King David: A MAN after God's own heart

I just recently finished the life of King David on my journey through the Bible this year.  We've all heard the traditional stories about David: killing Goliath, David vs. Saul, the story of Bathsheba, David running from his son.  However, I had never actually read the entire life of David from his anointing as king until his death and I must say it painted a brand new picture, for me, of who David really was.  First of all let me start by saying that David was an amazing man and there are many aspects of his life that many of us would do good to emulate.  However, David was just a human being just like the rest of us.  He didn't have access any special power to which the rest of the Church does not.

David's life was racked with scandal and failure, just like any other life.  The king described in the Bible as a "man after [God's] own heart" was in fact a murderer, adulterer, and at times prideful individual.  He shirked his responsibilities as king and would sometimes rather lavish in his wealth rather than do what the Lord had anointed him to do.  For example, when David first saw Bathsheba on the roof he was being lazy and reclining in his palace when he should have been out leading his army in battle.  The first verse of 2 Samuel 11 says

"And it came to pass, at the return of the year, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried at Jerusalem."

Had David been doing what he was supposed to be doing he would not have been lying on his roof and would not have spotted Bathsheba and their subsequent affair likely would have never taken place.

David also took a census of the children of Israel when he had been explicitly told not to.  In 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21 we see that God allowed David to be tempted into taking a census of the children of Israel.  David, giving in to his pride, gave in to Satan's temptation and numbered the children of Israel.  Many scholars debate why he did this but the general consensus is that David was trusting in the size of his military rather than in God for victory.  Whatever the case, we see David's pride cause him to stumble.

We also see David make mistakes in other areas.  The story of Mephibosheth is another good example. In 2 Samuel 16 David is deceived by Mephiboshet's servant Ziba and gives all of Mephibosheth's to him based off of his deception.  Thankfully David gets the opportunity to correct this mistake, but it's yet another example of David's humanity.

Now, none of this is to bring shame upon David or belittle him.  He was still an amazing servant of God.  But, this should also serve as a point of inspiration for us.  David was by no means perfect.  He made many mistakes, some of which were grievous errors that cost the lives of others.  However, in all these things God counted him as a man after His own heart!  How amazing is that?!  We serve a God that is a God of forgiveness, no matter what you've done.  No matter how many times you fail, if we honestly seek after Him, confess those failures, and truly seek to live a life of repentance He is faithful to forgive us!  Also, despite the many shortcomings and humanity of David, God still used him to do AMAZING things, illustrated by the fact that David is still revered as one of the greatest kings of Israel today.

Take home lesson:  Don't let your failures and shortcomings stand in the way of letting God use you.  God is powerful enough to work through those to use you for His glory!

A God of Second Chances? (And third, and fourth...)

I finished the book of Judges last week and I have to say, Israel is quite an interesting group of people.  As I read through the history of Israel I see a nation that can't seem to get it right.  Their disobedience delays their entrance into the promised land, they fail to obey God in His command of complete destruction of pagan influence, they fail to follow the prescribed laws of sacrifice, and the list goes on.  However, I also see a God that worked in spite of all those failings and short comings.  I see a God that , after He tells Israel how He will punish them if they continue in disobedience, goes on to say in Deuteronomy 4:29, "But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul."  I see a God that "is a merciful God" that "will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath."

Those verses are played out throughout scripture.  In the book of Judges we see a cycle of disobedience and judgement.  Israel disobeys God, God allows them to fall to their enemies, Israel cries out and returns to God, God raises up a judge to free Israel from it's enemies.  Then the cycle repeats itself.  It's amazing that God never gets tired of rescuing His children.  No matter how many times the cycle plays itself out, God is always faithful to deliver His people when they repent and turn back to Him.

Now how does that play out for us?  There is NO end to God's redemption and grace.  It's unceasing.  No matter how often we may fall, if we turn back to God He is faithful to forgive and redeem.  Notice there is a condition to this though.  We have to turn back to God.  The fact that God is loving and merciful does not mean we can presume upon that never-ending grace and live how ever we want, continuing in sinful behaviors.  Romans 6:1-2 speaks to this when it says, "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?"

