Reading 1 – 2Sa 12:7

“Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: “I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul” ‘ ” (2Sa 12:7).

“It was the story of the slaughter of a lamb which exposed the immensity of David’s sin. It is the story of the slaughter of the Lamb of God which exposes the immensity of our sins. Isn’t it amazing that David was so blinded by his own sin that he could not see it? It was by means of the story of the slaughter of a poor man’s pet lamb that David was gripped with the immensity of the sin which was his own. David could see his own sin when he heard the story of what appeared to be the sin of another.

“That is precisely what the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ does for us. We were dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1-3). We were blinded to the immensity of our sins (2Co 4:4). The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, his perfect life, his innocent and sacrificial death, his literal and physical resurrection are all historical events.

“But the gospel is also a story, a true story. When we read the New Testament, we read a story that is even more dramatic, more amazing, more disturbing than the story Nathan told David. When we see the way unbelieving men treated our Lord, we should be shocked, horrified, and angered. We should cry out, ‘They deserve to die!’ And that they do. But the Gospel is not written only to show us their sins — those who actually heard Jesus and cried, ‘Crucify him, crucify him” — it is written so that the Spirit of God can cry out in our hearts, ‘Thou art the man!’ When we see the way men treated Jesus, we see the way we would have treated him, if we were there. We see how we treat him today. And that, my friend, reveals the immensity of our sin, and the immensity of our need for repentance and forgiveness” (Robert B. Deffingbaugh, “Biblical Studies”).

Reading 2 – Jer 16

“[In Jer 16] Jeremiah becomes a man apart, setting an example to display the divine displeasure at the attitude of the nation. He was forbidden to marry (vv 1-4). Fruitfulness was promised as a blessing under the Law (Deu 28:4), but ceased to be so under the difficult times now impending in Jerusalem. Further, he was forbidden to enter the house of mourning (vv 5-7). Times of trouble were about to break over the nation to cause normal mourning to be superfluous. He was forbidden to enter the house of joy (vv 8,9), for it would be a folly in view of the impending judgment. But the people stood opposed to the prophet, and therefore he answers the people (vv 10-13), giving a glimmer of hope to a faithful remnant (vv 14,15). Yet punishment upon Israel must first be experienced (vv 16-18), and would lead ultimately to the conversion of the Gentiles (vv 19-21). It is significant that this remarkable chapter concludes with the Covenant Name. So the Gentiles, by manifestation of divine power in the latter-days, will be brought within the covenant. Jeremiah’s experience is not only typical of the suffering servitude of the Lord Jesus, but an example of faithfulness in today’s apathy. The brotherhood, with the world, is facing the day of judgment, and needs to follow the pattern of Jeremiah in his dedicated service and unstinting sacrifice for the cause of the Truth, notwithstanding the opposition of the ecclesia” (GE Mansfield).

Reading 3 – Mat 27:32

“As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross” (Mat 27:32).

Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus (Mar 15:21; Rom 16:13). So evidently Simon became a follower of Christ (Mat 10:38,39). This day, he began the trip (Mat 5:41) which he continued all the rest of his life.

“Clement of Alexandria, who lived about the end of the second century, declares, that Mark wrote this Gospel on St Peter’s authority at Rome. Jerome, who lived in the fourth century, says, that Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, being requested by his brethren at Rome, wrote a short Gospel.

“Now this circumstance may account for his designating Simon as the father of Rufus at least; for we find that a disciple of that name, and of considerable note, was resident at Rome, when Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans. ‘Salute Rufus,’ says he, ‘chosen in the Lord’ [Rom 16:13]. Thus, by mentioning a man living upon the spot where he was writing, and amongst the people whom he addressed, Mark was giving a reference for the truth of his narrative, which must have been accessible and satisfactory to all; since Rufus could not have failed knowing the particulars of the Crucifixion (the great event to which the Christians looked), when his father had been so intimately concerned in it as to have been the reluctant bearer of the cross.

“Of course, the force of this argument depends on the identity of the Rufus of Mark and the Rufus of Paul, which I have no means of proving; but admitting it to be probable that they were the same persons (which, I think, may be admitted, for Paul, we see, expressly speaks of a distinguished disciple of the name of Rufus at Rome, and Mark, writing for the Romans, mentions Rufus, the son of Simon, as well known to them) — admitting this, the coincidence is striking, and serves to account for what otherwise seems a piece of purely gratuitous and needless information offered by Mark to his readers, namely, that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus; a fact omitted by the other Evangelists, and apparently turned to no advantage by himself” (JJ Blunt, “Undesigned Scriptural Coincidences” 4:19).

*****

Let us imagine the man Simon, now much older, reminiscing upon this turning point in his life:

There is no mark of course, but I have felt

Here on my shoulder to this very day

The grinding weight where that rough timber lay

And left, an hour or two, its burning welt.

I had no thought, no patriotic zeal,

That morning there a hero’s part to play;

Only, I saw his eyes which, as he lay

Down in the dust, held mine in mute appeal.

“A curse on you, Roman dogs,” I cried,

And never felt the lash the soldier swung;

Then we went together side by side,

My back bent double as we climbed the hill

To Calvary where on the cross he hung;

And I am proud to say I feel its burden still.

(Adapted, from Wadsworth)

Reading 1 – 2Sa 13

David’s great sin, although especially forgiven, led to many severe trials during all his remaining years — trials involving his son Amnon (in the matter of Tamar his sister), his son his son Absalom (guilty of murder and rebellion), Adonijah (the same), and his chief counselor Ahithophel (conspiracy).

It seems quite evident that David, with his many wives and many sons, does not personally teach his children as he should have — their characters sometimes bearing witness to this shortcoming. See specifically 1Ki 1:6: “His [Adonijah’s] father [David, of course] had never interfered with him by asking, ‘Why do you behave as you do?’ “

Reading 2 – Jer 17:9

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9).

