1585.) Hebrews 4:14 – 5:10

“So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God.  There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help.”  –Hebrews 4:16 (CEV)

Hebrews 4:14-5:10   (NIV)

Jesus the Great High Priest

¹⁴Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. ¹⁶Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (New King James Version)

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is “What a Friend We Have in Jesus”  sung by Chris McDaniel.  To think that Jesus lives forever and prays for us!  As the Word of God says in Romans 8:33-34 — “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.  Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

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I first heard this story when my husband and I were stationed in Korea in the mid-80’s.  As I was preparing this portion of Scripture for the blog, imagine my surprise to read that very story in the book The Better Covenant by Milton Agnew.  “Grace to help us in our time of need,” indeed!

Dr. Ted Gabrielsen was appointed to the small Salvation Army Hospital in Yong Dong, Korea. Only of shell of the building had survived the North Korean occupation. While various nurses and interns had tried to keep some medical work going, it had been without a Salvationist doctor for nine years. Everything steal-able had been stolen, and the rest had rusted through.

Ted had great difficulty in impressing upon the Korean nurses the danger of handling penicillin carelessly. The drug had never been used here before. It is a very effective germicide, but if the common staphylococcus germ is exposed to it in less than lethal doses, the germ becomes increasingly resistant to the drug at every doubling of its numbers, which takes place every few minutes by cell division. Thus, within a few hours, it becomes a veritable dinosaur, which cannot be killed by thousands of units. It is vital, therefore, not only that penicillin be used in adequate amounts to kill infection, but just as vital that every trace of it be cleaned up afterwards.

A New York State hospital had to be closed down because the “golden bug” had gotten loose, and had killed every baby in the nursery.  The germs looks golden in color under the microscope.

This scanning electron micrograph of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria shows them at about 9,500 times their normal size.

Little wonder that a terrible staph infection broke out in the Yong Dong hospital. Before it could be identified, everyone in the hospital—patients and nurses—had it, including the doctor.

Ted frantically called his brother-in-law, Major Paul Rader, in Seoul, 130 miles to the north.  “We’ve got the golden bug down here, Paul! Penicillin is totally ineffective at this point. Unless I can get some hexachlorophene within the next few hours, we’ll at worst have some deaths, and at best I’ll have to have one of my most important fingers amputated to save my own life, and that will be the end of my surgical career. Please hit every drug outlet in Seoul.  If you can’t get the pure drug, get Dial soap; it’s loaded with it.”

A few hours later, Paul had to phone the heart-breaking news that no one had hexachlorophene, and they hadn’t even heard of Dial soap. The bottom seemed to fall out of Ted’s heart as he listened. But before he hung up, Paul said, “By the way, Ted, there’s a box here with your name on it which came today.”

Ted didn’t have much interest in any big box, but he said, “OK, pry it open and see what’s in it.”

Paul fairly screamed into the phone when he saw the contents. “Ted,” he yelled, “it’s Dial soap—a whole case of it!”

Ted shouted back, “Get it down here as fast as you can! We’ll give this place the greatest scrub dubbery it ever had in its life!”

They lathered up the whole case and made poultices for the infections and scrubbed down everything that could have been contaminated. There were no deaths, and Ted did not lose his finger. They had prayed as they scrubbed, and wondered all the while where the soap had come from.

Months later, the story became known. The inventor of Dial soap had made an appointment to see the president of a chemical house. He arrived a little early, so he started to chat with the receptionist, and before long he brought up the virtues of his brainchild, this Dial soap. Just as the buzzer signaled to show him in, the receptionist said, “Say, if this stuff is so all-fired good, why not send a case of it to my cousin Ted? He’s a Salvation Army surgeon in Yong Dong, Korea.”

He took time to note the name and address. That’s all there was to it. Months later the case arrived at the very moment of need. Had it come a few weeks earlier, it would have been dissipated on ordinary chores. Had it been 24 hours hours later, it would have been too late.

God’s timing is always perfect.  There is thrilling comfort to Hebrews 4:16: Let us then fearlessly … Draw near to the throne of grace … That we may receive mercy /for our failures/ and find grace to help in good time for every need — appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it (Amplified).

Hebrews 5

¹Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. ²He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. ³This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people.

⁴No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was.

 

Aaron
by George Herbert
(1593-1633, Welsh poet and Anglican priest)

Holiness on the head,
Light and perfection on the breast,
Harmonious bells below raising the dead
To lead them unto life and rest :
Thus are true Aarons drest.

Profaneness in my head,
Defects and darkness in my breast,
A noise of passions ringing me for dead
Unto a place where is no rest :
Poor priest ! thus am I drest.

Only another head
I have, another heart and breast,
Another music, making live, not dead,
Without whom I could have no rest :
In Him I am well drest.

Christ is my only head,
My alone only heart and breast,
My only music, striking me e’en dead ;
That to the old man I may rest,
And be in Him new drest.

So holy in my head,
Perfect and light in my dear breast,
My doctrine tuned by Christ (who is not dead,
But lives in me while I do rest),
Come, people ; Aaron’s drest.

⁵So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,
“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father.”

⁶And he says in another place,
“You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek.”

⁷During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. ⁸Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered ⁹and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him ¹⁰and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

“Head of Christ Crowned with Thorns” by Lucas Cranach the Elder, c. 1510.

from Morning and Evening,
by Charles Spurgeon

“Though He were a Son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered.”
–Hebrews v.8.