God is always standing with arms wide open for the repentant heart.  Those that desire to turn from sin will find a God willing to sacrifice His own Son for them.  However for those that have no desire to turn from there sin, there isn't the same promise.  Those that persist in sin, God says He will give them what they want, by giving "them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another" (Romans 1:24) and giving "them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done" (Romans 1:28).  For these individuals, there is no desire to repent and God allows them to continue in their choices.  But for those that truly seek redemption, it is waiting! Take the example of the prodigal son.  He found redemption once he "came to his senses" and returned to the father.  The same is true for us.  We have to turn and seek God.  In those instances He is a God of several chances.  

Holiness

I've just finished Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy and I must say it was a tough journey.  The census in Numbers was of course some dry reading and many of the laws were tough to get through, but as I look back on these three books I see one major theme, holiness.  God commands holiness from His people.  He states time and time again that His people are a holy people and they are to be holy as He is holy (Leviticus 20:26, Leviticus 11:44, Deuteronomy 14:2, etc.)  So if this concept of holiness is so important to God and what it means to be His people, it might be a good idea for us to take a look at it.  What does holy mean? A search on Dictionary.com returns several definitions but the one I want us to focus on is this, holy is having a spiritually pure quality.  That's what God wants, spiritual purity, spiritual cleanliness.  This is evident throughout these books, and all of scripture I might add, but especially in these three books.  God requires that His people be set apart and spiritually clean.  Now in the Old Testament this cleanliness was achieved symbolically through the various sacrifices that were required.  But, let's look at how God exemplified this holiness in a way that demonstrated the cleanliness He desired.  If you were physically unclean (i.e. sickness, had contact with dead bodies, deformities, etc.) you could not come to the temple and were often times even required to stay on the outskirts of the Israelite camp.  Now, was God being cruel and unfair in these regards?  No.  Many of these prescriptions had health and sanitary components that were actually quite advanced for their time.  What God was doing was giving the people a visual reference to exemplify the extent of holiness He required.  The lamb you sacrificed had to be without blemish.  The goat you sacrificed had to be perfect.  The bull had to be perfect.  Everything had to be perfect!  With such a high standard of holiness, how could any one person ever hope to fully please God?  This is the exemplification of Romans 3:19-20 which says

 ¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are ^[a]under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; ²⁰ because by the works ^[b]of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for ^[c]through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

The law was not intended to save us but rather to show us how dreadfully short we fall in regards to the holiness that God requires.  So what can we do?  If God sets the bar higher than anyone is capable of reaching, what hope is there?  Enter Jesus!  The very next verses in Romans say

²¹ But now apart ^[a]from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²² even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those ^[b]who believe; for there is no distinction; ²³ for all ^[c]have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; ²⁵ whom God displayed publicly as a ^[d]propitiation ^[e]in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, ^[f]because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; ²⁶ for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who ^[g]has faith in Jesus.

Jesus reached the bar we could never obtain and made it possible for us to enter into God's presence with spiritual purity.  As I'm reading through the Bible, it is AMAZING how scripture is all linked together and how everything points to Jesus.  The strict holiness of the Old Testament serves to show us just how incapable and sinful we are and shows us the need for a Savior.  Then in the New Testament God sends us that Savior!  Amazing stuff!

A Royal Priesthood

     Today I'm going to be looking at the New Testament as well because I think it's important that we remember the Bible is a whole book and that scripture in one place can help teach and expound upon scripture in another area.  As I read through Leviticus and Numbers I am astounded by the strict adherence that God requires of the priests and His people in regards to the tabernacle, sacrifice, and cleanliness.  It is extremely evident that God is a holy God and wants that His people be holy in the same way He is holy (Leviticus 11:44).  There are also some very serious punishments for those that fail to meet or respect the statutes that God has set up.  Many Israelites and even priests are sentenced to death for not exercising obedience to God's laws.  Now all this sounds pretty drastic but I think that God is trying to demonstrate to us the seriousness with which He views sin and I think we would do well to view sin in the same manner in which God does.  God placed a large responsibility on the Levites (priests) in regards to allowing them to conduct the business of the tabernacle and they were the intercessors between God and the people.  No one else could approach or intercede before the Lord, only the Levites.

