THE LORD SPOKE (March 16)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Deuteronomy 12-13

Critics say it’s evidence of the deuteronomist’s hand. When Moses talks about “the place the Lord your God will choose” (see Deut. 12:4,11,14,18,26, and many other places), they identify it as an addition by later editors trying to pad their case. The priests, according to these “scholars”, are just trying to prove that their religious system centered in Jerusalem had the authority of Moses behind it. In other words, this thing about the centrality of Jerusalem developed much later and the editors of Deuteronomy are practicing a little historical revision. They’re rewriting history to prove the validity of their system.

Not so! Many places in Scripture speak of God’s love and choice of Jerusalem:

• Psalm 48:2-3 - “...Mount Zion, the city of the Great King. God is in her...”
• Psalm 68:16 - “Why gaze in envy, O rugged mountains, at the mountain where God chooses to reign, where the LORD himself will dwell forever?” (speaking of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem)
• Psalm 76:2 - “His tent is in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.”
• Psalm 87:2-3 - “the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God.”
• Isaiah 2:2-3 - “In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.’ The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
• Isaiah 62:1 - “For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem's sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.
• Ezekiel 5:5 - "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.”
• Zechariah 2:5,8 - “‘And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will be its glory within’. ...For whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye.

If you go with the “deuteronomistic history” idea of how the Pentateuch was composed, you’ll have to keep going through all the Torah, the Nevi’im (Prophets), and the Ketuvim (Writings) and do the same. You’ll end up with a mutilated Old Testament, a messed up theological system, and a muted Word from God.

Maybe that’s what they want. But not me!


New Testament: John 7

Did Jesus “want to become a public figure”? Jesus’ brothers seemed to think so, judging by the advice they gave Him (Jn. 7:2-4). But then, they did not believe in Him themselves (Jn. 7:5). He never gave any indication that His purpose was to become a public figure.

On many occasions He worked hard to avoid publicity. He struggled at times to get away from the crowds to spend some time with His disciples. In order to have any personal quiet time, He got up “very early in the morning, while it was still dark” to find a solitary place (Mk. 1:35) and occasionally He spent the whole night in solitary prayer.

He was aware that a time would come when He would be thrust into public attention but repeatedly He acknowledged that His time “had not yet come” (Jn. 2:4; 7:6; 7:8; c.f. 7:30 and Mat. 26:18). He was faithful to His calling but awaited the appropriate moment. There was no ambition to become a public figure.

The response of the people, leaders included, fell into three categories. When they heard His words and saw His works, some concluded that He was a LIAR. While some thought He was “a good man”, others said, “No, he deceives the people” so how could He be good? He’s a liar (Jn. 7:12-13).

Others thought He was demon-possessed (7:20), a raving LUNATIC. They attributed His powers to Beelzebub and refused to acknowledge His authority. Anyone who claims to be God must be plumb crazy.

But some recognized Him as LORD. The question, “Is He the Christ?” was already circulating (Jn. 7:26; c.f. 4:29). Some thought He was the Prophet long prophesied (Jn. 7:40) while others believed “He is the Christ” (Jn. 7:41). One who did so was Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, and one who’d had a personal encounter with Jesus (Jn. 3). The religious club couldn’t stand that. They ridiculed anyone who voiced a positive opinion, threatened such “mob thinking” with a curse, and tried to shut up even honest questions (Jn. 7:45-52).

When you have to resort to such measures, doesn’t that tell you something? The options really are limited. Either He is a liar, a lunatic, or the Lord of all. Which is it for you?

THE LORD SPOKE (December 29)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Zechariah 8-10

The Lord promises to bless Jerusalem. There was an immediate promise for Zechariah’s day (fulfilled) but this passage builds to fantastic heights by the end of the book (still unfulfilled).

This is what the Lord Almighty says: “I am very jealous for Zion;
I am burning with jealousy for her.”
This is what the Lord says: “I will return to Zion and dwell in Jerusalem.
Then Jerusalem will be called the City of Truth,
and the mountain of the Lord Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain.”
(Zechariah 8:2-3)

It seemed marvelous at that time (Zech. 8:4-6). It seems marvelous today when you walk the streets of Jerusalem and see what God has done in our day with regard to the return of the Jewish people to the city of Jerusalem. Once again “men and women of ripe old age sit in the streets of Jerusalem with cane in hand” and “the city streets are filled with boys and girls playing there”. Why should it seem marvelous in our eyes if God is in it?