“When we are consciously and deliberately doing God’s will, we are happy. When we are not, we are not. In the nature of things it has to be that way. And in the reality of things, it is that way. Analyze it through, and you will find it so. Any other ‘pleasure’ has to be, and is, self-deception: an ignorant or deliberate self-blinding, a shutting out of reality and consequence, a desperate, warped, juvenile submersion in the present to drown the pain of natural life’s meaninglessness and emptiness, to briefly dim the final, inescapable, staring face of eternal death” (GV Growcott).

Reading 3 – Mat 28:19,20

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Mat 28:19,20).

“Unto the End”:

“I am with you unto the end”: Mat 28:20.

“He loved them unto the end”: John 13:1.

“Who shall confirm you unto the end”: 1Co 1:8.

“The rejoicing of hope firm unto the end”: Heb 3:6.

“Beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end”: Heb 3:14.

“Full assurance of hope unto the end”: Heb 6:11.

“Keepeth my works unto the end”: Rev 2:26.

Reading 1 – 2Sa 14

“Problems in David’s family continue. His son Absalom, now the eldest and in line for the throne, conspires against his father, thus repeating the attitude of king Saul against the shepherd-elect. But, like Saul, Absalom has no scruples against Yahweh’s Anointed! He meditates on seizing the throne. But the powerful Joab acts with a political intent.

Joab schemes to fetch Absalom home: vv 1-3. Three years have passed, and Joab seeks opportunity to influence David. Then came a woman of Tekoah with a plea: vv 4-11. She presents a case in which forgiveness should be exercised. One brother had killed another, but had been incited to do so. She pleaded the intervention of David, who was so touched by the case, he granted the request. Then the case became personal. The woman pleads for Absalom: vv 12-17. Although the nation endorsed the action of the king, it was a subtle suggestion, that if the king recalled Absalom from exile, his action would be endorsed by the people. It was a suggestion based on what Joab knew the king wanted. Absalom is recalled but not forgiven: vv 18-24. Then the record reveals: Absalom’s appealing responsibility: vv 25-27. His was an appeal to the flesh, and traded on such appeal. He became renowned for his hair. the weight of which was recorded throughout the kingdom. Absalom seeks power: vv 28-33. Though recalled from exile, the king’s obvious disapproval of Absalom stood in the way of his ambition and power. Absalom reveals the ruthlessness of his nature in this action towards Joab” (GE Mansfield).

Reading 2 – Jer 18:1-4

“This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: ‘Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him” (Jer 18:1-4).

“The potter was making a vessel on the wheels, the upper and lower discs made of stone or wood. The lower one was worked by the foot of the potter and was attached by an axle to the upper one, on which the clay was worked. The discs were in a horizontal position. As happened frequently in the daily life of a potter, the clay did not turn out right. Often in throwing the clay, some defect would become evident. The potter then rolled the clay into a lump to begin his task again to make a more suitable product. The chief point here is the power the potter had over the clay. The clay was in his hand and under his control. The defects were in the clay, not the hand of the potter. The potter’s perseverance must not be overlooked at this point in this passage” (Expositors Bible Commentary).

In contrast to the clay pot in Jer 19:1,10, the same clay here could still be changed into a different vessel — not having been hardened yet.

Reading 3 – Rom outline

Romans, a brief outline, chapter by chapter:

Men may have a knowledge of God from general revelation, and thus all men are in some sense guilty, since they have rejected this revelation. The Jews are guilty of rejecting God’s law as well, and thus are doubly guilty. Since no man can be saved by his own righteousness, justification can only be by faith in the work of Jesus Christ. The chief Old Testament example is Abraham, who was saved by faith. The fruit of this justification is peace with God. Free grace gives no license for sin, but rather provides resurrection power for a new life of righteousness. Nevertheless, our regeneration introduces a struggle, within our own natures, against indwelling sin. Christ works with us in the war against sin, and guarantees us our final victory in the resurrection. Our security in Christ is grounded in God’s choice of us, not our choice of Him. God brings His elect people to Himself by means of the preaching of the gospel. God has taken the gospel to the Gentiles now, but there will come a time when Israel will also be gathered back to Him. Paul shifts from theological exposition to practical application. The appropriate response to such a great salvation is to present ourselves as living sacrifices and transformed people in the ecclesia. Believers should live in submission to the civil authorities. Weak and strong believers need to live in harmony, understanding each other. The apostle to the Gentiles hopes to visit Rome soon. Paul sends greetings to the saints, and gives warnings against “wolves”.

Reading 1 – 2Sa 15:17-21

“So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at a place some distance away. All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king. The king said to Ittai the Gittite, ‘Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland. You came only yesterday. And today shall I make you wander about with us, when I do not know where I am going? Go back, and take your countrymen. May kindness and faithfulness be with you.’

“But Ittai replied to the king, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be’ ” (2Sa 15:17-21).

“There is Ruth-like quality [Rth 1:16,17] in this asseveration [serious statement] and there is almost an echo of it in the words of Jesus when he says: ‘Where I am, there shall also my servant be’ (John 12:26). For all of us, in our coming to Christ, the words of David have a special relevance: ‘Thou art a stranger and also an exile: whereas thou camest but yesterday…’ Sure we were, outside the commonwealth of Israel, having no hope and without God in the world. And we heard the call of the King. Our hearts took fast hold of the things concerning him and the kingdom, and we forsook our former allegiance. So now, ‘in death or life,’ in ‘what place my Lord the king shall be’ we follow, that in the end we might be with him for ever” (Harry Tennant, “The Man David” 163).

“The most notable of the 600-plus men of Gath was a man named Ittai who with his companions fled with David when Absalom rebelled. Ittai’s words to David are quite extraordinary and again reveal how much Ruth’s conversion meant to David. Indeed one is inclined to contemplate whether Ruth had still been alive in the early years of David’s life and had been involved in his upbringing. David quite evidently had told Ittai of Ruth’s words to her mother-in-law because Ittai’s words seem to allude to them. When David suggested that Ittai should return from following him when he fled from Absalom, Ittai said: ‘As the LORD liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, surely in what place my lord the king shall be, whether in death or life, even there also will thy servant be’ ” (Ken Chalmers).

