26th Oct Jer 17-19, 1 Tim 6

5 This is what the LORD says:

   “Cursed is the one who trusts in man,

   who depends on flesh for his strength

   and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

6 He will be like a bush in the wastelands;

   he will not see prosperity when it comes.

He will dwell in the parched places of the desert,

   in a salt land where no one lives.

 7 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,

   whose confidence is in him.

8 He will be like a tree planted by the water

   that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

   its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

   and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jer 17 NIV)

Two trees are described here. One that is parched and dry, a barren tree in a barren land. The other is a tree planted by water, with green leaves, never failing to bear fruit. We can be like either of these trees - the choice is given us. The difference is: where are they planted? Tim Chester and Paul Tripp take this image of the two trees and develop it, to illustrate that our beliefs determine our behaviour.

If we are a tree planted in the ground of self-reliance "the one who trusts in a man, who depends on flesh for his strength" then we will be barren and fruitless. If we trust rather in the Lord, we will bear much fruit.

The way to fruitfulness, stability and life in our lives, is not by attending directly to these things. We should first make sure our roots are in the right place. Are we relying on the Lord to help us, or are we relying on ourselves?

This is one of the reasons why doctrine is so important. It is not just about getting our thoughts right about God, and other topics (though this in itself is vitally important). But our beliefs determine our behaviour. Where we have our roots determine whether we will bear fruit. This is why Paul writes to Timothy and others so strongly about the dangers of false teaching:

"3 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain." (1 Tim 6)

False teaching leads to broken lives.

We can either be a fruitless, barren, dead bush, or a green, abundant, fruitful tree. Only if we are rooted in the gospel ground of trusting the Lord will we be fruitful. If we rely on ourselves we are like the tree in the barren land.

As Jesus himself put it:

"If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)

24th Oct Jer 11-13, 1 Tim 4

"Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." (1 Tim 4:7-8)
A misapplication of the glorious truth of justification by faith alone (i.e. we're acceptable to God on the basis of what Jesus has done, not anything we do) is to think that godliness doesn't matter.
But the Bible is clear that godliness is important. We should "live a life worthy of the calling we have received" (Eph 4:1). But what strikes me about these verses in Timothy is that godliness is seen to be pursued for its own sake as well. It holds "promise for both the present life and the life to come". Not only will godliness lead to the "well done good and faithful servant" we all long for from Jesus on the final day. But also it has value for this life. We so often don't think like this. We think godliness is about sacrificing what is good and pleasing now, for the sake of something good and pleasing in the future. But in fact godliness is blessedness. Godliness is blessedness.
This makes sense when we think that godliness is being like God. God loves what is good, does what is good, and commands what is good. We should remember that in every situation, godliness is the best option - it holds promise for both this life and the life to come.
"And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the LORD's commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?" (Deut 10:12-13)

4th June 2 Chron 13-15, John 14

The books of Chronicles and Kings are full of battles, which make for a good read, but what do they teach us Christians today? In the passage from 2 Chronicles, the good king Asa cries out to God:

“LORD, there is no-one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, O LORD our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this great army. O LORD, you are are God; do not let man prevail against you.” (2 Chron 14:11)

This sounds like the kind of prayer we might pray – but what is the equivalent situation of coming up against “this great army”?

1. These enemies of God’s people are those who prevent them from enjoying rest in the land – in the kingdom of God. The enemies that threaten our rest in the kingdom of God are not physical armies, but Satan and his demons. These were defeated by Jesus at the cross (Col 2:15, Heb 2:14-15) – and so the ‘army’ we come up against is one that has already been defeated!

2. Satan does however still have power and influence in this world, even though he does not hold the power of death over believers. We do still have a fight to be fought – and so we are to put on the full armour of God (Eph 6:10-18). This prayer of Asa’s would be a good one to pray when facing temptation, when feeling guilt, or doubt, all of which can be used by Satan to undermine our faith.

3. Perhaps there is a more mundane parallel to the ‘army’ that was against Judah. In those days, kings went out to war  (usually in the spring! – 1 Chron 20:1.) So in some sense, as well as this battle having a spiritual aspect to it – “let not man prevail aginst you” (i.e. God) – it might also be paralleled with the ‘normal’ frustrations of life that we face. An unfair employment situation, family illness or bereavement, relationship breakdown. Asa prayed, remembering God’s power, and put his trust in God not in his own strength. We are not promised miraculous deliverances in all these situations – but we can be confident that in them God works for our good, and will not ultimately let us perish or fall away from faith.

We need to remember that the God we pray to and trust in is the ‘Lord of armies’ (often translated ‘Lord of hosts’ or ‘Lord almighty’ in our translations.) He is the one who fought the battles for his people in the Old Testament, he is one who is sovereign even over the most wicked and powerful forces in the world, he is the Lord of legions of angels who do his bidding.

When faced with circumstances beyond his control, Asa didn’t look to himself, but to the Lord, who was mighty and powerful to save. We should do the same, remembering that the God who can defeat vast armies of thousands, and has defeated Satan once and for all at the cross, is more than powerful to keep us safe and sustain us through whatever we are facing. If we are God’s people, then for our enemies ultimately to prevail against us, they would “prevail against you [God]” (2 Chron 14:11). And we can be confident that this will never, ever happen!

June 2nd 2 Chron 7-9, John 13:1-17

Think how wonderful it must have been to be in the court of King Solomon. Such opulence, such splendour and such riches. But also such wisdom, such justice, and such peace. At this moment in time, Israel is firmly on the map internationally, as proved by the visit of the Queen of Sheba.

This picture of life under Solomon is given to us as a picture of life under the true and greater Solomon, the true and greater prince of peace: Jesus.

