The Door Does Not Remain Open Forever - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 24:20b,

"... in the end he [the Lord] thrust them [Judah] from his presence."

Here is the frightful observation of Judah's disposition with the Lord in King Zedekiah's day. Due to the rejection of the Lord by the people of Judah, they managed to find the threshold of his judgment of them. Gone is the Lord's good will toward his people. Gone is his favor. Gone is his mercy and kindness toward them. All they have left is the Lord's condemnation of them. All they have is the Lord's judgment of them. All the survivors have left is captivity in a foreign land with absolutely no prospect for help or deliverance from the Lord they themselves rejected.

They brought it all, entirely, upon themselves. The Lord had sent his prophets to them. The Lord had provided them with his Scriptures from Moses on down. The Lord had given them fair warning. The Lord had provided them a taste of what their judgment would be if they persisted in their rejection of him. Yet, they remained aloof and captivated by false religion as they rejected the Lord and all his warnings to his covenanted people.

I can't help but think of people today. The Lord has provided us his Scriptures. God has provided us his Son, Jesus Christ. He has provided for us an opportunity to have our own sins forgiven through his atonement. The Lord has provided those who bring the gospel. He has given us fair warning of his judgment. And, yet, look at all who continue to reject him.

Where will these folks who reject the Lord be on his great and gloomy day of wrath? What will become of them? "they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur" Revelation 21:8. We also read, "Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:15.

Just as Judah was warned of the coming wrath of the Lord for their rejection of him, so all mankind has been warned of the coming wrath of the Lord for our rejection of him. Just as Judah found their fortunes to be lost in an existence of captivity and misery, so all mankind will find their fortunes to be lost in that fiery lake of burning sulfur if we reject him in this life.

Judah had a door to respond to the Lord. That door was open for a long, long time. They refused the Lord. I am reminded that we have a door to embrace the Lord. That door has been open for a long time. However, just as Judah's door was slammed shut, so the Lord's offer to us will one day be slammed shut. The door is only open for a time... but there is a shelf life connected with the Lord's offer to us, just as it was with Judah.

"It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31. "God is a consuming fire." Hebrews 12:29. All he asks of us is to embrace him in faith. May we all respond to the Lord's invitation to us while the door is still open. It will certain close one day, just as it did with Judah.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The Simple Way of the Scriptures - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 23:24-25,

 

 "Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the Lord. Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did—with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses."

 

Not all the kings in Judah were bad. All were bad in the northern ten tribes following the division of the nation after Solomon's rule, but King Josiah of Judah had a heart for  the Lord.

 

As king, Josiah set himself to follow the Lord and to provide leadership in moving the nation to follow the Lord as well. All he did, we are told, he did to fulfill the requirements of the Scriptures. Following the Scriptures was Josiah's key in following the Lord.

 

We are told in 2 Peter 1:20-21 that the Scriptures come from God himself. "Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit." In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 we read, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

When the Scriptures were found in the temple when Josiah was king, Josiah read them. Understanding the truths that would later be taught us in 2 Peter and 2 Timothy, it was the Scriptures Josiah followed to steer the nation back to the Lord.

Unfortunately for Judah, their sinful preoccupation with the various religions of the day brought the Lord's judgment of them, and in spite of Josiah's efforts, Judah would suffer the same fate as the northern ten tribes a century earlier.

Not to be missed, however, was King Josiah's leadership for the rest of all mankind to observe: find the Scriptures, read the Scriptures, and then act on the Scriptures. This is how we are to please our God. This is how we are to serve our God. This is precisely why the Lord has provided us the Scriptures.

We don't need popes and priests. We don't need temples, basilicas, cathedrals and church buildings. We don't need liturgy and vestments. We simply don't need the trappings of the various conflicting and self-serving churches and "movements" that all claim to enjoy God's singular approval.

All we need are the Scriptures to inform us as to how to please and serve our living God - the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Scriptures that point to Jesus Christ and his atoning sacrifice for our sins. The Scriptures that tells us of the faith and trust with which we are to embrace him with.

Find the Scriptures, read the Scriptures and order our lives by the Scriptures.

