Discovering Christ in All the Scriptures
Don Fortner, 1950-2020
Joshua through Job
JOSHUA
Jesus Saves
The Book of Joshua spans the history of Israel from the death of Moses to the time of the judges. It is a great monument, not to Joshua, but to the God he served. It is a declaration of God's great, unfailing faithfulness.By divine order Joshua assumed the government of the nation of Israel after Moses died and brought the chosen nation into the possession of all the land of Canaan, which God had promised in his covenant with Abraham.
There is much debate among men about whether these twenty-four chapters typify the believer's entrance into and possession of God's salvation in this world, or our entrance into and possession of God's salvation in heavenly glory. In my opinion, the debate is meaningless. The Book of Joshua portrays both.
Many say that the Israelites possession of Canaan cannot portray heavenly glory because they still had to contend with and overcome their enemies in the land and that will not be true of heavenly glory. Without question, that is true. Still, grace given on earth is glory begun; and glory given at last is grace consummated. The two cannot be separated. He who possesses God's salvation here in grace shall possess God's salvation in glory in the world to come.
The message of this Book is set before us in Joshua's very name. Joshua means "Jehovah is Salvation." His name in Greek is Jesus. The message of the Book is "Jesus saves" (Matthew 1:21). Throughout this Book Joshua stands before us as a magnificent type of the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, as Jehovah's righteous Servant; and, as such, he is held before us as an example of what it is to be God's servant in this world.
A Type of Christ
Yes, it is important to see in this Book the exact fulfillment of divine prophecy. And it is delightful to see the displays Joshua sets before us of our God's faithfulness in all things. He gave the land of Canaan to Israel according to the promises he made to their fathers. We see the justice of God in punishing the Canaanites for their idolatry and sin after being warned repeatedly of his impending wrath. How wondrous are the displays of God's faithfulness in exercising tender care of his people in this Book! His love to the people is also displayed as the everlasting love of the ever-faithful God. He preserved and protected the children of Israel and gave them the good land, all of it, in spite of all their murmurings, ingratitude, and unbelief. Joshua, at last, gave them rest!
But, the primary thing to be seen here is that Joshua who gave Israel rest is a type and picture of our Lord Jesus Christ who brings the Israel of God into the blessed, true Sabbath rest of faith here and of glory hereafter. We know that this is the intent of the Holy Spirit because he tells us that Joshua was typical of our Savior (Hebrews 4).
1. We have already seen that his name, "Joshua," marks him as a type of Christ.
2. As Joshua was servant to Moses, Christ was made under the law, and became subject to and obedient to it in all things.
3. As Joshua succeeded Moses, Christ succeeded the law.
4. As Joshua gave Israel what Moses never could, God's promised covenant blessing, so Christ gives us what the law never can, God's salvation (Romans 8:24; Galatians 3:2325).
5. As Joshua was the governor of Israel and the commander of their armies, for which he was well qualified with wisdom, courage, and integrity; Christ is the King of saints, the Leader and Commander of the people. He is the Captain of our Salvation. He has fought our battles for us and won the victory for us. And, like Joshua, our Lord Jesus Christ is an abundantly qualified Savior. God poured out his Spirit upon him without measure. He was bold, courageous, mighty, and pure.
6. Joshua was typical of our Savior in his deeds, too. He led Israel through the river Jordan, as Christ leads us through baptism and through death. As (Genesis saved Rahab and her family, so Christ saves the worst and chief of sinners. As (Genesis received the Gibeonites who submitted to him, so the Lord Jesus Christ receives all who come to him. As (Genesis conquered the kings of the Canaanites, so Christ has conquered all our spiritual enemies for us (sin, Satan, and the world), making us more than conquerors in him. (Genesis brought the children of Israel into the land of Canaan, their rest, and divided it to them by lot, which Moses could not do. So our all-glorious Christ, and he alone, brings God's elect into the true rest, into spiritual rest here, and eternal rest hereafter. In him and by him we obtain God's salvation, all the blessings of his grace, and the inheritance of the heavenly glory.
Let's take a very brief look at this man, (Genesis , as the servant of God, and see what we can glean from his life for our souls' good.
Divinely Prepared
When God is about to do something, he prepares a specific person for the work and prepares the work or place of service for that specific person. He spent eighty years preparing Moses to do a forty year work. Our Lord Jesus was prepared by thirty years' experience for the work of three. And (Genesis , like our Savior, was prepared by God to be Israel's deliverer.
Be sure you get the hint. If we are God's, if we are believers, if we are born of God, we are his servants. If the Lord God ever uses you or me for anything, he will prepare us for that specific thing. He will prepare us just as he did (Genesis and just as he did the Lord Jesus as a man. How? How does God prepare his servants for his service? He has many tools that he uses for this purpose.
Suffering
The first tool by which God prepares his own to serve him is suffering and sorrow. (Genesis was born into slavery in Egypt. He knew what it was to suffer. Israel's bondage in Egypt was harsh and cruel. Yet, that was part of God's preparation of (Genesis for his calling (Exodus 3:7). In the kingdom of God no one ever rises to the place of much usefulness, but by suffering. Abasement is the path to exaltation and sorrow is the path to service. That was the case with (Genesis . And that was the case with the Lord Jesus (Hebrews 5:810; 1 Peter 1:11).
The Apostle Paul exemplifies this for us in his own experience in 2 Corinthians 12:110. Whatever our struggles, sorrows, limitations, and losses may be in this world, they are according to the wise and good purpose of our heavenly Father. Suffering is God's method of preparing us and maturing us (1 Peter 4:13; 5:10).
" Tis my happiness below
Not to live without the cross,
But my Savior's power to know,
Sanctifying every loss.
Trials must and will befall;
But with humble faith to see
Love inscribed upon them all
This is happiness to me.
God in Israel sows the seeds
Of affliction, pain, and toil.
These spring up and choke the weeds
Which would else o'erspread the soil.
Trials make the promise sweet.
Trials give new life to prayer.
Trials bring me to His feet,
Lay me low, and keep me there.
Did I meet no trials here,
No chastisements by the way,
Might I not with reason fear
I should prove a castaway?
Bastards may escape the rod;
Sunk in earthly, vain delight;
But the true born child of God
Must not, would not, if he might."
William
Cowper
Submission
Another instrument God uses to prepare us for his service is submission. Grace teaches all who experience it to submit to authority. At its very core faith is surrender to the dominion of Christ, submission to divine authority (Luke 14:2533). (Genesis was prepared for his place of service by learning to submit to God's authority, the authority he had invested in Moses.
The Son of God submitted himself to the will of God in all things as a man, as our Mediator, that he might be our Savior (Isaiah 50:57; Hebrews 10:514). In Gethsemane, at Calvary, throughout his earthly existence, our great Savior constantly cried to the Father, from the depths of his inmost soul, "Not my will, your will be done Father, glorify your name." Regardless of personal cost, that was his heart's desire. Truly, he exemplified what it is to be the servant of God.
As Israel's divinely appointed prophet and leader in the wilderness, Moses represented God's authority over the nation in both civil and spiritual matters, much as divinely appointed pastors do today in spiritual things (Hebrews 13:7, 17) and civil magistrates do in civil matters (Romans 13:17). Joshua, following Moses' orders, honored God, served Israel, and defeated the Amalekites (Exodus 17). In those days he was known as the servant of Moses, staying with his master and serving him faithfully. Men may have looked upon him as Moses' "yes man," but he was really, in the highest sense possible, God's servant (Joshua 11:15).
Patience
The Lord God prepared Joshua to be his servant and prepares us to serve him, just as he prepared our Savior in his manhood by causing him to learn patience. We are all terribly impatient by nature. Therefore, God often fixes it so that we have no choice but to wait on him, and learn to prefer waiting on him. It had been forty years since Joshua and Caleb had gone in to spy out the land. For forty years Joshua walked with Israel through the wilderness, patiently waiting for him to give them the land. Now, he takes Israel in to possess it, after forty years of waiting in patient faith.
Blessed are those who are taught to wait on the Lord (Psalm 27:14; 37:7, 34; Proverbs 20:22; Lamentations 3:26). I am often asked (by pastors and others who feel constrained to do something to correct what they see as a bad situation), "What should I do? How should I handle this?" My answer is almost always, "I do not know whether I could do it or not, but I am sure the best thing for you to do is nothing. Just wait on the Lord. He will work it out." For my own part, I have never yet attempted to fix a problem that I did not make worse, or make something happen I did not soon regret.
Joshua's Character
What kind of man was Joshua? In a word, he was a man of faith, a man who believed God. That is what our Lord Jesus exemplified above all else. And that is what it takes to serve him. We cannot serve him, except as we believe him. Yet, our believing him is ever the result of him giving us faith and sustaining it by his grace.
Obedient Faith
In Joshua 1:8 God said to him"This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth; but you shall meditate therein day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success."
In chapter 5, before the battle of Jericho, Joshua found himself walking alone at night in front of the walls. There he was confronted by the pre-incarnate Christ, who identified himself as "Captain of the host of the LORD." Immediately, he fell flat on his face before the Lord. Throughout the days of his service we find Joshua praying, seeking the will of God, endeavoring to lead Israel according to the Word of the Lord in all things. After the failure at Ai, knowing that the failure arose (at least in part) from his own sinful, self-confidence, we see him on his face again, crying out to the Lord in preparation for the second battle. Faithful men lead God's people by prayer and by his Word. So it was with Joshua, So it was with the Lord Jesus. And so it is with God's servants today.
Courageous Faith
Four times in the first chapter the Lord commanded Joshua to be courageous. It takes courage, divinely given courage, to walk with God and serve him. Our Lord Jesus Christ was a man of enormous, perfect courage. We have every reason to be courageous, as we walk with God and seek to do his will.
General Omar Bradley defined courage as "the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death." I do not doubt that Joshua was often fearful because the Lord spoke to him and said, "Be not afraid because of them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel: you shall hock their horses, and burn their chariots with fire." (11:6). Yet, he did what the Lord God called him to do. He won battle after battle.
I know that I am often fearful as I think about facing difficulties or assuming weighty responsibilities. I have often spoken to the Lord like David as I endeavored to obey that which I knew to be his will, saying, "What time I am afraid, I will trust in you" (Psalm 56:3).
Obedience often involves risks and demands moral courage, particularly when that obedience involves leading others in the name of Christ. Joshua's courage involved much more than just fighting Israel's enemies, great as that was. He had to deal with sin in the camp of Israel after Achan had taken the cursed things of the Babylonians in chapter 7. With great courage, the courage of faith, he commanded Israel to stop procrastinating and take their inheritance in chapter 17. It took great courage to rebuke them as he did in his final message to the in chapter 24. But he did what he knew he had to do for their good and God's glory.
Humble Faith
Joshua was God's servant, doing God's work, for God's glory. As such, he was a truly humbled man. Humility, true humility, makes a man bold and courageous. True humility is the recognition that I am weak and helpless, I am nothing in myself; but I am the servant of God. As such, I lean not upon my own wisdom, strength, and ability, but his. And with my God nothing is impossible (Philippians 4:13).
Joshua followed God's plans, not his own. The conquest of Canaan was not a haphazard thing. It was very carefully planned and executed. First Joshua captured the central hill country, dividing it in half. Then he led Israel in conquest of the southern territory, then the northern. He conquered the cities first, then the more rural areas. Twice he led his armies in forced marches through the night to take the enemy by surprise. All along the way we find him engaged in prayer, seeking God's direction.
There were two notable exceptions, two instances in which Joshua acted in self-confidence. He did not seek the Lord's direction before Ai, or before entering into the covenant with the Gibeonites. Both times he failed miserably. But even his own failures did not induce him to quit, to give up his responsibilities, or to abandon God's cause and his people.
When he was defeated at Ai, he acknowledged the failure, sought the face of the Lord, and went back and won the battle. When he was tricked into making league with the Gibeonites, he admitted the mistake publicly, and then he made it work to the benefit of the nation and to God's glory.
There is a very important lesson here. A person's faithfulness is not to be judged by isolated acts, but by the tenor of his life. Faithful men are still only men at best. They often fall and fail. But they do the best they can and keep going when they know they have erred, learning from their failures. Experience is a tough teacher. It always gives the exam first and then teaches the lesson afterward. But there is no teacher like it. Joshua turned to the Lord in his failures, found both forgiveness and renewed strength, and continued serving the Lord God and his people. How gracious God is! He not only uses a crooked stick to draw a straight line, he forgives the crooks in the stick, and gets glory to himself in using it (1 Corinthians 1:2631).
Being the man he was, humble before God, Joshua enlisted others, and they trusted his spiritual authority as God's servant. They exemplified that which the Holy Spirit teaches believers to practice in reference to their pastors today (Hebrews 13:7, 17). Joshua could not have done the job without the thousands who followed his direction. The conquest of Canaan was not the work of one man. It was the work of all Israel, those whose names stand out in the forefront of the battles and those who served behind the lines, unseen and unknown by most.
Throughout this brief history, Joshua's troops consistently obeyed his orders, not because they were afraid of him but because they respected him and trusted him as God's servant. He commanded their respect and loyalty by his character and by his conduct before them. What a picture he is of what a pastor, or leader of any kind, ought to be. They knew that he was serving the Lord God and serving them. More than that, he stands signally before us as a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's righteous Servant, who commands our allegiance to him by his obedience for us (2 Corinthians 5:14). Like our Savior, Joshua was a truly humble servant of God.
Selfless Faith
Joshua's humility made him a selfless man. I mean by that that he was a man who served others, not himself. He was not moved, motivated, or guided by his own interests, but by the interests of the church and kingdom of God. True faith is a gift of God that makes people self-denying, self-sacrificing, and self-abasing.
Joshua was concerned for Israel. He was not concerned only for their present state, but for their future. His two farewell messages (chapters 23 and 24) display this fact clearly. Men who think only of what they can get today are not faithful servants of God. They are opportunists. God's servants, like Joshua, and like the Lord Jesus of whom he was a type, lay down their lives in the service of eternity bound souls for the glory of God. They are not takers, but givers. They are not users. They are used.
God Honoring Faith
Being a man of faith, a man who believed God, Joshua lived for God's glory. He sought the glory of God above all else. When he served Moses (served God under MosesNumbers 11) he was very zealous in protecting Moses' honor and reputation, because Moses was God's servant. He loved and honored Moses; but his zeal in honoring Moses arose from his love for his God and his desire to honor him.
When Israel crossed the Jordan river, he gave glory to the Lord. He said, "Hereby you shall know that the living God is among you" (Jos. 3:10). Once they had crossed over the Jordan, Joshua erected a monument of stones to the perpetual praise and honor of God (4:124), "That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the LORD, that it is mighty: that you might fear the LORD your God forever." Throughout the Book of Joshua he repeatedly gave God the glory for everything that happened. He never promoted himself or sought honor for himself. Joshua was God's servant. It was the Lord who fought for them, the Lord who conquered their enemies, the Lord who gave them the land to the people. Joshua wanted the name of the Lord to be magnified in all the earth.
Again, he was in this representative of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Savior's unceasing prayer was, "Father, glorify your name." If you and I are truly God's servants, that is the unceasing cry of our hearts as well.
The Message
The message of these twenty-four chapters is very clear"Jesus saves!" As Joshua brought Israel into the land of Canaan and gave them rest, so the Lord Jesus Christ will save his people (Matthew 1:21; Hebrews 4:111). There is a people in this world who are his people. They are his by his own eternal, sovereign choice. They are a people to whom God has from eternity given all the blessedness of Heaven and eternal glory as a covenant promise (Ephesians 1:35). And Christ shall save them. He shall bring them all into the possession of their inheritance for the glory of God.
Lessons
The Book of Joshua teaches us much about our great God as he is revealed in the person and work of his dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Joshua is the central figure in this Book. But the Book is not about Joshua, or even the greatness of his faith. It is really about Christ and the greatness of his grace and salvation. That is the key to understanding the things recorded in these chapters.
1. God our Father in Christ is a covenant keeping God.
He is the Lord our God distinctly. Yes, he is God over all, "the Lord of all the earth" (3:11); but he is our God, the God of his people Israel, distinctly. He claims us as his own and declares himself to be ours. He takes a personal interest in us and keeps his covenant forever.
2. Our great God keeps his promises.
He is always faithful to his Word. Every promise he made to Israel in his covenant with Abraham and verified to Isaac and Jacob (Genesis 13:15; 15:18; 26:3; 28:4, 13), he fulfilled (Jos. 21:4345; 23:14). Those five verses in Joshua 21:4345 and 23:14 alone ought to be sufficient to end all the rantings of modern prophecy gurus who imagine that God has not yet fulfilled his promises to Israel. Joshua declared, by divine inspiration, "not one thing has failed of all the good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you."
3. How gracious, merciful, and forgiving God is!
He who forgave the harlot Rahab, saving her and her house because of the blood of Christ (represented in the scarlet cord she hung out her window), still forgives sinners freely through the blood of his dear Son (Ephesians 1:6).
Many look upon the slaughter of the Canaanites by the command of God as being contrary to what I have just said about God's free forgiveness of sin. The question is often raised, "How can a good, gracious, forgiving God kill people and send them to Hell?"
The fact isGod's goodness, justice, and truth demand the punishment of sin. Yet, the goodness and grace of God is seen throughout the Book of Joshua. It was the goodness of God that delayed his judgment for centuries before bringing Israel into the land, giving the inhabitants of the land space for repentance. Long before Joshua conquered Canaan, the Lord God sent Abraham into the land as a missionary. There Abraham walked with God, worshiped him, and bore witness to him; but the Canaanites preferred their idols to the God of Abraham.
Before Israel came over Jordan and took Jericho, the Lord graciously sent his reputation ahead of them, provoking fear in the Canaanites. As a result of the gospel being brought into Canaan, by some means or other, Rahab and her family and the entire city of Gibeon believed God.
But God's grace is seen in his judgment as well. In wrath he remembers mercy. It was the goodness of God that wiped out that hopelessly decadent, idolatrous society so that another generation could grow up in a land where God was worshiped and honored. Yes, the Lord God graciously and wisely raises up entire nations and treads down entire nations for the salvation of his elect (Isaiah 43:17).
JUDGES
Enemies Within
The most shocking thing I discovered as a young believer, shortly after God saved me, was the fact that the raging monster of sin in my heart had not been slain, or even tamed. It is a painful lesson I am learning every day. I am every day made increasingly aware of the depths of my depravity. Yet, I know that I have not even begun to discover the hideous enormity of my sinfulness!The Flesh and The Spirit
The fact is, when God saves a sinner, he does not change his old nature. He gives us a new nature by his grace. But he does not change the flesh. Flesh is still flesh. And our flesh (our old, Adamic nature) is our worst enemy. Believers are a people at war, constant, unceasing war with themselves. "The flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that you cannot do the things that you would."
We are forgiven of all sin in Christ. We are accepted in him, justified, sanctified, and holy before God by the blood and righteousness of our all-glorious Christ. We can honestly say with John, "We love him because he first loved us." We want, in all things, to honor our God and Savior. We delight in the law of God in the very core of our beings. Yet, when we would do good, evil is present.
Let me be understood. There is no excuse for our sin. We do not make the grace of God a cloak for our unrighteousness. The evil that is in us and done by us is just as inexcusable as the evil which is in and done by the unbeliever. John Newton described this experience clearly and beautifully in one of his hymns.
"I asked the Lord that I might grow
In faith, and love, and every grace;
Might more of his salvation know,
And seek more earnestly his face.
[Twas he who taught me thus to pray,
And he, I trust, has answered prayer;
But it has been in such a way
As almost drove me to despair.]
I hoped that in some favored hour,
At once he'd answer my request;
And, by his love's constraining power,
Subdue my sins, and give me rest.
Instead of this, he made me feel
The hidden evils of my heart,
And let the angry powers of Hell
Assault my soul in every part.
Yes, more, with his own hand he seemed
Intent to aggravate my woe;
Crossed all the fair designs I schemed,
Blasted my gourds, and laid me low.
Lord, why is this?' I trembling cried;
Will you pursue your worm to death?'
"Tis in this way,' the Lord replied,
I answer prayer for grace and faith.'
These inward trials I employ,
From self and pride to set you free;
And break your schemes of earthly joy,
That you may seek your all in me.' "
This warfare between the flesh and the spirit in the experience of God's elect is what the Book of Judges is all about.
Joshua and Judges
In the Book of Joshua the land of Canaan and Israel's possession of it is primarily typical of the saints' everlasting rest in Heaven. But in the Book of Judges the land of Canaan is set before us as a typical representation of our experience of God's grace in this world. This world is our "Bochim," our valley of weeping. Joshua is primarily a declaration of the ultimate triumph of grace. But Judges is a Book about failure, defeat, and shameThe failure, defeat, and shame we experience in this world because of our own sin, rebellion and unbelief.
As you read the Book of Judges, if you are like me, you cannot avoid thinking, "This Book is not like any other Book in the Bible." You see a man named Ehud, sent of God to deliver a message to a fat King named Eglon, and the message was a long dagger shoved into his belly. A woman named Jael drives a tent stake through the temples of a man named Sisera, and then cuts off his head. Gideon has a army of 32,000 ready to go to war. But God requires him to whittle the army down to 300 men who are scared to death of their own shadows; and you think, "That's not real smart." You are astonished by Jephthah's sacrifice of his daughter, and very disappointed in the weakness of Samson. Then, you find yourself shocked by the Levite cutting his wife's raped body into twelve pieces and sending it to the twelve tribes of Israel.
We read of Israel, God's covenant people, the people he brought out of Egypt by the hand of Moses and to whom he gave the land of Canaan by covenant promise as their inheritance forever by the hand of Joshua, rebelling against God, sinking into idolatry, overcome by enemy after enemy, becoming more and more degraded. In the first verse of chapter one, they asked the Lord, "Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?" But, by the time we get to the end of the Book (20:18), we see them asking the Lord to lead them as they go up to war against their own brethren in the tribe of Benjamin! How can we understand this Book? What happened to these people for whom the Lord God had done so much? The answer to that question is found in the very last verse of the last chapter. "In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (21:25).
This explanation of Israel's great failure and God's providential judgments upon them is given four times in these twenty-one chapters (17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25). Notice that the Lord does not say, "Every man did what was wrong in his own eyes," but "that which was right in his own eyes." They endeavored to live in the land of Canaan and endeavored to serve God being governed by their own wisdom rather than God's revelation. They refused the counsel of wisdom and followed the counsel of folly. Rather than trusting the Lord, they leaned unto their own understanding (Proverbs 3:56).
Chapters 1 and 2
As long as Joshua lived, the nation of Israel served the Lord. They continued to do so until another generation arose after them "which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel." If you will carefully read the first two chapters of Judges, you will see that these two chapters explain the rest of the Book.
