2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
In this present series of messages, the Lord is taking me on a path through the Scriptures that is allowing us to learn about Him through obedience and is thus revealing His attributes. Today, we will see the Lord is My Truth. James, our apostle-parent of the Bible, really sets the tone for truth’s place in our lives in JAS 1: 18, “By His own will, He [God] brought us into being through the Word [Christ] of truth, so we should have first place among all His creatures.” We all know that in GN 2: 27-28 man was put in charge of other living things. It would be helpful to reread JN 1: 1-4 regarding the Word of life too. Just in case there is any question in our minds, JN 14: 6 bears repeating over and over again. [Christ speaking], “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one goes to the Father except by Me.”
Let’s look at some citations that reveal God’s attitude about the crucial nature of truth in our lives. DT 13: 12-15 is part of the warnings against idolatry that God gave the Hebrews through Moses. “When you are living in towns that the Lord your God gives you, you may hear that some worthless men of your nation have misled the people of their town to worship gods that you have never worshipped before. If you hear such a rumor, investigate it thoroughly and if it is true that this evil thing did happen, then kill all the people of that town and all their cattle too.” This may seem like a cruel attitude on first inspection, until you put it in the context of the whole reason God had in establishing the Jewish nation in the first place. From the time of the original sin of Adam on a personal level and that of the Tower of Babel on a group level, evil and the worship of it have been on the scene. God commanded a man He could trust, Abraham, brought him out of Mesopotamia where idols (false gods) were worshipped, and brought about the events where Abraham could establish a nation of people who worshipped only the one true, God, Jehovah. The idea was that this was to be “a nation of priests” who were to be “a light to the other nations” [see EX 19: 6, IS 42: 6, & 49:6]. So, what initially seemed cruel actually is in mankind’s best interests, that of bringing the light of truth to extinguish the darkness of evil. That is how this issue can be seen from God’s perspective instead of man’s less perfect one. When you look at the importance of mankind obeying God on the context of this understanding, you can begin to see just how important obedience to God really is.
There is a story in the book of Joshua which really demonstrates how a command God gives which from man’s limited perspective looks wholly cruel actually has far reaching benefits to mankind in general when seen from God’s perspective. Listen to the command God gave Joshua and his men when they were to invade Jericho. JS 6: 17-18, “The city and everything in it must be totally destroyed as an offering to the Lord. Only the prostitute Rehab and her household will be spared, because she hid our spies. But you are not to take anything that is to be destroyed; if you so, you will bring trouble and destruction on the Israelite camp.” God meant men, women, children, their animals, everything! A member of the tribe of Judah, Achan, didn’t take this order seriously enough to obey. This displeased God very much and led to Achan being stoned to death. This story particularly seemed significant because Achan came from the same tribe from which David and Jesus Christ came. You just don’t want to hear about people from the tribe of Judah being disobedient. You can read Achan’s story in JS 7. What God wanted to do in giving the Jews such complete victories over the Canaanites was to rid the Promised Land of idolatry and anything that had to do with it. Truth and idolatry can not occupy the same place. Achan’s death demonstrates the same principle that RO 6: 23 does, “The wages of sin is death.” If you had any question in your mind that idolatry is the sin God hates the most, listen to Joshua’s words to the people of Shechem in JS 24: 14. “Now then,” Joshua continued, “honor the Lord and serve Him sincerely and faithfully. Get rid of the gods which your ancestors used to worship in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve only the Lord.”
At the end of Samuel’s ministry, we see another demonstration of the consequences in disobedience that had far-reaching consequences not just on the people involved at the time, but on God’s people for generations. At this time in Israel’s history, she was surrounded by idolatrous nations with human kings. Israel was reaching the end of her period of the commonwealth rule by judges. Israel was rejecting God as her political leader and choosing to install its first human king, Saul. Some of the people were aware this establishment of a human monarchy was a sin, as we see in 1 SAM 12: 18-25. “So Samuel prayed, and on that same day the Lord sent thunder and rain. Then all the people became afraid of the Lord and of Samuel, and they said to Samuel, ‘Please sir, pray to the Lord your God for us, so that we won’t die. We now realize that, besides all our other sins, we have sinned by asking for a king.’ ‘Do not be afraid,’ Samuel answered. ‘Even through you have done such an evil thing, do not turn away from the Lord, but serve Him with all your heart. Do not go after false gods; they cannot help you or save you, for they are not real. The Lord has made a solemn promise, and He will not abandon you, for He has decided to make you His own people. As for me, the Lord forbid that I should sin against Him by no longer prayer for you. Instead, I will teach you what is good and right for you to do. Obey the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart. Remember the great things He has done for you. But if you continue to sin, you and your king will be destroyed.’ “
Samuel is a very interesting figure in Jewish history. He is both the last judge and a prophet. As such, he spoke for God. His service to God was the keeping of a promise made to God by his mother, Hannah, who took Samuel as a young child to the temple, gave him over to Eli (the priest), and dedicated him to the Lord. [See 1 SAM 1: 19-2: 11]. It was a lifelong service grounded in God’s truth. [The story of Samuel is personal to me, because my own paternal grandfather was named after him]. Getting back to the issue at hand, we all know how disobedient Saul was and how he lost his right to be king, when God called David instead. Saul’s behavior toward David revealed a lot about his poor character. We all know that the disobedience carried on from this point led to a deterioration of God’s relationship with Israel and to Jehovah’s eventual decision to force the Jews to temporarily lose their nationhood and be scattered among other nations (the first of two dyasporas). Obedience to God is and always has been the issue.
PRAYER: O Lord, You reveal Your truth to us in so many ways. As we look at what You have to say about it in the Scriptures, let us approach you in an attitude of humble prayer and thanksgiving. Help us to learn that obeying You not only serves our purposes, but it also serves Your larger ones. Lord, because You are the God of Truth, You want us to base our whole lives on the truth. You are the only Source for truth, so we need to make You the Lord of our lives. In Christ’s name, amen.
There is simply too much that is wonderful about this subject to cover it in one message. So, tomorrow we will continue looking at the revelations God has for us to guide us to understanding Him as our God of Truth. These revelations are a gift from the Lord who loves us. Praise be to Him! Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn