Category Archives: Charles’ Articles

THE BLESSING OF GOD’S STRENGTH

Posted on by
Reply

How blessed is the man whose strength is in you,

In whose heart are the highways to Zion!

Psalm 84:5

What does it mean to be blessed? One of the features of Psalm 84 is the repetition of the phrase “How blessed.” This phrase occurs in verses 4, 5, and 11. This phrase is an incomplete comparison. It is a way of saying that one is greatly blessed. In fact, it may mean that one could not be more greatly blessed. In this case, the one who dwells in God’s presence could not be more greatly blessed, the man whose strength is in the Lord could not be more greatly blessed, and the man who trusts in the Lord could not be more greatly blessed. The blessing of verse 5 builds upon and further explains the blessing of verse 4. In ancient Israel, it was not possible for people always to be at the temple. Some could only come for the three major festivals. This was especially true after the Babylonian exile, and in the time of the Jesus and the early church, when Jews were scattered all across the Roman Empire. While this psalm may or may not have been composed after the exile, the point is that many people had to make a great journey to the temple to experience the presence of God. However, their strength could always be in the Lord. We should not rely upon our own strength and resources but upon the Lord’s. Ephesians 6:10 may be an echo of Psalm 84:5, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.” Strength from the Lord comes from spending time in his presence. Strength from the Lord comes from trusting in the Lord (cf. v. 12). The faithful Israelite always desired to be in God’s presence and draw strength from him. This is why the psalmist remarks that the highways to Zion were in his heart. While his body may not be in the temple, his heart was always yearning to go and be there. This reference to the highway to Zion could refer to a pilgrim’s journey to the temple for one of the festivals, a procession in and around Jerusalem, or praise to the Lord as a parallel expression with “they are ever praising you” in verse 4. The point is that spending time in God’s presence was the passion of the pilgrim’s heart.

Is spending time in God’s presence the passion of your heart? Do you seek to be with him every day? We can’t do this in our own strength. Our strength must come from and be in the Lord. We can only gain this strength by spending time in his presence.

Dear Lord, we want our hearts to be aflame with knowing you. Give us the strength and the discipline to spend time with you and experience your strength. We will never experience the greatness of your blessing without it. Amen.

Meditation on Ps 84:1-4

Posted on by
Reply

Psa. 84:1        How lovely are Your dwelling places,
O LORD of hosts!
2     My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD;
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.
3     The bird also has found a house,
And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young,
Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
My King and my God.
4     How blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
They are ever praising You.     Selah.

When I was growing up, I loved to hear my father sing. He had a resonant and operatic bass voice and was often asked to sing solos at our church. One Sunday he sang a song based on Ps 84 that struck a chord in my heart: “How Lovely are Thy Dwelling Places.” It was a song of great beauty and its melody has been in my mind and heart ever since. Psalm 84 speaks of the psalmist’s desire to dwell in the presence of God. The psalmist speaks of God’s dwelling places as lovely or beloved. He is referring to the temple, as verse 2 makes clear. Interestingly, he uses the plural for both dwelling places and courts. The temple was a complex of buildings that included a courtyard, living quarter fro the priests, the Holy Place, and the Holy of Holies. The presence of God specifically dwelled in the Holy of Holies above the Ark of the Covenant.  Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, and then only once a year on the Day of Atonement. While God is omnipresent, his special, manifest presence is seen in the temple. The entire temple complex was considered the dwelling place of God and this is where the people of God gathered to worship him.

As beautiful as a building the temple must have been, the psalmist’s point is not the architecture; it is the presence of God. The temple is where the people of Israel went to worship God and to experience His presence. This is what the psalmist finds lovely. This is what he calls beloved. But what exactly is lovely about God? This is not an adjective that many people use of God. I think the psalmist finds God lovely because he is both perfect in His character and perfect in his works.

God is perfect in His character. He is loving, gracious, kind, just, and merciful, even though He is also holy, righteous, and so pure, He cannot have anything to do with sin. He has chosen to save us, to make us his children, to relate to us and spend time with us, even though we are sinners. God initiated a covenant with us where He caused us to love and obey Him and where He continually forgives our sins (Jer 31:33-34; Ezek 36:25-28).