In chapter one we see that though the Lord specifically commanded the children of Israel to drive out all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, they chose on several occasions not to do so completely. Instead, they subdued them and made a league with them. In chapter two the Lord explains why he left Israel's enemies in the land.
"And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and have brought you unto the land which I swore unto your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And you shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; you shall throw down their altars: but you have not obeyed my voice: why have you done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare unto you. And it came to pass, when the angel of the LORD spoke these words unto all the children of Israel, that the people lifted up their voice, and wept. And they called the name of that place Bochim: and they sacrificed there unto the LORD" (Judges 2:15).
You would think they had learned from their own experience and would do better in the future; but that was not the case. We read in verses 1115
"And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtareth. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed."
Then we read of God's great faithfulness to his covenant people in verse sixteen. "Nevertheless the LORD raised up Judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them." How gracious, how good, how merciful our great God is! "Like as a father pities his children, so the LORD pities them that fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust" (Psalm 103:1314). Even when he displays his great displeasure against the sins of his people, his purpose is to do them good (Romans 8:28; Hebrews 12:513). He tells us plainly that that was the reason he refused to hastily drive out the inhabitants of the land of Canaan. He said,
"Because that this people has transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto my voice; I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not. Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua" (Judges 2:2023).
The Time
These twenty-one chapters cover a period of 229230 years. But it is a mistake to look at the Book of Judges as the complete record of that period of Israel's history known as the time of the Judges. The last judge in Israel was not Samson, but Samuel. And though the Book of Judges ends with Israel in a sad, sad condition, brought into utter shame and degradation by her own sin, it ought to always be read in close connection with both Joshua and Ruth. The story of Ruth and Boaz takes place during this time. And, as you know, the Book of Ruth is all about Christ our Kinsman Redeemer. The Book of Joshua shows us what God is going to do with us. He is going to bring us into the land of glorious rest, the heavenly Canaan. The Book of Judges shows us in our present condition, warring with enemies within, constantly needing grace. The Book of Ruth shows us our great Judge (Deliverer), the Lord Jesus Christ (portrayed in Boaz), who has redeemed our inheritance for us, prevailed over all our enemies, and will at last drive them all out of the land and give us glorious rest in the Land of Promise. He has promised, "I will do to you all that you require" (Ruth 3:11).
The Message
What is the message of this Book? Why was it written? Why does the Lord here give us the sordid details of Israel's constant failure, defeat, and sin? We are told plainly that these things were written for our learning (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:1011).
As I read the things recorded in these twenty-one chapters, (the circumstances, the failures, the stubbornness, the rebellion, the sin, the battles, the sorrows, and the shamefulness of Israel), it appears as though I am reading a detailed biography of my own experience.
It is as obvious as the noonday sun that the nation of Israel, though delivered from Egypt and living in the possession of Canaan, could not have survived one day in that land except for this factGod kept them. There you have the message of the Book of Judges.Though the Lord God has saved us by his almighty grace, you and I are so weak, so sinful, so unbelieving, so stubbornly rebellious that we would not last a second if left to ourselves. We continue in grace only because our great, gracious, glorious God keeps us in grace. We persevere in faith because he perseveres in grace. We continue to walk in the way because he holds us in the way. We continue to hold him because he holds us.
The Cycle of our Lives
I encourage you to read the entire Book of Judges at one setting. You will see that it clearly displays the constant cycle of our lives in this world as men and women saved by the grace of God.
Rest
The Book begins with Israel in the land of rest. They have, at last, come into the possession of the land by the hand of Joshua. For forty years they had no rest. Then, Moses died and Joshua gave them rest.
That is where you and I began this thing we call salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ, our great Joshua, brought us into the blessed possession of grace, salvation, and eternal life, and gave us rest. He called us to rest in him and graciously forced us to do so (Matthew 11:2830; Psalm 65:4). There is no rest like the rest of faith in Christ. This is our Sabbath. We rest in Christ, trusting his righteousness as our only righteousness before God, his redemption as our only atonement for sin, and his rule (his universal dominion and disposition of all things in providence for our souls' good) as our great King.
Rebellion
No sooner did Israel take possession of the land than they rebelled against the Lord. God told them to drive out the inhabitants of the land; but they chose to do what was right in their own eyes, and drove out most of the inhabitants. Some they could not drive out because they were just too strong (1:1819). Others they chose not to drive out because they thought they could handle them without great difficulty (1:2036).
When Israel came to some of these places, instead of going to war against them, they went in and investigated the towns. When the place did not seem particularly dangerous and the people seemed to be people they could get along with, or use to their advantage, they spared them and built a town beside them. They allowed them, their gods, and their "useful" possessions and talents to stay in the land. Oh, they kept an eye on them; but they did not drive them out of the land. They did what was right in their own eyes.
Have you done that? When God saved you, you quit drinking, smoking, dancing, wearing boots to bed, howling at the moon, eating liver for breakfast on Fridays, and all those other things those bad people out in the world do. Those other things, like envy, gossip, malice, anger, wrath, and covetousness, we do not bother with too much. We vainly imagine that we are so much better than we used to be that we do not need to worry about those things with which weaker people have to be concerned. We think, "These are just small, trivial matters. Surely, the Lord is not going to make an issue out of these." We leave those inward things no one else sees (at least not all the time) alone. We even protect them."After all, I am of German stock. All Germans are a little stubborn." Or "I am only human." Or "My whole family is like this. This is just the way I am; and you just have to accept me the way I am."
That is exactly what Israel did. We might suppose that since Baal and Ashtareth were the male and female gods of fertility, Israel's decline into idolatry had something to do with their crops. They had been farmers and herdsmen for four hundred years in Egypt. There they were accustomed to raising their crops in well-irrigated, lush fields. Things were different in Canaan. The land was terribly dry. They did not know how to use such land. Perhaps their first crops were puny excuses for crops. But the Canaanites had great harvests. So the Jews asked them, "What is your secret?" "It is very simple. We worship the gods of fertility, and they bless our crops. If you want to make it here, you will have to acknowledge our gods and adjust to our customs." So the Israelites gave in. Who can argue with obvious success?
Of course, the Canaanites would also have told them how to plant their crops, when to plant them, where to plant them, how to fertilize the ground, and how to get the moisture needed to the fields. The next spring, sure enough, after they had bowed down to the gods of the Canaanites, they found the crops were wonderful.
Whatever the case may have been, the gods of the Canaanites became a snare (Judges 2:30) to the children of Israel; and Israel abandoned the worship of Jehovah. Oh, they never said so. They did not cease to include God's name and ordinances in their religion. They just incorporated the worship of Baal, Ashtareth, and the gods of the land into the worship of Jehovah. But God says, "They forsook the LORD God of their fathers and followed other gods."
These fertility gods were just that, gender gods, and worshiping them involved, not only bowing down before dumb idols that could not speak, see, act, or think, but also vile immorality. Israel's religion had become nothing but the practice of whoredom (literally and spiritually) in the name of God!
Retribution
Israel's rebellion brought divine retribution. As it was with David later (2 Samuel 11:2612:18), the Lord God ever shows his displeasure with sin, especially with his own people.
"And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the LORD to anger. And they forsook the LORD, and served Baal and Ashtareth. And the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies. Wherever they went out, the hand of the LORD was against them for evil, as the LORD had said, and as the LORD had sworn unto them: and they were greatly distressed" (Judges 2:1215)
Sin always brings retribution. I do not mean that God punishes his own for sin in a way of exacting justice and satisfaction. Thank God, he does not! He punished our sins in Christ and found satisfaction for our sins in the sacrifice of his Son (Romans 8:1). But the Lord God does chasten his children, correcting sin in us, because he loves us (Hebrews 12:516). William Cowper described this great, gracious work of our heavenly Father beautifully.
" Tis my happiness below
Not to live without the cross,
But the Savior's power to know,
Sanctifying every loss.
Trials must and will befall
But with humble faith to see
Love inscribed upon them all
This is happiness to me.
God in Israel sows the seeds
Of affliction, pain, and toil:
These spring up and choke the weeds
That would else o'er spread the soil.
Trials make the promise sweet,
Trials give new life to prayer,
Trials bring me to His feet,
Lay me low and keep me there.
Did I meet no trials here,
No chastisements by the way,
Might I not with reason fear
I should prove a castaway?
Bastards may escape the rod,
Sunk in earthly, vain delight;
But the true born child of God
Must not, would not, if he might."
Restoration
God's chastening is followed by and results in restoration. Blessed be his name, our great God is ever gracious to his people!
"Nevertheless the LORD raised up Judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken unto their Judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way which their fathers walked in, obeying the commandments of the LORD; but they did not so. And when the LORD raised them up Judges, then the LORD was with the judge, and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge: for it repented the LORD because of their groanings by reason of them that oppressed them and vexed them." (Judges 2:1618)
These Judges (twelve are named in these chapters) were all typical of our Lord Jesus Christ, men (One, Deborah, was a woman.) raised up by God to deliver (save) his people from their enemies. All were saviors (deliverers) of Israel. All acted as kings. One (Samuel) was a prophet. And one (Eli) was a priest. The Lord Jesus Christ is our unfailing, ever faithful Savior, our Prophet, our Priest, and our King! He will deliver and save us from all our enemies.
The Lord God will not leave us to ourselves, and he will not leave us alone. He will not leave us; and he will not let us leave him. His covenant he will not break (Jeremiah 32:40; Psalm 89:2837; 2 Timothy 2:13, 19; 1 John 3:20).
Rebellion
The very next thing we see is more rebellion.
"And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way." (Judges 2:19)
When we get to the end of the Book that is just where we find Israel. They just got worse, and worse, and worse throughout the Book of Judges. They sunk lower, and lower, and lower. Flesh is always just flesh, rotting, rotting, rotting flesh!
I blush with shame and weep bitterly to confess it, but confess it I must, my name is Israel. This is my life's story (Romans 7:1423). But, blessed be God, the story is not over yet. My Boaz has promised that he will do all that my soul requires.
Reason
Why did the Lord do this? Why does he leave us here in this valley of weeping with all these inward enemies? To prove us and to teach us.
"I also will not henceforth drive out any from before them of the nations which Joshua left when he died: That through them I may prove Israel, whether they will keep the way of the LORD to walk therein, as their fathers did keep it, or not. Therefore the LORD left those nations, without driving them out hastily; neither delivered he them into the hand of Joshua." (Judges 2:2123)
"These inward trials I employ,
From self and pride to set you free;
And break your schemes of earthly joy,
That you may seek your all in me."
The Lord our God could, were it his purpose to do so, completely deliver us from sin in our nature, even while we live in this world; but he has chosen not to do so. I will not attempt to explain his reasons. I simply do not know, because he has not revealed them in his Word. But I do know that while we live in this body of flesh, as long as we are in this present state, he would have us constantly aware of the fact of our personal weakness. As he left the Canaanites in the land to be thorns in the side of his people (Judges 2:3), so he has left these thorns in our flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7), that we might ever be forced to look to Christ alone for everything, confessing that we have no righteousness but his, no strength but his, no atonement, no hope, no acceptance with God but that which is found in our all-glorious, all-sufficient Savior (1 John 1:72:2). That being the case, we ought to ever be kind, forgiving, and patient with one another (Galatians 6:12).
Our great God and Savior will not hastily drive out these enemies; but he will drive them out altogether. When our Savior brings us into the land of rest, there will be no more sin. Then, and then alone, our warfare will be over.
RUTH
Christ Our Kinsman Redeemer
"And he said, Who are you? And she answered, I am Ruth your handmaid: spread therefore your skirt over your handmaid; for you are a near kinsman." Ruth 3:9
We will begin our study in the Book of Ruth at chapter three, verse nine, where Boaz said to Ruth, "Who are you? And she answered, I am Ruth your handmaid: spread therefore your skirt over your handmaid; for you are a near kinsman." This Book, like all the Old Testament Scriptures, speaks of Christ our Redeemer, that Judge who saves his people, the One of whom all the other judges were typical. The subject of this Book is redemption. The whole book is a picture of our redemption by Christ, our kinsman Redeemer. The key word, used repeatedly in these four chapters, is "kinsman" (2:1, 20; 3:9, 12; 4:6, 14). The kinsman is the one who has the right to redeem.
The law of the kinsman Redeemer was given in Leviticus 25:25. "If your brother be waxen poor, and has sold away some of his possession, and if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold." That prophetic law was given to be a picture of Christ and was fulfilled by him. Our father Adam sold us into bondage and sin; but Christ, our kinsman Redeemer, bought us and brought us into liberty, righteousness, and life (Romans 5:19).
The Book of Ruth is a beautiful picture of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ as our kinsman Redeemer. It shows us both our need of a kinsman Redeemer and the way we may obtain the blessings of redemption.
Primary Characters
There are some people named in these four chapters, who are the primary characters in the book. Their names are meaningful and important. There was a certain man of Israel called Elimelech of Bethlehem-Judah in the days of the Judges. Elimelech means "God is King." Yet, when famine came to Israel, Elimelech took his wife, Naomi, and their two sons, Mahlon and Chilion, and went down into Moab, a heathen country where God was neither known nor worshiped. Naomi means "sweet and pleasant." Mahlon means "weakness." Chilion means "consumption." Orpah means "stiff-necked and declining." Ruth means "companion."
Elimelech left Israel in weakness and was consumed in Moab. He died in Moab and left his wife and two sons. His two sons married Moabite women, lived with them for ten years, and then they died. Now poor and brokenhearted, Naomi determined to go back to Bethlehem. She told her daughters-in-law to remain with their own people. Orpah did just that. She went back to her people and her gods; but not Ruth. She was "steadfastly minded to go with" Naomi (Read Ruth 1:1617). So Naomi and Ruth returned to the land of Israel and to the people of God at the beginning of the harvest season.
Our Ruin
Read Ruth 1:1921. Here is a picture of our ruin by the fall of Adam. When Naomi came back to Bethlehem, everyone gathered around her, looked at her with astonishment, and said, "Is this Naomi?" To that she replied, "Don't call me Naomi (sweet and pleasant); but call me Mara (bitter) because God has dealt bitterly with me!" She went out young, happy, beautiful, and full; but she came back old, bitter, worn, weary, poor, and empty. That's us!
Looking at our fallen human race, we might ask of fallen man, "Is this Adam?" Can these poor, dying, corrupt creatures called men be the sons of Adam, who was created in the image of God? (Romans 5:12; 3:1019). Man was created a prince, but now he is a pauper. He who was created a king in the garden is now just a beggar. Man who was created in pleasantness has fallen into bitterness. Adam was given fullness; but his sons are emptiness. In the beginning the race was blessed; but now Adam's fallen race is cursed.
Christ's Love
Read Ruth 2:15, 9, 16. Here is a picture of Christ's free love to sinners. Naomi and Ruth came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the harvest season. They were poor. Their allotted inheritance in Israel was gone. They had no one to support them and take care of them. But it was required, by God's law in Israel, that the poor people be allowed to follow the reapers through the fields and glean, or pick up what the reapers left behind (Leviticus 19:910; Deuteronomy 24:19).
Ruth knew that there was a kinsman who could redeem her (verse 1). Boaz was a kinsman. He was a mighty man. And he was a man of great wealth. She went out into the fields to glean with the poor, hoping she might find grace in the eyes of her kinsman (verse 2). If it were possible for her to have her inheritance with God's people redeemed, Ruth was not willing to perish in poverty. She went to the place where she was most likely to meet her kinsman, with the hope that he might be gracious to her. As Ruth went to the harvest fields, where she had the greatest prospect of meeting Boaz, so sinners in need of mercy are wise to meet with God's people in the house of worship. There, Christ walks with and reveals himself to his chosen (Matthew 18:20; Rev. 2:1).
Boaz spotted Ruth and had compassion on her (verse 5). There were many poor widows gleaning in the fields. But Boaz set his eyes upon Ruth, took notice of Ruth, and had compassion on Ruth before she even knew who he was. Even so, the Lord Jesus Christ took notice of us, loved us, and chose us before the world was made. He loved us freely from eternity. Let men talk as they may about universal benevolence, God's love for his elect is a special, sovereign, distinguishing love (Isaiah 43:34).
Divine Providence
Read Ruth 2:1, 9, 16. Here is a beautiful picture of God's special providence. As the fields of Bethlehem belonged to Boaz, so this world belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is his by design, by decree, and by death (Colossians 1:1617; John 3:35; 17:2; Romans 14:9). As Ruth's "hap was to light on a part of the field belonging to Boaz," God graciously brings each of his elect to the place where he will be gracious to them. As Boaz commanded his young men not to touch Ruth, so the Lord Jesus Christ has given commandment to all creation, saying, "touch not mine anointed!" As Boaz commanded his men to let fall "handfuls of purpose" for Ruth, so our Savior takes care to provide for his elect, even throughout the days of their rebellion and unbelief (Hosea 2:8). Indeed, his angels were created to be ministering spirits to those whom he has chosen to be heirs of his salvation (Hebrews 1:14).
Now read Ruth 2:1820. According to the law of God given to Israel (Leviticus 25:25), if a man sold his inheritance and he had a near kinsman who was willing and able to do so, the kinsman could buy back his brother's lost inheritance. Boaz had given Naomi and Ruth a reason to hope that he might be willing to redeem them. In chapter 3, Naomi tells Ruth what she must do. She told her to go to the threshing floor where Boaz, the near kinsman, would be. She told her to humble herself, lie down at his feet, and spend the night there"And he will tell you what you shall do." And Ruth did what Naomi told her to do.
True Repentance
Read Ruth 3:111. In these verses we see a picture of true repentance. Ruth marked the place where Boaz would be and went there (verse 4). She came in softly and laid herself at his feet (verse 7). The sinner who needs mercy will always be found at the feet of his Lord (Matthew 8:12; 15:2128; Luke 7:3738; 10:39). Many are too proud to bow as broken, humbled beggars at the feet of Christ. But this woman risked being scandalized. She risked losing the only thing she had left, her name, that she might obtain Boaz's favor.
Ruth plainly told Boaz what she wanted (verse 9). In essence, she said, "Take me. I am your handmaid. Take me for your wife." Boaz said, "I will do all that you require!" "But," he said, "there is a kinsman nearer than me. He must be dealt with first." Even so, Christ will be merciful. Christ will save. But he could never save anyone until first he had dealt with the law and justice of God. God must be just, even in (especially in) justifying sinners (Romans 3:2426).
Our Kinsman Redeemer
That brings us to chapter 4. Here is the last great picture of this book-Boaz is set before us here as a picture of Christ as our kinsman Redeemer. Read Ruth 3:11 and 4:113. Boaz went up to the gate of the city where men transacted business and met Ruth's nearer kinsman. He said, "You have first claim upon Elimelech's field. If you want it, buy it." So the man said, "I'll buy it!" Then Boaz said, "If you buy the field, you must also marry Ruth, his daughter-in-law." Then the man said to Boaz, "I cannot do that, lest I mar my own inheritance. You redeem her." So Boaz bought the field and married Ruth (verses 9, 10, 13).
The Lord Jesus Christ is our kinsman Redeemer. He is our kinsman by his incarnation (2 Corinthians 8:9). He is a great and mighty kinsman, for he is himself God (Colossians 2:9). He is a kinsman of great wealth. All things are his. All the fullness of grace and glory is in him. As Boaz loved Ruth, so Christ Jesus loved us without a cause, freely. "We love him, because he first loved us!" He says, "I have loved you, with an everlasting love I have drawn you with the cords of love." As Boaz promised to redeem Ruth, so the Son of God promised to redeem us in the covenant of grace before the world began (Hebrews 7:22). But, as with Ruth, there was one who had first claim upon us. The law of God held us as its captors (Job 9:2; 25:46). But the law of God says, "I cannot redeem the fallen one, lest I mar my righteousness." The law has claim upon us, but not the ability to redeem us. The law is our kinsman condemner, but could never be our deliverer (Romans 3:1920). So the Lord Jesus willingly paid the price of our redemption, the price demanded by the justice of God. By his life of obedience, he magnified the law and made it honorable, and brought in everlasting righteousness for his people. By his sin-atoning death, he fully satisfied the wrath and justice of God as our Substitute.
As Boaz took Ruth to be his wife, so the Lord Jesus has taken chosen sinners to be his bride (verses 1315). Thank God, he has not left us without a kinsman. Christ is the Restorer of our lives. He is the Nourisher of our old age. Like Boaz, our Lord Jesus will not rest until he has "finished the thing." "Faithful is he who calls you, who also will do it." "He which has begun a good work in you will perform it." "He is able to keep you from falling;" and he will. Christ will at last present you who are his holy, unblamably, and unreproveable before the presence of his glory.
O love surpassing knowledge,
O grace so full and free!
I know that Jesus loves me,
And that's enough for me!
O wonderful salvation,
From sin Christ set me free!
I feel the sweet assurance,
And that's enough for me!
O blood of Christ so precious,
Poured out at Calvary!
I feel its cleansing power,
And that's enough for me!
Ruth, the pagan Moabitess, became the wife of Boaz, heir to all his vast estate, great-grandmother of king David, and was placed in the direct lineage of Christ. Even so, all who trust him are married to Christ, heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ, and are made to be the sons and daughters of God almighty.All by grace!All through Christ our kinsman Redeemer!
1 SAMUEL
Christ Our Great Savior and King
The Book of 1 Samuel covers a period of about 115 years. It takes us from the birth of Samuel, the last of the judges, to the death of their first king, Saul. The children of Israel had been under the direct government of God himself throughout their history. The Lord God himself was their King. For almost 300 years the Lord God had administered his rule as King in Israel through the judges he raised up to deliver them.But all the nations around them had kings in royal attire, sitting on splendorous thrones. When Samuel was an old man, after faithfully serving the nation as God's prophet and their judge, the men of Israel came to him and said, "We want to be like these other nations." "Give us a king to judge us Make us a king to judge us like all the nations." Samuel was, of course, heart broken. After faithfully serving their souls his entire life, they turned on him and rejected him. That's enough to break any man's heart. But, they had, in fact, turned on God and rejected him. Therefore the Lord said to Samuel
"Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto you: for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, with which they have forsaken me, and served other gods, so do they also unto you. Now therefore hearken unto their voice: howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king" (1 Samuel 8:710).
Samuel told them exactly the kind of man their king would be, self-serving, cruel, abusive, and destructive (1 Samuel 8:1118). "Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us; That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles" (1 Samuel 8:1920).
