Gadfly's Muse

Zechariah 3 & 4: Behold, I Am Doing Great Things...

Image: "Foretaste of Heaven", 2018, North Beach Scene, Oahu, HI

Zechariah 3:4  Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

Zechariah 3:8  ‘Hear, O Joshua, the high priest, You and your companions who sit before you, For they are a wondrous sign; For behold, I am bringing forth My Servant the BRANCH.

Zechariah 4:6  So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.

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Sometimes we are tempted to think: "It's just too hard!"  We want to achieve some significant goal, or undertake a great, important task, and as we get started the problems mount, we discover our own deficiencies, and we just want to give up.  Then Satan really gets in our head.  We start hearing the serpent's hiss the discouraging word.  We find ourselves more concerned with "blame" than solutions, and we know that we're in trouble.

This situation faced Joshua (the high priest) and Zerubbabel (the governor) as they undertook to build the Lord's temple.  The people had lost enthusiasm (Haggai 1:2) and there was constant opposition from the surrounding peoples who feared a resurgent Judah.  It was exactly here that God spoke to them and called His people and their leaders to a renewed dedication and renewed hope in their efforts.

As is always the case, we see the religious leader, Joshua (parallel to Jesus) being tempted and accused by Satan. (3:1)  The key to uniting the people of God together unto some great work, or perhaps, any good work, is that they be inspired to the task.  This is where the minister comes in.  He is to lead the people into a vision of God's glory inherent in the work before them.  Satan, of course, knows this and as he did with Jesus and as he does with every zealous shepherd of God's flock, he undertakes to undermine the man.  Here we are told that he comes before "the Angel of the LORD" (Whom I take to be the pre-incarnate Christ) with intent to "oppose" Joshua.  Our Lord, in an action beautifully descriptive of how all sinners are justified, rebukes Satan and then turns to Joshua and cleanses him of all his iniquity and dresses him in "rich robes" of righteousness. (3:4)

Brothers and sisters is this not a terrifically "great thing?"  How can any man not be inspired to undertake great works for the Lord when he truly knows what the Lord has done for him?  To have Satan silenced, to have all his accusations flung in the trash or, better metaphor, "nailed to the cross so that we bear them no more", is gloriously astonishing in its scope.  This is all done before we ever even get started on good works!  How can any sane individual think that some "good work" on our part moves God to grant us grace?  Justification, the declaration that we are righteous before God, is the foundation of our good works and the only claim we have to His eternal blessings.

God then gives Joshua even more encouragement.  Joshua and his "companions", fellow servants, are to be a "wondrous sign," a signal of something ahead.  God is using them and the work that they will complete to foreshadow another great "thing."  He will bring forth, in time and space, His "Servant the Branch."  This pregnant description was well known to Joshua and the other religious leaders.  The "Branch" was, of course, the Messianic Son of David Who would come and complete the work that this temple Joshua was building was to be a "stone."   Joshua is here told that this work means far more than just restoring worship to God's Old Covenant people.  It was a building block in God's purpose of building a New Covenant people who would fulfill the promise this temple represented.  How could Joshua not have thrilled in enthusiasm for the difficult job that lay ahead.  It was truly God doing a "great thing."

In chapter 4 God speaks to the other partner in this great work, Zerubbabel.  It was he, as Governor, who had to maintain order and provide the finances and organization for the work.  He also must have been discouraged and who can blame him?  If he failed then there were real world consequences that would descend on him from the Babylonian court.  So, I imagine Zerubbabel was pulling out his hair.  How could he make it happen.  He was surrounded by a "great mountain" of difficulties (4:7) and God tells him, plain as day, that this mountain would become a "plain."  What appeared astonishingly difficult to him would, when undertaken, to be not only possible but not as hard as he expected.

How was this to be understood?  God tells him plainly.  These difficulties will not be removed by (your) might or power, "but by My Spirit."  All Zerubbabel had to do, as every minister of God discovers, is "show up."  He had to place himself in the Lord's service, do the tasks immediately before him and discover, amazingly enough, that God would bring the fruit of success.  Any good work, that is, a work that is undertaken for the glory of God and in accordance with His leading, will be conducted in the Lord's Spirit.

This is truly a great thing.

Much more can be said about these chapters but this will have to suffice.  They serve to remind us that this life is hard and Satan is always there, seeking to discourage us, but the great truth is, that God is the one who not only saves but inspires and empowers us to our tasks.  We just need to embrace that truth and rejoice in it.

 

Zechariah 1 & 2: They Walk Among Us!

Image: "Walking Among Us", 2018, North Shore Sunset, Oahu, Hi

Zechariah 1:2–3 “The LORD has been very angry with your fathers. 3 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the LORD of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.

Zechariah 2:5  For I,’ says the LORD, ‘will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’ ”

Zechariah 2:10–11  “Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion! For behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst,” says the LORD. 11 “Many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and they shall become My people. And I will dwell in your midst. Then you will know that the LORD of hosts has sent Me to you.

