Ecclesiastes 9:1-3 (ESV)
1 But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. 2 It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. 3 This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead.
Ecclesiastes 12:14 (ESV)
For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.
The book of Ecclesiastes has at times a strong sense of despair. The author does not like the way that things happen in life. It does not seem fair. Why do the good not get the best of life? Why do the evil prosper? Why do the good suffer? Why are the evil not punished? Why are hard workers not always rewarded? Why are slackers sometimes rich?
The major lesson to learn in such passages is to see that these things feel wrong. Indeed, they are wrong. If everything worked exactly as it should—if sin were not a factor—everything would be fair. Hard work would be rewarded. Folly would be punished. But our world is sin-darkened. All of creation is fallen because of the fall of man in the garden. Since that time, not everything has appeared to be fair, right, or just.
Let’s make two quick points about the fact that not everything appears fair or just. First, remember that you have greatly benefitted from the fact that the wicked are not always immediately punished by God. All of us have sinned. IF God gave us justice, all of us would have died the moment of our first sin. The fact that you draw breath, that you are reading a blog on a computer, that you live at all is a reminder that God has been more gracious to all of us than we deserve. WE have all benefitted from this oddly functioning universe.
Second, to keep the Book of Ecclesiastes in right focus, you must have the end in mind. God will set all things right. God will judge every sin. God will reward all righteousness. God will ultimately put all of the universe in order, so don’t fear a lack of justice.
And, in case that concept of God punishing every sin has you worried, remember that Jesus Christ died to pay for the sin of all of God’s children. Every one of the Christian’s sins has been justly punished in Christ on the cross. Every one of the lost persons’ sins will be punished rightly in that person’s eternal condemnation. God is just, and he will do right justice. This is why we call for all people everywhere to repent and turn to Jesus for grace before their lives come to an end.
A Fresh Look at the Woman’s Question (John 4:19-24)
John 4:19-24 (ESV)
19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
This passage is one in which my understanding of it differs from what I most often hear taught. When many Bible teachers come across the question of the Samaritan woman in verse 19, they teach that she was attempting to change the subject, to angle the deflector shields as it were, in order to keep Jesus from pursuing the topic of her own personal sin. It is as if she brings up a question of religious disagreement in order to make the conversation less personal and more hypothetical in nature.
However, I do not think this is at all the case. In the previous verses, Jesus has just exposed the depth of this woman’s sin and shame. She has been taken in and used by a number of men. Now she lives with a man who is not her husband. She is at the well in the middle of the day, clearly wanting to be alone. There seems to be a sense of shame in this woman.
What is the right thing for the woman to do when her sin is exposed? Well, it obviously depends on what God is doing in her heart. If God has left her heart dead to him, she will recoil in anger. She might become haughty. She will shake her head at Jesus and tell him to mind his own business.
However, if God is doing something in her heart, if he has begun to make alive a sinfully dead and hopeless heart, something else will occur. In fact, it would seem most natural for the woman to cry for help. She has sinned. She needs grace. She needs to be forgiven. It seems logical that she would ask a question that would help her to identify how it is that she might be forgiven.
What does the woman do? She asks Jesus a question about which temple is the right one in which to worship. Is this a stall tactic, or is it something more? Our problem is that we view the concept of worship as modern people who go to church buildings for congregational gatherings of worship. This was not in her mind. People did not go to the temple for congregational singing and preaching. No, this woman is asking where she must go in order to make the proper kind of sacrifice in order to regain the favor of the God she has spurned. She wants to know where to go that she might find forgiveness.
