Reading 1 – Gen 25:11

“After Abraham’s death, God blessed his son Isaac, who then lived near Beer Lahai Roi” (Gen 25:11).

The Hebrew name signifies “the well of the Living One who sees me”, or “the well of life and vision”. This was a fountain of water in the wilderness, between Kadesh and Bered on the road to Shur (the eastern line of Egypt’s border fortresses), where the Lord’s watchful care was revealed to Hagar (Gen 16:14). Also a place where Isaac “dwelt” (RSV) for some time. This site is not certain, but is possibly about 50 miles southwest of Beersheba.

Hagar had once found deliverance there and Ishmael had drunk from the water so graciously revealed by the God who liveth and seeth the sons of men; but this was a merely casual visit, the kind that worldly people pay to the Lord in times of need, when it serves their turn. They cry to Him in trouble, but forsake Him in prosperity. By contrast, Isaac dwelt there, and made the well of the living and all-seeing God his constant source of supply. The usual tenor of a man’s life, the place where his “soul” dwells, is the true test of his state.

Perhaps the providential visitation experienced by Hagar struck Isaac’s mind, and led him to revere the place; its poetic and mystical name endeared it to him; his frequent meditations by the well at evening made him familiar with its environs; and his meeting Rebekah (Gen 24:62) there had made his spirit feel at home near the spot. But best of all, the fact that he there enjoyed fellowship with the living God, had made him select that hallowed ground for his dwelling. Let us learn to live in the presence of the living God, and feel comfortable knowing His eyes are upon us.

Reading 2 – Psa 31

“But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my God’ ” (Psa 31:14).

“All our happiness and pleasure and satisfaction must be centered in God. Any seeming ‘happiness’ or ‘pleasure’ or ‘satisfaction’ that is not centered in God is a sham and a delusion that will turn to sorrow at last. God is the only reality. All things and all beings exist only as He will they exist. Whatever is built on God is real, and will last. Whatever is not built on God is not real, and will not last. Only a few learn this. Only a few find eternal happiness and peace” (GVG).

“Love the LORD, all his saints” (v 23).

“Contemplate your blessings: principally the eternal, spiritual, unchanging ones. Contemplate your unworthiness. Contemplate God’s greatness and holiness and marvelous condescending love. Get a constant sense of gratitude and desire to reciprocate that love which is almost painful in its pressing, overwhelming urgency. This is the power and the motive that creates a perpetual and irresistible yearning and striving for worthiness and holiness. It is the only power and motive that can resist and overcome and triumph over the fatal, unremitting, downward pull of the flesh. Love God enough — through study, meditation and realization — and you can do anything. There is no other way to life: no other power to overcome” (GVG).

Reading 3 – Mat 16:24

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Mat 16:24).

“The sentiment that Christ’s righteousness alone is to be the basis of our acceptance, is one of the countless and pernicious corruptions of clerical theology. It doubtless originated in the misapplication of a certain element of apostolic truth, namely that which informs us that all are under sin, and that our salvation is not of works; but through the righteousness of faith that is in Christ. Men have long ceased to perceive that this principle applies only to unjustified sinners, and not to those who have been placed in a justified or forgiven position, through the obedience of faith. Christ is righteousness for sinners in this sense, that God offers to forgive them for Christ’s sake, and to grant them a co-heirship with Christ, of what Christ, as a manifestation of God, has achieved for himself. But when sinners become saints, they come into relation to a new principle. They are responsible to him as servants to a master, and he will judge them according to their works” (Robert Roberts, “Seasons of Comfort” 164).

*****

“The cross is the symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of the human being. The man in Roman times who took up his cross and started down the road had already said goodbye to his friends. He was not coming back. He was not going out to have his life redirected. He was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise, modified nothing, spared nothing. It slew all of the man completely and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with its victim. it struck swift and hard and when it had finished its work the man was no more. That evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of God and the ways of man is false to the Bible and cruel to the soul of the hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world. It intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our life up on to a higher plane. We leave it at a cross. The grain of wheat must fall into the ground and die. That is the beginning of the gospel” (AW Tozer).

*****

“To give my life for Christ appears glorious. To pour myself out for others… to pay the ultimate price of martyrdom — ‘I’ll do it. I’m ready, Lord, to go out in a blaze of glory.’

“We think giving our all to the Lord is like taking a $1,000 bill and laying it on the table — ‘Here’s my life, Lord. I’m giving it all.’ But the reality for most of us is that he sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $1,000 for quarters. We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there. Listen to the neighbor kid’s troubles instead of saying, ‘Get lost.’ Go to a committee meeting. Give a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home.

“Usually giving our life to Christ isn’t glorious. It’s done in all those little acts of love, 25 cents at a time. It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory; it’s harder to live the Christian life little by little over the long haul” (F Craddock).

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 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.

Reading 1 – Gen 43:11

“Then their father Israel said to them, ‘If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift — a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds” (Gen 43:11).

Balm, honey, spices, and nuts were all products of trees, which could live through a famine.

TAKE… A LITTLE HONEY: “That was the advice Jacob gave to his sons when they were going down into Egypt to buy food. They took many gifts: balm, spices, myrrh, nuts and money. But wise old Jacob added, ‘Take a little honey.’ People may take with them on the journey of their lives ability, training, initiative, ambition and so many good things. Yet they fail because they forget kindness. If they had been just a little sweeter in spirit what a difference it would have made. We can learn how to be able to disagree without being disagreeable. Simple, warm kindness will work wonders. Some say this is a hard, tough world and if we ever expect to get anywhere, we have to be hard-boiled. That kindness stuff, they say, might work at a Sunday School outing, but it has no place in business. But kindness works everywhere. On the journey of life don’t forget to ‘take a little honey’ ” (C Lamb, The Christadelphian 112:157).