     Now after Christ's death on the cross a beautiful thing happens.  The veil of the temple is torn and now all believers are welcomed into the presence of God.  1 Peter 2:9 says that we are now a royal priesthood.  We were saved by God for the sole purpose of serving Him as priests and proclaiming His excellencies and His glory.  What a huge responsibility and honor!  Given the seriousness with which God viewed the priests in the Old Testament I think we, as believers, should take our new responsibility as a "royal priesthood" with extreme seriousness.  God has saved us and entrusted us with the responsibility of priesthood.  What does priesthood mean and look like for us today?  Well as priests we are to exemplify God to those around us.  We are to represent God.  One quote I'm reminded of is that "you may be the only Bible some people ever read" and therefore we should make every effort to ensure that our lives, as royal priests, are a reflection of God's glory to those around us, especially those that may not know Him.

Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob: A Legacy of Faith

Hey everyone, I apologize for the lull in posts over the past few weeks, but life can get busy.  I'll be doing two posts over the next few days to try and catch everyone up.  There's so much to discuss.  I'm finishing up Exodus tonight but I want to go back and touch on the patriarchs in this post if I may.

We often equate these three men with immense faith and trust in God and rightly so.  However, I think we need to remember that they were men, just like us.  They had their struggles, they had their short comings.  Just look at each of them:


Abraham

• Disobeyed and showed distrust in God by lying about his relationship with Sarah to Pharaoh.
• Did not trust God's timing and gave in to his wife's offer of Hagar so as to produce an heir.
• Lied a second time concerning his relationship with Sarah

Isaac

• Followed in his father's footsteps by lying about his relationship with his wife Rebecca in an effort to save himself.
• After the prophecy concerning his sons, he still tried to bless his first born to follow customary norms, instead of God's plan.

Jacob

•  His very name meant supplanter
•  Deceived his blind father into blessing him instead of his brother

Now, I don't note these shortcomings to bring an unfavorable light on these guys, but simply to show that they were still human.  However, each one of them was still part of God's promise.

What does this mean for us?  It means that we don't have to be perfect to win God's favor.  We don't have to figure it all out and get it all right before God will use us.  It means that God still works in our shortcomings.  He is a God of mercy and forgiveness.  He can work in spite of our getting in His way.  There is nothing we can do that can keep Him from being faithful to His word.  He promised to make Abraham a great nation and He is faithful to that promise.

The Life of Abraham

     As I finish reading about the life of Abraham I'm taken a back by the sheer faith of this one man.  When God called him to leave his father and set out for a new land, God never told him where he was going.  He only said "go to a land that I will show you".  The story of Abraham starts off with a magnificent display of child-like faith.  No wonder this man is listed among the heroes of the faith in Hebrews.  But I think it's very important to note that Abraham was just as human as the rest of us.  As he went through Egypt we see that, in an effort to protect himself, he lied about his relationship with Sarah.  This man who trusted God enough to leave his father and go to an unknown land didn't trust the same God to get him through one country unharmed!  And this would not be the first time Abraham takes matters into his own hands and doesn't trust God to provide.  It's important for us to remember that even the Christians that we see as strong leaders are still human.  We should never put another believe on a pedestal to the point where they achieve "super human" status.  Only God should be given that place.  And so the same goes for Abraham.  A great man.  The father of the Jewish and Christian faiths.  But human none the less.

