On "Rolling Your Own" Religion - 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 16:10-12,

"Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah the priest a sketch of the altar, with detailed plans for its construction. So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before King Ahaz returned. When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it."

Ahaz was the twelfth of the twenty kings of Judah following the split of Israel after King Solomon's reign. He was one of the twelve considered as not doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord, verse 2. In this passage we see he applied himself to religion. He was a religious man and pursued his religion as he saw fit. He followed the religious activities of the nations Israel had displaced when they entered into the land the Lord gave them. He replaced the altar with a new one, one that he saw in Damascus that attracted his attention and instructed the priests to begin using it for the daily burnt and grain offerings.

However, the Lord had already given the Israelites instructions on how to worship him. He gave them the design for the tabernacle and its furnishings. He also provided Israel with the schedule of offerings for worship and a calendar for the religious feasts and holy days.

But King Ahaz decided to do it his way.

We have today a bizarre menu of "Christian religions", denominations, cults, sects, -isms, synods, etc. I suspect each has its own "King Ahaz" somewhere in its founding, someone who started with Christianity and decided to redefine it in his own image.

It is not difficult to see the Lord's disgust with King Ahaz in the words, "Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God." Verse 2b. Perhaps, if we took a notion to please the Lord in our own lives, we might consider leaving religion behind, as King Ahaz should have done, and turn to the Scriptures and worship our God in truth. Worship our God acceptably - in a manner he has revealed to us. What a radical idea that would be!

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our 'God is a consuming fire.'" Hebrews 12:28-29.

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.

What's the Big Deal About Idolatry? - 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 15:3,

"He [King Azariah of Judah, aka Uzziah] did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done."

When the text tells us that a certain king "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord" or "did evil in the eyes of the Lord", as in verse 9, what are we being told? What was it exactly these kings did to be adjudged one way or the other?

On the negative side, idolatry is pointed to, often with a phrase along the lines of, "He [Zechariah, the fourteenth king of northern Israel] 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." Verse 9. All 19 monarchs of northern Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the idolatry introduced to the northern kingdom by its first king, Jeroboam son of Nebat, following the split in Israel after Solomon's death.

On the positive side, doing "what was right in the eyes of the Lord" appears when a king comes along to reverse the darkness of idolatry. King Asa of Judah is an example of this, "Asa did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, as his father David had done. He expelled the male shrine prostitutes from the land and got rid of all the idols his ancestors had made. He even deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down and burned it in the Kidron Valley." 1 Kings 15:11-13.

Idolatry was a defining issue for the leadership of Israel. Idolatry, of course, was the rejection of God in favor of anything else to take his rightful place as the focus of Israel's worship. Since God, in his own counsel, had determined that he would provide for the redemption of mankind, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on that miserable cross, providing for salvation based on faith, the issue of idolatry became paramount.

Israel was God's chosen covenanted people. The covenant the Lord entered into with Israel was to use Israel as his vehicle to bring redemption and salvation to the world. Paul reminds us of the important aspects the nation was to play in the Lord's agenda of redemption, "Theirs [Israel] is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." Romans 9:4-5.

All of these Paul points to are with reference to the furtherance of God's agenda of redemption and the bringing of salvation to all mankind. For Israel to become immeshed in Idolatry, it would have sidelined her usefulness to the Lord to achieve his redemption of mankind. Something the Lord was not going to allow to deter his agenda.

All things in this life have their ultimate culmination in the Lord's agenda of redemption. He is building his kingdom and this age finds its fulfillment and completion when the new heavenly age dawns, populated by people who are redeemed from their sins by embracing Jesus Christ in faith.

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.

Re: Never Doubt a Prophet - Ruminating in the Word of God

Amen!

 

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Ephesians 4:2 Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.

Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, let us argue this out" says the Lord. "No matter how deep the stain of your sins, I can remove it. I can make you as clean as freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you white as wool. If you will only obey me and let me help you, then you will have food to eat. But if you keep turning away and refusing to listen, you will be destroyed by your enemies. I, the Lord, have spoken!"
Are you saved? Go to www.wayofthemaster.com to find out.