Think what the Queen of Sheba said of Solomon’s wisdom:

“The report I heard in my own country about your achievements and your wisdom is true.  But I did not believe what they said until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half the greatness of your wisdom was told me; you have far exceeded the report I heard.  How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on his throne as king to rule for the LORD your God. Because of the love of your God for Israel and his desire to uphold them forever, he has made you king over them, to maintain justice and righteousness.” (2 Chron 9:5-8)

How much more do these words apply to Jesus! How much more happy are we, Jesus’ people, who continually stand before him and hear his wisdom! How much greater God’s love for us in giving us not just a good king like Solomon, but the greatest ever king: Jesus!

Think of the opulence of Solomon’s reign:

 “Then the king made a great throne inlaid with ivory and overlaid with pure gold.  The throne had six steps, and a footstool of gold was attached to it. On both sides of the seat were armrests, with a lion standing beside each of them.  Twelve lions stood on the six steps, one at either end of each step. Nothing like it had ever been made for any other kingdom.  All King Solomon's goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon's day.  The king had a fleet of trading ships manned by Hiram's men. Once every three years it returned, carrying gold, silver and ivory, and apes and baboons.” (2 Chron 9:17-21)

Splendour, abundance, riches, beauty, finery, exotic treasures from afar; this is no small, functional and miserly kingdom. This is a kingdom of riches beyond imagining. “Silver was considered of little value in Solomon’s day.” Imagine that – a precious metal like silver, in such abundance that it is not considered anything special. This truly is a remarkable kingdom being described. Picture being there, picture the finery, picture what is must have been like. How much more rich, and abundant is the coming kingdom of King Jesus! 

So often we can think that to become a Christian – that is to become a member of Christ’s kingdom – is to leave all that is good and wonderful and rich and exotic (the world) and to settle for what is dull and boring and stingy. Far from it! We need to read the Old Testament and see such passages as this. This passage, in all its richness, is just a pale shadow of the reality that is found in Christ. He is enthroned, not merely on a throne that is overlaid with gold, but a throne of sapphire (Ezek 1:26); he is surrounded not merely by 12 statues of lions, but by the 4 terrifying living creatures of Ezek 1 and Revelation 4; he is not merely visited by the Queen of Sheba, but the kings of the nations present him gifts!

How magnificent, how powerful, how wise, how just, how good, how – and there is no other word for it – exotic is this king. Solomon was a great king, but Jesus is the true and greater Solomon, the King of all Kings, and the Lord of all Lords! He is the beginning and end, the purpose and goal of all history, the one who holds the stars in his hands, whose eyes are like blazing fire, whose feet are like bronze in a furnace, whose voice is like the sound of a mighty waterfall. He is more glorious and alive and splendid and wise and majestic and powerful than we can begin to imagine.

And it is this King, this Jesus who washed his disciples' feet.

He washed his disciples' feet.

HE WASHED HIS DISCIPLES' FEET!

He washed our feet too.

He washed not only our feet, but our whole lives when he died on the cross.

A king like this, doing a thing like that. We would never dare to believe this if the Bible didn’t tell us so. But it does, and our only response can be to fall on our knees in worship of him:

   May his name endure forever;

       may it continue as long as the sun.

   All nations will be blessed through him,

       and they will call him blessed.

   Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel,

       who alone does marvelous deeds.

   Praise be to his glorious name forever;

       may the whole earth be filled with his glory.

            Amen and Amen.   (Psalm 72:17-19)  

May 30th 1 Chron 28-29, John 11:47-57

So often we think that unbelief is due to lack of evidence. When discussing with our friends who are not Christians, we often think if we marshall enough evidence about the reliability of the Bible, the resurrection from the dead, and the miracles of Jesus, we will persuade them. Similarly, we often hear people say “I’d believe in God if he revealed himself to me,” or “I’d believe if I saw a miracle.” Our passage from John challenges this idea.

Jesus has just raised Lazarus from the dead, and many people have put their faith in him. So the chief priests and the Pharisees call a meeting of the Sanhedrin:

“"What are we accomplishing?" they asked. "Here is this man performing many miraculous signs.  If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." ” (John 11:47-48)

Here, more evidence of Jesus’ power and authority –and hence identity as the Son of God – does not lead to greater faith, but to greater hostility. We should notice that there is no doubting the miracles – Jesus’ opponenents were persuaded that the miracles really happened. But as they understood more and more of Jesus’ authority and identity, they understood more and more what a threat he was to them: “everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” (John 11:48)

Perhaps they believed that Jesus was indeed the long-promised Messiah – but like the rest of the people thought of God’s King only in political terms: someone who would challenge the rule of the Romans. Whatever they actually thought of Jesus, their concern was that a popular uprising following Jesus would lead the Romans to clamp down on the Jews – taking away the temple (our “place”) and ending the semi-autonomy of the Jewish “nation.”

The repeated use of “our” shows something of the motivation here. The chief priests and Pharisees are not concerned about the well-being of the Jewish people – they are concerned about their own power and prestige. They are the ones in charge of the temple (and in a sense the “nation”) and they are desperate not to lose this.

(There is an irony here: if Jesus is indeed who he claims to be (as backed up by the miraculous signs) then he is the one who has authority over the temple and the nation, not the Romans.)

What does this passage tell us about unbelief, and rejection of Jesus?

It shows that for this group of people, more evidence did not increase their faith ,it increased their rejection of Jesus. In particular, the more they understood about who Jesus really was, the more they realised that he would challenge their own autonomy – their desire to be in charge of themselves and others.

This attitude isn’t restricted to the chief priests and Pharisees then; it is the default setting of the human heart. All of us, when we see who Jesus really is, rebel against him as we don’t want to lose control of our lives.

Kings don’t really mind much when a peasant claims he should be king – but has no credentials to back it up. But if someone can prove they have a better claim to the crown than the man who is currently king… that is when people start being locked up in towers, or killed in their beds.