How often have you wanted something, or wanted something to happen so bad you could taste it, so bad that you just felt you had to have it? You prayed for it, prayed for it, and prayed for it. Then the Lord gave it to you; and you wished you had never heard of it. God often gives us what we think we want, and then makes us live with the consequences for a long, long time. The fact is, we never know what is best for us, and never know how to pray as we ought (Romans 8:26).
Many years ago, William Evans told a story about his daughter. His little girl, who was about eight years old, came home from school and said, "Daddy, I want to get some ball bearing skates. All the other children have ball bearing skates and that is what I want." He said, "But you have a pair of skates." She replied, "Yes, I know Daddy, but they are not ball bearing skates. They are roller bearing skates. They won't go as fast as the others will."
Mr. Evans was a preacher. His income was limited. So he said, "Well, sweetheart, I'm afraid you will have to make do with the roller bearing skates. We simply can't afford to buy any others right now." But she wouldn't give up. The next night when he came home from his work, there was a little note at his place on the table. It said. "Dear Daddy, I still want the ball bearing skates." When he went to bed that night there was another note pinned to his pillow. It said, "Daddy, would you please buy me some ball bearing skates?"
Well, he did the same thing you or I might have done. He scraped up the money and got those ball bearing skates. When he gave them to her, she was elated. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him and kissed him and thanked him. Then she put on those great, new ball bearing skates like all the other children had and took off, out the gate, down the sidewalk, and around the corner. That was the last time they ever saw her alive and well. As she went around the corner, she could not maneuver the new skates. She slipped and fell down, hitting her head against the sidewalk. They brought her home in a coma. She died at the hospital that night. "Since then," Mr. Evans said, "when I want something of God and it seems as though he is not willing that I should have it, but I keep crying out for it, the Spirit of God reminds me, Are you asking for ball bearing skates?' "
God often gives us what we want, and then makes us live with the consequences for a long, long time. This is what happened in Israel. How often we have experienced it in our own lives. "Stand you still a while, that I may show you the word of God" (1 Samuel 9:27).
Three Principle Characters
There are three principle characters in this Book: Samuel, Saul and David. This piece of Israel's history begins with the birth of Samuel and gives us a pretty detailed description of his life and ministry (1:10, 27). He was born in a house where God was honored. He was a gift of God to his mother, Hannah, who dedicated him to the Lord before he was born. As soon as he was weaned, Hannah brought her boy to the house of God and gave him to the Lord. Soon, the Lord revealed himself to Samuel and made him a prophet. A faithful prophet he was to the day of his death.
Chapters 1131 describe the sad, sad life and rule of Saul, Israel's first king. Saul was the gift of God's judgment to Israel. They wanted to be like all the other nations. They demanded a king. So God gave them Saul.
David comes on the scene in chapter 16. His noble character and his greatness is set before us and runs parallel with Saul's life from chapter 1631. David was the man after God's own heart, whom he chose to replace Saul as king over Israel.
Those facts are easily traced through this first of the historical books. But what does the Holy Spirit intend for us to learn from the historic facts recorded in these thirty-one chapters? Obviously, I cannot (and will not try to) give you everything our God would have us learn from these chapters. I make no pretense of knowing myself. But there are some very important spiritual lessons to be gleaned from 1 Samuel, lessons that will help you and me as we endeavor to live in this world for the glory of our God, serving the interests of his kingdom. Let's go through these thirty-one chapters together, gleaning the "handfuls of purpose" left here for us by our God.
Worship
1 Samuel begins with a man by the name of Elkanah, who teaches us something about the worship of our God (1:14). This man's name, Elkanah, means "possession of God." Learn this first: Worship is, at its core, the acknowledgment that we are God's possession. I cannot say this often enough. Faith in Christ involves giving up self to the rule and dominion of Christ our God, acknowledging him as our Lord (Mark 8:3435; 1 Corinthians 6:1920). That person who is possessed of God possesses God. What a swap we make when we give up ourselves for Christ and to Christ! We give up our death for his life, our emptiness for his fullness, our sin for his righteousness, our guilt for his atonement, and our way of cursedness for his way of blessedness.
When Elkanah went up to worship God, he brought a sacrifice. If we would worship God, we must come to him with the sacrifice he requiresChrist the Lamb of God, our sin-atoning Substitute. The sacrifice Elkanah brought was a sacrifice involving personal cost. Worship always involves sacrifice. God will not be worshiped and served at our convenience, or upon our terms.
Prayer
Elkanah's wife, Hannah, gives us instruction in the matter of prayer (1:92:11). I do not pretend to know much about prayer. I am always embarrassed when people come to me seeking help about prayer, or ask me about how to pray. But I do know this: You will not find richer, more spiritual instruction about prayer than you will read in these first two chapters of 1 Samuel. Listen to this saintly lady's prayer as you read its words, and learn what prayer is.
As Hannah was driven to the throne of grace by the persecution of her adversary, Peninnah, we are often sluggish in prayer until the Lord graciously puts us in desperation. Hannah's prayer arose from her "bitterness of soul," which caused her to weep sore before the Lord (1:10). Prayer is the cry of a child in need to be remembered by our heavenly Father"Remember me!" (verse 11). Nothing is more moving to a loving father than the cry of his needy child. Prayer is a matter of the heart, not the lip."She spoke in her heart I have poured out my soul before the Lord" (1:13, 15). Prayer obtains God's blessing (1:1720). Hannah came to the throne of grace in time of need, cast her burden on the Lord and left it there, having obtained the mercy she needed. The Lord our God always honors those who honor him (2:30). And prayer gives thanks, praise, adoration, honor, and glory to the Lord God alone (2:110). "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).
Consecration
Eli stands out, at least to me, as a marvelous example of and lesson about a believer's consecration to God (chapters 3 and 4). Eli was the priest in Israel; and he was a man of remarkable faith in and consecration to God. Yes, he had his faults. He did not restrain his wicked sons, but indulged them in their ungodly behavior. For that he was chastened of the Lord. Still, he was a remarkable man. He did reprove his sons; but he did not restrain them. And they refused to hear his reproof (2:2425). When Samuel told Eli that the Lord was determined to kill his sons and take the priesthood from his house forever, he responded to God's Word and his will with exemplary faith,"It is the Lord, let him do what seems him good." When the ark of God was taken and his sons were killed by the Philistines, "his heart trembled for the ark of God" (2:1318). Eli was more concerned for the cause of Christ and the glory of God than he was for himself, his name, his sons, or his house.
God's Prophet
Samuel exemplifies what it is to be God's prophet. There are many, many examples of faithful prophets in the Word of God (Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, etc.), but none outshine Samuel. He, too, like Eli, had two sons that were sons of Belial; but he, too, was a faithful man throughout his life. Samuel faithfully declared God's Word. He plainly told both Eli, the priest, and his master all the Word of God. He faithfully declared to Saul the message God gave him to deliver to the king. And he withheld nothing of God's revelation from Israel. Being a prophet, he was but the voice by whom God revealed himself, his Word, and his will to Israel. When Israel rejected him, they were not rejecting him, but God (1 Samuel 8:7; 2 Corinthians 5:1821). The same is true of those who reject the gospel preached to them today. Though the children of Israel rejected him and rejected his message, Samuel was faithful still to their souls and to God (1 Samuel 12:2024).
Our Flesh
Saul stands before us as a very sobering lesson, a lesson we must constantly learn.When we indulge the lusts of our flesh, we bring misery to ourselves (8:122). Saul was the product of the flesh. He was exactly what Israel wanted, or thought they wanted. But he proved to be a source of unceasing pain and misery as long as he lived. Oh, how bitter the experience of this is; but it is a lesson that we must learn. Our flesh is our greatest enemy! The flesh prefers the authority of men to the authority of God."Give us a king." The flesh craves the approval of flesh."A king like the nations." The flesh seeks to govern the kingdom of God by the opinions of men, rather than the Word of God. The flesh consults with and follows the flesh, rather than the revelation of God. The indulgence of the flesh always disturbs the peace of God's kingdom.
Election
I love the illustration of God's election in David. He teaches us who God's elect are. The Lord God passed by Saul, the great, strong, handsome choice of Israel, and chose David. He passed by all David's brothers, and chose the youngest of Jesse's sons, the runt of the family. And, the fact is, God's elect are almost always the people we least suspect might be the objects of his grace (1 Samuel 16:12). He almost always chooses to use the most unlikely of men to serve the interests of his kingdom and glory (1 Corinthians 1:2631).
Prevenient Grace
Abigail, Nabal's wife, shows us a lesson about God's prevenient grace (25:139). How I adore the wonder of God's providence. Israel's choice of a king was used by our God to accomplish his purpose. He graciously and wisely overruled their evil choice, their rebellion, and their sin to accomplish his own wise purpose for their good (Romans 8:2830; 11:3336).
Prevenient grace is another of the mysteries of God's providence, for which we have great reason to praise him with thankful, humbled hearts. Prevenient grace is grace that goes before grace and keeps the objects of grace from much evil, even from the evil we would commit if the Lord would let us (1 Samuel 25:3239).
The whole Book of 1 Samuel is a marvelous display of divine sovereignty. God was in control of everything; and he still is. Blessed be his holy name! Nothing done by Israel, the Philistines, Saul, or anyone else could in any way hinder God's work or thwart his purpose!
Types of Christ
Throughout this Book, indeed, throughout the Bible, David stands before us as a great type of our Lord Jesus Christ. Long ago John Gill stated that the Old Testament presents us with three categories of types, by which our Lord Jesus and God's great salvation in him were prefigured:Institutional Types (The Ceremonies of the Law)Providential Types (The Deliverances of Israel)Personal Types (Individuals). David was one of the greatest of these personal types.
David was a shepherd in Israel. The Lord Jesus Christ is our good and great Shepherd. David hazarded his life for his sheep; but Christ gave his life for his sheep.
Jonathan made a covenant of love with David for the salvation of his house. The Lord God made a covenant of love with Christ for the salvation of his house.
David was anointed and established of God as the king of Israel. Christ is the Lord's anointed King of Zion, established upon his throne forever.
David slew Goliath with the most unlikely of weapons (a shepherd's sling), and cut off his head with the very sword by which Goliath planned to slay him and all of Israel. Our great Savior defeated sin, Satan, death, and Hell, and saved all Israel by his death upon the cross.
All the schemes, plans, and devices by which Saul tried to thwart God's purpose and keep David from the throne only served to establish him and his kingdom. And all the schemes of Hell to thwart our Savior and keep him from saving his people and reigning upon the throne of universal monarchy only serve to accomplish God's gracious purpose.
As David recovered all from the Amalekites and rescued his wives from their hands, so the Lord Jesus has recovered all for us and rescued his bride from all harm.
As David made a law concerning the sharing of the spoils so that every man had the same rich reward, so our Lord Jesus has given all his people all his wealth as the God-man our Savior (John 17:5, 22).
"My heart rejoices in the LORD, mine horn is exalted in the LORD: my mouth is enlarged over mine enemies; because I rejoice in your salvation. There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside you: neither is there any rock like our God. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. The bows of the mighty men are broken, and they that stumbled are girded with strength. They that were full have hired out themselves for bread; and they that were hungry ceased: so that the barren has born seven; and she that has many children is waxed feeble. The LORD kills, and makes alive: he brings down to the grave, and brings up. The LORD makes poor, and makes rich: he brings low, and lifts up. He raises up the poor out of the dust, and lifts up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he has set the world upon them. He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail. The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; out of Heaven shall he thunder upon them: the LORD shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed" (1 Samuel 2:110).
2 SAMUEL
Christ God's King
The Book of God has been providentially arranged in the order in which we have it for a purpose. The Lord has not given us a record of the various historic events recorded in Holy Scripture in a chronological order. To the natural mind, the order in which the various Books of the Bible are arranged might appear confusing. If Job was written before Genesis, why does it appear in the middle of the Old Testament rather than nearer the beginning? If 2 Timothy was written after Romans, why does Romans appear as the first of Paul's Epistles?
Providential Order
I am personally convinced that one reason for the arrangement of Scripture in the order in which we have it in the Sacred Volume is that the order in which the Books of the Bible are presented is providentially intended to set before us the progressive order of Divine Revelation. For that reason it is very helpful, as we read and study Holy Scripture, to see the connection of each Book in its setting with the other Books of Inspiration.
In Genesis, the Book of Beginnings, the Lord God made a covenant with Abraham and his seed in which he promised him an everlasting inheritance of grace in Christ. That inheritance was typically set forth in the land of Canaan.
In Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy God gives us the instructions of his holy law, by which he declares that he will give that inheritance, fulfill his covenant, and bestow his grace only upon a perfectly holy people in a way that is altogether righteous and just, without any compromise of his own holy character. But we are sinful people, a race altogether void of holiness. Does that shut the door of hope against us? Not at all.
Before the Books of the Law are closed, Moses who represents God's law throughout the Bible died, declaring that there is no hope of God's covenant and its promises being accomplished by our obedience to the law. Moses could not bring Israel into Canaan. And we can never find rest by our obedience to God's holy law, because we have no ability to obey it. Righteousness cannot come by the law (Galatians 2:21). "By the deeds of the law There shall no flesh be justified in his sight Man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (Romans 3:2028).
When Moses died, God raised up Joshua, a great type of the Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver Israel and bring them into the possession of the land of Canaan. In the Book of Joshua Canaan typifies the rest awaiting God's elect in the final consummation of salvation in resurrection glory (Hebrews 4:111). By the hand of Joshua God gave Israel all that he promised to Abraham in covenant mercy (Joshua 21:4345; 22:4; 23:14). All of that, of course, was typical of the fact that Christ, our Joshua, has obtained for God's elect (the whole Israel of God) all the blessings of grace and glory promised us in the everlasting covenant by the merits of his own blood and righteousness (Hebrews 6:20; 9:12).
The next Book of the Bible is Judges. In the Book of Joshua the land of Canaan was typical of our heavenly inheritance with Christ. But in the Book of Judges Canaan typifies the believer's present experience of grace. The land was filled with enemies; and throughout the days of the judges Israel was engaged with their enemies. Even now, all the blessings of covenant grace are the rightful property of all who trust Christ. But we have countless enemies within, with whom we have unceasing warfare (Romans 7:1423; Galatians 5:1723).
Joshua speaks of heavenly glory. Judges describes our present experience. Then, the Book of Ruth shows us how the Lord our God will accomplish his purpose of grace for us by Christ, our lawful, Kinsman Redeemer. We lost everything in our Father Adam. But our great Boaz has recovered all for us in total compliance with and full satisfaction of all the demands of God's holy law.
Then, in 1 and 2 Samuel, the Lord shows us that our Redeemer, our Savior, that One into whose hands the Lord God has entrusted the everlasting deliverance of his people is the King of Glory, into whose hands the Lord our God has put all dominion over all flesh, that he might give eternal life to all his people. Here David typifies our Savior as God's great King established upon his throne.
One Man
2 Samuel covers the same time in history as 1 Chronicles. In 1 Samuel three men are prominent: Samuel, Saul, and David. 2 Samuel is a Book about one man, God's servant David; but that one man is set before us throughout the Scriptures as an eminent type and picture of our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, many of the passages of Inspiration where David's name is used cannot be interpreted as applying to David himself in a strict sense. They do apply to David; but it is obvious that they look beyond David to Another.
Look, for example, at 2 Samuel 7. The repeated use of the word "forever" in this chapter makes it clear that God's promises concerning the throne, and kingdom, and seed spoken of in this chapter cannot be fulfilled in any earthly throne, or kingdom, or man. The promises must and do find their fulfillment in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Son of David, and his Church and Kingdom (7:1216). David, as God's anointed and enthroned king over all Israel as a nation, was typical of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is God's anointed and enthroned King in Zion, over all the Israel of God, his Church.
Do not misunderstand me. I do not suggest that there is no application of these promises and the rest of what is written in 2 Samuel to David personally and to all God's elect in this world, who are, like David, sinners saved by the grace of God. Clearly, David is representative of all God's people in this world. His life and experiences were representative and typical of ours. But the ultimate fulfillment of David's typical life and dominion as God's anointed king must be found in Christ. This is not my interpretation of this Book, but God's.
Compare Psalm 16:811 and Acts 2:2236, and this will be obvious. Peter tells us plainly that David's words in Psalm 16 find their ultimate accomplishment in Christ, and that David knew that when he penned that Psalm (Acts 2:30). Yes, the words were David's words. Yes, he spoke of his own hope of the resurrection. They speak of our hope, too. But the Holy Spirit specifically tells us that Psalm 16 finds its ultimate fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God's King
I want us to look at David as a type of Christ, God's King. David describes the character of God's King in 2 Samuel 23:15. God's King is here described as "the man who was raised up on high" (Philippians 2:811). He is "the anointed of the God of Jacob." He is the man by whom the Spirit of God speaks. Christ our King is "just, ruling over men in the fear of God." He is "as the light of the morning, when the sun rises, even a morning without clouds, as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain." Christ is the Light of the world. He sprang out of the earth in humiliation, as the tender grass. He arose from the dead as the Sun of Righteousness, with healing in his wings. Our King is one with whom God has made an everlasting covenant ordered in all things and sure. He has no desire but the fulfillment of that covenant, the glory of God in the salvation of his people.
The King here described is Christ. While David was a man in whom these things were exemplified to a great degree, he was not the King in whom these things are completely found. This King is Christ our Savior.
Abner described the work of God's King in 2 Samuel 3:18. "By the hand of my servant David I will save my people Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, and out of the hand of all their enemies." This is exactly what the Scriptures everywhere assert concerning Christ (Daniel 7:14; Matthew 1:21; John 17:2; Acts 5:3032). He has a people, God's Israel, his elect. He came into this world, lived, died, arose, and ascended on high to save his people from all their enemies. He is now enthroned with universal power and dominion to give eternal life to his people. Save them he willBy RedemptionBy RegenerationBy Resurrection!
God's King is the Man anointed by him to be King. David was anointed as king over Israel three times: first in his father's house, then over Judah, and finally over all Israel. The Lord Jesus Christ is as King by God himself (Psalm 45:7; Hebrews 1:9): first in his Father's house, then at his baptism, and finally in the hearts of chosen sinners.
A King in Exile
Though he was God's anointed king while he was in exile, Saul ruled over the people.Though Christ is King over all his people, he is a despised and rejected King; and the Prince of this world, the Prince of darkness, holds sway over the hearts of the Lord's people until they are saved by his grace.
The King Acknowledged
At God's appointed time all of Judah were gathered to David and gave themselves to their king (2 Samuel 2:4; 1 Chronicles 12:18). This is what happens in the joyful experience of conversion. The Lord God graciously causes chosen sinners to bow to Christ as their Lord and King with gladness, devoting themselves to him in adoration, love, and praise (Psalm 44:4; 110:13).
Thank God for our great King, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is a King like no other, King of kings and Lord of lords. Christ our King is himself God almighty. Yet, he is one of us and one with us (Deuteronomy 17:15; Hebrews 2:17). "The King is near of kin to us" (2 Samuel 19:42).
Christ our King is saving his people from all their enemies. The Lord God promised Israel that David their king would save them from all their enemies. Typically he did so. From the day that he slew Goliath to the day that he went to glory, we never read of David being defeated by any foe. He went forth conquering and to conquer; and conquer he did. So it is with Christ our King. He vanquished Satan, cast out our enemy and accuser, and bound him with the mighty chain of his omnipotence, and has made us more than conquerors by his grace (John 12:3132; Rev. 20:13). He triumphed over death, Hell, and the grave as our Substitute. He did it for us.
"Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it" (Colossians 2:1415).
As "David took the strong hold of Zion" (5:7), the Lord Jesus took his place on the throne of God to save his own (Romans 14:9; Hebrews 9:12; 10:914).
The King of Glory comes to chosen, redeemed sinners in saving mercy, enters their hearts, binds the strong man and casts him out, sitting up his throne in their hearts. Christ came "that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear" (Luke 1:74). And he never fails to accomplish his purpose (Isaiah 9:67; 1 Corinthians 15:25).
He who is the King of Glory reigns upon the throne of grace. In the story of Mephibosheth (chapter 7) the Holy Spirit gives us a marvelous picture of the grace of God flowing to sinners through Christ our King. He takes the fallen sons of men, helpless, lame, and poor, men who are his own enemies, and makes us to sit at the King's table as the King's own sons "to eat bread at his table continually." This grace, God's boundless, infinite grace comes to us, as it did to Mephibosheth, because of a covenant made with our great King David (Christ) long before we were born.
God's People
As I said in the beginning, David is also typical of us, God's people in this world. That is the next thing I want us to see. David was a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14). He was not such a man by nature. David was, like us all, a fallen, depraved, sinful man by nature. Yet, grace made him a man after God's own heart. When the Lord God looked into David's heart, he saw in that man a man after his own heart.
In spiritual things the heart is the matter of utmost concern. We must not neglect our outward conduct. We must not fail to maintain good works. We must not ignore our responsibilities in outward things. But true religion is an inward thing. We can get everything right on the outside and yet be lost. Things must be made right on the inside. "The LORD looks on the heart!" Will we ever learn that? God is not impressed with those things that impress men. Our Lord Jesus said to the Pharisees, "You are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knows your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15).
God looks on the heart. God searches the heart. God demands heart faith, heart obedience, heart worship. God requires the heart. He says, "My son, [give me your heart], and let your eyes observe my ways" (Proverbs 23:26). God alone knows the heart, and the heart alone knows God. The heart is the matter of primary concern.
When the Lord God looked upon David's heart and declared him to be a man after his own heart, what did he see? What did God see in David's heart that set him apart from other men? When the Lord looked upon David's heart, he saw in David a heart conquered by his grace, ruled by his Spirit, trusting him.
We are not told when, or where David began to believe God, only that he did. At some point in time, when he was still a young man, David committed himself to the Lord God. Like Abraham before him, like his father, Jesse, David believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness. To believe God is simply to trust him, to take him at his word.
Here's the lesson.There is only one way you and I can please God. There is only one way any sinner can ever be pleasing to the holy Lord God; and that is by faith in Christ (Hebrews 11:56; Romans 3:31). If we would walk before God accepted and well-pleasing in his sight, we must walk before him in faith, trusting his Son, and his Son alone as our Savior, trusting Christ alone for the totality of our acceptance with God (1 Corinthians 1:3031).
David rejoiced in God's electing love (6:2021). In chapter 6 we see him leaping and dancing before the ark of God. He knew what that ark represented. He knew that that ark represented God's redemption of his people by the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God. He could not get beyond the wonder of God's grace to him. Therefore, he humbled himself before the people, before the Lord, with joy and gladness. His wife, Michal, saw it and despised him for his worship. And David told her that the source of his joy was something she could not understand, because she had not experienced it. The source of his joy was God's electing mercy, love and grace (Psalm 65:4).
