THE LORD SPOKE (October 23)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Jeremiah 30-31

Expectancy. Anticipation. Hope. Without that, people lose the will to go on. If all the trail ahead is just as dark as the trail behind, you begin to wonder if it’s worth it. If there’s no light at the end of the tunnel, you’re tempted to not press forward - maybe even to back up the train.

These chapters mark a turning point in the book of Jeremiah. There’s still plenty of judgment to come. In fact, they haven’t even begun the seventy years of captivity yet. But, Jeremiah begins to use terms like “the days are coming when...” and “in that day I will...”. He quotes God as saying, “So do not fear...do not be dismayed.... I will surely save you out of a distant place...” (30:10).

Better yet, God says, “I am with you” and he promises to save. Though discipline will be applied it will be that of a loving father (30:11). Like nothing else, discipline gives a child a sense of security and belonging. He knows who’s son he is when Mom and Dad apply discipline. Would you really want God to ignore your sin and not discipline you? Then He might just ignore you, period. It works in Proverbs with child discipline (Proverbs 13:24; 19:18; 22:6,15, etc.) and it works in real life with God’s discipline. It’s the best sign that He loves you.

And so Israel is assured of God’s love and receives the promise of restoration (30:18). Words like “thanksgiving” and “rejoicing” begin to reappear in the text. The broken relationship with God is restored and He asks, “who is he who will devote himself to be close to me?” (30:21).

The sky begins to lighten with the dawn of the previous chapter but the full sunshine breaks out in chapter 31. The promises begin to tumble out with words like...

• “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. I will build you up again....” (31:3-4)
• “Your work will be rewarded [spoken to Jeremiah]...they will return...there is hope for your future....” (31:16-17)
• “I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel” (31:31)

That New Covenant is unconditional and eternal - read the terms in 31:33-38. It stands on nothing less than God’s word of promise to Israel. But it was gloriously amplified to include all peoples (non-Jews) and is known to us as the New Testament. It is found again repeated in Hebrews 8:8-12, where it is opened up to include believers of this age who have been grafted into that trunk that goes back to the Abrahamic Covenant.

No, we’re not “God’s Israel today” and the nation of Israel was not “the church in the Old Testament”. That’s poor theology. But we have been included in God’s eternal covenant if we have the faith of Abraham and become his spiritual descendants (Galatians 3:6-9; Romans 4:13-18). The joy that Israel experienced in Jeremiah’s promises becomes our joy too.


Psalms 73-74

Have you ever caught yourself envying the lifestyle, or at least the liberties, of the wicked? How can they get away with it? They seem to be able to enjoy certain pleasures with impunity; things that are attractive but, for me, carry a price I don’t want to pay. How is it that they can do it and not seem to pay for it?

Well, first of all, remember whose children they are. You have a different Father. He expects better of you and you have a responsibility to maintain the reputation of His Name. “You were bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (I Cor. 6:20, KJV).

But don’t think for a minute that they will get away with it. That’s a lie from the Pit. That’s a deception that will be proven untrue in every case. Asaph said:

For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked...til I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. (Ps. 73:3,17)

Step into God’s presence for just a moment and you will see things differently. Eternity’s values will give you a different view. Like Moses, you will be encouraged to choose “to be mistreated with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time”. You will “regard disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt”, because you will see the reward that awaits the one who is faithful (Heb. 11:25-26).

Back to Psalm 73.... Asaph was tempted to despair. At times he thought it was all in vain; that getting beat up for doing good wasn’t worth it; that maybe the other side had the better deal. But when he entered the presence of God (vs. 17) everything changed and he came away saying:

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds. (Ps. 73:24-28)

THE LORD SPOKE (October 3)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Isaiah 41-43

Isaiah 42:1-13

We don’t think much about servants in our culture. Since few of us have them we don’t really give it much consideration. But, we also don’t think too highly of servants in our culture. It may be okay for the foreigner at entry level but we don’t give much value to the position. Even our “public servants” don’t really fit that description too well - in fact, that’s almost a joke. Public servants??