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A few years back Frank Peretti published "This Present Darkness" and its sequels which enjoyed great success among Evangelicals in our country and perhaps worldwide.  I cannot endorse the theology enthusiastically but they did make an impact on me in one regard.  Peretti brought home the reality of spiritual beings, good and bad, that inhabit our creation along with us and who certainly exert influences on us and the world about us.  He built on the very Biblical theme that reality does not consist of just what we can see.  In Jacob's vision, he saw a ladder coming down from heaven with angels descending and ascending to do the Lord's will. (Gen. 28:11) Our Lord (John 1:51) applied this "ladder" metaphor to Himself.  The letter to the Hebrews treats the presence of angels among us in a most matter-of-fact manner. (Heb. 1:14)  I think that we moderns, in our very sterile and overly materialistic worldview, do not take this concept seriously enough.  Sometimes, even Christians are a bit uncomfortable with testimony given of "angelic" interventions in ordinary lives.  The ancients, Zechariah included, had no doubts about it.  Neither does God.

Zechariah saw a gathering of such beings mounted on horses in a vision of myrtle trees.  They reported to the Angel of the LORD, Whom I take to be the pre-incarnate Christ and made this solemn pronouncement: Zechariah 1:10–11 And the man who stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, “These are the ones whom the LORD has sent to walk to and fro throughout the earth.” 11 So they answered the Angel of the LORD, who stood among the myrtle trees, and said, “We have walked to and fro throughout the earth, and behold, all the earth is resting quietly.”

This vision strikes us as unusual.  We don't read often of the "earth resting quietly" especially during Zechariah's days.  The Persians were in firm control with the strong king Darius on their throne.  As such, they had restored a measure of stability to the world scene and, as we know, Cyrus and Darius were somewhat sympathetic to the exiled Israelites and allowed them to return to their homeland.  We might see a parallel here to the Pax Romana that settled the Roman Empire during the days of Augustus Caesar and we know that this was the stage for our Lord's birth in Bethlehem.  What I think we should consider is that God's sovereign guidance of world history is conducted through both direct actions by the Holy Spirit and also through secondary means such as men and angels.  Perhaps we might begin to incorporate this well-documented Biblical theme into our ordinary expectations and understanding as we seek to judge our world and our lives in it.

Notice how God views the overall situation in Zechariah 1:15: I am exceedingly angry with the nations at ease; For I was a little angry, And they helped—but with evil intent.” Here we have a very similar situation to Joseph's brothers selling him into captivity.  They meant it for evil but God meant it for good.  God is saying here that this present period of "peace" was indeed brought about by those pagan "nations" who were then "at ease."  But far from gaining merit before God, they were actually just tools in His hands.  "They 'helped'-- but with evil intent."  They were used to set the stage for God to "return to Jerusalem with mercy" (1:16).  It was time to re-establish His people in Zion and to rebuild His temple.  Here the Israelites themselves would be, through angelic "help" and with God's direct oversight, again be constituted as a separate nation on the earth.  But we must not see this as an end unto itself.  God is preparing the world for the advent of His Son and the Jews and Jerusalem would occupy a primary stage on which this was to transpire.

What God goes on to promise here is that this restoration would be preserved until His plans for it were accomplished.  He would be "a wall of fire all around her" (2:5) preserving her and sustaining her and protecting her during the tumultuous times that yet lay ahead.  Even when the Persians fell to Alexander the Great and Rome itself invaded and occupied Palestine, yet Jerusalem was not reduced to rubble.  Indeed, under Roman rule, she was given some special privileges.  This was all God's doing and we can be sure that His angels were doing His will in moving men and nations as He directed.

The whole world is put on notice at this point.  When God re-established Jerusalem the world should recognize that something special was going on.  True enough, the Jews did not recognize the Lord's Presence among them because He did not show forth His glory in the rebuilt temple as He did before.  Also, He did not raise up Godly kings and priests to guide them in restored authentic worship and obedience as He did in the past.  But God did again "dwell in (their) midst." (2:11)  His special preserving care for His visible Church was present even in their ignorance and stumbling.

God is still in the midst of His visible Church today.  True, it is no longer the ethnic people of Israel who can claim that privilege.  It is the Church of Jesus Christ that is now the new Jerusalem and into it are streaming all those, in every nation, who have heard the Good News and recognize that "all flesh" should be silent before Him. (2:13)

We Christians need to adopt a much more spiritually tuned world view in order to truly appreciate this.  

 

Haggai 1 & 2: Signed & Sealed...

Image: "Hope When Things Look Bleak", 2020, The Black Church, Budir area, Iceland - Photographer: Dave Johanson

Haggai 1:1–2  In the second year of King Darius, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah,..., saying, 2 “Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built.” ’ ”

Haggai 2:4–5  Yet now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ says the LORD; ‘and be strong, Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest; and be strong, all you people of the land,’ says the LORD, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the LORD of hosts. 5 ‘According to the word that I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt, so My Spirit remains among you; do not fear!’

Haggai 2:23 ‘In that day,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says the LORD, ‘and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,’ says the LORD of hosts.

Matthew 1:12–16 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel. 13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor. 14 Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud. 15 Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob. 16 And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

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This short book appears to raise more questions than it gives answers.  In it, we have a snapshot of the post-exilic affairs in Jerusalem.  This is the time of Ezra (Ezra 5:1, 6:14) and Nehemiah though they are not mentioned in this text.  Haggai begins with the sharp disclosure that the returned exiles and the remnant who are in the land have paid scant attention to the necessity of true worship of their living God: 2 “Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying: ‘This people says, “The time has not come, the time that the LORD’s house should be built.” ’ ”   We have to keep in mind that during the OT dispensation, sacrifices were essential to corporate religious life and well being of the people.  They could not expect the Lord's blessings for their continued existence much less restoration to some degree of self-identity as the Covenant People of God apart from temple worship.