We are told that the Captain of our salvation was made perfect through suffering, therefore we who are sinful, and who are far from being perfect, must not wonder if we are called to pass through suffering too. Shall the head be crowned with thorns, and shall the other members of the body be rocked upon the dainty lap of ease? Must Christ pass through seas of His own blood to win the crown, and are we to walk to heaven dryshod in silver slippers? No, our Master’s experience teaches us that suffering is necessary, and the true-born child of God must not, would not, escape it if he might.

But there is one very comforting thought in the fact of Christ’s “being made perfect through suffering” — it is, that He can have complete sympathy with us. “He is not an high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” In this sympathy of Christ we find a sustaining power. One of the early martyrs said, “I can bear it all, for Jesus suffered, and He suffers in me how; He sympathizes with me, and this makes me strong.” Believer, lay hold of this thought in all times of agony. Let the thought of Jesus strengthen you as you follow in His steps. Find a sweet support in His sympathy; and remember that, to suffer is an honourable thing—to suffer for Christ is glory. The apostles rejoiced that they were counted worthy to do this. Just so far as the Lord shall give us grace to suffer for Christ, to suffer with Christ, just so far does he honour us. The jewels of a Christian are his afflictions. The regalia of the kings who God hath anointed are their troubles, their sorrows, and their griefs. Let us not, therefore, shun being exalted. Griefs exalt us, and troubles lift us up. “If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him.”

_________________________

New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica

Images courtesy of:

throne of grace.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/4-5-throne.jpg

Yes.    http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m81eim0sWa1qeplt9.jpg

flag of South Korea.    http://www.jmu.edu/international/images/SouthKoreaFlag.png

staphylococcus.    http://biology-forums.com/gallery/28719_23_09_12_10_25_43.jpeg

Dial soap.    http://www.twinsupply.com/janitorial/images/100/DIA00098.JPG

Aaron dressed in high priestly garb.    http://www.guidedbiblestudies.com/topics/priest7.jpg

Cranach.   http://uploads6.wikiart.org/images/lucas-cranach-the-elder/head-of-christ-crowned-with-thorns-1510.jpg

 

1584.) Hebrews 4:1-13

Hebrews 4:1-13   (NIV)

A Sabbath-Rest for the People of God

¹Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands,

2 Corinthians 1:20 (English Standard Version)

For all the promises of God find their Yes in Christ. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. ²For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. ³Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said,
“So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”

And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. ⁴For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.” ⁵And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”

⁶It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. ⁷Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”

⁸For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. ⁹There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; ¹⁰for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. ¹¹Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

from Whispers of His Power,
by Amy Carmichael

Matthew 11:28 — Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Hebrews 4:10-11 — For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works . . . . Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest.

Labor in Hebrews 4:11 means “make haste.”  Is the word used to remind us that we shall not drift into rest?  There must be the will to enter in.  Perhaps what demands most will power is the resolution to cease from our own works, our own busyness, and to stay our minds upon our God.

We pray, and the answer is not what we expect.  It seems an answer of loss, and sometimes loss upon loss.  We must cease from our own thoughts about it and believe that what He has allowed is the perfect answer for the moment.  As we believe, and accept, we enter into rest and the sense of strain passes into peace.

This covers all life:  the illness of those we love, mental or spiritual suffering, the unexplained, everything.  Let us not lose one hour in needless ineffective distress.  Let us hasten by an act of the will to come to Him for rest.

_________________________

Music:

I remember my mother as a hard worker, but I also remember that this was one of her favorite hymns — HERE  is “There Is a Place of Quiet Rest.”

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¹²For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ¹³Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

from Jesus, Our Man in Glory,
by A. W. Tozer

Christian believers make a great mistake when they refer only to the Bible as the Word of God.  True, the inspired Bible is the Word of God speaking to our hearts and to our souls.  But in referring to the Word of God, we do not mean just the book—printed pages sewn together with nylon thread.  Rather, we mean the eternal expression of the mind of God.  We mean the world-filling breath of God!

God’s Word and God’s revelation are much more than just the Old and New Testament books.  Nevertheless I invariably rejoice as I discover deep in the urgent appeal of one of the Old Testament prophets a sudden recognition of God’s speaking Word.  For example, notice this message from the prophet Jeremiah:  “O land, land, land, hear the word of the Lord!” (Jeremiah 22:29).

Think what a change it would make in the world if men and women suddenly paused to hear the Word of the Lord!  The Word of God being what it is, and God being who He is, and we humans being who we are, I am sure that the most rewarding thing we could do would be to stop and listen to the Word of God.  Whether a man or a woman believes it or not, the Word of God is one of the greatest realities he or she will face in a life-time.  He or she may deny the Word and the presence of God, dismissing them both as unreal.  But the living, speaking Word of God cannot be escaped.  Neither is it negotiable.

The true Christian church has always held that position.  There is not a man or woman on the face of the earth but will have to reckon with the authority of the Word of God, either now or later.  How surprised some of them will be on that coming day of judgment when God’s eternal Word must be answered to!

God’s Word is the revelation of divine truth that God Himself has given to us.  It has come in the message and appeal of the sacred Scriptures.  It comes in the conviction visited on us by the Holy Spirit.  It comes in the person of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, the living Word of God.

_________________________

New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica

Images courtesy of:

flower and verse 12.    http://www.photosbyjanine.com/uploads/processed/0729/0707160035351hebrews_4_12.jpg

Yes.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/55bdc-yes_logo.png

hammock on the beach.    http://ooza.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/relax.jpg

sword and verse 12.   http://img.heartlight.org/cards/g/hebrews4_12.jpg

1583.) Hebrews 3

Hebrews 3 (New International Version)

Jesus Greater Than Moses

¹Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. ²He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. ³Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. ⁴For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything. ⁵Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. ⁶But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is Brian Moss singing a familiar hymn (although the tune is new to my ears) about “God’s house” — the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. “The Church’s One Foundation” was written by Samuel John Stone (the clergyman son of a clergyman in England) in 1866. He wrote it to illustrate the ninth article of the Apostles’ Creed: The holy Catholic Church; The Communion of Saints.