Reading 2 – Psa 46–48

Psalms 46, 47, and 48 are Korah psalms. All the Korah psalms fit the Hezekiah period remarkably well. These three seem to form a trilogy on the same theme: the destruction of Sennacherib’s Assyrian army (2Ki 18). The awesome army of the Assyrian “wolf” is decimated by divine power (Psa 46), and God is at last glorified in the earth (Psa 47). And Jerusalem, the “city of the great king” (Psa 48:2; Mat 5:35), is preserved. Various passages (Isa 29:6; 30:30,31; 31:8,9) suggest that the Assyrians were destroyed by a mighty exercise of divine power — hurricane, earthquake, or the Cherubim of glory; maybe, in fact, by all of these combined! The vivid language of Psa 46 adds to the picture.

*****

“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells” (Psa 46:4).

“River” is “nachar” (a constantly flowing stream), in contrast to “nachal” (a wadi, an erratic, often dry desert stream bed). This river, this “nachar”, which gladdens the city of God is Hezekiah’s tunnel or conduit, driven through solid rock by two teams of engineers, so as to insure an adequate supply of water for the besieged people of Jerusalem (2Ki 20:20; 2Ch 32:2-5; cp Psa 42:7n). (Before this time, Jerusalem had depended upon rock-cistern storage for rain water, and upon the fountain of the Gihon Spring located outside the walls of the city.) At the same time as the conduit was being constructed, a new wall was going up to enclose the area of Siloam, at the south end of the city, as a sizeable reservoir. Hezekiah’s conduit is, even today, an amazing feat of planning and execution. But it is more than that: it is also an eloquent symbol of the silent, hidden purpose of the Almighty (the “still, small voice”), by which Israel was sustained during her severest trials (cp Psa 87:7; Isa 22:9,11).

*****

“God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day” (Psa 46:5).

SHE WILL NOT FALL: “She shall not be moved” (AV) — and this in spite of the devastating cataclysm destroying the Assyrian camp less than a mile away (the ancient name of Mount Scopus is “the camp of the Assyrians”). The great “waves” of the Assyrian flood surged through Judah — sweeping everything before them — but they could not overflow Jerusalem, which was in God’s plan fixed and immovable (Psa 124:1,4,5; 125:1,2).

GOD WILL HELP HER AT BREAK OF DAY: “God shall help her, and that right early” (AV). Literally, at the dawn of the morning (RV mg), or “at the opening of the dawn”. The best commentary on these words is 2Ki 19:35 and Isa 37:36.

“O Thou whose ear is ever bowed to strains of human care;

Who writest on my darkest cloud Thy rainbow soft and fair:

When silent grief implores Thy aid, and begs Thy hand to move,

Let my extremity be made the chariot of Thy love.

A triumph of Thy loving skill, I rest upon Thy grace,

Though midnight pains and tears conceal the glory of Thy face.

Help me to wait till light appears, and let the morning prove

How false and baseless were my fears,

How faithful is Thy love.”

*****

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psa 46:10).

“Let go, desist”; cease from your own labors. “Give in” (Moffatt). And Hezekiah’s faith rested on this: ” ‘Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us that with him: With him is an arm of flesh: but with us is the Lord our God to help us, and to fight our battles.’ And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah” (2Ch 32:7,8). And the people rested themselves on the faith of Hezekiah also!

Reading 3 – Mat 28

“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb” (Mat 28:1).

As soon as the Sabbath restrictions were past, i.e., after sunset on Saturday — the three women (close companions of Christ in life) prepare to give their last token of love to their Lord in his death. Early on Sunday morning, at first light in the east, they set out for the tomb.

“The first day of the week” is , literally, “day one of the seven”. The beginning of a new creation week! Compare Gen 1: a new creation, “day one”! God had said, “Let there be light”, and now there was! Compare also Col 1:15-18: Jesus the beginning of the new creation! To the disciples, this day (when they understood it later) would mark the beginning of their new lives. This new “Sun” of the morning was to drive away the dark shadows of lost hope, and create a new spirit within the disciples (Isa 9:1,2; 2Co 4:6).

“There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it” (Mat 28:2).

Possibly the angel rolled the stone some distance away, laid it flat, and sat upon it. It would now be impossible to replace without a lot of time and effort. He thus “sealed” it open (contrast the sealing shut of the tomb: Mat 27:66)!

“A violent earthquake”: The earth, which trembled with horror at the death of Christ, now leaps for joy at his resurrection!

“His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men” (vv 3,4).

The soldiers, assigned to guard the dead, became as dead men themselves. Paralyzed with terror, they cowered on the ground, and then crept away at their first chance.

“While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, ‘You are to say, “His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.” If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.’ So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day” (Mat 28:11-15).

The guards, awed and bewildered, now reported their stories in the palace of the High Priest. Thus these rulers, who had repeatedly come to Jesus demanding a sign from heaven, were now given a sign from “hell” (the grave) also, which they could not deny!

“His disciples came and stole him away while we were asleep.” Thus these leaders and the nation deceived themselves with lies. They closed their eyes to the truth, and their ears became dull of hearing. The story became true of them, even if untrue of the Roman soldiers: they lost their Messiah through being fast asleep.

Reading 1 – Gen 44; 45

“The record of Joseph provides wonderful portrayals of the work of our Master. In Gen 44 and 45 he adopts further methods for the reconciliation of his brethren: in this he is a type of the ultimate redemption of natural Israel, at the return of the Lord.

“The drama of the situation is the way in which Joseph acts with superb understanding and careful examination. He sought to discover whether Benjamin would be delivered because of the envy of the brethren, as he himself had been — or had they redeemed their consciences? Joseph’s test determines the answer! The brethren failed to recognize their brother in the imperious ruler of Egypt (as do Jewry of the Lord Jesus), dressed in his resplendent robes of authority (as the Lord Jesus is in immortality). Ultimately Joseph manifested himself plainly to his family — as the Lord Jesus will reveal the signs in his hands (Zec 13:6). When he declared: ‘Come near to me’ (Gen 45:4), he anticipates the message of Christ (Mat 11:28; Eph 2:13) which will be offered to Israel in the future” (GEM).