     Still Abraham showed incredibly strong faith throughout his life.  He even went so far as to being willing to sacrifice his own son.  He was willing to give up the son he had waited 100 years to receive!  All because the Lord asked it of him.  Oh, what we could learn from Abraham.  Could you imagine if we all had faith of that magnitude?  The things that would be accomplished are unimaginable.  Don't get me wrong.  God can use the measure of faith that He has given to each of us in might ways.  But if the church would serve with the faith of Abraham, it would be a powerful thing.

     Now, I want to make sure God get's His due credit and is glorified in all this.  I found something particularly beautiful about God in chapter 15.  In this chapter God is promising to provide an heir for Abraham.  God promises to protect Abraham and to reward him.  Abraham asks that God would provide him a son to be heir to his household and God enters into a covenant with Abraham.  You probably know the words of this covenant very well.  God asks Abraham to count the stars and then tells him "so shall [his] descendants be" and they will inherit the "promised land".  In order to seal the covenant God asks Abraham to provide a 3 year old heifer, a 3 year old female goat, a 3 year old ram, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon.  Now Abraham proceeded to cut these each into two halves and lay each half to the side.  As was custom when entering into a covenant, both parties would pass through the two halves symbolizing that the same fate should be theirs, should they break the covenant.  Now the amazing part comes in at verse 17.  Prior to this, before Abraham could walk between the two halves, God put him into a deep sleep.  Then this happened:

"It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces" Gen 15:17

     Did you see it?  God himself passed through the halves.  God sealed the covenant Himself.  He did not let Abraham pass through because the covenant required nothing on Abraham's part.  God took it all upon Himself.  What an amazing God?  We serve a God who took it upon Himself with Abraham and also took it upon Himself on the cross of Calvary.  We serve a God who knows we can never reach Him so He reaches to us.  Thanks be to God!

Learning to Trust

     The book of Job has proven to be quite a trying book.  In the beginning I found it hard to understand the reasons for Job’s suffering.  I’m still not sure why He had to suffer the way he did but as I reached the end of the book I came to the realization that maybe I was not intended, we we’re not intended, to know the full reasons for Job’s suffering.  In the end God vindicates Job and restores to him all his possession two-fold, but Job is still never given an answer for why he has had to suffer.  God does not make him privy to the beginning dialogue between Himself and Satan and the subsequent trials and suffering that follow.  All God tells Job is that he should trust Him and I think that is the main purpose of the book. 

     Just like Job we are supposed to trust God.  As readers we are supposed to trust that Job’s suffering was not in vain and as believers in our world today we are trust God that the suffering and trials that we endure and that we see around us serve a greater purpose that is not necessarily available to our wisdom.  So I believe one of the overall themes of this book is trust, in the face of all circumstances.  Trust in the Lord as the supreme Judge who will right all wrongs and, while it may seem like it for the time being, will not allow the wicked to prosper forever.  Trust that the Lord is working all things for our good even though it may not seem like it in the moment.  And lastly, to trust in the Lord as protector and deliverer because ultimately He will deliver, as we will see and continue to see in the sacrifice of Jesus.

"Though He slay me, I will hope in Him..." Job 13:15

A Finite Perspective on Fairness

     So I've reached Job 23.  This is one tough book.  I did some background reading on the book of Job to try and get some better understanding on the themes of the book and the overall purpose and I found some good stuff.  I think there are several "take home" points for this book and God can certainly meet each of us in a special way in through Job.  The biggest take home point for me has been the sovereignty of God.


     I think the topic of sovereignty is one that, like the book of Job itself, can prove to be somewhat uncomfortable to our minds, and our pride, on some occasions.  Many of the questions that I had in my earlier post are clear examples of how the sovereignty of God was not meshing well with what I perceived as fair.  Fair.  Now that's an interesting notion.  There is not one bit of this book so far that seems fair.  But what is fair?  Who determines fair?  Sure I can say that something isn't fair, but my conclusions would be based on incomplete, finite wisdom.  Therefore, just because I deem something unfair from my perspective doesn't always mean that's the case.  Let me illustrate my point.  When I was a little kid and I wanted to go to a party with some friends my parents would always ask, "will there be adults there?".  If the answer was no, I wasn't allowed to go.  Now all my friend's parents were letting them go so to my 15 year old mind, that was not fair that I couldn't go.  However, I was reasoning from a 15 year-old's very finite wisdom.  My parents had many years of experience and maturity that I did not have and therefore, while them not allowing me to go to the party seemed unfair to me, at my parent's more experienced and higher level of reasoning that rejection was serving as protection for me, although I couldn't see it at the time.