_________________________

Warning Against Unbelief

⁷So, as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
⁸ do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion,
during the time of testing in the desert,
⁹ where your fathers tested and tried me
and for forty years saw what I did.
¹⁰ That is why I was angry with that generation,
and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
¹¹So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’ “

¹²See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. ¹³But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Reflections on encouragement:

Fall down seven times, stand up eight.
~Japanese proverb

One has to remember that every failure can be a stepping stone to something better.
~Col. Harland Sanders (founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain)

The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.
~Proverbs 18:10

¹⁴We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. ¹⁵As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”

¹⁶Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? ¹⁷And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? ¹⁸And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? ¹⁹So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

1 Corinthians 10:1-11 (NLT)

I don’t want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all of them walked through the sea on dry ground.  In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses.  All of them ate the same spiritual food,  and all of them drank the same spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

These things happened as a warning to us, so that we would not crave evil things as they did,  or worship idols as some of them did. As the Scriptures say, “The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged in pagan revelry.”  And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.

Nor should we put Christ to the test, as some of them did and then died from snakebites.  And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death.  These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.

_________________________

from Encountering the Book of Hebrews,
by Donald A. Hagner

It is sobering to think that those who were so highly privileged to be the recipients of God’s grace and power of deliverance could fall so easily into unbelief and disobedience.  This is precisely the point the author of Hebrews  wants his readers to see.  What happened then can happen again; indeed, the original readers apparently were in very real danger of falling away from their Christian commitment.  But this danger is one that every generation of Christians needs to ponder. Though our salvation derives from grace and is therefore free and unmerited, we dare not take it lightly.  We are called to perseverance and faithfulness.

_________________________

Here is another way to say the same message!

HERE  is Tamara Lowe at Christ Fellowship.   Listen fast!

_________________________

New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica

Images courtesy of:

house and verse 4.    http://www.christianmingler.com/wp-content/uploads/Heb34a.jpg

Jesus and Moses.    http://oneyearbibleimages.com/jesus_moses.jpg

warning tape.     http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Third_Party_Photo/2009/02/09/iStock_warning_tape_CROPPED__1234281031_9929.jpg

Yes you can.    http://dailyps.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/yes-you-can.jpg

The rock was Christ.    http://hopedaniel.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/flowingwater.jpg

danger.    http://www.justindeeter.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Danger.jpg

 

1582.) Hebrews 2

Hebrews 2 (New International Version)

Warning to Pay Attention

¹We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

We do not drift towards God, but away from Him. We do not drift towards holiness, but selfishness. We do not drift towards passion, but apathy. We not drift towards humility, but pride. We do not drift towards righteousness, but sinfulness.

This is why we are warned, pay MORE attention to what you have heard or you WILL drift away. Take notice of the word, “more.”  Sometimes this closeness to Christ comes easily,  but sometimes we must direct ourselves to pay more attention to it.

How do we practically pay more attention to what we have heard?  Look at it,  study it,  read it,  listen to it,  memorize it,  apply it,  obey it,  teach it,  write it,  hold it,  speak it,  more often and longer!

–Nathan Kollar

²For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, ³how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. ⁴God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Jesus Made Like His Brothers

⁵It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. ⁶But there is a place where someone has testified:

“What is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
⁷You made him a little lower than the angels;
you crowned him with glory and honor
⁸ and put everything under his feet.”

“everything under his feet!”

In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. ⁹But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

from The Daily Study Bible,
by William Barclay

In verses 5-9, the writer to the Hebrews shows us three things.  (i) He shows us the ideal of what man should be—kin to God and master of the universe.  (ii) He shows us the actual state of man—the frustration instead of the mastery, the failure instead of the glory.  Man who was made for kingship has become a slave.  (iii) And then he shows us how the actual can be changed into the ideal. That change is wrought by Christ.  The writer to the Hebrews sees in Jesus Christ the One, who, by His sufferings and His glory, can make man what man was meant to be, and, without Him, could never be.

¹⁰In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. ¹¹Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. ¹²He says,
“I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises.”

¹³And again,
“I will put my trust in him.” And again he says,
“Here am I, and the children God has given me.”

¹⁴Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— ¹⁵and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. ¹⁶For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. ¹⁷For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (CEV)

Christ says “Yes” to all of God’s promises. That’s why we have Christ to say “Amen”  for us to the glory of God.

¹⁸Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

from Experiencing God Day-to-Day
by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby

For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
–Hebrews 2:18

You will never face a temptation so strong that God has not made complete provision for you to overcome it.  God, out of His love, has done everything necessary for you to be victorious whenever you face temptation.  He has clearly revealed His will to you in Scripture so that you will not be confused about the right thing to do.  He has placed the Holy Spirit within you to guide you in your decisions and to convict you when you make harmful choices.  With every temptation God also provides a way of escape so that you never have to yield to it (1 Corinthians 10:13).  Everything is in place for you to experience victory over every temptation.

God in His infinite love, however, has done even more to safeguard you from temptation.  He has allowed Himself to suffer the full brunt of temptation.  The very Son of God humbled Himself, taking on all the limitations of frail human flesh, and was tempted in every way that we are.  Jesus knew what it was like to grow tired, to be hungry, to experience the same limitations we have; yet He was without sin.  It is to this One that we turn when we are facing temptation.  Ours is not an unsympathetic God who is unconcerned with our struggle to live righteously, but rather we follow a God who knows how difficult it is to resist sin and withstand temptation.  We can approach Christ with confidence, knowing that He understands our plight.  He knows how to aid us when we are tempted.

