Monthly Archives: March 2009

Psalm 35:11-13
11 Malicious witnesses rise up;
they ask me of things that I do not know.
12 They repay me evil for good;
my soul is bereft.
13But I, when they were sick-
I wore sackcloth;
I afflicted myself with fasting;
I prayed with head bowed on my chest.
14I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;
as one who laments his mother,
I bowed down in mourning.

David laments the fact that those who oppose him rejoice in his sufferings even after he had mourned for them during theirs. This is hard, but it is the Christian call.

We are called to return evil with blessing. We are called to overcome evil with good. When we are opposed or falsely accused or misunderstood so that others hurt us the mind gets filled with thoughts of revenge and self pity and anger and hatred and a host of other emotions that contradict the call that God has given us to return evil with good.

The first verse of this Psalm helps us to know what we should do in such situations “Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me.” Ask God to deal with it. Do not take matters into your own hands. Ask God to deal with the issue and with the people you struggle with. Allow God to do what He does best and trust Him to do it better than you would. You may not like the timing and you may think that God has forgotten. But He has not. Leave it with Him.

Note also in Psalm 35 that David holds nothing back regarding his assessment of what his enemies are doing to him. The ability to entrust vengeance into God’s hands is not a matter of denying the magnitude of the hurt we go through.

Some think that for the real big issues, we are excusable for not being completely without revenge and bitterness. We say things like “If you only knew what he did to me.” God knows and He still says – “return insult with blessing” and “Overcome evil with good.”

Tell God in your prayers just how hurt you are. Tell him about the horrors of the actions of those who oppose you. Find in Him the consolation you need. Does this mean don’t share it with anyone else? Probably not. But it does mean that we pour out our hearts to Him and find Him to be what we really need.

Finally, be thankful. Philippians 4:6 is very helpful here. Be anxious for nothing but in everything, with thanksgiving make you requests made know to God. Don’t simply ask God for help. Ask God for help with thanksgiving. Say out loud what you are thankful for. It really will help you defeat the overpowering tendencies to revenge and bitterness, depression, hate, anger etc.

If you are a believer, live like one.

Psalm 33:4-5

4For the word of the LORD is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.

The Lord loves righteousness and justice. These are not two qualities that people in the mainstream of life often put together. We are fond of saying “righteousness and mercy” and we do find those two attributes of God coexisting in the Scriptures.

But we need to remember that the reason mercy is a trait we like is because we deserve, and yet cannot stand under, justice.

The cross is history’s most glaring example of righteousness, mercy and justice. It is righteousness in that the One dying on the cross has never sinned. It is justice because God is punishing sin. And it is mercy because the sins that God is punishing are not the sins of the One being punished. The One suffering is paying the punishment for the sins of others.

There is no sense to the cross whatsoever if we remove the concept of justice and mercy from each other. Christians need to live every day in the knowledge that God is just and the only reason justice will not be levied on them for their crimes is because Jesus took the justice for them.

Such mercy should humble them very greatly and result in a life lived for the glory of a great God who exalts Himself through the death of His own Son.

I Corinthians 1:27-29

27But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

Genesis 27 – We have no record of Isaac ever saying anything to Jacob or Rebekah about their lying scheme to get Jacob Esau’s blessing. Does this indicate a character flaw in Isaac? Was he a poor father when it came to discipline and confrontation? Was he afraid of his wife? Was he a poor leader to her and the rest of his household? Perhaps. And the consequences in the family were horrible and it would be many years before things got set right.

What a calling fatherhood and marriage are! No one is sufficient for all the issues that will arise in a household over the years and it is only by the grace of God that we come out half ways sane at all. Isaac, despite the good qualities that we have seen already, comes across in most of this chapter as a pathetic man who has not been to his wife and children what they needed him to be.

But even in this dysfunction we have great hope because of God’s grace. This is no doubt part of the point of the whole account that we have had given to us. See how messed up these people are! How can anything good and lasting come out from them?

And God says “Just watch me bring out of them something far beyond your wildest dreams. And to make it even more amazing, just watch the kind of people I am going to use to do it”. And out of this line He brings the very Son of God and through this line salvation comes.

God calls the things that are not to bring to nothing the things that are so that no one can boast in His sight.

Romans 9:6-13

6But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. 9For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad-in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls- 12she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” 13As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

We begin to see God working in the life of Jacob, a plan to bring a Saviour for sinners. We need to read this whole story about Jacob with Romans 9:10-12 in mind. “…in order that God’s purposes of election might continue …”.

Jacob was a rogue, a schemer. According to the law of the day he was not the child to get first crack at the inheritance of his father. But he schemed and planned his way to the top.

The life story of Jacob is a story of the providence of God working out in the life of a man who does not deserve anything. And this is the glorious point.

God has a plan that cannot but triumph over even the worst of cases. If God has His sights set upon you He is going to win you to the purposes He has chosen. He will even use your own sinfulness to accomplish it. This is what we plainly see in the life of Jacob. God had promised that the older would serve the younger and we see it being worked through the sinful scheming of Jacob. What a God!!

