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When we look at God providing autumn refreshing for His people, our thoughts must eventually turn to autumn praise.
11 Our Lord and our God,
you are like the sun
and also like a shield.
You treat us with kindness
and with honor,
never denying any good thing
to those who live right.
12 Lord God All-Powerful,
you bless everyone
who trusts you (Psalm 84:11-12 CEV).
As I write these words, it is barely the beginning of the holiday season. Halloween is still a handful of days away. Christmas trees have adorned the aisles of several retail outlets for weeks, though many will be more elaborately displayed as we move closer to the weekend of Black Friday. Christmas candy has begun to fill the backroom stock shelves of Kroger grocery stores. As the words of a Francesca Battistelli song remind us, “I hear the bells a ringing loud and clear, you can’t help but love this time of year.”
Today is October 25, 2019 and the Hallmark and Lifetime networks want us to know that Christmas is descending upon us with the speed and impact of a Swiss Alps avalanche. Hallmark is going all out this year for their Christmas movie season, the tenth anniversary of their “Countdown to Christmas.” They will be premiering forty all new Hallmark movies. Not to be outdone, Lifetime will be delivering a more star-packed lineup.
The snow is manufactured. The mistletoe was purposely placed. The filming took place in July. Is it any wonder that we can’t meet our expectations for the holidays?
I am just as guilty. In order to get into the mood for writing seasonal lessons, I pulled up iTunes on my computer and began playing holiday music. For most of my music today, I use a streaming service. But when I used to save MP3 formatted music on the computer, Christmas music dominated the hard disk space. I have 445 Christmas songs saved, from Chuck Berry’s “Run Run Rudolph” and the Royal Guardsmen’s “Snoopy’s Christmas” to Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” and Nat King Cole’s “Christmas Song” and everything in between. The songs take up 2 gigabytes of space and would take over 24 hours to play through.
Is there a way to keep things from spinning out of control? Can we cling to a perspective – not just for the holidays – but for the flow of life? Our psalm provides an answer: offer praises and thanksgiving for the things that God has done.
Harvard Health Publishing, the communication arm of the Harvard Medical School, captured my attention with the story’s headline, “Giving Thanks Can Make You Happier.” According to their research, gratitude is a “thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives.”
The benefits of gratitude are affirmed by Forbes, Psychology Today, Huffington Post, and a website called HappierHuman.com. Gratitude improves physical and psychological health. It enhances empathy and reduces aggression.
Solomon reminds us of the importance of the words that come out of our mouths.
Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body (Proverbs 16:24 ESV).
The NASB renders the last phrase more literally, “healing to the bones.” Good words provide deep healing to both the one speaking and the one hearing.
Praise is a word that is used often in the Bible. The answer to that question depends on the translation that you are using. There is no single correct way to render the words of the ancient Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek into English. The chart below will give you a little indication of how many times the English word “praise” occurs in different versions of the Bible.
How many times is the word “praise” used in the Bible? |
|||||||
| KJV | NASB | NIV | NRSV | ||||
| OT | NT | OT | NT | OT | NT | OT | NT |
| 222 | 26 | 179 | 28 | 299 | 41 | 182 | 22 |
We are never told an exact way to offer praise to God. Like the word “prayer” the Bible writers tell us to do so, and simply assume that we know how. We are not given a specific definition for either praise or prayer.
Here are a half dozen verses that paint a picture of what praising God should be in our lives and speech.
Sing to Him; sing praise to Him; tell about all His wonderful works (1 Chronicles 16:9 HCSB)!
Two important verbs are found in this verse. The first is the word “sing.” We are told this often by praise and worship leaders: lift your voices to the Lord in praise. There are a couple of important concepts hidden in the command to sing. Our praises are not always contained in a bubbly, joyful song. Some of the most powerful psalms of praise are couched in the form of a dirge. Read through Jeremiah’s painful expressions in the book of Lamentations. Our praise does not have to be jumping up and down. Sometimes our circumstances don’t support jumping.
The other concept in the word “sing” is volume. We do not have to be making a noise of sound to be making a “joyful noise.” Inside my head, my voice is really, really good. The noise that comes out of my mouth is rarely on pitch, but the one inside my head puts angels to shame. Let that voice sing!
The second important verb is the word “tell.” We are to tell about the wonderful, wondrous works of God. It certainly would include talking about His creation, or His work of salvation on the cross of Christ. But telling His works would also be describing how God has worked in your life. Go! Tell it on a mountain.
Although I don’t show it here in verse or structure, this passage is written in the form of Hebrew poetry. Our two words, sing and tell, are paired in the Hebrew structure. Hebrew poetry can be contrasting – singing as opposed to telling. But it can be describing the same act, the same direction of traffic but different roads. Use your words – whether you sing them or tell them – to describe the wonderful activities of the Father.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His faithful love endures forever (1 Chronicles 16:34 HCSB).
There are three important concepts in verse 34 of 1 Chronicles 16: thanks, good and forever. A part of praise is giving thanks to God. Let’s look at each for a moment.
Thankfulness in our hearts is elusive, isn’t it? Thanksgiving sets aside some time to be thankful. It is a time to reflect, to consider how we have been blessed. We think about the way that God has been involved in our lives. The day is spent away from work, unless we are in retail. Boxes of holiday decorations are explored for the Christmas holiday. We do a chunk of our Christmas shopping on the day afterwards.
Even in the midst of preparing a Thanksgiving meal for out-of-town guests, we have at least four days that run at a different pace. We are probably off work, unless our work is retail. We are engulfed in family. Different things are important to us. Somewhere in the quiet, we become thankful.
We ought to be thankful every day, in and out throughout the day, 365 days a year. But if you are like me, you fail miserably. Why is it so hard to be thankful? Isn’t it even harder to express the thankfulness to others? Let me share a couple of potential reasons.
We spend most of our lives running at a hectic pace. Juggling many activities at once becomes a skill. Even when we sit down to relax, we are probably doing more than one thing. A Nielsen survey discovered how much time Americans are spending on consuming video, online content, streaming services and other media. They found that consumers spend about 10 hours and 24 minutes a day interacting with media. The survey covered a period of time from April to June 2018.
About 81 percent of Americans use a digital device while watching television. More than 7 of 10 look up information about what they are watching. What else did this actor star in? When was this movie in the theaters? More than four out of ten send emails, texts, messages or posts about the content they are watching.
We don’t intend to not be thankful, we just haven’t figured out how to be thankful through media.
I am not sure why this is true. Some speculate that we takes things for granted because of the “entitlement” mentality in society. Others
Have you ever watched little children tear into opening presents at a Christmas or birthday celebration? Wrapping paper demolished. Lids popped open. Box tossed aside. Next! Unless the parents are forceful, the child may not even say, “Thank you.” They just are ready for more.
In many ways, I am like a child in my relationship with God. His blessings come in wonderful wrappings. I tear it open and am ready for the next one.
Thanking God is worship in its purest sense. There is power in praise and worship. There is an incredibly interesting thought in the 8th Psalm:
With praises from children and from tiny infants, you have built a fortress. It makes your enemies silent, and all who turn against you
are left speechless (Psalm 8:2 CEV).