 

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

 

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

 

Trevor Fisk

trevor.fisk@gmail.com

 

Loneliness in Harboring a Passion for the Lord - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 22:14,

"Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter. She said to them 'This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says...'"

A hundred years after the Lord had the northern ten tribes of Israel destroyed due to their rejection of him, Judah was found to be so distant from the Lord, no one knew the Scriptures even existed! As astonishing as it may seem, what was left of the nation Israel had strayed from the Lord completely and entirely. Not even King Josiah, one of the precious few kings of Judah that had a heart for the Lord, knew what the Lord had provided the nation in terms of the law of Moses and the inspired writings of the prophets.

But the Lord had his remnant of believers as he always does. Huldah, the prophetess, was consulted and the Lord spoke to the king through her.

I wonder how Huldah felt living in a nation that had abandoned her God. I have to think she may have felt somewhat lonely living in an age among people that refused to acknowledge the Lord her God.

While we may not be gifted with an occupation of prophecy as was Huldah, we may, nonetheless, feel a certain loneliness at times, living among people who either outright refuse to acknowledge God or, who, through the artificial trappings of religiosity, do not share our genuine heart for our wonderful God.

I am reminded of what Paul had to say as he certainly considered his own loneliness relative to the people he loved so much, in their rejection of God, "I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: 'Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me'? And what was God's answer to him? 'I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.'" Romans 11:1-4.

While Paul's words were spoken relative to the question of Israel's then current situation with God relative to their rejection of their Savior, I have to think his own words were a comfort to himself as he considered their rejection of God. In a previous chapter of Romans Paul said, "I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel." Romans 9:1-4a.

Regardless of how lonely we may feel at times, given the small number of folks we may know who actually have a heart of passion for the Lord, we need to take heart as Paul did in realizing there really is a number of us "out there." 

I suspect Huldah could have certainly used Paul's encouraging words at times in her day.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

God Does Not Change! - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 21:10-15,

"The Lord said through his servants the prophets: 'Manasseh king of Judah has committed these detestable sins. He has done more evil than the Amorites who preceded him and has led Judah into sin with his idols. Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. I will stretch out over Jerusalem the measuring line used against Samaria and the plumb line used against the house of Ahab. I will wipe out Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance and give them into the hands of enemies. They will be looted and plundered by all their enemies; they have done evil in my eyes and have aroused my anger from the day their ancestors came out of Egypt until this day.'"

Manasseh's father, King Hezekiah, had removed the objects of idol worship in Judah. Where the folks had turned their backs on the Lord to serve worthless objects of stone and wood, Hezekiah sought to return the nation to recognizing the rightful place the Lord should have always had in Israel. However, given that sinful proclivity of mankind to turn from our Creator, Judah, in King Manasseh's lifetime, brought the objects of idol worship back into the mainstream of Judah's society and worship.

The one thing that stands out to me in the Lord's words here is that he never, ever changes! Not in the least. He set aside Israel as a people for himself, the people he would use to roll out his program of redemption to all mankind. As the Lord's covenanted people, they not only shared in the blessings that accrued to them as God's people, but they also had responsibilities.

As Judah turned this way and that in their relationship to the Lord, the Lord himself never changed. All he asked of his people, he continued to expect. As his people turned from him, he took those steps as needed to keep his redemption of mankind on track. In short, the Lord's program of redemption stayed on track, not as a result of the faithfulness of his people but in spite of the lack of it.

God never "evolves". Our society, in its collective imagination, fancies itself as being "on the cutting edge" and moves from one priority to the next. Thinking we are "advancing" by turning to this or that from season to season, our society is most often simply "devolving". Gay marriage, LGBT whatever, dredged up from the dark past of lost and fallen mankind has been around for millennia and is a quintessential return to the dark past. "As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool returns to his folly." This pretty well sums up the "evolving" we see today.

God is not like that. What was known about God in Moses day was "operational" in Manasseh's day. What was know about God when all the Scriptures were written is yet operational today, exactly as told us by the Scriptures... and will be throughout all eternity. God does not change.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The Comfort and Encouragement of a Miracle - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 20:9-10,

"Isaiah answered, 'This is the Lord's sign to you [King Hezekiah] that the Lord will do what he has promised: Shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or shall it go back ten steps?' 'It is a simple matter for the shadow to go forward ten steps,' said Hezekiah. 'Rather, have it go back ten steps.'"