But you ain’t seen nutin’ yet. The King is coming! We had a glimpse of it in His triumphal entry (Zech. 9:9; Mat. 21:5; Jn. 12:15) but there is a dispensational gap in Zechariah 9:10. Only part of the prophecies about Messiah were fulfilled in His first advent. He will yet return to “proclaim peace to the nations”. In His second advent, “His rule will extend from sea to sea”. “Then the Lord will appear over them” (Zech. 9:14).

Here are the basic elements of Old Testament biblical theology once again:

PEOPLE - Zech. 10:6 - “the house of Judah...the house of Joseph”
PROMISE - Zech. 10:6 - “I will strengthen...I will restore...I will answer them”
PRESERVATION - Zech. 10:8 - “I will redeem them”
POSSESSION - Zech. 10:9 - “they will return”
PRINCE - Zech. 9:9 - “your king comes to you” (quoted as messianic in Mat. 21:5 and Jn. 12:15)


Proverbs 29

“Vent your rage!” So say some psychology books. But not the Bible. One who does so is termed a “fool” and unworthy of trust.

A fool gives full vent to his anger,
But a wise man keeps himself under control. (Prov. 29:11)

A fool shows his annoyance at once,
But a prudent man overlooks an insult. (Prov. 12:16)

A fool is “hot-headed and reckless” (Prov. 14:16) and “a quick-tempered man does foolish things” (Prov. 14:17). For this reason he “stirs up dissension” (Prov. 15:18) and “commits many sins” (Prov. 29:22). We are instructed:

Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man,
Do not associate with one easily angered,
Or you may learn his ways
And get yourself ensnared. (Prov. 22:24-25)

Is the only alternative to venting your rage, holding it in? Not at all! It needs to be dealt with properly and that is by obtaining a calm spirit from the Lord. By submitting to Him in our thoughts and emotions, we can overcome our tendency to be hot-headed, quick-tempered, and short-fused. Listen to the collected wisdom of Scripture on this:

• Ephesians 4:31-32 - Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
• Psalm 37:8 - Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret - it leads only to evil.
• Proverbs 19:11 - A man’s wisdom give him patience. It is to his glory to overlook an offense.
• Colossians 3:5,8 - Put to death therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature.... Rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

Now do it!

THE LORD SPOKE (November 24)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Ezekiel 40-41

The millennial temple. No, it’s the Millennial Temple. This was not just another building that Ezekiel was describing. It will be a magnificent structure that all the saints of the Old Testament will see and experience!

The Bible doesn’t tell us specifically when those saints will be resurrected. Some place it at the end of time, relating it to the destruction of the earth by fire and its restoration in the New Heavens and New Earth. They will populate eternity. That’s possible but their resurrection before the millennium makes better sense. Otherwise, they miss out on all the promises of the Old Testament - promises made to them. The promise of their return to the Land, of the restoration of that Land, of a kingdom, of David back on his throne in Jerusalem, of the Messiah present and governing that kingdom, of life the way it was meant to be under God’s sovereign rule.

So when Ezekiel describes that future Temple, he has stars in his eyes. Though it has many similarities with the Temple of Solomon from Ezekiel’s time, it is more magnificent by far in dimensions. In fact, it won’t fit topographically on Jerusalem’s historic hills and valleys. Mount Moriah, the “Temple Mount”, won’t contain it. But that’s not a problem because Isaiah has already told us that “every valley shall be exalted and the mountains made low” (Is. 40:4) so the necessary space will be there.

Does a Temple and sacrifices in Jerusalem during the millennium bother you? If we understand properly what they meant and what they accomplished we will better understand what they will mean and their purpose in the future Temple. The writer of Hebrews tells us that “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Heb. 10:4). Though they were God’s solution for the sin problem at the time, those sacrifices looked forward to the Lamb of God that would “take away the sins of the world” (Jn. 1:29).

The sacrifices of the Old Testament looked forward to the efficient Sacrifice that would be the only sufficient solution to the sin problem. Just as our New Testament communion service looks back to that same Sacrifice as a symbolic memorial, so too will the sacrifices during the millennium point to the One and only solution for sin.

If the Old Testament saints are, in fact, resurrected before the millennium you may be sure that every one of them will make every effort to see that magnificent Temple that Ezekiel saw only in vision. Will we be there? If you know Christ as your personal savior today you will return with Him as the army dressed in white linen described in Revelation 19:14. That will be in time for the 1000-year reign (Rev. 20:1-6) so, yes, you may expect to see that Temple too.


Psalms 137-138

“You can take the boy out of the mountains, but you can’t take the mountains out of the boy.”

That’s about the closest parallel to what is found here in Psalm 137. Deep in the heart of every Jewish person is a longing for Jerusalem. The love of Zion was a dull ache for centuries. The seventy-year captivity in Babylon, which provides the context for this psalm, was protracted since the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD. For nearly 2000 years, Jews the world over “sang the songs of Zion” and hoped for her restoration and their restoration to her.

Things began to change in the late 1800's. Though there had always been a Jewish presence in Jerusalem (usually a majority!), there were times when it wasn’t much more than a sleepy village languishing in the backwaters. The arrival of many Europeans with thoughts of empire expansion brought swift change to Jerusalem, and culminated in the First World War. First the railroad and then a paved road linked her to the coast and the rest of the world. Early on, Bible-believers beat a pilgrim’s path to her gates. The “London Society for the Propagation of Christianity Amongst the Jews” held on to the belief that the Jews would one day return to the Land, even when such a belief wasn’t very popular. Major change came with the advent of modern Zionism.

David Ben-Gurion tenaciously held on to Jerusalem even when it wasn’t militarily the best decision. When the dust settled after Israel’s War of Independence in 1948, she held west Jerusalem but not the Old City. “Reunification” didn’t come until 19 years later. The Six-Day War in 1967 once again gave Jews access to all of Jerusalem, “never to leave again”.

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill.
May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.
Psalm 137:5-6

Nowhere in Scripture does it say, “If I forget thee, O New York... or O Paris... or O Tokyo.” But it does say, “If I forget thee, O Jerusalem....” The city of God’s delight and choosing has held a place in the heart of every Bible-believer since he first read of David’s conquest of the city. Jerusalem is not only the object of our historical attention, it is the dream of our eschatological longing. It’s where Jesus died and rose again, leaving an empty tomb! But it’s also where all the nations of the earth will go up to honor Him. It’s where we will see Him, once again upon this earth.

There is no forgetting Jerusalem!

THE LORD SPOKE (November 6)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Ezekiel 5-7

Ezekiel 5:5 - “Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations”

Ezekiel goes on to speak of the horrible punishment that will fall upon Jerusalem (5:8-12) including God’s frightening words, “I will withdraw my favor” from her (vs. 11). But take careful note, He does not withdraw His presence and He does not withdraw His favor forever.

Many old maps (see the illustration of a map from 1580) showed Israel as the “center” of the nations. In the center of Israel is Jerusalem. The Old City is the center of Jerusalem today. In the center of the Old City lies the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The center of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is occupied by a large chapel known as the Catholicon and in the center of this chapel is a golden urn called the Omphalos - the “belly button” of the earth!

Okay, okay - so that stretches belief for most people. But, even if you’re not Roman Catholic, you must recognize from many Bible passages the centrality of Jerusalem:

• Psalm 137:5-6 - “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.”
• Isaiah 62:1 - “for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet till her righteousness shines out”
• Psalm 102:14 - “her stones are dear to your servants; her very dust moves them”
• Psalm 68:16 - “the mountain where God chooses to reign, where the Lord himself will dwell forever”
• Psalm 122:6 - “pray for the peace of Jerusalem; may those who love you be secure”
• Zechariah 2:5-9 - “I myself will be a wall of fire around [Jerusalem]...declares the Lord”
• Psalm 76:2 - “his dwelling place in Zion”

What is most striking here are the references like Psalm 68:16 which tell us that God Himself will dwell in Jerusalem forever (see also Ps. 132:13-14). Though He is omnipresent, His presence is focalized in a few significant locations - between the cherubim in the Holy of Holies in the ancient Tabernacle and Temple, on the Throne in heaven, and in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is (not just was) near and dear to His heart. It is near and dear to our hearts because of all of salvation history which played out on her streets. Every step you take in Jerusalem, you’re walking on 5000 years of history - much of it biblical.

It’s not wrong to let your thoughts dwell on Jerusalem. Near the close of his book, the prophet Jeremiah said, “Remember the Lord in a distant land, and think on Jerusalem.” (Jer. 51:50).


