of explanations.  The following post is his explanation of Judges 2:16, which I began discussing in the last post, "Nevertheless".   I feel this short explanation speaks volumes of the kind of government we desire to be under.  And it's such a logical and exemplary standard, I wanted to share it as we approach this most controversial and convoluted election we will be facing in 24 days.  What a government this would be!!

And by the way, Mr. Poole uses the 1611 translation of the KJV.  But the commentary translates the old English to the English we use today.  Judges 2:16, "Nevertheless, the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them."  He writes: "The Lord raises them up, by inward inspiration and excitation of their minds and hearts and by outward designation, testified by some heroical and extraordinary action."  And the following is the practical and moral description of these men, God's judges.  They were "supreme magistrates, whose office it was, under God, and by His particular direction, to govern the commonwealth of Israel by God's laws, and to protect and save them from their enemies; to preserve and purge religion; to maintain the liberties of the people against all oppressors."  All I can say (because I am not gifted with words) is WOW!  

WOW!  "Under God.  God's laws.  Protect and save from their enemies.  Preserve and purge religion.  Maintain liberties of the people against all oppressors".  What's not to love about that kind of leadership?  This must be our daily prayer.  And most especially, this must be the "self-government" of each individual as well!  We, as believers, through Jesus Christ, must govern ourselves, if we are to hope for and seek a better way of life for our country!  That is where we can begin and that is where we must start.

And how did God's people of that time respond?  Verse 17 says, "And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them; they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obey the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so."  

"Rise up O men of God, have done with lesser things.  Give heart and soul and mind and strength, to serve the King of Kings."  Have done with lesser things!  God's government does and will stand!

Nevertheless

 In the book of Judges, we see once again, as in all the former history of Israel, a pattern of "forsaking the LORD, their God".  Joshua had led well and the people were blessed by God's favor as they followed the godly leadership of His servant Joshua.

Joshua exhorts the people to "fear and serve God in sincerity and truth and put away other gods".  (A great topic for a post another time!)  But Joshua dies and while the people served for a time, Judges 2:10 tells us "another generation arose who did not know the LORD nor yet the work He had done for Israel".  They continually provoked God to anger and found themselves God less.  They would no longer stand against their enemies with success.  They become "greatly distressed".  (v. 15)

Oh, my, what a picture of our own nation!  And not just now in 2020!  It's been going this way for many years.  But listen to this amazing mercy and love of God toward His people in the midst of turmoil, "Nevertheless"!  I so love this translation's rendition of this word.  My NASB says, "then" which is a time word.  But "nevertheless" is a word of mercy!  Dictionary meaning: even so, yet though, in spite of that, be that as it may, regardless and the list goes on.  While God's hand went against this stubborn people (and  that is not just Israel, but a picture of the human race in its entirety), "nevertheless, the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them".

What could be written is "because of His great love and by His mercy, He had compassion on them and provided, yet again, a way out of their great distress".  This is our God, Who does not change.  His mercies, Jeremiah says in Lamentations, "are new every morning".  I'll stop there and continue in my next post.

Random

 "Will I ever feel contented like I'm good enough to be.  All the things in my mind that I invented.  Will I ever feel like I deserve the happiness I seek.  Or will I always be tormented.  Is it wicked to wish for something more?  For a glory or a guarantee?  Will my heart sound like a whisper or a roar?  And will I ever see...what you see in me?"  [Song: "Indigo" by Roan Yellowthorn]

I identify with those words.  Well, an identity that was me before I came to understand the gospel.  The cry of the human heart is real.  And while I don't want to minimize the cry of the heart of this young lady, she's definitely not alone in this search for meaning.  And while she may feel alone, she is surrounded by a world that longs for this same hope, happiness, and guarantee.

Before I learned the truth about humanity and God, that unquenchable longing for identity, for validity became for me a goal that kept running from me, an illusive desire completely out of my reach.  One day I cried out and a process began that is only explainable as supernatural.  I began reading the Bible, a book I never desired to read and "behold, all things became new"!   And for over forty years, the process, called sanctification has been more meaningful than anything else and yet it colors everything else.  