Throughout his life, David, being a man of faith, a man who believed God, humbly bowed to the will of God. When the Lord killed Uzzah, David acknowledged that the fault was his. "The LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order" (1 Chronicles 15:13). When he wanted to build a house for God, the Lord refused to allow it; but did permit him to gather the materials with which his son would build the temple. David was overwhelmed by God's goodness to him (7:1822). He said, "Do as you have said, and let your name be magnified forever" (7:2526). When the Lord God killed his infant son, David washed his face and worshiped God. David exemplifies the fact that faith bows to Christ. Faith humbles itself beneath the mighty hand of God. Faith submits to the will of God. Even when his beloved son Absalom was slain because of the evil David had done, and when thousands perished under the judgment of God because of his stubborn pride in numbering Israel, though his heart was broken, though his soul was crushed by the experiences, David bowed to the Lord God. That is called "faith."
David's Sin
Though David was a believer, though he was a man after God's own heart, he was a sinner still in constant need of grace. Chapters 11 and 12 tell us the sad, sad story of David's terrible fall and its consequences. Here is a constantly repeated lesson, a lesson we must learn, a lesson from which we need to learn much.God's saints in this world are sinners still, sinners saved by grace. Chosen in electing love, forgiven by blood atonement, accepted in the Beloved, and saved and kept by pure, free, sovereign, indestructible, omnipotent grace! Let us make no excuse for our sin or our sins. Let us, instead, acknowledge and confess our sins, and trust our Savior still, as David did (Psalm 51:15). Let us also rejoice in the forgiveness of sin by God's free grace through the blood of his darling Son, as David did (Psalm 32:15; Romans 4:8; 1 John 1:72:2).
Believing God, David died in peace, falling back and resting upon God's everlasting covenant and its immutability (23:5). Dying in the Lord, dying in faith, he was, is, and shall forever be a blessed man. "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth." Blessed are all who die as David died, believing God.
The King's Return
Remember when David was anointed as king over Judah, seven years passed before he was anointed king over all Israel. So, after the complete, perfect accomplishment of God's purpose of grace he whom God raised up and exalted shall be acknowledged as King by all in his glorious second advent. We have a picture of our Lord's return in chapter 19.
David had been away from Jerusalem for some time because of Absalom's revolt. Now that the rebel was dead, the people longed for David's immediate return (19:10). When David heard how they longed for his return, he sent messengers saying, "I'm on my way back to you. And the people said, "Come on" (19:14). "So the king returned, and came to Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to conduct the king over Jordan" (19:15).
That is a pretty good picture of our Redeemer, our great King and us (Rev. 22:113, 2021). When, at last, our great Savior and King does return, when our "Lord the King is come again in peace," we will go out to meet him in the resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:1318; 1 Corinthians 15:5158).
1 KINGS
Christ the Prince of Peace
Salvation is entirely the work and gift of God's free grace in Christ. Our only standing before God is Christ. His blood alone is our atonement. His righteousness alone is our righteousness. We have no other righteousness but his. Our personal obedience or disobedience has absolutely nothing to do with our acceptance before God. Believers are "accepted in the Beloved," only in the Beloved, and once accepted never unaccepted. "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin."Yet, we must never imagine that obedience and disobedience to the revealed will of God are matters of indifference. Obedience on the part of God's own is so very important (to the honor of our God, the cause of Christ, and our own souls), that the Lord God was determined to kill Moses if he did not circumcise his sons, though his wife was adamantly opposed to it (Exodus 4:2426).
How foolish and selfish we are when we presume that our behavior affects no one but ourselves! None of us is an island. We all influence others for good or for evil. This is something we ought to keep in mind all the time. You and I are responsible not only for ourselves, but also for those who are influenced by us. Those to whom God has providentially given positions of authority over others are particularly responsible to lead those who are under them by example.
A nation is morally elevated or debased by the moral character of its president and national leaders. Our nation may never recover from the moral debauchery exemplified and promoted by the eight years of the Clinton administration. A local church usually follows the example of its pastor in doctrine, in behavior, and in faithfulness. Many local churches, after enjoying the blessings of God through faithful pastors, have been led to spiritual ruin by the unfaithful successors. Children are to a great degree affected for life by their teachers. Mothers and Fathers mold the lives of their children by everything they do.
Key
The importance of our influence upon those around us is set before us dramatically in the life and reign of Solomon as it is described in 1 Kings. Chapters 111 give us a picture of Solomon's greatness and glory as the king over all Israel for forty years. Then, chapters 1222 display the horrible consequences of Solomon's disobedience upon the kingdom. These chapters set before us the first eighty years of the divided kingdom, a kingdom divided because of the evil influence of Solomon's life. The key to understanding the last half of 1 Kings is found in God's Word to Solomon in 1 Kings 11:11."Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of you, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely rend the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant."
Still, the message of 1 Kings is Christ, of whom Solomon was in many ways a type. If you read Psalm 72, which was "A Psalm for Solomon," you will immediately see that the things there spoken of Solomon could only find their fulfillment in Christ, the Prince of Peace.
Adonijah
1 Kings begins with David still on the throne. He was old and dying. Solomon's brother, Adonijah tried to seize the kingdom for himself, though David made it clear that Solomon was to succeed him as king. Adonijah's scheme failed and Solomon was established as king. But there are two things connected with the opening of 1 Kings that I cannot fail to mention.
First, David's family suffered as the consequence of his sin in the matter of Uriah and Bathsheba until the very day of his death, and even beyond his death, just as Nathan had told him it would (2 Samuel 12:10). When he sent for Bathsheba, I am sure, the thought never crossed David's mind that he would bring such trouble to his family and God's kingdom by the indulgence of his lust. What a sad, sad bequeathal he made to his family by his behavior.
Second, when David was dying his servants found a beautiful young woman to come, to lay in his bed, to nourish him, hoping that she might rouse his physical passions, and thereby help their beloved king recover.
Needless to say, this incident has raised many eyebrows. But the situation was not as it appears to many. There is no record that Bathsheba disapproved, no record that the Lord disapproved, no record of disapproval of any kind from anyone. This was not a perverse device concocted by perverse men. This young lady, Abishag, married David on his deathbed.
How can that be stated so confidently, when there is no record of the marriage? In chapter two, Adonijah made one last ditch effort to seize the throne from Solomon by deceit, which resulted in his just execution. Adonijah persuaded Solomon's mother, Bathsheba, to ask him to let him marry Abishag. Bathsheba did not see through the thing, but Solomon did. Solomon knew that if Adonijah married Abishag he would have a rightful claim to the throne. That could not have been the case if Abishag had not been married to the King (2:22).
Overview
1 Kings then takes up the reign of Solomon, and carries us through the terrible division of the kingdom under Rehoboam his son. Then, we see the various dynasties within the northern kingdom of Israel, and the lives of the kings of the single dynasty of the house of David in the southern kingdom of Judah.
In each case, the focus is always on the king, because it was the king's relationship with God that determined the condition of the nation. When the king walked with the Lord God prosperity and triumph rested upon the kingdom by God's blessing. The rains came at the right time, the crops grew, and the land flourished. The nation prevailed over their enemies even though the enemies came in allied forces.
But when the king disobeyed God and led the people into the worship of other gods, immediately famines broke out, plagues came, invading armies came, and the kingdom fell into hard times spiritually, morally, and politically. The kings who walked in obedience were types of Christ, such as David, Solomon, Hezekiah, Jehoshaphat, and Josiah. But the kings who walked in disobedience were pictures of the anti-Christ, leading the people away from God and into apostasy.
Solomon
Before his death David called Solomon before him and charged him to walk in the ways of the Lord his God, and to teach his children after him, that the kingdom might endure in safety and prosperity forever (2:14). He told Solomon that he must wisely and justly deal with Joab, his brutal and bloody general, and Shimei, who cursed David on the day he fled from Absalom (verses 59). David kept his word concerning those wicked men by sparing their lives; but they were ultimately executed at the command of Solomon. He also made Zadok the priest, replacing Abiathar and fulfilling the prophecy given to Eli many decades before.
As stated before, Solomon was in many ways a magnificent type of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. His kingdom was a kingdom of peace (1 Chronicles 22:9). His very name means "Peaceable." Solomon's peaceable kingdom was the result of David's mighty conquests. And it is because of Christ's conquest over all our enemies that we now enjoy the glorious reign of his peace in our hearts. All who are under the dominion of grace, all who are ruled by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ are ruled in peace. He has made peace for us with God by the blood of his cross. He is our peace. And he gives us peace (Romans 14:17).
Solomon was also a king to whom the Lord God gave wisdom beyond measure. His wisdom as the king of Israel also foreshadowed Christ, who is made of God unto us Wisdom, in "whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge."
Psalm 72 describes the glory of Solomon and the glory of his kingdom. But that Psalm finds its ultimate fulfillment only in our great God and Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Like Solomon, our Mediator is King and possesses his kingdom because the Lord God made him King and gave him his kingdom (1 Kings 5:4; Psalm 2:8; John 17:2).
The Temple
Solomon's most significant achievement was the building of the temple in Jerusalem. He was raised up specifically for that purpose (1 Chronicles 28:510). In the fourth year of his reign, he began to build the temple, four hundred and eighty years after the Israelites came out of Egypt. They were now settled in the land of promise, enjoying a season of rest from warfare, and tremendous prosperity. Solomon enlisted the assistance of his father's friend, Hiram the king of Tyre, from whom he obtained huge quantities of cedar and cypress wood as well as skilled artisans in bronze and gold (5:112).
The stones for the temple were quarried from beneath the temple mount and were finished within the quarry so that "neither hammer nor ax nor any iron tool (was) heard in the house, while it was being built" (6:7). This is a picture of God's work of grace in the building of his spiritual temple, the church (Ephesians 2:2022). There is no clanging noise of human works heard in the building of God's holy temple. The salvation of God's elect is altogether the work of his free grace in Christ. We contribute nothing to it by our works (Ephesians 2:89).
The temple was built along the same pattern as the tabernacle in the wilderness; but it was twice the size and was indescribably more magnificent than the tabernacle. Yet, like the tabernacle, the temple's beauty and splendor was to be seen from within. Almost everything within was covered with pure gold.
It took Solomon seven years to build the temple. But we are told, "Solomon was building his own house thirteen years" (7:1). That fact is recorded for a reason. Any time our time, talents, and possessions are devoted more to our own comfort and pleasure than they are to the cause of Christ, the glory of God and his kingdom, they are misused; and that misuse indicates a horrible self-centeredness on our part.
The temple was a picture of God's true house and abode, the church (1 Corinthians 3:1617; 1 Timothy 3:15). Solomon's temple was costly and glorious. It is set before us throughout the Book of Hebrews as a picture of our Savior's great work of redemption (Hebrews 9:12; 10:1114, 1822). When it was finished, the glory of God filled the holy place, so much so that the priests could no longer do their work (8:1011).
When the temple was complete, it was solemnly dedicated to God. The ark of the covenant was brought out of the tabernacle and installed within the holy of holies in the temple. When the priests pulled out the staves by which the ark was carried for the last time and came out of the holy place after installing the ark in the holy of holies, a cloud of glory from the Lord suddenly filled the temple. When Solomon saw this evidence of God's immediate presence with his people, he was overwhelmed with joy and arose to bless the people (8:1521).
Then, kneeling (verse 54) before the altar of burnt offering and raising his outstretched hands, Solomon uttered a tremendous, instructive prayer of dedication, recognizing the faithfulness of God and the peril of departing from his ways (verses 2253). His understanding of God's infinite greatness, majesty, and glory was manifest in his words. "Behold, Heaven and Heaven of heavens Heaven cannot contain you. how much less this house that I have built?" (8:27). Then, he outlined the many circumstances by which the people might be caused to turn away from the Lord and the method by which they might recover as they turned again to God in repentance, looking to Christ who was symbolized by the ark and mercy seat in the temple.
When Solomon arose from prayer, he pronounced another blessing upon the people and offered thousands of sacrifices (8:5464). At the close of the day, the joyful people returned to their homes. Never was there a greater day in the history of Israel.
The Lord appeared again to Solomon in a dream (9:29) and assured him that his prayer had been heard. He assured Solomon that his promises to David his father were renewed to him, upon the condition that he and his descendants walked before the Lord God in faithful obedience. If they failed to do so, the temple would be torn down and the people would be driven from the land and become a byword and a proverb among the nations. Indeed, that is exactly what happened.
Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth in riches, and in wisdom. He made silver to be as gravel stones in the street (11:23, 27). He was truly a remarkable type of Christ our King.
The Queen of Sheba
Chapter ten records the famous, beautiful story of the Queen of Sheba coming to Jerusalem to meet Solomon. "Behold, a greater than Solomon is here!" What a picture this is of a sinner coming to Christ. The Queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's greatness. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." She came to him from a country far away. We "who were sometimes far off are made near by the blood of Christ." She communed with Solomon of all that was in her heart and proved him with many questions. The sinner who comes to Christ in faith pours out all his heart before him (1 John 1:7, 9). Solomon told her everything she wanted to know and gave her all her desire, according to his royal bounty. So the Lord Jesus gives the needy soul all his desire. When the Queen of Sheba saw Solomon for herself, there was no more spirit in her. The glory of our great Savior withers the pride, breaks the heart, and abases the spirit of all who come to him. Once she had seen, and heard, and learned of Solomon for herself, the Queen of Sheba openly confessed him, his greatness, and his glory (10:69).
"And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of your acts and of your wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: your wisdom and prosperity exceeds the fame which I heard. Happy are your men, happy are these your servants, which stand continually before you, and that hear your wisdom. Blessed be the LORD your God, which delighted in you, to set you on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel forever, therefore made he you king, to do judgment and justice."
The gospel of Christ is that true report of the grace and glory of God, which we heard in the land of our alienation from God. It was by the hearing of the gospel that we were brought to Christ. By the glad tidings of the gospel Christ was revealed in us and we were granted life and faith in him by the grace of God (Romans 10:17; 1 Peter 1:2325). Like Solomon, our Savior has granted us all that we could desire and has given all the fullness of his royal bounty "according to his riches in glory."
Solomon's Great Failure
Solomon was a great king. He was a great man, a man in whom God had put his grace, upon whom the Lord God poured out his Spirit. He was, as we have seen, a great type of Christ, the Prince of Peace. But Solomon was only a man, no more. He was a sinner saved by grace. But he was still a sinner. Solomon went down to Egypt for help. He made a league with Pharaoh. He took Pharaoh's daughter to be his wife. He multiplied horses. He multiplied wives. His wives turned his heart to serve other gods. Therefore the Lord God divided the kingdom, and constantly increasing wars between Israel and Judah ensued. Idolatry became rampant. Moral degeneracy followed. Homosexual prostitutes were advanced in the land! "Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of you, and you have not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded you, I will surely rend the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant."
The Lord appeared to Solomon a third time to announce to him that the kingdom would be torn from him and given to another. Yet for David's sake it would occur after Solomon died, during the life of his son. Immediately, adversaries began rising up against Solomon, including Hadad the Edomite on the south, Rezon in the land of Syria on the north, and from within the kingdom itself, Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephraimite who lifted up his hand against the king.
Ahijah the prophet was sent by God to meet Jeroboam outside of Jerusalem. Ahijah took off his new garment and ripped it into twelve pieces. He handed ten pieces to Jeroboam, symbolizing that he would be given ten of Israel's twelve tribes. Only two tribes (Judah and Benjamin) would remain with the house of David.
God's promised blessing to David was extended to Jeroboam, too, upon condition of obedience. If he would walk in the way of David, believing God, he would have David's mercies. When Solomon heard what Ahijah had done he tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled into Egypt and stayed there until Solomon died.
After forty years of unparalleled magnificence and prosperity, Solomon died and was buried in the city of David, his father. What a sad, tragic end to a life that had begun with great promise and possibility. All this happened because he failed to do what he himself declared must be done. He failed to keep his heart. Let us heed his word of wisdom."Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."
A Divided Kingdom
Solomon, by his disobedience, (Yes, by the disobedience of an obedient, believing, faithful man!), brought the kingdom into a division from which it never recovered. He stands as a beacon to warn us of the sure, far reaching, and long lasting consequences of disobedience.
When Solomon's son, Rehoboam, came to Shechem to be anointed king, Jeroboam led the people, who had returned from Egypt, to ask that the new king grant them relief from many of the burdens which Solomon had placed upon them. The king sent them away for three days and consulted with both the old men who advised his father and the young men with whom he grew up. With despotic pride he followed the counsel of the young men and told the people that their burdens would be increased (12:115). The result was widespread revolt. The ten tribes chose Jeroboam to be their king, fulfilling God's word to Solomon.
Jeroboam
Jeroboam set up his capital at Shechem. Fearing that the people might eventually return to the authority of Rehoboam if they continued to worship at Jerusalem, he made two golden calves and led the northern tribes into idolatry, from which they never recovered. He set one of the calves up in Dan, in the far north, and the other at Bethel, at the border with Judah. Calling Israel to worship, he said, "Behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt" (verse 28). This was exactly what Aaron had done at the foot of Mount Sinai, when he made a calf of gold and called Israel to worship the Lord. They called that calf, Jehovah (Exodus 32:5), not openly denying that Jehovah was their God, but foolishly misrepresenting him as no more than the gods of the nations around.
That is exactly what the most deceitful form of idolatry does today. It is but a form of godliness that denies the power of God. It retains the words and phrases and the ordinances of the gospel, but denies the character of God, representing him as one who is pathetically helpless without the aid of men. Every form of freewill, works religion that makes the will and work of God dependent upon the will or work of man for its efficacy follows the deadly sin which Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, introduced to the Northern Kingdom.
From this moment on, David and Jeroboam became representative of two spiritual principles that are seen throughout the rest of the nation's history. In Judah a good king "walked in the ways of David, his father." Every good king served the Lord God, tearing down idols, destroying the practice of idolatry, and establishing the worship of God. In Israel the northern kingdom, the evil kings "walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin with which she made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities."
It is significant that in Israel, the northern kingdom, there was never even one good king. Israel's throne was occupied by a succession of kings who walked in the idolatrous way of Jeroboam. They frequently gained the throne by murdering their predecessor. Yet, God graciously sent prophet after prophet to the rebel nation. He who is God indeed is God "who delights in mercy!"
In Judah there were a few good kings among many who were evil, but those good kings, who "walked in the way of David," stand out like lights in the darkness. Among them were Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Hezekiah and Josiah.
When the Lord God sent his prophet to Jeroboam, denouncing his wickedness and announcing the immediate overthrow his altar, Jeroboam stretched out his hand to order the prophet's arrest. When he did his hand withered; and he could not draw it back. He begged the prophet to pray for him, and he did. The hand was restored; but Jeroboam was yet without repentance toward God (13:16).
When the prophet left for home, he disobeyed the word of the Lord and entered into another prophet's house to eat and drink with him after the man lied and told him God had sent him. There he was told that he would die as a result of his disobedience. On the way home a lion killed him. Though no excuse can be made for the lying prophet, there is a solemn lesson here that must never be overlooked.When we know what God would have us do in any circumstance, we must not confer with flesh and blood, and we must not be persuaded to disobedience, even though an angel from Heaven or another prophet suggests a change. Learn this, too.Even faithful prophets, like faithful Solomon, are only sinful men at their best.
God's judgment fell upon Jeroboam, just as the faithful prophet had told him it would. Ahijah, the prophet, sent word to Jeroboam by his wife that God who had exalted him to power and made him king over Israel would, because of his sin, remove him from the throne. The sign of it would be the death of his son. As Jeroboam's wife brought the news to her husband the child died. We know nothing else of Jeroboam's twenty-two year reign of wickedness and idolatry. His son, Nadab, took the throne after him.
Rehoboam
Things were not much better in the southern kingdom of Judah where Rehoboam reigned (14:21). His seventeen year reign was also characterized by the introduction of idolatry and the reappearance of homosexual prostitutes within the land. God sent the king of Egypt to invade the land in judgment. He took all the treasures of gold out of the temple and the king's palace. Bronze shields and vessels replaced them to remind the king of the deterioration of the worship in the land. War raged continually between Rehoboam and Jeroboam, and ultimately it is recorded that Rehoboam, too, slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David.
Asa
Abijam, his son reigned in Rehoboam's stead. But he only reigned for three years before he died. Then, one of the good kings, Asa, began a forty-one year reign. Asa eliminated homosexuality in the land and destroyed the idols. He even destroyed his own mother's gods and removed her from the office of queen because of her idolatry (15:913). Without question, Asa's bold zeal for God and his people preserved Judah, for the time, from the decay and corruption, which was rampant in Israel.
Israel suffered continually under the rule of wicked, idolatrous kings who "walked in the way of Jeroboam." When Ahab, the vilest of them all, ascended the throne with his even viler wife, Jezebel, God sent a prophet whose name rings through the Word of God as the type of John the BaptistElijah.
God's Faithfulness
All mere men fail in many ways. But man's failure never nullifies God's purpose or prevents his faithfulness. He is ever on his throne, unceasing in goodness, unfailing in faithfulness, and unchanging in his purpose. Solomon failed; but God intervened in mercy.
By taking Jezebel, the daughter of the king of Sidon, as his wife Ahab brought the worship of Baal into Israel. "Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him" (16:33). Yet, where sin abounded grace abounded more.
Elijah appears on the scene, as out of nowhere (chapter 17). The next four chapters (1720) describe the constant, faithful, unflinching boldness of God's prophet Elijah and the constant, stubborn rebellion of Ahab in his defiance of God's right to be God. We know nothing about Elijah's previous life, except the fact that he came out of Gilead. He suddenly appeared on the scene and confronted Ahab with an announcement of divine judgment. He told Ahab that there would be neither dew nor rain for three years; and that when the rain did come it would only be by his word, as the prophet of God (17:1).
A Chosen Gentile
Severe drought began immediately. The Lord sent Elijah to the brook Cherith where he was miraculously fed by ravens and protected from the fury of Ahab and Jezebel. Then God sent him to Zerephath on the coast of Sidon, where he lived with a widow and her son.
The Lord Jesus holds this woman before us as a monument of God's unalterable purpose and of his method of grace (Luke 4:2426). Ahab and all of Israel forsook the Lord God for idols; but God's purpose of grace was unaltered. This poor, Gentile widow was one of God's elect who must be called. So God sent his prophet to her, confronted her with the claims of Christ as her Lord, and she surrendered all to him (17:1314). But she lost nothing by giving up her life to Christ. Rather she was constantly supplied with all her need (17:1516). Even when it appeared that she would lose her only son, he was raised to life by the power of God (17:1724). And through this dear, elect lady God's prophet and God's cause were maintained in the world.