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Mat 11:28).

Reading 2 – Psa 49:20

“A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish” (Psa 49:20).

Ignorance is an obvious characteristic of beasts (Psa 73:22), as is sensuality (Tit 1:12; 2Pe 2:12). Those believers who turned away from Christ and back to the Law of Moses are called “dogs” by Paul (Phi 3:2)!

And like the beasts they perish! This verse recalls Nebuchadnezzar, and his behavior and his judgment from God — to be made like the beasts of the field for seven years (Dan 4). This verse and the Nebuchadnezzar incident provide the scriptural rationale for various and sundry of the kingdoms of men being signified by beasts, as in Daniel and Revelation and elsewhere.

The leaders of the nations may be ever so wise, in the wisdom of the world, in political expertise, and economics, and other disciplines besides — but if they do not understand the gospel of the kingdom of God… then they are — in divine terms — beasts! They may walk upright; they may wear expensive business suits; they may be driven about in fine limousines and fly around the world in luxurious jets; they may have monumental wealth and state-of-the-art arsenals at their disposal… but for all that, they are beasts nonetheless.

And when and if they defy the plans of Almighty God, they will perish like the beasts. Sobering thoughts.

Reading 3 – Rom 1:20

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities — his eternal power and divine nature — have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Rom 1:20).

“A simple consideration of the activities in which the power of the universe is engaged provides satisfactory witness of the working of God; for we are led to contemplate the wide range of ordered operations, each directed to its own end, and duly controlled within that end. We observe, in spite of human ignorance in so many details, how operations coordinate, and represent one magnificent harmony of purpose for beneficient ends. Every example of design would be pertinent. We shall content ourselves with citing just one obvious case which all can observe and admire. We refer to a common flowering plant. It usually begins from a seed planted in the ground. This sends out roots growing downwards and a shoot growing upwards into the air. From the shoot come leaves and flowers, and these flowers comprise a fascinating combination of contrivances for the production of fertile seeds, with which not only the earth with its supply of nourishment through the roots is associated, but also the sun and rain and air and insects play their part in so marvellous and admirable a manner as to compel an acknowledgment of the working of God. Wisdom must recognise in these ordained processes which produce and preserve each species the compelling evidence of eternal power infallibly guided by God Himself. Eternal power and Godhead are thus seen from things that are made” (Will Watkins, “The Christadelphian” 113: 424,425).

“Tell a man that man’s most intricate computer ‘just happened’ by a heap of nuts and bolts falling into a pile yesterday, and he’ll say you are mad; and he will be right. Tell a man that a worm’s brain (which is infinitely more intricate and wonderful than man’s most advanced computer) ‘just happened’ by a few bits of nothing falling together one hundred billion years or so ago, and he’ll say you are an educated modern scientist; and he will be right again. Tell him that, if he can believe that, he is ‘safely’ over the hump out of rationality and reality into evolutionary fantasy and superstition… ‘His eternal power and divinity are clearly seen from the Creation of the world, by the things that are made, so that they are WITHOUT EXCUSE.’ That’s God’s viewpoint, and it’s preeminently reasonable” (GVG).

Reading 1 – Exo 1; 2

“Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son” (Exo 2:1,2).

“Exo 1 had portrayed in graphic detail the suffering which Pharaoh had inflicted upon the Israelites. What would God do about it? Would He have mercy on the Hebrews and deliver them from their shame? And if so, how?

“Exo 2 begins to answer these questions, but apparently in a tangential manner. For God’s solution consists not in some phenomenal miracle or in the promotion of a mighty israelite leader who was already alive (either of which we might have expected, had we not already known the story). God’s solution consists instead in the birth of a son.

“This provides both a pattern for the future and a salutary lesson. One day God would again send a son — this time HIS OWN — to deliver a people from slavery. Again He would prepare the child from birth, bringing it safely from the womb and nourishing and developing it for the immense task that lay ahead. How does one begin to create a people, as God begins to do in the book of Exodus? One does it, so Exo informs us, by means of a son. How remarkably history repeats itself!” (Mark Vincent, Testimony 71:108,109).

*****

So now… almost 80 years later….

“During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them” (Exo 2:23-25).

“It is because the cry of the Israelites is so intense that the story continues to unfold in the way it does… they cry, and consequently (and immediately) God responds. It is a pattern which is repeated time after time in the Scriptures. The cry of Israel initiates history; God is galvanized into action. His people cry; God is mobilized into activity on their behalf. Not that He has not been working quietly in the background all along — far from it, for the instant they cry Moses is ready to be sent, yet this was a process that was set in motion many years before! But whereas God had been preparing behind the scenes so that everything would be ready once His people cried to Him, now that pivot point has been reached God springs into action. For He is a responsive God; what He does is determined to some extent by the actions of His people. If they cry to Him then He will listen, and potentially intervene on their behalf” (Mark Vincent, Testimony 71:239).

Reading 2 – Psa 55:22

“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall” (Psa 55:22).

Jesus himself did this: John 17:11; Psa 22:10; 37:5. 1Pe 5:7 quotes the LXX, as a sequel to “Humble yourself under God’s mighty hand.” Read with the emphasis: And he shall sustain YOU, as well as your burden.

CARES: “Burden” (AV). Notice that “burden” here (yahab) is “gift” in the margin: The “gift” of God to us is a life of cares and burdens, so that we might learn to trust in Him alone (v 23)! “Come unto me, all ye who (are)… heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mat 11:28,29).

