THE LORD SPOKE (May 22)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: I Kings 16-17

When does God call upon us to give more of ourselves? Frequently He does so when we feel we have little left to give. He calls us to give when we've all but given up. He urges us to spend more when we feel spent out. He wants us to pay out some more line when we don't think there's anything left to strip off.

The widow of Zerephath probably thought she had little left to give but the Lord required more. She felt wrung out (I Ki. 17:12-13) but He put her through the wringer again. Was He mean? unfair? insensitive to her condition? After all, she was a widow (I Ki. 17:9), suffering the drought like everybody else, so poor she had to gather sticks outside the city wall to cook with (I Ki. 17:10), hungry, trying to care for an only son, and expecting to die soon (I Ki. 17:12).

It’s amazing that there's no record of hesitation on her part. She did exactly what the prophet told her to do. Everything we know about Elijah would seem to indicate that this was how he lived his life too. Maybe his example of sacrificial service and of experiencing the Lord's provision was all the encouragement the widow needed. In any case, she did as Elijah told her (I Ki. 17:15) and she saw God's miraculous provision too.

But then it got really bad. If often does. Just when we're feeling pretty proud of our self-sacrificing service, we get a wake-up call. The widow's words are probably the key to understanding God's action in this passage. She said, "Did you come...to remind me of my sin...?" (I Ki. 17:18). God has good ways of getting our attention when we take our eyes off Him. The widow was called back to spiritual reality and, once again, God gave her a miracle through the prophet Elijah. From this point on, he is frequently known simply as "the man of God".

Elijah was a man who was faithful in his private life, fruitful in his public life, and fervent in his prayer life. It showed! His was a ministry that was "powerful and effective" (Jas. 5:16b-18). Lord, help me to follow in the footsteps of Elijah and give me that same power to please You!


New Testament: I Corinthians 9

“Unmuzzle the Ox”. It used to be a special book sale offered by one of the large Christian book distributing companies. Once a year, they had a special discount for ordained ministers. Prices were slashed so pastors could acquire new books for their libraries.

Paul reaches back to an unexpected OT passage to establish his point (I Cor. 9:9; citing Deut. 25:4). But he also illustrates it by the example of a soldier, a viticulturist, a dairyman, and a plowman. It’s a biblical principle. What’s surprising (but shouldn’t be) is how he correlates the spiritual and material aspects:

If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? ...The Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. (I Cor. 9:11,14)

So, while it may not be wrong for a minister of the Gospel to take on outside work to pay the bills (exactly what Paul was doing here - see I Cor. 9:4,12,15), it is wrong for a church to allow him to do so when it is within their power to pay him properly. The idea of an unpaid ministry is certainly contrary to Scripture.

It is not a matter of paying them for their services - who could ever buy or sell that? It’s a matter of paying them adequately so they’re free to serve. The definition of “adequate” is open to some interpretation but elsewhere Paul gives some indication of his answer to that question (see I Tim. 5:17-18).

Addendum: On another matter entirely, Paul gives a very close parallel to this in Romans 15:27. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. It’s past time for us to support the people of Israel in tangible ways!