Christ is our contentment, happiness, glory, and yes, a guarantee.  He whispers and He roars.  And I have heard Him through His word use both means to speak.  In fact, all believers do.  Hosea writes in 11:10, He will roar like a lion.  And when He roars, His children shall come trembling..."  In 1 Kings 19, "And behold the LORD passed by , and a great strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the LORD , but the LORD was not in the wind.  And after the wind, an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.  And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire.  After the fire, the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out stood at the entrance of the cave.

"And will I ever see what you see in me?"  Who she was writing about in this line, I'm not sure.  But using the same words, when Christ saves a person, what God sees in me and everyone else who have put their trust in Him, is the love He showed us.  The love of His putting Himself in our place and taking the punishment for sin.  And now, as long as there is a "now", offering us the hope in His name to understand the meaning of life and the freedom from sin and rescue from torment forever.

Was it random that I came upon this song?  No, nothing is ever "random".  It's tied up orderly in the Sovereignty of God, every detail.  And now what is our responsibility to this?

In One Day

"...I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day."  "The spiritual meaning discovers the Messiah the chief Corner-stone, the gospel church founded thereon, guided by the perfect wisdom and preserved by never-erring Providence, and blest with the pardon of all her sins, taken away in one day, by the meritorious death of her Redeemer." writes Matthew Poole.

Amazing and life-changing words!  To just say "wow" shows the lack of vocabulary of this barely novice writer.  Our entire universe was created in six days.  Not because of God's need to take that long, but because that is the order in which He desired to create.  Man plunged the entire human race into a desolate state by just one act.  And Jesus resolved that act in just one moment of one day for all people in all time.  As the book of Zechariah 3:9 says, "in one day."  You may say, "so what?"

So, what Jesus did "in one day" was to restore the order lost by removing the sins of God's people.  The church, "the whole church" says Poole, "in gospel days, when Christ, the chief Cornerstone, shall have purged away sin, and established his church."  And as verse ten goes on to enlighten us, "In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree."  Mr. Poole's explanation of "shall ye call every man his neighbor" is beautiful: "invite with love, and peace, such as becomes neighbors, who are partakers of the same grace of God, and blessings of a Redeemer."  And for the remainder of that verse which describes the shade and fruit, he writes, "to feast or refresh themselves under the pleasing shadow, and with the sweet, delicious fruit of the vine and fig tree, of both which there were ever greatest store, and of choicest taste, when the people of God, the Jews, did obey, worship, and fear the Lord, and long for the Messiah, and loved each other."

That is what the church is suppose to be about.  I'm not talking about church in the broad sense but the true church of the Living God; the people of God that love and live His word.  No, not perfectly, but with a bent on perfection and desire to continually throw off everything that hinders and look more and more like the LORD of Life who pardoned their sin and began a transformation process in them.  Come to Christ!  All you who are weak and heavy, come to Him Who pardons, forgives, loves and cares for you like no one ever will!  He will do that for you in one moment of "one day".

Desired Clusters

"Woe is me!  for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit."  (Micah 7:1)  The prophet, Micah, is, in the last chapter of his book, bemoaning the loss of godly men. However, as he meditates on the known goodness of His God, he has hope.  Much like Jeremiah in chapter three of Lamentations, he remembers, therefore he has hope.  And like all true prophets of God, when they take advantage of time spent with God, know that hope is certain.  God's word, above everything, is all anyone can ever hope to expect to be their fulfillment and peace and thus their hope.

Hope is what keeps our faith and foundation secure while we live on this uncertain earth.  And at a time like a pandemic, when we are not able to meet together with others of like mind, it is of the utmost importance to stay in the Word.  There is nothing new under the sun and the Word of God is a resource of encouragement of how godly men of the past rested under adverse circumstances.  The prophet, Micah, was a man just like us, living in a time of confusion, fear, and ungodliness.  As he comes to the end of his prophecy, he cries, "woe is me."  Why?  His hope is shaken.  The godly men are scarce.  He has little camaraderie.

Sounds familiar as our churches cannot meet.  But we do have technology!  I have bemoaned it (technology) much.  But God has used it to encourage us in so many ways during this uncertain time.  And as Micah bemoans the lack of men to which he can talk, we may not be able to meet, but we can talk.  Email, texts, phone, you tube, and livestream have been a great encouragement to me.  Micah had none of that and his complaint is heartbreaking.