Genesis 26:12-13
12And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him, 13and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy. 14He had possessions of flocks and herds and many servants, so that the Philistines envied him.

It is not a coincidence that this passage points out that Isaac became very rich (Verses 12-17). His obedience was blessed by God. It would be foolish and a contradiction of the great weight of Scripture to conclude from this that obedience always makes one rich. But it is wise to conclude that obedience always will result in blessing from God. That blessing may be long in coming, and it may be material, spiritual, physical or all of those.

The biggest and most satisfying of these will be the inner peace, the joy, the communion with God that a child of God knows when he is in a state of obedience. And those things will be his even in the midst of great difficulties in life. Obedience will always reap great blessing in the life to come.

The promise of blessing is meant to be a great incentive to us to obey. All of the commandments of God are accompanied by a promise to the obedient. The degree to which we believe the promise is marked by the degree to which we obey the command. It is the height of sin to call upon God to keep His promises if we are not in obedience to the conditions He has set.

Do not rob yourself today of the immense blessing of God in your life. Know the joy of obedience to God. Use all He gives you to triumph over sin.

Genesis 27:1-4

1When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” 2He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me, 4and prepare for me delicious food, such as I love, and bring it to me so that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

The last verse of Genesis 26 says that Esau made life bitter for his parents. The first verses of chapter 27 show Isaac taking pains to bless Esau before he dies. We are not told a great deal about Isaac in the accounts that include him, but what we are told are magnificent incites into a man of great faith and obedience. Here we see a father preparing to bless a son who has been mostly trouble to him for a very long time. Esau no doubt makes his parents lives bitter because he is bitter himself regarding the incident with Jacob and the birthright (Gen.25:19-34).

But Isaac is a real father. No matter how badly his son has treated him he still wants the best for him and wants him to receive all the good that he can possibly pass on to him. It is a poor parent who takes revenge upon a child who has been trouble. Isaac is an example here of a loving father, who, despite how his heart has been broken by his son, still reaches out to him with all the love of his heart.

What a picture this is, also, of God’s love for us. Our lives are testimonies to rebellion, disobedience, ignorance of God, selfishness and greed. And despite the ways that we spurn our Father, He reaches out to us and loves us. The supreme demonstration of this is of course the cross. Hear at this point the words of Paul in Romans 5:8 “… while we were yet sinners Christ died for us”.

Our love to God is a poor response to an immense love to us that was lavished on us when we were shaking our fists in His face. His love triumphed over our wickedness. May we imitate the love of God to us, to our children and to others whom God puts in our path for the purpose of showing His great love to.

More New Testament statements affirming why Jesus died:

That those who live (have eternal life/believe) might live for Him
2 Cor. 5:14-15 (ESV)

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; [15] and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

To reconcile us to Himself
2 Cor. 5:18 (ESV)

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

To reconcile the world to Himself
2 Cor. 5:19 (ESV)

that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

That we might be the righteousness of God in Christ
2 Cor. 5:21 (ESV)

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

That we might be rich
2 Cor. 8:9 (ESV)

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

To deliver us from this present evil world
Galatians 1:4 (ESV)

who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

To redeem us from the curse of the law
Galatians 3:13 (ESV)

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us-for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”-

That we might be adopted as sons
Galatians 4:4-5 (ESV)

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, [5] to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

To forgive our trespasses
Ephes. 1:7 (ESV)

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

To bring us near to Him
Ephes. 2:11-13 (ESV)

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands- [12] remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. [13] But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

To reconcile Jew and Gentile
Ephes. 2:14-16 (ESV)

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, [16] and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

To sanctify the church
Ephes. 5:25-27 (ESV)

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, [26] that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, [27] so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

To present us holy, blameless and above reproach
Col. 1:21-22 (ESV)

And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, [22] he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him,

To cancel the demands of the law against us
Col. 2:13-14 (ESV)

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, [14] by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

To put rulers and authorities to open shame
Col. 2:15 (ESV)

He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

To deliver us from the wrath to come
1 Thes. 1:10 (ESV)

and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

That we should live together with Christ
1 Thes. 5:9-10 (ESV)

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, [10] who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.

To purify for Himself a people eager to do good works
Titus 2:14 (ESV)

who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

That God might make the founder of our salvation perfect through suffering
Hebrews 2:10 (ESV)

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.

To purify our consciences to serve the living God
Hebrews 9:13-14 (ESV)

For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, [14] how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

To leave us an example that we should suffer for Him
1 Peter 2:21 (ESV)

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

To bring us to God
1 Peter 3:18 (ESV)

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,

To be the propitiation for our sins
1 John 2:2 (ESV)

He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

To make us kings and priests to God forever
Rev. 1:5-6 (ESV)

and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood
[6] and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

What a God. What a Saviour!