October 2022 – Praying Pint

39.z. From Pathway to Victory devotion

The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: “God, I thank You that I am not like other people.”
–Luke 18:11

In Luke 18, Jesus told a parable about two very different people. He began in verse 10, “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.”

Now, we think of Pharisees as villainous characters, but Jesus’s audience did not take it that way. In Israel, the Pharisees represented the most holy group of the Jews. They supposedly loved God, and they obeyed God, at least outwardly. In selecting these two characters, Jesus could not have chosen two people more at opposite ends of the religious spectrum. If Jesus were telling this story today, He might say, “Two people went to church to pray, a preacher and a prostitute.” That was the difference in the Jewish mind between the Pharisee and the tax collector.

Jesus said in verse 11, “The Pharisee stood and was praying.” I have heard people say, “That was the problem with this Pharisee–instead of kneeling before God, he stood.” That was not the problem. Jews stood to pray in Jesus’s day, just as people stand to pray today. The problem with this Pharisee was not his posture in praying but his attitude in praying. I love the phrase that Jesus added: “The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself.” His prayer did not make it out of the temple, and you can see why when you look at the content of his prayer. He said, “God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get” (vv. 11-12). In this short prayer, the word “I” is used five times. I think R. Kent Hughes hit the nail on the head when he wrote, “After his initial nod to God, his was essentially a self-congratulatory monologue disguised as a prayer.” The Pharisee was not praying to God; he was praying to himself.

And notice what he said about himself: “I fast twice a week.” According to Jewish law, the Jews only had to fast once a year, but the Pharisees fasted once a week. And this Pharisee exceeded them all–he fasted twice a week. He was a holy man, at least in his own eyes. But what is clearly missing from this prayer is any sense of repentance. There is no seeking God’s forgiveness, no supplication for God to do something in his life. Remember, this is not a parable that tells us how to pray; this is a parable about salvation. The Pharisee did not see his need for salvation, for receiving God’s forgiveness in his life, and his prayer reflected that.

39.y. Blessings that yield fruit

Genesis 49:20 “Asher’s food shall be rich, and he shall yield royal delicacies.

Deuteronomy 33:24-25 And of Asher he said, “Most blessed of sons be Asher; let him be the favorite of his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil. Your bars shall be iron and bronze, and as your days, so shall your strength be.

Asher should be a rich tribe. His inheritance bordered upon Carmel, which was fruitful. Asher shall have soil abounding in wheat and oil. He occupies the lowlands along the coast north of Carmel. Hence, the products of his country are fit to furnish the table of kings.

As I read this blessing from Jacob to Asher I am mindful that this blessing does nothing if Asher is not willing to do the work it requires. You can have the most fertile ground with plenty of water, but if you do not work it, tend to it, cultivate it, oversee and protect it, there will be nothing but weeds and sporadic harvests of little value for sustaining your life. The same can be said about the blessing of God’s Word given to each of us. If it is not planted, watered, rooted, cultivated, and protected nothing but weeds will find their home in the soul of your heart. A stray seed may produce fruit for a season, but long-term sustenance and reserve will never occur. The Word of God is water and bread for our souls. It is easy to become anorexic and only nibble at God’s Word. Why? I imagine it has to do with the value we put on the Word of God, where our eyes are focused, and how much influence the world and its problems and worries consume us and our time. If we don’t take time for feasting on the Word of God then we are not hungering and thirsting for it. What is it that you hunger and thirst for? What is occupying your time and energy? Paul said this to the people of Corinth; you are babes still drinking baby milk when you should be eating solid food. I get it, work and family can consume every last minute of our capacity if we don’t see the urgency to spend time in God’s Word. I can tell you this, When you spend time seeking and desiring the food of God’s Word you will find you actually have more time for things that matter and you will be able to discern that which is profitable for the soul and that which is not.

39.x. “Battles and blessings”

Genesis 49:19 “Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels.

Numbers 32:29 And Moses said to them, “If the people of Gad and the people of Reuben, every man who is armed to battle before the LORD, will pass with you over the Jordan and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession. However, if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben answered, “What the LORD has said to your servants, we will do. We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.”

