Category Archives: Expositions
Hearing the Word and Reforming
“But they did not hear their judges, for they prostituted themselves after other gods and prostrated themselves before them. They quickly turned aside from the path which their fathers had walked; hearing the commandments of Yahweh, they did not so do.”
(Judges 2:17)
God sent Judges to deliver the people but the people refused to listen to the Judges. In the translation above, I rendered the Hebrew word oAmDv (shama) as “hear” to make it stand out from the text. In Hebrew, this word carries not only the connotations of listening to someone, but also the idea that you will act in obedience to what is being said. It is not enough to simply listen to what the Judge had to say, but the people were expected to demonstrate that they had listened by their actions…they hear and then respond in obedience.
The sad thing is just how little things have changed over the years and the generations. We might be tempted to critique the people by saying, “when will they get with the program?” Yet, before we say such things, we must first look at the church in America and in Europe and in other places as well. For we do little better than these ancient Israelites. How often Christians hear the word preached and then go away from the sermon living life exactly as they have done so for years. How many Christians enter church on Sunday and simply feign attention while the sermon is being preached, having absolutely no intention of learning about God, being challenged in terms of the application of the text, or of living a life to the glory of God, but instead daydream about the rest of the events of the day during the sermon, politely passing the time until the service is through. How often do preachers even, fail to teach the whole council of God because they do not like what its implications are for their own lives?
Friends, things have changed very little. And we even have the advantage of hindsight, the fully revealed and written down Scriptures of God which explain in detail that which God demands of his own, and we know the end of all things is judgment for those who do not love Jesus. We also know that true love for God is demonstrated in our obedience, and thus, much of the evangelical church today still stands self-condemned whether they will admit to it or not. The church has prostrated themselves before idols of their own making: buildings, programs, human reputations and traditions, wealth, ideologies, leisure, pleasure, and power. And in some cases the idols are still crafted by the hands of men out of silver and gold — they are just given names like “Saints” or “Virgin Mary” or “Eucharist.” Prostrating to these things, though given “sanctified” names, is just as idolatrous, just as much a prostituting oneself, as it was with the Ba’als and the Ashtoroth of the day of the Judges.
May we learn from the error of these Israelites. May we learn from the error of our forebears in the Christian church (remembering that over time nearly every denominational body has drifted toward or into liberalism and apostasy). But more importantly, may we demonstrate that we have learned by the way we reform our lives and by the way we work to reform our churches. And don’t content yourself with simply working to slow the decline or maintain a compromised position; labor to lead a church or your life toward repentance and growing in your obedience to our Almighty God and his design for the Biblical Church.
Judges; A Messianic Warning
“And Yahweh raised up Judges. And they saved them from the hand of their looters.”
(Judges 2:16)
The role of the Judge is one that clearly is designed to prefigure Christ. They are redeemers of the people from their adversaries. They are signs of God’s grace, given that the people are in the hands of their adversaries because of their sins. They are signs to the people that God will not leave or forsake them, despite their sin. They are often prophets in their role, they often offer sacrifices as the priests do, and they certainly have a kingly function as they rally the armies (or are a one-man army) against the enemies of God’s people. Thus, they fulfill to a limited extent the role of Mediator, which again we find Jesus fulfilling in an ultimate sense.
As we arrive at this verse, though, we also enter into a summary of the whole book of Judges (we have moved from looking back to looking forward). The sad thing is that this cycle of sin is not unlike the cycle that Christians today, Churches today, and even nations today find themselves falling into. Yet, we must be aware that God also gives the warning to the church that he will remove their lamp stand from its place if they persist in their sin. Judges is far more than a history book. It is Messianic as it points toward Christ. It tells us of the long-suffering of God towards his covenant people. But it also stands as a warning to us today lest we turn to idols of our own making.
Yahweh’s Burning Nostrils
“Thus they forsook Yahweh and they served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. And the nose of Yahweh burned toward Israel and he gave them into the hand of plunderers and they plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their enemies that surrounded them and they were not able to stand in the presence of their enemies. In all of their going outs, the hand of Yahweh brought to them disaster, just as Yahweh had repeatedly warned — just as Yahweh swore to them. And they were constrained greatly.”
(Judges 2:13-15)
As a kid, I remember watching the old Buggs Bunny cartoons and one of the more vivid images that I remember is that of an angry bull bearing down on Buggs the Matador. To illustrate the rage of the bull, the cartoonists gave us what is almost a universal image for anger — steam would puff from the bull’s nostrils. This is also how the Biblical language portrays anger, but in this case, it is not an angry bull that is bearing down on Israel, it is an angry God whose nostrils are burning.
God demonstrates his anger toward his people by removing his hand of protection (the plunderers come) and by constraining them in the land by allowing their enemies to oppress them. Remember, the Promised Land as described by God to Abraham was much larger than the people ended up receiving (see Genesis 15:18-21). Here we are told why: the people forsook their God, the one, true, and mighty God who had delivered them. God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14) and he will tolerate no compromise to his true worship. Again, what a condemnation that is to much of worship today that loosely falls under the guise of “Christianity.” Woe to those who would worship by the ways of men rather than in the Spirit and Truth which God commands in his Word.
Notice too the language of God’s “repeated warning.” The verbal construction (Piel) indicates that this is a repeated and emphasized action. Indeed, God has repeatedly warned his people that while he will bless obedience, he will bring punishment against disobedience. And further, woe to those who call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20). And oh, how this is a message that the Church in our nation needs to be reminded of today.
Churches Forsaking God
“And they forsook Yahweh, the God of their fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt. And they went after other gods, after the gods of the peoples which surrounded them and they bowed to them. And Yahweh was provoked to anger”
(Judges 2:12)
Do you know what it means to forsake something or someone? It means to make a decision to abandon something, to leave it behind intentionally and to renounce your relationship to or connection with that which you have forsaken. The bottom line is that when you forsake someone, they become as if they are dead to you with no grave-marker for remembrance. When you think this through, it ought to give you chills when you think of the people of God doing just that with the God of the heavens who has revealed his power through many works.
May I suggest, though, that anytime God’s people choose to compromise the Word of God, then they are guilty of the same thing. God has revealed himself in his word that we might know him, but oh how quickly entire churches back away from what God has plainly revealed about himself in favor of pleasing the culture and the “itching ears” of those who are listening. When churches reframe God in their own image, then they are just as guilty of forsaking God as these Israelites were. And in turn, their modern apostasy angers God no less than the apostasy of the Jews.