We are all naturally kings – on the throne in our own lives, ruling ourselves and doing what we think best. (Some of us are fairly moral kings of our own lives, others very immoral kings.) But when we are confronted with Jesus, we see that he has a claim to be king of our life, instead of us. The more we understand of who he is (and in particular the more we understand that his claims are real claims that can be backed up), the more we naturally resist him. For those of us who are Christians, it is only God’s spirit opening our eyes and softening our hearts that has led us to bow the knee before him, and enthone him in our lives.

So we must beware thinking that if we give enough evidence, people will turn to Jesus. More evidence will lead many to resist Jesus more strongly. We should also gently challenge the claim that “if God revealed himself to me I’d believe,” or “if God did a miracle I’d believe.” As Jesus said: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19)

We must remember that unbelief is not just a question of lack of information. It is a spiritual issue. To put it another way, there is no such thing as a purely “intellectual” objection to Jesus. There is always a moral component to it.

This should mean we are more prayerful as we talk to our friends and family about Jesus – knowing that they need the Holy Spirit to be at work within them. It should also lead us to praise God for saving us – for his remarkable act of new creation:

“For God, who said “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ!”” (2 Cor 4:6)

May 29th 1 Chron 26-27, John 11:18-48

I’m sure many of us will know Henry Scott Holland’s poem Death is nothing at all, a popular reading at funerals:

Death is nothing at all. It does not count.

I have only slipped away into the next room.

Nothing has happened.

Everything remains exactly as it was.

I am I, and you are you, and the old life

that we lived so fondly together is untouched,

unchanged.

Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.

Call me by the old familiar name.

Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.

Put no difference into your tone.

Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow.

Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes

that we enjoyed together.

Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.

Let my name be ever the household word

that it always was.

Let it be spoken without an effort,

without the ghost of a shadow upon it.

Life means all that it ever meant.

It is the same as it ever was.

There is absolute and unbroken continuity.

What is this death but a negligible accident?

Why should I be out of mind

because I am out of sight?

I am but waiting for you,

for an interval,

somewhere very near,

just round the corner.

All is well.

One wonders how Jesus, “deeply moved in Spirit and troubled” (John 11:33) and weeping, would have felt if these words were quoted at him. “All is well” doesn’t seem to picture how Jesus was feeling at the grave of his friend Lazarus.

As someone who has had both parents die before I reached the age of 31, there isn’t a singe part of me that agrees with the statement “death is nothing at all.” I’m sure the odd card I was sent by well meaning folk quoted this, but though the thought may have been a kind one: to provide comfort, in fact the result was the opposite.

The consistent picture of the Bible is that death is an enemy (1 Cor 15:26) It is an alien intruder into our world as a result of sin, and is not part of God’s perfect created order. The message of the Bible to those who are grieving is that they are right to grieve. It is normal, it is proper. Jesus did it! He cried when his friend died, despite knowing he would raise him from the dead just a few moments later.

To be told by the Bible that death is as bad as I think it is, is a wonderful comfort. It shows that there is a God who understands, a God who cares – that life is valuable and has meaning, that relationships are important and breaking them is tragic; that human beings have dignity and to be buried in a box in the ground is not what we were made for. The Bible tells us that death is awful – and we must be so careful that we don’t pretent it isn’t, in order to try to help people who are grieving.

Contemporary society’s approach of trying to minimise death, and play down its wrongness, must surely be based in part upon the total absence of any other answer. If there is no solution to death, we might as well embrace it and get used to it.

But the picture of the Bible is vastly different. What Jesus offers in the Bible is not a hopeful re-living of memories, but the conquest of death itself:

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25)

Death is not minimised, it is defeated. In fact it was defeated through Jesus’ death – that dealt with our sins so that we need not face the penalty for them:

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death-- that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Heb 2:14-15) 

Jesus is the one who now controls people’s eternal destinies:

“I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” (Rev 1:18)

The Bible’s view of death is that it is terrible – which I find a great comfort. I don’t want to live in a world where death doesn’t matter, and I don’t want to worship a God who doesn’t care.

The Bible also says that death is defeated – which I find unspeakable comfort. I long to live in a world where death is no more, and worship a God who cared enough to face death for me.

So lets not give the false comfort and false hope of Death is nothing at all. And in a world with no answer to death, lets proclaim the most wonderful truths of the gospel, through which life and immortality have been brought to light!

Lets bring our own souls, and other people, to Jesus, who not only wept with those who wept, but also died instead of those who should have died. The answer to the problem of death is not minimising it, or learning to cope with it. It is nothing less than resurrection!

[see http://www.oakleys.org.uk/blog/2009/01/king_of_terrors_death_still_not_nothing.html for full sermon of Holland, from which Death is nothing at all is taken. In fact, this poem is taken out of context – Holland was using it to express what he thought was a common, but wrong view of death! How tragic that is has been so misused, and what a reminder of how important context is!]

May 28th 1 Chron 23-25, John 11:1-17

In the raising of Lazarus from the dead, the final “sign” in John’s gospel, we are reminded of the purpose of these signs. Like a signpost, they point to something beyond themselves. When Jesus heard that Lazarus is ill, he told the disciples:

“This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory to that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” (John 11:4)

Like the turning of water into wine at Cana (2:11) this sign reveals Jesus’s glory. In John’s gospel, ‘glory’ refers not to the praise that is due to God, but to “his revelation, his self-disclosure” (Carson). Through these signs, Jesus is showing us something fundamental about who he is – in this case that he is “the resurrection and the life” (11:25)

Perhaps this explains the strange logic of verses 5-6, best captured in the ESV translation:

“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.” Jesus loved them, SO he delayed. What? This seems absurd (and so many translations prefer ‘yet’ to ‘so’). Regardless of whether Lazarus was already dead when Jesus got this message or not, and whether Jesus could have actually got to Lazarus in time, we must still deal with the fact that Jesus could heal at distance . If he had wanted Lazarus not to die he could have achieved it. There is one sense in which he allowed Lazarus to die – and he did this because he loved Mary and her sister and Lazarus.

