Reading 1 – Num 18:20

“The LORD said to Aaron, ‘You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites’ ” (Num 18:20).

“When the Lord divided Canaan among the tribes of Israel, Levi received no share of the land. God said to him simply, ‘I am thy part and thine inheritance,’ and by those words made him richer than all his brethren, richer than all the kings and rajas who have ever lived in the world. And there is a spiritual principle here, a principle still valid for every priest of the Most High God. The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the Source of all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and he has it purely, legitimately and forever” (AW Tozer).

Reading 2 – Pro 13:24

“He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is careful to discipline him” (Pro 13:24).

” ‘Spare the rod and spoil the child’ is a saying known to everyone. Solomon was even more definite. He declared that a man who spared the rod hated his son. It is hardly possible to think of anything more emphatic.

“In interpreting ‘the dark sayings of the wise’, however, we must not always insist on the literal even where the literal could easily be applied. No one would take this reference to hatred in a literal sense, for it is quite certain that a destructive leniency is usually the expression of a genuine but foolish love. The saying means that the effect of parental weakness is so bad that it is akin to hatred in its effects even though love is the cause of it. The saying is intelligible and forceful but not strictly literal. Why then insist on nothing but an actual rod and physical pain in the other part of the saying? Correction may be made by word and look and in a hundred different manipulations of circumstances, some of which may be more effective than the rod, although even that may sometimes be necessary” (Islip Collyer, “Principles and Proverbs”).

Reading 3 – Gal 3:8

“The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you’ ” (Gal 3:8).

“[This] was God’s promise to Abraham before he left his native Ur to go to the land of promise (Gen 12:3). This purpose was repeated as the ground of God’s communication concerning the overthrow of Sodom. ‘Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?’ (Gen 18:17,18). What is the blessing here promised? We perhaps think firstly of the material blessings of Christ’s reign, the era of peace, the establishment of justice, the abundance of food; houses for all; security based on law; the removal of tyranny, bloodshed, oppression and torture of all forms; the bringing of enlightenment, and love of the things that are best to all. It is true that these things are included, as the glowing pictures of the prophets of the coming age abundantly show: but they are not the first or the most important blessing. Paul quotes the words… as proof that God would justify the Gentiles through faith. ‘All the nations’ included Gentiles as well as Jews — clearly, therefore, the blessing of Abraham is for Gentiles. The proof that God would justify them lies in the word ‘blessed’ — in other words, when God said the nations would be blessed the promise concerned the justification of the nations” (John Carter, “Galatians” 66).

Reading 1 – Gen 8:9

“He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark” (Gen 8:9).

“The LORD protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you” (Psa 116:6,7).

Tired, and with no place to set its feet or lay its head, the dove found its way back to the Ark of safety, and Noah stretched out his hand to receive it back to himself. The “father” looked for, and then received back to his bosom the “prodigal son”, who — weary with looking for but finding no resting place — returns to its home!

Reading 2 – Psa 9:1

“I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonders” (Psa 9:1).

“Praise should always follow answered prayer; as the mist of earth’s gratitude rises when the sun of heaven’s love warms the ground. Hath the Lord been gracious to thee, and inclined His ear to the voice of thy supplication? Then praise Him as long as thou livest. Let the ripe fruit drop upon the fertile soil from which it drew its life. Deny not a song to Him who hath answered thy prayer and given thee the desire of thy heart. To be silent over God’s mercies is to incur the guilt of ingratitude; it is to act as basely as the nine lepers, who after they had been cured of their leprosy, returned not to give thanks unto the healing Lord. To forget to praise God is to refuse to benefit ourselves; for praise, like prayer, is one great means of promoting the growth of the spiritual life. It helps to remove our burdens, to excite our hope, to increase our faith. It is a healthful and invigorating exercise which quickens the pulse of the believer, and nerves him for fresh enterprises in his Master’s service” (CH Spurgeon).

The word “wonders” is used especially of the great redemptive miracles (ie, Psa 106:7,22) but also of their less lofty counterparts in daily experience (Psa 71:17), and of the hidden wonders of Scripture (Psa 119:18). It is a word reserved for God, and never used of man’s feeble and temporary efforts.

Reading 3 – Mat 6:9-13

“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen” (Mat 6:9-13).

I cannot say “Our”, if my religion has no room for others and their needs. I cannot say “Father”, if I do not demonstrate this divine relationship in my daily life. I cannot say “Who art in heaven”, if all my interests and pursuits are on earthly things. I cannot say “Hallowed be thy name”, if I, who am called by His name, am not holy. I cannot say “Thy kingdom come”, if I am unwilling to let go of my own will and accept the righteous rule of God. I cannot say “Thy will be done”, if I am unwilling or resentful of having that will done in my life. I cannot say “On earth as it is in heaven”, unless I am truly ready to give myself to His service here and now. I cannot say “Give us this day our daily bread”, without expending honest effort for it or by ignoring the genuine needs of my fellowmen. I cannot say “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”, if I continue to harbor a grudge against anyone. I cannot say “Lead us not into temptation”, if I deliberately choose to remain in a situation where I am likely to be tempted. I cannot say “Deliver us from evil”, if I am not prepared to fight an uncompromising spiritual warfare against evil. I cannot say “Thine is the kingdom”, if I do not give the King the disciplined obedience of a loyal subject. I cannot say “Thine is the power”, if I fear what my neighbors and friends may say about me or do to me. I cannot say “Thine is the glory”, if I am seeking my own glory first. I cannot say “Forever”, if I am too anxious about each day’s affairs. I cannot say “Amen”, unless I can honestly say, “No matter the cost to me, this is my prayer.”