Praise changes our perspective. It puts Satan in his place. It takes away his power of deception and confusion. We are no longer uncertain about purpose and direction. Satan is thwarted.
Let’s get back to the passage in 1 Chronicles and to several verses of praise.
35 And say: “Save us, God of our salvation; gather us and rescue us from the nations
so that we may give thanks to Your holy name and rejoice in Your praise. 36 May Yahweh, the God of Israel, be praised from everlasting to everlasting.”
Then all the people said, “Amen” and “Praise the Lord” (1 Chronicles 16:35-36 HCSB)!
I appreciate that the writer of 1 Chronicles included these two verses in the passage. He gives us an example of what the 34th verse sounds like in real life. These are the words you use to express thanks to God. You start with salvation. Then speak about His holiness. Conclude by rejoicing in who God is. Your praise goes from everlasting to everlasting.
When you offer praise, everyone else will say “Amen!”
Serve the Lord with reverential awe and rejoice with trembling (Psalm 2:11 HCSB).
The word translated “serve” here is translated “worship” by the Amplified Bible, New American Standard Bible and the Message. Several others use the word “obey” instead. It involves service, but is dependent upon the context for the complete meaning. I wonder whether “praise” would be a better meaning in this context.
Praise the Lord with reverential awe. Rejoice, but do so with trembling. Don’t take the ability to serve or worship for granted. Above all, don’t take the Lord for granted.
Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds (Psalm 9:11 ESV)!
Two of the concepts of this verse have been discussed – singing and telling. But notice the additional information here. God sits enthroned in Zion. For the Hebrew in the Old Testament, Zion was another name for Jerusalem, the home of God’s people. Although even the rocks can cry out, it is imperative that God be praised among His people.
I will praise You in the great congregation; I will exalt You among many people (Psalm 35:18 HCSB).
The Psalmist here reminds us that we are not to be shy about our praise. We are to do so in front of great crowds – the great congregation, or among many people. The congregation would be pointing to God’s people. Do not be afraid to offer praise in front of other believers. Among many people stretches the circle to include the non-believers. Do not be ashamed of the gospel in the presence of others.
Let them praise Your great and awe-inspiring name. He is holy (Psalm 99:3 HCSB).
Let everyone praise the name of our God. Great and holy is His name. He inspires awe.
Audrey Assad is an American singer-songwriter and contemporary Christian musician. She has released a handful of albums since July of 2010. Her first album, The House You’re Building, went on to be named Christian Album of 2010 on Amazon and the Christian Breakthrough Album of the Year on iTunes. She has toured with other Christian musicians including Chris Tomlin, Tenth Avenue North and Jars of Clay.
On every album she includes a couple of hymns, accompanied by a more contemporary arrangement. On the album Inheritance she reminds us
Holy, holy, holy
Lord God Almighty
Early in the morning
Our songs shall rise to Thee
Holy, holy, holy
Merciful and mighty
God in three persons,
Blessed Trinity.
Here are another 138 verses which give us an indication of the nature of our praise and the worthiness of our God. The thread of praise literally runs throughout Scripture.
| Exodus 15:2 | Exodus 15:11 | Deuteronomy 10:21 | Judges 5:3 |
| 2 Samuel 22:4 | 2 Samuel 22:50 | 1 Chronicles 16:25 | 1 Chronicles 16:29 |
| 1 Chronicles 29:13 | 2 Chronicles 5:13 | 2 Chronicles 7:3 | Ezra 3:11 |
| Nehemiah 9:5 | Psalm 7:17 | Psalm 9:2 | Psalm 18:3 |
| Psalm 18:49 | Psalm 21:13 | Psalm 22:22-23 | Psalm 22:25-26 |
| Psalm 29:2 | Psalm 30:4 | Psalm 30:11-12 | Psalm 33:1-3 |
| Psalm 34:1-3 | Psalm 35:28 | Psalm 40:3 | Psalm 42:5 |
| Psalm 42:11 | Psalm 43:4 | Psalm 47:6 | Psalm 48:1 |
| Psalm 48:10 | Psalm 51:15 | Psalm 56:4 | Psalm 57:7 |
| Psalm 57:9 | Psalm 59:17 | Psalm 61:8 | Psalm 63:3 |
| Psalm 63:5 | Psalm 66:1-2 | Psalm 66:4 | Psalm 66:8 |
| Psalm 67:1-3 | Psalm 68:4 | Psalm 68:32 | Psalm 69:30 |
| Psalm 69:34 | Psalm 71:5-6 | Psalm 71:8 | Psalm 71:14 |
| Psalm 71:22-23 | Psalm 74:21 | Psalm 75:9 | Psalm 78:4 |
| Psalm 79:13 | Psalm 86:9 | Psalm 89:5 | Psalm 92:1 |
| Psalm 95:1 | Psalm 95:6 | Psalm 96:1 | Psalm 96:4 |
| Psalm 96:9 | Psalm 98:1 | Psalm 98:4-5 | Psalm 99:1 |
| Psalm 99:5 | Psalm 99:9 | Psalm 100:1-5 | Psalm 101:1 |
| Psalm 102:18 | Psalm 103:1 | Psalm 104:33 | Psalm 104:35 |
| Psalm 105:2 | Psalm 106:1 | Psalm 106:47-48 | Psalm 107:32 |
| Psalm 108:1 | Psalm 108:3 | Psalm 109:30 | Psalm 111:1 |
| Psalm 111:10 | Psalm 112:1 | Psalm 113:1 | Psalm 113:3 |
| Psalm 115:17-18 | Psalm 116:19 | Psalm 117:1-2 | Psalm 119:164 |
| Psalm 119:171 | Psalm 119:175 | Psalm 132:7 | Psalm 135:1-3 |
| Psalm 135:21 | Psalm 138:1 | Psalm 144:9 | Psalm 145:1-4 |
| Psalm 145:21 | Psalm 146:1-2 | Psalm 14:10 | Psalm 147:1 |
| Psalm 147:7-8 | Psalm 147:12 | Psalm 148:1-5 | Psalm 148:7 |
| Psalm 148:13-14 | Psalm 149:1 | Psalm 149:3 | Psalm 149:6 |
| Psalm 150:1-6 | Isaiah 12:5 | Isaiah 25:1 | Isaiah 42:8 |
| Isaiah 42:10, 12 | Isaiah 43:21 | Jeremiah 20:13 | Jeremiah 31:7 |
| Daniel 2:23 | Daniel 4:34 | Daniel 4:37 | Joel 2:26 |
| Luke 19:37-38 | Acts 16:25-26 | Romans 14:11 | Romans 15:8-10 |
| Ephesians 1:3 | Hebrews 2:12 | Hebrews 13:15 | James 5:13 |
| 1 Peter 1:7 | Revelation 5:12 | Revelation 7:12 | Revelation 19:5-6 |
We are enamored with lists today. Top ten lists abound, especially as we approach the end of the year. In a really succinct way, here is a list of why the Scriptures tell us to be thankful.