Recognize too, that this is not just a matter of our own personal devotion. What we believe about God is reflected in our witness about God to a fallen world. They are intertwined and inseparable. The Israelites understood this to the degree that they believed that their central creed (Deuteronomy 6:4) was their essential witness to the world. Yet, when we bear false witness against God, we essentially take God’s name in vain (notice that a traditional rabbinic practice is to divide the 10 Commandments in half — five and five — and show parallels between one and six, two and seven, three and eight, etc…). One might be angered if someone committed false witness against them; God pours out his wrath justly for doing so. The Heidelberg Catechism says of the Third Commandment that it is this sin with which God is most angry (Question 100).
The Evil
“And the Sons of Israel did the Evil in the eyes of Yahweh; they served the Baals.”
(Judges 2:11)
In most of our English translations, this verse is translated in an unfortunate way. The English Standard version uses the phrase: “what was evil” and the World English Bible translates it as “that which was evil.” The King James Version, along with the New International Version and the New American Standard Version simply leave it as “did evil.” Young’s Literal Translation, as is often the case, comes closer when it reads: “did the evil thing.”
Translating the Hebrew literally, you simply have the word oårDh (ha’ra), or “the Evil” with Evil being understood as a substantive noun, not as an adjective. This construct is used 7 times in the book of Judges (2:11, 3:7, 3:12; 4:1; 6:1; 10:6; 13:1), but is also found through much of the Old Testament. Often, it refers to idolatry, as it does here, but not always.
Numbers 32:13 uses the phrase to refer to the people’s not trusting God in the wilderness and Deuteronomy 19:19-20 uses the phrase to refer to lying and conspiracy. In Deuteronomy 21:21 it refers to a rebellious son and in Deuteronomy 22:21,24 it refers to an immoral daughter and an adulteress respectively. Deuteronomy 24:7 uses the term to refer to the act of taking a Jew as a slave or selling a fellow Jew into slavery and in 1 Samuel 15:19 “the Evil” is the failure of Saul to kill Agag, king of the Amalekites. In a similar way, David’s adultery and the murder of Uriah is referred to as “the Evil” in 2 Samuel 12:9 and in Psalm 51:4 (verse 6 in the Hebrew text). Even Haman is referred to as “the Evil” in Esther 7:6 and Nehemiah 13:17 applies the term to profaning the Sabbath.
Probably the most profound use of this construction can be found in Deuteronomy 30:15, where the text reads:
“See that I have put before you this day the Life and the Good and the Death and the Evil.”
What follows is a warning that obedience brings “the good” and life and disobedience brings “the evil” and death. What a remarkable reminder of truth for us that nothing good comes from our disobedience…it only brings evil and death.
Thus, as a generation rose up that did not remember and treasure the word and the things of God, then the people fell into “the Evil” and thus they fell into death. When we just read “evil things” we recognize that they are doing something that they ought not, but I don’t think that most of our English translations put as much emphasis on the phrase as the Hebrew text places upon it. And we should, especially if we desire to let these words warn us in our present context, for we have (as a society) largely fallen into “the Evil” and need to repent.
Forgetting the things of God
“And so all of that generation were gathered to their fathers, but following them arose another generation which did not know Yahweh and also the works which he had done in Israel.”
(Judges 2:10)
The Historian, Will Durant, is famously quoted as saying, “From barbarism to civilization takes a century; from civilization to barbarism needs but a day.” In principle, with many things, it takes a lot longer to build than to tear down, and when the fathers do not think it significant enough to pass down their faith and the knowledge of God to their children; society will crumble.
This verse marks the end of the summary overlap between the end of Joshua and the beginning of Judges. Joshua and the generation that remembers the mighty works of God based on firsthand experience passes away. And in passing away, their witness is lost because their children have not been instructed in the things of God. Remember, that while the written word is available at this point in history (Moses penned the Torah), it is not widely distributed as every scroll must be copied by hand still, and thus people would have only had access to parts themselves and only to the whole through the Levites in their midst.
One might be tempted to think that such access to the scriptures would be enough to preserve the history of God’s work in Israel, but if we use our own nation as an example, it is not hard to see how the people would fall away and forget the things of God. In today’s world, we have access to information and writings that is unprecedented in history. There are more books in print and out-of-print books can be acquired in electronic format from free libraries. We know what our American founding fathers thought about and wrote about. But as accessible as these documents are, we do not read them. We tend to be content to learn only as much as we need to get by. In fact, as much access as we have to the written word today, fewer and fewer Americans read, or if they do, they read only short snippets and not whole works.
Further, the riches of the Word of God, as expounded by the saints of the past, is more accessible than ever, yet a broad swath of the church is spiritually and intellectually illiterate, satisfying itself with a feel-good theology that has froth and foam, but no depth of substance. One of the effects of the Fall of Adam is that the things we most need to know, we struggle the most to dig into. Yet, when we fail to dig, when we fail to study the Scriptures deeply, that which has been built and established crumbles because the people walk and wander astray. And if you seek a testimony about the truth of that statement, look at America today…look at the errors that are being taught about history today…look at the errors that are being taught about God today. Look at the foolishness that passes as Christian orthodoxy today. And then we will see the truth of this statement in Judges as well as Durant’s observation.
We will also see the importance of correcting that error…a task that is as pressing today as it was back in the days following Joshua’s death.
Burial or Cremation
“And they buried him within the borders of his inheritance, in Timnath-Cheres, in the mountains of Ephriam — on the north side of mount Ga’ash.”
(Judges 2:9)
In a day and age where the practice of cremation has become both commonplace and acceptable, it is important to be reminded of the Biblical practice of burying the body in the ground or in a cave, leaving it there intact. While burning bodies was a common practice in pagan societies, it was never introduced to the Christian world until the 1800s. In England, cremation was not legalized until 1902, largely as a result of the influence of a self-professed Druid named William Price. While American Indians had practice cremation of the dead in America for generations, the first European to be cremated in the United States was the Baron de Palm, Joseph Henry Louis Charles, who was a member of the cultic universalist group known as the Theosophical Society. When the society originally sought to cremate the body there was such an uproar by the townspeople that the cremation had to be relocated from New York to Western Pennsylvania.
