THE LORD SPOKE (December 09)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Hosea 4-6

But “is it safe?” wonders Susan. Mr. Beaver’s response is, “You mustn’t press him. He’s wild, you know, not like a tame lion.”

“And now,” said Aslan presently, “to business. I feel I am going to roar. You had better put your fingers in your ears. And they did. And Aslan stood up and when he opened his mouth to roar his face became so terrible that they did not dare to look at it. And they saw all the trees in front of him bend before the blast of his roaring as grass bends in a meadow before the wind.

The Lion shook his mane and clapped his paws together (“Terrible paws,” thought Lucy, “if he didn’t know how to velvet them!”).

C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

How much that sounds like Hosea’s cry: “Come let us return to the Lord, He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds” (Hos. 6:1). Our understanding of God must have a proper balance between His mercy and His wrath, between His love and His anger, between His restorative grace and His destructive fury. He’s not a tame Lion. He’s not a slippery judge who can be bought off. He’s not a doting grandfather, willing to overlook “little sins”.

Hosea does tell us more of what God desires from us: For I desire mercy [hesed], not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings (Hos. 6:6). The Hebrew term, hesed, is often translated “grace” and is most often used in the Old Testament as an attribute of God. Actually the semantic range is very great - love, mercy, loving-kindness, forgiveness. Here it’s used as a desired attribute of man and placed in contrast with “sacrifice”. The Hebrew poetic parallelism of the verse helps us here. The second half of the verse refers to “acknowledgment of God”. That’s a common theme in Hosea’s prophecy:

• “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.” (4:1)
• “A spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the Lord.” (5:4)
• “Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him.” (6:3)
• “For I desire...acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.” (6:6)
• c.f. 2:8, 20; 4:6

So, how exactly do/should we acknowledge God?

1. You must begin with knowing Him. That, of course, begins with conversion but goes oh so far beyond that. It means to really get to know Him. It means thinking His thoughts.
2. That comes from knowing Scripture. His thoughts have been given to us in written form. We must do more than just consider them. We must read them, meditate on them, internalize them, and make them a constant part of our own thinking.
3. That means we must set aside time on a regular (daily!) basis to do just that. Do you have a habit of reading God’s Word? Is it something that you can’t do without? If you miss it, even one day, do you feel the loss? Is there a hunger in your soul?
4. That makes it necessary to have a plan, to set the alarm just a little earlier, to have a favorite spot where all the necessary accoutrements are handy (Bible, paper, pen, basic Bible study tools, good lighting, comfortable chair, cup of coffee, etc.).

Don’t just think about it. Do it. Do it now!


Proverbs 9

Election day has arrived. After all the campaigning it has become increasingly clear that there is a large gap between the two candidates. The public really does have a clear choice between Wisdom and Folly. Both have had a high degree of visibility throughout the campaign (Prov. 9:3,14).

Folly mounted a campaign based on mud-slinging and lies (Prov. 9:13-18). She’s good at publicity (Prov. 9:14) and knows how to get her message out but it’s very important to read between the lines and examine her platform more carefully. Her campaign slogan was “Sweet and Delicious” (Prov. 9:17) but all the evidence points to “Death and the Grave” (Prov. 9:18). Her most effective appeal is to the unthinking electorate (Prov. 8:16).

Wisdom, on the other hand, has a platform set in stone (Prov. 9:1). She also appeals to the simple folk (Prov. 9:6) but even those with a higher level of education find opportunity for genuine advancement and improvement (Prov. 8:9). Her entire campaign has been based on one primary idea, expressed so well by her theme: “A Knowledge of the Holy One” (Prov. 9:10).

Rarely has an election been so clearly drawn. You know when you mark your ballot that you’re casting a vote for Right or Wrong.