What a picture this is of God's saving purpose of grace to us. When the Jews despised Christ and rejected God's revelation of his grace in him, God sent the gospel to the Gentiles. By the preaching of the gospel the Lord God is calling out his elect from among the Gentiles. Bowing to Christ, trusting him, we find in him a constantly supply of all our souls' needs (1 Corinthians 1:30), even in this desolate world. Through the fall of Israel, God's elect among the Gentiles are brought to Christ; "and so all Israel shall be saved" exactly according to the purpose of God. And now, through chosen Gentiles, the purpose and cause of our great God, his gospel, his kingdom, and his glory are maintained in this world (Romans 3:34).
Elijah and the prophets of Baal
After three years Elijah was sent back to confront Ahab, who had been looking for Elijah for three years wanting to kill him. Ahab came out to meet God's prophet filled with anger. "And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Are you he who troubles Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but you, and your father's house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and you have followed Baalim" (18:1718).
Elijah then challenged Ahab to gather all the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. There he would show Ahab and all Israel that Jehovah alone is God. Then we have that story that is so familiar. It is a story full of drama, majesty, and instruction.
On one side are four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and four hundred prophets of the groves. On the other side Elijah stands alone, crying out, "How long halt you between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, follow him" (verse 21). Elijah mocked the prophets and mocked their helpless, useless God, as they vainly cried out for Baal to descend and burn up the sacrifice on the altar. Elijah mocked them by suggesting that perhaps their dumb idol was asleep, or had gone on a journey, or even had gone to find a bathroom to relieve himself.
Then, it was Elijah's turn. After drenching his sacrifice with water, he prayed and God answered by fire from Heaven, devouring the sacrifice and licking up the water. Elijah's prayer was very short, but remarkably instructive.
"And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that you are the LORD God, and that you have turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God" (1 Kings 18:3639)
When it was proved that the prophets of Baal were false prophets, they were put to death. Then, in answer to the prayer of Elijah, the rain, which had not fallen for three years, now came in great torrents. The Lord God kept his Word and preserved his kingdom in spite of everything!
When her prophets were slain and her gods were proved to be nothing but useless idols, Jezebel was enraged. She threatened Elijah with immediate death (19:2). Then, Elijah too proved himself to be nothing more than a man. He was God's true prophet; but, like all God's servants, he was only a sinner saved by grace.
That bold, lion-hearted man, who was so courageous and triumphant on Mount Carmel in the face of eight hundred and fifty false prophets, fled in fear before a single woman. Still, the Lord God graciously met his needs, encouraged his faith, upheld him in grace, made himself known to him anew, and used him as his prophet. Even when we believe not, "he abides faithful."
Being assured that there were yet seven thousand in Israel who had not bowed the knee to Baal, Elijah was sent to anoint Hazael to be king of Syria, Jehu to be king of Israel, and Elisha to be prophet in his own place (verses 918). The obedient prophet returned to the land and, finding Elisha plowing with oxen, cast his mantle upon him. After offering a sacrifice, Elisha took up his new role as servant to the old prophet.
The Lord God protected Israel from Ben-hadad and the Syrians (chapter 20), but sent a prophet to Ahab to announce his doom. Ahab returned to his house, "sullen and vexed" (20:43).
The selfish, self-serving king of Israel coveted the vineyard of his neighbor, Naboth. When Naboth refused to sell it to him, Jezebel stole the vineyard for her sulking husband. This base idolater falsely accused Naboth of cursing both God and the king and had him killed. Persecutors never lack for imagination in the appearance of justifying their villainous deeds
But when Ahab went to take possession of Naboth's vineyard, Elijah confronted him again with all the boldness he had in days gone by. When Ahab heard God's message, he showed great outward signs of repentance before the Lord. Though it was only an outward show of repentance, God promised not to take the kingdom from his house until after he was (21:29).
The final chapter in both Ahab's life and the Book of I Kings is about Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab. Ahab the king of Israel wanted Jehoshaphat the king of Judah to go to war with him against Syria. The two kings sought the will of God by the counsel of four hundred false prophets who cowered before Ahab. The hireling prophets told them what Ahab wanted to hear, and assured them of victory. But Jehoshaphat insisted upon consulting Micaiah, a true prophet of God. Micaiah, being a faithful prophet, told them the mind of God and prophesied that Ahab would be killed in the battle.
True to his cowardly character, Ahab placed Jehoshaphat in a conspicuous place during the battle, hoping that the Syrians would mistake Jehoshaphat for himself and he would be killed. But "a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness" (22:34). (Our God is the God of circumstances. There are no accidents in his world.) Ahab's body was brought to Samaria and the dogs licked up his blood from the chariot according to the word of God. The final account of 1 Kings briefly summarizes the reign of Jehoshaphat of Judah, who walked in the good way of his father Asa. This story is picked up and continued in the second book of Kings.
Elisha's Call
Go back to chapter 19. Here we have the record of Elisha's call. Elisha's ministry was a source of healing and of blessing. In that way he was typical of Christ. But Elisha is also representative of all who are called to life and faith in Christ, and representative of all who are called of God to preach the gospel of Christ.
While Elisha was plowing his fields with his servants, he saw the outlawed prophet of Gilead coming toward him. Passing by him, Elijah cast his mantle upon Elisha. Elisha knew the meaning of this sign. Though he was a very wealthy man, he had now been called of God to be Elijah's servant, to follow him, minister to him in lowliness and humility, and perhaps even to die with him. Immediate decisiveness was demanded. Elisha immediately counted the cost and made his choice. After seeking Elijah's permission, he kissed his parents good bye, burned his oxen, gave everything away, and followed the Lord, serving his prophet Elijah, totally abandoning his former life.
That is exactly what happens when the Lord Jesus Christ, our God and Savior, passes by chosen, redeemed sinners, and casts over them the skirt of his righteousness, calling them to life and faith. The sinner called by grace willingly forsakes all and follows Christ (Luke 14:2533).
And that is exactly what happens when the Lord God calls a man to preach the gospel. The man called of God to the work of the gospel confers not with flesh and blood, but willingly forsakes all for Christ, that he may give himself to the most noble of all callings.
2 KINGS
"Where is the God of Elijah?"
2 Kings picks up the history of Israel's divided kingdom right where 1 Kings ended. It is a sad, sad history of man's rebellion, sin and idolatry.
Israel
After Solomon's death, after the kingdom of Israel was divided, the northern kingdom of Israel was ruled for 250 years by nineteen different men. All of them were wicked, idolatrous, self-serving men. God sent prophet after prophet to them, calling them to repentance. Elijah, Elisha, Amos, Hosea, and Jonah were all sent with God's word to the rebel tribes of the northern kingdom. But Israel and her kings followed Baal and the gods of human invention. Walking after the lusts of their own hearts, they walked in obstinate defiance of God's right to be God, plunging themselves into deeper and deeper moral and spiritual degradation. At last, God gave them up!
Judah
Things were only slightly better in Judah. The southern kingdom of Judah survived for 140 years longer than Israel. She had twenty different kings, all from the family of David. Most of their kings were also wicked men. Few walked in the way of David. They wore his name, but knew nothing of his character or his God.
After a long history hearing and despising the Word of God, Israel was taken captive by the Assyrians (ch. 17). 136 years later, Judah, following the same path of rebellion, idolatry and sin, was taken away in captivity to Babylon. The reason for their woe is recorded in 2 Kings 17:919
"And the children of Israel did secretly those things that were not right against the LORD their God, and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fenced city. And they set them up images and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree: And there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the heathen whom the LORD carried away before them; and wrought wicked things to provoke the LORD to anger: For they served idols, whereof the LORD had said unto them, You shall not do this thing. Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn you from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets. Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the LORD their God. And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them. And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshiped all the host of Heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made."
It is disobedience to the revelation of God (the willful, deliberate disobedience of a heart of enmity against God) that brings upon men and women the everlasting wrath and judgment of God (Proverbs 1:2333; 29:1).
God's Purpose of Grace
Though the Lord God utterly destroyed the northern kingdom and swore that he would destroy Judah as well, he preserved a remnant, even in judgment, through whom Christ would come through the seed of David. He had sworn back in Genesis 49 that he would not destroy Judah until Christ had come. So God refused to cast them off altogether until after the resurrection of Christ. Then, in 70 AD he destroyed the physical seed of Abraham and turned his hand of mercy to the gathering of his elect scattered throughout the world (Romans 11:15, 2629, 3336).
The Prophets
Yet, rather than focusing our attention on the wickedness of Israel's kings, throughout these twenty-five chapters the Holy Spirit tells a story of grace and mercy. It is a story that revolves around the lives and ministries of faithful prophets.
In addition to Elijah, Elisha, Amos, Hosea, and Jonah, the history of Israel and Judah described in 2 Kings takes in the ministries Obadiah, Joel, Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. It is true, there were in Judah a few good kings, a few who enacted laws for the glory of God and the good of his people, a few kings who tore down the groves, the high places, the altars, and the images of Baal.
There were a few, like Hezekiah, who did "that which was right in the sight of the Lord." We do not have to guess what is meant by those words.
"He removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan. He trusted in the LORD God of Israel; so that after him was none like him among all the kings of Judah, nor any that were before him. For he cleave to the LORD, and departed not from following him, but kept his commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses. And the LORD was with him; and he prospered wherever he went forth: and he rebelled against the king of Assyria, and served him not." (2 Kings 18:47)
Many today make much ado about Egypt's boy king, Tut. But Egypt's King Tut was only a boy pagan, who followed the wickedness of his fathers. Judah had a boy king by the name of Josiah, who stood head and shoulders above his fathers.
"And like unto him was there no king before him, that turned to the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; neither after him arose there any like him." (2 Kings 23:25)
Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign. When he was eighteen years old, he began to restore the house of God. Hilkiah the priest found the Book of God in the ruins of the temple. He gave it to Shaphan the scribe. Shaphan read the Book to the king. And young King Josiah went to work for the glory of God and the good of his people. He destroyed the idols, executed false prophets, purged the land of homosexuals, put away the wizards and witches, and kept the Passover.
Still, the story of God's mercy and grace, the story of God's blessings upon his people always revolves around his prophets, those men of God sent to proclaim his Word to his people.
Elijah
Elijah was John the Baptist of the Old Testament. As John the Baptist was the forerunner of Christ, so God's prophets were always the forerunners of either judgment or of mercy. But in the second chapter of 2 Kings, Elijah is distinctly set before us as picture of that blessed hope in which we live, anxiously awaiting our Lord's gracious call by which he will soon fetch us home. "And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into Heaven. And Elisha saw if" (verses 1112).
Elijah's translation to Heaven is a vivid picture of the believer's death. As Elijah died not, but was translated to glory, so the believer does not die (John 11:26), but merely drops his earthly clay and rises into Heaven. Then, in the last day, when Christ comes again, immediately after the resurrection of those saints whose bodies sleep in the earth, all believers living at the time will be instantaneously translated and caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:1318).
Elisha
Elisha had faithfully served Elijah from the time the prophet of God had cast his mantle upon him. When the old prophet was about to go home, he asked his faithful servant what he wanted. Look at it. "And Elisha said, I pray you, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me. {10} And he said, You have asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so unto you; but if not, it shall not be so" (2:910).
Elisha's request for a double portion of Elijah's spirit was not, as is commonly thought, a request that he might have twice the power and influence as a prophet that Elijah had. That would have been an absurd, selfish, proud, and ungodly request.
The law of God required that the firstborn son receive a double portion (Deuteronomy 21:17) of his father's estate. What Elisha requested was that he might be received of God and treated by him as Elijah's firstborn son. Elijah said, "What you have asked is a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me in my ascension to Heaven, you shall have this great boon.""And Elisha saw it!"
That is exactly what God gives to all his people. He gives all his elect the double portion of his Firstborn Son, all the heritage of Christ (John 17:5, 22; Isaiah 40:12, Romans 8:17). This great inheritance of grace and glory is freely bestowed upon every sinner to whom and in whom God reveals his Son in his saving glory. When a sinner receives this great blessing of grace, like Elisha when he saw Elijah taken up, tears off his own clothes, takes up the mantle of Christ's righteousness, and walks with God forever in the power of his resurrection (Romans 6). This is exactly what we confess in believer's baptism (Romans 6:46).
Waters Healed
As Moses healed the bitter waters of Marah by casting in the tree that pictured the cross of Christ, Elisha healed the waters of Jericho by casting in salt (2:1620). Before this, the land of Jericho was full of death and barren. Once the waters were healed, it was full of life and abounding with fruit.
The salt Elisha cast into the waters represented much the same thing as the tree at Marah. You will remember that God required Israel, with all their sacrifices, to offer salt. His covenant was called "a covenant of salt" (Numbers 18:19; 2 Chr. 13:5). This is a picture of the gospel and its power in the lives of God's elect. It is the power of God unto salvation. Once the salt of covenant grace has been cast into our deadness and barrenness, life springs up in our very souls and the Spirit of God, by the covenant of salt, makes sinners who were dead in trespasses and sins (utterly useless!) fruitful unto God.
Ditches
In chapter three the Lord performed a mighty miracle for Israel, Judah and Edom, when Moab threatened to destroy them (3:1620). It was a miracle portraying God's great work of grace in chosen, redeemed sinners. Ditches were cut through all the land by the Word of God. When God the Holy Spirit does a work of grace in the heart of a sinner, his first work is that of breaking up the fallow ground of his sin hardened heart by the Word of God in conviction of sin (John 16:89).
Wherever a ditch was cut, the water of life filled the ditch without any effort, or even sound, or even feeling on the part of any man. Wherever God the Holy Spirit comes in conviction, he fills the broken heart with life. The ditches were filled with water in direct connection with the morning sacrifice. Grace and life come to sinners by the power of God as the result of, and only as the result of, Christ's sacrifice.
A Pot of Oil
In chapter four there was a poor prophet's widow, who was left in debt when her husband died. She had two sons and nothing with which to pay her debts. She was terrified that she and her sons might be taken into bondage by their creditor. The Lord God miraculously met her need by the power of his grace in a way that clearly speaks of his method of grace in saving his elect (4:17).
She had a little oil in her vessel; but the only way she could get what she needed was to first have her little bit of oil completely poured out. God only fills empty vessels. Once she emptied her little vessel, she never lacked again. When we are emptied of self, God the Holy Spirit fills us. He brings to our souls all the fullness of Christ, by whom all our debt has been paid, and all our needs supplied.
New Birth
Throughout the Scriptures, the new birth is portrayed as a resurrection from the dead (John 11; Ephesians 2:48; Rev. 20:6). In 2 Kings 4 we have a delightful picture of it in the resurrection of the Shunammite's son. This poor woman ran to the man of God with her dead son (verse 22). (Shall we not run to Christ for mercy for our spiritually dead sons and daughters?) Elijah sent his servant running to meet her (verse 26). The prophet took the dead boy away to his own private room and performed his mighty miracle (verses 3237). He prayed for the child, just as the Lord Jesus Christ intercedes for his elect. He stretched himself upon the child (mouth to mouth, eye to eye, hand to hand) and gave his life (as it were) to the child. That is exactly what our Savior does for us in the new birth. He gives us his life.
Death in the Pot
At Gilgal (4:3841), when men gathered herbs from the cursed earth, never suspecting that there might be danger in eating them ("For they knew them not."), they made a huge pot of pottage for the prophets. But there was death in the pot. Elisha cast meal into the pot and there was no longer any harm or death in the pot. Even so, when Christ, the Bread of Life, comes into our poisoned lives that would have brought us eternal death, there is no more curse, no more harm for us.
In the last verse of chapter four (4244), Elisha multiplied the loaves for the feeding of a multitude. They ate all they wanted, and plenty was left over. In like manner, God's free grace in Christ is boundless, ever multiplied, fully satisfying, and there is an infinite abundance of it for sinners.
Naaman
The story of Naaman's healing is tremendous and instructive (chapter. 5). He was a mighty man of wealth and influence, a captain among Israel's enemies. He was a leper. But Naaman was a man chosen of God as an object of grace. Because he had purposed to be gracious to him, the Lord God graciously sent a little girl who believed God, who gave him a word of hope. At the appointed time of love, when the Lord would be gracious to him, he crossed Naaman's path, humbled him, and healed him, both of the leprosy of his body and the leprosy of his soul.
Axe Head
In chapter six the lost axe head, that was made to swim, is a picture of our constant need of grace being supplied to us by the power and goodness of God. Some men were working with a borrowed tool. Through some carelessness, they lost the axe head. Elisha made it swim and returned it to them.
That grace and power of God's Spirit by which we serve him is his gift to us, but it is his. When we have, through carelessness and sin, lost our Lord's manifest presence and strength, let us pray like David, "Take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto e the joy of your salvation." And our great Savior will restore to us the joy of his salvation.
The chariots of fire surrounding God's servants were there to protect and care for his own (6:1617). But Elisha's servant could not see those chariots until the Lord God opened his eyes. So the Lord God is ever with his elect. His angels constantly minister to those he has chosen to be the heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14). But the calm assurance of God's presence is known only as our God opens our eyes and gives us faith to behold him.
In chapter 7, four lepers came in desperation to the Syrians, with no rights and little hope. There, they found bread and life. Once they had found the bread of life, they brought the good news to Israel; and the starving children of Israel were happy to receive the good news even from leprous men.
Like those four lepers, poor, perishing sinners flee to Christ in utter desperation. But fleeing to him, they find life and carry the good news to others. Yes, the Lord God graciously uses leprous sinners, sinners saved by his grace, to carry the good news of grace to other poor, perishing sinners.
Jehu said to Jehonadab, "Is your heart right with mine heart? And Jehonadab said, It is." Jehonadab gave Jehu his hand, and Jehu took him up into his chariot saying, "Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD" (10:1516). Is your heart right with God? "Do you believe on the Son of God?" Give him your hand, trust your life to him; and he will take you unto himself and show you his zeal for God, the zeal by which he has performed your salvation.
As Gehazi, Elisha's servant, was commanded of the king saying, "Tell all the great things that Elisha has done" (8:4) God's servants are commanded of God to constantly tell eternity bound men and women all the great things Christ has done, to tell it from all the Book of God. 2 Kings, like all the rest of the Book, speaks of all those great things Christ has done for his people and the glory of God.
1 CHRONICLES
God's King, God's Ark, God's Worship
It is evident that 1 Chronicles was written after Israel had returned from their 70 years of captivity in Babylon. It covers much of the same period of Israel's history that is given in 2 Samuel. But in 1 Chronicles there is a distinct emphasis on instruction, instruction in the worship of God. This Book is not so much about Israel's history as it is about God's king, God's ark, and God's worship.This Book might be compared to the gospel of John in the New Testament. We call the first three gospel narratives (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) the synoptic gospels because they give us the historical account of our Lord's earthly life and ministry. But the gospel of John is different. John's gospel was the last Book of Holy Scripture to be written (probably about 90 or 95 A.D.). It distinctly teaches us the meaning of our Savior's accomplishments. He gave us selected incidents in the Lord's earthly life and ministry, and shows us their meaning. He tells us that his purpose was not to give a chronological history of our Lord's life on earth, but to teach us the meaning of it (John 20:3031)
John made no attempt to cover the whole of the Lord's ministry. Instead, he carefully selected certain things out of Christ's ministry to illustrate the great point that he wanted to make.The Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Messiah, the King of whom all the prophets spoke. This was his purpose. The book of 1 Chronicles is like that. It gives us selective bits of Israel's history, focusing our attention on God's king, David, God's ark, and God's worship, constantly pointing us to Christ, of whom David and the ark were typical, and in whom alone God is worshiped.
The Genealogies
The first nine chapters read a little laboriously. They give us a long genealogical record of the nation of Israel. 1 Chronicles reaches all the way back to Adam, and takes us through the reign of David and the earliest days of Solomon's reign.
If you are like me, you are tempted to hurry pass these long lists of names and get to the "important" stuff. We feel sort of like the old preacher who was reading Matthew 1. He started out reading, "Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judah and his brethren." Then he said, "They kept on begatting one another all the way down this side of the page and clear on to the other side." And he picked up the reading and went on from there. We ought not do that. The genealogies are very important.
The genealogies give us an indisputable chronological connection and order concerning the various events recorded in Old Testament history. They also show us clearly and indisputably that our Savior is the seed of Abraham and the seed of David according to the flesh.In fact, he is the only Person now living who is positively known to be of David's seed, possessing a right to David's throne. Of all the things the Jews questioned about our Lord, of all the excuses they made for their refusal to bow to him, of all the accusations they raised of him being an imposter, never once did anyone question our Master's clear genealogy. It was indisputable.
The genealogies display the movement of God's providence toward the goal for which the world was made, the incarnation, redemptive work, and resurrection glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, accomplishing the salvation of God's elect to the praise of the glory of his grace. As they do so, the genealogies give us a picture of God's sovereign electing grace. He includes some in the chosen line, and excludes others, altogether as it pleases him.
The genealogy that begins in 1 Chronicles 1 begins at the dawn of human history. It lists the sons of Adam (Seth, Enosh, Kenan, and Mahalalel). We know that among the sons of Adam were Cain, Abel, and Seth, but here Cain is excluded. His brother Abel, whom he murdered, is also excluded. The focus is on the descendants of Seth, because Abraham and Israel came from Seth.
Then the line of Seth is traced down to Enoch and Noah. The three sons of Noah, Shem, Ham and Japheth, are listed; but Ham, and Japheth are dismissed with a brief word and attention is focused on Shem and his family. From Shem we get to Abraham and his family. Ishmael is excluded from the promise and Isaac is chosen. Esau is rejected and Jacob is chosen (Romans 3:34). The purpose of God according to election always stands immutable and sure (Romans 9:1113).
Then the genealogy focuses on Jacob's twelve sons, from whom come the twelve tribes of Israel. In the end, ten of the twelve tribes are rejected. Still, the purpose of God continues. He chose Judah and Levi, the kingly and the priestly lines. David, and Solomon, and the kings of the house of David down to the time of the Babylonian captivity came from the tribe of Judah. The tribe of Levi is traced down to Aaron, the first of the priests, and then to the priests who were prominent in the kingdom at the time of David.
Chapter 10 gives us an account of Saul's miserable reign and of the judgment of God upon him because he despised God and his Word and sought the counsel of a witch (10:1314).
God's King
Chapter 11 opens with David being established as king over Israel. "Then all Israel gathered themselves to David unto Hebron, saying, Behold, we are your bone and your flesh. And moreover in time past, even when Saul was king, you were he who led out and brought in Israel: and the LORD your God said unto you, You shall feed my people Israel, and you shall be ruler over my people Israel. Therefore came all the elders of Israel to the king to Hebron; and David made a covenant with them in Hebron before the LORD; and they anointed David king over Israel, according to the word of the LORD by Samuel" (11:13).