And this seems to be born out in spades by the caustic observations in chapter 1:  Haggai 1:6  “You have sown much, and bring in little; You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes.”  God was reminding them that He was the One in charge of their well-being.  It was He Who had brought them down in judgment before and it was He Who had brought them out of exile.  How could they now think that, even in their reduced state, that their first priority was to look after their own affairs?  Certainly, we can sympathize with them.  But we ought to remember the poor widow whom Jesus observed putting her last coins in the alms deposit.  Faith is often most on display when we step out from weakness rather than strength.  

Through the leadership of Zerubbabel and others, the temple was built.  It was a poor replacement in most respects.  God himself notes the sadness among those who remembered Solomon's temple and were dismayed at this one.  But here God, through Haggai, shifts tone.  In the gloom the dim prospects of a brighter future shone through: Haggai 2:7–9  and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory,’ says the LORD of hosts. 8 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts. 9 ‘The glory of this latter temple shall be greater than the former,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘And in this place I will give peace,’ says the LORD of hosts.”    

God would not leave this temple in its "second-class" status.  He promises that there will be a glorious new temple built to replace this one.  Here we see a twofold prophecy.  Herod the Great would indeed rebuild this temple and make it glorious indeed.  But that temple still fell short of the glorious habitation fit for the Triune God.  Our Lord Christ told of building a greater temple than that of Herod's and when that temple met its doom at the hands of the Romans, then the magnificent Church of the Lord Jesus Christ could be seen without distraction.  It is indeed this latter edifice which is the ultimate fulfillment of this prophecy.

Haggai closes with an intriguing promise to Zerubbabel himself.  He promises that he will be made like a "signet" ring because God had chosen him (2:23).  Here again, there are many debates about this because Zerubbabel himself is such a relatively obscure figure that it is difficult, on a surface scan, to see whether this prophecy was true.  Zerubbabel essentially drops out of view and we do not have any further historical records of his accomplishments if there were any.  But there is one specific reference to him that completely validates this blessed privilege he received.  As we look through the heritage of our Lord Jesus Christ (Mat. 1:12-16 above), we see that Zerubbabel was established as an important link in the Davidic line of the "house" into which Jesus was born.

During this dangerous and chaotic period of time, unless the Lord acted as He did, the heirs of David may have been completely wiped out.  Certainly the Medes and the Persians cared nothing for God's promise to David.  But God cared... and He acted... and through this obscure figure the promises of God were "signed and sealed."  He truly was "a signet ring" (2:23) guaranteeing the fulfillment of God's covenant promise. 

Zephaniah 3: An Energizing Hope...

Image: "A Place of Refreshing", 2020, Swimming Area before Daniels Dam, Patapsco River, Daniels, Md

Zephaniah 3:5  The LORD is righteous in her midst, He will do no unrighteousness. Every morning He brings His justice to light; He never fails, But the unjust knows no shame.

Zephaniah 3:9–10  “For then I will restore to the peoples a pure language, That they all may call on the name of the LORD, To serve Him with one accord. 10 From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, The daughter of My dispersed ones, Shall bring My offering.

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Growing up in the 50's & 60's in the deep South, it was nothing to go swimming in a river.   Other than keeping alert for pesky water moccasins and such, it was pretty safe.  There was little or no pollution in those days.  Most of the rivers near me were relatively shallow though there were stories of an occasional drowning.  There was also the spring-fed swimming venue at Pep's Point whose frigid temps would turn you blue even in mid Summer.  On special occasions, we might go to Lake Shelby where the rich kids went water skiing and the rest of us just swam in the pleasant water.

All of this is to say that I am partial still to freshwater swimming.  I cannot feel refreshed by saltwater beaches... you just feel "sticky" when you come out and the sandy beaches can't compare to shady lawns around a well-tended swimming hole like Lake Shelby or Pep's Point.  The image above took me back to those days.  It looks like a great place for a family picnic though there are few parking places and it might not available.  The cool, clear water and the shallow orange kiddie-friendly area are very inviting.  I hope to get back there someday.

Zephaniah 3 invites us to consider another time of refreshing.  This hope-filled chapter begins with the solemn warning of coming judgment.  God speaks to His people as represented in the city of Jerusalem.  They are a disobedient, oppressing, stiff-necked people who have refused to "draw near" to their God. (vs. 2)  God then goes on to systematically detail the degree to which they chased after sin.  God has shown them, time and time again, that He will bring "justice" to light (vs. 5) but they have persisted in their greed and abuse.  Even though, in the face of His anger bringing many fortresses to ruin (vs. 6), they still "rose early and corrupted all their deeds." (vs. 7)  There can be no defense against the charges.  God's people are guilty and deserving of His wrath.

But then, like a shaft of sunlight piercing the dark clouds, comes God's hope.  He calls on those remaining faithful ones, even if they are scattered "beyond the rivers of Ethiopia" (vs. 10), to "wait for Me!"  His judgments will be righteous and devastating but His elect remnant will be preserved.  He says that He "will gather those who sorrow... to whom (the) reproach (of prevailing evil) is a burden." (vs. 18)  In other words, those meek and grief-stricken faithful who suffer under the oppression and genuinely hate the wickedness around them will be called back together. God will reconstitute a "new" people on the earth comprised of the "meek and humble" who "trust in the name of the LORD." (vs. 12)  His Holy Spirit will purify their tongues so that they do not practice deceit or lying. (vs. 13)  He will even give them a "pure language", a special language of worship, which will separate them from all the foul nations of the earth and distinguish them as God's own unique people.