So Ittai is really saying, “If David’s ancestress, a Moabite, can pledge such allegiance — loving and absolute — to the God of Israel and His people, then so can I… even though a Gittite!” And then, even we Aussies and Americans can say: “If Ruth, and Ittai, could say such things — and do them… then so can I!”

One final lesson: How low David must have been feeling, in fleeing his own city and giving up his throne, upon which Yahweh had placed him! So here we have a newcomer — one not so long before this a “godless” Gittite, a brute beast, so to speak (vv 19,20) — not only coming with David, but encouraging him with these words… which (in their “Ruth” form) David must have quoted to him!

So the lesson is for all of us: It’s good to share our bright and precious hope with others, because — when we need it most — one of them might just give it back to us!

Reading 2 – Jer 19:10,11

“Then break the jar while those who go with you are watching, and say to them, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired’ ” (Jer 19:10,11).

In the Near East, it is still the practice to break a jar near a person who has done wrong to one, and then to voice the hope that he will be similarly broken. The Egyptian practice of writing on clay vessels the names of enemies and breaking them at a sacred place has been suggested as a parallel. Such action was intended to bring about the downfall of the enemies.

So Jeremiah vividly portrayed the fate of the nation. The thrust of this acted oracle was to show the irrevocability of the nation’s ruin. The Israelites knew of no way to mend a broken jar, which could only be thrown away. So Judah will be rejected because she failed to repent. There is a clear distinction between the acted oracle in this chapter and that of the potter’s house (Jer 18:1-4). Soft, malleable clay can be shaped and reshaped, but broken jars are worthless, and must be thrown away.

Reading 3 – Rom 4:14-17

“For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring– not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all. As it is written: ‘I have made you a father of many nations’ [Gen 17:5]. He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed — the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were” (Rom 4:14-17).

“If life is earned by keeping the law, neither promise nor faith enter in… By law comes knowledge of sin and consciousness of guilt and liability to punishment. Under law, sinning man comes under wrath. And man cannot keep the law; so law works wrath upon all. Therefore the apostle concludes, ‘For this cause it is of faith, that it may be according to grace.’ Because of the impossibility of it being by law, if the promise and the inheritance are received at all, it must be by grace, operative through faith. And so it is. And so the promise is secure to all the seed; secure alike to the believing Jew, the seed who lived under the law, and the believing Gentile. This is involved in the promise that Abraham was made the father of MANY nations. If inheritance were of law, he could only be the father of those under law. Since law could give no title, the promise then would not be ‘sure’ to any. But the purpose of God, who made the promise, is sure. Abraham is appointed the father of many nations by God; in the sight of God — ‘before God’ — he was such then. ‘I have made thee a father’, said God to him, when there was as yet no seed, and Abraham and Sarah were old. But God, who could, and did, quicken ‘dead’ but believing Abraham and Sarah, so that a child was born of her past age, called those things which then had no existence as though they already had come into being (v 17)” (John Carter, “Romans”).

Reading 1 – 2Sa 16:5

“As King David approached Bahurim, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family came out from there. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he cursed as he came out” (2Sa 16:5).

In these verses (vv 5-14), there are many types of and comparisons with the trials of Christ:

Shimei (of Benjamin: like Saul, and Saul of Tarsus?) curses David as he is led outside the camp to suffer (notice: there is Kedron: 2Sa 15:23; and Olivet: 2Sa 15:30). David, being forgiven (and thus sinless), accepts this rebuke quietly — as coming from God. His followers beg permission to attack his accusers, but he refuses (cp Mat 26:52). David shows no violence or anger: he is like a “lamb” led dumb to the slaughter.

“The scene is one we would do well to carry in our hearts — Shimei’s violent language and the flying stones, and David’s silent, disciplined army marching towards Jericho, with their king humbled in their midst. Another, greater than David, ‘who did no sin neither was guile found in his mouth,’ would bear a greater reproach outside the walls of Jerusalem. When reviled, he would not threaten but would commit himself to Him that judgeth righteously. [1Pe 2:21-25] Twelve legions of angels would be his servants, but not one of them would silence those who cursed the Son of God. Christ’s submission before undeserved cursing and bitterness was part of the triumph of his spirit” (Harry Tennant, “The Man David” 169).

Reading 2 – Jer 20:18

“Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?” (Jer 20:18).

Was I born to see trouble and sorrow? YES! That is the very reason why you were born. Trial is not proof that God does not exist; it is proof that He DOES exist! Trial is one means by which God prepares character.

Reading 3 – Rom 5:2-4

“And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Rom 5:2-4).

If I can be sure, when the time finally comes for the Great High Priest to return from the Most Holy Place bringing the final blessing…. that I’ll still be here, waiting at my post, rejoicing in the tribulations which I endure, and having learned patience… real PATIENCE… enough for a lifetime, of broken hearts and broken dreams [sounds like a country western song, doesn’t it?], of hurt feelings, of resentments, of disappointments, of bitterness, of ailments and illnesses, of the gradual and insidious decline of all my human powers, and the frustrations of coming short time and again of what I would like to be, but can’t quite be, of asking forgiveness for the 490th time for the same sins, of forgiving others for the same number of times…. without throwing up my hands and walking away from the door of the temple. Out into the howling waste of a wilderness of snakes and scorpions — where there is no hope and no life and no love… the wilderness where Judas went, and Cain, and Saul, and a million others — who could not truly believe that the High Priest was coming to bring them the last great blessing. Yes, if I can only wait, and persevere… long enough…. then “I WILL BE saved” will turn into “I AM saved”! God give me strength enough to wait… that long.