Today, nearly 40 percent of bodies are cremated according to one source that I read; clearly opinions have changed. Certainly, when Jesus returns, he is quite capable of resurrecting a body from their cremated remains, just as he is able to resurrect a body that had no remains to speak of (for example, soldiers killed in bomb blasts in war). The real question is what are you communicating to the world when you incorporate historically pagan practices into the Christian life?
The Biblical practice is clearly that of preserving the body in the ground in the anticipation of a resurrection to glory (for the believer) and destruction (for the unbeliever). As a pastor, I often use the language of “keeping the body in trust” when I speak to people about burial in our church’s cemetery. Every headstone out in that graveyard serves as a reminder to the world of our anticipation of a resurrection and we look forward to that day when our Lord will return and all those graves will be emptied.
So, as we look back to Joshua’s death, we are reminded of our Biblical heritage. My prayer is that everything we do in both life and in death is done for the glory of God and with the hopes of communicating the Gospel to those who are watching you. I believe that one of the reasons that Christianity is in a more or less visible decline in the west is because Christians have oftentimes not offered a consistent and Biblical witness by life and action and have oftentimes been too quick to incorporate pagan practices into their Christian worldview…let’s not travel down that road any further than we have. And, where God gives us influence, let’s use that influence to change the road we have been on and place us on the road that honors God through his Son, Christ Jesus.
And He Died…
“And Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of Yahweh, died; a son of a hundred and ten years.”
(Judges 2:8)
As humans we are tempted to think ourselves immortal and to cling to the things of this earth with clenched fists. Yet, this earth is passing away and our immortality is often not how we imagine it to be. Indeed, we will live forever and resurrected bodies are promised to all — though those who are not born-again believers in Jesus Christ will be resurrected to eternal torment. How we have our lives upside down, though, clinging to that which cannot last and neglecting that which does. And then again, even that tendency is a result of the fall and our sin.
Thus the theme, “and he died,” is pronounced through the scriptures and is one that yet haunts us today. Too many people die way too young and many more, though they grow old, suffer maladies which do not permit them to live like they would like. And that reality, as grim as it is, is designed to point us back to Christ, for in Him is the only solution to death and the grief that accompanies death. For in Christ is life and life eternal…and not eternal life in this frail and fallen world, either. We are promised eternal life in a remade heavens and earth that will be free from the devastation of the Fall. For that we wait in hope, but for now, we grow old and die as a reminder to those who follow us of mankind’s sad state.
“We do not want you to be without knowledge, brethren, regarding those who sleep, in order that you may not grieve as others do, even as those who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and arose, in the same way God, through Jesus, will bring those who have fallen asleep to himself.”
(1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)
Personal Holiness of Church Leaders
“And when Joshua sent the people off, the Sons of Israel each went to his own inheritance to possess the land. And the people served Yahweh all the days of Joshua and all of the days of the Elders who lived days beyond Joshua, who had seen all of the great works that Yahweh had done in Israel.”
(Judges 2:6-7)
One of the themes that often puzzles people about the Bible is how often the spirituality of the body’s leadership is reflected in the spirituality (or lack thereof) of the people. Why don’t we see a body of god-fearing people when you have a bad king? Why do the people honor God when there is a revival in the life of the king?
The 19th century Scottish preacher, Robert Murray M’Cheyne, used to say, “My people’s greatest need is my personal holiness.” What he understood is that people normally follow the lead of their shepherd. And whether we see that in the Elders and Kings of Israel or the pastors and councils of churches, the pattern remains unchanged through history. Even in civil life in America, our healthiest times as a nation (when it came to spiritual matters) have always been when we have had godly leaders.
On a more local level, this trend should send a clear message to all of us who serve as ministers of the Gospel and in church leadership. How are we maintaining our souls? Are we being diligent to make our calling and election more sure (2 Peter 1:10)? It is too easy to get caught up in the busyness of the week and of the responsibilities to prepare church budgets and to set in place church guidelines; we need to be reminded to make this our greatest task — how will we care for our souls? For if we do not care for our own souls, how will we care for the souls of others?
And thus, history echoes the lesson we are learning in these verses. And, if we do not want that history repeated in our churches or in our communities, we need to encourage those who shepherd us to feed their souls as well as our own. That takes time, but in the scope of eternity, it is a worthwhile investment.
Repentance
“As soon as the Angel of Yahweh spoke these words to all the Sons of Israel, the people lifted up their voice and wept. And the name of the place is called Bokiym. They sacrificed there to Yahweh.”
(Judges 2:4-5)
As bad as Israel will become in this book, they are not there yet. Despite their failures and sin, they respond in exactly the way a believer should respond to the recognition of sin. Sadly, God has to confront them as a people, but holy grief and sorrow is their response. In fact, the Hebrew word which we translate as “voice” is singular to indicate the people lifting their voices and weeping as one body.
Here is also an example of corporate sin being addressed. When it comes to individual sin, we are called to grief and repentance just the same, but typically this does not take place in the assembly. Yet, when there is corporate sin — a church has been guilty of harboring a given sin, then it is proper to address that sin as a body, weeping and grieving over the path the body has taken. We even see this language applied to the nation of Israel (2 Chronicles 7:14).
The real question with sin, though, is what we do after we repent. We may grieve and we may weep, but if there is no change in our lives then our repentance is not a repentance in faith. Certainly we will stumble again into sin…we may even stumble into the same sin a second time. The real question is whether we strive to put that (and every other) sin to death and strive towards a life marked by righteousness. Sadly, as we look ahead to the rest of the book of Judges, we find repentance, but rarely for more than a generation (if that.). How sad it is to see, but lest we become arrogant, we should note that our own generation has not fared much better in the life of the Christian church. Apart from the decline of faith in our culture, there is a decline in faith amongst both denominations and individual churches as well. Indeed, it is time that we repent (corporately) of those things we have tolerated that dishonor our Savior and then seek to carve out lives that are marked by Truth and righteousness.
The Cult of the Selfie-Stick
“And also, I say that I will not continually drive them out from before you, but they will be at your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.”
(Judges 2:3)
And thus, the warning given in Numbers 33:55-56 comes to pass. Barbs in the eyes, thorns in the side, and trouble — this is indeed the result of compromising with sin. Thus, while the word “thorn” is not present in the actual text, it is inferred from the context. Interestingly, the Greek translation of this text inserts the word sunoch/ (sunoche), which literally means “distress” or “anguish,” but is also the term that Paul chooses in 2 Corinthians 2:4 when he speaks regarding his distress over the people of Corinth who had been abandoning his teachings. How these faithful parents must distress the idolatry that will be enticing their children.