What a time of "refreshing" that will be... and already is present in the true Church of Jesus Christ.

The New Testament people of God are no longer tied to the particular Hebrew language that unified the visible church in the Old Testament.  Now, we have been given the freedom to worship in our own languages, in our distributed centers, but to an amazing extent, we are unified across the world.  It is the Person of Jesus Christ and the common inheritance we all have in Him which has torn down the barriers of race, geography, and social customs.  We truly have been called forth from the nations and joined in glad assembly which is now wonderful and shall be more wonderful still.

There will come a day when we stand in joyful celebration, with our Lord in our midst, and sing with one voice and one language, of His glorious work.  We shall have His mark on our heads and, at last, all memory of sorrow and heartache shall be gone.

It will be even more wonderful than a clean dive into a gently flowing freshwater stream.  Today is Sunday... that's another time of refreshing.

Happy Sabbath!

 

 

 

 

 

Zephaniah 1 & 2: The Near & Distant Vision

Image: "Mystic Stream", 2020, Patapsco River Scene, Daniels, Md

Zephaniah 1:7  Be silent in the presence of the Lord GOD; For the day of the LORD is at hand, For the LORD has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests.

Zephaniah 2:9  Therefore, as I live,” Says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Surely Moab shall be like Sodom, And the people of Ammon like Gomorrah— Overrun with weeds and salt pits, And a perpetual desolation. The residue of My people shall plunder them, And the remnant of My people shall possess them.”

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"Zephaniah" literally means "the Lord hides" and that poses a mystery in itself.  Probably born during the reign of the evil Manasseh who was not averse to shedding "innocent blood" (2 Kings 21:16, 24:4), he may, like Moses before him, have been hidden as an infant or young child.  We know, from his lineage, that he grew up in tumultuous times and if Hezekiah was the same King Hezekiah, he was a cousin to King Josiah.  This presents all kinds of interesting possibilities.  Perhaps King Josiah's strong reforms and revival of true religion was due to the influence of a kinsman prophet whom he accepted as a trusted advisor.  Who knows?  Zephaniah, as a person, remains "hidden" to us yet.

However, his writings reveal much.  He was not inferior to any of the other prophets for his insights into the core corruption around him and God's juggernaut of judgment that would surely come.  Josiah brought about a restoration of Israelite territory that, in some instances, went even further than had been the case under Solomon.  With the Northern Kingdom eliminated by the Assyrians and Assyria itself tottering in its final days, Josiah essentially gained sovereignty or at least hegemony over the entire region.  The people must have been truly excited about the renewed sense of identity and the corresponding prosperity that came with these expansions.  We know that Josiah was a beloved king.  When he died the entire nation mourned..  2 Chronicles 35:20-24.  But, as always, prosperity brings its own temptations.

Though Josiah restored true worship and God blessed his reign, yet among the people, the old passions and greed did not vanish.  They became complacent as Zephaniah clearly states: Zephaniah 1:12  “And it shall come to pass at that time That I will search Jerusalem with lamps, And punish the men Who are settled in complacency, Who say in their heart, ‘The LORD will not do good, Nor will He do evil.’  With prosperity comes opportunity.  With opportunity comes the temptation to exploit the weak and advance in greed.  Zephaniah's clear vision reveals that God was not fooled.  Though He was currently blessing His people far beyond their expectations, yet they were not returning to Him with sanctified hearts.  Zephaniah told them that God's search lamp would find them out and they would pay for their sullen rebellion.

God had prepared a "feast" and invited His "guests."  This probably is a metaphor for the "feast" set for the vultures that God had used before.  The point was that this "feast" was set... it was unchangeable... The day of the Lord was coming. (1:7)  Yet there was room for mercy: Zephaniah 2:3  Seek the LORD, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden In the day of the LORD’s anger. There were those in the land for whom the revival under Josiah had taken root.  There were indeed the "meek of the earth", who had heeded the call of Micah to "do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God." (Mic. 6:5ff)  They had "upheld His justice" and through Zephaniah, God told them to continue to "seek righteousness (and) humility."  There appears to be a deliberate "wordplay" in the possibility that they would be "hidden in the day of the LORD's anger." (2:3)  Zephaniah himself, in his name, was a metaphor for God's gospel message to His people.  Truly their hope was that the "LORD would hide" them.  

The certainty that some would indeed find this grace extended to them is proclaimed in 2:9.  God looks around the region at those nations and peoples who had taken advantage of His people in their weakness and proclaimed that they would become a "perpetual desolation."  But in the face of that judgment, we are told that the "residue" of His people would "plunder" them and the "remnant" would possess their lands.  God's people will inherit the earth and possess the very world that their enemies had occupied.  

God's judgment was a day of darkness (1:15) but there were brilliant flashes of light within it.

In the image above we see rocks and swirling water flowing around them.  But beyond those rocks, on the other side, is a rock bathed in light.  This is the "near and distant" vision that God gives Zephaniah.  There is a "rock" in the future Who will provide stability and a firm foundation for God's people.  The river will have to be crossed and great perils will attend the travel but at last a firm footing will be found.  The Lord Jesus of Nazareth is that rock.  Zephaniah did not see Him clearly but He knew what His God and ours would do.  