Israel and Judah should have been a fruitful vine, full of clusters, yet they were barren.  There was no cluster to eat.  Micah longed for the delight of discourse with godly men.  It's a godly man's encouragement in the pains of life.  Matthew Poole writes in his explanation of Micah's "woe": "Such good converse would as much delight, refresh, and encourage me, as a fair cluster of grapes doth a thirsty and hungry person, but there is not one such cluster."  No desired cluster of discourse for Micah's woe.  He does, however, rest in God's promises by the end of the chapter.

We, above many, have rest as well.  Yes, let us praise God for the times we live, in which we can enjoy the benefits of technology.  But remember, it is the Word of God that is the root of any encouragement.  God is the source of all good things, and it's Him, from which all our encouragement will ever make us the resolute and godly people we must be to be used as lights in this darkness.  And this, above all things, is our work.  This is, indeed, our fulfilling rest.

Seek God and Live

"Hear this word..."  What a light in the darkness is this Word of God.  What a cure for what ails us.  How does one see the light in the darkness and the cure for our hurts?   "Seek Me that you may live." In chapter five of Amos, this statement is repeated three times. "Seeking God is being in tune to everything that we see in His Word", Matthew Poole commentates, "The law is sweet, pleasing and safe for all."

Ask about it.  Repent of despising it.  Obey it in all things for the future.  Inquire diligently what promises God has made and wait for them.  Believe, obey, repent; for this is to seek the LORD.

Who is He? (v. 8)  He is the One Who made the stars, with all the constellations, and not only made them but guides and manages them.  He turns the greatest adversity into the greatest prosperity, yet change prosperity to adversity.   He renews strength in you to spoil your spoilers (defeat enemies). "
In verse 14, it tells us to "seek good and not evil".  We must cry out as undone, dispirited and hopeless men.  Are we there yet?  God is patient not wanting any to perish.  Let us bask in His patience and listen to His Word.  Seek God and live.  He is the cure.  And our need is great!

Worthless Worship

Worship is the sincere consideration (looking intently; thinking carefully) and adoration of the One True God.  Apart from that, it is worthless worship or another way to say it, no worship, empty worship or just take away the word "worship" altogether.  This is not just an opinion but comes from the source where we come to understand God in the first place.

Amos, chapters four through five give us some details in relation to what God thinks about "invented" worship.  I won't copy all the passage here, although it would be a good read to understand.  But God talks about their sacrifices, offerings, tithes to Him, yet to other gods as well.  He talks about their "fat" way of life living on beds of ease while they oppress the poor and crush the needy.  Mr. Poole writes the following in regard to their worthless religion fraught with ceremony and devoid of worship:  "You think you please Me?  You invented it, so it pleaseth you and you will not be reclaimed.  Your worship is yours.  It is unwarranted will worship and displeasing to God."

Then God gives them several head's up affirmations of His control with warnings that should have affected their course.  In Amos 4:6, God says, "I gave you also cleanness of teeth in all your cities..." (famine), yet this starving people repented not of idolatries.  "I forbade the cloud and withhold the rain", Poole says, "that you might see My hand, all to convince you and turn you", 'yet, you have not returned'.  I have inflicted you with other judgments as well (v. 9), yet you have not returned'. (v 10)  "I have overthrown you and house and goods just like Sodom and Gomorrah, yet you have not returned."  Five times in this chapter, God blesses these people with His merciful warnings, yet they did not return.  Consequence comes in verse twelve: "Prepare to meet Thy God."

"God! Who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and makes the morning dark.  God! The most dreadful and terrible enemy and the most desirable friend.  Though you bring the most excellent sacrifice and leave your heart to sin, you have no warrant from God."  What warnings is He giving us today?  An ongoing theme in all these prophets is repeated, "consider, repent, obey."  It's that simple. And we will all meet our God, but we will not all live with Him eternally.  We must heed the warnings because they are just as numerous as in the past.  If we are breathing, we can still receive His mercy through the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ, the Son of His love.  "While we were sinners, Christ died for us."