Psalms 101-102

Is God a Zionist? - part 2

One of the fundamental elements of Zionism is the rebuilding of Zion, which is something we’re told the Lord Himself will do in Psalm 102:16. It was a hope written down for “a future generation” (Ps. 102:18) but the promise was of a time when Jerusalem would be shown favor. Her appointed time would come. As Isaiah put it, “her hard service has been completed...her sin has been paid for...she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins” (Is. 40:2-3). So Isaiah says, “Comfort, comfort my people...speak tenderly to Jerusalem.”

Are we there yet? Probably not, but the handwriting is on the wall. This is not something that will happen multiple times. Isaiah tells us that God will “reclaim the remnant” a second time (Is. 11:11), not a fifth, tenth, or more. Though the timetable could still be very protracted, what has happened in Israel in our generation is the beginnings, at least, of the fulfillment of prophecies regarding Zion.

There are three elements that must be in place in the end times and we’re close but not quite there yet on all three:

1. The Jewish people must be back in the Land. Today approximately one third of the world’s Jewish population is living in Israel. That’s not yet even a majority, but it is a significant beginning and cannot be undone if God’s promises are literal and meant to be believed. God will only do this a second time, the first having been in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah when He brought them out of the Babylonian captivity.
2. Jerusalem must be the capitol. The Jewish people have always maintained this and the government of modern Israel declared it from the very start in 1948 by locating the Knesset there. After the Six-Day War in 1967, it was repeated and given even higher priority and visibility. Nevertheless, not one nation recognized it unequivocally today. No foreign embassy is located in Jerusalem (they’re all in Tel Aviv). Jerusalem is indeed still “trodden on by the Gentiles” (Lk. 21:24).
3. The Temple must be rebuilt. Visibly - on the ground - this is yet only a distant hope. There are numerous plans and ideas of how and when it might be done. But that’s part of the problem. There is, as yet, no single, unifying, agreed upon plan. A large majority of the Jewish people don’t even think about it or have any desire to proceed. And that’s quite understandable, given all the other more immediate problems they are facing.

God, who loves Zion and has promised to rebuild it, has His own timetable. We cannot know the day nor the hour when these things will come to pass but one thing is sure, we’re closer now than we’ve ever been before.

THE LORD SPOKE (November 2)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Lamentations 1-2

Ghost town.

The very words stir up the imagination. A tumbleweed rolls across the dusty street. Wind whistles through a broken window pane and makes a shutter bang. A once bustling thoroughfare is now filled with the sound of silence.

In this book (Lamentations), the city was Jerusalem. “How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! All her gateways are desolate.” (1:1,4). Imagine that. The busiest place in the city was the gate. People came and went constantly, the market was there, the city elders sat there and judged civil cases, announcements and meetings - clandestine and open - took place there any time of the day or night. Now it was all silent, run down, insecure.

Words like deserted, desolate, despised, departed, distressed, dishonored, and dead all appear in the first two chapters. There are multiple “groans” and “grief” is mentioned frequently. It lies “trampled” and “swallowed up” and there is “multiplied mourning and lamentation”.

Note the progression in 2:9...

1. Jerusalem is destroyed (“sunk into the ground”)
2. the people are dispersed (“exiled among the nations”)
3. there is no word from the Lord (“the law is no more”)

In the ordinary Jewish perception, listing the destruction of Jerusalem first may have seemed to be putting the worst first but it’s really the other way around. Nothing could be worse than to have the Heavens shut up. By far, the worst was that “the law is no more.” The Hebrew word translated “law” is torah and it means so much more. The root word comes from “instruction”. What’s missing is a word from God - there is no more teaching coming from the Lord. Now that is a ghost town existence.

Have you been there before? Maybe you even tried, but He didn’t seem to be communicating with you anymore. Did you try? Really? Remember: If you seem far away from the Lord, there’s no question as to who did the moving. So come back to Him. Seek “a word from the Lord”. Not some mystical, horoscopic instruction but good, solid teaching from Scripture. To do that you must read it. You must read it expectantly. You must read it with an open heart. And you must read it regularly. Beware the barrenness of a busy life.


Psalms 93-94

When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
Your love, O Lord, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me,
Your consolation brought joy to my soul.
Psalm 94:18-19

“Get a grip!” they say. But how do you do that when you have no strength in your hands to hold on?

“Don’t cry,” they say. But how do you do that when the tears just keep welling up and won’t stop coming?

“Be a man,” they say. But what if you’re needing someone else to lean on right now. What if your knees are sagging and your shoulders are stooped?

In the previous verse, the psalmist says, “Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death” (Ps. 94:17). Surely, the One who made ears, hears, and the One who created eyes, sees (Ps. 94:9). He pays heed and comes to our aid.

It might be in the form of discipline. It’s quite possible that our troubles are the result of our own folly and He must needs correct us first. The psalmist says, blessed is the man (literally, “how happy”) who receives such correction (Ps. 94:12). Solomon put it this way:

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. (Prov. 3:11-12)

The writer to the Hebrews quotes that passage and then goes on to say:

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Heb. 12:7-11)

“A harvest of righteousness and peace.” The psalmist calls it “joy in my soul” (Ps. 94:19). You’ll call it the greatest blessing you’ve ever experienced when you learn to say,

The Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge. (Ps. 94:22)

THE LORD SPOKE (November 1)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Jeremiah 51-52

Jeremiah 51:50 - Remember the Lord in a distant land, and think on Jerusalem.

Many still do! Jeremiah was speaking of an earlier day and his admonition was a sad reminder of the Babylonian captivity. But many Jewish people are still remembering Jerusalem from a distant land. Throughout the Jewish life-cycle there are many built in memories of Jerusalem. For example:

• at a wedding the groom smashes a glass (remember the scene in Fiddler on the Roof to recall the destruction of Jerusalem
• similarly, when a new home is built a small part on the front of the building is purposely left unfinished to remind us of the destruction of the city
• many of the daily and weekly prayers speak of the restoration of Jerusalem and beseech the Lord that it might be “speedily and in our days”
• every year at the Passover seder, the ceremony ends with the shout, Le’shanah haba’ah beyerushalayim! (Next year in Jerusalem!).

What does it mean to “think on Jerusalem”? It means to remember her history - all of it. Every step you take in Jerusalem you’re walking on 5000 years of history! Since it’s “the City of David”, it means to think of King David and the spiritual leadership he gave to the nation. The name of the city means “city of peace” but our memories are of its many destructions. Jerusalem reminds us of the Temple and God’s presence in the city.

But, take another look at that verse. Before thinking about Jerusalem, the reader is told to remember the Lord. How do you “remember the Lord”?

• read His Word so you can think His thoughts
• recall His past blessings, especially when the current situation is tough
• research His promises for the future
• relate all these things to others (especially to your children)
• reverence His holiness (“Be still and know that I am God.”)
• relish His presence - think about it often
• restore your relationship with Him
• realize that He wants to bless you if you’ll just let Him
• recognize His claims on your life
• radiate His presence to others
• respect His law
• risk great things for Him
• reconnect on a daily basis

You don’t have to be Jewish to learn something from that list!


Psalms 91-92

If you stop and think abut it, nobody fits Psalm 91:1-13. The thesis statement of vs. 1-2 is restated in vs. 9-10 as a conditional challenge: “If you make the Most High your dwelling...then no harm will befall you....”

But bad things do happen to God’s people. Open the Bible anywhere and you’ll find evidence for that. Look at the Old Testament prophets. Read Hebrews 11. Consider the example of Jesus Himself. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter though no guile was in Him.

Sometimes harm comes as punishment. It could be God’s way of correcting us for wrong choices. We really didn’t fulfill the “if” part of the contract. Or, evil could befall us because God allows it. Like Job, the Devil is permitted to attack us. Did you notice? The Devil even used the words of this psalm in his attack on Jesus (Ps. 91:11-12 in Mat. 4:6 and Lk. 4:10-11).

As you read the first thirteen verses of this psalm you realize it describes a perfect world. And we don’t live in a perfect world. So the closing verses of the psalm provide the genuine comfort and assurance. Eight wonderful verbs are used in verses 14-16 to describe how deep is the grace of God. In spite of our own weaknesses, many failures, and total inability to ultimately do right, yet He promises to...

• rescue us = the Hebrew term means “to help to slip out or escape” (see I Cor. 10:13)
• protect us = literally, “set on high” or “make inaccessible”
• answer us = “give heed to” or “pay attention” (aren’t you glad God does that?!)
• be with us = from the same preposition as “Immanuel”, God with us
• deliver us = means “to pull off” (as a shoe) in the sense of withdrawing or delivering
• honor us = from the Hebrew word kavod (weighty, heavy), often translated “glory” in relation to God
• satisfy us = to satiate, make full, fill to satisfaction
• show us = cause to see or perceive

God promises to do all of this and more for the man who loves Him. When He beckons and we take that faltering step toward Him, He comes running to us like the father of the Prodigal Son.