There is still time for the "meek" to pursue justice and humility.  We have a firm hope that though the judgment is "near", yet those who belong to Jesus will be "hidden" in Him and will not be lost.  I think Zephaniah was not a mournful prophet like Jeremiah.  I think the beauty of his vision filled him with confident serenity for himself and the ultimate fate of his people.  That's what we should find in it also.

 

 

Habakkuk 3: Remembering Mercy...

Image: "Golden Harvest", 2020, Field Scene, Sunflower Farm, Manchester, Md

Habakkuk 3:13 You went forth for the salvation of Your people, For salvation with Your Anointed. You struck the head from the house of the wicked, By laying bare from foundation to neck. Selah

Habakkuk 3:17–19  Though the fig tree may not blossom, Nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, And there be no herd in the stalls— 18 Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

19 The LORD God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills.

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As the closing phrases, "To the Chief Musician. With my stringed instruments", make abundantly clear, this chapter is a song or Psalm.  We see the musical notation "selah" at various places throughout.  Habakkuk started this little book with fearful trepidation, he ends it with a glorious affirmation of trust.  He has seen God's salvation and like Moses, Miriam, Hannah, David, and Mary (in her time), he had to sing.

And what a song it is!

There is no doubt in his mind as he opens these verses.  God will do exactly as He said He would do.  God had heard the noise of wickedness on high and was moving to judge it.  As I mentioned in the last meditation, this was "Good News."  The hope of all mankind hinges on this:  that God is just.  He is just in that He does not pass over sin but will judge it and punish unrighteousness and, God is just in that He will honor His covenant with His Son and accept the one pure and perfect Offering which He gave up on behalf of all those who have been blessed with the gift of faith.  God would be unjust to no punish wickedness for which atonement has not been made.  God would be unjust to punish those for whom atonement had been made.  That is our rock solid ground on which to build our lives of service.

Though Habakkuk had not seen the fullness of God's saving plans for His people, yet he knew that God could be trusted for mercy.  Habakkuk 3:2  O LORD, I have heard Your speech and was afraid; O LORD, revive Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known; In wrath remember mercy. 

Yes, God's wrath was awful to contemplate and absolute in its extension.  When He "came from Teman... His glory covered the heavens and the earth was full of His praise..." (vs. 3)  This was no puny idol that could not speak much less act.  This God, our God, reduced the entire earth to trembling,... "the everlasting mountains were scattered, the perpetual hills bowed." (vs. 6)  No, there was no question that this was God... the One True God... the Eternal God to Whom all nations owe worship and allegiance.  Everywhere the nations quailed before His glory and He did what He came to do.  "He went forth for the salvation of (His) people... for salvation with (His) anointed... (and) struck the head from the house of the wicked." (vs. 13)

This was a vision of the great judgment that God will work in due time.  Habakkuk was privileged to see the Messiah in His role as the Avenger of injustice (Cf. Rev 19:11ff), riding His white horse with the sharp sword that would strike the nations.  These things did not happen when God judged His people in Jerusalem at the hand of the Babylonians.  Nor was it fulfilled when God's "anointed" Cyrus, the Mede, wreaked destruction on Babylon.  These events were a mere foreshadowing of what was to come and, in its fulfillment, is yet in the future.

Habakkuk saw the complete destruction of God's enemies as the persecutors of His people when God invaded the world "with His troops" (vs. 16).  It was a fearsome sight.  Habakkuk's body trembled. (vs. 16)  But the net result was satisfying as only God's righteousness can be.

Habakkuk closes out with one of the most ringing songs of faith in all of scripture.  No matter what catastrophes God wreaks upon the earth as He sets about His purposes, yet the people of God can rejoice.  Though they may be hungry and destitute (vs. 17), yet they can and must "joy in the God of (their) salvation" because their strength does not come from food or flocks.  Their strength comes for the LORD God (vs. 19).  It is He who will give them all that they need to find their happiness and reward in Him.  Truly, He will make them "walk on (our) high hills."

Habakkuk calls on God, at the beginning, to "remember mercy."  He closes with the glad celebration that God's mercy is absolutely guaranteed.  God's people will live by faith, live in faith, and gain eternal life through faith.  The wicked world will perish but the righteous people of God have nothing to fear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Habakkuk 1 & 2: Not My Will But Thy Will...

Image: "Old and Tired", 2020, Sunflower Farm Scene, Manchester, Md

Habakkuk 1:3–4  Why do You show me iniquity, And cause me to see trouble? For plundering and violence are before me; There is strife, and contention arises. 4 Therefore the law is powerless, And justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.

Habakkuk 1:6–7  For indeed I am raising up the Chaldeans, A bitter and hasty nation Which marches through the breadth of the earth, To possess dwelling places that are not theirs. 7 They are terrible and dreadful; Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.

Habakkuk 1:13  You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he?

Habakkuk 2:1  I will stand my watch And set myself on the rampart, And watch to see what He will say to me, And what I will answer when I am corrected.

Habakkuk 2:3–4 (NKJV) For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come,  It will not tarry. 4 “Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith.

Habakkuk 2:14  For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea.