     The same is true for God.  What may seem unfair to us, may be the means to a higher, more holy end than we can perceive in our minds.  Think about it.  How many times do we look back at struggles and trials in our lives that, at the time, didn't seem very fair only to realize that God had a beautiful plan for our lives that would not have been possible without that trial.  That's what I'm getting at.  What we reason as unfair, may have larger implications on a heavenly level.  God is sovereign.  He operates from a wisdom that FAR exceeds human minds.

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts." - Isaiah 55:9


    It's not comfortable sometimes to think that God is sovereign over us and that He may allow something "unfair" to happen in our lives that we can do nothing about.  I think we can see that Job even thought the same thing.  However, as Christians we are to trust the Lord and trust that in ALL things He is working for the good of those who love Him.

"For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." -Jeremiah 29:11

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." -Romans 8:28

     It is not our place to instruct God how to work in our lives or determine what is a fair or unfair action on His part.  We are the created and NOT the Creator...and we do well to remember that!

The Patience of Job?

Well  I'm 9 chapters into the book of Job and I have to say, this book is proving to be a challenge.

1. The poetry form that it's written in is pretty hard to follow.  I'm having to read the foot notes to make sure I'm understanding correctly, haha.
2. The human-nature in me is not very comfortable with what Job is being put through, and doesn't quite understand why.

I think that Job should make all of us a little uncomfortable.  If it doesn't I'm not saying there's anything wrong with you but I find it very hard, in my finite mind, to reconcile this situation.  Why does Job have to go through this?  Why Job?  What was the point of the trials?  Why let Satan do the things he did?  What purpose did it serve?

These are all questions that I have as I read this book.  It's hard but I have to trust that God had a reason for Job dealing with what he had to deal with.

I know we often talk about the patience of Job but as I was reading last night I saw that Job was just as human as we were.  He never cursed God but he did insinuate that was being unfair and unjust:

"It is all one; therefore I say, 'He destroys the guiltless and the wicked."

"If the scourge kills suddenly, He mocks the despair of the innocent."

"The earth is given into the hand of the wicked ; He covers the faces of its judges. If it is not He, then who is it?"

"Now my days are swifter than a runner ; They flee away, they see no good." 
 -Job 9:22-25

I can't say that I blame Job right now.  I'm hoping that God will make sense of all this later on in Job's story, but until then I'll just keep trudging along.

What do you think?  Anyone have any insights into Job?  I'd love to hear them!

God bless!!

From Eden to Babel

     So last night I finished reading Genesis 1-11.  These chapters cover the creation through Noah's flood and Abram leaving for Haran.  The story of creation and the story of the flood are both stories that we've all heard before.  If you're like me, you grew up listening to these stories being told in Sunday school and heard them from your grandparents over and over.  Even if you didn't grow up in the church you're probably still very familiar with these stories by now.  I'd venture to say that even if you're not a believer you've probably heard all or part of these stories before.  They're iconic.  God created the world in 7 days, placed the crown of his created beings in the garden of Eden with one simple commandment, humans did exactly what they were told not to do, God has to remove them from Eden,  childbearing pains are increased, surviving becomes harder, death enters the world, and every human to follow is born separated from God (my apologies to my high school English teacher for that incredibly long run on sentence).