There are four “Servant Songs” in Isaiah which speak of the Messiah. There has been some confusion (even in evangelical circles) and various attempts to make the servant out to be the nation of Israel. But when it comes to the servant being a covenant for Israel (Is. 42:6), or the servant restoring Israel (Is. 49:6), or the servant dying for Israel (Is. 53:5,8,9), all such identifications fall apart. Israel dies for Israel? No, these are clearly messianic texts that speak of the Servant of the Lord, the Messiah. Isaiah uses the term “servant” (eved) twenty times. Eight of them appear in these passages:

Is. 42:1-9 - the Call of the Servant
Is. 49:1-13 - the Commission of the Servant
Is. 50:4-11 - the Commitment of the Servant
Is. 52:13 - 53:12 - the Career of the Servant

The full term “servant of the Lord” appears 22 times in the Old Testament. It refers to Moses 17 times, to Joshua and to David 2 times each, and once to national Israel. The similar phrase, “servant of God”, appears a few more times.

Some of the difficulty in identifying who exactly is the servant in each passage comes from what immediately follows in each one. For instance, both the section in chapter 42 and in chapter 49 closes with a statement about being “a light for the Gentiles”. It is true that Israel’s task is to be a light to the Gentiles but this is also the function of the Messiah, so the two converge at that point. The nation of Israel was to be a kingdom of priests and the Messiah would be the High Priest. But He did more than just officiate - He was, in fact, the Atonement for our sin. He was the actual “covenant for the people” (Is. 42:6) that brought salvation.

This first of the Servant Songs (Is. 42:1-9) speaks very little of the suffering the Servant would have to endure before accomplishing His mission. It speaks more of His second advent and the successful completion of the task and the righteousness that will ultimately prevail upon the earth. Jews and Gentiles will together benefit from the worldwide blessings of Messiah’s kingdom and the fulfillment of God’s covenant. What follows in the other Servant Songs will portray more of the Messiah’s suffering in His first advent.

Our Lord is a servant. Let us be thankful for all that this Servant suffered for us. His death accomplished our salvation. There is much we can learn from Him, as Paul tells us, “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus...” (Phil. 2:5).


Psalms 33-34

“I am Sir Oracle, and when I ope my lips, let no dog bark.” So said Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice (by William Shakespeare). We like to think, especially we men, that when we open our mouth, things should happen. Whether it’s the kids or wife or the people at work something should move when we speak. At least the dog or cat!

But the power of our word is puny. Even the most powerful among us. Not a one can compare to the explosive power of the word of the Lord. When He spoke, the universe happened. He said words, and they “came to be”. At His command, matter formed and stayed in formation.

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,
Their starry host by the breath of his mouth....
For he spoke and it came to be;
He commanded, and it stood firm. (Ps. 33:6,9)

From the vastness of space, right down to the heart of every individual He placed there to inhabit it, God “considers everything they do” (Ps. 33:15). His eyes are “on those who fear him” (Ps. 33:18) and He “loves righteousness and justice” (Ps. 33:5). He “foils plans” and “thwarts purposes” that are contrary to His. But He sees and rewards those who delight in Him.

Structurally, the psalm has a three-verse introduction that is a Call to Praise (Ps. 33:1-3) and a three-verse conclusion that is a Declaration of Praise (Ps. 33:20-22). The body of the psalm is made up of two stanzas of eight verses each (vs. 4-11 and 12-19) which give the Reasons for Praise. They describe God’s faithfulness and “unfailing love” (hesed in Hebrew - see vs. 5,18,22). Tucked in the middle (vs. 12) is a thought worth thinking: “Happy is the goy (translated “nation” but usually used for non-Jews) whose god is Yahweh.”

The conclusion resounds with hope (4x in NIV), but three different Hebrew words are used:

vs. 17 - don’t hope in a horse (teshuah, from the root for “rescue” or “salvation”)
vs. 18 - hope in God’s hesed (yahal, from a word for “wait”, “be patient”, “trust”)
vs. 20 - wait in hope for the Lord (hikat, from “await”, “long for”)
vs. 22 - put your hope in him (yahal again)

Do you have hope? Upon what is it based?