Habakkuk 2:20  “But the LORD is in His holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”

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Habakkuk is simply a wonderful book, at so many levels.  At the "lowest" level it is superbly crafted.  Across the millennia separating us we can yet know and understand Habakkuk himself.  His unsettled heart and anguished emotional pain are plain to us.  We know how it feels to see wickedness and lawlessness and horrible perversions apparently prosper (e.g. human trafficking, child slavery).  We begin to self-doubt:  "Am I just a fool for thinking that good is supposed to triumph over evil?"  Habakkuk was, in many ways, a man after our own heart and his beautiful, impassioned poetry clearly communicates with us.  

At the "next" level we have to face the awful sovereignty of God.  "Awful" is deliberately chosen.  Habakkuk recoils in horror at the judgment that God is bringing on his own people.  He wanted the horror to cease in Judah.  He wanted the wicked to be punished.  But he was confronted with the wholesale terror that would accompany this judgment.  Men, women, and children would be slaughtered or stripped of all dignity and terror would grip the hearts of all.  Any person who is deeply disturbed by the wickedness so evidently multiplying in our world cannot help but want something done about it.  But what if the method that is used to punish the current wickedness is through an instrument of even greater wickedness (1:13).  We yet cringe at the terrible atrocities committed by the victorious Japanese during their conquest of the Far East in WWII.   To this day South Koreans still remember the tales of their ancestors who lived under Japanese occupation.  Americans died in the thousands due to the fanatical resistance of dug-in Japanese soldiers fighting an obviously lost cause.  We know all this and yet still, when we see the video of a mushroom cloud rising over Hiroshima, something inside us cringes.  We wonder if this was justified.  (I think it is but that's not the point)

Habakkuk was in a quandary.  He longed for righteous judgment but he quailed before the revelation of it.  Any person who truly reflects on the judgment stored up on all wickedness by the angry God who will bring it should feel the same.

Habakkuk cries out to God for an explanation: "How can a righteous God justify using these Chaldeans to punish His own people?"  In essence, he is asking "Are You really just?"  I love Habakkuk's story here.  He knows that God does not owe any man an answer for what He does.  He knows that God could very well, as He did with Job, curtly bring Habakkuk to task, and even angrily denounce his impertinence.  Habakkuk knows all this but his very human soul was so inflamed by what he saw that he could not let it go.  Habakkuk asks his question and then he retires to his watchtower to see if he would survive God's answer.

God's tenderness to Habakkuk is heartwarming in the extreme.  He knew that Habakkuk was a "tender reed", that his question had been asked in true humility and submission and so He responds graciously.

God would indeed use the Chaldeans but in doing so He would judge them also.  God's plans to deal with wickedness in this world are far more encompassing than just that of His chosen people.  We live knowing that we, like the Chaldeans, do not deserve God's mercy.  But, unlike the Chaldeans, we, along with the believing Jews, will see victory through judgment.  God's purging of sin in this world would not mean that every sinner would perish.  God's angel of death would pass over all those who sincerely clung to Him in faith.  "The just shall live in his faith". (2:4) Though indeed his sins may be as scarlet, yet God would wash him white as snow.  All of those for whom the Messiah would suffer would not eternally perish but inherit eternal life.  God would prove Himself just... in every instance.  All sin will be punished and receive its due wages, either in our own person or in the Person of our substitute.

God tenderly revealed to Habakkuk that he could calm his heart.  God was indeed just... in every particular and therefore the entire world should keep silent before Him. (2:20)

Jesus, in the Garden prior to His atoning death, faced God's awful judgment on sin even as did Habakkuk but to an infinitely greater extent.  "Must it be this way?" He asked, even as He knew that it must be.  "Then, not My will, but Thy will be done", He prayed.  Habakkuk's response was along the same lines, and so should ours be.

 

Nahum 1-3: God's Comfort, God's Justice

Image: "Comfort", 2020, Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Vienna, Va.

Nahum 3:4–5  Because of the multitude of harlotries of the seductive harlot, The mistress of sorceries, Who sells nations through her harlotries, And families through her sorceries. 5 “Behold, I am against you,” says the LORD of hosts; “I will lift your skirts over your face, I will show the nations your nakedness, And the kingdoms your shame.

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"Nahum" means "comfort" and believe it or not, that is what this short prophetic book was designed to bring to God's people.  We may find this passing strange in light of Nahum's resounding description of Nineveh's future.  God does not mince words.  Nahum 3:18–19  Your shepherds slumber, O king of Assyria; Your nobles rest in the dust. Your people are scattered on the mountains, And no one gathers them. 19 Your injury has no healing, Your wound is severe. All who hear news of you Will clap their hands over you, For upon whom has not your wickedness passed continually?  Nineveh will fall and her destruction will be total because "I am against you, says the LORD of hosts."  This is Nahum's comforting words to Judah.

He states it plainly.  This is good news: Nahum 1:15  Behold, on the mountains The feet of him who brings good tidings, Who proclaims peace! O Judah, keep your appointed feasts, Perform your vows. For the wicked one shall no more pass through you; He is utterly cut off.  We cannot mistake the clear parallel with Isaiah's similar prophecy regarding John the Baptist.  But here it is not the coming Messiah that constitutes the glad tidings.  It is that Nineveh will face her doom.  We need to understand this more clearly.