This statement is hauntingly relevant to us today as well. The snares are all around us — the gods of money, reputation, vanity, recreation, entertainment, etc… — and while as believing adults, we are discerning enough to recognize the dangers, those snares are dragging our children down faster than we are willing to admit. Even whole church movements have fallen prey to the trap that the time of worship is to be a time of entertainment and that church growth is about who can put on the best show. And indeed, that is not at all what church worship is to be about. Worship is about giving honor to God for who he is and for what he has done — not about giving honor to man for man’s creativity and cleverness. Worship is about sitting under the instruction of God’s Word and prayerfully seeking to apply that instruction to one’s own life. Worship is not a matter of feeling good about oneself; it is a matter of recognizing that we have a long way to go until we arrive at perfection — something that won’t be completed until we are in God’s presence eternally. Worship is about a communal gathering of God’s people and publicly pronouncing that God is the sovereign king over our land, not political parties and special interest groups.
But because we have allowed the gods of vanity and self to inundate our society, we have created the cult of the selfie-stick. And until people are made to realize the emptiness of vanity, there is no going back. But, do we really want to go back? Do we really want to go back to the world that preceded the selfie-stick? I would challenge that we don’t because sinful hearts are always drawn to anything that elevates self — just as a moth is drawn to a flame. What we want is to push through — to demonstrate to the world that the selfie simply leaves one hollow and empty and there is nothing compelling about it. Instead, what is compelling is the Lord of Hosts who can not only fill us and satisfy our longings, but who can show us how we need to leave behind these snares that entangle and grow in Truth and Grace.
Tearing Down Idols Around Us
“And you were not to make a covenant with those who dwell in this land; its altars you shall pull down. But you have not listened to my voice; what is this that you have done?”
(Judges 2:2)
I fear that we have lived in a pluralistic society too long to really understand the fullness of this statement. Certainly, as Christians, we can understand the prohibition about making covenants with those who are pagans, but what of the language of tearing down the idols of the pagans?
Of late there has been a great deal of discussion in the news about how the Islamic State, as it conquers new regions in the Middle East, has been tearing down “cultural artifacts.” Now, certainly I am not in sympathy with the wicked Islamists who are doing such things…particularly as they slaughter innocents in the name of their false god, but I raise the question simply to point out that in their eyes, they are destroying reminders of paganism from which they hope to purge the land. Is this not exactly what the Israelites were called upon to do?
Now, we have already explored the notion of MårDj (charam — verse 17) and should remind ourselves that Joshua’s invasion of Canaan was meant as a picture of God’s final judgement in the end of days. In those days, before the coming of Christ, God used his people as a witness against the pagans of the land. In these last days, after the coming of Christ, God speaks through his Son and the Son will be the one who executes judgment upon the wicked as he subjects all things to himself. Thus, while governments are given the power of the sword to execute justice, we are not given the power of the sword to execute vengeance or to purge the culture of the wicked. This is why you do not see Christians committing the kinds of crimes that you see being committed in the name of Allah today. Indeed, our weapons of warfare, as Christians, are spiritual in nature because our true enemy is spiritual as well.
At the same time, as Christians, we are called to destroy every argument and tear down every lofty opinion that is raised up against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:4-6). Sounds a lot like this passage, doesn’t it? In fact, when you pair this passage with Paul’s language of not being unequally yoked (2 Corinthians 6:14), we have, in essence, everything for which the people are being condemned by the Angel of Yahweh. How little times change…
Today, when we look at idols (whether they are made from stone or metal or whether they are made out of ideologies), we tend to see them as things to be preserved as cultural artifacts. And while cultural artifacts they may be, what happens when the society becomes inundated with such artifacts? And what happens when the Christian church becomes rather illiterate as to what the Bible teaches as truth and error? What happens? Sadly, the answer can be found by looking out of the window at the culture around us. Because we have not faithfully pursued truth ourselves, we have not faithfully taught that truth to our children. And because we have not faithfully taught Truth to our children, they are being seduced by the Pied Pipers of this world.
What is the result? Faith is and has been minimized. People typically see faith as that which carries them through difficult times only and they forget that while faith will carry you through difficult times, faith is meant to guide the entirety of your life and pursuits. The institutional church is treated much like a kind of club that one might participate in and Sunday worship is seen as optional if it fits into the busy schedule of athletic events and school activities that are “required” if one is going to be socially “well-rounded.” Kids are taught that their social lives, too, are more significant than their family lives. And we can go on and on. And it all stems back to the fact that we have been too lenient in the way we have handled false ideas and in the way we have taught our children the truth.
So, what shall we do? To begin with, we can do much like the people did when they received this judgment from the Angel of Yahweh…we can genuinely lament the hole we have allowed ourselves to fall into. But there is more…and it is what the people failed to do in the verses that followed in the book of Judges. They failed to repair the problem by teaching their children Truth. We know that because the next generation falls away. We need to be proactive with our kids that they know truth from error more clearly than we have ever thought possible. And to do that effectively, we who are adults, need to pursue Truth with a renewed vigor that is fueled by the grief over the wickedness of our land and the fear of our children falling repeatedly into the errors that the Israelites so quickly fell into in the book of Judges. And we can work to tear down the ideological ideals that stand against the knowledge of God — things like secular humanism, false spirituality, mysticism, situational ethics, pluralism, and the modern versions of gnosticism and sophism that have crept into the church. And in doing these things through a repentant spirit, we need too to pray that God would use us as a spiritual sledgehammer in this world to tear down the influence of those teaching error.
The Angel of Yahweh and our Worship
“The Angel of Yahweh went up from Gilgal to Bokiym. And he said, ‘I caused you to come up from Egypt and brought you to the land which I swore to your Fathers and I said, ‘I will not break my covenant with you — eternally.’’”