Reading 1 – Gen 11; 12

“These are two chapters which reveal the contrast between darkness (Gen 11) and light (Gen 12); between the power of the flesh (Gen 11), and the call of faith (Gen 12). Gen 11 shows the nations scattered; Gen 12 shows the way in which the nations are blessed through faith. Mankind set themselves to seek the pinnacle of power, in the building of a tower (like the World Trade Center!). The clumsy attempt of man to unify himself in defiance of God’s offer of unity and peace results in the judgment of Yahweh, the confusion of tongues, and the defeat of the power of flesh” (GE Mansfield).

Reading 2 – Psa 15

“LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman, who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts, who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken” (Psa 15).

Jesus’ “Sermon on Mount” (Mat 5-7) is his extended commentary on Psa 15. “As though white light passes through a prism to be split up into the many colors of the spectrum, so [Psa 15] passed through the inspired mind of Jesus to come out in all this colorful teaching” (C Tennant).

A comparison of Psa 15 and the Sermon on the Mount (Mat 5-7):

Psa 15:1: “Who shall dwell?” (Mat 5:3-12: the principles of blessedness). Psa 15:2: “Walketh uprightly” (Mat 5:13-16: “walks in the light”). Psa 15:2: “Worketh righteousness” (Mat 5:17-20: “righteousness exceeds…”). Psa 15:2: “Speaketh truth in heart” (Mat 5:21-6:34: contrasts heart with form). Psa 15:3: “Backbiteth not” (Mat 7:1-5: “Behold not the mote…”). Psa 15:3: “Nor doeth evil” (Mat 5:43-48: “Love your enemies”). Psa 15:4: “Vile person condemned” (Mat 7:15-23: “By their fruits ye shall know them”). Psa 15:4: “Sweareth to own hurt” (Mat 5:33-37: “Communication: yea…yea…”). Psa 15:5: “Putteth not money to usury” (Mat 5:38-42: “Give without reward”). Psa 15:5: “He that doeth… never removed” (Mat 7:24-27: Doeth… buildeth on rock… will not fall”).

Reading 3 – Mat 8:2

“A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, ‘Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean’ ” (Mat 8:2).

“Looking into the eyes of Jesus, the leper found his confidence once more; he fell forward on his face, his cry of faith rang out, ‘Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.’ He waited a breathless eternity. Suddenly he felt firm, gentle hands close on his scaly flesh, the first human touch he had known for years, and then he heard the voice of Jesus. The leper’s ‘if’ had moved the Lord. His response was, ‘I will.’ And then with a word of authority, the evil flesh melted under his touch, the scarred and wasted body glowed with health. Would that the deeper leprosy of the soul could be so easily dismissed! But that is a slower work, a work in which Christ can only minister with the steady co-operation of the sufferer. Faith has to be joined by a dedication of the heart and the will. But the victory can be won if the desire for spiritual health is as great as was the leper’s longing for physical perfection. For the Lord’s ‘I will’ to the cry ‘thou canst’ has lost none of its effectiveness” (Melva Purkis, “Life of Jesus” p 108).

Reading 1 – Gen 36:1-3

“This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom)” (Gen 36:1).

He is called Edom (which signifies “red”) here (and again, in Gen 36:8). By that name is perpetuated the memory of the foolish bargain he made, when he sold his birthright for a bowl of tasty beans (Gen 25:30). The very mention of that name “Edom” is enough to explain why his whole family is dispensed with in such a short account — one chapter. “If men do a wrong thing they have only themselves to thank, when long after it is remembered against them to their reproach” (Matthew Henry).

The foolish decision to relinquish his precious birthright seems to have begun a whole string of other foolish decisions — involving alliances with women, and families, of the land, peoples who cared nothing for the divine covenants of promise.

*****

“Esau took his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite” (Gen 36:2).

Esau consorted with the women of the corrupt and rejected Hittites and Hivites. These were women of Canaan — posterity of the cursed Canaan (Gen 9:25). It has been suggested — on the basis of Heb 12:16, where he is called “sexually immoral” — that Esau picked up his wives at Canaanite houses of prostitution and idolatry. (The names of his wives here seem to bear this out: see below.) If so, this was not only grossly evil, but it was an absolute departure from what his role should have been: as the firstborn, he should have been serving at God’s tabernacle; but instead he was frolicking in the temples of iniquity.