     I've heard this story so many times but for some reason, as I read this time, I see God in a different light.  I see a God who loved His creation and who was not pleased to have to turn them out of the beautiful garden He had created for them.  I see a God who cared so much for His children that before He sent them out from the garden He took the time to kill an animal and provide adequate clothing to protect them, and cover their shame, as they went out into a much different world.  I can't help but wonder how it must have broken God's heart to have to turn out His children from such a beautiful place.  He knew what awaited them on the outside.  He knew about sickness, pain, death.  He knew what the heartache they would face.  And we see in Gen. 3:15 that God has already put into motion what He will do to remedy the situation.  He will come to the rescue.  He will restore His children.  He will get back at the one who tempted His children.

     So humanity goes on and we see that sin quickly rears it's ugly head in the fact that the next generation of humans, Cain and Able, are involved in the first homicide in human history.  We didn't waste any time did we?   And sin just keeps on piling up on through the generations.  When we get to Noah we see that humanity, and even angels, are involved in such heinous sins that God wants to completely rid the world of humanity.  Genesis 5:6 says that God was sorry he had made man and put them on the earth.  It must have been bad!  So He tells Noah that He's going to flood the world with "rain" so He needs to build an ark.  Now interesting note, not only was it crazy to build an ark in the middle of the desert but it had never rained before!  Imagine the ridicule and jokes that Noah got.  "Why are you building a boat here?"  "What is rain?"  God's plan of salvation was foolishness to these people.  Doesn't that sound familiar? 

      "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."   1 Corinthians 1:18

     The same is still true today.  People think that God's plan of salvation is completely crazy.  A servant king?  A crucified savior?  It doesn't add up to them.  But God tends to do exactly what we would never expect!

     The next big event we see is the Tower of Babel.  I just want to note that the guy in charge of the construction project was named Nimrod....seriously? Man exhibits his pride and desires to make his name great by building a tower to reach the heavens.  Imagine that.  Humans want to glorify themselves.  So God confuses their language and we get the many languages that we have today.
   
     I know I blew through that pretty quickly and there is so much packed into these stories.  I can already see it's going to be hard to share everything I'm learning this year!  I'm only 11 chapters into the 1st of 66 books and the theological truths so far are so deep and so immense.  It's going to be a good year.
   
     Well tonight I take a break from Genesis to read about Job.  Apparently Job lived during the time of Abraham so chronologically, his story fits here.  Learned something new!
 

God bless!!

Here we go...

     There are those moments in life when you get this really great idea and it seems so awesome in your head and you want everyone else to think it's an awesome idea and jump right on board with you. I'm a veteran at coming up with lots of ideas....it's the follow through that gets me sometimes. That being said, you can imagine my concerns about deciding to read through the entire Bible this year! It's something I've always wanted to do and I figured that January 1st of 2012 seemed like no better time to start (especially since, if the Mayans get it right, this year will be my last chance to read through it!). Now, why have I decided to blog about this little endeavor? I'm hoping that it will help hold me accountable to finish what I've started. I'm hoping that the more people who know about my goal, the more likely I'll be to stick with it.  If you're interested in taking this journey too then please feel free to travel along side me. I promise I'll make it worth your while.

So, if you're willing to come along side me, lace up your hiking boots and let's go. Here's the game plan. I'm going to be reading through the Bible chronologically, in the order in which the events occurred. I don't want to just read the Bible from Genesis to Exodus to Leviticus to...but instead as God's one BIG story from creation to the Revelation. Along the way I'll be sharing my thoughts and insights that I learn as the Holy Spirit guides and directs me through this massive journey. Will everything apply to those reading this blog? Probably not, but God has a way of speaking to us right when we need it, even when we didn't know we needed it so maybe something He shows me will help you! I know a year is a long time to follow along but in 366 days (yep, it's a leap year folks) I'm hoping to see God's story played out from Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21 and see how His Spirit has woven through the scriptures to demonstrate His heart for a fallen humanity and ultimately His work of restoration through Jesus!

     So, please join me this year and follow along as I travel through the Bible...and hold me accountable to finish! Along the way, feel free to comment and share what God has taught you as well. After all, we're all just fellow travelers on this journey called life!

In Christ,