(Judges 2:1)
If you have been following along with me for any length of time, you are familiar with the figure of “The Angel of Yahweh.” In short, this figure is the pre-incarnate Christ, the second member of the Trinity before he took flesh to himself. If this is a new notion for you, take some time to look up the references…he shows up all over the place and he says and does some remarkable things. Hagar, for example, associates the Angel of Yahweh with God himself (Genesis 16:13). When God asks Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, the Angel of Yahweh appears and commends Abraham that he has not withheld his son from “me” (Genesis 22:12). In guiding Jacob as to which sheep to choose of Laban’s flock, the Angel of Yahweh addresses him and says, “I am the God of Bethel.” When Samson’s birth is foretold by the Angel of Yahweh, Manoah asks him his name. The Angel’s response is that the name is “Wonderful” (Judges 13:18), a name that Isaiah attributes to Christ (Isaiah 9:6). And of course, in Zechariah’s vision, the Angel of Yahweh is seen as re-clothing Joshua the High Priest (a visual reputation of the imputation of God’s righteousness). When he does so, the Angel of Yahweh states, “I have taken away your iniquity and will clothe you in righteousness” (Zechariah 3:4).
Here, we again have a statement from the Angel of Yahweh, that he is responsible for bringing the Israelites out of Egypt, a reference to Exodus 14:19. Later, in the New Testament, Jude states that it is Jesus who led the Israelites out of Egypt (Jude 5). Sometimes this language throws people off a bit because we are used to thinking of angels as created beings. In fact, a number of cults over the generations have tried to use this language to imply that Jesus was a created being — Mormonism being a modern example of those who make this error, though the ancient gnostics were quick to go in this direction as well. Yet, we must remember that the Hebrew word that we translate as angel is ךְAaVlAm (malak), which means, “messenger.” Whether this is a heavenly messenger or a human messenger is determined by context…and similarly, whether this messenger is divine is again determined by the context…in this case, given all the language about this person, it can be none other than the Eternal Son of God…prior to his incarnation.
What is significant about this observation is not only the understanding of who this figure is, but it is the recognition that the Eternal Son was not dormant during the eras of time between the creation and the incarnation. What a study of this figure will be quick to illustrate is just how active our savior has been in the deliverance of his people throughout the Old Testament accounts and then again into the New Testament account. What a gift it is that the scriptures point out the labors of our Savior throughout the ages…it is a gift that should drive us to appreciate his labors more greatly, stand in awe of his willingness to take on flesh and suffer for us, and drive us to worship him all the more. Such is the way it is and should always be when we approach the Word of our wonderful God.
Two more observations should be made of this verse. The first is the use of the hiphil stem for the majority of the verbs in this verse. In the Hebrew, the hiphil typically communicates causative force…in this case, it was God who caused the people “to go up” from Egypt and who caused the people to be “brought into” the land and further who will cause the covenant to be unbroken (at least God’s side of the covenant). It is a reminder to us that it was not by Israel’s cunning or strength that they came out of Egypt nor would it be Israel’s righteousness that causes God to remain faithful. It is God who has done these things and God who should be given the credit for doing these things. Such is the same with us…anything good in our lives or anything that we have done that is worthy of honor — all of the honor and praise should be given to God himself, for he has done these things in and through us.
Finally, we see the affirmation of the covenant — a covenant that God will preserve with his people eternally. It is a covenant that this Angel of Yahweh, God’s Son, will make good with his own blood. What a sign of grace that the one who will fulfill the covenant for a wicked and rebellious people is the one who communicates that promise to the same people. And again, that realization should drive us to worship…and to obedience.
Influencing the Culture
“Naphtali did not dispossess those who dwell in the House of Shemesh or those who dwelt in the house of Anath; and they dwelled in the midst of the Canaanites who dwelt in the land. Thus, the House of Shemesh and the House of Anath became forced labor for them. And the Emorites tormented the sons of Dan in the mountainous region, thus they did not give them the ability to come down to the lower plains. And the Emorites were prepared to dwell in the mountains of Cheres, in Ayyalon, and in Sha’albiym, but the hand of the house of Joseph was glorious and they became forced labor. And the border of the Emorites was from ascents of Aqrabiym to the cliffs and above.”
(Judges 1:33-36)
We draw the introductory history to a close…again, this is designed to overlap the end of the book of Joshua and to prepare us for the context of the book of Judges that follows. Chapter 2 will shift from looking backwards to looking forwards and in many ways will summarize Judges as a whole. But for now, we must content ourselves with once again reflecting on the consequences of a partial victory. Indeed, there are benefits that can be gained through the forced labor of the pagan peoples, but largely the presence of the idolatry of the pagans has a devastating effect on the people.
But let us pose the question, what if the people were not inclined to stumble at the paganism of the Canaanites. Instead, what if the evangelistic fervor of the people were such that it was the Canaanites that were converting to Judaism? What a different conversation we might be having. Interestingly, while I am not an advocate of slavery in any form and the American manifestation of slavery that took place several centuries ago is not anything that could be described as good, may I at least offer that many Africans, who had grown up in an Animistic religion, were converted to Christianity. We don’t typically think of forced labor and slavery as being redemptive in any way, but shall we not celebrate the thousands of souls that were saved because of this horrible practice? Might we say with Joseph, that “While you intended it for evil, God intended it for good”?
Surely some of these Canaanites that were put to forced labor converted, but mostly the Canaanite practice influenced the Israelites to fall into sin. How about those influences in your life? Are your non-Christian friends influencing you or are you influencing them? At the end of the day, are they more like you or the other way around? A vital and healthy faith ought to influence others without being influenced by the unbelief of others. Though, much like ancient Israel, that doesn’t much happen in our churches. Were that it would. May we strive for it to be so.
Nope, Not Gone Yet…
“Manasseh did not dispossess the House of Shean and its villages, or Tanak and its villages, or those who dwell in Dor and its villages, or those who dwell in Yibleam and its villages, or those who dwell in Megiddo and its villages. In this way, the Canaanites were prepared to remain in that land. And it came to pass that when Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor for they did not disposes them completely. And Ephraim did not disposes the Canaanites who dwelt in Gazer, so the Canaanites were in their midst in Gazer. Zebulon did not disposes those who dwelt in Qitron or those who dwelt in Nahalol. And thus the Canaanites dwelled in their midst but were put to faced labor. Asher did not disposes those who dwelt in Acco or Tsiydon — or of Achlab, Akzib, Chelbah, Aphiyq, and Rechob. Thus the Asherites dwelt in the midst of the Canaanites who dwelt in the land for they did not dispossess them.”
