2006-10-27
Good Morning Children of God,
We mine the depths of the Scriptures under God's direction, today to look at occasions for fasting. Sorrow is one motivation to fast. There are times when we want something very important from the Lord, something only the Lord can provide. He has his reasons for either refusing or delaying giving us what we want, reasons that are always righteous, though difficult for us to understand at the time. Such was the case when Hannah, who eventually became the mother of the sage prophet, Samuel, fasted and prayed for the Lord to allow her to have a child. 1 SAM 1: 6-8, "Penninah, her rival [her husband's other wife who had children] would torment and humiliate her, because the Lord had kept her childless. This went on year after year; whenever they went to the house of the Lord, Peninnah would upset Hannah so much that she would cry and refuse to eat anything [fast]. Her husband, Elkanah, would ask her, 'Hannah, why are you crying? Why will you not eat? Why are you always so sad? Do I not mean more to you than ten sons?'" Judging from the nature of Elkanah's questions, it is clear that Hannah was neither a back-biter or a complainer about Penninah's ill-treatment of her. This is indeed a godly trait. It goes back to the old but true adage that two wrongs don't make a right. Many times true believers have endured long-standing sorrow in order to remain right before God. This truth can certainly apply even today. We can only cast our thoughts back to the sorrow that Christ must have felt when He was being scourged, mocked, and hung on the cross for our opportunity to be saved [JN 3: 16]. As for the fasting that Hannah did, this was not to draw attention to herself, but instead was a natural expression of real sorrow. In traditional Jewish custom, the widow who sorrows sits "shiva" and can choose to fast. Sitting shiva is setting herself with her head lower [usually done by removing a cushion from her seat] at the time her friends and surviving family gather around her after the funeral and burial of her husband. This is done in an Orthodox home for one week. Although she provides food for the others, she refrains from eating, if she desires. If we think back to times when we were in sorrow, we can recall how our appetites disappeared.
Another occasion for fasting is the death of friends or enemies. Such was the case for David when his dear friend, Jonathan, Jonathan's brothers [Abinadab and Malchishua 1 SAM 31: 2], and their father, who was David's persecutor- Saul, were killed in the battle at Mt. Gilboa in which the Philistines fought the Israelites. 2 SAM 1: 11-12, "David tore his clothes in sorrow and all his men did the same. They grieved and mourned and fasted until evening for Saul and Jonathan and for Israel, the people of the Lord, because so many had been killed in battle." This situation contained a number of spiritual principles of which we should be aware. First, we must remember that David had entered into a far-reaching covenant of friendship with Jonathan, one which led to Jonathan saving David's life in one of Saul's attempts to kill the second king of Israel [1 SAM 18: 3-4; 1 SAM 20: 1-42]. This covenant involved God as a Third Party to it, and it extended to both the entire family of Saul and that of David.
Secondly, throughout his difficulties with Saul, David remained respectful of Israel's first king, even long after Saul's kingship had been removed from him by God [1 SAM 15: 22-23]. I must assert that David's righteous behavior in the face of such evil behavior on Saul's part must have come from God, Who is the source of all that is good on earth. David knew this as he wrote PS 16: 2, "I said to the Lord, 'You are my Lord. Every good thing I have comes from You." Without Christ's Atonement, we would be slaves to sin, instead of being able to choose righteousness which conforms to the Lord's will. We must consider that. While David was by no means a perfect man, he was "a man after God's own heart" [1 SAM 13: 13-14]. Lastly, we need to understand more about the consistency of God's teaching throughout both the OT and NT. If we remember what Christ said in MT 5: 43-44a, we can see David's attitude and behavior toward Saul, even under very difficult persecution, conforming to it-despite the fact that David never knew Christ. "But now I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may become the sons of your Father in heaven..." The question we are left with for our lives is: Do we obey this principle? As for the fasting and mourning that David did, even for Saul, we can safely assume it was genuine and heartfelt. David always thought Saul had the right to his respect, since he was Israel's first king.