_________________________

Music:

The old hymn, the encouraging hymn,  “Lead Me to Calvary”  — sung  HERE  by Andrew and Saskia Smith.

_________________________

New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica

Images courtesy of:

tree and v 10.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/2-tree-and-v-10.jpg

drifting down the river.    http://images.veer.com/IMG/PILL/CHI/CHI0000928_P.JPG

astronaut in outer space.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/2-man-in-space3.jpg?w=450

Christ enthroned.    http://frted.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/xcenthroned.jpg

yes.    http://thecrazyiscatching.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/33-yesclassicblue_jpg.jpg

He cares for you.    http://www.americanchurch.com/Portals/0/SmithCart/Images/9309-L.jpg

1581.) Hebrews 1

Hebrews 1   (NIV)

Hebrews is basically a book that exhorts discouraged Christians to continue on strong with Jesus in light of the complete superiority of who He is and what He has done for us.

–David Guzik

The Son Superior to Angels

¹In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,

The revelation given through the prophets was brought in various ways — sometimes through parables, historical narrative, prophetic confrontation, dramatic presentation, psalms, proverbs, and the like.

²but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. ³The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

2 Corinthians 1:20 (New Living Translation)

For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.

⁴So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

⁵For to which of the angels did God ever say,
“You are my Son;
today I have become your Father”?

Or again,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son”?

⁶And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,
“Let all God’s angels worship him.”

⁷In speaking of the angels he says,
“He makes his angels winds,
his servants flames of fire.”

⁸But about the Son he says,
“Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,
and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.
⁹ You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy.”

¹⁰He also says,
“In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
¹¹ They will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment.
¹² You will roll them up like a robe;
like a garment they will be changed.
But you remain the same,
and your years will never end.”

¹³To which of the angels did God ever say,
“Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet”?

¹⁴Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

from The Epistle to the Hebrews,
by F. F. Bruce:

The Son of God’s ascendancy over angels has thus been asserted and confirmed by the testimony of Old Testament scriptures.  In them Jesus was addressed by God in terms that surpassed the honors enjoyed by the mightiest of archangels, who indeed are called upon to pay Him homage in recognition of His sovereignty over them.  And the authority of the gospel which the readers of this epistle had embraced was the authority of Jesus, the Son of God, supremely exalted by His Father.  As God had no greater messenger than his Son, He had no further message beyond the gospel.

_________________________

Music:

HERE  Michael W. Smith sings  “Open the Eyes of My Heart.”   I like the line — “To see you high and lifted up!”  Jesus, as we begin reading Hebrews today, I pray that you will open our eyes to see you.

_________________________

New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica

Images courtesy of:

star and vs. 1-2.    http://iccnewyork.net/user/icc_imail/hebrews1_1_2.jpg

Yes.    http://sandradodd.com/art/title/yes

angels.    http://www.gbcdecatur.org/files/DescriptionOfAngels.jpg

angel guarding children.    http://www.beyondborders.com/images/guardian-angel.jpg

1580.) Proverbs 4

Proverbs 4 (New Living Translation)

A Father’s Wise Advice

¹ My children, listen when your father corrects you.
Pay attention and learn good judgment,
² for I am giving you good guidance.
Don’t turn away from my instructions.
³ For I, too, was once my father’s son,
tenderly loved as my mother’s only child.

My father, Jasper Riskedahl, was a wonderful teacher of biblical truth and a gracious model of the godly life to me.

⁴ My father taught me,
“Take my words to heart.
Follow my commands, and you will live.
⁵ Get wisdom; develop good judgment.
Don’t forget my words or turn away from them.
⁶ Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you.
Love her, and she will guard you.
⁷ Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!
And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.
⁸ If you prize wisdom, she will make you great.
Embrace her, and she will honor you.
⁹ She will place a lovely wreath on your head;
she will present you with a beautiful crown.”

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is The Mormon Tabernacle choir sings “Faith of Our Fathers.”

1. Faith of our fathers, living still,
   In spite of dungeon, fire, and sword;
   Oh, how our hearts beat high with joy
   Whene’er we hear that glorious Word!
   Refrain:
   Faith of our fathers, holy faith!
   We will be true to thee till death.
2. Faith of our fathers, we will strive
   To win all nations unto thee;
   And through the truth that comes from God,
   We all shall then be truly free.
3. Faith of our fathers, we will love
   Both friend and foe in all our strife;
   And preach thee, too, as love knows how
   By kindly words and virtuous life.

–Frederick W. Faber, 1814-1863

_________________________

¹⁰ My child, listen to me and do as I say,
and you will have a long, good life.
¹¹ I will teach you wisdom’s ways
and lead you in straight paths.

¹² When you walk, you won’t be held back;
when you run, you won’t stumble.
¹³ Take hold of my instructions; don’t let them go.
Guard them, for they are the key to life.

¹⁴ Don’t do as the wicked do,
and don’t follow the path of evildoers.
¹⁵ Don’t even think about it; don’t go that way.
Turn away and keep moving.
¹⁶ For evil people can’t sleep until they’ve done their evil deed for the day.
They can’t rest until they’ve caused someone to stumble.
¹⁷ They eat the food of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence!

¹⁸ The way of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,
which shines ever brighter until the full light of day.

Philippians 2:15-16 (NIV)

You shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life.

¹⁹ But the way of the wicked is like total darkness.
They have no idea what they are stumbling over.