(Judges 1:27-32)
The pattern is clear. The Israelites were commanded to remove the Canaanites from the land. The Israelites were unsuccessful in doing so and thus we see this repeated chorus of Canaanites dwelling in the midst of God’s people. The author of Judges will later on explain to us the reason behind these defeats, but for now we focus on the Israelites’ repeated failure to complete the task that had been set before them.
As I reflect on these words, it strikes me that things haven’t changed very much in our world today. We try and share the Gospel in our communities, but in God’s design, we still remain with Canaanites in our midst. On one level, it is easy to point out that we as a church haven’t always been zealous at the work of taking dominion of our world and thus have fallen short of the task. We have become distracted, focusing on entertainment rather than focusing on than on the task at hand. We have become timid, fearing rejection from our friends and neighbors. We have become interested in popularity, caring that people like us more than caring that people respect us for communicating Truth with love. And we have become selfish, focusing on our wants rather than on the call to be salt and light to the world.
The failures of these Israelite tribes brought grief and hardship into their lives given the very presence of idols and sin in their midst. In the same way, we experience hardships because the the idols that we tolerate in our own land. The answer in our response, though, is not to pull back into our own isolated and sheltered communities — but to engage the world around us with the Truth of God’s word and with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we seek to do so we will indeed meet a great deal of resistance — sin entrenches itself in a community in which it is a part. At the same time, the opposition cannot stand against the might of our God. So why draw back and recoil in fear and worry about pressing the world regarding truth? Who can stand against the might of our God? None.
Canaanites Remaining in the Land…Will We?
“Manasseh did not drive out the House of Shean and its villages, or Taanak and its villages, or those who dwell in Dor and its villages or those who dwell in Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the intention of the Canaanites was to dwell in that land. When it came to pass that Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor but they did not disposes them entirely.”
(Judges 1:27-28)
And now one after the other, we find regions that did not entirely fall to the Israelites. The phrase that we find repeatedly, such and such a city “and its villages” literally reads, “and its daughters.” This is a figure of speech that reminds us that in the ancient times you would find that once a city was established, smaller villages would spring up around the main city. This provided both trade and protection for those living outside of the city walls — thus these villages could almost be seen as daughters of the main city.
Two things strike me as interesting as we enter into this string of partial victories. The first is that we often take for granted that the Canaanites would just be pushed out of the land. Yet these tribes and villages had been there for generations…many of them even before Abraham arrived in that region. As a result, they intended to fight for their land. God had given Israel the land, indeed, but they would need to take it from those who dwelt there and they would have to take it by force.
The second thing that strikes me about this passage is that the author points forward to the time when Israel would be established in the land and they would put these Canaanites to forced labor. Not only were the Canaanites unwilling to leave as the Israelites moved in their direction, the Canaanites were unwilling to leave even if it meant becoming slaves in the land that they still considered their own.
Somewhere we need to make the decision as to where the line is drawn when it comes to the land. In our more modern day, we celebrate the Pilgrims who traveled to America for religious freedom. Yet, the fact that they came here means that they left behind their land in the Old World to find new land here. For many of these Pilgrims, their faith meant not only were they persecuted in England, but had they stayed, they would have in essence become a servant to those around them (at least in religious matters). For many of them, that meant leaving for the hardships of the new world was the only reasonable option.
Here in modern America, though, I wonder sometimes whether there will come a time when we will have to make that decision ourselves. As America grows increasingly liberal and paganistic, to we remain and continue to be salt and light or do we immigrate to a place, perhaps like Africa, where we will be able to worship more freely? My prayer is that we don’t come to the point where we will have to make such a decision, the question we must ask ourselves, though, is when such a decision needs to be made and at what point do we act upon it. Again, let us pray that this is not a decision we will be forced to make.
Apologetics and the Relocation of Luz
“And the man went to the land of the Hittites; and he built a city and he called its name Luz. It is named that up to this day.”
(Judges 1:26)
This phrase, “up to this day,” is found 90 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and in the majority of cases, the phrase is used to communicate the idea that even as this text is being written, years after the actual events, the city or location is still known to the audience of the author’s day. Why is this important? It serves two purposes. First, it gives younger members of the community the background behind the cultural tensions between Israel and their surrounding neighbors. And yes, the Hittites would become an ongoing enemy of the Israelites. Though the empire itself began to collapse in the 12th century B.C. (toward the end of the time of the Judges), there were regional groups (sometimes called “Neo-Hittites”) who still caused Israel a great deal of grief even into the time of the Kings. Most scholars today place the relocated Luz just north of the Golan Heights in the region that would have (at the time) been part of the Hittite empire.
While the first reason spoke to the people of the author’s day, the second reason for the significance of this phrase speaks to us in modern times. Were this a mythological or legendary story, as many liberals would assert, historical place-names would not be mentioned. Think about the folk-stories that you know: Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk, or even King Arthur. These stories are all very vague in terms of times and place names…the reason: so that they cannot be disproven.
But the Bible gives numerous place names and ties the historical events therein to many events that are outside of the region of Israel (in this case, to the Hittite Empire). That gives us a way to verify their historicity but it also stands as an apologetic to the world around who would be inclined to dismiss the text as ahistorical. Thus, as we make an apologetic for the Christian faith and for the truth of the Bible, we need to recognize that these statements were intentionally put in place for our benefit. The author is essentially saying to us, “Look, I too am separated in time from these events, but the cities and places still exist today and thus my audience can go there and verify them firsthand.” While it may be a bit tougher for us to verify these things firsthand as more history has transpired and ruins of these cities don’t always still remain, the historical record stands as a witness to us that these events were not manufactured. That should encourage us in our faith as well as be a tool in our apologetic for the faith. The bottom line is that our Bible is reliable and statements like this reinforce that great truth.
Spiritual Leadership in the Home
“So he showed them the entrance to the city and they struck it with the edge of the sword. Yet the man and his extended family, they sent away.”
(Judges 1:25)
Having been given the covenantal promise of protection, the man revealed to the house of Joseph where the hidden entrance to the city was and the soldiers gained entrance. Once inside they put the city to the edge of the sword (literally, to “the mouth of the sword”). Much as we discussed above, with MårDj (charam — see verse 17), this language speaks of devoting to death everything living within the city. And, as we noted above, this only makes sense in light of a surprise attack upon the city and a surprise attack only makes sense if we understand the entrance to be a secondary, unguarded entrance of which only the inhabitants of the city knew.