Judah's King Hezekiah was told by the Lord through the prophet Isaiah that he was going to die from some kind of illness that involved a boil. When Hezekiah heard it, he prayed to the Lord and "wept bitterly", verse 3. In response, the Lord had Isaiah return to the king and tell him he would extend his life an additional fifteen years and deliver Jerusalem from the threat of Assyria.

When Isaiah had returned with the news from the Lord, Hezekiah asked for some kind of sign these things would take place. The Lord provided a choice for Hezekiah as to what sign he would like to see: either the shadow on the "stairway of Ahaz" go forward ten steps or backward ten steps. Since the natural course of events would be for the shadow to continue in its progress, Hezekiah chose the other - to have the shadow reverse itself by ten steps. In verse eleven we read, "Then the prophet Isaiah called on the Lord, and the Lord made the shadow go back the ten steps it had gone down on the stairway of Ahaz." A true miracle! Hezekiah was healed and the city was delivered from the hand of the king of Assyria.

I have several thoughts on this as I consider it again this morning. The first is that Hezekiah's request for some kind of a sign he would be healed and the city spared manifests a certain lack of faith on Hezekiah's part. It seems to me the word of the Lord through Isaiah should have been enough. I am reminded that faith is never perfect.

Hezekiah's appeal to the Lord in prayer to deliver him and the city (implied from the Lord's response) was heartfelt. As he made his request to the Lord, we are told he wept "bitterly".

It seems to me that there was no compelling reason the Lord should have provided Hezekiah this sign other than the Lord's compassion and kindness. He provided the sign to Hezekiah, possibly in light of what we see of Hezekiah in his prayer. He told the Lord, "Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes." Verse 3.

It was important to Hezekiah. For me, I find it just like the Lord to express his compassion in this kind of way. Hezekiah really should have only needed the Lord's word to be convinced of what the Lord said he would do - yet he provided Hezekiah the comfort and encouragement of the miracle.

It brings to mind the many accounts of Jesus' post-resurrection appearances to his followers. As people of faith, we should not need the "proof" of his resurrection, but look at the comfort and encouragement his appearances brought his followers then, and us today!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Horror Awaits Those Opposed to the Lord - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 19:10-13,

"Say to Hezekiah king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, 'Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of Assyria.' Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying them completely. And will you be delivered? Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my predecessors deliver them—the gods of Gozan, Harran, Rezeph and the people of Eden who were in Tel Assar? Where is the king of Hamath or the king of Arpad? Where are the kings of Lair, Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah?"

This was the word King Sennacherib of Assyria sent to King Hezekiah of Judah following the prophet Isaiah's word to Hezekiah that the Lord would deliver Judah from an earlier threat to Judah Sennacherib had made.

Assyria had destroyed a number of her neighbors and the confidence with which Sennacherib threatened Judah is clear in the tone of his message to Hezekiah. It is the kind of misplaced confidence so many have prior to having a confrontation with the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob.

Through Isaiah, the Lord encouraged the good King Hezekiah and with these frightful words, "I [the Lord] know where you [Sennacharib] are and when you come and go and how you rage against me. Because you rage against me and because your insolence has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth, and I will make you return by the way you came." Sennacherib would find his comeuppance.

And, as always with the word of the Lord, this is exactly what happened. A hundred and eighty-five thousand troops in the Assyrian camp were put to death that night. Sennacherib fled to Nineveh and was subsequently killed by his own sons.

I am reminded of the words, "It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31. Words of wisdom to all today who may thumb their nose at the living God.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Does a Reversal Indicate God's Unhappiness With Us? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 18:5-7,13,

"Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him; he kept the commands the Lord had given Moses. And the Lord was with him; he was successful in whatever he undertook...  In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah's reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked all the fortified cities of Judah and captured them."

Following King Solomon, there was none better in Judah than King Hezekiah. We are told he held fast to the Lord and the Lord was with him. That being the case, why did Hezekiah suffer the humiliation of the loss of all the fortified cities of Judah?