It is impossible to read these Scriptures, to sing these songs, to reflect on the goodness of God without applying it to my life. Confronted with the awe-inspiring wonder of God, I must fall on my face and cry out with Isaiah, “Woe is me, I am undone.”
So what about you? Has the abundance of these Scriptures weighed upon your shoulders? The time has come to be thankful. Name five things for which you are thankful. Limit the list to five. It will make you focus. Your priorities will become obvious. I am leaving the list wide open. You may want to narrow it even further by making the list only include people.
The psalmist said, “That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long” (Psalm 71:8 NLT).
So the Scriptures must take root in my life. They must alter and mold my perspective. I would be hypocritical if I asked you to do something that I was not willing to do myself. Here is my list.
My gratitude explodes for the family that raised me. I remember sitting in a class at Seminary and the professor had each of us take our turn giving our testimony of faith. Some came from families of abuse. Others had stories of dramatic conversion experiences. One young man was delivered from a life of drug abuse and alcohol when he became a Christian. I was more than a little concerned because my life was more than a little dull.
My earliest memories place me in a church building. The congregation was Dean Avenue Christian Church in Terre Haute, Indiana. The only thing that I remember of my home in Terre Haute is a wooden door that led to an upstairs that I don’t think I ever went up. I remember walking to first grade elementary school, but I don’t remember the classroom or the building.
But I can describe in detail the basement of the church. The concrete blocks that made up the walls of the basement. The accordion-like curtain over the serving window in the kitchen. The larger-than-life framed picture of Sallman’s Head of Christ hanging on the steps to the basement.
And I can remember that after almost every Sunday’s church, my sister and I would go home and “play” church. We had a little piano, a little Bible and a little pulpit.
I am thankful for parents and grandparents that wanted to make sure that I was in the Lord’s House every time the doors were opened. We did lots of things as a family, had lots of fun, enjoyed vacations and quirky memories. We bickered and irritated each other, like any other family. My parents were involved in my interests: sports, band, school activities.
But church was such an embedded thread in the tapestry of our lives that you could not remove it and still have a woven piece of art.
Come to find out, most wished they had my testimony.
I am grateful that people bothered to teach me the sound doctrine of Scripture. The list of men that cared to teach me Scripture is almost endless: Al Mitchell, my first “preacher” at Dean Avenue; Warren Robbins, the minister who baptized me; Tom Meneely, my first youth minister; Bud Cadwell, the first Sunday School teacher that invested time and energy into his students; Jim Bush, the first teen that I knew that was a Christian; Bill Strafford, who coached and mentored the Bible Bowl team; and Ron Hallock, the youth minister who tried so hard to get me to go to Lincoln.
The men and women at the Cincinnati Christian University – Cincinnati Bible College and Seminary when I was there – were the potters molding the clay of my theology and my life. I have thanked so many in so many other places, but I cannot express thanks without mentioning Tom Friskney and Dr. Lewis Foster. My theology would not be as sound, were it not for them. Their teaching style shaped and molded who I am as a teacher and a writer.
I am most grateful for my wife. There are not enough words in my vocabulary to speak to the impact of the character of my wife Elizabeth. She is a tapestry of integrity, compassion, a drive for perfectionism and a tree-full of the Spirit’s fruit. Her example of a godly woman is set quietly. A balanced life as a spouse, a wise parent and grandparent, and leader is present every day.
She either finds the best in people or a way around the worst. She is my life’s companion and friend and the one I want to be like when I grow up.
To be honest, there is no earthly way that we should have ever met. I was years away from Cincinnati. My life was heading in a completely different direction. Yet God wove the threads of our lives to cross paths at the most opportune moment. “In the fullness of time” – it seems to be one of His specialties.
I am grateful for my children. Each child has brought a new flavor to life’s salsa; each has taught me different lessons and principles. My oldest daughter Sarah cares more deeply than most anyone I know. She gasps if she has to swat a fly, desperately desires for the world to be a better place, erupts with a lava of sincerity, and strengthens those who are around her.
Perhaps I have learned the most from the two children in the middle. Stephanie has taught me a side of people that I understand the least while showing me the drive and persistence that I admire the most. She is an overcomer, finding ways through life’s toughest challenges. She adores our two grandchildren, and more importantly she has committed to molding and shaping their lives.
Rob is fiercely loyal. In today’s throw-away world, few employees weather the storms of business. When things get tough, most just jump ship. A college graduate today will have 18 different jobs in their lifetime. Since moving into full time work, Rob has had one. Rob is tenacious to a fault to his system of justice and fairness. He is impassioned toward those ideals.
In our blended family, the youngest daughter Rachel is the glue that holds the vessel together. She has never been the biggest fish in the waters that she has sailed. But time and time again, she rises to the top of the water, shows that she has the skill to swim masterfully and sets a pace that others wish to follow. She is the owner of a treasure chest of talents. She uses each with selfless sacrifice and a godly Spirit.
I am grateful for my church family. The church has always been important to me. Every congregation in which we have served holds a special place in my heart. Each group of believers has played a role in shaping who I am and how I behave. But none hold the same revered place in my heart as my family at Eastside Christian Church in Jeffersonville, Indiana. We moved to southern Indiana in 1993 and began attending Eastside the next year.
Twenty-five years of life together with the same group of believers. We have never stayed at one congregation so long. It is at Eastside that I have history. Twenty-five years of koinonia, of Biblical fellowship. We have seen the births of children, and the deaths of beloved saints. We have witnessed the miracle of God’s physical healing, even of the world’s most despised cancer. Shaking our heads, we try to understand when His choice was not our choice. Our prayers have ascended to God’s throne together; some filled with laughter, others with tears.
Eastside is not a perfect church. In an imperfect world, with sinners as her members, a perfect church simply does not exist. Eastside has made decisions that I would not have made. That would be true of every organization, wouldn’t it? But beyond the brick and mortar, past the symbolic ideal image of the church, Eastside is my family. I count on seeing my family and being with them every Sunday. Encouragement comes by your lives and your presence.
Without you, I am not the same person today.
Everything else in my life – good and bad, joyous and sorrowful, victories and defeats – are subservient to that list. Without those things, nothing else that matters matters.
And as Paul told the Philippian Christians:
Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears (Philippians 1:3-5 MSG).
Our God reigns.
8 Lord God All-Powerful,
the God of Jacob,
please answer my prayer!
9 You are the shield
that protects your people,
and I am your chosen one.
Won’t you smile on me?
10 One day in your temple
is better
than a thousand
anywhere else.
I would rather serve
in your house,
than live in the homes
of the wicked (Psalm 84:8-10 CEV).
Not long ago the marquee sign in front of a small country church announced the topic for the coming Sunday’s message. An over-zealous attendant was excited to proclaim the sermon for next Sunday would shout, “Our God Resigns!”
Many times we act that way, don’t we?
Nothing could be further from the truth. Our God reigns! Let it be heard in the words from our lips. May it be seen in the works of our hands. It needs to be shouted in the steps of our feet. Our God reigns!
