Similarities Between Old and New

One of the things that I find interesting is the similarities we find in wording between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  Here is an example. 

Isaiah 19:1-2(NKJV)

1The burden against Egypt.      Behold, the Lord rides on a swift cloud,     And will come into Egypt;     The idols of Egypt will totter at His presence,     And the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst.

2    “I will set Egyptians against Egyptians;      Everyone will fight against his brother,     And everyone against his neighbor,     City against city, kingdom against kingdom.

Now compare that to this NT passage.

Matthew 10:34-36(NKJV)

34“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 

35For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 

36and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ £ 

I just think that this has to be more than just a coincidence.  For me personally this helps support the principle that God and Jesus are always in agreement.  Am I reading too much into it?  I don't know but that is what makes being in the Word daily so cool. 

Always learning, always questioning, always drawing closer to God!

By What Standard?

One of the issues I am collecting Scripture references on is the tension between God, just and merciful; the benefits of being a member of the family of God via the saving grace of Jesus Christ; and the Saintly Poor.

What I mean by the Saintly Poor is the belief that somehow the poor get a pass simply because they are poor.  Such as the poor will inherit the earth.  Really?  Even the poor who have outright rejected God?  Does that seem just to you?  You can see the tension of ideas that I am getting at.

Well here is a reference that I would put in the God, just and merciful category.

Isaiah 11:1-5(NKJV)

1    There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,      And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

2    The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,     The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,     The Spirit of counsel and might,     The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

3    His delight is in the fear of the Lord,      And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes,     Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;

4    But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,     And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;     He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,     And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.

5    Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins,     And faithfulness the belt of His waist.

What this says to me is that when you get down to it, the poor will be held to the same standards of righteousness and fairness as the rest of us.  No preferential treatment just because they are poor.  Good to know. 

And another piece falls into place!

One of the things I love about studying God's Word is how over time you notice different verses and how they relate to each other. 

As many of you know, one of my very favorite verses is Romans 5:3-5.

Romans 5:3-5(NKJV)

3And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 

4and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 

5Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

"Glory in our tribulation".  I think a lot of people miss that part.  Attitude seems to be really important to God.  How we handle adversity especially.  I think one of the reason that it is so important is that it is an outward demonstration of our faith.

What was interesting with the verse I found today is that it gives us another clue as to why it is important.

Acts 14:21-23(NKJV)

21And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 

22strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.” 

23So when they had appointed elders in every church, and prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 

What this indicates to me is that we are all going to have to go through some tribulations on our way to God's kingdom.  He wants us to handle it with a smile on our faces because lets face it, who wants a bunch of sourpusses in Heaven?  :)

"In mercy the throne will be established." What the heck does that mean?

Ran across this Scripture today and I think it is a good opportunity to discuss what some may see as a contradiction.

Isaiah 16:5(NKJV)

5    In mercy the throne will be established;     And One will sit on it in truth, in the tabernacle of David,     Judging and seeking justice and hastening righteousness.”

Let's look at the first line.  In mercy the throne will be established.  I think that there are many who think that mercy is automatic and that it automatically precludes judgment or punishment.   In my opinion, nothing could be further from the truth. 

Now I believe the throne being established refers to Jesus' kingdom here on earth.  Let's look at the rest of the passage.  It tells us that once the throne is established Jesus will be judging and seeking justice.

The judging part should come as no surprise.  We are told many times in Scripture that Jesus will come back to judge the living and the dead.

2 Timothy 4:1-2(NKJV)

1I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead £at His appearing and His kingdom: 

2Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 

But what about the justice part?  Well remember that Jesus and God are always in agreement.  Therefore some blood has to be shed for the sins committed for justice to be served.  That is God's rule. 

Now we all have a choice to make.  We can pay that price with our blood or with the blood of Jesus, it is our choice, but either way it requires a blood payment.

I know there will be many that ask "where is the mercy thing?".  Where is the mercy if I am still being judged?

The mercy is in the fact that God gives you the choice of believing in Jesus or not.  The mercy is in the fact that you get total control in deciding whether to pay the blood debt with your blood or with the blood of Jesus. 

Mercy has to be accepted just like salvation because in the end, salvation is the only mercy that counts.  For those who reject Jesus, they are rejecting God's mercy. 

It's not that mercy wasn't offered.  It is that many chose to reject that mercy.  Make sense?

Collateral Casualties - Are They Just?

 

One of the things I find the Bible helpful for is to provide moral clarity on situations.  This verse today does just that for me.

In war one of the things that happens is that sometimes "innocent" people get killed.  It's called collateral casualties.  There are many that think it is unjust that the "innocent" should die in that way.

Let's look at this situation from Acts.

Acts 12:5-10(NKJV)

5Peter was therefore kept in prison, but £constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. 