Reading 1 – 2Sa 17

“The spirit of Judas against Christ is revealed in the wicked and treacherous action of Ahithophel against David. Ahithophel conspired with Absalom as Judas did with the rulers of Judah. He offers a seven-point situation to Absalom. But Absalom was not convinced that this advice would achieve his designs on the throne (vv 1-4). He was doubtful of the genuineness of the advice of David’s former counsellor, and sought confirmation by Hushai (vv 5,6). David’s future trembled in the balance as the court waited to hear the counsel of Hushai. But Hushai was able to sway Absalom (vv 8-14). Contemptuously brushing aside the previous advice as unsound, he drew a picture of the extreme difficulties it presented, then sketched a plan for a general campaign. It succeeded. A warning was sent to David (vv 15-20). There was a near escape as an anonymous sympathiser of David in this apparently bitter and hostile city sent a message, causing David to retreat over the Jordan (vv 21,22). The result of Hushai’s advice caused Ahithophel to commit suicide, as did Judas after him (v 23). As a result civil war erupted in the Land (vv 24-26), whilst the remnant with David was strengthened in exile (vv 27-29). Here is a picture of the experiences of the multitudinous Christ as they, with their Lord David, wait in exile until the great King will return to Zion” (GEM).

Reading 2 – Jer 21:4,5

“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in anger and fury and great wrath’ ” (Jer 21:4,5).

The very powers exercised on Israel’s behalf in days gone by (Deu 4:34; 5:15; 26:8) were now to be turned against them.

Contrast Jeremiah’s firmness of conviction, here, with his timidity in Jer 1, and his bitterness of spirit in Jer 20:14.

Reading 3 – Rom 7:18,24,25

“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature [or ‘my flesh’]. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out” (Rom 7:18).

This statement repudiates any theory in the mind of Paul’s readers concerning “inherent goodness” as being an innate possession within “flesh”; the “flesh” is radically bad!

In Victor Hugo’s story, a ship is caught in a storm. The frightened crew hears a terrible crashing sound below. Immediately the men know what it is: a cannon has broken loose and is crashing into the ship’s side with every smashing blow of the sea! Two men, at the risk of their lives, manage to fasten it down again, for they know that the unfastened cannon is more dangerous than the raging storm. Many people are like that ship — their greatest danger areas lie inside, not outside!

Instead of “lives” in Rom 7:18, the word might better be rendered “dwells” (AV): it is “nothing good” that “dwells” in me! The invader — which is “sin in the flesh” — has managed to secure more than a foothold; he roams the place, considering it his home. In putting the matter like this, Paul has moved from a consideration of outward acts to an emphasis on the unwanted tenancy of King Sin. With this alien master in control, no matter how strongly a man wants to do the good, he finds himself checkmated. He cannot carry it out.

*****

“What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?” (Rom 7:24).

Paul felt that he bore a loathsome, leprous nature which he called “a vile body” (or a body of humiliation: Phi 3:21). Such a nature is incurable.

“There seems to be an allusion to the ancient custom of certain tyrants who bound a dead body to a living man and obliged him to carry it about, till the contagion from the putrid mass took away his life” (Adam Clarke).

*****

“Thanks be to God — through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin” (Rom 7:25).

V 25 is a summary of the whole chapter. “My mind” is a synonym for the intellectual assent of the believer; and “the sinful nature” for the human, sin-prone flesh he bears.

“Paul was human and he knew the difficulties of life. His apostleship did not exempt him from any conflict that is the common lot of all. His early efforts to keep the law of Moses, combined with his later knowledge of God’s purpose, must have given him a fearless and honest power of introspection. While it is one Paul, he yet recognizes that he is under two influences. In Galatians he says ‘I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me’ [Gal 2:20]. [But] here he says, speaking of failure to do as he would have liked, ‘It is no more I, but sin that dwelleth in me.’ There is a danger of these words being used to get rid of personal responsibility. They will always remain true when every effort has been made to follow righteousness, but should only be used when that effort has been made, when the words from Galatians can also be used. To follow a way of sin and excuse it by putting the blame on ‘sin that dwelleth in me’ is as far removed as possible from Paul’s position. In fact, it would seem that those only can rightly use his words who are trying most to be followers of Paul as he was of Christ” (John Carter, “Romans”).

Reading 1 – 2Sa 18:29

“The king asked, ‘Is the young man Absalom safe?’ ” (2Sa 18:29).

This question has often been asked by loving fathers about their sons. And sometimes the answer must be, “No, he is in great danger.” The young man is not “safe”, firstly, if he is at enmity with his father — for, if a man love not his own parents on earth, how can he love his Father who is in heaven?

And, again, the answer may be, “We have seen him lately in bad company. He has associated with other young men who are of loose morals. No, the young man is not safe there.”

Neither is he “safe” if he has taken to indulging in expensive habits. “Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him” (2Sa 15:1). This extravagance was a sign of evil. A youth who lavishes money upon needless luxuries is not safe.

And once again, the young man is not safe if he is especially concerned about his personal appearance. “In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him” (2Sa 14:25). When young people are taken up with their own persons, and are vain about their hair, their looks, and their clothes, then may we be sure that they are not safe, for the proud are always in danger.

Reading 2 – Jer 22:6-8

“For this is what the LORD says about the palace of the king of Judah: ‘Though you are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon, I will surely make you like a desert, like towns not inhabited. I will send destroyers against you, each man with his weapons, and they will cut up your fine cedar beams and throw them into the fire. People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’ ” (Jer 22:6-8).

Is not the sight of a city in ruins always a source of pathetic interest? As we wander about the silent streets of Pompeii the stillness of death is appalling by contrast with the tumult of pleasure and commerce which formerly filled those once busy markets and squares. Such a melancholy spectacle provokes thought and inquiry. It was while seated among the ruins of the Capitol in Rome that Gibbon first thought of writing the history of the decline and fall of Roman Empire. The magnificent ruins of Carnac and of Persepolis naturally lead us to ask how prosperity and power came to pass away from Persia and Egypt. The unparalleled devastation of Hiroshima, magnificent itself in an awful way, give us pause to reflect on the fragility of life, and of civilization itself, in this post-atomic age.

