Tag: Good

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.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.b. “Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God”

 

 

Genesis 42:18   On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. Then he turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them.

 Leviticus 25:43   You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God.

 Nehemiah 5:9    So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God

  Luke 18:2   He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.

 Nehemiah 5:15   But I did not do so, because of the fear of God.

 On the third day Joseph modified his severity. “This do and live,” i.e., then ye shall live: “I fear God.” One shall remain in prison, but let the rest of you take home “corn for the famine of your families,” and fetch your youngest brother, that your words may be verified, and ye may not die, i.e., may not suffer the death that spies deserve. That he might not present the appearance of despotic caprice and tyranny by too great severity, and so render his brethren obdurate, Joseph stated as the reason for his new decision, that he feared God. From the fear of God, he, the lord of Egypt, would not punish or slay these strangers upon mere suspicion, but would judge them justly. How differently had they acted towards their brother! The ruler of all Egypt had compassion on their families who were in Canaan suffering from hunger; but they had intended to leave their brother in the pit to starve! These and similar thoughts could hardly fail to pass involuntarily through their minds at Joseph’s words, and to lead them to a penitential acknowledgement of their sin and unrighteousness. The notion that Joseph altered his first intention merely from regard to his much afflicted father, appears improbable, for the simple reason, that he can only have given utterance to the threat that he should keep them all in prison till one of them had gone and fetched Benjamin, for the purpose of giving the greater force to his accusation, that they were spies. But as he was not serious in making this charge, he could not for a moment have thought of actually carrying out the threat. “And they did so:” in these words the writer anticipates the result of the colloquy which ensued, and which is more fully narrated afterwards. Joseph’s intention was fulfilled. The brothers now saw in what had happened to them a divine retribution: “Surely we atone because of our brother, whose anguish of soul we saw, when he entreated us and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.” And Reuben reminded them how he had warned them to no purpose, not to sin against the boy – “and even his blood…behold it is required”; i.e., not merely the sin of casting him into the pit and then selling him, but his death also, of which we have been guilty through that sale. Thus they accused themselves in Joseph’s presence, not knowing that he could understand; “for the interpreter was between them.” Joseph had conversed with them through an interpreter, as an Egyptian who was ignorant of their language. “The interpreter,” viz., the one appointed for that purpose. But Joseph understood their words, and “turned away and wept”, with inward emotion at the wonderful leadings of divine grace, and at the change in his brothers’ feelings. He then turned to them again, and, continuing the conversation with them, had Simeon bound before their eyes, to be detained as a hostage (not Reuben, who had dissuaded them from killing Joseph, and had taken no part in the sale, but Simeon, the next in age). He then ordered his men to fill their sacks with corn, to give every one his money back in his sack, and to provide them with food for the journey. (Keil and Delitzsch )

It is most noteworthy to see Joseph feared God in the decisions he made, what he did, and what he said. In contrast, the minds of his brothers were seared with a hot iron in remembrance of how they treated Joseph. They had acted out of envy, jealousy, and without any fear of God.

Our lives are to be living sacrifices that humbly honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all that we think, say, and do. When we have this single purpose goal for our lives, it is then we will discern fleshly non-God honoring thoughts, actions, and words and be able to cast them out before they take root and cause harm to ourselves or others and more importantly dishonor God.

37.y. “You have known the distress of my soul”

 

 

Genesis 31:42  If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had not been on my side, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked you last night.”

 Psalms 124:1-3 If it had not been the LORD who was on our side— let Israel now say—  if it had not been the LORD who was on our side when people rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us;

 1 Chronicles 12:17    David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come to me in friendship to help me, my heart will be joined to you; but if to betray me to my adversaries, although there is no wrong in my hands, then may the God of our fathers see and rebuke you.”

 Psalms 31:7    I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love, because you have seen my affliction; you have known the distress of my soul,

Proverbs 20:22  Do not say, “I’ll pay you back for this wrong!” Wait for the LORD, and he will avenge you.

Romans 12:17  Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes.

1 Thessalonians 5:15  See to it that no one repays evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.

6 years Jacob endured hardship of the elements and ever-changing terms of his wages (ten times). Laban sought to change Jacobs’s wages in his favor. God was blessing Jacob and when Laban saw this blessing he would try to capitalize on it by changing Jacobs’s wages toward himself to how God was blessing Jacob. Is this any way to treat your nephew? Is this any way to fulfill and live up to a mutually agreed wage contract? Laban wanted what God had blessed Jacob with and was willing to set Jacob’s wages just opposite. He did this 10 times in 6 years. 

I have to imagine that the first time God blessed the work of Jacob’s hands, Jacob was in awe of God’s provision and blessing. Can you imagine the feeling Jacob must have had at the first alteration of his wages by Laban? The wages change but the blessings did not. No matter how Laban changed the wages, God’s blessing of the work of Jacob’s hands did not change. Jacob having witnessed this cheating 10 times and the attitude of Laban deteriorating toward him and he is told by an angel of God to return to his homeland, he determines to go back taking his rightful wages. Jacob, Leah, Rachel, Laban, and certainly anyone living here would have seen the blessings of God on Jacob. 

We can tell from scripture that Jacob was fully aware of Laban cheating him. Being cheated or trying to be cheated upon never feels good and can affect the heart and mind of the person being cheated, and yet, Jacob continued without recorded complaint.  There was no tit for tat on Jacob’s part. This easily could have consumed him and developed into evil intents, bad work ethic, retaliation, etc…. Jacob did not.  