“Adah” is a name which signifies “ornamental” or “bedecked”; this suggests an outward show, but no inward substance (cp 1Pe 3:3; 1Ti 2:9,10).

“Oholibamah” is a name derived from two Hebrew words: “ohel” (tent) and “bamah” (high place); this name strongly suggests a tent at the high place — that is, sexual abomination at the scene of idolatrous worship! Notice the similarity of this name to Oholah and Oholibah, the symbolic names Yahweh gave to Israel and Judah, when they forsook their marriage to Him and became “harlots” (Eze 23).

******

“…also Basemath daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth” (Gen 36:3).

Basemath was mentioned earlier, in Gen 26:34, along with Judith of the Hittites. These two wives were a “source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.” [It is also noted that Esau had married Mahalath a daughter of Ishmael (Gen 28:9); this is possibly the same woman as Basemath. And since they were both described as Hittites, it is also possible that Judith (Gen 26:34) and Adah (Gen 36:3) were one and the same. It is also possible, for that matter, that these were even more wives!]

Such marriages were wrong on two accounts:

It was a departure from the divine ideal to have more than one wife (Gen 2:24; Mat 19:4-6). Esau married women of the land (Hittites, Hivites, and Ishmaelites).

*****

This is sad, and points a solemn warning to us. Marriage is a momentous undertaking, and for one of the LORD’s people to unite with a person of the world is to court disaster as well as to dishonor God. Yahweh’s instructions to Israel were very pointed: under no circumstances must they marry a Canaanite (Deu 7:3). In the times covered by the book of Genesis, though apparently no divine law had been given respecting it, yet the mind of God was clearly understood. This is evident from the care which Abraham took to secure Isaac a wife from among his own people (Gen 24); thus did he prevent Isaac from marrying a daughter of Canaan. But Isaac was careless about this matter. He failed to watch over his children so as to anticipate mischief. Esau, as we have seen, married daughters of the Hittites, Hivites, and Ishmaelites. God could not say of Isaac as he had of his father, “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord” (Gen 18:19).

*****

The Scriptures abound in warnings against alien marriage. The sons of God marrying the daughters of men resulted at last in the Flood. Abraham and Isaac, faithful sojourners looking for the Kingdom, opposed such marriages for their sons (Gen 24:3; 28:1). The Law forbade the yoking together of the clean ox and the unclean ass (Deu 22:10). Moses said to take no alien spouses (Deu 7:3,8). Solomon’s alien wives turned his heart from God (1Ki 11:1-11). Ezra (Ezr 9; 10) and Nehemiah (Neh 13:23-29) tell us of the evils of such alliances, and Paul has stressed the same:

“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.’ ‘Therefore come out from them and be separate,’ says the Lord. ‘Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty’ ” (2Co 6:14-18).

Reading 2 – Psa 38

Psalm 38 is one of the penitential psalms (along with Psa 6, 32, 51, 102, 130, and 143). These psalms probably refer to David’s sins with Bathsheba and Uriah, and the aftermath.

Alternate verses — 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 — use the language of desperate illness. So, perhaps, not only did David lose four members of his own family as a direct result of his sin, but also he himself was punished physically by God. This affliction of David may have been leprosy, the sin-disease. (The word “sore” or “stroke” — v 11, mg — is used of leprosy 54 times in Lev 13; 14.)

Reading 3 – Mat 23:23

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices — mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former” (Mat 23:23).

“After all that the prophets had said, Christ needed to explain the law of justice again. His contemporaries were zealous for their traditions but they neglected the weightier matters of the law of God, justice, faith and love. They were eager to lade men with heavy and unnecessary burdens but they could not apply the just balance and just measure to the affairs of spiritual life. So has it been in later days. There has often been a passionate zeal for rectitude in little matters of form and expression, resulting in bitter criticism and often injustice to fellow labourers. We have a strong conviction that when the Just One passes final judgment, some well-meaning but self-centred men will be reproved because they have rigorously enforced so many rules of their own and have been neglectful of justice, mercy, faith and the love of God” (Islip Collyer, “Principles and Proverbs” 186).

Reading 1 – Gen 32:30,31

“So Jacob called the place Peniel [face of God] saying, ‘It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared’ ” (Gen 32:30).

Brethren, do we wrestle with God? How do we confront our “enemies”? Do we go through life dividing our time between praying and plotting? Do we ask for help and then scheme in unworthy ways to obtain our goals, giving the lie to all our worthier thoughts? Do we twist and turn and worry under every constraint to our own wills, never pausing to remind ourselves that God is in control of everything, and that what we “suffer” as well as what we “enjoy” contribute alike to His purpose?

It is so easy to forget the lesson of Shimei’s cursing of David, that God had sent the “enemy” — so who are we to ask “why”? (2Sa 16:10). Likewise, the reply of Jesus to Pilate: “Thou shouldst have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above” (John 19:11). For us the problem is the same as Jacob’s: how to remember in our troubled hours what we take for granted in our quieter moments; that “All things work together for good to them that love God” and, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” Assuredly we shall all come to times when our theoretical belief in such an idea will be put to the test of reality.