---

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Sent: Friday, January 27, 2017 10:38 AM
Subject: Never Doubt a Prophet - 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 14:25,

"He [King Jeroboam II of Israel] was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea, in accordance with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher."

Jeroboam II was the thirteenth king of the northern ten tribes of Israel. As with all nineteen kings of northern Israel, he "did evil in the eyes of the Lord", verse 24. Here we read that he had restored Israel's boundaries during his reign, according to the Lord's word.

This restoration of the boundaries of Israel was prophesied by the prophet Jonah (yes, the very same that spent three days in the belly of a fish.) The Lord foretold the expansion of the border of Israel through his prophet and that is precisely what happened.

I am reminded that when the Lord tells us he is going to do something, that very something will come about exactly as he says it will,

"As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:10,11.

The Lord has foretold many things through his prophets. Things he wants us to know, to be award of. In all of them he has demonstrated that he does exactly as he says he will do in the way he says he will it. 

The wise listen to the prophets. From the Lord's prophets we learn what the Lord has done, what he is doing today and what is to come. The prophets tell us of the coming resurrection and of the coming judgment of all mankind. They also tell us of the salvation the Lord provides from his own judgment of us for our sins.

Just as he promised to send the Messiah, and did so, so will he provide both the salvation he offers all who embrace him in faith, as well as the judgment of all who do not embrace him in faith - in that fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Since the Lord's batting average is a perfect 1000, why on earth would anyone question the veracity of what he has told us through the prophets?

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.

Never Doubt a Prophet - 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 14:25,

"He [King Jeroboam II of Israel] was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea, in accordance with the word of the Lord, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher."

Jeroboam II was the thirteenth king of the northern ten tribes of Israel. As with all nineteen kings of northern Israel, he "did evil in the eyes of the Lord", verse 24. Here we read that he had restored Israel's boundaries during his reign, according to the Lord's word.

This restoration of the boundaries of Israel was prophesied by the prophet Jonah (yes, the very same that spent three days in the belly of a fish.) The Lord foretold the expansion of the border of Israel through his prophet and that is precisely what happened.

I am reminded that when the Lord tells us he is going to do something, that very something will come about exactly as he says it will,

"As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:10,11.

The Lord has foretold many things through his prophets. Things he wants us to know, to be award of. In all of them he has demonstrated that he does exactly as he says he will do in the way he says he will it. 

The wise listen to the prophets. From the Lord's prophets we learn what the Lord has done, what he is doing today and what is to come. The prophets tell us of the coming resurrection and of the coming judgment of all mankind. They also tell us of the salvation the Lord provides from his own judgment of us for our sins.

Just as he promised to send the Messiah, and did so, so will he provide both the salvation he offers all who embrace him in faith, as well as the judgment of all who do not embrace him in faith - in that fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Since the Lord's batting average is a perfect 1000, why on earth would anyone question the veracity of what he has told us through the prophets?

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.

Life From the Bones of a Holy Man of God - 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 13:21,

"Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man's body into Elisha's tomb. When the body touched Elisha's bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet."

Here is a fascinating and bizarre account if there ever was one. Elisha had died and his body laid in a tomb. When another dead man's body was thrown into the same tomb, due to an emergency, the man came to life when his body touched Elisha's bones!

Beyond the telling of a startling reality of what happened, why is this account here in the Scriptures? What is it the Lord wants to communicate to us through it? What does this passage tell us about the Lord?

Elisha was a prophet of the Lord. He is referred to as "the man of God" many times in 2 Kings. Accounts are provided us that demonstrate he was imbued by God with the miraculous, and demonstrated on a number of occasions his identity with the Lord, a "oneness" that expressed itself in events that transcended the laws of physics the Lord designed his creation to function within. He spoke on the Lord's behalf and foretold many things that came to pass.

As such, we recognize Elisha as a holy man, a man identified with the Lord himself. When it comes to the account of this dead man coming back to life when his dead body touched the late Elisha's bones, some observations can be made.

The first is that God is life. He has life within him and he brings things to life. Out of shear nothing, our Creator God brings forth that which is live, "…the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not." Romans 4:17.

A second is that God gives life, "…he [God] himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else." Acts 17:25.

A third is the clear allusion to the resurrection that is ours because of our own touch of the Son of God, our embrace of him in faith. When we touch God, when we embrace him in faith, we become eternally alive.

A forth is that clearly, what can appear to be dead can have life once again - another allusion to the resurrection of the dead. What was once dead, what appeared to be dead, is now alive!

God the Father is pleased to have his Son, Jesus Christ give life, "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it." John 5:21.

What comes to your mind when you read this account?

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.

We All Need a Jehoiada in Our Lives: Our Bibles - 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 12:2,

"Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him."

Joash is considered to have been one of the eight good kings Judah had - out of twenty. We read in this verse that King Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord: all the years Jehoiada instructed him. Joash apparently was one who listened to wise counsel and that counsel came from Jehoiada the priest.

In Proverbs 19:20 we read, "Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise." Conversely, in that same chapter, verse 27 we read, "Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge." I wonder if the observation that Joash did good in the Lord's eyes "all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him" is a reference to the truth given us in Proverbs 19.

We can live our lives pleasing to God, lives lived that might be described as doing "what was right in the eyes of the Lord", but it requires something very simple: we need to avail ourselves of God's word for wise counsel and instruction. I say our Bibles, because we do not have a "Jehoiada the priest" in our hip pockets, and all too often, those who provide leadership within the church lack what Jehoiada was able to provide Joash.

When we neglect our Bibles, we lose a vital connection to heaven itself and we will find ourselves straying from living our lives in a way that is "right in the eyes of the Lord". Paul reminds us in his letter to Timothy, "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." 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

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.

Athaliah's Illegitimate Claim - 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 11:14c,

"Then Athaliah tore her robes and called out, 'Treason! Treason!'"

When King Ahaziah of Judah died of his wounds in Megiddo, his mother, Athaliah, killed the entire royal family (excepting one of Ahaziah's sons, Joash, who was hidden from Athaliah by Ahaziah's sister, Jehosheba). Athaliah seized the throne for herself and ruled for six years.

Joash was hidden with his nurse at the temple in Jerusalem, and in the seventh year, when Joash was seven years old, the priest Jehoiada arranged to bring Joash out, protected by the temple guard and crowned him king. Hearing the commotion of Joash being anointed as king with the people shouting and clapping, Athaliah came to the temple and uttered the above words.

It is a fascinating account and I'll let you look it up to see how it all turns out.

One thing that is clear from Athaliah's cries of "Treason! Treason!", is that she genuinely felt the kingdom of Judah belonged to her. She had established herself on the throne in Judah for six years and now the priest had anointed another. Certainly from her perspective, the move by Jehoiada to anoint another to ascend the throne was clearly an act of treason.

What was missed by Athaliah was that she did not have any legitimate right to the throne. She had seized it for herself and now sat on the throne over God's covenant people: the throne rightfully belonged to whomever the Lord desired to place upon it.

The account brings to mind that often there are those things that some people lay claim to, as if they held a legitimate ownership to them, a legitimate right to them. Often this takes place over things in life that rightfully belong to the Lord. God's covenanted people are his people. He and he alone has always held the authority and legitimacy to place on the throne of Israel whom he decides, for better (or for worse!) for his people.

Just because something has been seized, and held for a time, it never establishes a rightful claim to whatever it may be.

Athaliah found out the hard way that the throne she held claim to really belonged to another. I suspect there are many things in life that are like that - awaiting the time when all wrongs will be righted when the Lord returns - and possibly even before that.

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.