A Boomer in the Pew

Is Yahweh Today God of China, North Korea, and Iran?

Bible in a Year Series - Day #184 - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: 2 Kings 5-8.

Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the Lord had given victory to Syria. (2 Kings 5:1)

As I was reading today's portion of our year-long journey, the proclamation that Yahweh had given victory to a pagan land, one pagan over another, did not escape my attention.

God desires that we understand that he is not only completely sovereign over His people, but is sovereign over all.  Nothing anywhere happens without his ordaining ... in all His creation.

From the InterVarsity Press New Bible Commentary:

"A theme which occurs at several points throughout the story is that Israel’s God is the world’s God; he is the only God and his power and interests are not local but cosmic in scale. This theme emerges as soon as Naaman is introduced. He was an Aramean commander through whom the LORD had given victory to Aram. Yahweh was therefore in control of the rise and fall of nations other than Israel."

From the ESV Study Bible:

"It was common throughout the ancient Near East for peoples to claim that their gods had given them victory in battle, but the claim here is of a distinctively monotheistic kind; here (as always in the Bible) Israel's God is responsible for victory or defeat in battles, no matter which gods may be worshiped by the victorious or defeated people."

It seems to me that perhaps a great many think that God might only be God if you believe in him.  In other words, Kim Yong iL likely doesn't fall before Yahweh as King of Creation.  Therefore, we deduce that Yahweh is not Lord over Kim Yong iL.  But the Bible everywhere proclaims the opposite.

There is one God: Yahweh.  And he is Lord of all, including despots like Kim Yong iL.

Think about that.  Do you believe that? 

If so, consider all that this means.  Hitler was a rabid dog, possessed with evil, apart from God's elect, yet somehow in God's sovereignty a pawn in God's will.

Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel? (Isaiah 40:13)

Oh my soul, marvel at God's glory when you stand before His infinite sovereignty and wisdom.

Will America Ever Cease to Exist?

Bible in a Year Series - Day #183 - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: 2 Kings 1-4.

Today we have crossed the halfway point in our chronological year long journey through the Bible. 

I begin this book with a fair amount of mournfulness because when we reach chapter 25...all Israel will seemingly cease to exist.  Jerusalem will be in flames, and the Temple of God's holy name will be utterly destroyed.

How on earth is is that the David's Israel, or King Solomon's immensely wealthy nation will now again become slaves in a foreign land?

History is replete with great nations that have fallen and no longer exist. 

Might it be that America could join these ranks?  A great part of the world thinks us proud and arrogant.  Is that true?

As we gaze upon the nation of Israel, we will clearly see that her downfall was her great sin, and her stubborn propensity to worship other gods.

It was not Babylon that destroyed the nation of Israel, it was God.

Therefore, we must conclude that if God is clearly willing to strike his beloved bride Israel in this way, then certainly America, is she continues the path of degradation might also find herself under the judgment of God.

Nonsense you say?  Well, first of all I am not claiming that this is a certainty.  I am not one of those types. 

Nonetheless, your disbelief in God has nothing to do with His existence.  He is in fact the Creator of all, and has laid down for us his desired way of life.

If people, and or nations, continue in their blatant disregard of Yahweh's desires, he clearly has a history of stepping into time and making his great name known.

This, my dear friend, is part of understanding the fear of God.  He has seemingly been quite for a good many centuries, but that doesn't mean that he is powerless to act.

Thoughts?

Obadiah's Prophecy to Proud Edom: I Will Bring you Down Declares the Lord

Bible in a Year Series - Day #182 - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: Obadiah 1, and Psalms 82-83.

At only 21 verses, the book of Obadiah is the shortest book of the Old Testament. 

Theologians are uncertain who this Obadiah is, other than a prophet of God.  Further, some suggest that the author's name might not even be Obadiah, as Obadiah means “one who serves Yahweh". 

Further still, it is not certain when this book was written.  Some think perhaps in the time of Ahab (9th century B.C.), while most seem to agree that it was written sometime after the fall of Jerusalem (586 B.C.).

Conflicts between Jacob (Israel) and Esau (Edom) have been occurring since the book of Genesis, and it is here that Yahweh proclaims that this enmity will once and for all be settled as Yahweh will wipe all Edom from the face of the earth.

Why, you might ask?

Edom's longstanding pride, and continual beleaguering of God's chosen Israel.

We learned all the way back in our study of Genesis that pride was the root issue of the fall of man.  Here, were can see God's response to the proud of heart:

"The pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,
in your lofty dwelling,
who say in your heart,
“Who will bring me down to the ground?”
 4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
though your nest is set among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,
declares the Lord."   (Obadiah 1:3-4)

It occurs to me that many have a malformed understanding of God, and think nothing of reading God's words against the proud. 

For me, when God came to attack my pride, I am thankful that I was His, and He brought His rod rather than His sword.

Must Read Narrative of God's Amazing Intervention on Behalf of King Jehoshaphat and the Nation of Judah

Bible in a Year Series - Day #181 - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: 2 Chronicles 19-23. 

I greatly enjoyed reading the narrative of 2 Chronicles 20.  Here we find information that is original with the "chronicler", and helps us to better understand Jehoshaphat.

A massive army was assembling to destroy Judah, and King Jehoshaphat, knowing that he was completely helpless, assembles the nation to seek the Lord in prayer:

"“O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. 7 Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9 ‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you—for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ 10 And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy— 11 behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 13 Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children."

Got the scene?  Completely helpless before God.  Ever been there, or at least thought you were there?

And then...Judah gets the most amazing response from God:

"And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”"

Wow!  Take time to mull this around in your mind.  God has answered their prayer, rewarding their supplications.  Yet, God still required that they act upon this faith, go and only "stand firm" in the battle, and watch the one and only Yahweh destroy the enemies of his chosen people.

What a display of God to the land of Judah.  Imagine how thankful they must have been to be spared their lives in such a magnificent way. 

God desires that His name be glorified.  And in this situation, He clearly made His name known, not only to Judah, but to the surrounding nations who were now afraid to mess with the One God.

Oh my soul, continue the journey to "stand firm" in God's promises, and thereby marvel at Yahweh's display of affection.

What are we to Make of This Extraordinary Heavenly Throne Room Scene and King Ahab's False Prophets?

Bible in a Year Series - Day #180 - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Today's text from the ESV Study Bible: 1 Kings 22, & 2 Chronicles 18.

After the death of King Solomon's son, King Rehoboam, the Bible has us fairly quickly sprinting through a number of Israel's monarchs until we get to the evil King Ahab.

With King Ahab, we find six whole chapters dedicated to his story, and in particular his interactions with Elijah.

Today, Elijah is absent and we find ourselves viewing King Ahab and another prophet by the name of Micaiah.

Most interestingly, we are here permitted another rare view into the heavenly throne room of God:

"And Micaiah said, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing beside him on his right hand and on his left; 20 and the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said one thing, and another said another. 21 Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord, saying, ‘I will entice him.’ 22 And the Lord said to him, ‘By what means?’ And he said, ‘I will go out, and will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And he said, ‘You are to entice him, and you shall succeed; go out and do so.’ 23 Now therefore behold, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; the Lord has declared disaster for you.”"

This whole scene is reminiscent of a similar scene in the book of Job where God allows Satan to torment Job.  The difference here is that King Ahab is an adversary to Yahweh in that he has placed his faith in the false god Baal.

There is a small part of me that recoils at the recalling of this throne room scene, but we must be reminded, as Paul seeks to have us understand in the first chapters of Romans, that we are all worthy of being God's adversary, save for his merciful grace, and the regenerating calling of his elect.

It is impossible for the thinking student of the Bible to zoom past this scene without a fair bit of chin scratching.

What strikes you with this peculiar vision of God's throne room?

Felix Mendelssohn, Elijah, and a Heart for God

Bible in a Year Series - Days #178 & 179 - This post is part of a year-long series where we are reading chronologically through the Bible.  Click here to learn more.  You are most welcome to join along at any time.

Things have gotten very bad in the nation of Israel. Look at how 1 Kings 16:30-33 records the situation under King Ahab:

"And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him."

And then, seemingly out of nowhere, in pops Elijah to our scene pronouncing to Ahab that there will be a severe drought in the land, and furthermore, there wasn't a darn thing that the false god Baal could do about it.

Elijah's confrontations against Israel's apostasy culminates on Mt. Carmel where Elijah challenges 450 of Baal's prophet to a duel of gods.  The false god Baal, of course, doesn't show up, and here we find Elijah in fervent prayer that Yahweh might show up and show these people that He alone is God:

“O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”

I don't know the tone that Elijah used as he prayed these words, but composer Felix Mendelssohn clearly felt it was a tender prayer.  Listen to the famous German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sing Mendelssohn's famous aria, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel:

Oh Yahweh, turn our hearts back to you!