THE LORD SPOKE (July 11)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Old Testament: Ezra 7-8

The gracious hand of our God was on me.

Six times in two chapters. That's how often this phrase appears in the book of Ezra. The fact was perceived by kings (7:6,27-28) and feared by bandits (8:31-32). It was recognized by others (7:6,9) and proclaimed by Ezra himself (3:28). It started with one dedicated individual (3:6,9, spread to other leaders (8:18), and then to "everyone who look[ed] to [God]" (8:22).

How did/does it happen? How does one experience "the gracious hand of God"?

• by immersion in Scripture (7:6)
• by commitment to preparation, practice, and preaching (7:10)
• by humbling yourself before God (8:21-22)

What are the results?

• favor with those in authority (7:6,27-28)
• attainment of your goals and dreams (7:9)
• courage to move forward (7:28)
• encouragement to others to follow your example (8:18)
• more dependence upon God (8:21-23)
• God's protection (8:31-32)

Go back for a minute to where it started. Because Ezra devoted himself to the study of God's Word, "the gracious hand of his God was on him" (7:9-10). The Hebrew for "devoted himself" is literally "set his heart". It takes a commitment. Did you notice the sequence in 7:10? You need to "seek it", "do it", and "teach it". In that order! It's worthless to teach it to others if you're not doing it yourself and it's impossible to do it if you don't first know it.

Ezra was "well versed in the law of Moses". The KJV translates it as he was a "ready scribe". The Hebrew original actually uses a derivative of "fast" - i.e. he was quick in the Scriptures because he knew it front to back. When a question came up, he had a ready response from God's Word because he knew it so well himself.

"The systematic preaching of the Word is impossible without the systematic study of it. It will not be enough to skim through a few verses in daily Bible reading nor to study a passage only when we have to preach from it. No, we must daily soak ourselves in the Scriptures."
John R.W. Stott, The Preacher's Portrait (p. 31)

Don't you wish to experience the gracious hand of God upon your life too?


New Testament: I Timothy 2

Is there a difference between God willing something and God wanting something? There certainly is. Two different Greek words are used. Thelo is the lighter of the two and leans toward “inclination, desire, wish”. Bulomai is the stronger term and means “deliberation, determination, will”. The semantic range of the two words intersects but the difference is significant, especially in understanding a text like I Timothy 2:4.

If God wanted all men to be saved in the sense of divine determination, what could stop it? Paul tells us that God desires (thelo) the salvation of all men. In a very similar passage, Peter flips that over and affirms that God does not determine the damnation of anyone:

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting (bulomai) anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (II Pet. 3:9)

In both texts we’re reminded of God’s patient loving-kindness. Peter especially emphasizes the slowness of His judgment (see the context) in order that men may come to repentance. Elsewhere (I Pet. 1:2) he speaks very clearly of God’s sovereign choice according to His foreknowledge. Likewise, Paul tells us that God predestined, called, justified, and glorified those He foreknew (Rom. 8:28-30). This knowledge is based on his love and is mixed with purpose. It is not the idea that God foresaw who would believe and then “chose” them. He did the choosing! He knew us before we had any knowledge of Him.

Man has the mistaken notion that we should all have an equal chance, that we’re all basically pointed that direction, and that we all deserve the opportunity to respond. The opposite is true. We’re all faced in the opposite direction and quite delighted with our sin. We love darkness and our inclination is away from God. We are bent toward sin. God, in His great mercy and grace, reaches down and snatches some for Himself. The Scriptures say, “many”. It’s not His desire that any perish and so He has determined to save many.

My sin - O, the bliss of this glorious tho’t -
My sin - not in part, but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

THE LORD SPOKE (December 22)

Daily Reflections from Scripture:

Micah 6-7

He has shown you, O man, what it good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8

Why should we “act justly and love mercy”? Of course, one answer, perhaps the first, is “because God says so”. But God is never arbitrary or capricious in what He says. He never throws out commandments just “because I said so”. He doesn’t treat us with a “shape-up-or-ship-out” commander’s bark. Instead, He entreats us with “submit to my Spirit” and a reminder of the Creator’s mark upon us. He made us in His own image and tells us to follow His way, to think His thoughts, to be like Him. He is just and merciful. That’s good reason for us to be.

Micah’s message is a case in point. First of all, he reminds us that God has shown us the good way. At every turn, he acts justly and loves mercy. That’s the message of all the prophets. Though we, like Israel, have sinned, God has always dealt mercifully with us. He longs for us to return to Him and He’s the God of the second chance (e.g. Jonah). He comes out to meet us when we return (e.g. the Prodigal Son).

Look at the close of Micah’s prophecy. “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged to our fathers in days long ago.” (7:18-20). So, how can we not “walk humbly with our God” (6:8)?

Great God of wonders! All Thy ways
Are matchless, Godlike and divine;
But the fair glories of Thy grace
More Godlike and unrivaled shine,
More Godlike and unrivaled shine.

Who is a pardoning God like Thee?
Or who has grace so rich and free?
Or who has grace so rich and free?

In wonder lost, with trembling joy,
We take the pardon of our God:
Pardon for crimes of deepest dye,
A pardon bought with Jesus’ blood,
A pardon bought with Jesus’ blood.

Who is a pardoning God like Thee?
Or who has grace so rich and free?
Or who has grace so rich and free?


Proverbs 22

Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it. (Prov. 22:6)

Don’t take comfort from this verse unless you interpret and apply it correctly. It does not say that every man will come back to his senses if you be sure to take him to Sunday School when he’s little.

Somehow we have gotten the mistaken notion that it’s normal for a child to get out and stretch his wings and sew a few wild oats at some point. But if we’ve been good in his basic training, he’ll eventually come back to his senses, return to the nest, and be a decent person after all.

You can’t get that from Proverbs 22:6. Hebrew grammar is necessary to understand it properly. One of the ways to indicate a possessive in Hebrew is to attach a pronominal suffix to the noun being so defined. That’s how it is here. “Way” is a noun with a first person, masculine, singular, pronominal suffix attached to it. Quite literally it should read “train a child in that child’s way”. In other words, you need to know your child well so that instruction can be properly matched to him and his needs. You need to understand “his way” - his personality, his capacity, his learning style, his needs.

No two children are the same. There’s often a major difference between a first-born and the last baby of the family. Boys are different from girls. Some children are naturally artistic and some are not. You need to understand each child so that your instruction can be properly fitted to his way. Then, you can take comfort in the promise of this verse. If you have properly understood and nurtured that child, it’s not likely that he will stray far from the path.