We should see ourselves in Jacob, and Jacob in ourselves. The experiences of this flesh-and-blood man have direct relevance to us. Do we fear and doubt? Do we vacillate between faith in God and scheming on our own account? So did he! But in his weakness he was drawn finally and completely to God. Let us have the humility and grace, and wisdom, to follow his path.

There is comfort in this thought, that Jacob never became perfect — that he never could bring himself to trust God absolutely, and yet God loved him. And so it may be with us. God has condescended to be known as the “God of Jacob” (the one who “wrestled”), not just the “God of Israel” (the “Prince with God”)!!

*****

“And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh” (Gen 32:31).

The “thorn in his flesh”, like Paul’s, was not removed. It remained with Jacob as proof and reminder of his encounter with God. And so we all “limp” through life, our failures and weaknesses witnessing eloquently to us of our need — our desperate need — to trust in God alone. We survey our lives, remembering the times when we, personally, failed… yet, in those failures found God.

As Jacob limped toward his meeting with Esau, the sun rose upon him! The doubts, the shadows, and the fears were gone with the night. He had seen “God” face to face, and through his weakness found a blessing. Now, when at last he saw Esau, he would still be seeing “God” (Gen 33:10). From now on, he would always God’s “face”, wherever he went.

***

Our Father,

Help us to see Thy “face” in all our experiences.

Cause the light of Thy truth to shine into our hearts,

so that — abandoning our own wills

and our own strength —

we come at last to trust in Thee alone.

In Christ we pray.

Amen.

Reading 2 – Psa 36:8

“They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights” (Psa 36:8).

“Sheba’s queen was amazed at the sumptuousness of Solomon’s table. She lost all heart when she saw the provision of a single day; and she marvelled equally at the company of servants who were feasted at the royal board. But what is this to the hospitalities of the God of grace? Ten thousand thousand of his people are daily fed; hungry and thirsty, they bring large appetites with them to the banquet, but not one of them returns unsatisfied; there is enough for each, enough for all, enough for evermore. Though the host that feed at Jehovah’s table is countless as the stars of heaven, yet each one has his portion of meat. Think how much grace one saint requires, so much that nothing but the Infinite could supply him for one day; and yet the Lord spreads His table, not for one, but many saints, not for one day, but for many years; not for many years only, but for generation after generation… the woman said, ‘The dogs eat of the crumbs that fall from the master’s table’; but no child of God is ever served with scraps and leavings; like Mephibosheth, they all eat from the king’s own table. In matters of grace, we all have Benjamin’s portion — we all have ten times more than we could have expected, and though our necessities are great, yet are we often amazed at the marvellous plenty of grace which God gives us experimentally to enjoy” (CH Spurgeon).

Reading 3 – Mat 21:21

“I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done” (Mat 21:21).

“Never worry. Worry has sent more people to the asylums and hospitals than anything else. Worry is stupid, juvenile, faithless, non-productive, round-and-round-in-a-circle thinking. If something calls for concern, be concerned. But be concerned in a constructive, productive way. Think in a straight line — from problem to solution. Or if there is no solution, to acceptance. If there is no solution, there is always prayer: though that should be the first resort, not the last. God can make anything happen or not happen. If He doesn’t choose to, then it is not to be; or we have not prayed long enough, or sincerely enough. Or we have something to learn that denying our prayers helps to teach us. Everything related to God’s affairs and God’s people has a good purpose. Folly frets and worries and rebels. Wisdom knows there is a reason, and accepts, and adjusts, and is thankful, whether God gives, or takes away” (GV Growcott).

Reading 1 – Gen 3:8,10

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden” (Gen 3:8).

Attempts to hide sin from God will always be unsuccessful: Jer 23:24; Heb 4:13; Amo 9:2,3.

“[In sin] we resort to the trees of the garden — the affairs or amusements of the world, the forms and ceremonies of religion, or its wordy technicalities, or its fervors and passions, or its busy activities… whatever, in short, may serve to fill a certain space, and bulk to a certain size, as a barrier between God and the heart that shrinks from too direct an approach to him. And we soothe ourselves with the notion that this hedge… serves the same purpose on God’s side as on ours…” (Candlish).

*****

“He answered, ‘I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid’ ” (v 10).

The legacy of Adam’s sin for all mankind was fear, more urgent, insidious, worse than death (which does not bother us for most of our lives). Fear fills our lives, our minds, warps our thoughts, weakens resolve, poisons relationships with others and with God, and hides us from the love and grace of our Lord. Fear aggravates disease and hastens death. Our habits, even our characters, are largely formed through fear. Some are aggressive, intolerant, talkative, arrogant, contemptuous of others, boastful, angry (as, for example, a mother’s angry welcome to a child she feared was lost). Some are reserved, shy, silent, polite out of fear. Religion is distorted by fear: of upsetting God or the sect, fear of divine disapproval and punishment in this life or the next, or of sectarian displeasure or excommunication. Some hate, some love from fear. We fear losing things — money, jobs, position, security, men’s goodwill or respect, friends, loved ones. Do we fear losing our place in the kingdom? Do we fear not being “good enough” for our Saviour? Are we afraid our treasures of good works are not yet sufficient to protect us from condemnation, as we are afraid we have not sufficient earthly treasure to protect us from want? Fear fills hospitals, mental homes, refugee camps. Fear is at the root of divisions, wars, oppression, terrorism. Either to bring relief from fear, or to instill fear in others.