Of course, there are a number of other appropriate occasions for fasting, and we will continue looking at these in next week's message. The Holy Spirit directs each of us to understand them well by supplying stories from the Scriptures which illustrate them. Twice in today's message, I have mentioned Christ's death on the cross, His greatest of all sacrifices for us to have the chance to be saved. That was not by accident. He has put it on my heart to never forget what was done for us. Our challenge is to seek Him first, believe in Him, and to be eternally grateful to the Father and to the Son for the gift of the faith we are given. As with any gift of this type, it should be nurtured through worship, faithful obedience to His will, daily study of His word, prayer, and godly service to both the Body of Christ and the outside community.
PRAYER: O Lord, each day that we stand before Your throne, we do so in utter adoration and in open confession of our own sins. The latter, Dear Father, must be followed with permanently stopping whatever the sin is. You know we are imperfect, and that we can't live lives of righteousness without Your intervention. You have commanded us to "Be holy, because I am holy" [LV 11: 44-45; LV 19: 2;1 PET 1: 16]. Through Christ's own words in the Sermon on the Mount in MT 5: 3, You have told us, "Blessed are the poor in spirit; they will inherit the Kingdom." We should not ignore the impact on our spiritual lives that such a promise makes. We should acknowledge You as a Promise-keeper and a reliable Covenant Partner. Moreover, we owe it to You to imitate that. You deserve our thanks and praise for the patience, mercy, and compassion You show us. The Psalmist understood this when he wrote, PS 116: 5, "The Lord is kind and does what is right: our God is merciful." PS 103: 13, "The Lord is like a father to His children, tender and compassionate to those who have reverence for Him." When we have trouble, You are the first One to Whom we should turn. PS 145: 14, 17-19 helps us to better understand Who You are in our lives. "The Lord upholds all those who fail and lifts up all those who bow down. The Lord is righteous in all His ways and loving toward all He has made; the Lord is near to all who call on Him. He fulfills the desires of all who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them." Our spiritual task is to trust You, Dear Father, and to believe in every word You have given us. That isn't always easy for us, and we know we need Your help. There are times when You allow a perfectly measured amount of evil to happen in our lives, just enough to force us to be strengthened by working through it. With our patience and diligence, one day we will be ready for our call to heaven-our permanent home where we will live at Your side in an eternity of blissful love and fellowship with You and all others who have believed. We praise, thank, worship, and adore You, for all You are and all You do. In Christ's name, we pray. Amen.
As mentioned above, I am led to continue writing about occasions for fasting in next week's message. Each of us should be greatly uplifted to know that nothing that goes on in our lives is too small or unimportant that God doesn't care about it. He is with each of us every second of our lives, not to stand in judgment (unless we need that), but instead, to love, nurture, encourage, and strengthen us. Our God is a faithful God. LAM 3: 22-24, "Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to my self, 'The Lord is my Portion; therefore I will wait for Him.'" We must ask ourselves if we are willing to go to Him first with our needs and to share our victories for which we can thank Him. We must look to see if we use prayer and even fasting, at times when appropriate, to focus our attention on Him. See if He doesn't help us to put our troubles in His perspective and help us step by step to work through them. He is always there for us and is the Best Friend we have ever had. We need never feel alone or abandoned. God has promised us He will never abandon His children in both the OT and NT. PS 94: 14, "The Lord will not abandon His people; He will not desert those who belong to Him." HE 13: 5-6, "Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, 'I will never leave you; I will never abandon you' [DT 31: 6, 8; JS 1: 5]. Let us be bold, then, and say, 'The Lord is my Helper, and I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?' [PS 118: 5-6]. For the fourth time because it is so important, we are led by the Holy Spirit never to forget the love God showed each of us the day He commanded His Son to suffer and die on the cross for us, so that we may be saved and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell within us, teach us His word, and guide us through the challenges and victories of our lives. We are truly a blessed people! Praise be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn