Cripples at the Table of the King

“So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king’s table. Now he was lame in both his feet.” 2 Samuel 9:13

I don't know if everybody does this, but when I read through biblical stories I will always picture myself as the different people I'm reading. When reading about Moses, I picture myself with a long beard and dirty tunic holding two stone tablets, or I'll picture myself as David with a slingshot and five rocks. It's probably evidence of narcissism more than anything, but a part of it is the relatability of the biblical characters. These are real people who had real encounters with God, and we can see ourselves in them because, like us, they were human. In 2 Samuel 9, a not as well known character is introduced into the bible, Mephibosheth, who  is the crippled son of King Saul, the only son left in his family. David wants to honor his friendship with Jonathan by finding anyone left in Saul's family and bringing him to his palace. Mephibosheth is the only one left, and he is crippled in both feet. When David brings him before his throne, Mephibosheth is shocked and doesn't know how to handle David's kindness. Nevertheless, David takes care of his family and Mephibosheth gets a permanent invitation to eat at the table of the king. Just imagine it, there is King David at the head of the table, all his beautiful wives, his sons and daughters, the mighty men of Israel, and then a cripple. If I were honest with myself, of all the biblical characters I relate to best, its Mephibosheth. Through Jesus, I have been invited permanently to sit at the table of the king, but there is nothing I have to offer him. I am a cripple that can add nothing to God, but he invites me anyways. What a wonderful king we serve that provides a spot at the table of his kingdom for a cripple like me!

Lord Jesus, thank you for your grace in inviting us to the table, despite our crippling disabilities. You are a majestic King who gives favor where no favor is due, and grace to those who don't deserve it!

Future Blindness

“Then David said in his heart, “Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.”” 1 Samuel 27:1

David needed a Delorean and a flux capacitor. After being pursued constantly by Saul for years, living in caves, always on the move, expecting to be killed at all times, David got to a point where he couldn't believe his life would be anything else. He resolved in his heart that Saul would eventually kill him so out of desperation he sought asylum in the hands of his enemies. David could have used time travel. If him and Doc Brown could go even two years into the future, he would see that his life was not meant for ruin but to be a great king. However David forgot his anointing, lost sight of the words God already gave him and fled in despair. There are so many times when we, like David, could use a time machine. We might be stuck in a dead end job, going through a difficult time with a spouse, a friend, a family member that just never seems to end, we might have a sickness or pain that won't go away, or be in the midst of any number of other struggles and sorrows. We may have waited patiently, trusted God fervently, prayed unceasingly, but still nothing happens. Many of us, like David, have had enough of waiting and have slipped into the violent abyss of despair. One of the most crippling and widespread disabilities amongst people is future blindness. None of us can see the future. And because of the lack of sight into our own personal future, we let our blindness cripple us in the present. But believers, we must not lose heart in the midst of pain. Although we may not know our own personal end, we may not understand the present sufferings that we find ourselves in, we do know that God will bring us into his kingdom. We do know that God is drawing people to himself for the glorification of himself, and that all things serve to that end. So we cannot lose heart.

Lord Jesus, be our vision in the midst of our blindness and help us to see your purposes and goodness in all circumstances.

Good Intentions Don't Matter

"And Samuel said, "Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice and to listen than the fat of rams." 1 Samuel 15:22

The practice of worship can be a dangerous thing. I think there is a pervasive mentality that as long as we have good intentions in worshipping God, it doesn't really matter if how we worship lines up with his commandments. This is the, "It's the thought that counts," view of worshipping and serving God. Saul and the people of Israel had this. Although God commanded them to completely destroy the Amalekites, they thought it would be nice to instead take the best of their crops and flocks and sacrifice them to the Lord. When Samuel heard about this, he went and told Saul the kingdom is being taken away from him. In that dialogue, one of the most significant statements about worship in the whole Bible is made. God doesn't care about the sacrifice, the rituals, the offerings, the liturgy, or any of the religious acts of worship if obedience is compromised to accomplish it. Some examples: there is a glaring need of the poor in our immediate community and instead we use the resources God gave us to expand or enhance our already incredible facility. God commands us to take care of the poor, not have perfect clarity in our sound system. A cross or crucifix is set up in a worship service and instead of using it as an artistic image to point to a spiritual worship of God, we bow down before it and worship the object in front of us. God commands us not to make or worship images of himself. Worship music, sermons, books, or any other creative act of worship are made for the sake of business profit over the sake of growing the kingdom and expanding the glorification of God. God commands us to have no other gods before Him, including the greedy god of capitalism. The list can go on and on. All of these things are done with good intentions thinking that God wants whatever worship we give him as long as we mean well. But this is simply not true. Worshipping God, at its core, is being obedient to what he commands and submissive to his lordship. Worship without thought to obedience is dangerous, and we ought be more careful.

Lord Jesus, we repent of the way that we place the mode of our offerings before our obedience. Give us a passion for righteousness that guides us to right worship!