²⁰ My child, pay attention to what I say.
Listen carefully to my words.
²¹ Don’t lose sight of them.
Let them penetrate deep into your heart,
²² for they bring life to those who find them,
and healing to their whole body.

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

²³ Guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.

²⁴ Avoid all perverse talk;
stay away from corrupt speech.

²⁵ Look straight ahead,
and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
²⁶ Mark out a straight path for your feet;
stay on the safe path.
²⁷ Don’t get sidetracked;
keep your feet from following evil.

Mount St. Helens

Proverbs 4:25-27 —

Let your eyes look directly forward,

and your gaze be straight before you.

Ponder the path of your feet;

then all your ways will be sure.

Do not swerve to the right or to the left;

turn your foot away from evil.

Prospects for climbing Mount St. Helens were not encouraging.  Rain was falling in torrents and the mountain we had come so far to climb couldn’t even be seen.  Hoping that the weather would improve by morning, we pitched our tents and crawled into our sleeping bags.

When morning arrived, the weather, although somewhat improved, was far from ideal.  Clouds still hid the mountain and a fine drizzle of rain was falling.  We showed little enthusiasm as we strapped on our crampons and roped up for the climb.

Five hours later, our previous lack of enthusiasm had turned to gloom.  The rain was still falling, visibility was poor, and the snow slope was becoming increasingly steep.

Another hour of dogged perseverance, however, brought us above the clouds and into dazzling sunshine.  Wave upon wave of fleece appeared to cover the universe, with the summits of Mount Adams and Mount Rainier the only visible land masses.  The discomfort which we had suffered seemed a small price to pay for the magnificent sight spread before us.

How often in the spiritual realm are mountaintop experiences preceded by periods of discouragement?  Indeed, the spiritual mountaintop experiences are often the direct result of persevering in the face of discouraging circumstances—of taking one’s stand in the face of ridicule; of staying unruffled when unfairly criticized; or of remaining steadfast in prayer for a loved one who does not recognize God’s claim upon his life.  Only those who toil to the summit will see the view!  Only those who bear the cross will receive the blessing!

–Dr. Onas Cudley Scandrette, in Stones of Remembrance

_________________________

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers.

Images courtesy of:

Proverbs 4:18-19.    http://k53.pbase.com/v3/89/415789/2/51688760.favproverbs41819.jpg

boy running.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/1bc4c-jackson_running.jpg

shining stars.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/4-shining-stars.jpg

heart and tree.     https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/hearttree.jpg

Mount St. Helens.    http://images.reserve123.com/product/8708-2.jpg

1579.) Psalm 35

Psalm 35 (NASB)

¹Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
²Take hold of buckler and shield
And rise up for my help.
³Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”

1 Thessalonians 5:9 (ESV)

For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us.

⁴Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life;
Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
⁵Let them be like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the LORD driving them on.
⁶Let their way be dark and slippery,
With the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
⁷For without cause they hid their net for me;
Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.
⁸Let destruction come upon him unawares,
And let the net which he hid catch himself;
Into that very destruction let him fall.

⁹And my soul shall rejoice in the LORD;
It shall exult in His salvation.

¹⁰All my bones will say, “LORD, who is like You,
Who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him,
And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”

¹¹Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me of things that I do not know.
¹²They repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.

¹³But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled my soul with fasting,
And my prayer kept returning to my bosom.

Here’s a great verse to help you pray for your enemies.

Psalm 35:13 says:  “But as for me when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth.  I humbled my soul with fasting and my prayer returned into my own bosom.”

Praying for people you do not like, or people who hate you, is not the most inspirational thing to do—I must admit. But there is great benefit in doing so.

David is saying here that his prayers did not benefit his enemies due to their sin and rebelliousness toward God. Yet God rewarded him for his prayers and for showing mercy and grace toward them in their time of trouble (“my prayer returned into my own bosom”).

David fasted and prayed for his enemies. He showed compassion toward them.  He treated his enemy as a friend. He returned good for evil, as he would to his own brother or mother. What a great heart!

Jesus told us to turn the other cheek.In Matthew 5:44 he said: “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” He not only taught it, he lived it.

On the cross he prayed “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

Do you need to pray a prayer like this?

–Lui Ponifazio

¹⁴I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.
¹⁵But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They slandered me without ceasing.
¹⁶Like godless jesters at a feast,
They gnashed at me with their teeth.
¹⁷Lord, how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul from their ravages,
My only life from the lions.
¹⁸I will give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will praise You among a mighty throng.

¹⁹Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those who hate me without cause wink maliciously.
²⁰For they do not speak peace,
But they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
²¹They opened their mouth wide against me;
They said, “Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”
²²You have seen it, O LORD, do not keep silent;
O Lord, do not be far from me.

Genesis 16:13 (NLT)

Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.”

²³Stir up Yourself, and awake to my right
And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
²⁴Judge me, O LORD my God, according to Your righteousness,
And do not let them rejoice over me.
²⁵Do not let them say in their heart, “Aha, our desire!”
Do not let them say, “We have swallowed him up!”

²⁶Let those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress;
Let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me.

²⁷Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication;
And let them say continually, “The LORD be magnified,
Who delights in the prosperity of His servant.”
²⁸And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness
And Your praise all day long.

My lips will praise you, for you are holy.
My voice will ever rise before your throne.
My heart will love you, for you are lovely,
and you have called me to become your own.

_________________________

Music:

All together, now!  HERE  is “O for a thousand tongues to sing,” written by Charles Wesley (who visited the island where I live, St. Simons Island, GA, in 1736). The hymn was placed first in John Wesley’s A Collection of Hymns for the People Called Methodists published in 1780. It appeared first in every (Wesleyan) Methodist hymnal for the next 200 years!

