THE LORD SPOKE (July 20)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Esther 3-5

The Amalekites were already Israel's enemies 500 years before the time of Esther. Haman is identified here as an Agagite and Agag was the king of Amalek (I Sam. 15:20). He had faced off with King Saul of the tribe of Benjamin five centuries previously. Now Haman faced another Benjamite, Mordecai, and he wasn't happy.

Wasn't happy? "He scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai's people, the Jews..." (3:6). He was so enraged, he wanted to "annihilate all the Jews - young and old, women and children" (3:13). He was willing to pay for it up front (3:9) but saw the opportunity to get enormously rich by plundering their goods (3:13). What year are we in? 1939? By the way, Haman had a wife to match. After hearing the gory details of his "final solution", she contributed her own ideas and advised, "Don't worry - be happy." (5:14).

Why do people so hate the Jews? The closest thing to a stated reason here is because their "customs are different from those of all other people" (3:8). But many others have odd customs. Jingoists everywhere have despised those whom they think are odd. That's not enough to explain why the Jews have been singled out throughout history for "special treatment". Antisemitism is, in the last analysis, a hatred of God. Because He chose the Jews through whom to work out His purposes, they represent His righteous requirements for all mankind. Their existence and history reminds man that there is a sovereign God, that He has established a standard of right conduct, and that every man will answer for his actions. But men are lovers of darkness, rather than lovers of light (Jn. 3:19). The Jews, who are to be "a light to the nations" (Is. 42:6 et al.) serve as a reminder that a God of justice demands a reckoning and every man will be held accountable. So, in an attempt to escape Him, they turn their wrath against the Jews.

That's why He won't let the Jewish people go down. Ever! They keep popping back in history, not because of their own resilience or resourcefulness (though that is great), but because of His sovereign grace and plan. This was Mordecai's advice to Esther, "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place..." (4:14). At that time, there was no other place from which help could come. The Jews were in captivity. Tiny numbers and oppressed conditions were not going to produce a mighty deliverance. They had no king or army and none were for hire, especially not to them. God was their only possible source of deliverance and He is never without means.

Esther was faced with the opportunity to be His chosen vessel for that moment. So are you.


New Testament: Titus 1

“Sound doctrine.” It’s a major concern of the Pastoral Epistles where Paul mentions it eight times (and nowhere else). Sound doctrine is both commended and commanded, defined and demanded, proposed and practiced. Consider this:

1. There is such a thing! There is right and wrong, black and white, sound doctrine and bad doctrine. We’ve been so conditioned to being neutral that we’ve lost sight of that. Today you’re supposed to be accepting of everyone. Avoid being confrontational. Don’t be critical of other points of view. Not true! There is right teaching and there is wrong teaching and all wrong teaching is to be refuted (I Tim. 1:10).
2. It is definable. It is the “sound instruction of Jesus Christ” and “godly teaching” (I Tim. 6:3). That means it comes straight from Scripture. No add-ons and no omissions. Every proposition must have a biblical base and nothing may be avoided or disregarded.
3. It is preachable. Some won’t put up with it (II Tim. 4:2-3) but that makes no difference. It is the basis for correction, rebuke, and encouragement and must be sustained “with great patience and careful instruction”.
4. It is meant to be held up as a standard of judgment. It is a pattern meant to be fulfilled (II Tim. 1:13). Those who disagree or trust it in any way are to be refuted (Tit. 1:9). It is a measuring rod, a straight edge, and a standard.

The opposite of having sound doctrine is to be “robbed of the truth” (I Tim. 6:5). Some people have sound doctrine taken from them by false teachers. How do you deal with that? Turn that radio station off! Get out of that church that isn’t preaching truth - all of it.

Others are missing sound doctrine by their own actions. Whether through laziness or through inattention to detail, they are not getting a well-rounded diet of biblical teaching. Stop it! Don’t let yourself be content with a milk-only diet. Dig deeper. Look for nourishing spiritual food that is based on sound doctrine.

Some don’t know any better. They’ve never been taught so they don’t even know what they’re missing. Solution? Get into the Bible for yourself. Start reading and then start looking for answers in the text. Compare Scripture with Scripture. Be no longer content with a superficial breeze through the easy parts. Carve out some time, sit down with paper and pen in front of you, grab a concordance and some other Bible study tools, and start reading the sacred text.

You’ll never be the same afterwards.