God’s works are lovely. Just look at the world that He created. Look at the people he made. He made things pleasing to the eye and nourishing to the soul. The psalmist meditates on all these things and he sees his God, the Lord of Hosts, the Lord who leads armies, and the Lord who rules over all, as lovely and beloved. Thus, he longs to spend time with him. He longs to worship him. He longs to fellowship with him. It is not a routine thing; it is the desire of his heart. Notice the terms that he uses: “my soul,” “my heart,” “my flesh.” His entire being is involved, spirit, soul, and body. The longing is deep like hunger and thirst. There is desperation in the psalmist’s voice, like in the song “Breathe”: “I’m desperate for you.” But there is rejoicing also. The psalmist is full of anticipation at meeting with the Lord. His heart is filled with joy and the body and voice respond with singing. He sings to the living God, the God of life, the God who gave him life, both physically and spiritually.

In verse 3 the psalmist thinks of the birds and how privileged they are. The birds are like temple singers, filling the air with joyful song. They make their home in the dwelling place of God. In God’s presence there is life, rest, safety, security, joy, and peace. The birds feel so secure that they even lay their eggs and take care of their young. There is no thought of danger in the presence of God. They even make their nests near the altars where incense and sacrifice are made, the place of restoration, forgiveness, and thankfulness. The temple is the epitome of the undisturbed, fulfilled life. The psalmist longs for the intimacy with God that the birds appear to enjoy.

No wonder he cries out, “How blessed are those who dwell in Your house”! Those who dwell in God’s presence and have continual access to the temple are very blessed. They enjoy intimacy with God on a continual basis. Those who continually dwell in God’s house and presence are always praising him. They praise him for his greatness, grace, and goodness. They praise him as the Lord of hosts; they praise him as their King;  they praise him as their God.

The psalmist longed to get away from the bustling world to meet God inside his dwelling place, His holy temple. We no longer need a physical temple to enjoy God’s presence. We are the temple of God both individually (1 Cor 6:19) and corporately (1 Cor 3:16). We can enjoy God’s presence at any time. We can meet God anywhere, any time. However, our longing and desire for God should be the same. So often we do not take to time enjoy God’s presence, to talk with him, read his Word, and pray. We take his presence within us for granted. We neglect him as a person might neglect his own family. Such a thing should not be. We need to realize how desperate we need God. We need to realize how hungry and thirsty we are. We are dehydrated and we don’t even know it. The enemy has convinced us that we have better and more important things to do with our time than to spend time with God. We do not recognize that all those things are worthless without him. We stay so busy we do not recognize our own need. But going into a church can help us step aside from the busy mainstream of life, so we can quietly meditate and pray. We find joy, not simply in the beauty of the building, but also in the prayers, music, lessons, sermons, and fellowship.

You may not have the emotional connection with God that this psalmist does, but you do have the same needs. The difference is that the psalmist truly thought about God and how much the Lord has done for him. He was aware of his neediness and how God alone can satisfy it. Pause right now and think about where you would be without God. Maybe your life circumstances would be much different; maybe they wouldn’t be. But how is your soul? Where is your joy? What do you have that is lasting? What things truly matter? When we seek God and spend time in his presence, both individually and corporately, our souls will be nurtured. Going to church to worship God and fellowhsip with others and receiving (as well as giving) encouragement is just as important. The psalmist recognized this because he was not on this pilgrimage alone. He was joined by others. We are God’s family. We need times alone with our Father and we need family time with him. Neither should be neglected.

The Eternal Word: John 1:1

Posted on by
Reply

John 1:1   In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was fully God.

Three short sentences. Compact. Concise. Three simple subject-predicate sentences. Yet you will not find any other three sentences that are more theologically rich and deep as these three. So begins the Gospel of John and its exploration of Jesus the Messiah. What do these three sentences tell us about Jesus? What is it about these three sentences that has generated so much discussion and theological reflection over the centuries? John’s Gospel is a selective penetrating reflection about Jesus Christ and the salvation that he has brought to his people. In its introductory verses, John gives us a summary of who Jesus is. In the first verse alone he introduces us to Jesus’ eternity, self-sufficiency, deity, and relationship in the Trinity.

“In the beginning was the Word…” John begins by denoting Jesus’ eternity. He is not simply looking at Jesus’ starting point. He uses the imperfect verb ἦν. It denotes that Jesus was in existence before the beginning. But the beginning of what? This appears to be an allusion to Gen 1:1: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Note the remarks from the NET Bible on John 1:1:

For John, the words “In the beginning” are most likely a conscious allusion to the opening words of Genesis — “In the beginning.” Other concepts which occur prominently in Gen 1 are also found in John’s prologue: “life” (1:4) “light” (1:4) and “darkness” (1:5). Gen 1 describes the first (physical) creation; John 1 describes the new (spiritual) creation. But this is not to play off a false dichotomy between “physical” and “spiritual”; the first creation was both physical and spiritual. The new creation is really a re-creation, of the spiritual (first) but also the physical.