This is so instructive to us. More important for Mary and her sister than having Lazarus back, was to understand Jesus’ identity – to see his glory. This is why Jesus delayed. The most loving thing he could do for them was not to raise Lazarus (though of course he did). But the most loving thing he could do was to show them himself, his character, his power as lifegiver – his glory. When we suffer, or see others suffering, the ‘answer’ is not found in philosphical reflections nor apologetic arguments. It is the person of Jesus who brings comfort, and trust.

We may struggle with how Jesus could delay when he loved Mary and her sister so much. We still struggle today as Jesus permits his people to suffer greatly in this world, and appears to ‘delay’ in coming to help. We won’t know all the reasons now. As Job’s 'comforters' demonstrated, there is a great danger in trying to rationalise what God is doing, and presume we have all the answers. (It would be wrong, for example to assume that if someone is suffering, it is because God is trying to tell them something – this may be the case, but we simply do not know.)

But here we do see that whilst suffering still happens and is real, and whilst we may not be given the explanation (only the disciples got this, not Mary) we do know that our greatest need is to come to Jesus in this situation, and see more of him and his character. We may not get answers, but we know he is good. We may not have situations restored now, but we know he will one day restore all things. We may not understand how he can allow evil and suffering as part of his good purposes – but we do know that he does.

Ultimately, when we wonder how God can allow evil and somehow bring good through it, we must go to the cross of Jesus Christ. God the Father could have rescued Jesus, just as Jesus could have stopped Lazarus from dying. But through the greatest act of human wickedness, and the greatest depths of human suffering, God worked his exquisite plan of salvation. No human mind could have conceived it, angels long to look into it, without the Holy Spirit we could never understand it: well might we say of the death of Jesus Christ “it is for God’s glory so that God’s son may be glorified through it.” (11:4)

May 27th 1 Chron 20-22, John 10:22-42

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:27-30)

What precious words these are to Christians! What comfort, hope and assurance they give. As Jesus continues his metaphor of being the “good shepherd” we see the confidence this gives his people, and the certain hope of heaven.

As Christians, we can have certainty that we will keep going and not fall away, not because our hold on Jesus is strong, but because his hold on us is strong. If a parent is walking with an unsteady toddler, they may let the toddler hold onto their hand, or even just a finger, to steady themselves. But of course the toddler may let go at any point, or may stumble and lose their grip. But if you see a parent walking with a toddler by a busy road, they hold hands in a very different way. The parent’s hand completely envelops and grips the toddlers hand – and there is no way the toddler could let go, even if they wanted to. If the toddler stumles, or lurches towards the road, their Mum or Dad has got them, and will not let them fall.

So it is with us as Christians. Whilst we read elsewhere of our responsibility to cling onto Jesus (e.g. “remain in me” John 15:4), and there are warnings of what would happen if we didn’t, nevertheless our ultimate confidence rests not on how hard we are clinging on to Jesus, but on how hard he is clinging on to us.  Like the toddler we are safe – Jesus has not just got hold of our hand, but our whole self is safe in his hand. If it is Jesus who has got hold of us, no wonder no-one can snatch us our of his hand.

So our first reason for confidence is that God has got hold of us –salvation is his initiative, and “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus .“(Phil 1:6)

But there is even more reason for confidence here: “My Father, who has given them to me.” As Christians not only have we been chosen by God (the doctrine of election that underpins all the discussion above) but we have also been given by the Father to the Son. Like any good father, God gives good gifts to his son. What is almost too wonderful to believe is that what he has chosen to give to his Son is “a people that are his very own” (Titus 2:14) This may not seem much of a gift – to give a bunch of weak, sinful no-hopers like us. But like the unwanted abandoned girl of Ezekiel 16, God has washed us, clothed us, cared for us and made us beautiful – with the washing of Christ’s blood, with the clothing of Christ’s righteousness, and the beauty of the Holy Spirit within us making us daily more like Christ. We are God the Father’s gift to God the Son for eternity!

How could we who now belong to Jesus ever be lost? How could we ever fail to reach heaven? How could we fail to persevere in faith? We’ve been given by God the Father to God the Son to be his people forever. And God the Father doesn’t give rubbish gifts. If he’s promised it to the Son, it will happen. We can be utterly confident that Father and Son will hold us in their hand until the day of Christ Jesus, when we will be Jesus’ people forever. Our confidence doesn’t rest in how much we love God, it doesn’t even rest in how much God loves us. Our confidence rests in how much God the Father loves God the Son! Picture that blazing, pure, delighted love between God the Father and God the Son – infinitely greater than the best Father-Son relationship we know on earth. Picture that love that was, and is, and evermore shall be between Father and Son. That is the ground of our confidence! That is the ground of our salvation!  How well we need to remember that, when we sin, when we doubt, or when we wonder if we will ever keep going. God the Father doesn’t give the Son rubbish gifts! Hallelujah!

May 26th 1 Chron 17-19, John 10:1-21

Jesus famously described himself as “the good shepherd”, but perhaps less well remembered is that he also called himself the gate: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.” (John 10:7)

These images shouldn’t be put in opposition to one another – as if we are looking at a diagram of a sheep pen on a hillside, and each bit has an allegorical meaning. If that were the case, it would be very confusing for Jesus to be both the gate and the shepherd. Rather, these descriptions describe different aspects of what Jesus is for the sheep.

As the gate, he is the one through whom entrance to the sheepfold is found. In other words he is the way in to the security of eternal life with God:

“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.” (10:9)

There is only one way to find life, one way to enjoy spiritual security, one way to enter into the kingdom of God – through Jesus.

