February 4, 2017
Jesus grieved over Jerusalem and His people’s rejection of Him. How He wanted to “gather” them unto Himself to care for them as a “hen gathers her chicks.” But they were not “willing.” This is perhaps one of the clearest pictures of God’s heart of love and care revealed for humanity, and man’s unwillingness to respond to His call. Perhaps this verse was in Will Thompson’s mind when he penned the lyrics “Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me… Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home!” Are you willing to answer Christ’s tender call?
February 3, 2017
God told Moses that the Israelites would be a “special treasure” to Him above other nations. The Hebrew word translated “special treasure,” comes from a root word that includes the idea that the treasure was special because it was purchased or redeemed at great cost to the owner. Israel was the Lord’s “special treasure,” not because of their own intrinsic value, but because He had chosen and redeemed them out of Egypt as on “eagle’s wings” (Ex. 19:4). It was the Lord’s own redemption that made Israel special. That the Lord had chosen them as His own peculiar possession did not mean that He didn’t care for the other nations of the earth. Not at all. For all the earth belongs to the Lord and all its people. He chose Israel for a special purpose, that they would be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Israel was set apart to testify of the Lord to all the other nations. Yet ultimately, Israel was chosen to be the people to whom the Lord Jesus would be born. Jesus is the One who fulfilled Israel’s purpose, obeying the Lord’s voice, keeping His covenant, and becoming the Great High Priest who offers salvation to all the world through His sacrifice.
February 2, 2017
The people of Israel complained of thirst, threatening to stone Moses for leading them into the desert. Moses brought their complaint to the Lord and the Lord answered. God told Moses to take his rod and some of the elders with him as witnesses, and to strike the rock at Horeb, and water sufficient for the people would come forth. Moses obeyed the Lord. Some have tried to estimate the amount of water it would have taken to quench the thirst of so vast a people with all of their flocks. Suffice it to say, the water would have had to gush forth like a great fountain to have met everyone’s need. The apostle Paul wrote that this “Rock was Christ” (1 Cor. 10:4). In other words, the rock was a Spiritual Rock, a Christological Type, pointing to its fulfillment in Jesus. For He was “struck” for us that living water unto eternal life might pour forth to those who believed. The Israelites had their thirst quenched by the waters from the rock at Horeb that day. Yet, their thirst returned the next day. But those who have drunk from the Spiritual Rock, which is Christ, will thirst no more. For Christ has said, “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).
February 1, 2017
The chief priests and elders were the recognized religious authority in Israel. Yet, Jesus taught without their stamp of approval. Their authority came from men, but Christ’s came from God. If only they would have listened to His teaching, they would have recognized God’s approval upon it. But to listen and believe would have required them to humble themselves and accept His authority as Lord. Isn’t this the real problem for most?
January 31, 2017
Why did Jesus curse the fig tree?
The morning after Jesus had overturned the tables of the money changers in the Temple, reminding them that God’s house was to be a house of prayer, he was hungry and saw a fig tree along the way. Yet, even though it was green with leaves, it had no fruit. So, Jesus cursed the tree because of its lack of fruit. Was this the action of impatience or frustration because of His hunger? No. The fig tree is a symbol of fruitless Israel. They had the Law and the Prophets and the beautiful Temple with all of its sacrifices, yet they had filled the outer court, which was meant for the Gentiles’ prayer, with booths for commerce. And more than that, they had rejected the very Messiah for Whom all of these were given. Their leaves were green, but they did not bear fruit. By the end of the week, they would crucify Jesus. And before that generation passed, the Temple would be destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
But Jesus was raised and the gospel has gone out to the nations. And one day, the fig tree, which is Israel, will recognize Christ as Lord and be withered no more.
January 30, 2017
Solomon gives an example from nature to teach the discipline of living beneath your means and managing God-given resources according to the seasons of life. Stop being lazy with the time, talent and treasure that God has entrusted to you. Even the ant knows to save a surplus to get through the dry season and to gather during the harvest. Live on less than you make. Work with wisdom and diligence. Remember God’s ownership and your stewardship.
January 29, 2017
After a rich young ruler came to Jesus asking what good thing he must do to have eternal life, the Lord told him to sell his possessions, give them to the poor and come follow Him. But the young man went away sorrowful, for he was very wealthy. As the rich young ruler walked away, Jesus told His disciples that it was hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom. He then used a greater to lesser hyperbole to illustrate the problem. The camel represents the rich man, oversized and burdened with a load, while the eye of a needle represents the narrow gate that leads to the kingdom of God. Some have suggested that the “eye of the needle” referred to the small, narrow door within a city gate used for foot passengers, which even a man would need to bow low to enter. However, the metaphor still holds true. A large camel cannot enter through a small door nor a needle’s eye. It would need to shrink to enter either.
Riches have a way of owning us, rather than us owning them. To rely on worldly wealth, rather than God’s provision is idolatry. The rich young ruler who claimed to be a keeper of the commandments had actually failed to keep the first, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
January 28, 2017
Why is there suffering in God’s creation? Humanity has rebelled and chosen its own way. And the whole world has fallen under sin’s sway. Sin begins as an attitude of self-will that wants its own way, rather than God’s way. So, sin is an offense against God, but it is also harmful to the one sinning. A father may tell his toddler not to touch the hot stove, but when the toddler touches it anyway, the father need not punish. The blistered hand is punishment enough. Yet, the day of judgment is coming when all sinners will be judged. Until then, sin itself is already at work in the sinner. For it entraps and entangles, enslaving and deluding, slowly squeezing the life out of the sinner hypnotized by its stare and strangled by its coils. Thank God there is a Savior, One who came to break the bonds of sin and set us free! Thank God for Jesus who not only releases us from sin’s snare, but also adopts us into the Father’s family. Those who have received Christ as Savior and Lord are no longer entrapped and caught in the cords of sin.
January 27, 2017
Just as Jacob had wrestled God on the eve of his return to the promised land, so Moses had an encounter with God on the eve of his return to Egypt. While Jacob’s encounter left him walking with a limp for the rest of his life, Moses was at risk of death in his meeting with God. Apparently, Moses had failed to circumcise his son. This was the mark of the covenant that God had given to Abraham. And Moses had been negligent to keep it. So, in this terrifying encounter with God, Zipporah, Moses’ wife, ascertained the offense and performed the circumcision herself. When she had cut away her son’s foreskin with a sharp stone, God released Moses and let him go. Before Moses could lead the household of God, he needed to get his own house in order.
January 26, 2017
This was Christ’s response to the disciples when they asked why they had been unable to cast the demon out from the epileptic boy. He told them it was because of their unbelief. They lacked faith in God’s power to heal. Yet, Christ immediately taught them a principle of faith to avoid any possible misunderstanding. He wanted them to stop doubting and believe. They didn’t need faith the size of a mountain, but faith the size of a mustard seed, a seed so small as to make it difficult to see. He used a hyperbole of lesser to greater to illustrate this principle. The phrase “as a mustard seed” shows His use of simile to introduce the lesser (“mustard seed”) to greater (“mountain”) hyperbole. The apostle Paul knew this teaching from Jesus and used it in his list of hyperboles: “If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2). It is not the size of your faith, but that you have stopped doubting and started believing. In other words, it is not GREAT faith in God, but faith in a GREAT God. Do you have faith as a mustard seed?