Almighty God, the great I am
Immovable rock, omnipotent, powerful, awesome Lord
Victorious warrior, commanding King of Kings
Mighty conqueror, and the only time
the only time I ever saw Him run

Was when He ran to me, He took me in His arms
Held my head to His chest, said “My son’s come home again”
Lifted my face, wiped the tears from my eyes
With forgiveness in His voice He said,
“Son do you know I still love you?”
He caught me by surprise when God ran

THE LORD SPOKE (October 10)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Isaiah 62-64

It looks like the church bulletin or a missionary prayer letter. “Praise and Prayer” is at the top (the NIV heading before Is. 63:7). The requests section might sound a little different. After all, our city doesn’t lie in ruins (yet) and our temples (churches) are still standing. We’ve all been moved at some point to say, “I will tell of the kindnesses of the Lord, the deeds for which he is to be praised, according to all the Lord has done for us....”

But then, haven’t we also pled with God that He would “rend the heavens and come down” (64:1)? Aren’t there times when we wonder “where is He” who kept us going in the past? And then we’re reminded that it is our own sin that has broken that relationship. Even “our righteous acts are like filthy rags” (64:6) because we do them with the wrong motivation - for our own selfish ends rather than to His praise. And so we “shrivel up...and waste away” (64:6-7).

Why didn’t Israel turn back to Him? Just take a look at the verbs in this section that describe God’s care of Israel. He sustained them, supported them, redeemed them, carried them, shepherded them, guided them. He treated them with compassion, kindness, love, mercy, tenderness. Why didn’t Israel turn back to Him?

Why don’t we turn back to Him? Why do we, like Israel, rebel against Him, grieve Him, harden our hearts against Him, continue to sin, and fail to call upon Him? Let us instead, remember Him, call upon Him, strive to lay hold of Him.

Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you,
who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.
You come to help those who gladly do right,
who remember your ways.
Isaiah 64:4-5

Psalms 47-48

Why do people spend thousands of dollars every year to go visit Jerusalem? Mark Twain put into words the feeling of many after such an ordeal:

Rags, wretchedness, poverty and dirt, those signs and symbols that indicate the presence of Moslem rule more surely than the crescent-flag itself, abound. Lepers, cripples, the blind, and the idiotic, assail you on every hand, and they know but one word of but one language apparently - the eternal "bucksheesh." To see the numbers of maimed, malformed and diseased humanity that throng the holy places and obstruct the gates, one might suppose that the ancient days had come again, and that the angel of the Lord was expected to descend at any moment to stir the waters of Bethesda. Jerusalem is mournful, and dreary, and lifeless. I would not desire to live here. (Mark Twain, Innocents Abroad, from chapter 53 [1867])

If you can get past the street urchins and pick-pockets, the Arab shop keepers will eat you for lunch. The cacophony and strange smells that assault the senses are innumerable. Even after you’ve bartered the price down to 30% of the original tag you still walk away knowing that you paid twice as much as that silly piece of olive wood is really worth.

But Psalm 48 reminds us that “God is in her citadels” (Ps. 48:3). Though He is omnipresent, there is a sense in which He has chosen to dwell forever in Jerusalem (see Ps. 68:16; 76:2; 132:13-14). He is what sets this city high above any other city on earth, to this very day.

While many world capitols and famous cities have a Round-About Line of city buses for tourists to see all the main sites on a 2-3 hour circuit, only Jerusalem has a biblical basis for such a tour:

Walk about Zion, go around her...view her.... (Ps. 48:12-13)

The passage gives several other valuable touring suggestions: “count her towers”, “consider her ramparts”, “view her citadels”. Five thousand years of continual history will keep you well-occupied for some time! You won’t soon run out of what to do. But, in your doing, do the rest of what it says: “tell of them to the next generation. For this God is our God for ever and ever” (Ps. 48:13-14). Touring Jerusalem has a purpose and it’s more than olive wood camels.

Sacred history was enacted in Jerusalem on more than one occasion. It’s where:

• Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek
• David established the kingdom and Solomon built the Temple
• Hezekiah saw Sennacherib’s whole army decimated as God protected the city
• Isaiah and the other prophets proclaimed God’s truth
• Jesus bled and died to secure our salvation

And God will part the heavens and break through again in Jerusalem. It’s where the Messiah will reign over the whole earth for the first thousand years of His eternal kingdom. Will you be there?