So it is at least a reference to the beginning of the creation of the universe. However, it is also an abbreviated way of describing eternity past. In other words, Jesus has always existed. If he has always existed, then he is self-sufficient. He needs nothing to sustain him outside of himself.

Second, note to how Jesus is referred here. He is designated as the Word (ὁ λόγος). This is suggestive of the fact that Jesus is a revelation or that he reveals. John 1:18 will round out this idea by denoting that Jesus explains God. So Jesus, as the Word, is the full revelation of God.

This leads us to the next short sentence: “…and the Word was with God,…” In what sense was Jesus with God? Does this simply mean that he was in God’s presence simply hanging out. No, the phrase, πρὸς τὸν θεόν (with God), suggests that Jesus has an intimate relationship with God. The preposition πρός (pros) suggests intimate personal relationship, not just proximity. M. Dods stated, “Πρός …means more than μετά or παρά, and is regularly employed in expressing the presence of one person with another” (“The Gospel of St. John,” The Expositor’s Greek Testament, 1:684). So Jesus has an intimate personal relationship with God, one that has been going on since eternity past and will continue into eternity future.

Finally, the last of the three sentences, “and the Word was fully God.” (καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος) states that Jesus is God. But how can Jesus be with God and God at the same time? This has generated much discussion since the earliest centuries of the Church. Some have argued, like the Jehovah Witnesses and Arius before them, that Jesus is a god, a creature of the highest order, but not God in the same sense as the Father, Almighty God, because the noun θεὸς (theos) does not have the definite article. Therefore, θεὸς must mean “a god” rather than God. However, a noun does not need the article to be definite. Nouns can be definite, indefinite, or qualitative all by themselves, without any article or adjective. The fact that θεὸς is placed first in the sentence suggests that there is some emphasis being placed on it. Also, in other places in the New Testament, in which the predicate nominative occurs before the verb, the predicate nominative is usually qualitative, sometimes definite, and rarely indefinite. This means that the meaning “a god” is the least likely meaning. Add to this the fact that nouns rarely change their meanings in the space of a few words, unless there are clear contextual reasons, suggests that “a god” is not the point.

But how does this nuance of grammar answer our question? What difference does it make whether the noun is qualitative rather than definite or indefinite? If θεὸς is qualitative, then the referent for ὁ λόγος (the Word) does not have to be the same as that for τὸν θεόν (God). In other words, the Word is every bit as God as God is, but the Word (ὁ λόγος) is a different person than τὸν θεόν. As one translation has put it, “what God was the Word was.” Or as another has suggested, “just as much God as God the Father.” What John has done is to communicate the deity of Jesus Christ and the triune nature of God in as brief a way as possible. As much as this concept boggles the mind, Jesus, as fully God as God the Father, has an intimate personal relationship with the Father, and that has been true for all eternity.

What, then, does this mean for us? First, because Jesus is eternal, the life he gives us is also eternal. He gives us out of his own life. Second, his relationship with the Father suggests that he is a relational being and desires a relationship with us. He wants us to be part of his family. Third, he is fully God and is able to accomplish all that he promises. Whatever he promises us he will do. That should be a great comfort and encouragement to us.

Jesus, Creator of the Universe

Posted on by
Reply

Heb 1:2c …and through whom he created the world.

These days the debate between creationism vs. evolution still rages. Evolutionists claims that it strictly uses science and that creationists mostly rely upon faith. That is a reductionistic presumption. In actuality, the theory of evolution is just as faith-based as creationism. Evolutionists assume/believe that there is no God or even a vague notion of an intelligent designer behind the origin of the world. And they are completely unwilling to alter their assumptions when the evidence is against it. The one thing that that a good scientist does is evaluate all his assumptions in light of the evidence. The fact is that evolutionists have dismissed a substantial portion of the evidence before them: literary evidence. Now literary evidence does not have to be true and can be easily contrived, but that has to be proven, not assumed. Our text in Hebrews 1:2 is a statement to the fact that God created the universe and that He created it through His Son Jesus. This idea is not simply in an isolated text, but one that is dominant throughout Scripture. Just a few of the texts are cited below.

Gen. 1:1    In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Psa. 33:6       By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
And by the breath of His mouth all their host.