Deuteronomy 33:20-21 And of Gad he said, “Blessed be he who enlarges Gad! Gad crouches like a lion; he tears off arm and scalp. He chose the best of the land for himself, for there a commander’s portion was reserved; and he came with the heads of the people, with Israel he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments for Israel.”

In the days of Jeremiah (among other times), foreign armies oppressed Gad (Jeremiah 49:1). Yet victory would be his in the end. (Guzik)

“This has been the blessing of many a child of God – to fight, and apparently to lose the battle, yet to win it at the end.” (Spurgeon)

Concerning Gad, Jacob alludes to his name, which signifies a troop, and foresees the character of that tribe. The cause of God and his people, though for a time it may seem to be baffled and run down, will be victorious at last. It represents the Christian’s conflict. Grace in the soul is often foiled in its conflicts; troops of corruption overcome it, but the cause is God’s, and grace will in the end come off conqueror, yea, more than conqueror, Ro 8:37. (Henry)

When our battles and trials are made and fought within our own doing the outcome is bad for us. When our battles and trials are surrendered into the hands of God the outcome and victory is His and the blessing ours. God is all-knowing, ever-present, and all-powerful. We do well to remember this and subject the things of this world that afflict us into His hands and keep our eyes focused on Jesus Christ with our hearts and minds seeking to honor and glorify Him in all we think, say, and do.

39.w. “I wait for Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”

Genesis 49:16 “Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper by the path, that bites the horse’s heels so that his rider falls backward. I wait for your salvation, O LORD.

Judges 18:22-31    When they had gone a distance from the home of Micah, the men who were in the houses near Micah’s house were called out, and they overtook the people of Dan.  And they shouted to the people of Dan, who turned around and said to Micah, “What is the matter with you, that you come with such a company?”  And he said, “You take my gods that I made and the priest, and go away, and what have I left? How then do you ask me, ‘What is the matter with you?’”  And the people of Dan said to him, “Do not let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall upon you, and you lose your life with the lives of your household.”  Then the people of Dan went their way. And when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his home.  But the people of Dan took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire.  And there was no deliverer because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with anyone. It was in the valley that belongs to Beth-rehob. Then they rebuilt the city and lived in it.  And they named the city Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor, who was born to Israel; but the name of the city was Laish at the first.  And the people of Dan set up the carved image for themselves, and Jonathan the son of Gershom, son of Moses, and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.  So they set up Micah’s carved image that he made, as long as the house of God was at Shiloh.

Psalms 14:7  Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

Psalms 40:1   I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

Psalms 62:1  For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.

Psalms 119:41 Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD, your salvation according to your promise;

Psalms 119:166   I hope for your salvation, O LORD

Psalms 130:5   I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;

Isaiah 8:17    I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.

Isaiah 25:9     It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Lamentations 3:25   The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

Micah 7:7    But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.

Galatians 5:5    For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

1 Thessalonians 1:10     and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. There is an elegant paronomasia, or an allusion to the name of Dan in those words, which signifies to judge, and the sense of them is, there should be heads, rulers, and judges of it. (GILL)

“Dan will procure his people justice as one of the tribes of Israel. Let Dan become a serpent by the way, a horned adder in the path, that biteth the horse’s heels, so that its rider falls back.” Although only the son of a maid-servant, Dan would not be behind the other tribes of Israel, but act according to his name (ידין דּן), and as much as any other of the tribes procure justice to his people (i.e., to the people of Israel; not to his own tribe, as Diestel supposes). There is no allusion in these words to the office of judge which was held by Samson; they merely describe the character of the tribe, although this character came out in the expedition of a portion of the Danites to Laish in the north of Canaan, a description of which is given in Judges 18, as well as in the “romantic chivalry of the brave, gigantic Samson, when the cunning of the serpent he overthrew the mightiest foes” (KEIL & DELITZSCH)

Jacob, almost spent, and ready to faint, relieves himself with those words, I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord! The salvation he waited for was Christ, the promised Seed; now that he was going to be gathered to his people, he breathes after Him to whom the gathering of the people shall be. He declared plainly that he sought heaven, the better country, Heb 11:13,14. Now he is going to enjoy the salvation, he comforts himself that he had waited for the salvation. Christ, as our way to heaven, is to be waited on; and heaven, as our rest in Christ, is to be waited for. It is the comfort of a dying saint thus to have waited for the salvation of the Lord; for then he shall have what he has been waiting for. (HENRY)

39.u. “Turning Point” Devotional

But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.
2 Thessalonians 3:3

Meister Eckhart was a medieval German preacher whose principal subject was the presence of God. He said: “I am as sure as I live that nothing is so near to me as God. God is nearer to me than I am to myself; my existence depends on the nearness and the presence of God.” How do we cultivate a sense of God’s presence? It’s important to begin and end the day with the Lord, making time for silence, Bible reading, and prayer. Between getting up and retiring, we should learn to pray quietly about whatever comes. “Lord, bless this phone call.” “Lord, help me rest on this flight.” “Father, encourage that sad face I just passed.”

If the evil in the world troubles you, imagine how it hurts the Lord to see it too. But we’re not alone. We have a faithful Defender, Friend, and Confidant who walks with us through life. He will guard us from the evil one.

We have the presence of a faithful God enveloping us day and night. In that thought we can rest.

We should grasp God in all things and should train ourselves to keep God always present in our mind.
Meister Eckhart

39.v. “Asking Why”

John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

It seems like every new day brings fresh reports of massive natural or man-made tragedies: Tornadoes, fires, floods, riots, shootings and more. Closer to home, it’s very likely that you have encountered a divorce, a lost job, debilitating or life-threatening health problems, or some other heartbreaking trial.

It is completely natural to ask why God would allow something like this to happen, why there is so much pain in this world, and why you have been affected while others seem to have it easy.

To be honest, I don’t have the answers. There are a few things that I do know, because they are promised to us in the Bible.

God is in control. While we all want the mountaintop experiences—the wonderful times when everything is going well—those moments are few and fleeting. There is no golden ticket to an easy life.

In fact, Jesus told us in John 16:33 that the opposite is true: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” Yes, there will be hard times—it’s guaranteed—but there’s also a promise: Christ has overcome the world and He is in control.

God promises that good will result from your suffering. My grandfather, Billy Graham, once said, “Mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys.” Both the mountaintops and the valleys of life make us cry out to Jesus. The mountaintops cause us to praise God, while the valleys cause us cling to God.

If you put your faith in Jesus, He will take your suffering and use it to a positive end. Romans 8:28 states, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

You may be traveling a valley that is incredibly difficult and painful. However, I pray that you will take solace in knowing that God has a plan. You may not get to see the fruit this side of Heaven, but even now He is working through you. Your life matters! (Will Graham)

39.t. “Zebulun and Issachar”

Genesis 49:13 “Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea; he shall become a haven for ships, and his border shall be at Sidon. “Issachar is a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds. He saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant at forced labor.

Jacob now skipped the birth order, moving to the tenth-born and ninth-born sons, but keeping his focus on the sons born of Leah. The tribe of Zebulun was noted for its faithfulness to David, supplying the largest number of soldiers to David’s army of any single tribe: Of Zebulun there were fifty thousand who went out to battle, expert in war with all weapons of war, stouthearted men who could keep ranks (1 Chronicles 12:33).