I think Jesus’ answer to the woman shows that my interpretation of the woman’s question is correct. Jesus helps the woman to know that, indeed, the temple in Jerusalem is the one in which God has made it possible for people to worship him. The temple on Mount Gerizim never had any way of helping people to rightly sacrifice before the one true God. But Jesus also tells her that this system of going to a temple to worship is about to come to an end. Very soon, in fact, those who wish to worship God will not do so through bloody burnt offerings, but will instead worship the Lord in spirit and truth. Salvation is not going to be about anything related to the temple, it will soon be by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
It is logical that, were the woman trying to avoid spiritual discussion, Jesus would have exposed more of her need. Instead, Jesus answers her question and gives her a very real answer. “If you want to know how to be right with God,” he says in effect, “You need to know that it is a spiritual worship, a true worship that will bring you to peace with God.” Jesus does not send this woman away as he did the rich young man of Mark 10:17-22. No, Jesus told her how to find grace, because her heart was already despairing over its sin. Jesus saw the Spirit’s work on this woman’s heart, and he gave her the good news.
A Great Encouragement for Me (Isaiah 43:1-3a)
While spending a little time in a workbook that I’m going through with some friends, I read the following text:
Isaiah 43:1-3a (ESV)
1 But now thus says the Lord,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
Last night, I led in the hymn “How Firm a Foundation.” In that song, we sang the concepts found in these verses. What a joy it is to know that, if we are Christ’s, we are truly in his care. Though we may go through deep waters, dark valleys, or fiery trials, God is still there with us. God is with us to comfort us, to keep us, to strengthen us.
Why does God strengthen us? It is certainly not out of any obligation to us that we have earned. No, we earn nothing good from God. Yet God, because of the life he has given us in his Son, will stand with us and sustain us. God, for the sake of his own name and out of his own love, will not let his children be totally overwhelmed.
I’m sure you know what it feels like to look up and feel like you have no hope. It is not a surprise to find ourselves at the end of our rope. It is not a surprise to see that we cannot fix our lives on our own. God did not design us to live in this sinful world as lone rangers. Thus, it is a comfort to hear our God declare to his covenant people that he is with them, he will guard and guide them, and he will watch over them because he loves them and they are his.
Have you gotten under this love of Christ? There is only one way to have these verses apply to you—by trusting in the Lord Jesus. WE are sinners. We must be covered by God’s grace to be saved. Cry out to Jesus for mercy and find that you have become God’s child.
IF you are God’s child, revel in these verses. Let them comfort and strengthen you for life. We cannot beat the challenges of the day. WE cannot even straighten out our own hearts on our own. But our God is with us. He is mightier than any trial we face. HE will not lose us, for he is our God and he declares his love for us.
Fear Not the Reproach of Man (Isaiah 51:7-8)
Isaiah 51:7-8
7 “Listen to me, you who know righteousness,
the people in whose heart is my law;
fear not the reproach of man,
nor be dismayed at their revilings.
8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment,
and the worm will eat them like wool;
but my righteousness will be forever,
and my salvation to all generations.”
Have you ever noticed that it is often easy to hide morality? We live in an “anything goes” culture in which those who look at certain activities as wrong are the only ones out-of-step with the times. At the same time, it seems that those who truly worship God, believing his word and following his commands are often thought to be at the least strange and in many cases dangerous. So, it is sometimes easier not to display your reliance on the word of God as your standard for life.
God knew that this would be a temptation for us. He knew that we would be strangers in a world not our own. And this is why God gives us words like the ones above in Isaiah.
Don’t be afraid of the reviling of the world. If you know righteousness, if you seek God, don’t fear. While the world may laugh at and scorn the word of God, God will not be defeated. The derision of the world has no impact on the stability of the commands of God. God’s word will stand, though all of the rest of the world fall.
By the way, don’t take that last paragraph as a noble defeatism. God’s word will be victorious. Those who are dead in sins and transgressions will be saved by a God who makes them alive. The kingdom of Christ will grow throughout all the nations. God will gather his people to himself. God’s promises will be proved true. Jesus will reign as the King of kings and Lord of lords.
The thing that we want to take from this truth is that we need not be ashamed of the truth we know. We need not shrink back simply because many around us do not share our trust in God. We have the authority of Jesus to go and make disciples of the nations. We certainly have the right to declare truth to be truth, good to be good, and evil to be evil. Yes, we do all this with gentleness and love. No, we do not pick fights with others just to argue. But we take the truth of the word of God to the ends of the earth just as God has commanded.