Is. 42:5    Thus says God the LORD,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its offspring,
Who gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it,

John 1:3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.

John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.

Col. 1:16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.

This is the second truth about the Son that the author of Hebrews reveals.  It is “through” the Son that God “made the universe.” The “through” (di ‘, δι᾿) preserves the important truth that God is the Creator. But as elsewhere in the NT the thought is that he performed the work of creation through the Son (cf. John 1:3; 1Cor 8:6; Col 1:16). The term rendered “the world” is literally “the ages” (tous aionas, τοὺς αἰῶνας) and has a temporal sense. While the universe may well be in mind (it is the direct object of the verb “created”), it will be the universe as “the sum of the periods of time, including all that is manifested in them.” Some think that the word here (and in 11:3) means “ages,” arguing that it was a Jewish idea that God created the ages. This leads to the idea that God created time. Prior to the God’s creative act, time did not exist. God existed in perfect contentment in eternity past, with no beginning, middle, or end. Time is a description of a progression of events with a definitive beginning and a possible end. Eternity does not have such progression. In the beginning (of time) God existed, with no temporal markers defining His existence. While the creation of time may be part of the picture, it seems that in the context of Heb 1:2 “the universe” makes better sense, though the word may hint at the temporal nature of all material things.

The point is that if the Son created the universe and even time itself, then He also created us and our position in the temporal sequence of events. We should thank God that, through Jesus, He created us and for placing us in this world at this particular part of history. We should not long to live in other time periods. We should be grateful that we are who, where, when, and why God wants us to be.

Heir of All Things (Heb 1:2a)

Posted on by
Reply

Heb 1:2b …whom he appointed heir of all things…

Many have asked the question: Who is Jesus? This question can be addressed from many different angles. Some look at His life and see Him as the perfect example. Some look at his death and see Him as the perfect sacrifice. The author of Hebrews opens up his letter by showing us that Jesus is the perfect revelation. He then begins to describe why Jesus is the perfect revelation in Heb 1:2-4. He denotes seven different reasons with seven descriptions. The first is that He was appointed the “heir of all things.” The verb “appointed” (ἔθηκεν) is somewhat unexpected in this context. We would simply presume that the Son would be heir. This may infer an emphasis on the activity of the divine will. God determined that the Son be His heir. But what does it mean for Jesus to be the heir? First of all, because He is the Son, He is naturally the heir of all that His Father possesses. Since the Father owns everything, Jesus also owns everything, since He is the only unique Son.  The term “heir” (κληρονόμον), however, does not refer to entering into possession through the death of the Father. In the NT the word and its cognates are  used in the sense of “get possession of” without referring to any specific way of appropriating the property. In other words, the word points simply to lawful possession, without indicating in what way that possession is secured. “Heir of all things,” then, is a title of dignity and shows that Christ has the supreme place in all the universe. His exaltation to the highest place in heaven after His sacrificial work on earth was done did not mark some new dignity but his reentry to His rightful place.

Now note that Jesus is the heir of “all things.” This would refer to all things “visible and invisible,” all things tangible and intangible, all things, material and spiritual, all things natural and supernatural, all things concrete and abstract, all things intellectual, philosophical, ideological, mathematical, and theological. Thus, no matter what exists, it belongs to Christ. There is no realm where Christ does not touch or possess. All things point to Christ. This means that all we do, we should do to the glory of Christ (1 Cor 6:20; 10:31). If you are an engineer or scientist, do your work to the glory of Christ. If you are a teacher or student, teach and study to the glory of Christ. If you are in finance or business, your deals and transactions should glorify Christ. Christ being heir of all things affects us in every part of our life. Whether we are at work or at home what we do should glorify Him. We should consciously and deliberately point every area of our life to Christ.

The Trust Factor

Posted on by
Reply

The Bible tells us to trust in God, to place our faith in Him, to depend and rely on Him; but what does that mean exactly, and how do we evidence trust in our life? Trust is a verb of perception. It does not refer to a concrete action; it is a verb of sense or volition. The concept of trust is not tangible, thus one must rely on perception to fully conceptualize its meaning.

The Bible, especially the Psalms, is replete with commands to trust in God. David often talks about waiting on the Lord, depending on God, and hoping in God’s loving kindness (hesed; dRsRj). The issue of trust is essential to the Christian faith because it validates that the believer has made God his hope. Trust is evidence that we believe in God’s goodness. One of the Hebrew words for trust is batach (jAfD;b) which means “to put confidence in.” It emphasizes the feeling of safety and security (TWOT, pp. 101-02). Another Hebrew word that connotes trust is aman (NAmDa), but it has a broader sense. It denotes certainty, to have faith in (as in the case of Abraham believing in God in Gen 15:6)). In English, trust and faith overlap in meaning. When we say we trust someone, we mean that we have faith and belief in the individual to do what he promises.