So must it have been in ancient times with the ruins of Jerusalem. Jeremiah warns the citizens that their city, now brilliant in splendor and prosperity, will soon astonish all beholders with its overthrow.

“I met a traveller from an antique land,

Who said — ‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert… Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, the heart that fed;

And on the pedestal, these words appear:

‘My name is Ozymandius, King of Kings,

Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!’

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away’ ” (Percy Shelley).

Reading 3 – Rom 9:17

“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth’ ” (Rom 9:17).

“The most careful attention should here be directed to what is not said by Paul in this appeal to Exo 9:16. God did not say to Pharaoh that he had raised him up in order to destroy him, or to drown his army in the Red Sea, but that God had raised him up for the purpose of showing His power in Pharaoh and of having God’s name published throughout the earth. Just HOW God’s purpose would be fulfilled in Pharaoh, at the time God spoke, still remained within the circumference of Pharaoh’s free will to choose; whether by his own submission to God’s commands or by his rebellion against them, would be realized God’s purpose. If Pharaoh had submitted to God’s will, God’s name would have been magnified all over the world and His power would have been demonstrated in Pharaoh just as gloriously in that manner as it was in the manner of its actual occurrence. Pharaoh had the free choice of obeying or not obeying God; but God had purposed, either way, to use him as a demonstration of God’s power and a means of publishing the divine name all over the world; but the choice of HOW this would come about remained with Pharaoh until he was HARDENED.

“What happened to the king of Nineveh, following the preaching of Jonah, should be remembered in the connection here. Both Pharaoh and the ruler of Nineveh heard the word of God, the one by Moses, the other by Jonah. Nineveh received mercy; Egypt did not. God had a perfect right to spare one and punish the other; but it is a falsehood to allege that God’s doing so was capricious and unrelated to what was in the two monarchs or to their [respective] responses to God’s word” (James B. Coffman).

Reading 1 – 2Sa 19

“As we look back, David seems to stand out apart from all others in the history of Israel. Moses truly is a far more majestic and awe-inspiring figure; Abraham exemplifies the nobility of a patient, enduring faith through a long and weary pilgrimage; but it is into the heart of David that we enter most closely. His life seems crowded with every variety of experience, and ranges from the purest God-fearing courage of his youthful encounter with Goliath to the ugly depths of adultery and murder. His life was a battle between the highest and most intimate spiritual conceptions of God on the one hand, and all the strong currents of human nature on the other. That he repeatedly failed is true, but what is far more important is that he freely and humbly recognized his failures and continued to press on, accepting every form of tribulation with unresentful resignation.

“His life, on the whole, was a broken and frustrated one. A long period he spent as a hunted fugitive — a wanderer away from his country and kindred, attended by a motley following whose company must have been on the whole small comfort and a constant burden. Then, after his wanderings end and he finally becomes king and has subdued all his enemies, he stumbles into a grievous sin which plagues him without respite for the rest of his life.

“Had Jonathan lived, much may have been different in David’s life, but such was not the purpose of God. The affection between them was of the most exceptional character, calling for the strongest terms of description. In the friendship of Jonathan, David could have found satisfaction and guidance for the restless desires that led him into pitfalls. But it was God’s will that he should learn alone.

“After Jonathan’s death, David seems to have found affinity with no one, and such comfort as he could get in the course of a life of disappointment and turmoil he must get by a direct and lonely approach to God by himself which, while infinitely more difficult, was perhaps in the ultimate for the best.

“The Psalms could never have been written by a man who could find satisfaction and comfort in anything short of a direct and individual communion with God. And therefore, in the wisdom of God, it was Joab and not Jonathan who became David’s lifelong companion, though such would never have been David’s choice.

“God’s purpose with David was very high, and David had much to learn. Therefore considerations of his present comfort must give way to those which through long and bitter tribulation would develop in him the peaceable fruits of purity and righteousness.

“The wisdom of God chose a vessel ideally suited to His purpose, and no small part of that purpose was the recording of the Psalms. The strong light of the inspiring Spirit, shining through every facet of David’s character and experiences, threw as on a screen each detail of hope and despair, of failure and triumph.

“Moses’ character is made before we meet him as he comes on a divine mission from the wilderness to deliver Israel from bondage. But in the Psalms every aspect of David’s development is laid bare before us. Christ alone combined the exalted and prophetic majesty of Moses with the keen humanity of David. Tried and tempted in all points like his brethren, he alone as the representative of mankind fulfilled all the experiences portrayed through David in the Psalms and emerged triumphant and unspotted from them.

“David typifies the body of Christ, those whom Christ came to redeem, the chosen generation, the spirit willing and eager but the flesh weak, a man after God’s own heart, who through much tribulation must learn the way to the kingdom.

“But David, as the writer of the Psalms, was permitted to be the instrument by which Christ was encouraged and strengthened. And each of the members, too, can in some small way share in this honor. For it was for the joy that was set before him that he was enabled to endure, and that joy consisted in the love and affection of those who gratefully accept the benefits he procured.

“Our participation in the victory is measured, therefore, by our affection for him, and the value of that vice-royalty is increased by each one that lays hold upon it.

“Between Joab and David there was no affinity. David was a man of God. Joab was not. No greater gulf could separate two men than that. They lived in different worlds. David repeatedly struggled and fell, but from beginning to end he was a man of God, intensely loyal and devoted.

“Joab was a man of the world. Wiser at times than David, and strangely enough, sometimes his perception rose higher than David’s, but to the deeper currents of divine communion which were the basis of David’s life, Joab was a stranger.

“In his reaction to David’s grief for Absalom, Joab is practical and wise. But David could see many things to which Joab was utterly blind. David could see that day many years earlier when the prophet Nathan had stood before him and had solemnly spoken of the great anger of God and the consequences he would have to suffer. David could now see the humiliation of Tamar and the murder of Amnon, his firstborn. He could see that now another wayward son had been taken, leaving behind an ignoble memory of treachery and dishonor, all the consequences of his own folly and sin. And he would wonder where and when the next blow would fall.