“Care, even though exercised upon legitimate objects, if carried to excess, has in it the nature of sin. The precept to avoid anxious care is earnestly inculcated by our Saviour, again and again; it is reiterated by the apostles; and it is one which cannot be neglected without involving transgression: for the very essence of anxious care is the imagining that we are wiser than God, and the thrusting ourselves into His place to do for Him that which He has undertaken to do for us. We attempt to think of that which we fancy He will forget; we labour to take upon ourselves our weary burden, as if He were unable or unwilling to take it for us. Now this disobedience to His plain precept, this unbelief in His Word, this presumption in intruding upon His province, is all sinful. Yet more than this, anxious care often leads to acts of sin. He who cannot calmly leave his affairs in God’s hand, but will carry his own burden, is very likely to be tempted to use wrong means to help himself. This sin leads to a forsaking of God as our counsellor, and resorting instead to human wisdom. This is going to the ‘broken cistern’ instead of to the ‘fountain;’ a sin which was laid against Israel of old (Jer 2:32). Anxiety makes us doubt God’s lovingkindness, and thus our love to Him grows cold; we feel mistrust, and thus grieve the Spirit of God, so that our prayers become hindered, our consistent example marred, and our life one of self-seeking. Thus want of confidence in God leads us to wander far from Him; but if through simple faith in His promise, we cast each burden as it comes upon Him, and are ‘careful for nothing’ because He undertakes to care for us, it will keep us close to Him, and strengthen us against much temptation. ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee’ ” (GVG).

Reading 3 – Rom 8:29

“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom 8:29).

We probably all have a pretty good idea what “predestination” is NOT. It is NOT “eternal security”; it is NOT “once saved, always saved”. But… the question here is: What DOES it mean? Consider the following:

FOREKNEW: From Greek “proginosko” = to know in advance. Cp 1Pe 1:18-20: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen (the same word: proginosko) before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.” Note the Passover connection.

PREDESTINED: From Greek “proorizo” = to mark out, or set a limit (ie, horizon, where the sky stops) in advance. This is the blood of the Passover lamb, which marked out, or put a limit upon, the work of the Destroying Angel. Those who had faith sprinkled the blood of the lamb on their doorposts. In doing so they were marked out ahead of time (Exo 12), and were saved out of Egypt, while all around them others — the other “firstborns” (see this very verse for a “firstborn” connection!) perished (including the firstborn of Pharaoh: Rom 9:17)! There are other Passover connections with the immediate context here: Rom 8:32 (Gen 22: ram, offering), Rom 8:36 (Psa 44:22: sheep to be slaughtered).

The same word (proorizo) occurs in Eph 1:5,11 — where the righteous are “sealed” (separated for special use, marked out) in Eph 1:13. Also, the same word occurs in Acts 4:28 and 1Co 2:7.

Of course, the “proorizo” is the really interesting Greek word here. “Pro” = before, ahead of time. And “horizo” (like the English “horizon”) marks the point, or line, beyond which the sun cannot go, that is, the line of demarcation between earth and sky.

So, in Old Testament times, how did God “mark out”, ahead of time, an absolute line of differentiation between one group of people and another? One answer (maybe the best answer?) is at the first Passover in Egypt, when the blood of the Passover lamb — painted on the door posts and lintels of the houses of (some) Jews in Egypt — saved them from death when God sent His destroying angels out to kill all the firstborns.

Was this “predestination” done by God solely? Of course not. The Jews had to CHOOSE whether they would put the blood on their houses, AND whether they would remain in the house during the night. They had to act in faith upon the principles, and promises, which God had given them. If they did, then they were “predestined” (marked out beforehand) to be spared, to be saved, while all around them were perishing.

And, of course, they had to continue to remember God and His promises, and continue to keep the Passover, as a reminder of what God had done for them, and — presumably — as an act of faith in the greater “Passover lamb” to come, who would truly take away the sin of the world.

But it was still God’s “predestination” in the first place. ‘I have marked out a place where you will be safe from the death that will be visited upon the world. That place is one of absolute security. But… you need to go there, do what I say, and — above all — remain there! Otherwise, you will not be “marked out” for My Glory!’

Reading 1 – Exo 6:3

“I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty [Hebrew El-Shaddai], but by my name the LORD [Yahweh] I did not make myself known to them” (Exo 6:3).

The name “Yahweh” (sometimes imperfectly written or pronounced as “Jehovah”) HAD been known before: it had in fact occurred 162 times in Genesis, many times used by the writer in the narrative itself, but 34 times actually spoken there. Significantly, (1) men “began to call on [or call themselves by: AV margin] the name of the LORD [Yahweh]” as early as Gen 4:26; (2) the place, where he almost sacrificed Isaac, Abraham named “The LORD [Yahweh] will provide” (Gen 22:14).

So this verse here MAY mean that the purpose embedded in the Name had previously been uncertain (Gen 15:7). Now, especially as Yahweh, God was going to redeem the people of Israel (v 6), adopt them as his people (v 7), and bring them into the promised Land (v 8) — thus making quite plain what His Name meant.

Or perhaps this verse should be read — like the NIV margin puts it — as a question: ‘But did I not make myself known to them by my name Yahweh?’ — a rhetorical question anticipating a positive answer. That is, ‘Of course I was called Yahweh, but they did not truly and completely understand what that Name would mean! And how I would work out My purpose in generations to come!’

We know the name of God, and we know (more or less) what it means. “Yahweh” is the Great Self-Existent and Eternal God (the One who was, and is, and will be). He is the “Becoming One”: the God who reveals Himself to mankind, the God of Israel, and the One who WILL BE finally manifested in a multitude of holy ones, who will become His family.

But — like Moses — we may spend a lifetime learning what that Name REALLY means, in feeling the hand of Yahweh in the practical outworking of our lives.

Reading 2 – Psa 58

“Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men?” (Psa 58:1, KJV).

“Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge uprightly among men?” (NIV).