_________________________

New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Images courtesy of:

flower and 35:23.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/35-flower-and-v27.jpg

Jesus died for me.    http://www.gospelgifs.com/art_pages_12/images/jdfm01.gif

35:9.    https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/4c/97/db/4c97db607b20b3e666c595093e3a1f40.jpg

Love your enemies.     http://luiponifasio.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/enemies_love_.jpg

Hagar and the God who sees her.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/hagar2bund2bel2broi.jpg

heart and notes.    http://www.stevesternberg.com/images/heart_q5ct.gif

1578.) Psalm 31

Psalm 31 (NIV)

¹ In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.

² Turn your ear to me,
come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
a strong fortress to save me.

³ Since you are my rock and my fortress,
for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

⁴ Free me from the trap that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.

⁵ Into your hands I commit my spirit;
redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.

from Whispers of His Power,
by Amy Carmichael

Psalm 31:5 — Into Thine hand I commit my spirit:  Thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.

Do you ever find prayer difficult because of tiredness or dryness?  When that is so, it is an immense help to let the Psalms and hymns we know by heart say themselves or sing themselves inside us.  This is possible anywhere and at any time.

We can’t be mistaken in using this easy, open way of prayer, for our Lord Jesus used it.  His very last prayer, when He was far too tired to pray as He usually did, was Psalm 31:5.  Every Jewish mother used to teach her child to say those words as a good-night prayer.

Hymns, little prayer-songs of our own, even the simplest of them, can sing us into His love.  Or more truly, into the consciousness of his love, for we are never for one moment out of it.

⁶ I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
I trust in the LORD.

⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction
and knew the anguish of my soul.

“Hagar and the Angel in the Desert,” by James Tissot, 1896 (The Jewish Museum, New York)

Genesis 16:7, 13 (NIV)

The angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur . . .

She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: “You are the God who sees me.”

⁸ You have not handed me over to the enemy
but have set my feet in a spacious place.

⁹ Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
my soul and my body with grief.

¹⁰ My life is consumed by anguish
and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction,
and my bones grow weak.

¹¹ Because of all my enemies,
I am the utter contempt of my neighbors;
I am a dread to my friends—
those who see me on the street flee from me.

¹² I am forgotten by them as though I were dead;
I have become like broken pottery.

Psalm 31:12 (Contemporary English Version)

I am completely forgotten

like someone dead.

I am merely a broken dish.

¹³ For I hear the slander of many;
there is terror on every side;
they conspire against me
and plot to take my life.

¹⁴ But I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, “You are my God.”

Faith and prayer must go together.  He that believes, let him pray—I believe, therefore I have spoken; and he that prays, let him believe;  for the prayer of faith is the prevailing prayer.

–Matthew Henry

¹⁵ My times are in your hands;
deliver me from my enemies
and from those who pursue me.

¹⁶ Let your face shine on your servant;
save me in your unfailing love.

¹⁷ Let me not be put to shame, O LORD,
for I have cried out to you;
but let the wicked be put to shame
and lie silent in the grave.

¹⁸ Let their lying lips be silenced,
for with pride and contempt
they speak arrogantly against the righteous.

¹⁹ How great is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you,
which you bestow in the sight of men
on those who take refuge in you.

Ephesians 3:16-19 (New Living Translation)

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.  Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

²⁰ In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from the intrigues of men;
in your dwelling you keep them safe
from accusing tongues.

²¹ Praise be to the LORD,
for he showed his wonderful love to me
when I was in a besieged city.

_________________________

Music:

So many stories in the Bible of God answering the prayers of desperate people! Are you feeling trapped in a “besieged city” now? Call to the Lord for help.  HERE  is “You Are My Hiding Place” by Selah.

_________________________

²² In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from your sight!”
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
when I called to you for help.

²³ Love the LORD, all his saints!
The LORD preserves the faithful,
but the proud he pays back in full.

²⁴ Be strong and take heart,
all you who hope in the LORD.

_________________________

New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica

Images courtesy of:

verses 14-15.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/preview_psalm31_14-15.jpg

face of Jesus.    http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/Stations/images/hface.jpg

Tissot.    http://oneyearbibleimages.com/hagar_desert.jpg

“Broken Dishes” by Jean Cannon.   https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/31-brokendishes.jpg

prayer and faith.    https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/31-prayer-and-faith-umbrella2.jpg

“Deep Roots”  oil painting by Jimmy King.   http://fineartamerica.com/images-medium/deep-roots-jimmy-king.jpg

He shall strengthen your heart.    http://alittleperspective.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/psa-31-24-ww-wall-900×600.jpg

1577.) Leviticus 27

votive candles

Leviticus 27   (NRSV)

Votive Offerings

votive:

1. Given or dedicated in fulfillment of a vow or pledge: a votive offering.
2. Expressing or symbolizing a wish, desire, or vow: a votive prayer; votive candles.

–The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ²Speak to the people of Israel and say to them: When a person makes an explicit vow to the Lord concerning the equivalent for a human being, ³the equivalent for a male shall be: from twenty to sixty years of age the equivalent shall be fifty shekels of silver by the sanctuary shekel. ⁴If the person is a female, the equivalent is thirty shekels. ⁵If the age is from five to twenty years of age, the equivalent is twenty shekels for a male and ten shekels for a female. ⁶If the age is from one month to five years, the equivalent for a male is five shekels of silver, and for a female the equivalent is three shekels of silver. ⁷And if the person is sixty years old or over, then the equivalent for a male is fifteen shekels, and for a female ten shekels. ⁸If any cannot afford the equivalent, they shall be brought before the priest and the priest shall assess them; the priest shall assess them according to what each one making a vow can afford.