“But Joab’s rough counsel would sharply remind him that his pilgrimage was not yet ended. Those terrible words would always be before his mind — ‘Now, therefore, the sword shall never depart from thine house,’ and he would see dimly, stretching into the future, a continuation of that trail of wickedness and bloodshed which he had set in motion. And so, aroused once again by Joab’s brusque prodding, he concealed his grief that no one would understand, and carried on” (GV Growcott).

Reading 2 – Jer 23:29

” ‘Is not my word like fire,’ declares the LORD, ‘and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?’ ” (Jer 23:29).

By the fire, God melts the hard metal, softens it, and subdues it. Then He may take it out of the fire, and with hammer upon anvil He pounds and shapes the softened metal into a fit instrument for His use.

Reading 3 – Rom 10:4

“Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes” (Rom 10:4).

Just as in English we speak of “the end of the matter” and use the expression “to the end that” — in the one expression “end” meaning conclusion or termination, and in the other, goal or purpose — the same dual possibility lies in the Greek word “telos”. The work of God in Christ both put an end to the Law, but it also fulfilled the goal or purpose of the Law, which was a “schoolmaster” or “guide” to point the way and to lead others to Christ (Gal 3:24)! In a similar vein, Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Mat 5:17). But in being fulfilled, in and through Christ, the Law — by necessity — came to its end or conclusion.

In Christ, the Law came to an end in the same way that the seed comes to an end in the new plant that springs up, or the bud comes to an end in the blossoming flower. “The new is in the old concealed; the old is in the new revealed.”

Reading 1 – Jdg 6:19-21

“Gideon went in, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak. The angel of God said to him, ‘Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.’ And Gideon did so. With the tip of the staff that was in his hand, the angel of the LORD touched the meat and the unleavened bread. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the LORD disappeared” (Jdg 6:19-21).

“The sign that he sought was the acceptance of a sacrifice, such as he now felt to be necessary, for — without direct rebuke — the apostasy of his people was being brought home to him. With as little delay as possible he produced a young goat as a peace-offering. Perhaps he had also in mind that a kid of the goats was the prescribed sin-offering of a ruler of the people (Lev 4:22,23).

“He brought, in addition, a meal-offering of exceptional quantity — an ephah of flour (more than half a hundred weight!) baked into cakes, and this, at a time when kid and meal alike could hardly be spared.

“Thus in these offerings he expressed, without a word spoken, his consciousness of the need for expiation of sin, his earnest seeking for fellowship with God, and his desire (symbolized by the meal-offering) to dedicate the work of his life to God.

“So perhaps he was not altogether surprised when commanded to place both offerings on a nearby rock and to drench them in the broth of the sacrifice. A touch of the angel’s rod, and all was consumed in a roar on divine fire. It was an anticipation of Elijah’s experience on Mount Carmel. Sin-offering, peace-offering, meal-offering — all were become an instantaneous burnt-offering, a sweet savour unto the Lord, symbolizing that, from now on, Gideon was to be wholly and entirely given to the holy work of his God and to the deliverance of the people of his God.

“Thus Gideon had the sign he craved. With it his inkling became a certainty, and he shrank away aghast that he in his sins had talked face to face with an archangel from the very presence of Omnipotence. He had neither covered his eyes nor removed the sandals from his feet. Then how could he expect to live?

“These surging doubts were quickly silenced by a firm angelic assurance, and his mind was quickly diverted to the work that lay before him — immediate drastic action against the canker of idolatry. Baal’s altar must remain no longer, and the foul phallic symbol of all the beastly practices associated with that cult must be utterly destroyed. Chicken-hearted Gideon, thou mighty man of valour, see thou to it!

“And the angel departed” (Harry Whittaker, “Judges and Ruth”).

Reading 2 – Isa 33:15,16

“He who walks righteously and speaks what is right, who rejects gain from extortion and keeps his hand from accepting bribes, who stops his ears against plots of murder and shuts his eyes against contemplating evil — this is the man who will dwell on the heights, whose refuge will be the mountain fortress” (Isa 33:15,16).

The ancient rabbi Samlai stated that Moses gave 613 commandments, and that David reduced these to 11 commandments (that is, Psa 15). Further, he stated that Isaiah reduced the 11 to 6 (Isa 33:15). What he could not mention, of course, was that Jesus was to summarize all the law in only two commandments (Mat 22:40).

Reading 3 – James 3:17

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (Jam 3:17).

“In times of ecclesial strife, it is often assumed, quite unfairly, that to advocate a policy of patient negotiation and attempt to avert division by every proper means, is to display lack of a sense of Scriptural priorities and unhealthy tolerance of error. James is often (wrongly) called in aid of a vigorous campaigning for purity of doctrine as an essential preliminary to the restoration of harmony and peace. For does he not say ‘the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable’ (Jam 3:17) and is unity not therefore dependent upon oneness of mind in things spiritual?” (Alfred Nicholls).

And it is so tempting to read this phrase as a time sequence: Take care of the purity first, and then the peace will naturally follow. Contend earnestly for the faith, with tooth and nail if need be, and then take the fragments that remain when the strife has run its course, and establish an “honorable” peace only among those who are absolutely of one mind — because they agree absolutely with you! Can the policy so much like the repressive tactics of a Hitler or a Stalin, tactics that allow no disagreement and ensure peace by steamrolling the opposition — can such a philosophy truly commend itself to Christ’s brethren? Is “first” really a note about time, as though one could be “pure” this week but not necessarily “peaceable” till the next, when the other fellow has been disposed of?