6And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. 

7Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. 

8Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” 

9So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 

10When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

OK, I think it is pretty clear that God made this happen.  Now let's look at the collateral casualties.

Acts 12:18-19(NKJV)

18Then, as soon as it was day, there was no small stir among the soldiers about what had become of Peter. 

19But when Herod had searched for him and not found him, he examined the guards and commanded that they should be put to death. And he went down from Judea to Caesarea, and stayed there.

So we have some people who died specifically because of an action that God took.  Some would argue that these were just "innocent" soldiers obeying orders and doing their jobs.  Was it just that they should die as a result of God's action?

Now before we answer that question I would remind you that one of the characteristics of God is that He is a just God.  So if we say it wasn't just then aren't we accusing God of taking an unjust action?  And if so then aren't we accusing God of being a liar because He is the one who has said that He is a just God?   

So unless we believe we serve an unjust God then the only logical conclusion in my opinion is that it was just that they should die as a result of God's action. 

But how could that be just you might ask?  Again, these guards were just doing their jobs.  They were nice guys with families to support.  How in the world could it be just that they died as collateral casualties? 

While all of that may be true, the fact is that they were working for someone who was an enemy of God, Herod.  They worked for someone who was actively trying to stop the spread of the Gospel.  And what has the Bible said over and over about the enemies of God?  They will get crushed. 

So while it may be true that on an individual basis these guards may have been "good" people, it doesn't change the fact that they had chosen sides and they had not chosen God's side.  Therefore it was totally just. 

They made their bed and God made them lie in it, permanently! 

Bit of Bible Trivia

Found this bit of Bible trivia.

Acts 11:25-26(NKJV)

25Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. 

26And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

First identified as Christians in Antioch.  Do you know where Antioch is?  Kind of interesting when you think about it because Turkey is predominately Muslim. 

Here is a link if you are curious and would like to know more about Turkey.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkey

Cruel, not a word normally associated with God by many!

I ran across this scripture today and it provoked what I think is an interesting question.

Isaiah 13:9(NKJV)

9    Behold, the day of the Lord comes,      Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,     To lay the land desolate;     And He will destroy its sinners from it.

If we accept that "the day of the Lord" is referring to the second coming, then this says that Jesus himself has some really cruel stuff planned for somebody.  It also says pretty clearly that Jesus is really, really pissed off. 

That sure doesn't match with the view of a loving and forgiving Jesus does it?

Now let me give you the fuller context. 

Isaiah 13:6-16(NKJV)

6    Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand!      It will come as destruction from the Almighty.

7    Therefore all hands will be limp,     Every man’s heart will melt,

8    And they will be afraid.     Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them;     They will be in pain as a woman in childbirth;     They will be amazed at one another;     Their faces will be like flames.

9    Behold, the day of the Lord comes,      Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,     To lay the land desolate;     And He will destroy its sinners from it.

10    For the stars of heaven and their constellations     Will not give their light;     The sun will be darkened in its going forth,     And the moon will not cause its light to shine.

11    “I will punish the world for its evil,      And the wicked for their iniquity;     I will halt the arrogance of the proud,     And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.

12    I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold,     A man more than the golden wedge of Ophir.

13    Therefore I will shake the heavens,     And the earth will move out of her place,     In the wrath of the Lord of hosts     And in the day of His fierce anger.

14    It shall be as the hunted gazelle,     And as a sheep that no man takes up;     Every man will turn to his own people,     And everyone will flee to his own land.

15    Everyone who is found will be thrust through,     And everyone who is captured will fall by the sword.

16    Their children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes;     Their houses will be plundered     And their wives ravished.

Wow!

You know what my first thought was?  What ever happened to love your enemies? 

Jesus has some pretty cruel stuff planned for His enemies.  Doesn't seem very loving does it?  And remember that God and Jesus are always in agreement so it isn't like Jesus went all rogue or anything. 

So how do we square this with love your enemies?  Try this and see if it makes sense.

The people who are going to feel the full wrath of Jesus are his enemies.  How do we know they are His enemies?  Jesus describes them as evil and wicked.  I think we can surmise that they have rejected Jesus in either word or deed at some point to earn enemy status.

So this isn't something that Jesus just unilaterally imposed on them.  They brought in on themselves.  It was their free will choice.  So where does the love come in?
 

I think it comes in by way of the fact that Jesus leaves the door open to them up to the very end for them to confess their sins, ask for Jesus' forgiveness, and invite Him into their lives as their personal Lord and Savior.  I think it demonstrates a tremendous amount of love to be willing to forgive and wipe the slate clean and not hold any of it against them.

If they choose not to take advantage of that love, well then they have earned all the "cruelty" that Jesus is about to lay on them!