We sing about it in our praise songs. We understand it from our lessons and our sermons. We realize that accepting the reign of God today is a voluntary surrender of our will – our desire and right to reign. But one day – at just the very name of Jesus – every knee will bow; every tongue confess that our God reigns.
When we say that He reigns, it implies that He has a kingdom – something over which He exercises authority and dominion. Of course He reigns in the hearts of His followers, a territory that spans the face of the globe. But His kingdom is much bigger than that.
God reigns over a kingdom of the world that includes more than just people. Paul tells us that all of God’s creation longs for the day when He is exalted as Lord. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. The disciples marveled that even the winds and the rain obeyed the Master.
God’s kingdom does not know the ticking of the second hand of a watch. It includes all of mankind since the creation of Adam and continues through the birth of the last one in the maternity ward before the incredible return of His Son Jesus.
The people of Israel understood a king and a kingdom. They had a history that remembered a time when the kingdom of Israel spanned the borders of the known-world. Kings like David and Solomon commanded the respect of the kingdom’s citizens and the submission and admiration of the inhabitants of the world. They understood God blessing faithfulness, but they also understood the consequences of unfaithful followers and wayward kings.
When Jesus started His earthly ministry, His ministry was heralded by the message of John the Baptist to “Repent because the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 3:1-3 HCSB)! Following His temptations in the wilderness, Jesus began teaching in Galilee.
12 When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went to Galilee. 13 But instead of staying in Nazareth, Jesus moved to Capernaum. This town was beside Lake Galilee in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 So God’s promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said,
15 “Listen, lands of Zebulun
and Naphtali,
lands along the road
to the sea
and east
of the Jordan!
Listen Galilee,
land of the Gentiles!
16 Although your people
live in darkness,
they will see
a bright light.
Although they live
in the shadow of death,
a light will shine
on them.”
17 Then Jesus started preaching, “Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here” (Matthew 4:12-17 CEV).
The teaching of Jesus featured a sermon on the mount that taught what Kingdom followers should be like. His parables made comparisons between familiar basic concepts and the profound truths of heaven.
This is the kingdom of God.
We do not know the circumstances under which our psalm was written. But the substance of the psalm gives us some hints about the events that may be affecting the thoughts of the writer. The longing to be in the presence of the Lord – at the Lord’s house – gives the idea that he is away from home, either spiritually or physically.
But notice the words that he uses to describe God. These words give an indication of the things that he is counting on God to provide.
He begins in verse three by addressing the “I am.” This is the personal name for God, the God who is, the God of being. It is the word that we transliterate into English, “Jehovah.” The Hebrew did not pronounce this word, but instead substituted the word “ADONAI” – “Lord.” The word is used over 6500 times in the Old Testament. Israel counted this word as God’s “proper name.” This word designates the relationship that God has with His people.
From the personal name for God, the psalmist describes God as “Almighty.” This is the Hebrew word צָבָא (tsabah) a word that is found 485 times in the Old Testament. The KJV translates it as “Lord of Hosts.” It is a military term, one used within the ranks of the military service. It is the commander in charge.
The psalmist is addressing the Winston Churchill or Dwight Eisenhower in the World War. He is addressing the Norman Schwarzkopf during the Gulf War. This is a psalm to the Napoleons, the Pattons, the Alexander the Great, and the Julius Caesar. This is the one with the power to send the troops to war.
Do you see what the psalmist is saying about God? You are the Lord of Hosts. You can send and deploy myriads of troops of angels. They are at your beckon call. They respond to your word and your thoughts. You can handle whatever problem comes in front of me. My strength is found in you.
He next describes God as his king. Israel knew the benefits of a good king, but most of the time they languished under less than faithful kings. As such, they experienced the negative consequences. No longer does the faithful have to depend upon the heroics of a man.
This is the only place in the Bible where God is explicitly called “a sun.” He shines upon us, giving light to our days, brightness to our paths. It foreshadows the day when our God will send the Light of the world into a darkness. The last phrase “no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless” is very similar to Paul’s words to the Romans, “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.”
Isaiah echoes the sentiments of our psalm in the 52nd chapter of his book.
What a beautiful sight!
On the mountains a messenger
announces to Jerusalem,
“Good news! You’re saved.
There will be peace.
Your God is now King” (Isaiah 52:7 CEV).
The Lord says:
My servant will succeed!
He will be given great praise
and the highest honors.
14 Many were horrified
at what happened to him.
But everyone who saw him
was even more horrified
because he suffered until
he no longer looked human.
15 My servant will make
nations worthy to worship me;
kings will be silent
as they bow in wonder.
They will see and think about
things
they have never seen
or thought about before (Isaiah 52:13-15 CEV).
God is now the King. Notice what Isaiah says about the coming Messiah. In His presence kings of the world will be silent and will bow. Two incredible images come to mind. The wise men – the magi and kings from the East bowed in the presence of the baby Jesus.
But the day is coming when every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. King of kings. Lord of Lords. Forever.
There is an obscure passage of Scripture in the book of 1 Chronicles that relates to the eighty-fourth psalm. The verses contain a word that lends itself to difficult translation. But the context of the verse is vital for understanding how the Temple was to be maintained. It also gives us a hidden insight into our psalm. The chapter in 1 Chronicles is a record of the assigning of the sons of Levi to various places of service in the Lord’s house.
Aaron was a member of this tribe. His sons were divided into twenty-four groups, each being given specific tasks to perform. Some were in charge of the altar and maintaining order for the sacrifices (1 Chronicles 24). The descendants of Aaron’s cousins – Asaph, Heman and Jeduthun – were gathered in similar groups in charge of the music. They were to lead and conduct the singing and the music “accompanied by harps, lyres and cymbals” (1 Chronicles 25:1).
A third branch of the family of Levi included the sons of Kore (Korah) who were called Korahites. Does that name sound familiar from the opening introduction to our psalm? The Scripture describes these particular men. The Bible calls them “mighty men of valour” (1 Chronicles 26:6 KJV) and “able men of strength for the service” (1 Chronicles 26:8 KJV). The chapter then goes on to tell where each would serve. Their task must be significant and of great value.
It is at this point where the difficulty in translation occurs.
The word “parbar” is a Hebrew word. It is uncommon. This is the only place in all of the Old Testament where the word appears. When the translators of the King James Bible came to this word they had no way of figuring out what English word could be used for an explanation. Parbar was a Hebrew word that at the time had never been found in any other literature. So the translators, not wanting to mislead, simply transliterated the word, putting it straight into the English language.
At Parbar westward, four at the causeway, and two at Parbar (1 Chronicles 26:18 KJV).
Over the years, with the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, we have found other usages of the word. It turns out that Parbar was the name for the temple’s western colonnade. Newer versions of the Bible, like the New International Version, offer a rendering that reflects the knowledge of the word. “As for the court to the west, there were four at the road and two at the court itself.”
The chapter shows us that God picked talented, strong men to be the gatekeepers at the temple. The gatekeeper did more than just stand at the door. They were soldiers meant to protect the temple from being desecrated by unclean individuals. They were to maintain the area, making repairs when needed, not only of the gates but of anywhere in the temple.