The Hebrew “elem” has been translated as “congregation” (KJV); “ye mighty ones” (RV mg); “gods” (RSV); and “rulers” (NEB, NIV). Whether v 1 should be “congregation” or “mighty ones”, this whole psalm is highly appropriate to the Sanhedrin, which successively condemned Jesus and the apostles and Stephen and Paul. And the psalm as a whole bears out this interpretation.

“The imagery that the Psalmist uses [to describe the wicked rulers] is apt and highly descriptive. It is taken from nature mainly, from widely diverse creatures which we fear and dislike such as snakes, lions, and snails, and from the calamities of mankind such as the miscarrying womb, water in uncontrollable spate, and the savage vortex of the whirlwind” (NPH).

Reading 3 – Rom 11:36

“To him be the glory forever” (Rom 11:36).

“This should be the single desire of the Christian. All other wishes must be subservient and tributary to this one. The Christian may wish for prosperity in his business, but only so far as it may help him to promote this: ‘To Him be glory for ever.’ He may desire to attain more gifts and more graces, but it should only be that: ‘To Him may be glory for ever.’ You are not acting as you ought to do when you are moved by any other motive than a single eye to your Lord’s glory.

“As a Christian, you are ‘of God, and through God’; then live ‘to God.’ Let nothing ever set your heart beating so mightily as love to Him. Let this ambition fire your soul; be this the foundation of every enterprise upon which you enter, and this your sustaining motive whenever your zeal would grow chill; make God your only object. Depend upon it, where self begins sorrow begins; but if God be my supreme delight and only object, ‘To me ’tis equal whether love ordain my life or death — appoint me ease or pain.’

“Let your desire for God’s glory be a growing desire. You blessed Him in your youth, do not be content with such praises as you gave Him then. Has God prospered you in business? Give Him more as He has given you more. Has God given you experience? Praise Him by stronger faith than you exercised at first. Does your knowledge grow? Then sing more sweetly. Do you enjoy happier times than you once had? Have you been restored from sickness, and has your sorrow been turned into peace and joy? Then give Him more music; put more coals and more sweet frankincense into the censer of your praise. Practically in your life give Him honour, putting the ‘Amen’ to this doxology to your great and gracious Lord, by your own individual service and increasing holiness” (CHS).

Reading 1 – Gen 38

There is an intended, and striking parallel, and contrast, between this chapter and the next. Where the elder brother, Judah, free and at ease, had sinned (Gen 38), the younger Joseph, in bondage, remained sinless (Gen 39). In this Joseph typifies Jesus, tempted in all points like his less righteous brethren, yet without sin (Heb 4:15).

Reading 2 – Psa 42; 43

David and Christ: A Meditation on Psalms 42 and 43

His tired eyes had seen more than their share of troubles. Now they stared into the depths of murky Jordan; he saw mirrored there the turmoil of his own life. It had come to this: his own son and an army of his own men in hot pursuit of him. “The sword shall not depart from your house,” Nathan had well said (2Sa 12:10). The young men were beside him now. “Arise and go quickly!” Must it always be so quick? He glimpsed the panorama of the years, the scenes tumbling over one another — a shepherd boy in the hills of Judea, a bear and a giant, a jealous king, a beautiful woman, intrigue and murder, a wrathful prophet, sorrow and tears… and now an old man by a dark river. “Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they crossed the Jordan” (2Sa 17:22).

“As a hart longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for thee, O God. I am as a hart, timid and fearful, as powerless as he to reach the pure underground streams of thy peace. When shall I return to your house, to behold your face again? Have I gone forth for the last time from ‘the city of the great king’?

“Before thee, O God, my life is poured out as the blood of a sacrifice. Yet I remember still, what painful memories! Dancing with the throng, in joyful procession, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude celebrating your festivals. With what merriment we brought the ark into the city of David (2Sa 6:12-18)!

“But now my very soul is cast down within me. I go mourning from one brief refuge to another, dogged by deceitful and unjust men. But worst of all, by far the worst, they say of me, ‘Where is his God?’ It is a deadly wound that penetrates my inmost parts. I am the same man; I am that David who slew his tens of thousands, and Yahweh was with him. I stood before that ‘behemoth’ of a Philistine in your Name! I fought your battles; I gathered the materials to build your house! Why have you forgotten me… me of all people? Why have you cast me off?

“But no, I don’t believe it can be. You are the God in whom I have taken refuge at every crisis of my life. You will defend my cause. I walk in darkness without you. O send forth your light and your truth; let them lead me. And I will come again to your holy hill… even to your altar. How false and baseless are my fears. My God, I cast myself upon you alone, waiting for the morning.”

* * * * *

His eyes strained through the darkness. Under the great trees some distance away, his friends were sleeping. It was very late and he was very tired, but it would not be long now; his time was measured in hours. It had finally come to this: there was no man to stand with him. Through the valley and up the hillside there came a procession of lights. “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Those had been his own words; now he would live them out. “Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” Quickly it would go now, with no opportunity for quiet retrospect. The scenes rushed by: the child of Nazareth, the young carpenter, then the stirring proclamations, the outstretched hands — “Master, have mercy upon us!” The hands were outstretched again, but this time they held swords and shackles. “Then they seized him, and led him away.”

“As a hart longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for you, O God. I am entrapped by ungodly men; they have encircled me like a pack of wild dogs. O Father, is it possible to see your face in this mad multitude?

“Once I went with the throng into the holy city, riding upon an ass. In joyful procession we went to the house of God, accompanied by loud Hosannahs and festive palm branches. With glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving they cried, ‘Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord’ (Mat 21:9).

“But now my very soul is cast down within me. Tears have been my meat and drink this night. The quietly flowing stream of pure communion with you has become a thundering cataract. I am plunged into its depths; your waves and your billows, as the sea, have gone over me. Now is my soul exceeding sorrowful.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? It is the deadliest of wounds, that which my enemies inflict upon me: ‘This is the one that trusted in God! Let us see now if his God will deliver him!’ But I am the same man; I am your Beloved Son. All my life I have sought refuge in you alone. I know you will not leave me to the confusion of my face and the reproach of your Name.”