We are even afraid openly to acknowledge fear. Stress, anxiety, worry, shyness, reserve, inferiority complex, lack of self-confidence, depression: all these may be manifestations of fear. A score of euphemisms for “I was afraid and I hid myself”… in addictions to drink or drugs or self-pity?… taken for temporary but useless relief.

The remedy? “Fear not!” A true and sincere and full faith in God and His promises is the only real antidote to fear. This comes from reading the Bible, and believing it.

Reading 2 – Psa 3; 4

“I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me” (Psa 3:5).

“Be not anxious for the morrow… your heavenly father knows that you have need” (Mat 6:32,34).

“He who did keep me waking

Has kept me still

Through the dark, silent night;

And now I thrill

To greet once more the light.

His power unseen, from sleep

Unlocked my eyes,

With strength afresh renewed;

And I arise

With song of gratitude.

Thus, if death’s night at length

Should darkly close,

And in my earthly bed, confined and deep,

I take repose,

Stiller, profounder sleep,

To know a yet more marvelous waking,

A fairer morn…

May I with gladness say

‘I slept, but wake new-born

To brighter day.’ “

(NP Holt)

******

“How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame [or ‘dishonor my Glorious One’]? How long will you love delusions and seek false gods [or ‘seek lies’]?” (Psa 4:2).

The glory of David’s selection as king led to the downfall of Saul and his house, for which David was unjustly blamed (2Sa 16:7,8). Also, in becoming king, David was put in the way of receiving closer scrutiny and thus greater chastisement for his own sins. His sins regarding Bathsheba and Uriah brought shame on him, and led directly to the revolt of Absalom. Israel is condemned for changing the “glory” of God into the shame of idolatry (Psa 106:20; Rom 1:23).

Likewise, Christ’s glory was turned to shame:

a procession of honor, in which Roman legionaries, Jewish priests, men and women, took a part, he himself bearing His cross; derisive shouts were his only acclamations, and cruel taunts His only hymns of praise; they presented him with the wine of honor — the criminal’s stupefying death-drink; a guard of honor, who showed their esteem for him by gambling over His garments; a “throne” of honor was provided for him upon the cross; and the title of honor was nominally “King of the Jews,” but this title was distinctly repudiated, and they really called him “King of thieves,” by freeing Barabbas, and by placing Jesus in the place of highest shame between two thieves.

His glory was thus in all things turned into shame by the sons of men, but such “shame” would yet be his true “glory”!

******

“Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself” (Psa 4:3).

“We shall never attain salvation without developing a godly mind. A godly mind does not come naturally. It comes only by great effort and dedication and desire. We could be ‘in the Truth’ one hundred years, and still not have a godly mind. A godly mind is full of God, all the time. And it is not just sentiment, though that is vitally important. It is godly knowledge, deep knowledge from His Word reverently studied and pondered, which is equally important. A godly mind lives in the atmosphere of God. It sees God everywhere. Every creature has its natural habitat — the surroundings where it is comfortable, and healthy, and happy. The natural habitat of the godly mind is God Himself: here only it is at home and at peace” (GV Growcott).

******

“You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound” (Psa 4:7).

The assurance of God’s protection brings greater joy to the righteous man than all manner of material bounty brings to the secular man! “It is better to feel God’s favor one hour in our repenting souls, than to sit whole ages under the warmest sunshine than this world affords.”

Reading 3 – Mat 3

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. But John tried to deter him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented” (Mat 3:13-15).

Why was Jesus baptized? The most obvious answer is the Scriptural one: in the words of Jesus himself, “to fulfill all righteousness”. This calls to mind Mat 5:17: “I am not come to destroy [the law], but to fulfill.” The work of Jesus, in all its aspects, was to fulfill, or complete, the righteousness of the law of Moses. The law of Moses was a “shadow” (Heb 10:1), pointing forward to the substance, the reality, which was Jesus. As Moses washed Aaron (Exo 30:20,21; 40:12), to sanctify and cleanse him for his work as a mediator, so John washed Jesus. If Aaron had entered the Most Holy without washing, he would have failed; if Jesus had offered himself as a sacrifice with no public baptism (signifying the denial of the flesh), he would likewise have failed. Although Jesus possessed the same nature as ours, he was absolutely without personal sin. The necessity of his baptism shows how far even sinful flesh alone separates man from God.

“He had no life of sin to leave behind in the waters of Jordan, but there he did bring to an end the home life of Nazareth, the quiet, peaceful years of preparation, and did accept as the ‘righteous will of God’ the storm and strain and sacrifice of the work which he had come to do” (Erdman).