God chose the bravest and most talented men to be janitors. He cares about the simplest of jobs. He gives incredibly detailed attention to the most basic of tasks. If God cares this much about who is keeping the gates, doesn’t it make sense that He knows you and has a plan and purpose for your service to Him?
Understand what these sons of Korah are saying. Better is one day in Your house – better is one day in Your presence – even if all I do is change the lightbulbs and scrub the floors.
The contrast is stunning. It would be better to serve as a janitor in the house of the Lord than to be the lord over the parties of the wicked.
It is better to be in the lowest position in the house of the Lord than to be in charge of anything that the world has to offer.
My studies for this lesson crossed my path with the website of the ministry of evangelist Billy Graham. The name of a famed singer passed by my eyes.
George Beverly Shea (1909 – 2013) has been described as “America’s beloved gospel singer. His solos in the Billy Graham Crusades and his exposure on the Graham radio broadcasts have made many believe that Shea sang in front of more people than anyone else in history. His most famous songs were “The Wonder of It All” and “How Great Thou Art.”
Shea composed another tune in 1932 that became a signature song for him as well. He wrote the music and helped with the words as he auditioned for a recording contract with RCA Victor recording studio. The title of his song was “I’d Rather Have Jesus.” The words to the first verse and chorus speak to our hearts today.
I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold
I’d rather be His than have riches untold
I’d rather have Jesus than houses or land
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand
Than to be the king of a vast domain or be held in sins dread sway
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today
Better than thousands elsewhere.
Have you ever felt you had lost control of the rein of your life? Listen to the words of our psalmist.
3 Lord God All-Powerful,
my King and my God,
sparrows find a home
near your altars;
swallows build nests there
to raise their young.4 You bless everyone
who lives in your house,
and they sing your praises.
5 You bless all who depend
on you for their strength
and all who deeply desire
to visit your temple (Psalm 84:3-5 CEV)
Losing the rein makes the journey a challenging adventure. Perhaps you have been lost far, far from home. The venture shipwrecked, your travels blown about by the winds and the seas.
There is a point when you are away when you just want to be home.
We recently took a trip to Italy and Greece that required a nine and a half hour plane ride home. The trip was fantastic, but the journey home seemed even longer because once we left the ground on a plane in Rome, we were ready for the journey to be over. We wanted to be home.
Psalm 84 is a psalm of longing – of wanting to be home. It is a psalm of wanting to be home in God’s house. It is a song of the sons of Korah – something that we will talk about a little more later in the study. Psalm 84 is one of four psalms in the third section of the Psalms (Psalm 84, 85, 87 and 88). There are seven psalms of Korah in the second section (Psalm 42, and 44-49).
We can assume that the psalmist was far away from the Tabernacle or Temple. Perhaps there was turmoil in his life, fleeing for safety, unsure of his next move. He envied the birds that had built their nests near the sacred home of God’s presence. At least they had a home near the presence of the Lord.
Perhaps the psalmist had a soft place in his heart “thinking about home” because he had spent so much time away from it. When it came to thinking about his God, the psalmist was burdened for a place for God to dwell among His people. There was a deep desire in his heart to be secure and comfortable, permanently in the presence of his God.
Away from God, there is a longing for moments in God’s presence at the Tabernacle. The soul is literally withering on the vine, away from the nourishment found in the presence of God. For the one who follows God, there is something refreshing about worship in God’s house, in God’s presence. Everyone could find a place in God’s house – king or servant.
There is something refreshing about the comforts of home. It is easy to take home for granted. It becomes common place. We have been talking about finding an Autumn Refreshing from the Father. We explored the idea of the Autumn Rain in the midst of the heat of our desert. This week, let’s think about a different kind of Autumn Rein, the One who helps us find our way back home. How refreshing it is when we allow God’s word to be the rein in our lives.
The psalmist makes a very poignant comparison in these three short verses. He begins by pointing us to the one with power – the almighty God.
Most of us spend our lives either thinking we have control or trying to gain control of our lives. A recent article on the Psychology Today website by Diane Dreher, Ph.D. stresses that one of our basic human needs is a sense of control. The article says that this desire to have a choice, that our actions make a difference is known as the locus of control (LOC). The more internal our LOC, the more we believe our own efforts determine what happens in our lives. The more external our LOC, the more we believe that outside forces actually move and dictate our behaviors.
The research of psychologists links external LOC with poor mental and physical health issues. The person who has high external LOC tends toward passivity, anxiety, and depression. Conversely a person with high internal LOC tends to lean into happiness, health and a better ability to cope with life.
I wonder if there is just a slight miscalculation in the findings. What if the negative feelings and poor health issues really come from the conflict of us trying to usurp control that we never actually had?
Think with me for just a moment. There are somethings that certainly are in our control. Getting a good night’s sleep, exercising, and eating healthy foods in sensible portions are all part of a healthy lifestyle and are within our control. But consider the myriad of things that are outside of your control. Natural catastrophes, poor or evil decisions of others, the choices and behaviors of our children, major health issues like cancer, the death of a loved one and the list can go on and on. Does our struggle really come from thinking that we can control the rein pf all these things?
Jesus teaches His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount about the dangers of being overwhelmed with concern about the things in this world.
25 I tell you not to worry about your life. Don’t worry about having something to eat, drink, or wear. Isn’t life more than food or clothing? 26 Look at the birds in the sky! They don’t plant or harvest. They don’t even store grain in barns. Yet your Father in heaven takes care of them. Aren’t you worth more than birds (Matthew 6:25-26 CEV)?
The apostle Peter’s first epistle carries the same advice: “God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to Him” (1 Peter 5:7 CEV).
God blesses the ones who look to Him for their strength. Here are three ways that God uses the reins to mold and shape our lives.
When most people think of slowing down a horse, they think in terms of “putting on the brakes.” Rather than pulling the rein straight back to stop the horse, shifting them from side to side can send a message to slow down the process of movement. Skiers use side-to-side movement to control downhill speed. The reins don’t have to completely stop progress. They can help control the speed, simply slowing down the progress.
Do you remember the bubble-gum style song by Simon and Garfunkel in the late sixties called “The 59th Street Bridge Song?” The words that began the song urged us to “Slow down, you move too fast. You got to make the morning last.” Life travels past us at warp speed and we try to make it move even faster.
There are a handful of verses from the old Living Bible that have made a profound impact on my life. I am not always impressed with the paraphrase’s choice of words, but occasionally they stick with me in a way that I cannot seem to escape. One of these verses comes from the pen of King Solomon in the Old Testament. I remember the first time I read it, I was taken aback.
In the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon writes,
It is better to spend your time at funerals than at festivals. For you are going to die, and it is a good thing to think about it while there is still time (Ecclesiastes 7:2 Living Bible).
The verse isn’t mean to depress you, although many will see it as a harsh, pessimistic statement. Almost everything that we do practices a similar philosophy. Stephen Covey’s incredibly successful book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, singles out the truth of this verse in habit two. “Begin with the end in mind.”
The only way we do that is when we slow down, giving ourselves time to plan and prioritize our lives. Covey concludes the thought by saying “Your most important work is always ahead of you, never behind you.”
Here are a handful of reasons to cultivate patience in the fast-paced, frenzied bronco of a life that most of us are trying to break.
Paul encourages the Ephesian Christians to redeem the time (Ephesians 5:16 HCSB). Making the most of our time requires slowing life down enough to plan and chart the courses that we want to pursue. Time management experts tell us to start a successful day by setting aside a few moments to think about what needs to be accomplished during the day. Plans can then be made to achieve the goals.
The psalmist paints an interesting picture in verse five. The NIV translates the passage, “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.”
The Christian is a disciple, a pilgrim on a journey. The experience is portrayed as a journey rather than a destination. Characterized by movement, adventure and discovery, life is not a peek from a stationary observation deck.
The Message translates a passage from the eleventh chapter of Hebrews this way:
The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see.
I could go on and on, but I’ve run out of time. There are so many more—Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets. . . . Through acts of faith, they toppled kingdoms, made justice work, took the promises for themselves. They were protected from lions, fires, and sword thrusts, turned disadvantage to advantage, won battles, routed alien armies. Women received their loved ones back from the dead. There were those who, under torture, refused to give in and go free, preferring something better: resurrection. Others braved abuse and whips, and, yes, chains and dungeons. We have stories of those who were stoned, sawed in two, murdered in cold blood; stories of vagrants wandering the earth in animal skins, homeless, friendless, powerless—the world didn’t deserve them!—making their way as best they could on the cruel edges of the world (Hebrews 11:1-2; 32-38 MSG).
Using the Hebrews’ backdrop of Old Testament heroes of the faith, would you place together three interesting messages from the words of two prophets?
The grand prophet Isaiah writes,
Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go” (Isaiah 48:7 ESV).
God will lead us in the way that we should go. Earlier in the same book, Isaiah has indicated that
And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left (Isaiah 30:21 ESV).
I am not sure how God does that. How does God whisper words behind us? Obviously it starts with God’s revealed Word in the Bible. The more that I know God’s Words the more likely it is that I will make the right applications to the choices that I make and the directions that I take.
The voices of God behind me may be the voices of other Christians who are offering guidance and encouragement. It may be words from the sermon on Sunday or the Christian broadcast on Tuesday’s program. Perhaps the voice may be our own conscience, especially if that voice has been molded and shaped by God’s Holy Spirit.
Don’t put it past God to use a voice outside of the faith. In times past God has used evil kings, heathen poets and psalm writers, and once God even put a voice inside a donkey.
Wander with me to one other Old Testament passage. This time it is from the reluctant prophet Jonah.
And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left (Jonah 4:11 ESV).
Unless Nineveh is filled with dyslexic people or those who have failed their biology quizzes, this passage of Scripture must be taken in a symbolic or figurative way. Let’s think for a moment about how it might relate in a figurative sense.
Did you ever feel that you were being pulled in two directions? Comedian Flip Wilson used to make rationalizations for bad behavior by saying, “The devil made me do it.” Authors and painters have often gleaned that we have an imaginary little devil on the left shoulder and a little imaginary angel on the right.
You might be intrigued to know that our common usage of the word “left” comes from the Latin word meaning “sinister.” When Jesus spoke of the separation of the sheep and goats, the goats went on the left.
Most of the time, when the Bible uses the word “left” to describe more than the physical, it refers to the things of this world – the material, the worldly, the things that are not spiritual in nature. On the other hand (I know, pun intended), the “right” is used to describe the things that are spiritual in nature and those who have become spiritually awake. These are the ones who have ears to hear.
The example screams to us.
and you shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet, and throw the rest of the blood against the sides of the altar (Exodus 29:20 ESV).
Notice how specific the instructions of this verse appear. The blood, while literally being put on the right appendages of these men, were actually helping us see that the sacrifice was for Aaron and his sons, representing an anointing of spiritual wisdom and understanding.
How does God nudge us to the right and try to keep us from the left? One of the ways that He does this is by helping us control our weaknesses by the use of His rein. Let’s return to Peter’s words from his first epistle, the fourth chapter.
Remember, Peter has warned us that the end is near – it is certainly at hand. Because that is a truth that you can count on,
therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ (1 Peter 4:7-11 ESV).
In the middle of the passage, Peter tells us that we are using our gifts – which would include the indwelling presence of God’s Holy Spirit – as if we were stewards of the treasures with which God has entrusted us. Notice that we are actually stewards of God’s grace.
Have you noticed there are instructions in many recipes which encourage the chef to “season to taste?” Use enough salt, use enough hot sauce to meet the desires of your taste. How much grace has God allotted to you to season your world? Season to taste.
If you want to make a difference in the world, notice that God is going to be working with you to change some of your weaknesses into strengths.
To begin with Peter instructs that self-controlled and sober-minded are goals. Would you consider those areas weak in your life? I certainly would. Self-control blossoms when God dictates the direction of life. There is debate about exactly what Peter means by the next phrase but he adds that it is “for the sake of your prayers.” Perhaps key to strengthening our weakness is including it in our prayer life. With God’s help, self-control molds our mission and ministry.
Doing the right thing in relationships with others seems to be a universal weakness. The secret to the activities with others is to let the love of God control your life (Colossians 3:16). Be careful when it comes to actions and behaviors. Even if we do the right thing, but grumble and complain about it or about the recipient of our behavior, we haven’t really turned our weakness around, have we?
Finally Peter says that when you speak, speak as one who is speaking the very words of God. Changes our communication a bit, doesn’t it? It is James that tells us that like the bit in the mouth of a horse, the tongue is a small feature but controls the entire power of the whole. Allow grace to lace your words.
Remember, when you allow God to have the reins of your life, you will find that the way He controls your life, directs your life, and strengthens your weakness provides you the refreshment of a cool autumn.
One of the challenges of constructing a website for visitors is making the site simple and intuitive enough that people can maneuver through it. It seems easy enough to me, but then I have been building it from the ground up and spending almost all my waking hours in it. To help you navigate the waters of the site, here is a brief description of the layout with some instructions.
The site itself is found at http://www.koinoniabiblestudies.com .
When you go to the home page, you will find blogs that I have written over the last couple of years. I believe right now there are about 60 different articles within the site, but only a select few are on the front page. The article “Refreshing – God’s Autumn Providence” tells you a little about the reason that I am wanting to put an online study together.
Click on the title or the “continue reading to go to the article. You will notice at the top of the screen are the words “Koinonia Bible Studies” and three bars in the left corner that uncover a menu. These two items will be consistent on almost every page. Clicking the “Koinonia” logo will bring you back to the home page. Clicking the menu bars always uncovers something that is vital to the page.
On the home page the menu uncovers a form for which you can sign up for the Bible Study. Your signature just helps me know who is coming to the site.
If you click on the article icon on the first page, the entire article will come on screen. You can scroll down through the article and read about my reasons and desire to form this group.
Are you a small group leader? Do you feel ill-equipped to be “teaching” content during your study? When all we do is “push play” on the streaming presentation or the DVD, questions are likely to arise that are difficult to handle. Often the small group can become just sharing everyone’s opinions. You can walk away feeling unsure of what the Bible really says and means – let alone knowing how to live it out in the real world.
Studying this content first will help you feel confident and secure that you are presenting what the Bible says without being concerned that you are leading people astray. The material has been written from the vantage point of fifty years of studying the Scripture. Studying for seven years at a Seminary, I earned the undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree in Biblical studies, pastoral ministry and communication. Continuing my studies, I pursued and earned two Master’s Degrees – a Master of Arts and a Master of Divinity. I am affiliated with the non-denominational Christian churches. Southeast Christian Church, one of the nation’s largest congregations, is a part of that fellowship.
The November lessons are called “Autumn Refreshing.” Every new lesson series will have an introductory lesson that will provide background for the upcoming lessons. It really doesn’t contain a plan that you will teach, but it provides you with a context from which to teach.
Clicking on the menu bars on this page will provide a brief explanation of the structure of the webpages. You will see an explanation of the content of the menus. This menu will also feature the Scripture passage for the series in six different versions of the Bible. Finally the bottom of the menu has links to the other lessons in the series.
If you click on the first lesson, Autumn Rain, the page will look similar to the design of the introductory lesson. There are a couple of interesting features in these lessons. If you hover over a Scripture reference, a window will pop up providing you with the verse of Scripture.
The menu for the actual lessons will all follow the same format. Clicking upper left menu bars will provide you with several things for the coming week’s lessons.
At the top of the menu is a Bible Verse of the Day. The Bible verse changes every day to provide a new Scripture each day. In addition, you will find a verse each day that relates to our week’s lesson. The site also shares a brief devotional thought for the week. Eventually the devotional thought will change every day also.
At the bottom the lesson pages, there is a place for you to leave questions or comments. I encourage you to add to our knowledge with your thoughts and ideas. Let’s truly make this a learning community.
Leaders of small study groups will find two helpful items at the bottom of the menu.
The lesson for each class will have a one page PDF lesson that you can click, view and print out. You are welcome to use this lesson handout and make as many copies as you need to make. The menu also has a handful of questions that you can use for discussion starters for the lesson.
There you have it. You have progressed through the site and one of the lessons. You can use it for your personal study or to share with your small group.
Let me know how your journey progresses.
Blessings,
Tom
6 When they reach Dry Valley,
springs start flowing,
and the autumn rain fills it with pools of water.
7 Your people grow stronger,
and you, the God of gods, will be seen in Zion (Psalm 84:6-7 CEV).
Do you dread the heat of the summer? How hot does it get in the summer where you live? What uncomfortable things are associated with your summers? We long for relief from the summer’s heat. We long for refreshment from the rain.
The heat of the summer is dreaded in Palestine even today. There is virtually no rain in the Mediterranean from May to October. The heat in the summer is so oppressive that as a rule people rest under cover during the middle of the day. Even on the mountains where the temperature of the air is lower, the sun is even more unrelenting because of the lighter nature of the atmosphere.
The first word of advice given to visitors to the Mediterranean is to protect themselves from the sun. The human body is about three-quarters water. Water is found inside cells, within blood vessels, and in-between cells. Water is constantly lost during the day, but is replenished by increasing our fluid intake.
The heat of summer takes its toll on the body. Even low levels of dehydration can cause headaches, lethargy and constipation. The continuous summer sun often causes sunstroke, vomiting and even a loss of intellectual and mental functions. If dehydration continues, internal organs like the kidneys, liver and brain, can undergo severe damage.
Dehydration causes your blood to become thicker and more concentrated. Your heart has a more difficult time pushing the blood through the cardiovascular system. To make up for the struggle, your heart increases its rate to maintain blood pressure. When the dehydrated body is pushed, the risk of exhaustion and collapse increases.
Dehydration is treated by replenishing the fluid level in the body. It is most effectively accomplished by drinking clear fluids such as water, clear broths, frozen water or ice pops, and sports drinks like Gatorade. Interestingly some drinks appear to be quenching our thirst and aiding hydration when actually the drinks add to the dehydrating effects. Alcohol, coffee and sodas are diuretics which actually remove water from the body. We have to be careful what fluids we put into the body.
God is not only concerned about the effects of the physical heat upon the physical body, He is aware that the spiritual body can be affected by spiritual heat.
The absence of water creates a desert – a constant reminder of dangers, hardships and even death. But the desert also plays a symbolic role for God’s people. Because of Israel’s sins, “I will stretch out My hand against them, and wherever they live I will make the land a desolate waste, from the wilderness to Diblah. Then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 6:14 HCSB).
In the Bible many passages speak of actual physical deserts and wilderness areas. John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness. Jesus was led into the wilderness for forty days during His temptation experiences with Satan. But like the time of the Messiah in the wilderness, the desert is often used to the spiritually parched times in our lives where we are drawn to our relationship with God for the quenching of thirst.
The dangers presented by the desert to human survival can be a warning of what life becomes when God is banished from our lives. The desert can be a sign of the punishment that is awaiting those who are rebellious against God (Psalm 68:7). It can be the result of leadership gone astray (Jeremiah 12:10-11). It can speak of diving judgment and punishment (Isaiah 32:11-16).
Israel’s wandering in the wilderness for forty years speaks to the punishment received for sin. Yet even in the midst of the wilderness, God cares for Israel, nourishing them with manna and quail, quenching their thirst with water from a rock (Exodus 16:4, 13; 17:6).
It is significant to realize that God is said to have found His people in the wilderness, in the desert. Deuteronomy records:
“He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He kept him as the apple of His eye” (Deuteronomy 32:10 ESV).
Centuries later, God will call them from the wilderness that separates them from each other and from His presence back to a pathway to Himself. “A voice cries: In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isaiah 40:3 ESV). The gospel writers would later apply the passage to the ministry of John the Baptist in preparation for the coming Messiah (Matthew 3:3).
Are there geographical deserts that you have visited? What characteristics do you recall? What impression did they make upon you? Describe a time in your life that felt like you were in a desert. What caused it to feel that way? Did you find the experience to be both a time of struggle and a time of renewal?
Matthew, Mark and Luke all record that Jesus, following His baptism, went into the desert to fast and pray. Forty days He spent contemplating His ministry and direction, fighting off the Devil’s wiles and temptations. The desert became a place of renewal as angels came and ministered to Jesus (Matthew 3:13 – 4:11).
The draught continues into the weekend, but a cold front approaches our area by Sunday evening bringing a chance for showers and a drop in temperatures. We will have the complete forecast in fifteen minutes.
For God’s people of Israel, the desert areas of Palestine and the Sinai Peninsula were a vast expanse, mountainous terrain that burst from the Sea of the Mediterranean. Life in these lands was harsh, barren and treacherous. Even the necessities of life like food and water needed to be provided by God because the bounty of the land was scarce.
God’s people experienced the hardships of desert life. At times they were overwhelmed by the circumstances they met which left them feeling powerless and abandoned. “Why did you bring us out here to perish?” In the midst of their despair, God provided, teaching Israel that He could be leaned toward and counted upon.