Every relationship requires trust in order to grow. The moment that trust begins to erode, the relationship will start to crumble. When doubt sets in, so do anxiety and fear. No wonder Jesus tells us not to be afraid. Because, when we place our trust in Him, we will not be affected by doubt, anxiety, or fear. He says, “Do not be afraid for I am with you…” (Isa 41:10). Trust is essential in our daily walk with the Lord. We must trust Him with our spouse, our children, our finances, our health, our jobs—everything! We need Him in every phase of our life, and we must trust that He knows what is best for us. Learning to trust God takes time. It does not happen overnight.

I thought I was pretty far ahead in the trust factor until some unexpected circumstances arose which I could neither control nor prevent. I began to ask myself the “what ifs.” This was dangerous because in asking the “what ifs,” I became fretful and anxious. The peace of God left my heart and I became worrisome. The word “if” is a conditional conjunction that depends on something else to happen. When we imbibe the “ifs” we immediately ascertain doubt. When we wonder if God is going to provide what we need, we inject doubt into our heart. This saddens God’s heart because we hold Him suspect. It is as if we are not sure He is reliable. Satan rejoices when we “wonder” whether God will come through for us. Indeed He will! He is not a God who lies and deceives (Num 23:19). Satan is the ultimate deceiver and we must resist him with undeterred faith in Christ.

The devil wants us to doubt God’s goodness (cf. Gen 3:1). The whisperer seeks only to create mistrust in your heart. We cannot allow our circumstances to sway our trust in the Divine. God is big and powerful, so much so that He knows our needs before we utter them. He knows them before they even manifested themselves to you. The omniscient One is aware of all that concerns us and He beckons us to trust in Him. Never doubt God’s goodness. He is always on time and His way is always best. Our best assessment is done in hindsight; the Divine uses foresight. Let us trust Him together regardless of what comes our way.

The Burden of Prayer (Neh 1:1-11)

Posted on by
Reply

I. The Character of Nehemiah (v.1)

  • A. Nehemiah had three positions.
  1. Cupbearer
  2. Builder
  3. Governor
  • B. The name “Nehemiah” means “the comfort of Yahweh” or        “Yahweh has comforted.”
  1. Nehemiah was a man of responsibility. That he served as the king’s cupbearer (1:11-2:1) can only mean that he had proven himself trustworthy over a long period.
  2. Nehemiah was a man of vision. The walls of Jerusalem had been in ruins for 141 years when Nehemiah learned of an abortive attempt to rebuild them (Ezra 4:23). He had a great vision of who God was and what he could do through his servants.
  3. Nehemiah was a man of prayer. His first resort was to prayer (Neh 1:5-11). He prayed spontaneously even in the presence of the king (2:4-5).
  4. Nehemiah was a man of action and of cooperation. He would explain what needed to be done (2:16-17) and inspire others to join him (2:18). He knew how to organize the rebuilding work (ch. 3). In spite of opposition the people responded so enthusiastically that they mended the wall in less than two months (6:15). He inspired the people with his own example (5:14-18). Nehemiah, a layman, was able to cooperate with his contemporary Ezra, the scribe and priest, in spite of the fact that these two leaders were of entirely different temperaments. In reaction to the problem of mixed marriages, Ezra plucked out his own hair (Ezra 9:3), whereas Nehemiah plucked out the hair of the offenders (Neh 13:25)!
  5. Nehemiah was a man of compassion. He renounced his own privileges (Neh 5:18) and denounced the wealthy who had exploited their poorer brothers (5:8). He did this because of his reverence for God (5:9, 15).
  6. Nehemiah was a man who triumphed over opposition. His opponents used every ruse to intimidate him. They started with ridicule (2:19; 4:2-3). They attempted slander (6:5-7). Hired prophets gave him misleading advice (6:10-14). Nehemiah responded with prayer (4:4), with redoubled efforts (v.6), with vigilance (v.9), and with trust in God (v.14).
  7. Nehemiah was a man with right motivation. Although he justified his ministry, his primary motive was not to be judged aright by others or to be remembered by posterity. The last words of Nehemiah—“Remember me with favor, O my God” (13:31)—recapitulate a frequently repeated theme (5:19; 13:14, 22, 29). His motive throughout his ministry was to please and serve his divine Sovereign. His only reward would be God’s approbation.
  8. Nehemiah brought comfort to his people.
  • C. Nehemiah was from a prominent family
  1. “Hacaliah” is contracted from “wait for Yahweh” (cf. Zeph 3:8).
  2. The reference to his paternal sepulchers in Jerusalem (2:3, 5) may mean that Nehemiah came from a prominent family.