Reading 1 – Gen 2:23

“The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called “woman”, for she was taken out of man’ ” (Gen 2:23).

All other creatures, both male and female, were created independently from elements. They had, and have, no moral allegiance or sympathy toward one another. Man and woman are of one flesh. They do have such ties. Their relations are intended to be governed by the very highest ideal: the Marriage of the Lamb (Rev 19:7,8; Eph 5:29-33; Psa 45; Song of Songs). “What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mat 19:5,6). It has been said that “Eve was made from a rib taken from Adam’s side, not from his head that she might be his superior, nor from his feet that she might be trampled on at will, but from his side… that she might be his equal — and from under his heart, that she might be cherished, and loved.”

Reading 2 – Psa 1

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psa 1).

Among all the saints whose lives are recorded in the Bible, David possesses an experience of the most striking, varied, and instructive character. In his history we meet with trials and temptations not to be discovered, as a whole, in other saints of ancient times, and hence he is all the more expressive a type of our Lord.

David knew the trials of all ranks and conditions of men. Kings have their troubles, and David wore a crown; the lowly worker has his cares, and David handled a shepherd’s rod; the wanderer has many hardships, and David abode in the caves of Engedi; the leader of men has his difficulties, and David found the sons of Zeruiah too hard for him. The psalmist was also tried in that his friends, his counselor Ahithophel forsook him: “He that eateth bread with me, hath lifted up his heel against me.” His worst foes were they of his own household: his children were his greatest affliction. The temptations of poverty and wealth, of honor and reproach, of health and weakness, all tried their power upon him. He had temptations from without to disturb his peace, and from within to mar his joy.

David no sooner escaped from one trial than he fell into another; no sooner emerged from one season of depression and fear, than he was again brought into the lowest depths, and all God’s waves and billows rolled over him. It is probably from this cause that David’s psalms are so universally the delight of experienced Christians. Whatever our frame of mind, whether on the heights or in the depths, David has exactly described our emotions. He was an able master of the human heart, because he had been tutored in the best of all schools — the school of heartfelt, personal experience.

As we are instructed in the same school, as we mature in grace and in years, we increasingly appreciate David’s psalms, and find them to be “green pastures” where the weary lamb may lie down for a moment in peace.

Reading 3 – Mat 1:1

“A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Mat 1:1).

Both David and Abraham received the promises of God with faith and joy (Mat 22:43; Joh 8:56). “How they would have rejoiced to read this ‘dull’ chapter” (Harry Whittaker, “Enjoying the Bible” 188).

Think of the analogy of a wealthy family (this analogy is actually used in Gal 4). All the children receive a generous “inheritance” (or at least their share is laid up in trusts or the like, for their use at a later date). But the children — as they grow up — also willingly and eagerly go to work in the family business, doing their own part to cause the family enterprise to grow, and making wise and prudent decisions about the “investments” of the company… not just for themselves, but especially for their own children and grandchildren. Here is a lengthy list of names, a list that can make for very dull reading. But if we make it personal, it comes alive! Read the genealogy as though it were your own family history (and it is: for if you belong to Christ, then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promises: Gal 3:16,27-29). When read that way, it is immensely exciting. It is as though you suddenly discover that you are “heir” to a vast fortune (and what a property! the whole world in fact: Gen 13:14,15; Rom 4:13; 2Sa 7:12-16!) through an obscure branch of the family tree which you had never considered before. Just think: if you learned of this possible “inheritance”, how avidly would you read and reread that “dull”, “dry” list of names, just to be sure that it did in fact lead finally to you! And then how eagerly would you go to work at the family’s enterprise, knowing that one day it would all belong to you!

Reading 1 – Gen 35:18

“As she [Rachel] breathed her last — for she was dying — she named her son Ben-Oni. [Ben-Oni means son of my trouble.] But his father named him Benjamin [Benjamin means son of my right hand.]” (Gen 35:18).

In similar fashion, Adam named his wife “Eve” — “Life!” — although by natural appearances “Death” might have been more appropriate. This demonstrates an appreciation of the importance of God’s promises, even in the midst of suffering. “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2Co 4:17,18).

FOR SHE WAS DYING: Rachel symbolizes the nation of Israel — which dies politically at the coming of her “son” Jesus Christ: Isa 53:3; Luk 2:34,35; Rom 11:15.

BEN-ONI: “Son of my trouble, or my sorrow” (cp Mat 2:18). Jesus, at first coming, was a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief.

BENJAMIN: “Son of my right hand”. Jesus, the only son of his Father, after suffering in sorrow, was then elevated to power at God’s right hand: see Psa 80:17; 110:1,2; Mat 22:44; Phi 2:5-7.

“To every matter there is a bright as well as a dark side. Rachel was overwhelmed with the sorrow of her own travail and death; Jacob, though weeping the mother’s loss, could see the mercy of the child’s birth. It is well for us if, while the flesh mourns over trials, our faith triumphs in divine faithfulness. Samson’s lion yielded honey, and so will our adversities, if rightly considered.