The entire passage in James (Jam 3:13-18), dealing with true wisdom, is an extended contrast between two types of “wisdom”, one which has its origins from “beneath” and the other from “above”. Envying and strife and debate, motivated by impure thoughts, are from beneath; they are natural rather than spiritual. Against such manifestations of the “wisdom” of man the apostle Paul also spoke (2Co 12:20; Gal 5:15). By contrast, the positive theme of James’ words here is a peace born of love and sincerity (purity of motives). Heavenly wisdom is free to manifest itself in works of meekness (v 13); it need not resort to bombast and agitation. True righteousness is motivated by Scriptural peace — inward calm and outward gentleness (v 18). The words of the apostles imply far from idyllic conditions in the early ecclesias. Their warnings are just as valid, and perhaps more so, to us today as we survey a divided body and ask ourselves why.

“Even in those early days, there were men who had a measureless self-conceit, a bitter jealousy of those whom their brethren regarded with affection and trust, an arrogant confidence in their own opinion and their own judgment; men in whom there was very little of the spirit of Christ, but who were quite certain that they, and they alone, had the mind of Christ; men who were resolved, whatever might come of it, to force upon the ecclesias their own beliefs either with regard to doctrine or practice; who made parties in the ecclesia to carry out their purposes, held secret meetings, flattered those who stood by them as being faithful to conscience and to Christ, and disparaged the fidelity of all those who differed from them” (Neville Smart, James 117).

The tragic misuse of James 3:17 to justify every manner of agitation and division stems also from a misguided apprehension of the word “pure”. As James uses it here, the word applies only to moral deportment, not to the body of first principles commonly but not altogether correctly called “doctrine”. Indeed, the word “hagnos” and its related words have reference always to moral purity; in other passages these words are appropriately translated “chaste” (2Co 11:2; Tit 2:5; 1Pe 3:2) and “sincerely” (Phi 1:16). The verb form appears as “purify” in such passages as Jam 4:8; 1Pe 1:22; and 1Jo 3:3, with the same connotation. By using “hagnos” James does not convey so much the idea of cleansing or catharsis, but more nearly that of holiness or sanctification, freedom from any kind of defilement of mind or conscience, or from any inward stain or blemish (LG Sargent, Teachings of the Master 71). The Bible emphasis, therefore, is not upon “pure doctrine” (the phrase occurs nowhere in the AV or RV), but invariably upon “sound doctrine”, the healthful teaching which informs the spiritual mind and keeps the ecclesial body pure and wholesome. It refers equally to method as to content. The very test of a teaching’s soundness is whether or not it produces strife (Alfred Nicholls, Chdn 109:194). Wisdom is to be “pure”, whilst doctrine is to be “sound”, an enormous distinction.

It might also be noted that neither is “fellowship” ever Scripturally characterized as being “pure”. Purity in the absolute sense belongs to God alone, and in any other relation is only relative. Purity of conduct is something for which to strive, since Christ commands, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Mat 5:45). But it cannot be said that we should strive for the “purity” of belief of our brethren by the questionable means of agitation. And, even if we were so instructed, the outcome of such an inquisitorial search for “purity” would certainly not be the desired “peace”.

The “pure” and the “peaceable” of James’ discourse are now seen as a conscious imitation of the thought (and even the order) of Matthew 5:8,9: (1) “Blessed are the pure in heart”; and (2) “Blessed are the peacemakers”.

John Carter, late editor of The Christadelphian, under the heading “A Plea for Uncalled-for Disunion”, wrote as follows: “The title is not ours; it is one given by bro Roberts in a call for sober and fair judgment at a time when feeling was running high just after bro Andrew’s teaching had caused years of contention followed by division. Some were for pressing too far their demands upon fellow believers under the guise of ‘PURITY OF TRUTH’, and belaboured bro Roberts for lack of zeal because he would not endorse their efforts. Some have thought of bro Roberts as a fiery zealot always leading division. He certainly combatted, and rightly so, important and vital errors that were at different times introduced in the community. But it is clear that it was not a fanatical zeal that moved him. He recognized that there were other duties — teaching, guiding, instructing, promoting unity where vital issues were not involved. Three pamphlets were reviewed by him which he variously described as ‘Plea for Unsound Union’, ‘Plea for Uncalled-for Disunion’, and ‘Plea for Apostasy’. He repudiated all three pleas, and we endorse his attitude” (Chdn 93:224).

To this we would add certain of Robert Roberts’ thoughts in his own words: “It is well to be zealous for ecclesial purity; but if we are to abstain from ecclesial association till we find an ecclesia that is perfect, we shall never have ecclesial association at all. We must have compassion as well as zeal. We are all imperfect, and unless we practice some of the charity that ‘hides a multitude of sins’, we shall hinder and destroy instead of helping one another” (Chdn 23:230).

“The aim of the gospel is to convert and edify, not to divide. Division is an evil, whether necessary or not. The loss of disciples through apostasy, even when it becomes inevitable, is still grievous. And many losses may well have occurred, not because members were caught out in apostasy, but because some mistaken person or group thought that one must not be peaceable until purity has been attained. And of course this is not what James is saying….The wisdom from above is pure, but it is folly to think of it in terms of purity alone, or to imagine that it can entertain purity in isolation from the warming qualities which make it at once divine in its origin and human in its sympathies. The whole theme of this exalted homily is against the pursuit of so-called purity for its own sake alone, and for a righteousness which bears peace as its fruit at the hands of peacemakers” (Alfred Norris, Bible Missionary 42:2,3).

“My conviction is that we, as a body, are in a thousand times greater danger through failure in this matter of brotherly love than in those doubtful issues which have exercised so many of our members. When once controversy has started there is usually a tendency on all sides to multiply the sins of unfairness, misrepresentation, and all the other fleshly evils that arise from strife. Stones are thrown where bread should be given. The Scriptures will save us if we will allow them to have free course, but we must search them for food and medicine and not merely for weapons” (Islip Collyer, An Appeal to Christadelphians, p 5).