The wisdom of Solomon painted a beautiful image of love on the canvas of the Hebrew poetic book, the Song of Solomon. “Who is that coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved” (Song of Solomon 8:5 ESV)? The words that captured Solomon’s beloved also described Israel as God’s people came up out of the desert.
It is not by accident that many servants of God spent time in the desert. Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Moses, Joshua, David, Elijah, John the Baptist, Jesus and Paul all spent significant time in the desert before fulfilling their roles of leadership in God’s magnificent plan. The desert always proceeds the Promised Land.
It is also not by chance that today we journey through desert experiences – times of struggle, times of pain, the diagnosis of cancer, the break-up of a marriage, the failure of a business, the wayward child, the rebellious spirit inside. Circumstances and emotions, uncertainty and the lack of control push us to the end of our resources, the end of our abilities and the end of our rope.
God still uses the heat of a desert to touch lives. When temperatures soar, we look for a way out of the desert. We look for a redeemer.
God used the challenges and pains of desert life to teach the people to listen and trust. But He always promised relief.
He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil (Deuteronomy 11:14 ESV).
then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit (Leviticus 26:4 ESV).
to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
and to make the ground sprout with grass (Job 38:27 ESV)?
May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth (Psalm 72:6 ESV)!
And he will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and bread, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. In that day your livestock will graze in large pastures (Isaiah 30:23 ESV),
24 They do not say in their hearts,
‘Let us fear the Lord our God,
who gives the rain in its season,
the autumn rain and the spring rain,
and keeps for us
the weeks appointed for the harvest (Jeremiah 5:24 ESV)
When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses (Jeremiah 10:13 ESV).
Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Are you not he, O Lord our God?
We set our hope on you,
for you do all these things (Jeremiah 14:22 ESV).
Ask rain from the Lord
in the season of the spring rain,
from the Lord who makes the storm clouds,
and he will give them showers of rain,
to everyone the vegetation in the field (Zechariah 10:1 ESV).
Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
break up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and rain righteousness upon you (Hosea 10:12 ESV).
“Be glad, O children of Zion,
and rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the latter rain, as before (Joel 2:23 ESV).
The Lord will send rain to refresh His people. Count upon it; He is faithful.
Our deserts are not always made of physical sand.
The word “heat” is often used in connection with anger in the Scriptures: hot anger (Ex 11:8), hot displeasure (Deuteronomy 9:19), anger waxing hot (Psalm 85:3), and works that are neither hot nor cold (Revelation 3:15). We often speak about things done or said in anger, things that are done in “the heat of the moment.” Perhaps your desert is anger or another emotion that seems to cover over you like the ash of a volcano or the sands of the desert.
In a word, the wilderness or desert signifies what is uninhabited and uncultivated. Times in the desert are times when our way is unsure. Perhaps we are uncertain of God’s plan and purpose for our lives. It may be that we are unsure of the decisions that we need to make. Frightened by the darkness, unsure because of the sameness of the grains of sand or the heat of the sun, we find ourselves wandering, sometimes aimlessly, always cautiously.
It was in the desert that Jesus went for a time of prayer and fasting. It was during those times, times that were to be used for strengthening and intimate time with the Father that the Devil came firing his most severe temptations. The desert represents time when we are most vulnerable, most alone. Satan works hardest when we are weakest, when we are in the desert. The desert is synonymous with spiritual struggles and battles.
Valleys and deserts are a part of the journey of life. David reminds us,
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me (Psalm 23:4 ESV).
Where can my strength be found? To whom do I look for help? Again the Psalmist is very clear in his instructions.
121 I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore (Psalm 121 ESV).
It is critical to see that people who put their faith in the strength in God “pass through” the valley. God wants you to go beyond the valleys, not stay in them! There is relief on the other side.
The Feast of Booths (known to some as the Feast of Tabernacles, and to the Hebrews as Sukkot) is the seventh and last festival on the biblical calendar. The feast was one of three Pilgrimage Festivals in Judaism – Passover (Pesach), Pentecost (Shavuot) and Tabernacles (Sukkot) – where the ancient Israelites living in Judah were to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. The feast lasted seven days in the Jewish month of Tishrei, in our September or October.
Few of the feasts of the Old Testament were as joyful a celebration at the Feast of Booths. It was the last of the fall festivals and was held at the end of the agricultural year when the grapes and olives were harvested in Israel. It was a time set aside to thank God for all of the year’s blessing and to pray for a good rainy season which lasted from October through March. The instructions for the festival can be found in the 23rd chapter of Leviticus.
The main reason for the feast was for the Israelites to remember their journey in the desert, in the wilderness from Egypt to Canaan when God made the people live in booths (Leviticus 23:33-43). During the time of the feast, each Israelite family was to construct a booth and live in it for a week. The booths were small, temporary shelters with thatched roofs made of palms and other plants. According to one interpretation of verse 41, the booths were decorated with different kinds of fruit that grew in Palestine. It was common to find grapes, olives, citron (a fruit that looks something like a large lemon) and a pomegranate.
The sukkah or booth was an incredible structure of beauty. It was fragrant, allowing in sun and star light, light being another symbol of the celebration. It was also frail. Rain could easily seep in and the structure was likely to blow over in high winds. The booths were to illustrate the transient and temporary nature of the shelters and of our earthly homes. The sukkah allows the Jewish people to rejoice in community and hospitality. Integral to the customs were inviting guests: the homeless, the old, the frail and the lonely.
In order to help them remember the wilderness journey, later Israelites added a water-pouring ceremony to recall the occasions were the Lord gave Israel water in the desert (Exodus 17:1-7 and Numbers 20:1-13. The ranking priest would draw water from the pool of Siloam and pour it into the basin near the altar in the temple.
The Gospel of John brings to our attention the preaching of Jesus in the outer courts of the Court of Women on Hoshanah Rabbah, the last day of the feast.
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” 39 Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified (John 7:37-39 ESV).
By speaking about living water, Jesus made a connection between His presence and the Spirit that He would leave believers as a Gift and the water that was being remembered as a refreshing gift from God. In Isaiah the prophet mentions the “wells of salvation.” By later talking about being the Light, Jesus was once again referring to messianic prophecy that most would recognize. Saying “I am the Light” was like saying “I am the Shekinah, the pillar of fire.”
Notice that Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” This isn’t just about Jesus anymore, is it?
Moses often warned the Israelites not to forget the God who redeemed them from slavery once they were fat and happy in the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 8). Living in booths for a week reminded them that their success was completely dependent upon the grace of God.
Isn’t that an important lesson for us to know today?
In our quest for Christianity to be relevant and real, have we forgotten to remember? Shouldn’t we set aside time to remember the One who is refreshing rain; living water, in a parched, dry land?
The Feast of Booths began with the wandering Israelites living in booths and the symbolism of God dwelling with them, showing His presence in their midst, providing for their needs by His grace. The fulfillment is seen in the book of Revelation when in a loud voice we hear the proclamation, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Revelation 21:3 ESV).