David is once more set before us as an eminent type of our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Zion, the King of Glory, whom God has exalted to be our Prince and Savior to give his salvation to chosen sinners (Acts 5:30). All God's Israel shall be gathered to Christ. Even when he is not acknowledged, he is the One who leads, protects and defends his people. As David "waxed greater and greater: for the LORD of hosts was with him (11:19)," our great King, the Lord Jesus Christ, is great above all, exalted, preeminent, and glorious beyond compare.
God's Ark
Beginning in chapter 13 our attention is focused on the ark of God, the temple of God, and the worship of God. These are the things constantly held before us in the Book of God as matters of paramount importance. The ark of the covenant represents the Lord Jesus Christ, our Atoning sacrifice , our sin-atoning Substitute, and the salvation he accomplished for his people (Hebrews 9:114; 1 John 1:72:2). The temple of God represents the church and the kingdom of God. It also represents the whole salvation of God's elect (1 Corinthians 3:1617; Ephesians 2:2022). That is the purpose of God accomplished in and by Christ. The worship of God is that which we render to him by faith in Christ.
These things must be paramount in our hearts and in our lives. There is a cathedral in Milan, Italy with three doors and an inscription over each door. Over the right hand door a wreath of flowers is carved and the inscription reads, "All that pleases is but for a moment." On the left hand door the inscription is, "All that troubles is but for a moment." Over the main entrance are the words, "Nothing is important but that which is eternal." This is the lesson of 1 Chronicles. In a sense, it is the lesson of the whole Bible (1 Corinthians 10:31; Colossians 3:13, 17).
The Worship of God
Let's see what this instructive Book teaches us about the worship of our God and Savior. May God the Holy Spirit be pleased to inscribe its lessons upon our hearts. One of David's first acts as king was bringing the ark of the Lord back to Zion. It is recorded in chapters 13 and 15.
"And David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader. And David said unto all the congregation of Israel, If it seem good unto you, and that it be of the LORD our God, let us send abroad unto our brethren every where, that are left in all the land of Israel, and with them also to the priests and Levites which are in their cities and suburbs, that they may gather themselves unto us: And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we inquired not at it in the days of Saul." (1 Chronicles 13:13)
For twenty years the Ark with its mercy-seat, God's appointed meeting-place with his people, was neglected and almost forgotten. The sacrifice, the mercy-seat, the place where God meets with men (the Lord Jesus Christ) had been despised and neglected! David wanted to re-establish the worship of God in Israel. But he made several fatal mistakes.
Rather than consulting with God, he consulted with the people.
Rather than having the ark carried on the shoulders of the Levites, he made an impressive, ornate new cart for the ark.
Rather than sacrificing, they made a great, impressive show that pleased everyone, everyone except God."They played before God with all their might" (13:8).
What a picture that is of what goes on in most churches, in most of what passes for worship today.Men and women, ignoring the gospel and ordinances of God, play before God with all their might, gratifying their own lusts, nothing more!
Then, suddenly, the oxen that pulled the cart stumbled. Their new cart tipped over. And the ark of God appeared to be falling. So "Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark" (13:10). God required that no man touch that ark. It represented salvation by Christ alone. No man's hand is involved in God's great work of redemption and grace. But Uzza dared to defy God. No matter what his intentions were, his act was the defiance of God. For that God killed him on the spot. Now, learn this lesson and learn it well. God almighty still kills men who dare put their hands to his great work of redemption and salvation! All who attempt to put their hand (or will) to God's salvation shall perish for their defiance.
Due Order
When the Lord God showed his disapproval of their devices, David got mad at God and was afraid of him. Then, in chapter 15, after he learned his lesson and prepared a place for it, David went and fetched the ark to Jerusalem. This time he did everything by the Book, acknowledging that what he had done before was altogether wrong and an affront to God. He said, "For because you did it not at the first, the LORD our God made a breach upon us, for that we sought him not after the due order."
If we would worship God, we must worship him in the way he has prescribed in his Word, trusting Christ alone, adding nothing to his Word, and taking nothing from his Word. There is no place in the house and worship of God for anything except prayer, praise, preaching, believer's baptism, and the Lord's Table. All the inventions of men, the putting on of religious plays, political rallies, debate, infant dedications, infant sprinkling, all the inventions of men are but an abomination to God. His ordinances must not be perverted. And as we worship our God through faith in Christ, giving all honor and glory to him alone, we must expect to be despised by those who do not know our God, just as David was despised by his wife Michal (15:29).
"So they brought the ark of God, and set it in the midst of the tent that David had pitched for it: and they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God. And when David had made an end of offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD. And he dealt to every one of Israel, both man and woman, to every one a loaf of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine" (1 Chronicles 16:13).
These burnt offerings and peace offerings speak of Christ, by whom we have peace with God. Once the offerings were accepted, David blessed the people, upon the basis of God's acceptance of the offerings. That is the only way God's blessings come to chosen sinners, upon the basis of Christ's finished work and accepted sacrifice. Not only did he bless them, he gave them each a loaf of bread and a flagon of winepictures of Christ's sacrifice and of our communion with God by his blood and righteousness.
God's Promise
Next, we read of God's promise to David (chapter 17). The great desire of David's heart was to build a temple for the Lord. But the Lord would not allow him to do it because David had "shed much blood upon the earth." However, the Lord promised David that a son should be born unto him, who should be "a man of rest," that he would build his house, and that God would establish his throne forever.
David bowed to God's will without a murmur, and poured forth a song of praise for his great goodness. In the promised son we see Christ our Lord, "a Greater than Solomon." "You shall call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke 1:313).
The preservation of Israel (not the physical nation, but the spiritual Israel of God) was here guaranteed until the end of time, "as long as the sun and the moon endure" (Jeremiah 31:3537). David's throne (Christ's throne) was permanently secured with the added sign, "and as the faithful witness in the sky," the rainbow (Psalm 89:3, 4, 2737; Rev. 4:23). The bow of God's covenant ever stands before the throne of his grace. All that he does as the Monarch of the universe, he does in fulfillment of his everlasting covenant of grace for the salvation of his people (John 17:2). David's Son (the Lord Jesus Christ) shall sit upon David's throne (the throne of grace) in that Jerusalem which is above forever.
Israel Numbered
The next very significant and instructive event recorded in 1 Chronicles is David's sin in numbering the people (chapter 21). His sin in this was, I am sure, at least in part, a display of personal pride because of the greatness of his kingdom. But there is much more to it than that. David's numbering of Israel seems to have conveyed the thought that the success of God's purpose depends upon the number of those who are with us in our efforts. He wanted to see the number of people that were available to him, and thus to glory in the physical strength of his realm.
God never works by a majority. When we begin to think that the cause of Christ is losing out because our numbers are small, we dishonor God and the gospel of God. God's cause does not depend upon us, our strength, or abilities, or our numbers. I cannot help thinking of Gideon and God's deliberate reduction of the number of men from 32,000 to 300. David slew Goliath and delivered Israel with a single sling and a rock from the brook. Samson slew the Philistines with nothing but the jawbone of an donkey. God's cause does not depend upon us.
Still, there is more. David's sin displayed a neglect of Christ and his sacrifice. When he numbered Israel, there was no payment of ransom money, atonement money, as required by God's law (Exodus 30:1116).
"And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, When you take the sum of the children of Israel after their number, then shall they give every man a ransom for his soul unto the LORD, when you number them; that there be no plague among them, when you number them. This they shall give, every one that passes among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) an half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD. Every one that passes among them that are numbered, from twenty years old and above, shall give an offering unto the LORD. The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering unto the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls. And you shall take the atonement money of the children of Israel, and shall appoint it for the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; that it may be a memorial unto the children of Israel before the LORD, to make an atonement for your soul" (Exodus 30:1116).
Again, we see a terrible judgment brought upon Israel by the neglect of God's sacrifice, by the neglect of the atonement, by the neglect of Christ. This numbering of the children of Israel and the atonement money they paid so that no plague come upon them was typical of our ransom by Christ. None but Israelites were ransomed. A specific, numbered people were ransomed. The ransom price was the same for all. Those who were ransomed were preserved from any plague (Proverbs 12:21; Psalm 91:10).
Substitution
Yet, against this backdrop, the Lord gives us a blessed picture of that very thing which David had neglected, substitution. And that is the message of the whole Book of God (21:17).
"And David said unto God, Is it not I that commanded the people to be numbered? even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed; but as for these sheep, what have they done? let your hand, I pray you, O LORD my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on your people, that they should be plagued."
What a beautiful picture this is of our great, sin-atoning Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. He made our sin his own (Psalm 40:12; 69:5). When the Lord God said to the angel of judgment, "It is enough, stay now your hand" (21:15), he had his eye on the substitutionary work of Christ portrayed in the sacrifices offered on Mt. Moriah, which David purchased from Ornan. All that transpired there spoke of our Savior's sacrifice at Calvary.
God's People
When David had finished his work, when all the material for the temple was gathered, he went home. Here, again, our Lord Jesus Christ shines forth brilliantly. When he had finished all his work, when he had brought in everlasting righteousness, when he had put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, when he had magnified the law and made it honorable, when he had done all the will of God, he returned home (John 17:14; 19:30). And all the people worshiped and served God with a willing heart (29:9, 16). The Lord God chose them; and they honored him as his willing servants.
Here is a great thought to cheer our hearts as we seek to serve our great King and Savior, the Lord Jesus. It brings joy to the heart of our King when we offer willingly to his service, whether it be ourselves, or our substance that we give. David's thanksgiving shows the right attitude of heart, the recognition that all indeed belongs to God. "Who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? For all things come of You, and of Your own have we given You" (29:14). God give me such a heart!
2 CHRONICLES
"I will never leave you, nor forsake you!"
How often, like the children of Israel, we are brought into captivity because of our own sin, because of our disobedience, because we turn aside from the Word of God and walk contrary to the will of God! How often we forsake him! But he never forsakes us! If we had what we deserve, we would be forsaken of him. But, as he swore to Jacob, he has sworn to us, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you!" How I thank God for his word of promise! He says to you and me, "I am the Lord, I change not: therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed."He may scatter us, in loving chastisement, and hide his face from us to make us know our need of him. He may bring us, as it were, into bondage and captivity spiritually; but our God will not utterly forsake us. Neither will he let us forsake him. It is written, "They shall lie down in the evening: for the Lord their God shall visit them, and turn away their captivity" (Zephaniah 2:7). This day of divine visitation is described by the prophet Isaiah in the twelfth chapter of his prophecy.
"And in that day you shall say, O LORD, I will praise you: though you were angry with me, your anger is turned away, and you comfort me. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation. And in that day shall you say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. Sing unto the LORD; for he has done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. Cry out and shout, you inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of you." (Isaiah 12:16)
The Book of 2 Chronicles is a portrayal of God's goodness and grace in visiting, reviving, and refreshing his people after they have forsaken him and have been brought into bondage because of their sin. That which is recorded in these 36 chapters of Judah's history is written for our learning and admonition, that we might be inspired by God's faithfulness to his people to walk faithfully with him.
God's Promise
Let's begin with God's promise to his people in 2 Chronicles 7:14."If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
I do not know of any one verse in the Old Testament Scriptures that is more often quoted and more completely misinterpreted than this one. This verse is neither a formula for revival, nor a formula for the healing of any earthly nation's woes. This is a promise from God to his people, the people called by his grace and called by his name, because of his choice of them. Here, the Lord God promises that if we who are his people humble, pray, seek his face, and turn from (repent of) our wicked ways, he will forgive our sins and heal our land (the land of his heritage, the church and kingdom of God).
The promise appears to be conditional, and, in a sense, it is. God promises forgiveness and healing grace upon condition of our repentance. But, if you will turn back to chapter 6 where we have Solomon's prayer, to which God gives answer in chapter 7, you will see clearly that our repentance is always the result of God's grace and never the cause. Look at verses 2627. It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4). Christ, our exalted Prince and Savior, gives repentance and forgiveness of sins to the Israel of God. Clearly, Solomon understood this. In this part of his magnificent prayer he declares plainly that when we have sinned, we will pray and turn again to our God only when the Lord God himself has graciously taught us to walk in the good way wherein we should walk.
"When the Heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against you; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess your name, and turn from their sin, when you do afflict them; Then hear you from Heaven, and forgive the sin of your servants, and of your people Israel, when you have taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon your land, which you have given unto your people for an inheritance." (2 Chronicles 6:2627)
The Temple
The first seven chapters of this Book are taken up with the building of the temple in Jerusalem. Up to this point in Israel's history there was no fixed, permanent place for the ark of God, no fixed, permanent place of divine worship, no fixed, permanent place to which men and women would gather in solemn assembly to hear from and worship the Lord God. The temple at Jerusalem changed all of that. Still, we must not fail to remember, that the temple itself was but a carnal, physical, temporary type of something far greater, far more magnificent, and far more delightful.
The temple was a picture, a type, a symbol of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we have seen, it typified God's people and God's salvation; but it also typified our Savior. The New Testament makes this abundantly clear. Our Savior referred to his body as the temple that must be destroyed and raised again in three days. The whole Book of Hebrews relates the temple, its furniture, its priesthood, its sacrifices, and its services to our blessed Savior and his great work of redemption.
Because the temple represents Christ and his great work of redemption, it also represents his church, the people redeemed by his blood and saved by his grace. Considered as a whole, the church is called the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:1617). Because every saved sinner is part of God's church, each particular member of the church, every believer, is also called the temple of God (2 Corinthians 6:16).
As the stones used to build the temple were hewn, shaped, and marked for their place outside the temple itself so that there was no sound of hammer, or saw, or chisel in the temple, so God's elect were chosen from eternity, marked out in divine predestination for their place in the building of God, and made a part of the temple by a work of God's free grace in Christ. In this spiritual temple, the church of God, no jarring sound of human effort is ever heard (Ephesians 2:89, 1922). The building of this house is altogether God's work.
When the temple was finished, God was honored and worshiped in a solemn ceremony that lasted seven days. It was declared that God had fulfilled his word, that all the people of Israel were "glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the Lord had shown," and that everything Solomon had set his heart to do "he prosperously effected" (7:1011). "Behold, a greater than Solomon is here!"
Solomon's Prayer
As we read Solomon's prayer of dedication in chapter 6, we must never fail to remember that he, too, was a type of Christ. He made intercession for Israel, and even for the strangers and sojourners (God's elect among the Gentiles) who would be numbered among the children of Israel; and all that he sought on behalf of God's people, the Lord God promised to perform. What a blessed, delightful thing it is for us to know that our God will do all that Christ seeks on our behalf! He who makes intercession for us must and shall prevail.
In his prayer, Solomon, spoke of God's people praying toward the temple."Hearken therefore unto the supplications of your servant, and of your people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear you from your dwelling place, even from Heaven; and when you hear, forgive" (6:21). He was not instituting an idolatrous practice, like that of a Mohammedan bowing and praying toward Mecca. When he spoke of men praying toward Jerusalem, toward the temple, and toward the mercy-seat, he was talking about praying toward Heaven, looking to God in Heaven through Christ and his finished work, which was portrayed in the temple and the mercy-seat. We see this clearly in the publican's prayer described by our Lord in Luke 18:13. Solomon's request in this verse was but the foreshadowing of our Savior's promise."Whatever you shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you."
In his prayer, Solomon specifically mentions numerous situations into which the children of Israel might fall because of their sins: famine, pestilence, captivity, etc. By the exercise of his chastening rod, using these things, the Lord would teach his own to walk in his way, and graciously turn them again to himself, confessing their sins, calling upon his name, turning from the evil, and seeking his face. When they did, Solomon asked God to hear from Heaven, forgive their sin, and heal the plague sin had brought upon them. The basis upon which Solomon made this great request was threefold:
1. They are "your people."
2. They look to the mercy-seat, Christ's sin-atoning sacrifice.
3. The honor of God's name is displayed in his grace and salvation of his people."That all people of the earth may know your name and fear you" (6:33; Ephesians 2:7).
The conclusion of this great prayer is humbling, instructive, and inspiring (6:3642).
"If they sin against you, (for there is no man which sins not,) and you be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near; Yet if they bethink themselves in the land where they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto you in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly; If they return to you with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, where they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which you gave unto their fathers, and toward the city which you have chosen, and toward the house which I have built for your name: Then hear you from the heavens, even from your dwelling place, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive your people which have sinned against you. Now, my God, let, I beseech you, your eyes be open, and let your ears be intent unto the prayer that is made in this place. Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into your resting place, you, and the ark of your strength: let your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let your saints rejoice in goodness. O LORD God, turn not away the face of your anointed: remember the mercies of David your servant." (2 Chronicles 6:3642)
Filled with Glory
Then, in chapter 7 the Lord God put his stamp of approval upon the whole thing. Fire fell from Heaven and consumed the sacrifices, symbolizing God's acceptance of Christ's sacrifice for us, declaring that justice has been satisfied. Then, "the glory of the Lord filled the house" (7:1).
Now, look at verse 3."And when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshiped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endures forever." That is exactly what happens when God saves a sinner, when he sees the glory of God in the sacrifice of Christ and the Spirit of God, "the blessing of Abraham," comes upon him (Galatians 3:1314).
Then (7:1216) the Lord God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, "I have heard your prayer and will do all that you have asked."
Declension and Restoration
Chapters 8 and 9 described the greatness of Solomon, his wisdom, his riches, and his works, picturing Christ. Then we read the history of Judah after Solomon's death. What a checkered history it is! It is the history of a nation favored of God above any people or nation in the world, a people chosen of God, redeemed and saved by his mighty arm, a people to whom God had revealed himself, a people who continued to live and exist only because God kept them. Yet, it is the history of a people ever turning from him repeatedly.
But that is only part of the story. The history of Judah is the history of a people that God would not leave to themselves, a people he would not allow to leave him. Needless to say, as I read the history of Judah, I cannot help thinking, "This is the history of my own life. It is a portrayal of my many declensions from my God and of my many restorations by his indestructible grace." Is that not your own experience, as you read these chapters?
Judah's Kings
Chapters 10 through 36 give us the record of Judah's kings up to the time of their captivity. Nine of them were good kings. Eleven were bad. Manasseh, who reigned for fifty-five years on the throne of Judah, started out as the worst king in Judah's history and ended up as one of the best, because God revealed himself to him and saved him.
RehoboamAs we read through these accounts, these wicked kings reveal a pattern of temptation, sin, and spiritual declension. It begins with Rehoboam following the counsel of his young men, following the counsel of the flesh. A little later, in chapter 12, verse 1, you will find a further lowering of the standards. When the rule of Rehoboam was established and was strong, he forsook the law of the Lord. He turned a deaf ear to God's Word. And the kingdom was invaded by the Egyptians.
The moment we turn away from the rule of God (of Holy Scripture) in the temple of God, we invite Satan to take over. It was only by God's goodness that the Egyptians were turned back. When Rehoboam humbled himself and returned to God, the Egyptians were repelled.
JehoramThe next wicked king, Jehoram, appears in chapter 21, verse 4. When Jehoram had ascended the throne of his father and was established, he killed all his brothers with the sword, and also some of the princes of Israel. First, there was the refusal to give heed to good counsel. Then a deaf ear was turned to the law. Then, the spirit of jealousy began to assault the kingdom. This is immediately followed, as we read in verse 11, by another downward step. He added human inventions to the worship of God and mingled the worship of God with idolatry."He made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto."
It might be argued that the high places did not represent open idolatry, just its beginnings. They were high hills where the people of Israel worshiped Jehovah with their neighbors and their neighbors' idols. The problem was that that was not the place where God had told them to worship him. He had put his name in the temple and it was there that they were to worship and offer sacrifice. They were worshiping out on the hills, because that was where their neighbors and friends were worshiping. They were simply down-grading and reducing the true worship of God to a lower level. This, too, was quickly followed by invasion and by disease. As you read, you find that King Jehoram was immediately afflicted by an invasion from the Philistines, who ever represent the lusts of the flesh. Idolatry, you see, is but the exercise of man's carnal lusts and always brings with it the moral degradation of those who practice it (Romans 1:1832).
AhazThe next evil king is King Ahaz (28:12)."Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father: For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim."
Here we see the actual introduction of the vile, despicable practices of idolatry. They were primarily matters of sexual perversion, such as Paul describes in Romans 1, such as we see all around us today. Israel was increasingly afflicted by these practices. The kings were responsible for introducing them, as we read of King Ahaz (verses 34): Again Judah was invaded and some of her people were taken captive by Syria (verse 5). What woes we bring upon ourselves, our families, our neighbors, our nation, and the world when we depart from our God, his Word, his worship, and his revealed will!
Good Kings
By contrast, Judah's faithful and good kings reflect the grace of God in cleansing and restoring his people. They also reveal the instruments he uses. There are five great reformations recorded in Israel as God intervenes in grace to keep his people.
AsaThe first of these periods of reformation was under King Asa, found in chapters 14 through 16. We read, "And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God: For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fathers, and to do the law and the commandment" (14:24). Asa destroyed the altars, images, and groves of the gods of the heathen. Then the Lord delivered his people (verse 9). The first mark of God's visiting his people is the restoration of his worship. As soon as we are turned by his grace to seek him with all our hearts, deliverance is ours (verse 9; Jeremiah 29:1014).
JehoshaphatThen in the reign of King Jehoshaphat, the next king on the throne of Judah, there is another time of restoration, after a time of failure. Jehoshaphat cleared the land of idols. Later, in great weakness, he made a league with Ammon, Moab, and Edom, (the lusts of the flesh). But God graciously delivered him in a way that teaches us exactly how we can and must overcome the lusts of our flesh (20:1521). We do not overcome our inward lusts by beating ourselves mentally or physically, depriving ourselves of certain foods, or physical pleasure. We overcome our lusts by looking to Christ, by believing God. The battle is not yours, but God's. You do not need to fight in this battle. The Lord will fight for you. As we believe God, we shall see our enemies slain by blood, just as Judah did (20:14; Colossians 2:1416)."When Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped."
Believe what God has done to the flesh in the cross of Christ (Romans 6:11). We do not have to fight the flesh. Our Savior nailed it to his cross, rendering it absolutely useless. He conquered our enemies for us and has made us more than conquerors by his grace (Romans 8:3239). When we believe, when we look to Christ, our enemies wither. They may raise their ugly heads more violently than ever in five seconds. But they shall wither again before our crucified Savior, and shall one day soon be utterly gone forever (Rev. 21:4).