II. The Concern of Nehemiah (v. 1-3)

  • A. The Time
  1. Kislev: Nov-Dec
  2. the twentieth year: of Artaxerxes I (464-424 BC): 445 BC
  • B. The Place
  1. The city: Susa
  2. The building: the palace, residence of the king

“Susa” was the major city of Elam, the area of southwestern Iran. Susa was located in a fertile alluvial plain 150 miles north of the Persian Gulf. In the Achaemenid period it served as a winter palace for the kings (Kislev = Nov.-Dec.), but the area became intolerably hot during the summer months. It was the site of the story of Esther. Ezra 4:9-10 refers to the men of Susa who were deported to Samaria. At Susa, Artaxerxes I received the embassy of Callias (449 B.C.) that ended Greek-Persian hostilitie.

  • C. The Report
  1. Hanani was a close relative, perhaps a brother of Nehemiah.
  2. Brings a report with other men from Judah about the Jewish remnant.
  • a. Descendants of those who survived the Babylonian exile
  • b. They returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple.

.     3. The people are vulnerable to attack and subject to ridicule.
.     4. The walls and gates of Jerusalem are broken and burned.
The lack of a city wall meant that the people were defenseless against their enemies. Kenyon (Digging Up , p. 170) notes: “The effect on Jerusalem was much more disastrous and far-reaching than merely to render the city defenseless…. The whole system of terraces down the (eastern) slope, dependent on retaining walls buttressed in turn by the fill of the next lower terrace, was ultimately dependent on the town wall at the base, forming the lowest and most substantial of the retaining walls.”

Most scholars, however, do not believe that Nehemiah’s distress was caused by the condition of walls torn down 140 years before his time but rather by the episode of Ezra 4:7-23. According to this passage Jews had attempted to rebuild the walls earlier, in the reign of Artaxerxes I. But after the protest of Rehum and Shimshai, the king ordered the Jews to desist. There was considerable suspicion of such attempts because of the revolt of Megabyzus.

III. The Cry of Nehemiah (vv. 4-11)

  • A. Nehemiah’s Response (v.4).
  1. His physical response
  • a. He sat down
  • b. He wept: external expression of grief
  • c. He mourned: internal expression of grief

. 2. His spiritual response

  • a. He fasted: external

. i. Denotes urgency.
. ii. Denotes desperation.

  • b. He prayed: external and internal:

. i. Denotes dependence
. ii. Denotes a personal relationship with God.
. iii. Denotes his submission to God
. 3. Implications

  • a. He clearly recognized the needs
  • b. He was personally concerned for the need.
  • c. He had compassion.
  • B. Nehemiah’s Prayer (vv. 5-11)
  1. He went to God with the problem (vv. 4-5).
  2. He praised God: Adoration (vv. 5-6a)
  • a. For God’s Sovereignty
  • b. For His Greatness
  • c. For His Transcendence and Holiness
  • d. For His Loyal Love

. i. His faithfulness to His covenant
. ii. Toward those who love an obey Him

  • e. For His Attentiveness

. i. Nehemiah trusts that God listens.
. ii. Nehemiah trusts that God sees his predicament.
. iii. Nehemiah humbles himself before God.
. iv. Nehemiah submits to God.
. v. Nehemiah is persistent before God.
. vi. Nehemiah puts other before himself.
. 3. He confessed his part in the problem: Confession (vv. 6b-7).

  • a. God was faithful
  • b. His people had been unfaithful.
  • c. He confesses the sins of the nation beginning with himself and his family.

. i. They had been wicked.
. ii. They have been disobedient.
. iii. They had broken the covenant that God had given Moses for Israel.
. 4. He claimed the promise, the basis of his petition (vv. 8-9).

  • a. He asks God to remember His covenant.
  • b. Discipline and exile for disobedience.
  • c. Reconciliation and return for repentance.

. i. He retrieves them from the farthest corner of the heavens.
. ii. God’s hand of judgment is never longer than his hand of mercy.
. iii. Jerusalem is the place where God’s name and glory dwell.