• • • • •

Polling Station Survey: Significant numbers of those who have already voted have indicated that their choice went to Folly. However, there is every reason to believe that Wisdom will emerge victorious. There is evidence of “a great multitude” assembling at Wisdom’s campaign headquarters (Rev. 19:1,6) and we’ve been informed that a vast army of followers is amassing even now for the victory procession (Rev. 19:14f).

Stay tuned for the acceptance speech and inaugural ceremony. We’ve been able to obtain a partial copy of the script of the day:

Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
And his bride has made herself ready. (Rev. 19:6-7)

THE LORD SPOKE (January 03)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Genesis 6-8

Hen and hesed. Two different Hebrew words are both sometimes translated as “grace”. In neither case does our English word fully express the meaning adequately. There is some synonymous overlap between the two, but there are also some differences.

hen = favor, grace, charm. This word occurs 69 times in the OT and is most often translated “to find favor/grace in the eyes of”, usually related to charm, beauty, or pleasing actions. The majority of the occurrences are not theological but some appear to be (e.g. Gen. 6:8; Ex. 3312; Zech. 12:10).

hesed - kindness, loving-kindness, mercy, steadfast love, loyalty, love, unfailing love. The semantic range is much broader. When the Scriptures speak of the hesed of God, it is often related to his covenant and is frequently paired with emet (“truth”), rahum (“mercy”), or hannun (“grace”).

The word used in Genesis 6:8 for Noah is hen: “Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” Noah’s life was distinctly different from his contemporaries. The description of man’s depravity was given a few verses earlier in unequivocal terms: “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” (Gen. 6:5, emphasis supplied).

In stark contrast, Noah is described as “a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God” (Gen. 6:9). None of this implies sinless perfection but it certainly sets Noah in a class apart. Earlier (5:22), Enoch had also been described as one who “walked with God”.

Noah’s daily life was characterized by a faith and communion with the Lord that made a difference in the way he lived in a wicked world. He was “found righteous” in his generation (Gen. 7:1) which the author of Hebrews attributes to his faith. That’s the key! Righteous living is the result of genuine belief in God. Righteousness is not the result of some innate goodness on our part. It is itself a gift from God (Eph. 2:8). It’s all of grace!

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Heb. 11:7)

New Testament: Matthew 3

The forerunner’s job was (1) to clear the way, (2) to prepare the way, and (3) to get out of the way. John the Baptist cleared the way for the Messiah by preaching that the kingdom of God had come. He emphasized the need to repent and believe. The kingdom of God (Matthew prefers to speak of “the kingdom of heaven” because of his Jewish audience) was a present reality and a future hope. That’s the “already...not yet” aspect with which we still grapple. Many received John’s testimony and believed. Great crowds followed him and even the highest leadership, both religious and political, took notice.

John’s preaching of the kingdom also prepared the way for Jesus’ own preaching. Matthew alone mentions this theme 50 times and the other Gospel writers make their contributions. John also prepared the way by publicly recognizing Jesus as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn. 1:29; c.f. vs. 36). After the Lord’s baptism John affirms, “I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God” (Jn.1:34). Mighty strong words for any Jewish person to proclaim! How could he? He heard with his own ears the very words spoken from heaven (Mat. 3:17) when God said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

Finally, John got out of the way so that the Messiah’s work could be accomplished. Repeatedly he had to tell folks, “I am not the one” (Mat. 3:11; see Jn. 1:19-27). He directed all attention to the Christ and was faithful in making Him known. As Isaiah prophesied, his was “a voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” (Mat. 3:3, from Isaiah 40:3). We’re all prone to toot our own horn but John gave a great example that applies well to our own job of evangelism (= make Christ known):

1. clear the way - We need to clear obstacles from the path - both those that our hearers raise and some that we tend to create ourselves.
2. prepare the way - Lay down the groundwork. Build a solid scriptural foundation. Someone else may come along and build upon it after you.
3. get out of the way - Make sure you’re not the central figure or the main topic of discussion. It’s not about you. Keep self out of sight so eyes can be fixed upon the Savior.

John did a good job. You can too.