Somewhere along the line these days, the notion has sprung up that if we please the Lord everything will go well in our lives. Easy street. God has a wonderful plan for our lives: if we trust in him he will take away all of our problems, all of our frustrations, all of our challenges. He loves us, right? Since he does, then he doesn't want us sick or poor, dies he? Since we are his children he wants to take away all of our problems, right?

That kind of thinking comes from outside the Scriptures. None of it is true. Yes, the Lord does love us and he does care for his own. But to extrapolate that beyond the Scriptures is a fool's errand and only results in less mature believers becoming disillusioned and disappointed. Believers in Jesus Christ perhaps suffer more harm, more disappointment, more challenge, more difficulty than many others.

Consider a few passages: "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline." Revelation 3:19. "'My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.' Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children." Hebrews 12:5-7.

How about this passage: "Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions." Hebrews 10:32-34.

The mindless notion that if we do good, we will experience only what we define as "good" in our lives is misplaced. It ignores the agenda the Lord has of building his kingdom and that the part we may play in it just may be painful from time to time.

Maturity brings with it the understanding Paul points us to, "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." Romans 8:36.

Both the work the Lord does in our lives, and, at times, the things he may want to accomplish through us, may be very painful at times. It could very well be that the greatest blessing we ever receive from the Lord is given when we are in the most painful position we find ourselves in.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

On Being Valuable to God's Agenda - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 17:14-15,

"They [the Israelites] would not listen and were as stiff-necked as their ancestors, who did not trust in the Lord their God. They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless."

This chapter in 2 Kings provides some of the details concerning the last king, Hoshea, of the northern tribes of divided Israel. It explains what happened when the Assyrians attacked and destroyed them. A part of the account enumerates why the Lord had the ten tribes destroyed- the above two verses are a sample.

The bottom line is that the people had rejected God. They failed to place their faith and trust in him and to live that out by following the "decrees and the covenant he [the Lord their God] had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep."

What catches my eye this morning is the observation they "became worthless." In what sense? We are told they became as worthless as the idols they turned from God to embrace. Did it mean the Lord no longer loved them? That cannot be the case, as it is the very of love of God for lost and fallen sinners that prompted him to send his Son to pay for the many sins committed by all mankind. Israel "became worthless", but all of mankind is unworthy of anything from God.

The thought strikes me that the sense of "worthless" the Israelites had become relates to the overriding agenda of the Lord: his program of redemption. God chose the offspring of Abraham (God's example of a man of faith to us), the nation of Israel, as the tool through which he would prepare the world for his coming Son. He chose to use them to tell the world about his coming, he used the religious calendar of the nation, the temple and the worship to be practiced there, the priesthood, the prophecies, the Scriptures as a whole. He provided a unique lineage to bring Jesus Christ into God's own creation through Israel to provide a sacrifice of atonement for mankind that those who embrace him in faith become heirs of salvation.

However, Israel had placed themselves in a position of being entirely useless to the Lord for his purposes and so he made course corrections for the nation. As history tells us, the Lord was very effective at preparing the nation through the destruction of the northern ten tribes by Assyria and later, the destruction of Judah by Babylon, and the resulting rebuilding of it to provide the context for the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ to find its fulfillment.

It was that uselessness Israel had brought herself to relative to the agenda of God that made her worthless. Through the destruction that ravaged the nation, the Lord took what man had made worthless and brought about the singularly most significant event ever to have occurred in God's creation - the atonement for the sins of mankind and the launch of God's great program of redemption. The building of God's kingdom among man!

We all have a part to play in the building of God's kingdom. May we all avail ourselves of the Scriptures to find our part to play in God's agenda and may we all be found to have worth to God in his agenda of building his kingdom!

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
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Ahaz's "Improvement" Over the Things of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 16:15-16,

"King Ahaz then gave these orders to Uriah the priest: 'On the large new altar, offer the morning burnt offering and the evening grain offering, the king's burnt offering and his grain offering, and the burnt offering of all the people of the land, and their grain offering and their drink offering. Splash against this altar the blood of all the burnt offerings and sacrifices. But I will use the bronze altar for seeking guidance.' And Uriah the priest did just as King Ahaz had ordered."