  • d. God’s people are still His greatest investment (v. 10)

. i. His servants
. ii. His people
. iii. His redemption
. iv. His power
. v. Hi actions
. 5. He bought his petition before God: Petition (v.11)

  • a. He requests again that God listen to him.
  • b. He is in a concert of prayer with others.
  • c. They all delight to fear and worship God.

. 6. He was available to meet the need himself (v.11).

  • a. He asks for success now and in the future.
  • b. He asks for compassion in the presence of the king.
  • c. He was the king’s cupbearer.

. i. He would have been well-trained in court etiquette (cf. Dan 1:4-5).
. ii. He was probably a handsome individual (cf. Dan 1:4, 13, 15; Jos. Antiq. XVI, 230 [viii.1]).
. iii. He would certainly know how to select the wines to set before the king.

A proverb in the Babylonian Talmud (Baba Qamma  92b) states: “The wine belongs to the master but credit for it is due to his cupbearer.”
. iv. He would have to be a convivial companion, willing to lend an ear at all times.
. v. He would have great influence as one with the closest access to the king, able to determine who was able see his master.
. vi. Above all Nehemiah had to be one who enjoyed the unreserved confidence of the king.

The great need for trustworthy court attendants is underscored by the intrigues endemic to the Achaemenid court. Xerxes, father of Artaxerxes I, was killed in his own bedchamber by Artabanus, a courtier.
IV. Applications

  • A. Prayer makes me wait.
  • B. Prayer clears my vision.
  • C. Prayer quiets my heart.
  • D. Prayer activates my faith.

Articles List

Posted on by
Reply

Christmas Sermons

A Righteous Response to Christmas (Matt 1:18-25)

Wise and Foolish Responses to Christmas (Matt 2:1-12)

Sermon Notes on James

THE CHRISTIAN’S GUARD AGAINST PARTIALITY, PT 2 (JAS 2:5-7)

Faith and Saving Faith (Jas 2:14)

Faith and Works (Jas 2:14)

THE USELESSNESS OF AN UNPRODUCTIVE FAITH (Jas 2:14-19)

THE FAITH OF ABRAHAM (JAS 2:20-24)

TAMING THE TONGUE, PT 3 (JAS 3:9-12)

Doing Right When You’ve Been Done Wrong (Jas 5:7-12)

RIGHTEOUS RESPONSES (JAS 5:13-18)

PRAYER: JAMES’ WAY (JAS 5:12-18)

Knowing God as Deliverer

Posted on by
Reply

Have you ever been in a situation in which you felt trapped? What did you do? Did you panic, worry, cry out for help…? I often imagine how people who die at the hand of attackers must feel when they were cornered without anyone to help them. My heart wrenches in pain when I hear of young people whose lives are stolen from them by brutal men. Think of the students at Virginia Tech who died at the hands of a nutcase. Imagine how 19-year-old Briana Dennison must have panicked when the-still-at large rapist opened the door of the home in which she was sleeping, snatched her off the couch, and carried her off into the blackness of night. Her body was found a little over a week ago. I followed the outcome of that story as if I knew Briana. While I have never met her, my heart was touched by the injustice she endured and I long to see justice brought to her killer. These stories are morose but they are real, and we live in a world in which human life has lost its sacredness. Many are callous to the pain of human suffering, but there are still people, people like you and me, whose hearts God has touched and who allow ourselves to feel for others.
I have felt much sadness lately as I hear painful stories from people I love. My dear friend who lives in Boston has lost five family members in the space of seven months. Imagine that. The final blow came when her older sister who had been like a mother to her, was found hanging from a tree. I spoke with her recently and I could hear the pain in her voice. I felt helpless and I felt stupid for feeling uncomfortable. When the people we love hurt, we often feel uneasy because we may not know what to say or how to say what we want to say. We’re afraid that our words might come out wrong and cause unintended pain. As a result we clog up and we talk with them in “Bibleze.” Quoting the promises of Scripture is most needful but it must be done with wisdom and care. There are times when people just want you to listen and empathize.

I have empathized with several friends this year because they are in difficult financial straits and their futures seem bleak at best. My dear aunt’s life seemed to hang in the balance before she had to undergo over sixteen hours of surgery. I was scared for her. I was on pins and needles and I was anxious. I pursued God on her behalf, and I while I knew that God heard me, and the many others who called out to Him for her, I was still anxious. There are times when God decides to take good Christians home. We don’t understand it, but it happens. It doesn’t mean that they did not trust God. My friend, Jovan-Justine was a brilliant young woman who became ill and died in the prime of her life. She went to Dallas Seminary and received a Masters in Theology after completing a Ph.D. a few years earlier. She was brilliant and loved the Lord, but she died of cancer. What am I saying? Things happen that we do not understand, and we must encourage those around us the best we can while maintaining a vision of God as Deliverer.

