Finding a Remedy - 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 Chronicles 36:16,

"They mocked God's messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the Lord was aroused against his people and there was no remedy."

This observation is made of that fateful day when the last of Israel would be destroyed and a remnant of Jews hauled off to a seventy year captivity in Babylon.

There may be those who find room in their hearts to be disgusted with the Jews of that day. However, I believe Israel's shortcomings, her sins, her rebellion against God, her proclivity to displace God in their lives with whatever, is a picture of the condition of the human heart - all of us. The airing of Israel's sin and rebellion against God provides us a good look at the sinful condition of all mankind.

I note the Jews then mocked God's messengers. Those who penned our Bibles are God's messengers to us of our day. The faithless today do the very same thing as they mock the Scriptures and those who teach it. Not only did Israel mock the prophets, they also despised what the prophets had to say. The same is true today. Many in our day despise what our Bibles have to say.

Eventually the Jews of that day aroused the Lord's wrath, "there was no remedy". This is exactly the fate of the faithless today. God's judgment of each one of us for the sins we have ever committed is looming on the horizon. There is still time for people to turn to him, but at some point there will be no remedy.

If we but place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, there will be a remedy for us on judgment day. An ample remedy that restores us into God's grace as righteous in his sight, no matter how we have sinned, no matter what we have done.

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!

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Worship, God's Way - 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 Chronicles 35:6,

"Slaughter the Passover lambs, consecrate yourselves and prepare the lambs for your fellow Israelites, doing what the Lord commanded through Moses."

King Josiah, Judah's last good king (four evil kings would follow by the time the Lord destroyed Jerusalem) reversed the rebellious course his father, King Amon had taken. The above verse is in reference to the Passover celebration Josiah re-instituted.

I note Josiah had the people worship the Lord as the Lord had commanded through Moses when it came to the Passover celebration. The Lord himself determined how he would be worshiped by his people.

One thing we learn about the instructions the Lord gave regarding how he wanted to be worshiped is that the elements contained in the worship are educational. The Passover was particularly instructive for the people to understand the nature of Jesus Christ's atonement for our sins on the cross.

Just as the blood of the Passover lamb applied to the door posts provided protection from the death angel of God while Israel was preparing to leave Egypt, so the blood of Jesus Christ's sacrifice protects all who apply it to their lives, by faith, from the judgment of eternal death at the great white throne following this age. Worship, among other things, is instructive. One of the many reasons to follow the Lord's instructions on worship.

In all the examples of worship provided us in the Scriptures, particularly in the book of Psalms, we find either or both of God's character and nature or the awesome works of God extolled. Worship necessarily observes the transcendent greatness and goodness of God to express our reverence for, our adoration of, and devotion to the Lord. Thus, worship becomes instructive.

Public worship also has an evangelistic outreach element in that any and all who may not be among the faithful, yet in the presence of the congregation of worship can learn what all the fuss is about.

How well versed are we in both the instructions and the examples of the worship of our Lord from the pages of Scripture? Do the "roll-your-own" practices of today's "worship" accomplish the Lord's desires? Maybe some do? Maybe some don't? What might we want to pursue in our worship of the Lord as we learn from the prophets writings on worship?

Just thinking out loud here.

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!

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No Shelf Life On the Bible - 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 Chronicles 34:24-25,

"This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people—all the curses written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah. Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all that their hands have made, my anger will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched."

These are the words given the prophetess Huldah for King Josiah of Judah - a message of the Lord's coming wrath. By this time the northern kingdom of Israel had been destroyed by Assyria at the Lord's hands, and now the same fate awaits the southern kingdom. The words were against the nation and not the king himself. Josiah was a good king, the sixteenth monarch of Judah and her last good one. Four more kings would follow before Judah's destruction, all evil in the eyes of the Lord.

The occasion for the prophecy was the finding of Israel's neglected and lost Bible. At the king's direction, the temple was restored and the book of the law was found. When it was read to Josiah, he tore his robes as he bereaved the rejection and rebellion against the Lord his predecessors led the nation in. He sent officials to the prophetess to inquire about the Lord's great anger that was surely coming to them.

The law was given to Moses following the Exodus from Egypt that took place some time around 1400 BC. The time that Josiah reigned in Judah was 640-608 BC, some 800 years later. It was that law of God given Moses the nation was now going to be judged by. I notice there is no shelf-life to the word of God.

What God has said in our Bibles stands just as authentic, authoritative and "operational" today as the day he gave it to his prophets. I am reminded of Jesus words, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." Matthew 5:17.

If anyone has the outlook that what the Lord had to say was so long ago, it doesn't matter anymore... need to take note. Every bit of it is in full effect and matters just as if it had been given to prophets this morning. 

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!

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A Painful Tactic of 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 Chronicles 33:12,

"In his [King Manasseh's] distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his ancestors."

In this account we learn an oft repeated explanation as to how the Lord gets our attention.