“The thief only comes to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (10:10) All the other things, people and ideologies that promise to give us ‘life’ actually take from us. False Gods and false saviours don’t serve us, they take from us; they don’t provide for us, they need us to keep sacrificing to them. (cf Acts 17:24-25) Jesus on the other hand came that we may have life – and have it to the full. This undoubtedly has connotations of salvation and eternal life – see the word “saved” in v9 – but it is not restricted to that. The picture here is of abundance and joy and fellowship with Jesus that transforms even life now – there is nothing stingy about the life that those who come to Jesus receive.

The second image continues the idea. Not only is Jesus the gate through which people enter into life, he is also the shepherd who looks after them and guides them. Jesus as the “good shepherd” brings to fulfilment the promise made to David in our reading in 1 Chronicles. God promised David, the shepherd-king (1 Chron 17:7) a greater son who would reign on David’s throne forever. (1 Chron 17:11-14) Jesus, like the kings in the Old Testament, shepherds and guides his people. But as the last and greatest shepherd, he also died for them:

“The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.” (John 10:11) This is the source of the abundant life that the sheep enjoy! Jesus could only give us life, because he first gave his life. No other god would die for us, and so no other god can provide for us!

Lets dwell on these images. Jesus is the gate by which we may enter the safety of the sheepfold of the kindgom of God, and through which we may go to find pasture. He is the way to security and life – abundant life!

Jesus is the shepherd, who guides and protects us. He is the strong, tough warrior who defends us from wolves. He is the one who leads us beside still waters and gives us rest. Unlike all the false shepherds and false saviours that we so often give our time and service to, he will not let us down. These false shepherds only take from us, but Jesus gives. These false shepherds don’t love us, but Jesus loved us even to death. Life, and grace and abundance and joy are found in him, our shepherd-king who reigns forever over his wonderful kingdom of righteousness. Lets delight in him! Lets praise him! Let’s give our devotion to him, and find our security in him, and give thanks that his goodness and mercy will surely pursue us all the days of our life, until we dwell in the house of the Lord forever! (Psalm 23:6)

May 25th 1 Chron 14-16, John 9:24-41

After the failure of trying to bring the Ark to Jerusalem in chapter 13, and the death of Uzzah, in chapter 15-16 of 1 Chronicles we see the ark again being brought to Jerusalem. The incident with Uzzah teaches us the danger of worship of God not informed by revelation from God. This time things happen “according to the word of the LORD.” (15:15)

But we should see that doing things “according to the word of the LORD” doesn’t mean being dry, or dull or boring:

“David told the leaders of the Levites to appoint their brothers as singers to sing joyful songs, accompanied by musical instruments: lyres, harps and cymbals.” (15:16) “So all Israel brought up the ark of the covenant of the LORD with shouts, with the sounding of rams horns and trumpets, and of cymbals, and the playing of lyres and harps.” (15:28) David famously celebrated and danced before the ark as it entered Jerusalem! (15:29)

The presence of God amongst his people is a cause for celebration and rejoicing – and the people really went for it! Imagine the noise of all the trumpets, horns, lyres, cymbals, not to mention all of Israel shouting! David had the temple singers sing a song recorded in Ch16, made up of parts of several psalms, which praises God for all he has done for the people. Indeed, this song commanded and motivated the people to praise God, by reminding them of what God had done for them. Theology is not meant to be confined to books in a library – the deeds and character of our great God are to be sung and shouted and delighted in!

When Mary realised her son was the Messiah, she sang! (Luke 1:46-45). When the birth of our saviour was announced to the shepherds, angels sang! (Luke 2:13-14). As Richard Pratt puts it “In many respects, the first coming of Christ’s Kingdom was a musical event.” [HT to him in his commentary on Chronicles for much of the insights here!]

Song is a right and natural response to all God’s goodness. In many ways, song is where all history is heading. One day we will join the living creatures, the angels and the elders, as they sing songs round the throne of the lamb! (Rev 4-5) One day not just Jewish people, not just a few nations, but all peoples will sing praise to God! (Rom 15:11) Songs are declarative – they tell of God’s acts and his character; they are emotional – not just our heads but our hearts are involved in devotion to God; they are pedagogical – we remember what we sing, and meditate on it. As the 17th century Scottish writer Andrew Fletcher said: "Let me write the songs of a nation and I care not who writes its laws.” Singing isn’t an optional extra for Christians – it is part of who we are, and it is part of who God is that we should sing to him.

One of my favourite contemporary Christian songs captures so much of this I think it worth quoting in full:

1. Come hear the angels sing:

“Worthy is the Lamb that was slain”

Gathering ‘round the throne

“Hail the Son of Man, hail the Son of Man”

Not for their sin he died

It was no angel crucified

And yet they hold him in their sight

And live to praise their Lord!

2. Come hear the elders sing

As they fall in praise to the Lamb

Bowing before the throne

Laying down their crowns,

laying down their crowns

They praise him for his blood

With which he purchased men for God

They praise the Saviour of the world

The Lamb, he is their Lord!

Hear the heavens shout:

“Worthy is the Lamb”

All creation bows

Giving glory to the Lamb

Worthy is the Lamb

3. What is the song we’ll sing

As we join in heaven with our God?

A people from every land

Crowding round the Lamb, crowding round the Lamb

We’ll sing salvation’s song

How many million voices strong!

We’ll sing the glory of our King,

Of Jesus Christ our Lord!

© 2006 Michael Morrow

[For my own efforts in this area see my other blog: http://www.mostlydavid.blogspot.com/]

May 24th 1 Chron 11-13, John 9:1-23

The fate of Uzzah is relatively well known. Many of us will have heard of this man who “reached out his hand to steady the ark” (1 Chron 13:9) and was struck dead as a result. It seems petty and vindictive of God – and indeed a great contrast to Jesus who in the passage from John healed a man born blind.