God's Silence

“Now the young man Samuel was ministering to the LORD under Eli. And the word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.” 1 Samuel 3:1

The book of Judges ends on a bit of a rough note. “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” (Judges 21:25) Picking up from there, the book of 1 Samuel doesn't start off much better. It's hard to believe that in only a few generations, Israel had completely walked away from God and perverted the covenant made with them. They were not that far removed from the miracles done at the hand of Moses and Joshua, and were reminded of God's power through the numerous judges God sent to Israel to save them. But it didn't seem to matter. They did what was right in their own eyes, so much so that the very voice of God, the words which rang so sweet to Moses, that drove Joshua to victory, the very presence of God that made Israel distinct and revered amongst the nations, was gone. God didn't seem to want to speak to them. As Hannah, in her prayer spoke, “Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn.” (1 Samuel 2:5) There are times when God chooses not to speak for the sake of building faith. Those times are sweet silence and we should be joyful while suffering through them because God is doing more in his silence than he was in his speech. However, often times he is silent because we are not in a position to hear him. The only people in Israel at the time of 1 Samuel to hear God was a barren woman and a little child. Israel was in such sin and perversion God threw up his arms and decided to withhold his word. This is a scary place to be. If God is silent, both personally and in our communities, our churches, and our culture, then we need to take an honest look at our personal and communal sins. Are we a people God would want to talk to?

Lord Jesus, we repent of our straying hearts that make our ears not work with your voice. Remove all the hindrances that keep us from you and return your Spirit to our midst once again!

God's Impatience

“So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD, and he became impatient over the misery of Israel.” Judges 10:16

The patience of God is abounding through Scriptures as he deals with both Israel and His church. God waits as we struggle through faith, as we turn away, as we repent. He is patient to not destroy us or disown us. In Judges, Israel turns away frequently and God is continually disciplining and then saving them. It seems if he were to grow impatient with anything, it would be of Israel's disobedience. But instead, God grows impatient in watching Israel suffer as a result of his discipline. This is powerful insight into the magnificent love of God. Regardless of what we have done, when we are called children of God, His heart breaks to see us suffer, even if the suffering is deserved. What joy we have in Christ, that our Lord grows impatient with our misery, for it is the impatience of God that leads to His action of salvation.

Lord Jesus, thank you for your unwavering love of your wavering children!

The Nature of Worship

“As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the LORD has given the host of Midian into your hand.”” Judges 7:15

From the beginning of Gideon's story, it is apparent that he is a strong man. But despite his strength, he is hesitant to use it to do what God asks of him. Even after signs and miracles, success and victory over the Midianites, Gideon still has doubts about God's power to do what he says. Finally, after God tells him to go and listen to the enemy predict God's victory, Gideon gets it...and he worships. Worship is often times a word subjugated to a mere act of singing done on a Sunday morning. But with Gideon, worship was the moment he finally allowed his will, his skill, his talent, and his power to bow down to the lordship of Almighty God. Worshipping God should be nothing less for us. It is not the repetitious singing of songs or prayers or meditation or art or writing in itself. Worship is the response of complete submission and those other actions are predicated on that initial posture. 

Lord Jesus, let us not belittle worship by making it anything but a complete submission to you!

Debtors to Grace

“I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant.’” Joshua 24:13

The blessing of God is always a result of the grace of God, we never deserve God's blessing. After Israel received their inheritance, having driven out the inhabitants of the land, God reminds them to not get proud or entitled about the land they were now living in. They lived in cities they did not build and ate food they did not plant. How often do I look at the blessings God has bestowed on my life and forget who gave them to me. I look at my job and think I got that because of my education, background, and skill set. I think of my home and think this came about through a series of investments and choices that brought in enough money to qualify for a loan and make a down payment. I think of my family and claim that I was able to pursue and woo my wife into a relationship with me and through my wooing, we are now a family. All the blessings I have received, without explicitly acknowledging it, I count as a result of actions I did. Blessings seem to be thought of as my just desserts. I praise God he reminds all of us that we are merely poor men and debtors living in the mansion of the king. The food we eat is from the king's pantry, and the bed upon which we sleep is covered with noble linens. Israel was not a special nation. They were smaller than everyone else, stubborn, and a nation without a home. They were poor and lowly nomads and slaves. But God saw fit to give them cities and land, vineyards and pastures, cattle and fruit, and make them a nation greatly feared by other nations. I am  no different. I was a man born into selfishness and pride, without discipline or love, an absolute slave to sin and helplessly bankrupt with regards to spiritual life. I was literally dead to all things that mattered and utterly incapable of doing anything about it. But God saw fit to save me, to give me a city and home I did not build, and vineyards I did not plant, and he did so out of grace. We cannot forget that we are debtors to grace and undeserving recipients of blessing.

Lord Jesus, I praise you for your grace and am in debt to your blessings. I praise you for you are a God of love unspeakable and riches everlasting!