In putting the city to the sword, they do provide safe passage for the man who betrayed Luz to the sons of Joseph…but not just to him alone. We discover here that it is his entire, extended family that is delivered. The Hebrew term for “family” that is found here is hDjDÚpVvIm (mishpachah), which refers not only to one’s immediate family, but also to one’s extended family as well — one could translate this even as “clan.” In the historical reading of the text, this only makes sense as the man moves the region of the Hittites (to the north) and establishes a city — a task that would have been all but impossible either alone or with just one’s immediate family. Yet, with an extended family, the result seems far more plausible.
While this deliverance is a reminder of the deliverance of Rahab and her family when Jericho fell, it is also a reminder of the principle of covenant headship. As the head of his family (and clearly, of his extended family), he has the right and privilege of negotiating on behalf of his family as a whole. The family suffers with him in failure but the whole family benefits when he does what is right.
What is fascinating is the change of direction that God providentially seems to give this man, for this account is not just about the deliverance of an individual, but of a family. The city has fortified itself as it soon will be under siege and this man sneaks out with no indication that any of his family is with him. Of course, we don’t know the motivation for this — perhaps he was seeing if this was a safe way to exit the city and would then go back for his family. At the same time, there is nothing to indicate he was trying to save anyone’s skin but his own. If this latter case is true, through his capture by the sons of Joseph and his betrayal of the city, not only was his family delivered…but he was delivered from his own sin of not caring for his family.
One of the plagues on the culture in the west is how often men seem to abdicate their responsibility and their role in their family. Many desert their children, leaving them to be raised by their mothers alone. Many choose to spend their money on themselves rather than sacrificing to provide for a family. But even when men do not desert their financial responsibilities to their families, they sadly abdicate their spiritual responsibility to lead their homes, once again, laying that burden on their wives.
Men, we have a covenant responsibility to lead our households in spiritual things. We must be the primary teachers of our family when it comes to the Bible, to theology, to spiritual living, and to covenant faithfulness. We teach in our actions, we teach in our lifestyle, but we also need to teach intentionally by opening up the Bible, reading it to our families, and instructing them in its meaning and application. And it also includes praying for and with our families as well as teaching them to pray. But how do you teach what you do not know? We must strive to be the “experts in our home” as we are the masters of our homes. That’s the heart of being a spiritual head. The question for those men who are reading this is will you? The question for those ladies who are reading this is, will you encourage your husbands to do so?
Chariots of Iron
“And Judah overthrew Azzah with its territory and Ashqelon and its territory, even Eqron and its territory. And Yahweh was with Judah and he took possession of the mountainous region. He could not take possession of the dwellings of the plains for they had chariots of iron.”
(Judges 1:18-19)
The note about chariots of iron is actually tremendously helpful when it comes to confirming the dating of these historical events recorded in Joshua and Judges. As scholars and archaeologists examine the development of civilizations, they typically date the beginning of the Iron Age around 1200 or 1300 BC. Obviously there is not a hard and fixed date as cultural changes in terms of the usage of metals for tools and warfare, these changes are gradual, but in the 13th century B.C. studies have shown the increased use of iron instead of bronze.
At the same time, most conservative Biblical scholars place the conquest of Canaan between 1375 or 1350 BC. This would mean that these Canaanites of the plains were a bit ahead of their time in building iron chariots, but it would also explain why Judah and Simeon had such difficulty when seeking to conquer these peoples. This was a radical development and weapons of bronze were simply no match for weapons of iron and such was the plight for the armies of Judah as they engaged the peoples of the plains. But for those who doubt the historicity of the Scriptures, this is just one of numerous reminders that the Biblical account is quite consistent with the discoveries in the world around the ancient near east.
This, though, marks the first of the inhabitants of the land that the armies of Israel were unable to drive out — the first of many. Those people in the land would cause great grief for the people in the long run, but we get ahead of ourselves.
Debir — the City of Books
“And they went from there against those who dwelt in Debiyr — the name of Debiyr was Qiryath-Sepher.”
Names fascinate me. Qiryath-Sepher (or Kiriath-Sepher as many Bibles transliterate) literally means, “The City of the Book” or “The City of Writings.” The Greek translation of this city is Po/liß Gramma/ton (Polis Grammaton) — “The City of Letters (Epistles).” Later, then, this city’s name is changed to Debiyr (Debir in most modern transliterations), which most likely is derived from the Hebrew word, rAb∂d (dabar — meaning, “word”), though ryIb∂d (Dabiyr) is also used to refer to a holy sanctuary — see 1 Kings 6:5, 8:6, Psalm 28:2, 2 Chronicles 5:7 to see the term applied to the Holy of Holies in the Temple.
What adds to the interest is that many digs have been done in the area presuming (by its name) that it would contain a library of sorts — a treasure trove for scholarly research. Such a trove has yet to be found. William Albright, one of the founders of the modern Biblical Archaeology movement, thought that he found Debiyr — a dig that is today referred to as Tell Beit Mirsim. Yet no library was found, though there is evidence of an active weaving industry — potentially a place of trade for travelers. Albright’s view about the location of Debiyr is challenged by some, but archaeology is a constantly changing discipline.
If, though, Debiyr is a reference to a holy place — a monastery of sorts perhaps located there in ancient times — it is perhaps feasible to identify the city not so much as a library of academic pursuits, but a place where various monks (likely pagan) would come to pray — a place where the scrolls were written, not kept. Yet, all this is speculation — how did this city get its name? We just do not know.
He will Continually Lead Us
“For this is God — our God — forever and ever;
He will continually lead us until death.”
(Psalm 48:15 {verse 14 in English})
For indeed, this mighty and protective God is our God…and he will be our God forever and ever. We need not fear that he will leave or forsake us and we need not fear that he will give us over to the enemy forever. He is our God forever. And what does that look like in a practical way? He will lead us until we die. While indeed he will hold us even until eternity, it is while we are here on this earth that we need God’s shepherding hand so powerfully to lead and to guide us through this world that is so filled with trial and temptations. And indeed, God will be that leader to guide our steps. Jesus himself uses the language that he is the Good Shepherd.
Yet, as we close this psalm with this promise, let us ask ourselves, are we obedient in following the Master’s lead? Or, do we simply pay lip-service to our guide and go in the direction that our preferences would take us? All too often it is the latter and not the former. All too often, professing Christians don’t even know the Scriptures well enough to recognize the direction that God sets before them in life. All too often the Bible is twisted or at best, picked through, and used to justify our preferences rather than to subdue our wills. May, we indeed be faithful sheep following our Good Shepherd…and to do that we begin with knowing his Word.