JOASHUnder Joash we see the people of Judah (Chapters 2324) giving for the support of God's cause. When God visits his people in grace, reviving their souls, they give themselves to him in renewed consecration. And those who give themselves to the Lord give of their means generously, with willing hearts, for the building of his kingdom and the promotion of his worship.
HEZEKIAHHezekiah's reign was marked (2932) by the cleansing of the temple and the restoration of the Passover.When God visits us in grace, the sacrifice of Christ is prominent. All the garbage brought in by the flesh is taken out of God's house.
JOSIAHThe last of the good kings in Judah was Josiah. His reign is distinctly marked by another thing that always identifies the day of divine visitation. When God visits his people in mercy, when God restores our souls, he brings his Word again to the forefront and makes it precious.
EZRA
"Our God has not Forsaken Us."
The books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther cover the history of Israel immediately following their return from Babylonian captivity to Jerusalem. There was only a remnant, a remnant "whose spirit God had raised," who returned to Jerusalem. Though there were probably three million Jews in Babylon at the time, only 50,000 returned.God has a people scattered through all the nations of the world, a people scattered in wrath, yet scattered in mercy, scattered to the place where they shall be preserved in bondage until the day of their calling, just as these Jews were preserved in Babylon until God raised up Cyrus and Zerubbabel to bring them out of that place. At God's appointed time of love, each of these chosen ones, loved of God with an everlasting love, redeemed by Christ's precious blood, and preserved in him (Jude 1), shall be brought out into the liberty of the City of God. "And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob" (Romans 11:26).
The Jews had gone down into Babylon as shepherds. But while they were there they learned the ways of Babylon and became successful businessmen, merchants, and shopkeepers. They became so prosperous, so lost to materialism, that they did not want to go back to Jerusalem, even though they were still slaves in exile from their own land. They preferred the drudgery of Babylonian bondage, with its wealth, to the liberty of worshiping God in Jerusalem.
Some have suggested that they became a different people while in Babylon. But that was not the case at all. The Lord sent them into captivity to prove them; and there they proved what they really were. So it is with all trials. Trials do not change us. They simply prove what we are.
There was an elect remnant in Babylon whom the Lord reserved, whose spirit he revived, whose seventy-year trial in Babylon made them pine for liberty and the worship of God in Jerusalem. Many of the Jews refused to return when God opened the door. But the Spirit of God stirred up the hearts of some and made them willing in the day of his power. The message of this Book is found in chapter 9, verse 9."Our God has not forsaken us." The Book of Ezra is all about God's great grace in keeping, reviving, and restoring his people.
Actually, the Book speaks of two returns from Babylon. First, in chapters 15, Zerubbabel led about 50,000 back to Jerusalem. After building again the altar of God and laying the foundation of the temple, there was another long period of languishing. This is the period covered by the Book of Esther. Then, in chapters 610, Ezra led another group, even smaller than the first, out of Babylon and back to Jerusalem.
Ezra's Prayer
Chapter 9 records Ezra's prayer, one of the most remarkable prayers of repentance found in the Bible. In this prayer, we see the whole of Israel's problem and the bounteous, indestructible grace of God set forth in this Book. Let's read chapter 9. Then, I will show you the message of the Book of Ezra.
"Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.} For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yes, the hand of the princes and rulers has been chief in this trespass. (Ezra 9:12)
That was the cause of Israel's trouble.
"And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonished. Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice." (Ezra 9:34)
Astonished, broken hearted, Ezra poured out his soul to God, interceding for his people at the throne of grace.
"And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God, And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to you, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. And now for a little space grace has been showed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. For we were bondmen; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken your commandments, Which you have commanded by your servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which you go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity. Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth forever: that you may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children forever. And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that you our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and have given us such deliverance as this; Should we again break your commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? would not you be angry with us until you had consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping? O LORD God of Israel, you are righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before you in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before you because of this." (Ezra 9:515)
Divine Faithfulness
Let's go back to chapter 1 and learn something about the character of our great God. As Cyrus put it in verse 3, "The Lord God of Israel, he is the God!" Cyrus' decree is one of the greatest displays of the inspiration and infallibility of Holy Scripture that could be given. Seventy years before it came to pass, Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:1112; 29:10) had declared that it would come to pass at this very time. Almost two hundred years before that, Isaiah not only spoke of Israel's deliverance out of Babylon, but he named the man who would deliver them and the means by which he would do it (Isaiah 44 and 45).
This is also a marvelous display of God's absolute sovereignty. What could cause a pagan, Babylonian king to be so magnanimous to a people who had been the slaves of his kingdom for so long, when he had absolutely nothing to gain and much to lose by such a deed? There is but one answer."The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turns it wherever he will" (Proverbs 21:1). God still raises up nations and puts them down, raises up kings and puts them down, as he will, for the salvation of his elect.
And we here see a great example of God's faithfulness. Our God is always faithful. He promised to bring Judah out of Babylon after 70 years; and he did. They had forsaken him; but he would not forsake them. Truly, "the Lord God of Israel, he is the God!"
Divine Chastisement
Here is a lesson in divine chastisement, too. When God sends chastisement, it is not to destroy us, but to refine us. Judah fell captive to Babylon, because Israel had fallen captive to their own lusts. But the Lord did not destroy them; he restored them. And in their restoration, he used even the very thing that had threatened to destroy them to enrich them. Ultimately, all the expenses needed for their restoration were given out of the king's house in Babylon (6:4).
But, learn this too,Once we have fallen into a state of spiritual declension from our God, once we have been drawn away from him, we will never return to him, except he return us. The only ones who came back to Jerusalem were those "whose spirit the Lord had raised."
When Zerubbabel brought Israel back to Jerusalem, his first act was the building of God's altar. That is always the very first thing that takes place when God restores our souls. He causes us to turn again to Christ and his great sacrifice for us, acknowledging with renewed consecration that we are his (1 Corinthians 6:1920).
The second thing they did was to lay the foundation of the temple. The work was met with mixed feeling (3:13, 1113).
"And when the seventh month was come, and the children of Israel were in the cities, the people gathered themselves together as one man to Jerusalem. Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and built the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God. And they set the altar upon his bases; for fear was upon them because of the people of those countries: and they offered burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD, even burnt offerings morning and evening." (Ezra 3:13)
"And they sang together by course in praising and giving thanks unto the LORD; because he is good, for his mercy endures forever toward Israel. And all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy: So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off." (Ezra 3:1113)
What a picture this is of the bitter sweetness of true repentance. When the Lord graciously grants us a little reviving in our souls, we weep because of our horrible offenses and rejoice because of his great goodness.
Then, a third thing happened. In chapter four, the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin tried to turn them away from God again. These adversaries were Samaritans. They pretended to be friends, wanting to help rebuild the house of God. When Zerubbabel and the men of Judah refused to allow them to help, they turned on them fiercely, and (for a time) delayed the work. These men were like our flesh. Everything in us, by nature, would turn us from our God. Judah could not allow these Samaritans to have any part in the work, because they had no part in the worship of God.We must never lean to the flesh to do God's work and will!
God's Method of Grace
There is another lesson here that we must not miss.God always accomplishes his purpose of grace; and he does so by the use of human instruments. Many decry this point, so clearly and pointedly made in Holy Scripture, as a denial of God's absolute sovereignty. But nothing more clearly displays God's sovereignty than his use of the means he chooses for the accomplishment of his predestined purpose.
Cyrus issued his decree because God put it in his heart to do so (1:1); but Cyrus issued the decree. Those who returned, returned because God stirred their hearts to return; but they returned. Ezra succeeded because the good hand of the Lord was upon him; but he succeeded (7:9). Artaxerxes supported the work of rebuilding the temple because the Lord put it in his heart to do so (7:27); but he supported the work. God favored the nation with repentance because of Ezra's prayer (910). The Lord put the prayer in his heart, but Ezra prayed. God raised up two prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, to prophesy to his people and move them to the work (5). He always instructs and directs his people by his Word, through the preaching of those sent by him to proclaim his Word (Romans 10:1117). And deliverance came at exactly the time God had purposed and promised.
Grace All-Sufficient
The last thing I want you to see is this.God's grace is sufficient. His grace is sufficient to supply all our needs. God's grace is sufficient to preserve and keep us in all our appointed ways. And his grace is sufficient to enable us to perform the work he puts in our hands. "And now for a little space grace has been showed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. For we were bondmen; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem" (9:89).
NEHEMIAH
"Build the Walls of Jerusalem"
As the Book of Ezra describes the great work of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem, the Book of Nehemiah describes the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. The Book of Nehemiah is really just a continuation of the Book of Ezra. The theme in both books is the restoration of divine worship and the restoration of God's people.These two things always go hand in hand. When there is a revival of true worship, there is revival in the hearts of God's elect. And when the Lord sends revival to his people, the worship of God is restored and set in order. This is clearly set before us in David's prayer of repentance in Psalm 51:1819."Do good in your good pleasure unto Zion: build you the walls of Jerusalem. Then shall you be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, with burnt offering and whole burnt offering: then shall they offer bullocks upon your altar."
As the temple of God speaks of the place of divine worship and sacrifice, and represents the whole work of salvation, the salvation of God's elect by the sacrifice, intercession, and grace of Christ, the walls of Jerusalem (the city of Godthe church) represent another aspect of grace and salvation. The walls represent both the security of God's elect in Christ and that which separates the people of God from all the people of the world (1 Corinthians 4:7). What separates us from others? Grace, nothing but the free, sovereign, saving grace of God, electing grace, redeeming grace, calling grace, and preserving grace. It is the Lord God, and the Lord God alone who makes a difference between Israel and Egypt (Exodus 11:7), between his elect and the rest of the world.
Four times, Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, the leaders of those who conspired against Ezra, Nehemiah, and Judah sent word to Nehemiah to leave off the work of building the walls of Jerusalem to come down and meet them. Though their real purpose was to stop the work, their pretense was that they wanted to work out a plan whereby they could unite in the great work. Four times Nehemiah gave them the same reply."And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, while I leave it, and come down to you?" (6:3). Like Nehemiah, our concern in this world, the work to which we have been called, is the building of God's church; and we must not allow anything or anyone to turn us aside from that which our God has sent us to do.
There was an interval of about twelve years between the work of Ezra's reforms and the time that Nehemiah obtained permission from King Artaxerxes, to whom he was cupbearer, to go up to Jerusalem.
Reading the books of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, we frequently run across the names of Artaxerxes and Ahasuerus. But really these are not the names of different kings, but the titles given to them. That fact gives us a little difficulty. But it really should not. Many years later, the rulers of Rome were called "Caesar," but there were several different Caesars. The title "Artaxerxes" means "the great king." "Ahasuerus" means "the venerable father." The titles Artaxerxes in Nehemiah and Ahasuerus in Esther refer to the same king, King Darius, spoken of in the book of Daniel. Then, to add to the confusion, Artaxerxes in the book of Ezra is not the same Artaxerxes spoken of in Nehemiah. That Artaxerxes was opposed to the work Ezra and Nehemiah led Judah to perform. He opposed the building of the temple (Ezra 4:2124). He was probably Darius' son.
Nehemiah was deeply distressed by the news that his brethren gave him concerning God's people in Jerusalem.
"And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of Heaven" (Nehemiah 1:34).
The rest of the first chapter (verses 511) records his great prayer of intercession to God. Nehemiah was imminently a man of prayer. Throughout these 13 chapters, he interjects brief prayers. As he worked and labored in his great cause, he continually sought God's direction and help, depending upon him.
Nehemiah's heart was broken. His soul was stirred by the news of the desolate condition of the city with its broken walls. So much so that, as he served King Artaxerxes, the king asked him what was wrong with him.
"Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is your countenance sad, seeing you are not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, And said unto the king, Let the king live forever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchers, lies waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?" (2:23).
The king then asked him what he wanted and sent him to Jerusalem to build the walls of the city. To put it in Nehemiah's words, "So it pleased the king to send me And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me" (verses 68).
He found things in horrible condition at Jerusalem. He gathered the elders together and told them of the good hand of his God upon him, and they said, "Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work" (2:18).
Nehemiah's Prayer
This book is full of lessons for us. It begins with Nehemiah's confession of sin and prayer to God on behalf of his people (chapter 1). His great concern is for the house of God, the people of God, and the worship of God (verses 14). He ascribes to God the glory and praise of his greatness as God (verse 5). Throughout this prayer, he describes God's people in such a way as to move him to be gracious, seeking mercy on the grounds of God's greatness and the desperate need of his people
"Let your ear now be attentive, and your eyes open, that you may hear the prayer of your servant, which I pray before you now, day and night, for the children of Israel your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against you: both I and my father's house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against you, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which you commanded your servant Moses. Remember, I beseech you, the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, If you transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if you turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the Heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Now these are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power, and by your strong hand. O Lord, I beseech you, let now your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants, who desire to fear your name: and prosper, I pray you, your servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer" (verses 611).
Workers Together
Nehemiah was sent by the king to do the work; but neither he nor the king thought that this great work would be the work of one man. The work involved all those who feared God. Nehemiah and the people of Judah labored side by side as "laborers together with God" (1 Corinthians 3:9). In the church and kingdom of God all his people are his servants. We are workers together with him. Christianity is not a spectator sport. The work of the church is not the work of one man, but of many, working together with God.
As they built the walls of Jerusalem, they began at the Sheep Gate and completely enclosed the city (chapter 3). Priests, rulers, goldsmiths, apothecaries, and merchants all worked side by side, brothers working together in the common cause of God. We are told exactly who set up the various gates, with the locks and the bars thereof. No work done for God's glory is overlooked by him, no matter how small it might appear in our eyes, or in the eyes of others. Our God delights to place on record the humblest service. It is written, "And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yes, says the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them" (Rev. 14:13).
That is what we are doing, laboring together for the glory of God, for the worship of God, to build the kingdom of God. Let us be like "Baruch, the son of Zabbai, (who) earnestly repaired the other piece, from the turning of the wall unto the door of the house of Eliashib the high priest" (3:20).
Our Enemies
But, in chapters 46 the descendants of the Samaritans, who had harassed Zerubbabel, were relentless in their efforts to hinder the work. First they mocked them: "What do these feeble Jews? That which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their stone wall." "Hear, O our God; for we are despised," was Nehemiah's prayer. "So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work" (4:16).
When their mockery could not stop the faithful from their work, Judah's foes conspired to fight against Jerusalem. But Nehemiah says, "We made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch day and night." He armed the workers and gave orders that at the sound of the trumpet they were to run to the place needing help and defend the city.
That is when Sanballat and his crowd sent the messages to Nehemiah, asking him to meet them in the plain of Ono. His reply was, "I am doing a great work: why should the work cease, while I leave it, and come down to you?" Then they accused Judah of rebellion (antinomianism), and sought to weaken their hands and make them afraid; but Nehemiah replied to Tobiah: "There are no such things done as you say, but you pretend them out of your own heart." And as a last resort, one urged Nehemiah to take refuge in the temple, "for they will come to slay you." "Should such a man as I flee" was Nehemiah's steadfast reply. "So the wall was finished in fifty and two days" (6:15).
Those who oppose Christ and the gospel we preach will employ any means they can to hinder or discourage us from doing God's work. Let us, like Nehemiah, ever remember who has commissioned us, and praying and relying upon our God, completely disregard, utterly ignore their carpings.
Christ Our Priest
The register of those who first came from Babylon under Zerubbabel is again repeated in chapter 7. Some of the priests names could not be found in the genealogy, "Therefore were they, as polluted, put from the priesthood. And the Tirshatha (Governor) said unto the, that they should not eat of the most holy things, until there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim" (7:6365).
Here we have one of those instances in the Old Testament when the Face of Christ suddenly shines forth in the most unexpected and unlikely places. This is only a register, and a few priests could not find their place in it. But it makes our hearts rejoice in the fact that we have a great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, who has the Urim and Thummim, who is the "Light and Perfection." He settles the question as to our right to communion with God, symbolized in the eating of the most holy things. He declares that, as those who are made priests unto God by him, we are worthy to partake of the holy things. His blood and righteousness makes us worthy. That, and that alone, makes us worthy to approach our God in the holy place, confess his name in believer's baptism, receive the Lord's Table, and wear the name of the sons of God.
He has, by his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us (Hebrews 9:12). And if we trust in his one great sacrifice for sins forever, we also may draw near and have communion with God, not once a year, or once a month, or once a week, but continually!
Christ is our great High Priest, not by genealogy from Aaron, but "after the order of Melchizedek," who was "without genealogy" (Hebrews 7:3 RV). Melchizedek's genealogy was, no doubt, omitted to show him as a type of Christ who had no earthly father. God has called us in Christ to be priests unto him, and our right of priesthood depends on whether we have been born again and have our names written, not in an earthly register, but in the Lamb's Book of Life. "He has," A. M. Hodgkin wrote, "provided for our fitness in the present tenses of John's Epistle. First, The blood cleanses,' so that there need never be any cloud between our souls and God. Second, The anointing abides,' so that there need never be any lack of the supply of His Spirit for service."
Place of Preaching
When we get to chapter 8 we see that the immediate result of the work of restoration was a great hunger for God's Word. The people gathered themselves together as one man unto Ezra before the Water Gate, and begged him to bring forth the Book of the law of Moses.
Here Ezra, now an old man, comes forward again. We see him and Nehemiah uniting in God's service. We are given a striking picture of Ezra's preaching. Already we have seen him as a reformer, and as a man of prayer; and now all his gifts in the Word of the Lord comes out as he stands on that pulpit of wood, "made for the purpose," with thirteen of the leaders of the people standing beside him, and all the people thronging round. He opened the Book, and having prayed, read the law distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused the people to understand it. Hour after hour, and subsequently day after day, they listened, men and women and children, "all that could understand."
His preaching stirred Jerusalem as Luther's preaching stirred Germany. The people wept as they acknowledged how far they had fallen and how greatly they had sinned. But Ezra and Nehemiah and the Levites calmed the people, and told them not to weep, and their weeping was turned into joy by the preaching of God's great goodness revealed in his work, which is recorded in his Word. "And the people went their way to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were declared unto them" (8:12). "Great peace have they that love Your law." They kept the feast of the Passover for the first time since the days of Joshua and made a covenant of renewed consecration to the Lord.
The children of Israel sealed themselves under a solemn covenant to keep the Law, especially with regard to marriages with the heathen, to keeping the Sabbath, and to maintaining the worship of God. The dedication of the walls was a joyful occasion, for "God had made them rejoice with great joy: the wives also and the children rejoiced; so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard even afar off" (12:43).
More Decline
Then wee see, in chapter 13, that in spite of all the grace and goodness they had experienced, these blessed people show us again that God's people in this world are but sinners saved by grace.
Once more twelve years have passed, and Nehemiah, who had been back at the Court of Shushan, returned to Jerusalem to find all the terms of the covenant broken and the law disregarded. He dealt with all these abuses firmly. Eliashib, the priests, because he was allied unto Tobiah the Ammonite, had given a chamber in the Temple to this enemy of the Lord. Nehemiah turned him out immediately. Again, Nehemiah contended with the rulers because he found that the service of the house of the Lord was neglected. Next he found a wholesale disregard of the Sabbath.
Such contempt for the things of God, his honor, his worship, and the blessed rest of faith, symbolized in the Sabbath day, must not be tolerated. If it is, it will inevitably lead to utter apostasy. It is a sign of the perilous times of these last days, when "Men shall be lovers of their own selves loves of pleasure more than lovers of God" (2 Timothy 3:14).
Compromise
Nehemiah found that the Jews had married among the heathen. This violation of God's express command is both an act of defiance and idolatry (Exodus 34:1417). Great evil is sure to follow. The result here was that their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod, and half in the Jews' language. In other words, their children learned by their compromise to be idolaters.
Believers are to marry "only in the Lord." We must "not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers" in any area of life, but most particularly in marriage. Those who disobey God's revealed will in this matter, marrying unbelievers, can expect nothing but sorrow as a result.
The argument (excuse) is frequently used that the believer will be able to win the unbelieving to Christ. But we must never expect God's blessing upon our disobedience. I have often seen the Lord graciously intervene; but, more often than not, the result of such a union is that the person professing to be a believer is gradually drawn (It may be almost imperceptibly.) to love the things of the world, and is found, together with the children of such a marriage, speaking "half the speech of Ashdod," and unable to speak as a citizen of the heavenly city. The spirit of compromise with the world mars the usefulness for Christ of many homes and churches, just as it did in Solomon's.
In all these breaches of God's law Nehemiah "contended with the Jews." Whether they were nobles or rulers or the common people, he dealt with them pointedly. He did not rest until all was put right. This was no lack of love on his part, but just the opposite. He was willing to spend and be spent for his people. It is an evidence of true love for the souls of men when a faithful man deals faithfully and pointedly with compromise, false doctrine, and rebellion of any kind. Any church today blessed of God with a pastor who has the boldness, love, and faithfulness Nehemiah had to deal with such things, has reason to give thanks to God for his goodness in giving his church pastors according to his own heart (Jeremiah 3:15).
God's People Still
Having said all that, let us not set ourselves up as judges over one another when the Lord's people are overtaken in a fault, condemning them as unbelieving and reprobate. Evil must be reproved by God's servants by the faithful exposition of holy Scripture, as it was by Ezra and Nehemiah. But when our brothers and sisters in Christ are overcome in a fault, let it be ours to fulfill the law of Christ, bearing their burden, doing what we are can to restore them in meekness, considering ourselves (Galatians 6:14).
The Holy Spirit specifically illustrates the fact that those who are truly beloved of the Lord are yet subject to such evils by using Solomon as an example, both of the sins of the Jews on this occasion, and of the immutability of God's mercy, love, and grace to his elect in Christ (Nehemiah 13:26; Malachi 3:6).
The fall of another reminds us that we are all sinners saved by grace. None of us are beyond temptation. None of us are beyond weakness. None of us are beyond sin. There is nothing we would not do, and completely justify ourselves in doing it, if the Lord left us to ourselves for a moment.
The falls of others gives us opportunity to love and help. These sad events in the lives of God's saints in this world should serve as reminders that salvation is altogether the work of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ, that our only righteousness before God is the righteousness of God in Christ, and that the only thing that makes one to differ from another is God's goodness and grace in Christ. Therefore, it is written in Ephesians 4:3252"And be you kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. Be you therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also has loved us, and has given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor."
ESTHER
The Wonder of Divine Providence
As the books of Ezra and Nehemiah display the salvation of our souls in the re-building of the temple and its walls at Jerusalem, the Book of Esther shows us a picture of the secret workings of divine providence to accomplish his purpose of grace for his elect. The Book is intended to assure us that our God sovereignly manipulates all things for the salvation of his people, to assure us that no matter how things appear all is well because our God is still on his throne (Psalm 115:3; 135:6).The Book of Esther is a beautifully simple, historic narrative of the events that took place in the king's palace at Shushan in Persia during the days of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther when Ahasuerus was king.