Ahaz, the twelfth monarch to reign in Judah following the death of Solomon did it his own way. Rather than immersing himself in the Scriptures provided through Moses, with the directions and design provided for the temple and its worship, this evil king "evolved" and had things done up his way.

Enamored with an altar he had seen in pagan Assyria, he had the priest Uriah build one and then rearranged the layout of the temple furnishings to suit himself. Apparently, the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob held little interest for him as he revamped the things of the Lord in a manner he desired.

I can't help but think of the many today who hold the Lord in their hearts with so little importance. Rather than seeking him, folks follow their own desires and their own direction. They "evolve" on gay-marriage. They discard the notion of the sanctity of human life, something that rightfully belongs in the hands of the Lord. Rather than living, working and pursuing their lives in the nations the Lord has provided us, so many have a better idea - a global community. 

King Ahaz of Judah is not much different than so many today. The things of the Lord are unimportant to them and in arrogance and rebellion, they rearrange life to suit their own limited ideas.

What will they do on the day the Lord Jesus Christ returns and brings his justice as a massive freight train to run through all of the fantasies of mankind? How far will their "better" ideas get them? King Ahaz was a fool, and we have so many just like him today. I counted myself among that number... until I had my "come to Jesus" moment.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

No Challenge to the Lord Thwarts His Agenda - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 15:8-9,

"In the thirty-eighth year of Azariah king of Judah, Zechariah son of Jeroboam became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned six months. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his predecessors had done. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit."

Zechariah became the fourteenth of the nineteen kings the northern ten tribes of Israel had, following the split in Israel years earlier after old King Solomon passed away. As with all the kings of the northern kingdom, Zechariah "did evil in the eyes of the Lord."

The southern kingdom of Israel, Judah, fared somewhat better. Of the twenty monarchs the southern kingdom had, eight kings were "good". Nevertheless, the high places were still used to offer sacrifices.

Israel, as all sinful and rebellious mankind does, placed herself in a disadvantage with the Lord. The Lord always has his own agenda and Israel put herself in a position where the Lord would have to make some changes to the nation in order to pursue that agenda. His agenda was to bring his Son into the world to provide an atoning sacrifice for all so that he could build a kingdom of mankind for himself without compromising his sense of justice.

The positioning of errant Israel to bring about the Lord's agenda required the Lord's involvement in the nation in a way that would facilitate his pursuit of it. Reading of the succession of the kings that ruled, what happened to them and how the nation was effected by it all is the story of how the Lord prepared Israel for her coming Messiah - her Messiah that she would later reject as a nation.

Such is the heart of lost and fallen mankind! And, yet, the Lord pulled it off! Even given the bizarre behavior of sinful Israel, the Lord did prepare the nation, brought Jesus Christ, the Son of God into the world through Israel, and launched his gospel mission to build his kingdom.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

National Suffering/Deliverance at the Lord's Hand - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 14:26,

"The Lord had seen how bitterly everyone in Israel, whether slave or free, was suffering; there was no one to help them."

This observation is made of the northern ten tribes of Israel. After having turned their back on the Lord and after a series of twelve kings who had reigned prior to this in Israel, each and every one wicked in the Lord's eyes, the nation was suffering.

I am reminded of Psalm 78:32-35, "In spite of all this, they [Israel] kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe. So he ended their days in futility and their years in terror. Whenever God slew them, they would seek him; they eagerly turned to him again. They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer." However, when Israel would return to the Lord and he would deliver them, they would eventually turn their backs on him again during their times of peace and prosperity.

Having gone through this cycle with the Lord, Asaph observed that Israel would return to their rebellious ways when their pain was relieved. He goes on to say, "But then they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant." Psalm 78:36-37. This cycle is on full display in the book of Judges, where we see it repeated time and again. We see it throughout Israel's history.

Following the evil of twelve preceding kings, and the people's penchant for idolatry, they suffered at the hand of the Lord. I note that "everyone" in Israel was suffering bitterly, not just the culprits. As the Lord would achieve his purposes, in his compassion he would bring deliverance to the nation.