Manasseh was one of Judah's most evil kings. Just listen to this description: "He [Manasseh] did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. He rebuilt the high places his father Hezekiah had demolished; he also erected altars to the Baals and made Asherah poles. He bowed down to all the starry hosts and worshiped them. He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, 'My Name will remain in Jerusalem forever.' In both courts of the temple of the Lord, he built altars to all the starry hosts. He sacrificed his children in the fire in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, practiced divination and witchcraft, sought omens, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the Lord, arousing his anger." Verses 2-6.

With Manasseh leading the nation in the opposite direction the Lord wanted in his effort to prepare Israel for her coming Messiah, the Lord took action: "So the Lord brought against them the army commanders of the king of Assyria, who took Manasseh prisoner, put a hook in his nose, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon." Verse 11.

The Lord's action provided the exact response he wanted, "And when he [Manasseh] prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God." Verse 13.

This is how the Lord gets our attention when he desires it. We read of this tactic of the Lord throughout the Scriptures. It is in bold display in the book of Judges where we see a cycle the nation repeats with the Lord over and over. The people live in a prosperous peace (provided them by the Lord), then the people follow their proclivity to turn from the Lord, then the Lord brings hardship on the people to get their attention, then the people return to God. Just like we read of Manasseh in this chapter.

The Lord is very effective in this. He also applies this tactic on a personal level with us, "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent." Revelation 3:19. The wise keep themselves from the difficulties the Lord can bring to straighten us out. Me, I have the bruises and scars that represent many a time the Lord has had to get me back on the straight and narrow.

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!

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With us is the Lord our God to help us and fight our battles - 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 Chronicles 32:7-8,

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater power with us than with him. With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles."

Following Hezekiah's cleansing and restoration of the temple and the temple worship, the Assyrian king, Sennacherib came with his massive army to destroy Jerusalem. After consulting with his officials and military team, he sought to encourage and strengthen the people with the above words.

Perhaps these words of encouragement are good to consider in all ages for all believers. We may not be facing a military threat, but whatever challenges we face (and we all face challenges!) we need to take our encouragement in the Lord.

He wants us to take confidence in his strength and to be assured that we have a mighty refuge in him. Whatever we face we can rely on his love for us, his care for us, and his transcendent ability to provide for us in our times of need.

During the darkest hours we may ever face, he is there for those of us who have embraced him. It is precisely those times of difficulty when we learn and experience for ourselves his loving compassion for us, his concern for us, and his willingness and ability to see us through.

In life, there is none other that can come close to our God in love, in faithfulness and in ability to be a solace, refuge and help in times of need.

Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged! We have a greater power with us than what ever can be represented in our challenges. "With us is the Lord our God to help us and fight our battles."

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!

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The Way Back from Sin: Worship! - 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 Chronicles 31:1,

"When all this had ended, the Israelites who were there went out to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh. After they had destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and to their own property."

The "this", in "When all this had ended" was the reestablishment of worship in the nation. Following a period when the nation had abandoned the Lord, King Hezekiah led the people back to him. He had the temple purified, had the Levites consecrated, and began the temple worship with its sacrifices and sacred celebrations.

The above observation was made following the celebration of Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. We are told following this celebration of worship "The priests and the Levites stood to bless the people, and God heard them, for their prayer reached heaven, his holy dwelling place." 2 Chronicles 30:27.

Following this wonderful season of worship, the folks went out and destroyed all of the idols that had led them to abandon the Lord. Worship has a wonderful way of cleansing our hearts from sin, from rebellion against the Lord and the like.

When you or I may find ourselves slipping from the devotion and reverence for the Lord that is his due from us, when we find ourselves straying into sin, into anything that may distract us from the Lord, here is our path back: worship!

Worship necessarily focuses our minds on the transcendent majesty of the Lord. Worship necessarily focuses our minds on his many-splendored perfections. Worship necessarily focuses our minds on the amazing and wonderful acts of the Lord. It is within worship we find the dynamic to energize our spiritual lives in a way that expresses itself by clearing sin out of our lives, clearing out anything that might cause us to drift from him.

It certainly happened in Hezekiah's day and it certainly will in ours!

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!

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How to Have God Come Near to You - 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 Chronicles 30:6b,

"People of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, that he may return to you..."

These words were penned by King Hezekiah to all in Israel and Judah, inviting them to come to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. Having restored the temple and the worship there, he now made his appeal to all of Israel.

By this time the northern kingdom had been defeated by Assyria at the Lord's hand. Israel had abandoned the Lord and were now suffering for it. As a nation, they were no longer suitable for the Lord's purposes (preparing the nation for the coming of the Messiah) and took those actions needed to remedy Israel's shortcomings.

I note the two step manner in which King Hezekiah sought the rapprochement of Israel with her Lord: first, "return to the Lord", then the second, "that he may return to you..." First the people's part, then the Lord's part. When the people initiated a return to the Lord, the Lord would respond.

That seems to me to be a model for us all. If we ever find ourselves estranged from the Lord through some sin or whatever, don't wait for anything. Don't wait around for some "sign from God" or anything else, just make a move! Return to your devotion in the Lord, and watch the Lord respond. Start praying! Immerse yourself in his word! Worship him!

I am reminded of James command, "Come near to God and he will come near to you." James 4:8.

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.