Issachar was a large tribe – third in size according to the Numbers 26 census. “The meaning seems to be that Issachar was strong, but docile and lazy. He would enjoy the good land assigned him but would not strive for it. Therefore, eventually he would be pressed into servitude and the mere bearing of burdens for his masters.” (Leupold)

Concerning Zebulun: if prophecy says, Zebulun shall be a haven of ships, be sure Providence will so plant him. God appoints the bounds of our habitation. It is our wisdom and duty to accommodate ourselves to our lot, and to improve it; if Zebulun dwell at the heaven of the sea, let him be for a haven of ships. Concerning Issachar: he saw that the land was pleasant, yielding not only pleasant prospects, but pleasant fruits to recompense his toils. Let us, with an eye of faith, see the heavenly rest to be good, and that land of promise to be pleasant; this will make our present services easy. Dan should, by art, and policy, and surprise, gain advantages against his enemies, like a serpent biting the heel of the traveller. Jacob, almost spent, and ready to faint, relieves himself with those words, I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord! The salvation he waited for was Christ, the promised Seed; now that he was going to be gathered to his people, he breathes after Him to whom the gathering of the people shall be. He declared plainly that he sought heaven, the better country, Heb 11:13,14. Now he is going to enjoy the salvation, he comforts himself that he had waited for the salvation. Christ, as our way to heaven, is to be waited on; and heaven, as our rest in Christ, is to be waited for. It is the comfort of a dying saint thus to have waited for the salvation of the Lord; for then he shall have what he has been waiting for. (HENRY)

39.s. “To him shall be the obedience of the peoples”

Genesis 49:8 “Judah, your brothers shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you. Judah is a lion’s cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey’s colt to the choice vine, he has washed his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes. His eyes are darker than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.

Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, comes in for the supremacy after the three former have been set aside. His personal prowess, the perpetuity of his dominion, and the luxuriance of his soil are then described. “Thee shall thy brethren praise.” This is an allusion to his name, which signifies praise Genesis 29:35. As his mother praised the Lord for her fourth son, so shall his brethren praise him for his personal excellence. Ardor of temperament, decision of character, and frankness of acknowledgment are conspicuous even in the blemishes of his early life. Tenderness of conscience, promptitude in resolve, capacity for business, and force of eloquence come out in his riper years. These are qualities that win popular esteem. “Thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies.” They shall flee before him, but shall not escape his powerful grasp. They shall be compelled to yield to his overwhelming power. “Thy father’s sons shall bow down to thee.” Not only his enemies, but his friends, shall acknowledge his sway. (BARNES)

Judah is compared, not to a lion raging and ranging, but to a lion enjoying the satisfaction of his power and success, without creating vexation to others; this is to be truly great. Judah should be the royal tribe, the tribe from which Messiah the Prince should come.(HENRY)

In a powerful way, this prophecy over Judah is a description of Judah’s greatest descendant: Jesus Christ. “The dying patriarch was speaking of his own son Judah; but while speaking of Judah he had a special eye to our Lord, who sprang from the tribe of Judah. Everything therefore which he says of Judah, the type, he means with regard to our greater Judah, the antitype, our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Spurgeon)

39.r. “The thoughts of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.”

Genesis 49:5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.

Psalms 26:9    Do not sweep my soul away with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men,

Psalms 64:2    Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers,

2 Corinthians 6:14    Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Proverbs 1:15-16   my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths,  for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood.

Proverbs 12:5    The thoughts of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

Our soul is our honor; by its powers we are distinguished from, and raised above, the beasts that perish. We ought, from our hearts, to abhor all bloody and mischievous men. Cursed be their anger. (Henry)

Simeon and Levi are brothers,…. Not because they were so in a natural sense, being brethren both by father and mother’s side, for there were others so besides them; but because they were of like tempers, dispositions, and manners (f), bold, wrathful, cruel, revengeful, and deceitful, and joined together in their evil counsels and evil actions, and so are joined together in the evils predicted of them, instruments of cruelty. (Gill)

Being in agreement with someone and joining together in an act does not necessarily make that act right, good, or just. It may make us think it is, but that will never make it so. Being angered at an act of another person(s) will surely come to us at some point in our lives, whether it be an act against us, our family, our friends, our community, or our nation. For some reason, anger is a part of our nature, and rightly so. Having the ability to recognize right and wrong, good and bad, just and injustice, and have either indignation or pleasure from it seems to be within our nature. How we treat this recognition in light of our knowledge and application of God’s Word is the difference between that which brings honor and glory to Jesus Christ or not.

By faith, trust, and reliance on God and His promises we can choose to lay the burden of our hearts about wrongs, injustice, and other sinful actions of others at His feet. Why???

Beloved, never avenge yourselves but leave it to the wrath of God
Vengeance is mine; I will repay
Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly.’
Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all
Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.
the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies.
For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.
“O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
for he avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on his adversaries.
I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them.
Since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you
It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
May the Lord judge between me and you, may the Lord avenge me against you, but my hand shall not be against you.
O shameless nation, before the decree takes effect —before the day passes away like chaff— before there comes upon you the burning anger of the Lord, before there comes upon you the day of the anger of the Lord.
the Lord will repay him according to his deeds
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
the Lord is an avenger in all these things

I think it is good that we can see wrongs and feel indignation and anger. This means we have the ability to know the difference. However, some people may be angered by good. The civil war is an example of two groups of people who saw the same thing, one calling it wrong and one calling it good. When we look at abortion there are those who call killing unborn babies good and those who call it bad. The same can be said about pornography, sex trafficking, LGBTQ, looting and burning businesses in an outcry of retaliation, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, etc…. Let us know that it is from the heart that seeks and desires to honor and glorify Jesus Christ that a person will discern what is right, true, just, and good. Praise God that we have been given the Holy Spirit to guide and lead us unto truth in all matters. Praise God that we have been given discernment. Praise God that we have been given His promises of handling all wrongs, injustices, and cruelty. Praise God who gives us promises that allow us to lay these at His feet and know, in His Holiness and in His time they will be justly handled. Praise God we can rest and have peace when all around us are in fear and anger. Praise God and rejoice for He is God and in Him, we have hope for today and assurance for tomorrow.

39.q. “Unstable as water”

Genesis 49:3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the firstfruits of my strength, preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power. Unstable as water, you shall not have preeminence, because you went up to your father’s bed; then you defiled it—he went up to my couch!

As the firstborn of the family, Reuben had claim to the inheritance rights of the firstborn, but he forfeited it through pride (the excellency of dignity) and through immorality (you defiled it). Reuben’s immorality with his father’s concubine Bilhah (the mother of his brothers Dan and Naphtali) Because of Reuben’s instability, the birthright was divided. Though we see the great wisdom of God in decentralizing authority among the sons of Israel, Reuben paid a high price for his instability. As much as anything, God looks for a stable character in those who will lead His people. The tribe of Reuben never did excel. No prophet, no judge, or no king that we know of came from the tribe of Reuben. Reuben is an example of how lust and pride will rob the soul of blessings. Though it may have been thought to have been done in secret, God sees all, and even our secret sins are exposed before him and many times before man at our loss. Many opportunities of greatness for God have been lost in those who might have been had it not been for their uncontrolled passions and lusts.

Our souls have the possibility and potential for many things either for good or bad. The problem is they both can seem right in the heat of the moment. Though it should be easily seen that one is right and one is wrong, those whose hearts and minds become complacent and neglectful of things of God have no control over the lusts and passions of their sinful heart. The reason for this is that they have intentionally chosen to follow after their own wants, passions, and lusts, howbeit for a single time or multiple times. The result on their life is devastating.

We are to guard our hearts and minds through intentionally choosing to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we say, think, and do. None of us are immune to the temptations of natural man but certainly we can choose to reject them. We are given free will to choose. We literally get to say yes or no to these temptations. Our discernment comes from the Lord. Our strength comes from the Lord. Our ability to recognize temptations and fight them truly depends on our intentional choice to either honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all we think, say, and do, or to intentionally choose to become neglectful and complacent in things of God.

Let no one think they are beyond being tempted by Satan. Let no one think because they do not have lusts of the flesh that they are free from other lusts of the soul. Greed, pride, or power are equally waiting at the door to our hearts and minds. A man’s heart void of the Word of God and the want to honor and glorify Jesus Christ is fertile ground for Satan’s temptations.

Choose to stay close to God. Chose to stay in His Word. Chose to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all you think, say, and do. Choose this day whom you will serve, honor, and glorify.