THE LORD SPOKE (September 8)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Proverbs 17-19

Proverbs 17:22 - A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

A hearty laugh will do wonders for picking up the spirits - even if it is someone else’s laugh (or someone else’s spirits!). Don’t you love to hear a roar, a burst, a peal, or an explosion of laughter? A shriek or a scream of laughter is great. How about a whoop, a howler, a knee-slapper, or crowing? Even a chuckle, a chortle, a snicker, or a snort is good stuff. Why not just a giggle or a grin? You’ve seen people roll in the aisles but never really seen anybody die of laughter, have you? They might be in stitches, or convulsed, but does anybody really split their sides? OK, maybe you have seen them crack up at times. Wasn’t it fun?

On the other hand, Deacon Dry-as-Dust can put an immediate damper on any room. His sad, sour, somber, sorry spirit can make you dejected, despairing, despondent, disconsolate, dismal, distressed, doleful, down, downcast, down in the dumps, and down in the mouth real quick. Why do we have so many words available for this?

Our text today tells us that the surly bird catches the germ. That’s right. There’s a direct correlation between a joyful spirit and good health. And the opposite is also true - an unhappy person is more likely to catch every germ that comes along. Look at some more of the proverbs of Solomon about this subject:

• 14:30 - a heart at peace gives life to the body
• 15:13 - a happy heart makes the face cheerful
• 15:30 - a cheerful look brings joy to the heart
• 16:15 - when a king’s face brightens, it means life

Or, take a look at Job’s contribution (29:24), “When I smiled at them, they scarcely believed it; the light of my face was precious to them.” His miserable comforters couldn’t believe what they were seeing.

So how do you get happy?

1. Slow down, calm down, and joy up - look up to the Lord and He’ll pick up your spirits every time.
2. Smile. Practice smiling. Just look at yourself in the mirror sometime and try it. You’ll like it!
3. Stay away from sour people - except to help them learn how to smile too.
4. Let go. Lighten up. Laugh a little. Laugh a lot.
5. Buy yourself a new joke book. Keep it by your bedside. Keep it in the bathroom.

You’ll save money on your doctor bills. The Bible says so!

A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs... every pebble in the road jolts him. Henry Ward Beecher

New Testament: Revelation 14

The scene opens on “Mount Zion”. But which Mount Zion is it?

Assuming, to begin with, that the events taking place are here on earth and that, in spite of all the figurative imagery, there is some resemblance to the earth as we know it, this scene is unfolding in the city of Jerusalem.

But Mount Zion has been variously situated on the map of Jerusalem in different time periods. First mention of the name is found in II Samuel 5:6-7 where we read of David’s conquest of the city:

The king and his men marched to Jerusalem to attack the Jebusites, who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, “You will not get in here; even the blind and the lame can ward you off.” They thought, “David cannot get in here.” Nevertheless, David captured the fortress of Zion, the City of David.

The meaning of the name is unknown but it appears to be a Canaanite name for a fortress built on Jebus, the ancient core of what became Jerusalem. That fortified hill was later excluded from the walled city by Emperor Hadrian (c, AD 135) but archaeology has confirmed its identification (see #1 on the map).

Psalm 48 provides the next evidence for locating Mount Zion. This psalm is ascribed to the sons of Korah in the superscription. They were the descendants of Kohath, son of Levi, and constituted the Levitical choir assembled by David to serve in the Temple. That would place them somewhere in the half-century after David’s conquest of Jerusalem. In Psalm 48:2 they sing of Mount Zion “on the sides of the north”. The NIV’s insertion of [Mount] “Zaphon” here is certainly wrong! Zaphon is the Hebrew word for “north” and should have been translated as such. The absence of a preposition (“on” or otherwise) is what causes the translation difficulty but there is absolutely no cause to insert a sacred mountain in Phoenicia at this point when the entire subject is worship in “the City of the Great King”. Throughout the remainder of the Old Testament, “Zion” is used as a reference for Jerusalem and, when more specific, for the Temple Mount in Jerusalem (see #2 on the map).

At some unknown point in subsequent history, the name slipped over to the western hill of Jerusalem (#3), otherwise unnamed in the Bible. It was first encircled by Hezekiah’s wall shortly before 701 BC. The most likely time for this switch is the Crusader Period when such name swaps happened with frequency. It was probably due to the mistaken notion that the visible structures around today’s Jaffa Gate constituted the “Citadel of David”.