I Was Only Kidding (Proverbs 26:18-19)
Proverbs 26:18-19
18 Like a madman who throws firebrands, arrows, and death
19 is the man who deceives his neighbor
and says, “I am only joking!”
You know this man. He will say something that is insulting to you or hurtful to you. He will say something that is harsh or that causes you harm. He will trick you, leading you astray and into difficulty. Yet, when you confront him, he will tell you that he was only joking.
I know a man like this. I have one particular person in mind. He often says cruel things to people. He often stirs up trouble in his church. But, he is at least clever enough not to put himself in a position to be confronted for his actions. You see, he always treats his hurtful speech and meddling ways in the light of his sense of humor. He insults people, stirs up strife, causes division, but he does so with just enough of a sneer to be able to deny his actions and say, “It was just a joke. If I offended you, I apologize.”
Look at the words of the Scripture. Such a person, a person who hides his insults behind his supposed humor, that man is like a person who hurls flaming arrows. This person is dangerous, destructive, and deadly. Watch out for him. Do not listen to him. Do not tolerate his falsehood.
And, be warned, you might be one of these people. Are you hurtfully sarcastic? Do you like to say what you think with humor as if that somehow makes your words more tolerable? There is no place for this in the church. We are to be united and loving. We are not to use supposed humor to allow us to insult and hurt others. Those are the tricks of the world. We are to model the love of Christ.
I’m not saying that you should have no sense of humor. Of course we can laugh with each other. But we need not be so quick to laugh at each other, to take cheap shots at each other, or to put down one another. We can find other ways to laugh, ways that do not mask the evil in our hearts. Let us learn to laugh with joy and not with malice. Let us learn to love each other with our words and with our deeds. Let us learn to be a true picture of the love of God on earth.
An Introduction to Hebrew Poetry
Scholars estimate that between one-third and one-half of the Bible is written in poetry; yet very few Christians seem to give much consideration to this style.
Recognizing Poetry
Poetic passages are often recognized by scholars because of two main components:
· Figurative language – Poetic passages use more figures of speech, similes, and metaphors than do prose passages. While prose passages will use figures of speech, the complexity and frequency of figures of speech are greater in poetry.
· Parallelism – Poetic passages are often written with short lines that play off of each other. These can occur in groups of 2, 3, or even 4 lines of poetic text. The point is that elements of one or more lines are balanced, repeated, or expanded in the following lines.
Types of Parallelism
In the 19th century, Robert Lowth listed three categories of Hebrew parallelism which have been used to help people think through Hebrew poetry. Though Lowth’s categories have been modified and at times rejected by scholars as far too simplistic (rightfully so), they offer a helpful starting point for modern Bible readers. Lowth’s categories include:
· Synonymous parallelism – The parallel lines say essentially the same thing with different words. Be careful not to assume that the second line is an exact restatement. Often the second line will help to clarify the reader’s understanding of the first.
Example: Proverbs 9:7 (ESV)
Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.
· Antithetical parallelism – The second line of the pair teaches us with opposites from the first line. This is not to say that the first line is being contradicted, but that another angle of the truth is being examined. For example, if the first line of a parallel offers a blessing for right actions, the second line might offer a curse for evil actions.
Example: Proverbs 9:8 (ESV)
Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you; reprove a wise man, and he will love you.
· Synthetic (or formal) parallelism – The second line does not repeat the first, but expands
on the thought of the first. This might include a line that completes the thought of another. It might repeat part of the first line while expanding with thoughts not in the first line. This category is a sort-of catch-all category in which lines are obviously intended to go together in a poetic way which are neither synonymous nor antithetical.
Example: Psalm 46:1 (ESV)
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Features of Poetry
Hebrew poetry can have a great variety of features that distinguish it. Only 1 follows:
· Chiasm – Not a type of parallelism but more a technique, a chiasm parallels a previous line in a reverse (a, b, c, c, b, a) order. The name derives from the Greek letter chi, which looks like our letter X. Chiasms can occur with the points of two lines or the balancing of opposite lines in a larger section of Scripture.