It is the historical context that makes it clear.  By the time Nahum came on the scene, Assyria's unquestioned dominance of not only the region but the known world at the time was over a century old.  As a nation or people, the Assyrian history goes back even further and had always been characterized as vicious and cruel.  Assyrian religion was bloodthirsty and perverted.  This was a civilization built on the most wicked of human pride and arrogance and they did not hesitate to cruelly treat those nations under their power.  Among these was Judah.

So, the people of Judah were facing despair.  How could they ever hope to prosper or even survive when they had to pay heavy indemnities to Nineveh.  The Assyrians had previously insisted that king Manasseh introduce vile pagan worship into the very precincts of God's Temple (2 Kings 21).  Judah was being led into ruin and there appeared to be no way to prevent it.

Then Nahum's words must have rung out in this gloomy atmosphere.  Perhaps it was his message that inspired good king Josiah to his reforms.  All we can know for sure is that Nahum's message was Gospel indeed.  Nahum 1:3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, And will not at all acquit the wicked.... God is slow to anger but we must not take that as a weakness.  His power is great and that power will, in His time, be directed in full force at the wicked.  God has sworn eternal judgment against the "mistress of harlotries" (3:4), the same dark power and principality that John saw in Rev. 14ff.  The "Harlot" of harlots is the sin-deep desire in fallen human beings to cast off God's restraint on their evil desires that register in the building up of great governments dedicated to promoting man's glory and hunger for evil.  This is the enmity that will be forever characteristic of human history until the Lord, at last, says "enough."  God is tolerating these sinful endeavors by pride soaked human beings but He will only do so for so long.

Nahum lays it out plainly: Nahum 1:7–8  The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him. 8 But with an overflowing flood He will make an utter end of its place, And darkness will pursue His enemies.  God knows that during this time when He is tolerating the wickedness of man to build up, as He did with Assyria, that His people will be sorely pressed.  They will long for justice expressed in vindication of their own hope and trust in God and full retribution demanded of those who have oppressed them.  Nahum's good news is that this outcome is absolutely guaranteed.  God will not waver nor depart from His plan.  He will have His Day of judgment and those who trust in Him will shine like stars in the heavens, while those who have loved wickedness will, indeed, receive full payment for their sin.

So, Christian, this is how our God will prove that He is both just and the justifier of all those who have faith in Christ Jesus.  It is Good News that requires perseverance but it is Good News.  This is our comfort and our hope.

 

 

 

Micah 7: A Dark Night Before A Brilliant Morning

Image: "Promised Refreshment", 2020, Daniel's Dam, Patapsco State Park, Daniels Area

Micah 7:2 The faithful man has perished from the earth, And there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; Every man hunts his brother with a net.

Micah 7:6–7 For son dishonors father, Daughter rises against her mother, Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; A man’s enemies are the men of his own household. 7 Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.

Micah 7:18–19  Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in mercy.  19 He will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins Into the depths of the sea.

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Jesus spoke to the very confused disciples and told them that they needed to be prepared for what was coming: "...brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death." (Mark. 13:12)  They had asked what appeared to be a simple question.  Jesus had told them that the beautiful temple before which they were standing would be torn down such that not one stone would be left on another.  They asked, quite humanly, "when will this happen?"  Jesus did not answer precisely but rather descriptively.  "Tough times have to happen first.  The pressure of evil men will be felt far and wide such that the structures of civil life will be threatened.  Families will turn on themselves, shredding the most fundamental unit of cultural stability.  It will be so bad that people will look for a scapegoat and sure enough, (Mark. 13:13) they will find one in you.  You will be hated by all for My name's sake."

That terrifying description of what was coming would sober any sane person.  If that was all that was said then Christianity would have no message of hope.  But Jesus did not leave them in despair.  Starting in Mark 13:24 He goes on to describe how He will come again as the crowning victory over sin and death.  The message is this:  the misery and terror of sin will, at last, be vanquished, but as the day of victory approaches, sin will break out in even greater vehemence.  There will be a dark night before the brilliant morning.

Micah 7 so closely follows this pattern that I wonder if the Lord was consciously applying it to His teaching.  

God starts with the accentuated depravity that was coming.  Reflecting back on the days of Noah, God declares again that "the faithful man has perished from the earth... " There is none righteous, no not one.  This horrible verdict is backed up by many examples.  People are so depraved that they are like cannibals hunting "his brother with a net." (vs. 2)  Verses 3 & 4 detail how corruption, greed, and ruthlessness permeate the entire social structure.  And then, as did Jesus, God brings it home in vs. 5 & 6.  Trust will be completely broken at every level.  The family itself will dissolve as each individual places his or her own best interest above even their most intimate companions or family members.

This is a horrifying picture but we must not shy away from it.  The whole purpose of revealing what was coming was to generate a prevailing conviction that only God can bring good out of the situation... only God can bring salvation in the face of hopelessness.  Micah cries out: "Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation.  My God will hear me."  Jesus said somewhat the same thing: Mark 13:13 (NKJV) ... But he who endures to the end shall be saved."