“The stormy sea feeds multitudes with its fishes; the wild wood blooms with beauteous flowers; the stormy wind sweeps away the pestilence, and the biting frost loosens the soil. Dark clouds distil bright drops, and black earth grows gay flowers. A vein of good is to be found in every mine of evil. Sad hearts have peculiar skill in discovering the most disadvantageous point of view from which to gaze upon a trial; if there were only one swamp in the world, they would soon be up to their necks in it, and if there were only one lion in the desert they would hear it roar…

“Faith’s way of walking is to cast all care upon the Lord, and then to anticipate good results from the worst calamities. Like Gideon’s men, she does not fret over the broken pitcher, but rejoices that the lamp blazes forth the more. Out of the rough oyster-shell of difficulty she extracts the rare pearl of honor, and from the deep ocean-caves of distress she uplifts the priceless coral of experience. When her flood of prosperity ebbs, she finds treasures hid in the sands; and when her sun of delight goes down, she turns her telescope of hope to the starry promises of heaven. When death itself appears, faith points to the light of resurrection beyond the grave, thus making our dying Benoni to be our living Benjamin” (CH Spurgeon).

Reading 2 – Psa 37:20

“But the wicked will perish: The LORD’S enemies will be like the beauty of the fields, they will vanish — vanish like smoke” (Psa 37:20).

THE BEAUTY OF THE FIELDS: The alternate reading, “the fat of lambs”, (AV) conjures up the picture of a great column of smoke ascending up to heaven. The everlasting death of the unredeemable wicked is the only acceptable sacrifice they can offer (cp Psa 21:8,9; Eze 39:17; Isa 34:6; 66:15,16; Zep 1:7,8,17; Mal 4:1). The punishment of the wicked is death, not endless torment: Psa 104:35; 145:20; Pro 10:30; 11:31; 13:13; Job 20:7,8; 21:30; Eze 18:4; Mat 21:41; Luk 19:27; Rom 1:32; 6:23; 2Th 1:9; 2Pe 2:12; Heb 6:8.

THEY WILL VANISH — VANISH LIKE SMOKE: The wicked will vanish like the continual burnt offering, consumed into smoke, until there is nothing left: cp Eze 39:6,17-22. God’s judgment of the wicked is described as a “sacrifice”: Rev 20:9; Gen 19:24; 2Ki 1:10-14; Psa 37:20; Eze 39:6,17-22.

Reading 3 – Mat 22:37

“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’ ” (Mat 22:37).

“We cannot weaken the flesh: but we can, and we must, strengthen the spirit, so that it may subdue and control, the flesh. To begin with, we are all flesh: ‘fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind,’ like the beast of the field, knowing nothing better or higher. We build the strength of the spirit by the intense love of God. There is no other way. And love of God, in effective strength, comes by much study and meditation on His Word. The one great command of life is: ‘Love the Lord thy God with ALL thy heart, ALL thy mind, ALL thy life, and ALL thy strength.’ This is not a command in the ordinary sense of a requirement by someone else for their purposes and benefit. Rather it is divine loving advice on the only possible way of escape out of death into life. An intense, life-dominating love of God is the only power in the universe that can overcome the flesh, and the promise of God’s glorious eternal future is only to ‘him that overcometh’ ” (GV Growcott).

Reading 1 – Gen 31

“Jacob found himself being treated with the duplicity that he manifested in the matter of the family blessing granted by Isaac (Gen 27). A family council was held in the home of Laban, Jacob’s father in law. There had come a change in the heart of Laban towards Jacob, and jealousy in his sons brought about a crisis in the life of Jacob. There was a rising hostility toward him, and Jacob realised that as he had fled from the home of his family in Canaan, now he would have to flee from the home of his wives in Haran.

“As father, Laban had ignored his true responsibilities to his daughters. They gave expression to the mercenary meanness of their father (v 15), which rankled long in their minds, and had destroyed any love they once had for him. Family life is best when based upon the Word and Purpose of Yahweh. Yahweh presided over the whole scene between Laban (the man of sin) and Jacob (the man of faith), and ultimately delivered the man of faith, so that Jacob and his family could leave to journey home to the Land of Promise” (GE Mansfield).

Reading 2 – Psa 35:9

“Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation” (Psa 35:9).

“Let it not be thought that the course of wisdom is a joyless burden. Rather, it is the course of the only true joy and freedom from burden. We have seen full-grown, mentally-retarded adults sitting on the floor grinning and slobbering and playing with baby toys. It is a terribly sad and saddening spectacle: a potentially noble and intelligent creature, created in God’s image, never developing beyond uncomprehending infancy. Compared to the beauty that might be, this is the spiritual state that might be of all of natural mankind. And merely passing an elementary examination and being baptized does not automatically change it, though such can and should be a tremendous first step in the direction of growth and maturity and nobility and beauty. But it is only a first step. Continuous development must follow” (GV Growcott).