Example: Isaiah 11:13b (ESV)
Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.
Why Notice Poetry?
· Strong emotion – Writing in poetry indicates a level of emotion from the author that may not be present in prose. We should recognize this in order to take the passage of Scripture with the emotion intended by its author.
· Figurative language – Because poetry often uses figurative language, we should be sure to recognize poetry in order to better interpret the meaning of the text.
· Memorization – It is likely that texts were written in poetic couplet in order to aid in their being committed to memory.
· Prevalence – Scholars estimate that between ½ and 1/3 of Scripture is written in poetry. Since so much of God’s word is in this style, we must take it seriously.
· Beauty – Poetry enhances the beauty and emotional connection of the text.
See George L. Klein, “Poetry” in Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996).;
A Lion in the Road (Proverbs 22:13)
Proverbs 22:13
The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside!
I shall be killed in the streets!”
How many people do you know find themselves paralyzed by fear? They have an opportunity come their way, but, because they do not have a guarantee of everything being easy, they let good things pass them by. Do you know that fear is not always the problem here?
The proverb above tells us that the one who claims that danger is keeping him or her from moving may not be frightened at all. The proverb tells us that a sluggard, a brutally lazy person, will often use danger as an excuse for failing to take positive action. This does not honor God.
I can remember a guy from my hometown who always was out-of-work. For some reason, this guy just never held down a job. Also, when jobs came his way, he often turned up his nose at them, finding reason after reason why this particular job was not right for him. The problem was not that this guy had no skill or could not get a job; the problem was that he was lazy. He did not like to work. He did not want a job to cramp his plans for the day—plans which mainly involved eating other people’s food and sleeping a lot.
If we are not careful, however, we all can fall into the danger of allowing laziness allow us to see danger around the corner. Perhaps it is in sharing your faith. You have an opportunity cross your path, but you do not want to take the risk or have the potentially awkward conversation. It is very easy to allow your own lack of desire to do the spiritual work to prevent you from speaking. Sure, you might come up with a hundred reasons why this is not a very good time to talk about spiritual things, but often the bottom line, at least in my own life, is that we are simply unwilling to do the hard work of evangelism.
What opportunities are before you today? What might you be able to do for the glory of God and the advancement of the gospel? What excuses is your heart making on your behalf to get you out of doing the work of the kingdom? Battle spiritual laziness. Battle all forms of hiding from the hard work. Pray hard, trust God, and take action for his glory.
Jesus, the Creator (Colossians 1:16)
Colossians 1:16
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
All things were created by Jesus, through Jesus, and for Jesus. Which things? All things. Things in heaven, things on earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created by Jesus.
The first thing this tells us is that Jesus is not created. If Jesus were created, then not all things were created by Jesus. Jesus created all physical things. Jesus created all spiritual things. Jesus is not created, he is the Creator.
The fact that all things exist by Jesus, through Jesus, and for Jesus tells us that Jesus is not only the Creator, but he is also the ultimate power behind creation and the ultimate purpose for creation. You exist by Jesus, through Jesus’ power, and for Jesus’ glory. If there is no living Jesus, there is no you. If you rebel against Jesus, you rebel against the very one who created you and against the very reason for your existence.
Ask yourself this one simple question: Could you possibly be happy fighting against the purpose for your existence? Of course not. We will be most happy when we do what we exist to do. We exist for Jesus; thus the thing that will make you most happy is when you realize that you exist for Jesus and then you submit to Jesus and live for his glory. Jesus is our Creator and our purpose.
Jonah and Not Liking God (Jonah 4:1-3)
Jonah 4:1-3 (ESV)
1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. 3 Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”
“I just can’t accept that God would…” As a pastor, I hear that line begin more sentences than one might think. As people study the Scripture and see the true revelation of the God who created us, people often find God’s picture of himself difficult to swallow. “I just can’t understand why God…” is often the precursor for an explanation of how we think God should do things instead of the way that God has done them.