God affirms the same message in Micah as Jesus did in this teaching.  God says in Micah 7:15-17 that, for all intents and purposes, it will be the same as it was in the redemption from Egypt.  He will move with signs and wonders that will shake the earth.  All of those evil men and women will be terrified at the judgment that comes on them.  They "shall be afraid of the LORD our God and shall fear because of You."  Such in essence is the conclusion to which Jesus points and it is absolutely the message of the Revelation given to John.  God will not allow the horror of sin and the whirlpool of depravity to completely consume His people or destroy His beautiful Creation.  God will act, at just the right time, and when He does He will "give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham!" (vs. 20)  God's mercy and grace will trump His righteous anger as far as His people go.  He will pardon their iniquity, pass over their transgressions, have compassion on us and subdue all our willful rebellion.  Like the herd of swine into which Jesus cast the legion of demons, God will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea."  (Micah 8:18,19, cf. Mark 5:11-13)

The point is this:  we must simply accept, and even embrace, the truth that "sin" is normal in the sense that it is woven into the fabric of our fallen world.  Our prayers should not be directed toward God removing all terror and hatred and hardship while this sinful world continues.  God will in fact do all that "when He comes again" so, like Micah, and in line with Jesus' teaching, what we should be praying is that God will equip us and empower us to persevere. We must be realistic.  There will be highs and lows... sometimes we may get some degree of respite... but those times are only the calm before the storm. 

We must turn to God in hope and adoration, and see through the temporary pall of evil to that bright morning that is closer now than it hs ever been.  "Some glad morning... I'll (we'll) fly away" as we rise to meet our Savior in the air.  Till that day we must endure and our prayer, as always, is: "Maranatha, Lord Jesus, come quickly." 

Micah 6: It's Really Quite Simple...

Image:  "Brilliance", 2020, Butterfly Bush, Severna Park, Md.

Micah 6:3 “O My people, what have I done to you? And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me.

Micah 6:7–8  Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:15  “You shall sow, but not reap; You shall tread the olives, but not anoint yourselves with oil; And make sweet wine, but not drink wine.

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When a difficult situation confronts us that requires some kind of judgment or decision, we often find ourselves crying out: "I don't know what to do!"  In these circumstances, we can be sure of one thing: sin is "lying at the door" (Gen. 4:7) in some way.  It is a plain fact - sin complicates things, righteousness simplifies things.  So the more confusing or complex the issue, the more we can be sure that sin is mixed up in it either as a cause or as a temptation.

Now I know, as well as anyone, that most of us as Christians, want to do the "right thing."  The problem we face is knowing what that "right thing to do" is.  In my experience, the greatest hindrance to identifying that "right thing to do" is that we try to base our decision on what "might happen" if a decision is made one way or the other.  This is the root of the problem.  When we undertake to make decisions based on working for some "favorable" or "less evil" end result, we face two huge hurdles.

1 - We cannot predict how things will turn out!  Not in an absolute sense ever, and only in a probable sense at best.  The Lord spoke of this when he told of a rich man who decided to retire and use his hoarded-up wealth to live pleasurably for the rest of his life.  God was blunt: "You fool, this very night your soul will be required of you." (Luke 12:20) We live on a thin spider web of the Lord's providence.  He and He alone determines the outcome of any decision we make so it is foolish to ground our decision-making on possible outcomes.

2 - Scripture clearly teaches us that sometimes the "right" decision will bring very "negative" consequences, at least in the short-term.  God's saints have often had to stand by their profession of faith even when it meant persecution, torture, and/or death.  Choosing to "do the right thing" and laying down your life for your buddy in the foxhole means... you die!  Doing what is right can often bring short-term negative consequences.  That, alone, cannot be our primary ground for choosing "what is the right thing to do."

Here is where God speaks to us through Micah and says: "It's really quite simple- do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God!"  You might be saying about now that, "that doesn't really help! This means I have to judge what is the 'just' thing to do and that puts me right back at the beginning."

Well, no, I don't think so.  It does pose problems for those folks who are not used to thinking in terms of God's Word.  There are some occasions when it will seem like Scripture has more than one teaching that bears on a situation.  I admit that sometimes it does require some diligent meditation on God's Word or seeking counsel, to see how we should understand things.  The main point is that even here, it is a far more simple situation than before.  We know, for example, that our pathway forward is to try to bring God's word to bear... we know what the next step requires.

However, in my many years counseling people through crisis situations, it has been my experience that discovering what is the "just" thing to do is usually not that difficult.  It's just those doggone possible outcomes that make people hesitant to act on it.

Right here is where the above statement that "sin is lying at the door" comes into play.  When we know what is the just thing to do and we do not want to do it or stubbornly refuse to do so, then we are now in rebellion.  Quite frankly, we now have a bigger problem than whatever it is that we are facing.  

So we need to listen to the rest of what God says: "love mercy and walk humbly with your God."  LIfe and life's decisions become much more simple when they are faced from within a lifestyle of "loving mercy and walking humbly."  We become conditioned, if you will, to the "good life" for that is what it really is.  "Loving mercy" is a trait we exhibit when we have embraced the mercy God has shown us in Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, and have then responded to that mercy by consciously endeavoring to show mercy to others.  We live lives conditioned by mercy.  That's a good thing... it is a simple thing... and it adds immeasurable delight.  

Also, life is simplified when we walk humbly with our God.  When we get used to recognizing Him in the ordinary fabric of our lives and rejoicing in the fact that He is with us, then we are humbled by that reality.  It also conditions us through myriads of small choices to always be seeking to align ourselves with His will.  So... when push comes to shove and something big comes our way, then understanding what is "just and right" in the situation is much easier to discern, AND, we are quite content to do what is right and let God be in charge of how it turns out.

At every point, we discover that the just way is best.  It really is just that simple.