Persons were assigned a value according to their age and general usefulness to society; especially in an agricultural society, there was a definite sense in which a man between 20 and 50 was more “valuable” than a child one month to five years old.

–David Guzik

⁹If it concerns an animal that may be brought as an offering to the Lord, any such that may be given to the Lord shall be holy. ¹⁰Another shall not be exchanged or substituted for it, either good for bad or bad for good; and if one animal is substituted for another, both that one and its substitute shall be holy. ¹¹If it concerns any unclean animal that may not be brought as an offering to the Lord, the animal shall be presented before the priest. ¹²The priest shall assess it: whether good or bad, according to the assessment of the priest, so it shall be. ¹³But if it is to be redeemed, one-fifth must be added to the assessment.

¹⁴If a person consecrates a house to the Lord, the priest shall assess it: whether good or bad, as the priest assesses it, so it shall stand. ¹⁵And if the one who consecrates the house wishes to redeem it, one-fifth shall be added to its assessed value, and it shall revert to the original owner.

¹⁶If a person consecrates to the Lord any inherited landholding, its assessment shall be in accordance with its seed requirements: fifty shekels of silver to a homer of barley seed. ¹⁷If the person consecrates the field as of the year of jubilee, that assessment shall stand; ¹⁸but if the field is consecrated after the jubilee, the priest shall compute the price for it according to the years that remain until the year of jubilee, and the assessment shall be reduced. ¹⁹And if the one who consecrates the field wishes to redeem it, then one-fifth shall be added to its assessed value, and it shall revert to the original owner; ²⁰but if the field is not redeemed, or if it has been sold to someone else, it shall no longer be redeemable. ²¹But when the field is released in the jubilee, it shall be holy to the Lord as a devoted field; it becomes the priest’s holding.

²²If someone consecrates to the Lord a field that has been purchased, which is not a part of the inherited landholding, ²³the priest shall compute for it the proportionate assessment up to the year of jubilee, and the assessment shall be paid as of that day, a sacred donation to the Lord. ²⁴In the year of jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom it was bought, whose holding the land is. ²⁵All assessments shall be by the sanctuary shekel: twenty gerahs shall make a shekel.

²⁶A firstling of animals, however, which as a firstling belongs to the Lord, cannot be consecrated by anyone; whether ox or sheep, it is the Lord’s. ²⁷If it is an unclean animal, it shall be ransomed at its assessment, with one-fifth added; if it is not redeemed, it shall be sold at its assessment.

²⁸Nothing that a person owns that has been devoted to destruction for the Lord, be it human or animal, or inherited landholding, may be sold or redeemed; every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord.

²⁹No human beings who have been devoted to destruction can be ransomed; they shall be put to death.

³⁰All tithes from the land, whether the seed from the ground or the fruit from the tree, are the Lord’s; they are holy to the Lord.

Malachi 3:10 (NIV)

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

³¹If persons wish to redeem any of their tithes, they must add one-fifth to them. ³²All tithes of herd and flock, every tenth one that passes under the shepherd’s staff, shall be holy to the Lord. ³³Let no one inquire whether it is good or bad, or make substitution for it; if one makes substitution for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy and cannot be redeemed.

³⁴These are the commandments that the Lord gave to Moses for the people of Israel on Mount Sinai.

“Reader, thou hast now gone through the whole of this most interesting book; a book whose subject is too little regarded by Christians in general. Here thou mayest discover the rigid requisitions of Divine justice, the sinfulness of sin, the exceeding breadth of the commandment, and the end of all human perfection . . . By this law then is the knowledge, but not the cure of sin . . . We see then that Christ was the end of the law for righteousness (for justification) to every one that believeth.”

–Adam Clarke, quoted in David Guzik

_________________________

Music:

YOU HAVE MADE IT! — all the way to the end of Leviticus!  Congratulations!  I hope you have learned something through these chapters about God’s love for his people and his concern for holiness in every detail in our lives.  The song “You Are Mine” —  HERE  — speaks to us in our current daily situations, but note the echoes of Leviticus as you listen.

_________________________

The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

votive candles.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/galleries/prayeraids/images/1.jpg

human value chart.  http://www.jerrypettit.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/humanvalue.png

animals.  http://images.replacements.com/images/images5/china/C/department_56_little_town_of_bethlehem_no_box_P0000149993S0207T2.jpg

house.  http://media.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/real_estate/s_monopoly-house.jpg

field of grain in Russia.  https://dwellingintheword.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/27-field-in-russia.jpg?w=450

10%.    http://duplexchick.com/files/2009/04/10-percent.jpg

1576.) Leviticus 26

Leviticus 26:12

Leviticus 26   (NRSV)

Rewards for Obedience

You shall make for yourselves no idols and erect no carved images or pillars, and you shall not place figured stones in your land, to worship at them; for I am the Lord your God.

²You shall keep my sabbaths and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.

³If you follow my statutes and keep my commandments and observe them faithfully, ⁴I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its produce, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. ⁵Your threshing shall overtake the vintage, and the vintage shall overtake the sowing; you shall eat your bread to the full, and live securely in your land.

In the ancient Near East it was customary for legal treaties to conclude with passages containing blessings upon those who observed the enactments, and curses upon those who did not.

–David Guzik

⁶And I will grant peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one shall make you afraid; I will remove dangerous animals from the land, and no sword shall go through your land.

Psalm 29:11 (KJV)

The LORD will give strength unto his people;
the LORD will bless his people with peace.

⁷You shall give chase to your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword. ⁸Five of you shall give chase to a hundred, and a hundred of you shall give chase to ten thousand; your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.

⁹I will look with favor upon you and make you fruitful and multiply you; and I will maintain my covenant with you. ¹⁰You shall eat old grain long stored, and you shall have to clear out the old to make way for the new. ¹¹I will place my dwelling in your midst, and I shall not abhor you. ¹²And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people.

Mark 2:17 (NLT)

Jesus told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”

¹³I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be their slaves no more; I have broken the bars of your yoke and made you walk erect.

Psalm 3:3 (NASB)

But You, O LORD, are a shield about me,
My glory, and the One who lifts my head.

_________________________

Music:

HERE  is “It Is You”  —  words and music by Australian musician Peter Furler, of the Newsboys, a Christian pop rock band.

_________________________

Penalties for Disobedience

¹⁴But if you will not obey me, and do not observe all these commandments, ¹⁵if you spurn my statutes, and abhor my ordinances, so that you will not observe all my commandments, and you break my covenant, ¹⁶I in turn will do this to you: I will bring terror on you; consumption and fever that waste the eyes and cause life to pine away. You shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. ¹⁷I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down by your enemies; your foes shall rule over you, and you shall flee though no one pursues you.

¹⁸And if in spite of this you will not obey me, I will continue to punish you sevenfold for your sins. ¹⁹I will break your proud glory, and I will make your sky like iron and your earth like copper.

“Iron Earth-Copper Sky” photograph by Eren Ozkapici, 2005.

²⁰Your strength shall be spent to no purpose: your land shall not yield its produce, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit.

²¹If you continue hostile to me, and will not obey me, I will continue to plague you sevenfold for your sins. ²²I will let loose wild animals against you, and they shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock; they shall make you few in number, and your roads shall be deserted.

²³If in spite of these punishments you have not turned back to me, but continue hostile to me, ²⁴then I too will continue hostile to you: I myself will strike you sevenfold for your sins. ²⁵I will bring the sword against you, executing vengeance for the covenant; and if you withdraw within your cities, I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into enemy hands. ²⁶When I break your staff of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in a single oven, and they shall dole out your bread by weight; and though you eat, you shall not be satisfied.

²⁷But if, despite this, you disobey me, and continue hostile to me, ²⁸I will continue hostile to you in fury; I in turn will punish you myself sevenfold for your sins. ²⁹You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. ³⁰I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars; I will heap your carcasses on the carcasses of your idols. I will abhor you. ³¹I will lay your cities waste, will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing odors.

Psalm 74:3-7 (NIV)

Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,
all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

Your foes roared in the place where you met with us;
they set up their standards as signs.

They behaved like men wielding axes
to cut through a thicket of trees.

They smashed all the carved paneling
with their axes and hatchets.

They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.

³²I will devastate the land, so that your enemies who come to settle in it shall be appalled at it. ³³And you I will scatter among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword against you; your land shall be a desolation, and your cities a waste. ³⁴Then the land shall enjoy its sabbath years as long as it lies desolate, while you are in the land of your enemies; then the land shall rest, and enjoy its sabbath years. ³⁵As long as it lies desolate, it shall have the rest it did not have on your sabbaths when you were living on it.

³⁶And as for those of you who survive, I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a driven leaf shall put them to flight, and they shall flee as one flees from the sword, and they shall fall though no one pursues. ³⁷They shall stumble over one another, as if to escape a sword, though no one pursues; and you shall have no power to stand against your enemies. ³⁸You shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall devour you. ³⁹And those of you who survive shall languish in the land of your enemies because of their iniquities; also they shall languish because of the iniquities of their ancestors.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV)

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

⁴⁰But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their ancestors, in that they committed treachery against me and, moreover, that they continued hostile to me— ⁴¹so that I, in turn, continued hostile to them and brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, ⁴²then will I remember my covenant with Jacob; I will remember also my covenant with Isaac and also my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. ⁴³For the land shall be deserted by them, and enjoy its sabbath years by lying desolate without them, while they shall make amends for their iniquity, because they dared to spurn my ordinances, and they abhorred my statutes. ⁴⁴Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not spurn them, or abhor them so as to destroy them utterly and break my covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God; ⁴⁵but I will remember in their favor the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, to be their God: I am the Lord.

Reflection:

We make our decisions, and then our decisions turn around and make us.
–R. W. Boreham

What a choice put before the Israelites:  to obey or not to obey.  What decision could you make today that would help you grow more and more into the person God wants you to be?

⁴⁶These are the statutes and ordinances and laws that the Lord established between himself and the people of Israel on Mount Sinai through Moses.

Resources:

See  HERE  a portion of Leviticus from the Dead Sea Scrolls!

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The New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Images courtesy of:

verse 12.   https://iamlori2.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/leviticus.gif

“A Peaceful Kingdom” by Florida artist Maryanne Jacobsen.  http://www.maryannejacobsen.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/peaceful_kingdom.jpg

Good Shepherd Hospital in Swaziland.  http://steganography.tripod.com/africa/gsh/gsh.jpg

mom holding baby’s head.  http://www.babyphotospictures.com/thumb/mummy-holding-a-baby.jpg

Ozkapici.  http://gallery.photo.net/photo/3202167-md.jpg

Arch of Titus in the Roman Forum — the lampstand may have been taken from Herod’s Temple in Jerusalem.  http://www.ebibleteacher.com/images/ArchofTitusTempleTreasurestbn011901.jpg

praying man.   http://feastoftheheart.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/man-kneeling3.jpg

kitten sees lion.  http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/askville/5880747_9088679_mywrite/kitty.jpg

archaeological pottery.  http://jewishexponent.com/sites/default/files/article/main_image/ScrollJars-1.jpg