Rest Will Come

“So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.” Joshua 11:23

The taking of the promised land by Joshua and the nation of Israel was a restless and painful process. Joshua acted quickly and pushed the nation constantly to drive out and wipe out the inhabitants of the land, as God had commanded him. There was a lot of killing and death, a lot of moving, striking tents and laying them down again, and the nation was tired. Even further, this is after the nation had wandered through the wilderness for forty years after being slaves in Egypt for 400 years. Rest was not something Israel had experienced once in their memorable past. Finally, in Joshua 11:23, one of the most significant statements in all of Israel's history is recorded. After all the wanderings, starting with Abraham, the slavery in Egypt, the wilderness wanderings, and the war in taking the land, Israel finally had rest. Everything they had longed for, spent years picturing, dreamed of at night, prophesied about, and worked for was finally there. The promise of land given in the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12 was finally theirs. They had land and they had rest. Right now, we believers are still waiting for that same rest. Some of us are still in the slavery of sin, some are wandering through the wilderness of religion, some are even on the soil of the promised land fighting and slaying the evil giants and inhabitants who have corrupted our very souls. But as long as we are alive on this earth, none of us have fully entered God's rest. We have the promise, we have the presence of God's Spirit in our midst, we have the eternal sacrifice of the Son, we have the guiding of the Father, but we are not home yet. Brothers and sisters, rest is coming! We may feel weary from the journey, discouraged by the time, disheartened by the foes, and beaten by giants, but let us be strong and courageous, for God is with us and he will bring us into his rest in heaven!

Lord Jesus, return soon and bring all the nations who are blessed through Israel into the blessing of the promise made to Abraham. Give us your rest!

The Initiative of Joshua

“Joshua arose early in the morning and mustered the people and went up, he and the elders of Israel, before the people to Ai.” Joshua 8:10

One of the themes in the book of Joshua is how much Israel's victory in taking the land over the Jordan was dependent upon Joshua's actions. I'm not saying that God suddenly took a step back and became a side character in Joshua. As is the case with every other book in the Bible, whether implicitly or explicitly, God is the main character who is driving all things. The observation is more in that the narrative of Joshua, from a syntactical perspective, hinges around actions Joshua takes. Frequently, the paragraph begins with Joshua did this, or Joshua stayed here, or Joshua got up early and then the rest of the story would follow. What I take from this is how great of a leader Joshua was and a significant element of his leadership. Joshua was a man who took initiative. Like his mentor Moses, Joshua didn't wait for the people to do things and then follow along. The story never goes, "And the people got up early to prepare to fight the city of Ai, and Joshua was with them." Joshua got up early, he drove the actions of the story by his own initiative. Although the point is subtle and the application is not some deep theological truth, it is very practical for those of us who are in ministry or leadership. It is often times easier to let things be, allow things to run their course, and stick around long enough to do our things and then move on. I know I fall into this trap often. But if we are wanting to exemplify strong biblical leadership, we can't afford to be idle. We can't afford to just sit back and let things happen all the time. We have to take initiative and take action. Even though it was God ultimately driving the Israelites into the land of Canaan and giving them victory, he accomplished his purposes through the strong leadership qualities of Joshua their leader. If God has given us the gift of leadership, or placed us in a position of significant influence, then we need to proactively lead.

Lord Jesus, remind us to be strong and courageous for you are with us. Help us to take initiative in leadership!

The Death of Moses

“And there has not arisen a prophet since in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,” Deuteronomy 34:10

This morning as I read the end of Deuteronomy, I read with tears welling in my eyes, a sadness growing in my heart, and a profound soberness overcoming my soul. The death of Moses should strike all of us with sadness. Apart from Jesus, there is no man greater in Scripture. He was alone and betrayed, broken but strong, humble but confident, and spoke of God as I might speak about my wife or a childhood friend. No one had a more intimate relationship with God than did Moses and despite the great suffering he underwent at both the hands of the nation of Israel and the hands of God himself at times, he was a man who died with great joy in the knowledge of God His Rock. Because of unheard of amounts of homework this last week, I have been unable to write about the book of Deuteronomy. This is much to my own regret, for I haven't been moved by a book of the Bible in this way in a long time. Although there were many sections that stood out, countless lessons to be learned, what struck me most is the way Moses could speak on God's behalf, speak about His character and intentions, and the deep passion and love oozing out of every word Moses spoke about His God. The Moses I met in Deuteronomy was so different than the one I met at the beginning of Exodus. I was overcome by the profound change that occurred as a result of Moses knowing God. It made me long for it. I don't believe any of us could ever attain the intimacy with God Moses had, but I still want it. When others ask me what God is like, I don't want to merely list off theological quips or acronyms, I don't want to recite creeds or quotes, I don't to point to this book or that book, this verse or that verse, I just want to be able to pull them aside, have them sit down, and say, "Let me tell you all about my dear friend and Lord..." To know God, not to know about him, but to know him, to be in His presence, to watch his power intersect in our lives and in this world, to see his promises lived out and his discipline received, to shout with gladness with the joy of his presence, to KNOW God should be what we wake up for every morning, and spend our lives, our time, our money, and our energy attaining. Of all the other great things that could be said about Moses, the greatest thing, the last thing written about him, was that he knew God, face to face. I hope they can say the same of me when I go to meet my Jesus, my sweet friend and Savior, the Rock upon which I stand.

Lord Jesus, give us a knowledge of you that cuts through our academics and turns our entire souls into love with you. Let us know you!