* * * * *

“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.” And he prayed the more earnestly, “O send out your light and your truth, let them lead me.” The Father in heaven heard his prayer, and his last mortal moments were brightened by a divine light. He was the beginning of his Father’s new Creation, accompanied by the divine directive: “Let there be light.”

“May your light and your truth bring me to your holy hill, and to your dwelling. Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy.” The last and greatest trial was faced successfully. Led by God’s light, his Son approached the altar of the Father’s presence and poured out his life-blood. The hill of death, Golgotha, was made forever holy by that blood. God at last had fashioned and perfected His mercy-seat, where He might dwell with man.

“It is finished.” The last words were a cry of triumph. The old creation of God was plunged into darkness, but on the horizon could be seen the dawn of a new day. God’s new creation was just beginning.

*****

Beneath the verdant, woodland roof,

        A small gazelle

With stately tread of cloven hoof,

        Paused by the well;

Deep down, unseen, the waters burst

        Across the shaft.

Oh! how it longed to slake its thirst,

        In one sweet draught.

The Psalmist felt like this ofttimes,

        Through toiling days,

In deep descents and upward climbs,

        Along life’s ways;

And in his thoughts he stood beside

        The panting hind.

Like him, to quench the thirst, he tried

        His God to find.

And when I’m weary, when I’m weak,

        I fain would go,

Like them that lovely place to seek,

        Where waters flow;

And take my fill at length within

        The water brooks,

And find eternal strength within

        The Book of Books.

                NP Holt

Reading 3 – Mat 25:30,40

“And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mat 25:30).

“Nothing we have ever experienced in this life will be one thousandth as terrible as rejection at the judgment seat of Christ. And that rejection is a looming possibility if we do not have the wisdom to give ourselves entirely to God in this present brief period of opportunity and probation. It’s not so much what we accomplish, but rather the totality of our love and dedication and effort to obey Him and please Him. For the rejected, there will be physical suffering, certainly, but — however severe — that will be but a minor aspect. Many can accept physical suffering with joy in the enthusiasm of a good cause. The real and dreadful depths of the suffering will be mental — the awful, gnawing, unremitting bitterness of hopeless remorse and regret and self-condemnation for the utter stupidity of playing and self-pleasing when God lovingly asks us to work full time in the Vineyard, and become an eternal part in His glorious Purpose. How mockingly meaningless will then seem the juvenile things we waste our time and interest on today while precious time slips away! What vain, anguished poundings then on the forever shut door of Joy and Hope! God loved us, and abundantly manifested that love, and sought the totality of ours in small return. Like a spoiled child, we accepted the benefits of His love, but did not reciprocate it in the fulness of devotion that true love must of its very nature bring forth. Our ‘love’ went not beyond self-interest, and now we reap as we have sown. Mercifully, this dreadful, hopeless anguish will sooner or later end in the then sought-for and at last welcomed relief of eternal death.

“The secret of total happiness and total contentment is total love of God. This is the whole meaning and purpose of life. This is that for which we were created and are divinely destined. This solves all problems and assuages all sorrows. This is peace” (GV Growcott).

*****

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me’ ” (v 40).

“Help the old and sick as much as you possibly can: especially those whom you think deserve it least, for they are likely to be the ones everyone neglects. Christ’s command to do it is not because of their merit, but because it is the will of our Lord and a test of our love and obedience to Him. Helping those who are in need of help is far more important to Christ than catering to our own comforts and desires, though somehow the latter seems quite important to us at the moment. The flesh is very self-centered, and serving the flesh will never give us life. We shall be asked about this matter at the judgment seat. It may be rather a sticky question, and it would pay to have a good answer ready. Better yet: to have a good record ready” (GVG).

Reading 1 – Gen 39

Why did Joseph have to suffer?

“Meanwhile, the lesson of Joseph’s life is unmistakable. It is… that God works when His hand is not apparent, and often when it would seem as if He must be taking no notice, and by means that seem to exclude the possibility of His being at work. The conclusion is comforting to those who commit their way to God. It may seem to them that God is not only not working with them, but actually working against them. Let them remember the agony of Joseph in the pit, in slavery, in false imprisonment, and learn that the darkest paths of their life may be the ways appointed for them to reach liberty and life, wealth and honor — yea, a throne in the kingdom of the antitypical Joseph, who himself had to tread the dark and tearful valley of humiliation, and who, in the days of his glory, will introduce all his brethren, amongst many bright stars, to the most interesting of Jacob’s sons” (Robert Roberts, “Ways of Providence” 70).

*****

“Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, ‘Come to bed with me!’ But he refused. ‘With me in charge,’ he told her, ‘my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Gen 39:6-9).

BUT HE REFUSED: “Joseph’s chastity was an expression of [his character and faith, in several ways]:

His compliant spirit for righteousness — he knew about suffering and death and forbidden sexual activity; the punishment for pride, jealousy, and deceit. He knew how not to imitate those that had caused family dysfunction and pain amongst his own kith and kin. He was sensitive to the dignity of others in such matters. His overcoming of the overpowering temptation, like that of Adam and Eve over the fruit of the tree, to know good and evil. Potiphar’s wife may have seen the seduction of Joseph as an accustomed thing but Joseph did not see it as a usual practice. His knowledge of his inferior slave status to Potiphar’s wife, his superior in every way (except in his love for God). He could not have a relationship with a superior, where he would have to be passive, and do her bidding, in a master/slave, power situation, not a loving one. His recognition of his own family’s need to keep pure from idolatrous peoples, for he would know of other occasions when the seed line was threatened, and he would not wish to be party to that. His knowledge of his father’s hatred for the land of Egypt, in which he found himself — his father loathed Hagar’s land, where they worshipped the dead, and animals. He knew his father loathed, also, the notion of market sex, where both boy and girl prostitutes practised freely, and daily, and where the gods blessed it all. ‘He would not go awhoring after the gods of Baal.’ He had seen enough of that in Canaan. His wish not to shame the father. Even though Joseph had not contacted his father for so long, his need not to shame him would be a paramount consideration. Noah’s shame by his son, the shame of Lot by his daughters (to raise up seed), the shaming of Jacob by Reuben, with Jacob’s concubine (Bilhah) were known to him. Nakedness and sex, in their right place, are innocent and unsuspect, but when they acquire a transferred significance, as Baal folly, it is sin. So Joseph, knowing that sex has a price tag for the unmarried, is influenced by what shame he might cause his father, or his God. His understanding of sin, ‘against thee only would I sin.’ Joseph, like David, knew that sin, ultimately, is sin against God, and Joseph’s sense of rightness kept him from sin. Joseph saw it as a denial of the promises to Abraham. His knowledge and understanding of the blessings given by God to the fathers. He knew that with the covenant blessings came responsibilities as well, that is, to witness about Yahweh to those about him” (Bev Russell, “Kith and Kin”).

Reading 2 – Psa 44:23

“Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself!” (Psa 44:23).

This little verse is plainly echoed in Mar 4:38 (and Mat 8:24 and Luk 8:24): It is the appeal of frightened disciples in the midst of an awesome storm at sea: “They awake him, and say unto him, ‘Master, carest thou not that we perish?’ ” Of course he cared, and he would act — at the proper time, but not before.

Reading 3 – Mat 26:40

“Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. ‘Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?’ ” (Mat 26:40).

Jesus was praying during his last evening with his loved ones. He very much needed his Father’s support and that of his disciples. His Father was awake and listening, but his friends fell asleep for “their eyes were heavy” — as undoubtedly were their minds. It had been a long, hard day and all were weary.

To “watch” is defined as “the act or fact of keeping awake, especially of keeping awake and alert, in order to look after, protect or guard”. There are other meanings also, but none that are relative to these verses.

We all spend a lot of time “watching”. We might be clock watchers at school or work; we might be watching children at play; we might be watching TV; we might be watching traffic. The examples could go on and on. We spend a lot of our time watching (and waiting).

One hour… a mere 60 minutes of 60 seconds each… not much of our “threescore years and ten”. But what a long time that hour can be if you’re watching the time and patients ahead of you at the doctor’s office; or it could seem a LONG time if your loved one’s flight was delayed and you are left watching (and waiting).

And yet how short one hour can seem if you’re cramming for a test… or saying goodbye to a loved one.

We know that our Father in heaven has spent countless days and years, watching. He watched “in the beginning” as creation proceeded… for He saw everything that He had made… and it was very good. He watched probably with sadness as Adam and Eve disobeyed and then tried to cover their sin; He watched as wickedness grew upon the earth and Noah and his family were the only ones righteous enough to be saved; He watched as the floodgates of heaven and earth opened up. Yes, He watched throughout countless times… and He watches over us and His land even now.

And there are many examples in Scripture of those who have watched:

Abraham watched as the smoke of the Sodom/Gomorrah area went up as the smoke of a furnace. Joseph watched his brothers… and his brothers watched him; later Joseph watched over the house of Potiphar and then over the prison house and then over the entire land of Egypt (and the world). Moses and Israel watched as the Egyptians were destroyed in the Red Sea. Eli sat watching… his heart trembling for the ark of God. Saul watched for David… and David watched for Saul. King Belshazzar watched as the finger of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall… and his knees knocked together in fear.

The examples continue on down to the Pharisees and Sadducees, who watched John the Baptist and then Jesus. They watched him constantly even as he hung on a cross.

But in Mat 26:36-45 Jesus asked his disciples, his friends, to watch with him as he struggled with his humanity there in sad Gethsemane. But they couldn’t and didn’t… not even for just an hour.

And what of us, brothers and sisters? How well do we watch? for an hour? how often do our minds wander during this meeting… during this exhortation… as the emblems are passed?

Can we… do we… give an hour a day for readings? prayer? contemplation of our hope? Or are our thoughts and prayers only fleeting? How many times have we fallen asleep as we said our prayers? An hour isn’t much… indeed, as Duncan Heaster says, “The 6,000 years of humanity is an absolute pin prick in the spectrum of eternity. And our 70 years is even less significant.”

One day soon our 70 years… our brief hour… will be complete, and the kingdom we have prayed for since childhood will be a reality.

“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back — whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch” (Mar 13:32-37).

(Barbara Booker)

Reading 1 – Exo 4:2-4

“Then the LORD said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ ‘A staff,’ he replied” (Exo 4:2).

God can use even the most ordinary items to further His purpose.

“The LORD said, ‘Throw it on the ground.’ Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. Then the LORD said to him, ‘Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.’ So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand” (Exo 4:3,4).

“Moses looked down. He had forgotten his sheep and had been fingering nervously or gripping tightly the shepherd’s rod in his hand. He cast it to the ground and ran from the serpent to which it was transformed, until at God’s behest he took it by the tail and it lay still in his hand with its familiar feel. Yes, God can change the ordinary things, the things we use every day, to purposes beyond our imagination: if we trust Him. Have we learned the lesson? It is oft repeated. ‘How many loaves have ye?’ Even man himself can be changed. The leprous hand which Moses drew from his bosom depicted not only his own inner weakness and need of healing, but the power that lies around us and within if we trust the Lord. We may have but a rod, the everyday token of our normal life, but the Lord can work wonders with it. Nothing is ordinary when the Lord is around, neither the thorn bush in the wilderness, nor the shepherd’s staff, nor the shepherd’s hand” (Harry Tennant, “Moses My Servant” 31).