For an example of this, take a look at Jonah. God sent him to Nineveh. Jonah rebelled and ran away. God took action and sent Jonah to Nineveh with his message. Jonah reluctantly preached. The people of the city repented. God relented and rescued the people. And Jonah, for his part, was angry.
Look at the words above. God’s salvation of a huge population of people, people who were not nice people, infuriated Jonah. Jonah, in accusing God, says that he knew God would do something like that. Jonah knew that God had revealed himself as merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. In this case, Jonah simply did not like who God was and what God chose.
If you can’t figure Jonah, remember that the city of Nineveh represented a brutal empire. The Assyrians were known for overrunning their enemies, conquering other nations, burning, torturing, and destroying. The Ninevites were a godless people, a people whom Jonah thought ought to be destroyed. So, when God has compassion on them, Jonah simply does not like it.
Where do you decide that you do not like how God has revealed himself? Where do you act like Jonah, actually turning up your nose from God’s description of his plans and his ways? Do you hate the concept of hell? Does God’s chasing after a people from all nations bother you? Is it election and predestination that draws your ire? Is it the fact that God’s commitment is to his glory and not to our wealth? Is it God’s standard of holiness? Do you love the New Testament but not the Old? Which part of God do you, Christian, not like?
Don’t think, by the way, that you can escape this being true of you somewhere. We all have things we wish that God had done differently. We all have things that we read in Scripture that we simply cannot grasp. We all have commands of God that we battle against or simply ignore. But in doing so, we prove that our hearts are not yet fully devoted to the person of God as he has revealed himself in Scripture. A major part of our sanctification is our learning to embrace who God is as he has revealed himself and to embrace what God commands. After all, God’s commands and his actions are the very reflections of his heart. God commands us to love him, and that requires that we treasure all that he is and all that he does, even when his ways are higher than ours.
Today, it would be good to think about who God has revealed himself to be. As you think about God, ask God to help your heart to truly love him as he is. Ask God to help you to submit to the Scriptures and to embrace all that God has done. Command your own heart to love God, even when you cannot yet grasp why he does what he does. If God does something you cannot understand, assume that God is right and that your heart needs to learn to see things from a more God-honoring perspective. Instead of being a Jonah, being angry enough to die because of who God is, ask God to soften your heart and make you embrace all that our perfect, righteous, merciful, holy God has revealed.
Jesus, the Only Way to God – A Review
Is it necessary for a person to have actual, conscious faith in Jesus Christ in order for them to be reconciled to God? Do those who either refuse Jesus or who simply never hear of Jesus spend an actual eternity in hell under the wrath of Almighty God? In Jesus, the Only Way to God, John Piper addresses these questions in his inspiring, helpful, and typically thorough style.
Positive
Simply put, Piper nails this issue with the word of God. He is not arrogant, belittling of others, or sensationalistic in this work. Piper simply goes to the Scripture to explain what Christians have believed from the word of God for centuries.
Negative
In chapter 5, Piper addresses the question of whether or not Cornelius was already saved before Peter came to tell him the gospel. Piper eventually argues that Cornelius represents a special kind of person in the world, one who seeks after God in an extraordinary way. Piper then illustrates this idea by quoting a story of missionaries in Ethiopia. It is strange, then, that Piper does not explain this conclusion about lost God-seekers in the light of Romans 3:11 which declares that no one seeks after God.
Recommendation
People in our churches are actually asking whether or not one must have conscious faith in Jesus in order to be reconciled to God; thus, we need a work like this one from Piper to answer them. While the brevity of the work leaves a question or two unanswered, Piper does an outstanding job of answering what needs to be answered with biblical soundness, thoroughness, and readability. If you have any struggles with the question of the exclusivity of Christ and the necessity of conscious faith for salvation (or if you know someone who has these struggles), this book is an excellent resource for you.
Audio
I received an excellent copy of the audio recording of this work from ChristianAudio.com. The narration was very well-done and quite easy-to-listen-to.
Pastor Travis Peterson 