The Last Generation
“Going around Zion, encircle her,
counting her towers,
You will establish your heart — the ramparts through her palace.
You shall continually write this for the sake of the last generation.”
(Psalm 48:13-14 {verses 12-13 in English})
So the singing is continued (previous verse) and while singing those who are in Jerusalem are to encircle her in songs of praise to our God…filling the air with the sound of their worship. They are to count and number her towers and examine the ramparts (defensive walls built around the city), and establish their heart. Now this phrase (the establishment of the heart) may sound a little awkward to our western ears, but it is a figure of speech that implies that we are to pay close attention to something even to the extent of placing our affections on that something, whatever it may be.
Yet, why would the psalmist command that the people of God place the fortifications of Jerusalem on their heart? The answer seems to be two-fold. First, as we have discussed previously, the focus of this psalm is not so much on the physical, earthly Jerusalem, but on the eternal city of God — the New Jerusalem — that is being kept preserved in heaven until the return of our Lord (1 Peter 1:4-5). The Jerusalem here that is in the experience of the psalmist is but a shadow of what is to come…and with the coming of the New Jerusalem comes the new creation where God and man will once again dwell without separation. There is indeed a reason to set your heart on such things.
The next verse, though, also gives us a clue as to what the psalmist has in mind. He says to the people that not only are they to observe Jerusalem, they are to write down those observations for the sake of the “last generation.” Most of our Bibles seem to translate the term, NOwr≈jAa (acharon) as “next” or “future,” implying that this writing is for those who will follow in the future. Yet, if this writing is simply for future generations through time, then we might expect that the term rOw;d (dor — “generation”) would be plural, not singular. Thus, we should recognize that NOwr≈jAa (acharon) can also refer to the last of something — “the last generation.” Yet, who will be the last generation for whom these people are writing? I would suggest that these writings are to benefit the last generation to see Jerusalem and the Temple standing proud — to remind the last generation what would be lost when the Babylonians were brought in by God to punish the people for their perpetual sin — to remind people of the glory they exchanged for the lusts of their flesh and for the pride of their hearts. Oh, how far we fall when we take our eyes off of God and rest them on ourselves.
We are long past the last generation to see the temple. Even those who rebuilt the Temple realized that the second-temple was a far cry from the glory of the first and from the promised restored glory. Jesus is the greater temple and the temple that Ezekiel anticipates is yet to come. All things revolve around Christ and the Temple and all of its former glory are meant solely to point toward our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. It is his glory, not ours, of which we write.
Rejoice!
“Let Mount Zion rejoice!
Let the daughters of Judah shout in exultation!
Because of your judgments.”
(Psalm 48:12 {verse 11 in English})
What a contrast that we find here between the celebration of the daughters of Judah and the lamentation that Jesus speaks of in Luke 23:28 as he is being led up the hills of Golgatha. The language of the Daughters (whether Judah or Jerusalem) is figurative language that speaks of the women of the culture (who often bear the grief of the judgment on society as they lose their sons to war. Thus, they shout and sing in celebration in the promise of God’s protection from the wicked and while they should have shouted for joy in the Triumphal Entry of the Messiah into Jerusalem, on the day of his crucifixion he calls them to weep for the wrath of God will soon fall on this city (70 AD) for they executed their king.
For now, though, they are called to rejoice and shout in exultation and by extension, so are we. Yet, how often we do not. We get distracted by the minor struggles of life and miss the greater blessing and cause to praise of our mighty God. How easily we are duped by such things. How often we complain to God when we should be rejoicing before him. How often we worry instead of trusting his protection. Loved ones, our God on high has given us protection and covering; sing and celebrate the great gift he has afforded us at the cost of his Son’s blood.
Praise to the Ends of the Earth
“Like your name, O God,
So your song of praise goes to the ends of the earth;
Righteousness fills your right hand.”
(Psalm 48:11 {verse 10 in English})
There is no other name under heaven that a person may be saved apart from that of Jesus Christ the Lord. He is God and his name extends to the ends of all the earth. It is not just a name for those in particular localities, but the Gospel is for Jew and Gentile alike, slave and free, barbarian and civilized, male and female. Indeed, the name of God goes out to the ends of the earth through the Gospel of Jesus.
At the same time, there are still many places and people groups where the song of God’s praise is not known and has yet to be taken. It is a reminder to us that the work of evangelism is not yet complete. Even so, it is not just people group in far remote places that are in need of the Gospel…it is groups of people within our own culture. Indeed, we need to support our missionaries to far away places, but how we need to evangelize our own communities, neighborhoods, and towns. How often we fall into the trap of thinking that missions work is just for those who go somewhere else and learn a new language to evangelize. Loved ones, it is work to which we have been called and it is work that is even within our backyard, lest we neglect training up our own families to call our God blessed. May indeed the name of Jesus extend to all the earth, but may we be the ones who take that name near and far to the praise of our almighty King.
Pondering Steadfast Love
“We have pondered, O God, your steadfast love;
in the inward parts of your temple.”
(Psalm 48:10 {verse 9 in English})
On the value of pondering the covenant faithfulness of God! How rarely we give ourselves to that practice in an adequate way. In today’s world, it seems that we rarely ponder much of anything but are instead satisfied with sound bytes and five-second blurbs. Such is the plight of our world today.
The steadfast love of God — his dRsRj (chesed) — reflects the consistent faithfulness of God to his people despite his people’s covenant unfaithfulness. Ultimately, God is always faithful and we so regularly and consistently fall short. Further, we often turn away from the faithfulness of God so that we can pursue specific sin in one form or another. Yet, God remains faithful to his elect and the blessings of being connected to that faithfulness of God are impossible to contain with words. Hence, we meditate upon them — pondering God’s faithfulness.
It is my conviction, also, that a clear remembrance of God’s unwarranted faithfulness is the antidote to human pride. We fall short and have consistently fallen short; yet, God never falls short — he always remains faithful to his own. The bride of Christ will indeed be made ready. And just as the bride does not prepare herself, but is prepared, for the wedding day, God prepares the elect church for his Son, Jesus. Loved ones, ponder these things for they will help prepare you for a life of faithfulness.
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