Israel is presented to us in the Scriptures so that we might witness the devastating effects sin has on any people. The interaction of the Lord in the affairs of the nation teaches us how the Lord is involved in all the nations of the world. The United States is no exception. When we turn our backs on the Lord we can expect the Lord's heavy hand bringing pain and misery such that we might, as Israel did, turn from our sin back to him and become useful to him in his agenda of building his kingdom.

Unfortunately this cycle gets repeated over and over due to the nature of mankind's sinful heart, and, fortunately, due to the Lord continually drawing us to himself.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The Lord's Agenda Played Out in History - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 13:2-5,

"He [King Jehoahaz]  did evil in the eyes of the Lord by following the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit, and he did not turn away from them. So the Lord's anger burned against Israel, and for a long time he kept them under the power of Hazael king of Aram and Ben-Hadad his son. Then Jehoahaz sought the Lord's favor, and the Lord listened to him, for he saw how severely the king of Aram was oppressing Israel. The Lord provided a deliverer for Israel, and they escaped from the power of Aram. So the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before."

The sins of Jeroboam that Jehoahaz followed was the idol worship Jeroboam had introduced to Israel. The Israelites turned their back on the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob to pursue these idols and as a result became worthless to the progressive roll-out of God's plan of redemption of mankind.

The Lord decided to use the offspring of Abraham as his covenant people to bring into the world his Son as the atonement for all of mankind's sins. Additionally, he used the law and all the Scriptures, the temple worship, the priesthood, the temple itself (as well as the earlier tabernacle), the various feasts and festivals he gave to Israel's calendar to point the way to the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. He did this so mankind might learn the ways of the Lord, and particularly condition mankind to recognize the sacrifice Jesus Christ would make on behalf of mankind.

In that Israel had wandered from the Lord and became unuseful to his agenda, the Lord brought into the life of the nation what would bring them back to him: the threat and misery produced by an occupying force that caused the Israelites to cry out for deliverance.

And, this is exactly what happened. Israel turned from the Lord to Idols, the Lord subjected them to the occupying power of Aram, the pain was so great they finally turned to the Lord for deliverance. Then the Lord delivered them, "The Lord provided a deliverer for Israel, and they escaped from the power of Aram. So the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before."

This was the intent of the Lord from the start of Aram's occupation of Israel.

This is a dynamic seen throughout the Scriptures. Indeed, it is the principle of the Lord behind Paul's comment in his letter to the Romans, "For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God." Romans 8:20-21.

As we read of Israel's history, it should never be understood apart from the agenda the Lord is pursuing. The Lord has his agenda - it is to build his kingdom. Everything that takes place on the world's stage is understood only in light of the pursuit of this agenda. To not recognize this is to miss the message of Israel's history - of all of history.

This reality is no less true today than at any point in the history of the world.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Corruption in Unlikely Places - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 12:7,

"Why aren't you repairing the damage done to the temple? Take no more money from your treasurers, but hand it over for repairing the temple."

These words were spoken by King Joash of Judah to the priests of the temple of the Lord. The King had told them to take the money brought as sacred offerings and use it to repair whatever damage existed to the temple. Apparently the temple had been allowed to fall into disrepair.

Where had the money been going before this? Certainly not to the things of the Lord as expressed by the disrepair of the temple. Funds that were brought into the temple apparently wound up in the pockets of disreputable priests and others. (As I often observe, some things never change, do they?) Joash set himself to correct this.

Of the twenty monarchs of Judah, I count twelve as "bad" and eight as "good". That count comes from the comments made about the monarchs, such as in verse 2 of this chapter, "Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him." Conversely we read of his predecessor, King Ahaziah, "He followed the ways of the house of Ahab and did evil in the eyes of the Lord, as the house of Ahab had done, for he was related by marriage to Ahab's family." 2 Kings 8:27.

As one of the "good" kings, Joash held the things of the Lord as important and directed the priests to restore the temple. Surprisingly, the king was ignored, the repairs were not being made and so Joash stepped in and brought the scandal to an end. The priests would no longer receive any money. All the money would go only to those who repaired the temple... and to insure no scams took place, the priests were not allowed to do any of the work themselves. All money would only go toward repairing the temple. "The priests agreed that they would not collect any more money from the people and that they would not repair the temple themselves." Verse 8.

Money has a way of corrupting people as we all know. The priesthood in Judah was no exception. Many churches today, many TV evangelists, many "para-church" organizations today are no exception either. Money has a way of corrupting, because sinful man struggles with his vices. It is the same for the pastor, the men who meet as elders, as well as many folks who sit in the pew. Not all, to be sure, as there are many wonderful people who have given their hearts to the Lord. However, we should never be ignorant or complacent about the reality that the potential is always there for corruption to creep in. 

Even in the most unlikely places.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

Athaliah: Queen of the Damned - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 11:1,

"When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family."

Athaliah was a woman with a lust for power. Seeing that her son, the bad King Ahaziah, was dead, she sought to draw all power in Judah to herself. Destroying lives, the killing of others, nothing was so sacred to her to deny her the power she lusted for. She put to death her son's family and nearly succeeded in her wicked plans, save for the actions of Jehosheba, Ahaziah's sister. Jehosheba squirreled way Joash, Ahaziah's son, in the temple to protect him from his grandmother.

Athaliah reigned over Judah for six years before finally being removed. The priest Jehoiada arranged with the military to protect the rightful heir to the throne, Joash, while he crowned him king. When Athaliah heard the commotion of Joash's coronation, she came out and was subsequently put to death.

The lust for power appears to be an overwhelming vice. It can be startling to see what those who are bitten by it are willing and capable of doing: lying, cheating, deceiving, even the killing others (including family members!)  Not that it is mine to judge, but I suspect there is a special place in hell for those who destroy others in their lust for power.

This was nearly three millenia ago! Nothing ever changes, does it?!

While the six years she reigned must have seemed an eternity to those of faith in those days, the actions of the Lord were consistent with his intentions for the rebellious kingdom of Judah. Used by the Lord as a means of getting Judah's attention, he subsequently brought her to the violent end she so richly deserved.

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

A Divided or Undivided Heart? - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 9:28-29,

"So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan."

Jehu almost manifested himself as a great king of the northern ten tribes of Israel. Had he done so, he would have been the one and only on a throne with a succession of nineteen that thumbed its nose at God. 

The Lord acknowledged Jehu's partial obedience, "The Lord said to Jehu, 'Because you have done well in accomplishing what is right in my eyes and have done to the house of Ahab all I had in mind to do, your descendants will sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.'" However, the Scripture goes on to say, "Yet Jehu was not careful to keep the law of the Lord, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam, which he had caused Israel to commit." Verse 31.

Jehu's partial obedience to the Lord reveals a heart that was partial in his fear of the Lord and partial in his love of the Lord. He had a divided heart.

I am reminded of the time when one of the Pharisees asked the Lord, "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" His response was,"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment." Matthew 22:36-38.

The account causes me to be mindful of my own heart before the Lord. Do I have an undivided heart? Do I revere the Lord in an undivided way? Do I love the Lord with my whole heart? Or are my affections divided?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com

The Inevitable Consequences of Sin - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in 2 Kings 9:34-37,

"Jehu went in and ate and drank. 'Take care of that cursed woman [Jezebel],' he said, 'and bury her, for she was a king's daughter.' But when they went out to bury her, they found nothing except her skull, her feet and her hands. They went back and told Jehu, who said, 'This is the word of the Lord that he spoke through his servant Elijah the Tishbite: On the plot of ground at Jezreel dogs will devour Jezebel's flesh. Jezebel's body will be like dung on the ground in the plot at Jezreel, so that no one will be able to say, "This is Jezebel."'"

This turn of events took place following Jehu's killing of King Joram of Israel, King Ahaziah of Judah and the evil woman, Jezebel, at the Lord's command. All were wicked and all died for their wickedness.

The amazing thing about sin is that it instills an insanity within us such that we think we can allow our lives to be ruled by it and not have to pay the price. It deceives us into thinking that God will not exact his judgment of us for it. Indeed, so many people fabricate so many things in the effort to remove God from their thinking. This is truly the deception of sin!

"It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Hebrews 10:31. All sin will be paid for! How thankful I am that Jesus Christ paid for mine. How about you?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.

Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com