The ark of the covenant had been in Kiriath Jearim, 8 or 9 miles south of Jerusalem for 20 years or so. The ark was the gold-covered box that sat at the heart of the tabernacle, and then the temple. It was the centre of Israelite religion and worship, for inside it were the 2 stone tablets of the 10 commandments, and it was topped by 2 cherubim, between which the Lord was “enthroned” (13:6). Indeed this ark so symbolised the presence of God himself that it was “called by the Name” (of God). (13:6)

To move it to its home in Jerusalem was a cause for great celebration: “David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, cymbals and trumpets.” (13:8) Yet in this joyous picture we then read the shocking next 2 verses:

“When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God.” (13:9-10)

Do we like David become angry with God when we read of him acting like this? What do we make of such an incident?

Perhaps the key to understanding this story is Numbers chapter 4. This whole chapter is dedicated to explaining how the tabernacle and all the holy things are to be moved when the Israelites moved camp in the wilderness. One particular group of priests, the Kohathites, were responsible for carrying the ark and the holy things:

“This is the work of the Kohathites in the Tent of Meeting: the care of the most holy things. When the camp is to move, Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain and cover the ark of the Testimony with it. Then they are to cover this with hides of sea cows, spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the poles in place.” (Numbers 4:4-6)

Poles are to be used to carry the ark so no-one touches it, the curtain was to be spread over the ark so no-one sees it – not even the Kohathites themselves:

“But the Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die.” (Num 4:20)

So what on earth was the ark of the covenant doing on a cart, pulled by an ox, with just 2 men guiding it?! We may think Uzzah did what he thought best in steadying the ark – but the problem was that he should never have been put in that position to begin with!

The role of the priests was, among other things, to protect the people from acting in inappropriate ways that would lead to them being put to death – they were mediators between God and the people. David the King should have ensured they did this job – but both he and the priests failed.

So what do we learn from this incident?

First, we we learn that God is holy and not to be trifled with. His presence with us is a great joy and blessing, but we should not presume upon him, or be casual in the way we relate to him, for “our God is a consuming fire” (Heb 13:28)

Second, we praise God that we do not have a negligent king and priests, who put people like Uzzah in danger through their poor mediation. Rather we have Jesus, who stands between us and God and his wrath – indeed who bore that wrath in the place of people like you and me. He indeed is a high priest who “meets our need – one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens.” (Heb 7:26)

Finally, this is a challenge to those of us in Christian leadership of any kind. Whilst not sacrificing priests of the old testament, nor even kings like David (Jesus is both of those), nevertheless we do have a responsibility to teach God’s people to revere him rightly. In particular how tragic if we fail to warn people like Uzzahs that their actions will incur God’s wrath – or even encourage them in these actions. Whether it be in the area of human sexuality, or justification by faith alone, or whatever it may be, we must not keep silent and so be complicit in sins we know will incur God’s eternal judgment. We must love people enough to warn them, as the apostle Paul did:

“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Cor 6:9-10)

May 23rd 1 Chron 8-10, John 8:37-59

[apologies for no post yesterday, and for lateness of this post. I'll try to get posts done a day ahead of time from now on, so they can be posted early each morning.]

“History is more or less bunk” said Henry Ford. On this view, what’s past is gone, and so unimportant. As he continued: “We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker's dam is the history we made today.”

The writer of 1 Chronicles wouldn’t share that view. 9 chapters devoted to genealogies. NINE CHAPTERS! And this was written when some good history books were already available: 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings. The writer of Chronicles thinks that history is important, and important enough to write a second history of God’s people, told with different aims and emphases.

Whilst 9 chapters of genealogies seem offputting at best and irrelevant at worst, they nevertheless teach us an important lesson. Even we have heard of only a few of these people, we realise that knowing who they are is important. When we see that the genealogies end with the people of the Chroniclers generation, we see the importance of this people understanding their links to the past.

Chronicles would have been written for the people of God recently returned from exile. They had been delivered from captivity to Babylon, but the temple needed rebuilding, Jerusalem’s wall was broken down, and the great days of the mighty acts of redemption, the Kings of Israel and Judah, and God’s promises to the patriarchs were all in the past. The people needed to be reminded of their continuity with what went before – so that they would trust the same promises of God and serve him in the same ways.

For us Christians today, we need to remember history – in particular our links with the past. For so many Christians who are not Jewish, we are not directly descended from Abraham. But we are Abraham’s spiritual descendants if we share his faith: “he is the father of those who believe” (Rom 4:11)

God’s dealings with Abraham, David and other lesser known figures, are important for us – they are family history – that teach us of how God deals with his people.

John Piper reminds us that our faith in God is based on his faithfulness to us in the past. This is true of his faithfulness to us in our own lives. We can look back at our lives and how God has never let us down, and so remind ourselves that God is trustworthy. But it is also true as we look to our family history recorded in the Bible, and see that God has never failed any of his people. As we continue to read 1 and 2 Chronicles we will see the particular lessons the Chronicler wants us to learn: the promises to keep trusting, the mistakes to avoid, and the qualities to emulate. Most of all though we’ll learn of a faithful God who doesn’t change: “Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today and forever!” (Heb 13:8) History isn’t bunk – at least not the history in 1 and 2 Chronicles. It is a family album, a theological textbook, and a devotional guide.

In those wonderful words of Stuart Townend and Keith Getty’s hymn:

        As saints of old still line the way

        Retelling triumphs of his grace

        We hear their calls and hunger for the day

        When with Christ we stand in glory!