So, where is the Lamb standing in Revelation 14:1? Best guess: on the Temple Mount (#2). That would fit well with verse 15 where John sees an angel come out of the temple. (Just to keep you wondering though...yet another angel comes out of “the temple in heaven” in verse 17.) And we’re back to remembering that John is experiencing an apocalyptic vision. Don’t we have some good questions to ask when we get to heaven?!

THE LORD SPOKE (August 30)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Psalm 120-131

The Psalms of Ascent

There are fifteen of these “Songs of Ascent” (Psalms 120-134). At the main public entrances to the south of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, there were fifteen steps climbing up to the platform where the Temple once stood. Actually, there are thirty but in a unique arrangement of one long step plus one short step, making fifteen paired steps. Archaeologists and historians have put the two together and suggested that this was the place where these special psalms were recited by visitors just before entering the compound. No doubt the pilgrim would have thought and prayed through these texts many times at home and during the long trip to Jerusalem. But then, upon arrival, he probably recited them upon approaching his holy destination. These fifteen psalms were most likely on his lips as he climbed those last fifteen steps.

I rejoiced with those who said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!
Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem. (122:1-2)

As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people
both now and forevermore. (125:2)

May the Lord bless you from Zion all the days of your life.... (128:5)

For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling.
“This is my resting place for ever and ever;
Here I will sit enthroned for I have desired it....” (132:13-14)

Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and praise the Lord.
May the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth bless you from Zion. (134:2-3)

Because Jerusalem was at the top of the Judean hills, it was always true that you went up to get to Jerusalem - no matter from what direction you approached. The Hebrew word for “going up” is aliyah and it took on a metaphorical meaning of rising to Jerusalem. The most likely nuance in the term “Song of Ascents” would be going up to Jerusalem for the pilgrim festivals each year. In modern usage it has gained two related meanings: (1) When a Jewish man is called up to the platform to perform one of the readings from the weekly Torah portion in the synagogue he is making an aliyah. (2) The act of immigration to Israel is called Aliyah so that Jewish people today speak of “doing Aliyah” or “making Aliyah”.

There are many other topics tucked into this collection of psalms. It served and still serves as a valuable reminder of how to approach God. Check out the following:

• proper and improper use of the tongue (Ps. 120)
• sha’alu shalom Yerushala’im - pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Ps. 122)
• how to handle contempt and ridicule (Ps. 123)
• the source/importance of sleeping well (Ps. 127)
• why you shouldn’t keep a record of wrongs (Ps. 130)

About Psalm 131, Spurgeon said, “This is one of the shortest psalms to read, but one of the longest to learn.”


New Testament: Revelation 5

The Lamb is introduced! After the majestic description of the throne room in heaven (ch. 4), the scene is set and our anticipation runs high. An unopened scroll is in the hand of the One sitting on the throne and a mighty angelic crier is calling out for a worthy reader to come forth.

“Behold the Lion!” [drum roll]. Enter a lamb. Ah, but such a Lamb! Freshly slain, “standing in the center of the throne”, yet coming to take the scroll “from the right hand of him who sat on the throne”. Confused? How else could the Trinity be described? He’s three, yet one. All the heavenly realm breaks out in singing praise “to Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb” (Rev. 5:13).

The voices number “thousand upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand” and with one voice they proclaim the worthiness of the Lamb. He is worthy because He was slain (Rev. 5:9, 12). By His blood He “purchased men for God”. Oh, glory! And He has made them to be a kingdom of priests.

That’s us! The redeemed, blood-bought, men and women since the death of the Lamb are a kingdom of priests to minister before God and to reign on the earth. “Every [other] creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them” knows that and joins in one glorious chorus to sing the unsurpassed majesty of God Almighty.

As you read this you are lost in wonder.

When all my labors and trials are o’er,
And I am safe on that beautiful shore,
Just to be near the dear Lord I adore,
Will through the ages be glory for me.

Oh, that will be glory for me,
Glory for me, glory for me,
When by His grace I shall look on His face,
That will be glory, be glory for me.

When, by the gift of His infinite grace,
I am accorded in heaven a place,
Just to be there and to look on His face,
Will through the ages be glory for me.

Friends will be there I have loved long ago;
Joy like a river around me will flow;
Yet just a smile from my Savior, I know,
Will through the ages be glory for me.