Reading 1 – Jdg 7:15-24

“When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped God. He returned to the camp of Israel and called out, ‘Get up! The LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands.’ Dividing the three hundred men into three companies, he placed trumpets and empty jars in the hands of all of them, with torches inside. ‘Watch me,’ he told them. ‘Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, “For the LORD and for Gideon.” ‘

“Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after they had changed the guard. They blew their trumpets and broke the jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, ‘A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!’ “

“While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the LORD caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. The army fled to Beth Shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath. Israelites from Naphtali, Asher and all Manasseh were called out, and they pursued the Midianites. Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, ‘Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth Barah.’ So all the men of Ephraim were called out and they took the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth Barah” (Jdg 7:15-24).

*****

“From now on everything Gideon did was marked by the most complete confidence in God. So he well deserves to be included in Heb 11 with those who wrought ‘by faith’. But — it should be especially noted — this was a faith maturing from personal experience of the ways of God.

“He now pushed forward preparations for the most unorthodox military operation in history. The three hundred elect were equipped with weapons of a unique kind. Trumpets were gathered from among the host, so that each of the three hundred might have one. Torches were fashioned and kindled, and carried in earthenware jars. Weapons they may have had, but not for use in the wild melee that was to ensue in this grotesque operation. Divided into three groups, these men of faith went forth into the night to take up assigned positions on the perimeter of the Midianite camp.

“His last instructions rang in their ears: ‘Look on me, and do likewise — as I do, so shall ye do.’ Was the faith of these three hundred any less than that of Gideon himself? They were prepared to give implicit obedience in carrying through the most quixotic scheme ever detailed to a band of soldiers.

“Time passed slowly as they crept stealthily to their appointed stations. There they waited, tense and motionless. Then, suddenly the air was filled with a hideous crashing sound, the smashing of three hundred pitchers. Midianites, Amalekites, Arabians rushed forth in bewilderment and alarm from their tents to see all round the camp hundreds of torches describing vivid circles of fire like so many outsize Catherine wheels; and at that moment their ears were assailed by a deep-throated thunderous shout: ‘The Sword of the Lord and of Gideon!’

“Immediately all was panic and chaos indescribable. Camels, plunging violently, broke their tethers and ran amok in the darkness and confusion. The startled Bedouin, already expecting the worst, were convinced that their enemies were in the midst of the camp in large numbers. Thus they fell to fighting furiously among themselves, an error made all the more easy since they were a mixture of at least three different tribes. And all the time there was this startling appearance of fire on the edge of the camp, as though supernatural powers were taking a hand in the bedlam of noise and carnage now rapidly intensifying. Many a son of Ishmael fell in violent bloody struggle that night as ‘the Lord set every man’s sword against his fellow, even throughout all the host.’ At last, crazed with fear by unaccustomed sights and sounds and baffled by the mysterious destruction in their midst, the remnant broke and fled eastward through the night.

“As that night of horror passed, and morning broke over the shattered, mangled remnants of the camp, Gideon rapidly organized for instant pursuit and destruction of the enemy, the rest of his forces — those out of the thirty-two thousand who had not yet gone back to their homes. Cross-country runners went out to the Ephraimite villages away to the southeast to warn fellow-Israelites there to hold the fords of Jordan. And the drama moved to the last act in the utter destruction of the hated Bedouin oppression” (Harry Whittaker, “Judges and Ruth”).

Reading 2 – Isa 34:11-15

“The desert owl and screech owl will possess it; the great owl and the raven will nest there. God will stretch out over Edom the measuring line of chaos and the plumb line of desolation. Her nobles will have nothing there to be called a kingdom, all her princes will vanish away. Thorns will overrun her citadels, nettles and brambles her strongholds. She will become a haunt for jackals, a home for owls. Desert creatures will meet with hyenas, and wild goats will bleat to each other; there the night creatures will also repose and find for themselves places of rest.

The owl will nest there and lay eggs, she will hatch them, and care for her young under the shadow of her wings; there also the falcons will gather, each with its mate” (Isa 34:11-15).

“Edom [will be] a desert waste, because of violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood” (Joel 3:19).

As for the Last Days: “The most obvious outcome of this remarkable divine intervention will be the utter devastation of Esau’s land for all time. The language of its wasteness is remarkably like that of Sodom and Gomorrah. How will this come about? It is tempting to assume that Israeli nuclear bombs will be used against an Arab oilfield so as to set going the mightiest conflagration the world has ever know. Sodom and Gomorrah over again, only worse. But how is one to reconcile this with the hint of cherubim of glory and divine action? There is a remarkable catena of prophecies which foretell that God will impose His final judgment on the nations by the simple device of allowing full rein to human devilry: Eze 38:21; Isa 24:19; 9:14 (= Jdg 7:22); Hag 2:22; Zec 14:13; Joel 3:11,12” (Harry Whittaker, “Isaiah” 338).

Reading 3 – James 5:7

“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains” (James 5:7).

If I can be sure, when the time finally comes for the Great High Priest to return from the Most Holy Place bringing the final blessing…. that I’ll still be here, waiting at my post, rejoicing in the tribulations which I endure, and having learned patience…. real PATIENCE…… enough for a lifetime, of broken hearts and broken dreams [sounds like a country western song, doesn’t it?], of hurt feelings, of resentments, of disappointments, of bitterness, of ailments and illnesses, of the gradual and insidious decline of all my human powers, and the frustrations of coming short time and again of what I would like to be, but can’t quite be, of asking forgiveness for the 490th time for the same sins, of forgiving others for the same number of times…. without throwing up my hands and walking away from the door of the temple. Out into the howling waste of a wilderness of snakes and scorpions — where there is no hope and no life and no love… the wilderness where Judas went, and Cain, and Saul, and a million others — who could not truly believe that the High Priest was coming to bring them the last great blessing. Yes, if I can only wait… long enough… then “I WILL BE saved” will turn into “I AM saved”! God give me strength enough to wait… that long. And I won’t even care whether that strength should be called the Holy Spirit or something else…