Whether tragedy hits your life or the life of someone you know and love, God is and always will be a mighty deliverer. When you get a picture of God as deliver it changes how you view your circumstances. When you call to God He hears you. When your circumstances are beyond your ability to handle, He cares. God is a God of ability. He is a God of purpose and power. He is mighty and He is strong. His strength is not always evident in the way we expect Him to exude strength, but make no mistake—God is not wishy-washy or incapable. He is not blind and He is not deaf. He cares about you and He knows what you need before you even realize that you have that need. He knows those whose hearts are completely His.

Because we are His, we must not become consumed with anxiety over the economic uncertainly that currently pervades our nation. We live in difficult times and the cost of living has gone up. Health care costs, property taxes, food and gas prices have all increased beyond the wages we bring home. But even so, God is taking care of you and will continue to do so. Every time I talk with someone on the phone and acknowledge that “things are hard,” the Holy Spirit whispers, “but I am taking care of you.” That is the truth. I too have considered the uncertain possibilities and at different times have become downcast. I remember the question David posed to himself, and I become encouraged. “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Hope thou in God.” God is our hope. Our hope cannot and should not be in what we have stashed away in the bank, our health insurance benefits, our assets, or our family. The truth is that we came into this world naked and broke and God has blessed us immensely. We must trust Him regardless of what our situation shows us. God is a deliverer. He delivered you from the grasp of sin and He has ordered your steps when you had no awareness of His hand in your life. Is not God faithful? Is He not good. If you knows how to care for the wild birds that fly above your head each day, then surely He will care for you and me. We must swim against the tide of anxiety and fear, and take courage because our God is an awesome God and He reigns from heaven above with justice and strength. God is your deliver and He will keep you stable and secure in the midst of any storm. Call on Him and He will answer. May He bless your heart today.

To download the Microsoft Word file, click below.

Knowing God as Deliverer

God’s Communication (Heb 1:1-2a)

Posted on by
Reply

Heb. 1:1 After God spoke long ago in various portions and in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, 2 in these last days he has spoken to us in a son,

God has always been communicating with us. He has done so over long periods of time. He spoke face to face to Adam. He revealed himself to Abraham, Moses, and the prophets. In the Old Testament, His revelation came in piecemeal, a bit at a time. It came in various ways: through dreams, through visions, through theophanic manifestations, through miracles, signs, and wonders, through an audible voice, and through a still small voice. For over 2000 years, God had spoke to people in a variety of times and ways. But now he has spoken in one unique and supreme way—through His Son. This revelation did not come piecemeal; it came at one time. It did not have various manifestations, but one manifestation—God in human flesh (John 1:14). The prepositional phrase, “in a son” (ἐν υἱῷ), is not indefinite, meaning one so out of many sons, but qualitative. Nouns in prepositional phrases are rarely indefinite. Also, the context emphasizes the quality of the revelation of the last days. As the Net Bible says:

The Greek puts an emphasis on the quality of God’s final revelation. As such, it is more than an indefinite notion (“a son”) though less than a definite one (“the son”), for this final revelation is not just through any son of God, nor is the emphasis specifically on the person himself. Rather, the focus here is on the nature of the vehicle of God’s revelation: He is no mere spokesman (or prophet) for God, nor is he merely a heavenly messenger (or angel); instead, this final revelation comes through one who is intimately acquainted with the heavenly Father in a way that only a family member could be. There is, however, no exact equivalent in English (“in son” is hardly good English style).

No longer is God’s revelation through dreams, visions, or even simply and audible voice, but now it is through the manifestation of God in human flesh. The one most like God is God’s Son. No one can reveal God in the same way that the Son can. So Jesus is superior to the prophets. He is God’s supreme revelation. He is God’s best. God’s efforts to communicate with us are not minimal or mediocre. They are not simply adequate. He communicated with us in the best way possible, progressively perhaps, but ultimately He sent His Son as spokesman, savior, and sacrifice, as prophet, priest, and potentate.

Do you really appreciate the extent that God has gone to reveal Himself to you? As you read the book of Hebrews meditate on all the ways that Jesus Christ is superior.