May 21st 1 Chron 3-5, John 8:1-20

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)
This 'I AM' statement of Jesus is very well known, yet I've been struck today that I've often passed over this statement without every really pondering what it means. In John's gospel light is an important image: we are introduced to it right in the opening verses:
"In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness but the light has not understood it." (John 1:4-5)
Light is paralleled with life, both there and in our passage. Just as the light from the sun is what gives life to plants and makes things grow, so Jesus is the light who gives life to his people. This is doubtless referring to eternal life: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16), but also perhaps a certain quality of life now: "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10)
Part of this quality of life is seen in another benefit light brings - we can see, and hence not stumble. Jesus being the light of the world means he is the one who shows us how to live in the world - he explains life to us, and we are not left stumbling in the dark. Of course he does this through his word: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path" (Psalm 119:105)
Light also has a moral connotation to it, especially in John's gospel: "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear his deeds will be exposed." (John 3:19-20) Like a torch shone in an abandoned building, that shows up all the litter and grubbiness that was not at first visible, so Jesus, by his example of moral purity, reveals all that is grubby and morally repugnant in the world.
Jesus is the light of the world - bringing life, revelation, and moral clarity. If we feel weak and lifeless we can come to him. If we feel lost and stumbling, we can come to him. If we feel grubby and unclean, we can come to him - knowing he not only reveals our filth, but deals with it by his death.
During the last solar eclipse, which lasted only a short time, the sky still went dark, things went strangely still, and the temperature dropped several degrees. Imagine a whole day without sun - imagine a whole year! Life would quickly become impossible: nothing would grow, no-one would be able to find their way around, and crime would skyrocket, as we know happens during blackouts.
We need light - and how much more do we need the spiritual light of the world that is Jesus. Without him there would be no life, no knowledge, no goodness. Our world is a dark place, despite the ever increasing number of streetlights illuminating our cities. But we have a Lord and Saviour who is the light of the world - and those of us who follow him will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life!

May 20th 1 Chr 1-2, John 7:32-53

“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."  By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.” (John 7:37-39)

We have little experience of physical thirst in the western world, yet we know an inner thirst – we so often feel dry, we feel parched, we desire life and refreshment. We so often try to quench this thirst with material things – as if shopping can bring the refreshment we need, as if going to the gym or making ourselves look beautiful will give us the inner life we crave, as if relationships will meet our deepest longings. Yet Jesus says to us “If anyone is thirst, let him come to me  and drink”. He is the one who satisifes our souls, as he meets our deepest longing for life and refreshment – as he meets our deep spiritual need for God himself. Deep down we all have a thirst for God, and this thirst can be met by nothing else.

Jesus explains that this ‘water’ we will receive from him is no less than the Holy Spirit. As he comes to live within us, he meets our longing to know God personally. The ministry of the Holy Spirit has rightly been called one of the greatest blessings of the Christian life. When we come to Christ not only do we receive the more ‘objective’ blessings of sins forgiven, justification, sanctification, but also the more experiential/subjective blessing of the great thirst within us being satisfied, as God himself comes to dwell within us by his Spirit.

Not only do we drink, and have out thirst quenched, but “streams of living water will flow from within” us. The result of the Spirit dwelling within us is blessings flowing to others, like a river of water. Perhaps we might think here of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5:22-23) It is certainly true that being indwelt by the Spirit should lead to Christlike lives that bless others. But in fact Jesus seems to be saying that what will flow out from us to others will be not the fruit of the Spirit, but the Holy Spirit himself!

Of course the Spirit only comes to dwell in those who believe in Jesus, as is stated here – the Holy Spirit cannot come to dwell within someone who has not first been cleansed by Christ’s death. But the way we relate to others can encourage this. As we are filled with the Spirit and live lives of Christlike holiness, we can commend the gospel to those around us. Our desire should not only be to bless others with our actions of kindness and grace, but ultimately to point them to Jesus, the source of all kindness and grace.

As so often in the Bible, we learn that God’s people are blessed by God not merely for their own sake, but in order to be a blessing and witness to others:

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us,  that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.” (Psalm 67:1-2)

If we do not yet know Jesus, and are trying to quench our thirst with other things, we should come to him, and discover everlasting satisfaction for our soul. And if we have had our thirst quenched, by the living water of God’s Spirit within us, lets us remember that this should also flow out from us – to the parched land of our nation, that needs more than anything else the water of life that only Jesus can give.

May 19th 2 Kings 23-25, John 7:1-31

2 Kings 23-25 are extraordinary chapters. After the great wickedness of King Manasseh’s reign – who set up altars to false Gods even in the temple, who shed much innocent blood, and who even sacrificed his own son in the fire as part of his pagan worship – Josiah proves to be the best king of Judah. In ch 22 the book of the law was found, which had been lost or concealed during wicked King Manasseh’s reign, and like the king was supposed to, Josiah read it to the people (23:3). Then proceded the most amazing purging of the land. Altars to false gods were destroyed, and pagan priests were deposed, ending worship of other Gods other than the Lord (thereby safeguarding the first commandment.) There would be no more male shrine-prostitutes, nor sacrificing of children to Molech, nor burning incence to the sun and moon and all the starry host. There would be no more consulting of mediums and spiritists and other detestable practices. But more than this, the altar to the Lord at Bethel was removed. Although an altar to the Lord, this ‘high-place’ was not authorised by God, and was the site of corrupt worship of the one true Lord. In destroying this, with its priests, Josiah was safeguarding the second commandment – there were to be no images of God, nor false worship of him. Indeed, for the first time since the days of the judges, the Passover – the great celebration of God’s redemption – was properly observed.

With all this concern for God’s honour, and for right worship of him, no wonder we read of Josiah:

“Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the LORD as he did-- with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses.” (2 Kings 23:25)

Yet even all this religious fervour, and putting away of idols and evil practices was not sufficient to change the fate of Judah. In the very next verses we read:

“Nevertheless, the LORD did not turn away from the heat of his fierce anger, which burned against Judah because of all that Manasseh had done to provoke him to anger. So the LORD said, "I will remove Judah also from my presence as I removed Israel, and I will reject Jerusalem, the city I chose, and this temple, about which I said, 'There shall my Name be.'" (2 Kings 23:26-27)

Because of the great wickedness of King Manasseh’s sin, future generations will suffer exile – and their own righteousness, even if as unsurpassed as that of Josiah – will not help them.