Reading 3 – Mat 20:16

“So the last will be first, and the first last” (Mat 20:16),

“Do not take your salvation for granted… At our baptism, we do not step onto a smooth, effortless moving sidewalk that will automatically carry us comfortably into the Kingdom, though many act as though they assume this is so. Rather we stand at the foot of a steep and rugged hill, and there is no ski-lift. That hill is our probation: the ‘working out of our salvation with fear and trembling.’ God knows the height and degree of difficulty of our hill, and He knows the lifespan before us that He has given us to climb it. We shall need ALL that time, and all the available help He has provided and promised in so many ways. How long is it since your baptism? How far up the hill of God have you faithfully climbed? There are tempting but fatal relaxing places along the way, among them that deceptive worldly conceit called ‘retirement.’ Are you in one of them? The day draws on, and the top is still above you” (GV Growcott).

Reading 1 – Gen 37

“Joseph was innocent and excellent, but Joseph was young and untried, and God had a great purpose with him that required that he should be matured and perfected in character as men only can be perfected — in the school of adversity. Joseph had to be fitted for exaltation and the exercise of power, and therefore Joseph had to suffer for Joseph’s own good and for the bringing about of a great result to the whole house of Israel. Joseph was allowed to become the object of his brethren’s successful hatred. Therefore, if sympathy sheds a tear, the understanding admires, while Joseph is bound by unfeeling brethren, and in spite of his frantic entreaties, lowered into a pit where death appears inevitable, both in his own estimation and that of his brothers. No greater evil short of death could befall a human being than that which thus came to Joseph. A spectator on the spot would have said it was evil in which it was not possible to imagine any good purpose. There was no explanation of it. Joseph was not permitted the know the meaning. He could not have understood if told. It would have frustrated the object for him to know. Let us recollect this when in any matter similarly situated. Circumstances may be dark; calamity unmixed; the situation such that enemies may say, ‘There is no help for him in God’; yet God may be at the bottom of all the trouble for purposes of goodness which the future alone will reveal. The only policy is, in all circumstances, to commit ourselves to the keeping of our Creator in faith and well-doing: ‘Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday’ ” (Robert Roberts, “Ways of Providence” 87).

Reading 2 – Psa 40:8

“I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart” (Psa 40:8).

This psalm is quoted in Heb 10 about the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who did the will of God… perfectly — and thus essentially fulfilled all the shadows and prophecies and sacrifices and expectations of the Old Testament.

The very words of Psa 40:8 are quoted by Paul in Rom 7:22, and echoed in idea by Jesus himself in Joh 4:34: “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.”

YOUR LAW IS WITHIN MY HEART: The Hebrew is “my bowels”, emphasizing either that the law of God has been eagerly devoured (Eze 3:3; Rev 10:9; cp Joh 4:34), or else that the teaching of God’s law has captured his emotions. The Septuagint reads “heart” (ie, mind, of course), as in v 10. This prepares the way for Heb 10:16: In the New Covenant, men are made like Jesus, the one who makes the New Covenant possible, by having his law put into their hearts (Jer 31:33).

To what extent was this really true of Jesus, that God’s law was within his heart? In him was certainly the true and perfect realization of the law of Deu 17:18-20, commanding the king of Israel to write his own copy of the law. The ones who observed this law could probably be counted on the fingers of one hand (perhaps David, Hezekiah, Josiah?), but no doubt Jesus fulfilled this law in the best possible way. It is reasonable to infer that at some time during the days of his flesh (perhaps in the hidden years, from twelve to thirty: Luk 2:47) Jesus wrote out his own copy of the law, and probably memorized it as well! Everything about the spontaneous suitability of all he had to say in his handling of the Word of God suggests this. And so for Jesus the law was written not upon cold tables of stone or upon perishable parchments, but in the warm and living table of the human heart (Deu 6:6; Pro 3:3; 7:3; 2Co 3:3). Written there, it colored and affected every aspect of his life, and — through him — that same law touches the hearts of all of us!

Reading 3 – Mat 24:7

“There will be… earthquakes in various places” (Mat 24:7).

The May 1984 National Geographic shows through color photos and drawings the swift and terrible destruction that wiped out the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in AD 79. The explosion of Mount Vesuvius was so sudden, the residents were killed while in their routine: men and women were at the market, the rich in their luxurious baths, slaves at toil. They died amid volcanic ash and superheated gases. Even family pets suffered the same quick and final fate. It takes little imagination to picture the panic of that terrible day. The saddest part is that these people did not have to die.

Scientists confirm what ancient Roman writers record — weeks of rumblings and shakings preceded the actual explosion. Even an ominous plume of smoke was clearly visible from the mountain days before the eruption. If only they had been able to read and respond to Vesuvius’s warning!

There are similar “rumblings” in our world: warfare, earthquakes, the nuclear threat, economic woes, breakdown of the family and moral standards. While not exactly new, these things do point to a coming Day of Judgment. People need not be caught unprepared. God warns and provides an escape to those who will heed the rumblings.