THE LORD SPOKE (July 10)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Ezra 5-6

Ezra 5:1 - Now Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the prophet...prophesied...in the name of the God of Israel....

We have three historical books (Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther) and two prophetic books (Haggai and Zechariah) from what is called the "Persian Period" in the history of the Ancient Near East. We get a glimpse in this chapter of the tensions whirling around the province of Yahud at the beginning of the return from exile. Tattenai (governor of Trans-Euphrates) and Shethar-Bozenai, (a Persian official?) are interested in putting a quick stop to the project of rebuilding the Temple. They compose a letter of complaint to King Darius and quote to him a response that they'd elicited from Zerubbabel, Sheshbazzar, and Jeshua.

Notice how carefully the letter from the Judean elders phrases things. They don't directly mention Solomon because the memory of his dominance in the ANE was still too fresh. Instead, they call him "a great king of Israel". They are careful to refer to the Babylonian destruction and captivity because the Persians had also fought against the Babylonians. They skip over the initial Persian dominance and go straight to King Cyrus' decree that allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem (see II Chron. 36:24 and Ezra 1:2-4). They emphasize how Cyrus himself designated the leadership and authorized the return of the Temple utensils. Then they respectfully request a reconsideration of their permit.

During all this, the two prophets were busy and "the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah" (6:14). What a different pair they were:

Haggai - From August 29 until December 18, 520 BC, Haggai preached a series of messages to stir up the people to resume work on the Temple. Three and a half months! His message of condemnation awoke the people from their lethargy (have you ever been there?) and made them look back to the promises of God that had brought them to that point in the first place.

Zechariah - From 520 to 480 BC, Zechariah taught and encouraged the people to live with eternity's values in view. Forty years! His message of encouragement got the people through the building project (have you ever tried one of those?) and helped them look forward to the coming Messiah who made all such effort worthwhile.

We need both kinds! Some people learn better from one and some from the other. There are times when I need a blood-and-guts preacher to tell me straight out where I'm wrong and not pull any punches. And there are times when I don't need that. What I really need is a kind advisor who will put his arm around my shoulder and give me some wise counsel, encouraging me to press on. Three and a half months of hard-punching preaching and forty years of soft, encouraging teaching. That's probably just about the right balance but both are needed. Even Jesus fashioned a whip once and drove people off the Temple Mount so they would hear His message. We don't easily forget His parables and teaching but I'll bet the people in Jerusalem that day never forgot the sting of the whip either. God give us some more men like Haggai and Zechariah.


New Testament: I Timothy 1

They weren’t called “Pastoral Epistles” until a commentary by Paul Anton first used the term in 1726. It’s not a bad term but “missionary epistles” might be more appropriate since Timothy and Titus were sent by Paul to Ephesus and Crete to establish and strengthen local churches. Timothy probably called them “I & II Paul”!

The letters are full of “sound doctrine” with instructions on how to confront controversies and refute false doctrine. The emphasis is on godliness. Together, they provide instruction to:

I. PROCLAIM THE TRUTH (I Timothy) - Declare the Good News
II. PROTECT THE TRUTH (II Timothy) - Defend the Gospel
III. PRACTICE THE TRUTH (Titus) - Do Good Works

It appears that Timothy had grown somewhat discouraged in what he was facing at Ephesus. There were some heretical teachers that needed to be stopped. There were problems in worship practices, especially involving some of the women. And there was need to enforce better qualifications among the leadership. Paul urges him to stick it out (I Tim. 1:3). Paul’s encouragement centers on three aspects:

1. a pure heart ➔ present motives
2. a good conscience ➔ past actions
3. a sincere faith ➔ future goals

The flip-side of that is to say that an impure heart produces a guilty conscience which results in a phoney lifestyle. Paul says that “the goal of this command is love” (I Tim. 1:5). That has to be, first of all, a love for God but it shows up in a love for God’s people and for God’s work. Timothy is directed to be relentless in this struggle. It’s a constant battle and he needs to “fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience” (I Tim. 1:18-19).

A charge to keep I have,
A God to glorify,
A never-dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky.

To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfill;
O may it all my powers engage
To do my Master’s will.

Arm me with watchful care
As in Thy sight to live,
And now Thy servant, Lord, prepare
A strict account to give!

Help me to watch and pray,
And still on Thee rely,
O let me not my trust betray,
But press to realms on high.