This is a depressing picture – especially after the hope we have felt in reading of Josiah’s reforms. Yet this is also a picture for us today of our condition. The sins in our past – indeed even the sin of our forefather Adam – make us deserving of God’s judgment. Even a total reformation of our lives, putting away of evil and idolatry, as happened in Josiah’s day, will not be enough to take away the guilt from the past. Even a life of perfection from now until we die would not make up for sins we have already committed.

But how wonderful that as Christians we don’t stand guilty because of the sins of King Manasseh, but rather we stand justified because of the life and death of King Jesus. King Manasseh’s sins resulted in punishment for many of his people. But Jesus Christ’s obedience even unto death results in righteousness and life for many more of his people.

The exile shows us the failure of the old covenant - or rather the failure of the people (Heb 8:8). And it shows us our need of a new covenant, and a better King, who can not only deal with our unrighteousness of the past, but be our righteousness for the present and future.

What confidence this gives us as we see sins in our lives and the lives of others we feel we could never make up for. What hope, as we see ourelves in the wickedness and foolishness and sinfulness of the people of Israel recorded in Kings. We stand on higher ground: not in the shadow of Manasseh’s sin, or our own sin, but in the shadow of the cross of Jesus Christ. We don’t need to try hard to be like Josiah (wonderful though that would be!) Rather we need a greater King than Josiah – and we have one: Jesus, who is our righteousness, holiness and redemption! (1 Cor 1:30)

18 May 2 Kings 20-22, John 6:45-71

If we had to answer the question “how can I receive eternal life?” or “what is it to be a Christian?” very few of us are likely to turn to John 6:54: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

If we want to be saved and have eternal life, and if we want others to be saved also, we must understand what is meant by this verse. It seems to be a deliberately provocative statement by Jesus, and indeed it provokes a strong response:

“On hearing it, many of his disciples said, ‘This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?’” (John 6:60)

The langauge Jesus has previously used is deliberately sacrificial:

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (John 6:51)

Jesus is explaining that his sacrifcial death will be necessary to give spiritual life. Just as the bread he gave sustains physical life, so his body, given (i.e. sacrificed) is the means of eternal spiritual life. But ‘eating’ flesh and ‘drinking’ blood are nonetheless shocking images. We understand what they mean by comparing v54 with v47:

“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:54)

“I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.”(John 6:47)

Eating and drinking are paralleled with faith. But rather than lessen the impact by saying ‘oh this strange language of eating flesh is only referring to belief in Jesus’, in fact this should increase our understanding of faith ‘this is no mere intellectual assent – it is the same as eating the flesh of Chrsit.’

This image show us that the object of faith is Jesus’ sacrificial death for our sins. Faith doesn’t mean just ‘believing in God’ or ‘vaguely hoping that a higher power will make things turn out for the best’. Faith is faith in the death of Jesus as the only means of our life.

But this image also shows us something of the character of faith. It is no mere intellectual assent. Whilst no physical eating of Christ’s body is implied here, the incorporation langauge shows us that we need to really take hold of Christ’s sacrifice for us, it needs to be our bread – what we rely on to live day by day, we need to ‘own’ the scandal of his body broken and blood poured out.

This is why when Jesus asked us to remember his death, he gave symbols of bread and wine to help us do so.  As we eat bread and  drink wine in the Lord’s supper, we feed on Jesus’s death in our hearts by faith.

If the image of feeding on Jesus’ body and blood is offensive to us, and we would rather a more sanitised, rational description, perhaps the cross itself is offensive to us, and we would rather a more sanitised way to be saved. But in fact the bloody, bruised and lifeless form on a Roman crucifix is our only hope of eternal life.

This is indeed a hard teaching. Many today turn back from Christianity at this point, just as they did in Jesus’ day. But, as Peter said to Jesus, to whom else shall we go?

Perhaps, in order to safeguard the centrality and the scandal of Christ’s death in our place, we might change the way we think and speak of receiving eternal life. Whilst we’ll still treasure John 3:16, John 3:36, John 6:47 and other such verses, lets never be ashamed to say in answer to the quetsion ‘how may I be saved’ in the way Jesus does here:

“Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:53-4)

2 Kings 18-19, John 6:22-44

In about 700BC, with the Northern Kingdom of Israel having been destroyed by Assyria, the Assyrians next attacked the southern kingdom of Judah. The powerful Assyrian King sent this message to the terrified people in Jerusalem:
"Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and drink water from his own cistern, until I come and take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death! "Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, 'The LORD will deliver us.' Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?” (2 Kings 18:31-33)
The Assyrian King is making promises to the people of a land, prosperity, milk and honey, that remind us of the promises the Lord made to his people in Deuteronomy 8. The Assyrian King is effectively setting himself up as a rival god – saying he can deliver what the LORD can’t. More than that, he claims that the LORD is powerless to save his people from the might of Assyria.
God responds by giving a message through Isaiah that prophesies the fall of Assyria and its king, which ends with these words:
“I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant."
God’s people will be delivered, not primarily for their sake, but for the sake of the honour of God’s name. For this reason they can be confident – God will not let his name be dishonoured!
For us as Christians, we are not faced with Assyrian armies, but there are still spiritual powers, rulers and authorities (Eph 6) who would seek to destroy our faith, and snatch us from God’s hand. Like the beseiged people of Jerusalem, our confidence is not in ourselves, but rather in God, and his determination to be glorified. None of God’s people will be lost – no matter what enemies we face. Jesus said:
“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:37-39)
We see the same reasons for confidence here as we did in 2 Kings:
“for my sake and for the sake of David my servant.”
None of God’s people shall be lost – for the sake of God the Father, but also for the sake of Jesus – our greater King David.
God the Father has promised God the Son a people “to be his very own”, to dwell with him in glory for ever. Our hope and confidence rest not on ourselves, but on the Father’s promise to Jesus. We have been promised to Jesus for eternity – and nothing in heaven or earth will be able to make God break that promise to his beloved Son!