Some have suggested that this could not be an inspired Book, because there is no mention of God's name in it. Going on that premise, we would have to say the same thing about the Song of Solomon, because there is no mention of God's name in that Book either. It is true, God's name is not to be found in this Book; but God's finger is everywhere, ruling and over-ruling all things for his chosen.
Though God's name is not spelled out in the Book of Esther, it is hidden in the Book. It is hidden away in the Hebrew text in the form of acrostics five times. Be that as it may, it is certainly hidden in our English Bible. There is a reason why God's name was hidden in this Book. The Lord told Israel that if they forsook him, he would hide his face from them (Deuteronomy 31:1618). The Lord hid his face from his people, because they had deliberately chosen to stay in the land of their captivity, dwelling among the heathen, instead of returning to Jerusalem (instead of returning to him) with Zerubbabel. The events of this Book took place during the 60 years between the first remnant's returned under Zerubbabel and the second, smaller remnant's return under Ezra.
The Story
There are four principle characters in this Book: Ahasuerus (whose name means "Venerable Father"), Mordecai (whose name means "Little Man"), Esther (whose name means "Star"), and Haman (whose name means "Magnificent").
Ahasuerus had a big party to show off his greatness, "according to the state of the king". It lasted for many days. One day, when he had had a little too much to drink, he called for his wife, Vashti ("Beautiful"), to come show herself to his guests, "for she was fair to look on." Vashti refused the king's request. She may have been the first feminist in history; but this was not a good idea. The king's request was no mere request! All the king's men were enraged. If the king's wife could get by with such arrogant defiance, all their wives would try to imitate her. After some discussion of the matter, King Ahasuerus divorced Vashti. In time, he sought a wife to replace Vashti.
In chapter two, they held a great beauty pageantA Miss Persia contest. Esther won the prize, hands down. Ahasuerus could not have been happier. The old king was about to marry the most beautiful woman in the land. "The king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. Then the king made a great feast unto all his princes and his servants, even Esther's feast; and he made a release to the provinces, and gave gifts, according to the state of the king" (2:1718)
Then, in chapter 3 the king promoted a man named Haman to be prime minister of his great empire. Everybody bowed and scraped before Haman, everybody except one manMordecai. "When Haman saw that Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence, then was Haman full of wrath" (3:5).
There was some backbone in that old Jew. He was made of stern stuff. He was not about to prostrate himself before one so haughty and so depraved as Haman, even if he was the king's favorite.
So Haman hatched a plan to destroy all the Jews, Mordecai included, and conivingly got Ahasuerus to go along with it. A letter was written, sealed with the king's ring and sent throughout the land, declaring that at a set time all the Jews, men, women, and children, were to be slaughtered and their spoils taken.
When Haman was exalted even more greatly, he built a huge, high gallows upon which to hang Mordecai. Everything was set. The hated Jews were about to be eliminated. That meant that God's promise could not be fulfilled. His purposes would be foiled. Christ could not come into the world from the seed of Abraham, as he had said. None of his chosen could be redeemed. All God's elect would forever perish.Not a chance!
Divine Providence
All that had transpired, though it appeared to everyone to be against the God of Israel and his purpose of grace to his people, was but the secret working of divine providence to accomplish his purpose (Psalm 76:10). Behold the wondrous mystery of God's providence (Romans 8:2830) and rejoice.
Divine providence is God's absolute rule over and disposition of all things animate and inanimate, good and evil according to his unalterable purpose of grace for the salvation of his people and the glory of his own great name. It is the sovereign rule of God in the determination of history. It is the hand of God in the glove of history. Our God is at the steering wheel of the universe. Providence means that God is behind the scenes, shifting, directing, controlling, and manipulating everything to accomplish his own agenda (Romans 11:3336). Providence is the way God secretly and sovereignly forces all things to do his will. As recorded in the book of Esther, it appeared that the entire Jewish nation was about to be slain. But that was not about to happen. God was in the shadows, keeping watch over his own. Let me show you something of the wonder of God's providence in this Book.
God always puts the right person in the right place at the right time to accomplish his purpose. He has his servants exactly where he wants them (4:14). He restrains evil and governs his enemies to perform his good pleasure. He arranges the smallest, most minute things to accomplish his great purpose (Matthew 10:30). When Esther decided to go into the king's court uninvited, the king just happened to pass by (5:1). One night the king just could not sleep, so he had his servant to bring out the chronicles of the kingdom and read them. These chronicles contained the records of 127 provinces. The servant just happened to read the chronicle of Shushan.
"On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the king said, What honor and dignity has been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him" (Esther 6:13).
About that time Haman walked in, and the king asked him, "What shall be done unto the man whom the king delights to honor?" And Haman gave the counsel that would destroy him, exalt Mordecai, and save the Jews (6:411).
When the Lord God is about to do a great work for us and with us, he moves his people to seek him (4:16). But he always accomplishes his purpose. The wonders of his providence are, for the most part, unseen. But "we walk by faith, not by sight." We are perfectly safe at all times. Our Father holds the reins of the universe. We have an omnipotent, wise, and good Guardian in the King's Palace.
Pictures of Grace
I am fully aware that typology can be strained, and often is, making passages of Scriptures say what they do not say. Yet, we are assured that everything written in the Book of God speaks distinctly of our Lord Jesus Christ and the things he has accomplished for us as our Substitute (Luke 24:27, 4445). Christ crucified is "all the counsel of God" (1 Corinthians 2:2; Acts 20:27). There are many, instructive pictures of our Savior in the Book of Esther.
Esther's intercession for Israel (4:16) vividly portrays our Savior's intercession for us. Here is one willing to lay down her life for her people, interceding before the king as one pure and lovely and delightful in his sight. Our great Mediator was not only willing to lay down his life for his people, he did it; and that which he accomplished in laying down his life for us is the basis of his intercession (1 John 2:12).
"And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favor in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the scepter" (5:2). Here is a picture that should give great encouragement to us in approaching the throne of grace, the throne of Christ our King, to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
We urge sinners to venture all at the throne of grace, suing for mercy, with Esther's attitude, "I will go into the king's presence, and if I perish, I perish." But it is impossible for a sinner to perish at the throne of grace. None ever perished confessing his sin and seeking God's forgiveness at the footstool of mercy. God is faithful to his promises, and just to his Son "to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). He "delights in mercy" (Mic. 7:17). As we bow before his throne, confessing our sins, trusting his Son, the holy Lord God graciously forgives us, receives us, and accepts us because of the God-Man who sits at his right hand, and ever lives to intercede for sinners. In his name we may come boldly and obtain mercy. Do you have some great need in your soul, a need that only Christ can fill? The King's court stands open; enter and lodge your petition. He will hear the voice of your supplication. The golden scepter is extended. He will answer with the whole resources of his omnipotence, wisdom, goodness, and grace.
The decree sealed with the king's ring (8:8) reminds us of the unalterable purpose, and decree of our God (Psalm 89:34; Isaiah 46:910; Daniel 4:3435). The Jews ruling their enemies (9:1) is symbolic of the fact that God's saints rule over their enemies by his grace (Romans 6:14; Galatians 5:1623) and shall ultimately rule over all their foes (Romans 16:20; Rev. 20:6). Mordecai seeking the good of his people (10:3) exemplifies that which every believer ought to practice. May God ever give us grace to live for the good of his people, seeking their peace and prosperity. But there is One greater than Mordecai at the right hand of the Majesty on high, great and "accepted of the multitude of his brethren, seeking the wealth of his people, and speaking peace to all his seed."
JOB
Why do the righteous suffer?
The Apostle Paul tells us that "tribulation works patience." The fact is, we are all such sinful and hard-hearted creatures that we cannot and will not learn patience by any other means. Were you asked to give an example of patience, probably the first name that would come into your mind would be Job. No man is more famous for the exercise patience. "Behold, we count them happy which endure. You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy" (James 5:11).But patience was no more natural to Job than it is to you and me. It was something he had to learn by tribulation, great tribulation. It was a hard lesson, but a lesson he learned. He expressed that patience the Lord taught him, displaying confident faith in the wisdom and goodness of God. He said, "He knows the way that I take: when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (23:10).
Poetic Books
That which is revealed in the Book of Job is a gripping story, a fascinating drama. But it is much more. The Book of Job is an inspired narrative of the life and trials of a righteous man in this world. Here we begin a new section of Scripture. Genesis through Deuteronomy, the five Books of Moses, are commonly referred to as "the Law." Joshua through Esther are "Historic Books." In these we have seen, in the events of history, living parables that designed and worked out by God's good providence that explain and illustrate what is going on in our own lives.
In the Poetic Books (Job through the Song of Solomon, and Lamentations) we see God's saints in worship. Perhaps that is what makes them the most commonly read portions of the Old Testament. In these Books, we are allowed to go with God's saints into their private closets, as they pour out their hearts to their heavenly Father, and put into words the very things we often want to say, but simply cannot find either the words or the honesty to speak before the throne of grace. That makes them both precious and instructive as well as comforting and inspiring.
The Book of Job is a great poem. Tennyson called it, "the greatest poem whether of ancient or modern literature." Martin Luther considered the Book of Job "more magnificent and sublime than any other book of Scripture." It reads like a drama, an epic drama much like Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.
The Book of Job is also historical. Job was an actual, living person and these events actually took place, but God recounts them for us in this beautiful style so that we might have an answer to the age-old question, "Why do the righteous suffer?"
Job suffered by the assaults of Satan. He suffered by the words of his wife. And he suffered by the accusations of his friends. But if you asked Job why he suffered as he did, what the source and cause of his sufferings was, he looked past all those secondary sources to the Lord his God.
At the very beginning of the Book, we see clearly that the righteous suffer by the hand and will of the God we worship, trust, love and serve.Everywhere we turn in these 42 chapters, when Job speaks of that which he suffered, he declares that he suffered because the Lord God ordered it. He said to his accusing friends, "Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O you my friends; for the hand of God has touched me But he knows the way that I take: when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold" (19:21; 23:10)
God's Book
Though the Word of God is neither a book about science or history, whenever it speaks of scientific and historic matters, it is always precise and accurate. We have before us, in the Book of Job, that which is probably the very first Book of the Bible to be written. Job lived during the days of the patriarchs, probably about the time of Abraham. So this Book was written more than 3000 years ago, slightly before the invention of modern scientific technology. Yet, no other Book of the Bible contains as much scientific data as Job.
"He stretches out the north over the empty place, and hangs the earth upon nothing" (26:7). What could more accurately describe the position and stability of our planet in space? Job's neighbors all believed that the earth was flat, that it rested on the shoulders of one of the gods, or the back of an elephant or giant sea turtle. Not Job. He believed God and worshiped him as the great Creator of all things.
The Lord asked Job, "Where were you when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (38:47). I am certain there are spiritual lessons to be gleaned from this passage; but there also a startling scientific fact spoken of that cannot be explained apart from the fact that the Book of Job was written by divine inspiration. No one in the world of "all-wise" scientists ever dreamed that rays of light give off sound that no human ear can hear, until modern times; but Job declared it, and it was written down in the Book of God, more than 3000 years ago by the Spirit God to whom the morning stars sing praise.
Again, the Lord asked Job, "By what way is the light parted, which scatters the east wind upon the earth?" (38:24). Reading those words, you would think Job had distinct knowledge of spectrum analysis. But this was written more than 3000 years ago.
The Lord God asked Job, "Can you bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?" (38:31). Pleiades is a group of seven stars in the constellation of Taurus. Pleiades and Orion no man can control. Contrary to the modern environmentalists' proud thoughts, the seasons are not to be altered by men. Job was taught by God that it was not in his power to make any change in the dispensations of providence; to turn the winter of adversity into the spring of prosperity, or the spring of prosperity into the winter of adversity. Providence is God's dominion, not man's. All we can do is submit to God's work and walk quietly before him.
The Bible is the Word of God. That fact cannot be denied by any reasonable person. "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night shows knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard" (Psalm 19:13). But it is not my purpose merely to demonstrate the veracity of Holy Scripture. My purpose is to show how this Book speaks of Christ and to set forth some of the lessons it teaches about our Redeemer and our relationship to him.
Behind the Scenes
In the first two chapters of Job (1:12:8), we are allowed to look behind the scenes to see what was happening and why. Remember, when you read these chapters, that Job did not have this luxury. It is written here for our learning.
Here we are told, and told by God himself, that Job was a righteous man, a believer, a saved sinner. Many have misjudged Bro. Job, asserting that he was a lost, self-righteous hypocrite, as his three friends accused him of being. But the Lord God asserts otherwise (1:1, 8; 2:3; Ezekiel 14:14, 20). He was not a righteous, or perfect man by nature. And we see clearly that he was not perfect in his personal conduct and behavior. He was, just like you and me, a sinner saved by grace. His only righteousness was the righteousness of Christ imputed to him in free justification and imparted to him in regeneration. Christ was made unto him righteousness; and he had no other righteousness. When Job defended and maintained his righteousness before his friends, he was not boasting of righteousness before God, but simply declaring that he was not guilty of the hypocrisy of which his accusers charged him. Without question, as Elihu declared, Job should have spoken more to justify God before his friends than himself (32:2); but God himself verified Job's claims of innocence regarding the things his friends slanderously charged against him.
Job was a man who had been greatly blessed of God with grace and one to whom God had given greater wealth and honor than any other in the East (verse 3). He worshiped God and interceded for his sons and daughters at the throne of grace continually (1:5).
In the first two chapters We see that the Lord God is the absolute Monarch of the universe, ruling and controlling all things in Heaven, earth and Hell, even Satan. I do not know what to make of or how to explain everything written in these chapters; but I do know that this passage is an assertion of God's dominion and sovereignty. The angels came to give report to God; and Satan came among them. It was God who took the initiative in challenging Satan, regarding his servant Job, not Satan (verses 78). It was God who gave Satan permission to do what he did to Job and God who told him exactly what he could and could not do. The devil was allowed to roar against him and afflict him tremendously, but not to harm him. Satan is not a rival to the Almighty, but his servant. He is God's devil. God does with him exactly what he will. When the Lord God gets done with the old serpent, he will cast him into the pit and shut him away forever (Rev 20:10).
Satan accused Job, as believers are always accused, of serving God for gain. And the Lord turned the fiend of Hell loose on him both to prove otherwise and to improve his beloved servant Job (1:912).
Job's Trials
As we read the first two chapters of this Book, it is impossible for us to put ourselves in Job's place and form any right idea of what he felt. One day all his children were having dinner at the oldest son's house. Suddenly a messenger came to Job and told him the Sabeans had slain all his servants and took all his oxen and donkeys. He alone was spared so that he could come tell Job the good news. Before he was finished, another messenger arrived to tell Job that lightning fell from Heaven and killed both his flocks and herdsmen. He alone was spared so that he could come tell Job the good news. While he was still talking, a third messenger came to report that the Chaldeans had taken all his camels and slaughtered all his servants who were tending them. He alone was spared so that he could come tell Job the good news. Then, while he was still telling the story, a fourth messenger ran in to tell Job that God had sent a tornado and killed all his children and all his servants who were with them. Mercifully, he alone was spared so that he could come tell Job the good news (1:1319). All this happened in one day! How did Job react? What did he do? What did he say? Read verses 2022.
"Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshiped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly."
Soon Satan appears with the angels again before the throne of God to give report of what they had been doing. When they did, the Lord God again raised the issue of Job faith and faithfulness with Satan. "And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yes, all that a man has will he give for his life. But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in your hand; but save his life" (2:46). Remember, the fiend of Hell can neither roar nor wiggle without our heavenly Father's permission. And it is our Father who tells him exactly how loud he can roar and where he can wiggle.
"So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. Then said his wife unto him, Do you still retain your integrity? curse God, and die" (2:79). Imagine that. No doubt this was the most difficult of all the trials. Job's wife, the woman he loved, the woman who loved him, the one person he had always been able to count on, the one person he knew would stand by him turned on him in disgust, venting her anger against God and against him for worshiping God. How broken his heart must have been! "But he said unto her, You speak as one of the foolish women (like one of our idolatrous neighbors who do not know God) speaks. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" Still, Job persevered in faith. "In all this did not Job sin with his lips" (2:10).
Job's Friends
Beginning at verse 11 in chapter 2 and going through chapter 31, we see Job's conflict with his friends. Wonderful friends they were. Who has not had more than a few like them? With friends like these, who needs enemies?
When Job's three friends heard about all his woes, they got together to discuss them and set a time to go see Job and comfort him. Sadly, too often, when friends get together to discuss a friend's troubles his troubles are multiplied. When these three miserable friends came and saw Job, they were utterly astonished at his pain and grief. They sat before him for seven days and nights in astonished silence (2:1113).
Then, Job's friends went to work on him. Satan's work was nothing compared to the work of these three, self-righteous, reformed legalists. Job's name means persecuted, and they made sure he lived up to his name. Their doctrine was not wrong. It was as straight as a steel beam, and just as hard. These three men were severe, judgmental, heartless religious Pharisees.
Eliphaz, whose name means "my God is fine gold," was the first to speak. He had a vision, and assumed that his vision gave him authority to sit in judgment over God's servant (4:1216). Bildad, whose name means "confusing love," thought himself a scholarly intellectual, and backed his words with the authority of a long list of forefathers, who could not be mistaken (8:8). Zophar, whose name means "little sparrow," was as worthless as a little sparrow. He was described by someone as one of those irksome people we all hope never to meet again, fresh out of Bible college or seminary, who knows everything about everything.
Job described them considerably more pleasantly than I would, as "miserable comforters." They were all fully convinced that Job was a hypocrite and that he suffered divine judgment because he was, after all, a man with secret sins God was determined to expose by his afflictions. There are multitudes like them around the world in every age and in every church.
Roger Ellsworth wrote, "These three men stand as lasting reminders of the need to handle suffering friends with great care and to refrain from giving quick and easy solutions to complex and trying problems to speak little and listen much in our dealings with those stricken by calamity."
Elihu, whose name means "he is my God," comes on the scene in chapter 32 (32:137:24). Elihu was a young man, but a man with a message from God. He rebuked Job's miserable, tormenting comforters for their accusations, and rebuked Job for spending more time justifying himself before them than in justifying God before them. He spoke of God's incomparable greatness. In chapter 33, verses 1330, Elihu gives us a marvelous picture of God's method of grace, by which he delivers chosen sinners from going down to the pit (verses 1330). This is the way God deals with his elect both in effectual calling and in his wise and good chastisements, fatherly discipline (Hebrews 12:511).
First, he tells Job not to strive against God, but to hear his instruction (verses 1315). Then, when God speaks by his messenger, one sent of God to interpret his words and his works (a gospel preacher) who shows us God's uprightness, he opens our ears that we may hear his voice. This is the way God keeps his chosen from their own devices, breaks our pride, and keeps us from perishing. Such a messenger is truly "one among a thousand" (verses 1623).
Elihu told Job that God chastens the objects of his mercy with pain upon their beds, sometimes great pain, causing them to abhor all natural, creature comfort, until their flesh is consumed and their souls draw near to the grave. At that point, when all hope is gone, when we are utterly stripped of every hope and refuge but Christ, God's grace appears, he causes us to seek him, causes the glory of God in the face of Christ to shine into our hearts, shows us his favor, and speaks peace to our hearts assuring us that Christ is indeed our Righteousness. Thereby, he delivers his own from going down to the pit, because he found a ransom for our souls in his own dear Son.
"He looks upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the light. Lo, all these things works God oftentimes with man, To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living" (33:2730).
Elihu's instructions in this passage are very much like the instructions given in Psalm 107. "O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endures forever. Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! The righteous shall see it, and rejoice: and all iniquity shall stop her mouth. Whoever is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the LORD."
God Confronts His Servant
In chapter 38 (38:142:17), the Lord God himself confronts his servant out of the whirlwind, by the irresistible, convincing power and grace of his Holy Spirit. Here, the Lord God effectually applies to Job what his messenger, Elihu had declared (Romans 10:17). The Lord graciously showed Job his greatness, glory, and solitary majesty as God. Job was broken before God, humbled and contrite. He confessed and repented of his sin.
"Then Job answered the LORD, and said, Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer you? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but I will not answer: yes, twice; but I will proceed no further" (40:35) "Then Job answered the LORD, and said, I know that you can do everything, and that no thought can be withheld from you. Who is he who hides counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech you, and I will speak: I will demand of you, and declare you unto me. I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye sees you. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (42:16).
Job forgave and made intercession for Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar (42:79). Grace experienced makes sinners gracious to one another. And the Lord blessed Job (42:1017). When the gold was refined, God took him out of the furnace. His riches and honor were doubled. His children were added in the same number(7 Sons and 3 Daughters)as before.
"And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before, and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned him, and comforted him over all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of money, and every one an earring of gold. So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she donkeys. He had also seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Kerenhappuch. And in all the land were no women found so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them inheritance among their brethren. After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, even four generations. So Job died, being old and full of days" (Job 42:1017).
Gospel Doctrine
Though mistaken in many things, Job's doctrine was pure, gospel doctrine. He acknowledged and trusted the Lord his God as the sovereign Monarch of Heaven and earth. He knew and confessed his need of Christ as his Mediator and Kinsman Redeemer (9:29, 3235).
Job understood and rejoiced in the hope of the resurrection. Too much is made, in my opinion of Jobs cursing the day of his birth and expressing a desire to die. I grant, he expressed much self-pity in his words. In that he was wrong. But who has not said much the same thing when enduring great, heart crushing pain, but pain that cannot be compared to Job's? I say that not to justify Job's behavior or our own, but to express some understanding of his experience. Yet, even while wallowing in self-pity, Job understood that in the grave "the wicked cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest" (3:17). He knew that the grave is the resting place for the bodies of God's saints. He understood that in the last day our great God will call the bodies of his saints out of the grave and raise us up in resurrection glory (14:1315). Job had this confident hope because he knew that Christ was his Redeemer.
"Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O you my friends; for the hand of God has touched me. Why do you persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh? Oh that my words were now written! oh that they were printed in a book! hat they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock forever! For I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. But you should say, Why persecute we him, seeing the root of the matter is found in me?" (19:2128).
Why?
Why do the righteous suffer? The Holy Spirit shows us the answer in these forty-two chapters. Job himself understood the reason. He said, the Lord my God "knows the way that I take: when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold." The apostle Paul gives us the same explanation, more fully in Hebrews 12:511"And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks unto you as unto children, My son, despise not you the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chastens not? But if you be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are you bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? or they truly for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."