Reading 2 – Psa 56:8

“Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll [Or ‘put my tears in your wineskin’] — are they not in your record?” (Psa 56:8).

RECORD MY LAMENT: “Thou tellest my wanderings” (AV). “Wanderings” (Hebrew “nodh”: Gen 4:16) and “bottle” (Hebrew “n’odh”) are a play on words. Likewise, “record” or “tellest” (“saphar”) and “record” or “book” (“sepher”). When the complete list of David’s wanderings is compiled from 1Sa 21-30 it makes an impressive catalogue.

Thinking of Christ, this verse suggests his almost ceaseless 3 1/2 years of preaching, whilst going from place to place, up and down the land of Israel, with nowhere to lay his head (Mat 8:20; Luk 9:58).

MY TEARS: As for Jesus, consider Joh 11:35; Luk 19:41; Heb 5:7. Other Psalms references to tears: Psa 6:6; 39:12; 42:3; 69:10; 116:8. All of David’s (and Christ’s) travels, even if relatively insignificant, are assuredly noted and remembered by God. For the same general idea, see Mat 10:29,30.

LIST MY TEARS ON YOUR SCROLL: “Put thou my tears into thy bottle” (AV). According to some authorities, “lachrymatories” (or tear bottles) are still found in large numbers in ancient tombs. They were apparently used to collect the tears of the mourners at the graveside, and then stored away with the body. Others, however, suggest that the allusion here is to the custom of putting into bags, or small leather flasks, articles of value for safekeeping (cp Luk 12:33). Thus, ‘O Lord, treasure up my tears as something of great value’.

Tears and bottle come together again, quite interestingly, in the account of Mary Magdalene’s anointing of the feet of Jesus (Luk 7:37,38). From the bottle came precious ointment, but from the repentant sinner came even more precious tears. And so it is with us: the greatest gifts we can bring to our Savior are our faith, our repentance, our devotion, our love, and even our tears.

“Prayers are instantly noticed in heaven. The moment Saul began to pray the Lord heard him. Here is comfort for the distressed but praying soul. Oftentimes a poor broken-hearted one bends his knee, but can only utter his wailing in the language of sighs and tears; yet that groan has made all the harps of heaven thrill with music; that tear has been caught by God and treasured in the lachrymatory of heaven. ‘Thou puttest my tears into thy bottle,’ implies that they are caught as they flow. The suppliant, whose tears prevent his words, will be well understood by the Most High. He may only look up with misty eye; but ‘prayer is the falling of a tear.’ Tears are the diamonds of heaven; sighs are a part of the music of Yahweh’s court, and are numbered with ‘the sublimest strains that reach the majesty on high.’

“Think not that your prayer, however weak or trembling, will be unregarded. Jacob’s ladder is lofty, but our prayers shall lean upon the Angel of the covenant and so climb its starry rounds. Our God not only hears prayer but also loves to hear it. ‘He forgetteth not the cry of the humble.’ True, He regards not high looks and lofty words; He cares not for the pomp and pageantry of kings; He listens not to the swell of martial music; He regards not the triumph and pride of man; but wherever there is a heart big with sorrow, or a lip quivering with agony, or a deep groan, or a penitential sigh, the heart of Yahweh is open; He marks it down in the registry of His memory; He puts our prayers, like rose leaves, between the pages of His book of remembrance, and when the volume is opened at last, there shall be a precious fragrance springing up therefrom” (CHS).

ARE THEY NOT IN YOUR RECORD?: God’s “book of remembrance”, or “book of life”: Psa 69:28: 87:6; 139:16; Mal 3:16; Exo 32:32; Dan 12:1; Isa 4:3; Eze 13:9; Phi 4:3; Luk 10:20; Heb 12:23; Rev 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 21:27; 22:19. The figure of this divine recording is related to the practice of earthly monarchs. In the court of the Hebrew kings was a “recorder”, and “the chronicles of the kings” was the daily record of the events of each king’s reign. Those who served the king in a special capacity or in an extraordinary manner would receive an adequate reward. But they were not necessarily rewarded at once; sometimes they seem to have waited years before their special service was finally compensated (Est 6:1-3).

Reading 3 – Rom 9:11

“…in order that God’s purpose in election might stand” (Rom 9:11).

Being humans, our “logic” will always have trouble with these concepts because we cannot work on two levels at once. We are conditioned — by all our lives and all our experiences — to see and understand and make choices in a universe where our freewill is King. We see, we process in our minds, and we choose, and then we act. Free, sovereign creatures… making free choices.

But God lives in another dimension as well… maybe, we should say: several different “dimensions” where we cannot really go! We can barely understand what those dimensions mean. Maybe we DON’T understand, and the brain starts hurting trying to reconcile His absolute omniscience (or foreknowledge) and our freewill. How can we be choosing, really choosing, when God must already know how we will choose?

But the Bible, it seems to me, says we CAN! So I have to think that — even if a part of my mind rebels at the juxtaposition of two ideas which seem practically exclusive of one another — then the fault (shortcoming, weakness?) is with my own mind.

Put another way, I’d say we should be grateful that God has given us minds that can even ASK such a question, about time and eternity and the essential character and power of our Creator, while we — when all is said and done — are nothing but a fragile combination of mud and blood and brain synapses, sometimes firing and sometimes misfiring.

God has created us out of the dust, or clay, and given us a mind which can dimly comprehend the Great Other, beyond ourselves and our eyes and ears and smell and touch. In the words of Ecclesiastes, He has put “eternity” into our hearts (Ecc 3:11). But like the clam on the seashore, our little “hearts” and minds can’t really fathom the depths of the sea, although it lays there, right next to us. But what we know of the love of God tells us that what we can only vaguely grasp now will surely be explained to us more fully later, WHEN we are capable of receiving it.

At least, that’s how I “make sense” of predestination, foreknowledge, freewill, God, and man.