We do well to trust God in all things, honor and glorify Him in all things, and give careful thought to how we serve Him in regards to these.

35.v. “They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one”

 

 

Genesis 6:5   The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

 Psalms 14:1-4   The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.  The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.  They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.  Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the LORD?

 Romans 1:28-31   And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.  They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,  slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,  foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

 Romans 3:9-19    What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,  as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;  no one understands; no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”  “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”  “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”  “Their feet are swift to shed blood;  in their paths are ruin and misery,  and the way of peace they have not known.”  “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

 Ecclesiastes 7:29   See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.

 Matthew 15:19     For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.

 Ephesians 2:1-3   And you were dead in the trespasses and sins  in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—  among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Jesus said, as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. In other words, the conditions of the world before the coming of Jesus will be like the conditions of the world before the flood: Exploding population, Sexual perversion, Demonic activity, Constant evil in the heart of man, and Widespread corruption and violence. (Guzik)

Abundance of sin was committed in all places, by all sorts of people; and those sins in their own nature most gross, and heinous, and provoking; and committed daringly, and in defiance of heaven. (Benson)

God saw that every imagination, or purpose, of the thoughts of man’s heart, was only evil continually. God is described as about to alter His visible procedure towards mankind—from being merciful and long-suffering, He was about to show Himself a God of judgment; and, as that impious race had filled up the measure of their iniquities, He was about to introduce a terrible display of His justice. (Jamieson-Fausset-Brown)

It was not only the actions of man that were corrupt and sinful but their very thoughts were corrupt and sinful. It is one thing to, at the spur of the moment, be tempted and sin, do wrong, choose poorly, retaliate, speak falsely, do harm, lie, cheat, etc……, but to have a mind that continually thinks about and how to execute sin upon sin is a deeper rooted issue. “Free Will” given to man allows each of us to choose to honor and glorify God or not. God’s Word is clear, man’s hearts and minds not only lean toward doing wrong but they will continually devise new ways to do wrong.  How is a person to overcome this inherent evil resided inside of their heart and mind? Being inherent sinful what choice is there to follow? If our hearts and minds, are filled with only the desire to satisfy sinfulness, how is it possible to change this spirit of sin with us? With man it is impossible! With God it is possible. Redemption, salvation, forgiveness, = restoration. How is this possible? 

  1. God has placed within the soul of each person knowledge of Himself.
  2. God has reached out to mankind through His Word.
  3. God has demonstrated His power and might through creation and other works and wonders.
  4. God sent prophets to warn, teach, convict, and condemn sin and sinfulness, and encourage righteousness.
  5. God sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to redeem fallen man from sin.
  6. God sent His Holy Spirit to abide in those, who by faith, humbly confess, repent, follow, obey, trust, and rely on Jesus Christ.
  7. God creates in these a new heart. They are born again, a new creation. The old is passed away, all things are new.

With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. There is no person so depraved, so far gone, or so sinful that this grace, mercy, and love of God cannot save and create a new heart, born again, a new creation. 

If God has in some way softened your ears to your heart and mind to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and you find yourself longing for peace, joy, and hope in your life, turn to Jesus and humbly confess, repent, follow, obey, trust, and rely on Jesus Christ. In doing this God has promised to forgive your sin and give you a new heart and make you a new creation and fill you with the Holy Spirit who will guide and direct you on paths that will honor and glorify Jesus Christ.

34.x. “The work of My hands, that I might be glorified.”

 

Genesis 1:27  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

 Matthew 19:4   He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,

 Mark 10:6    But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’

 Ephesians 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

 Deuteronomy 32:6   Do you thus repay the LORD, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?

 Psalms 100:3   Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

 Isaiah 43:21   the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.

 Isaiah 60:21   Your people shall all be righteous; they shall possess the land forever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I might be glorified.

 Jeremiah 31:33   For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

 Jeremiah 32:39-40   I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.  I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.

 Philippians 2:13     for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

 Hebrews 13:21    equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

 Ephesians 4:1    I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,

 Deuteronomy 5:33   You shall walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you,

 Psalms 81:13    Oh, that my people would listen to me

In our day, many say there is no real difference between men and women. This makes sense if we are the result of mindless evolution, but not if it is true that male and female He created them. To God, the differences between men and women are not accidents. Since He created them, the differences are good and meaningful. Men are not women, and women are not men. One of the saddest signs of our culture’s depravity is the amount and the degree of gender confusion today.  It is vain to wonder if men or women are superior to the other. A man is absolutely superior at being a man. A woman is absolutely superior at being a woman. But when a man tries to be a woman or a woman tries to be a man, you have something inferior. (Guzik)

This was a peculiar distinction, the value attached to which appears in the words being twice mentioned. And in what did this image of God consist? Not in the erect form or features of man, not in his intellect, for the devil and his angels are, in this respect, far superior; not in his immortality, for he has not, like God, a past as well as a future eternity of being; but in the moral dispositions of his soul. (Jamison-Fausset-Brown)

There is more difficulty in deciding in what the likeness to God consisted. Certainly not in the bodily form, the upright position, or commanding aspect of the man, since God has no bodily form, and the man’s body was formed from the dust of the ground; nor in the dominion of man over nature, for this is unquestionably ascribed to man simply as the consequence or effluence of his likeness to God. Man is the image of God by virtue of his spiritual nature and by the breath of God by which the being became a living soul. (Keil and Delitzsh)

We are not to look to Genesis for a scientific cosmogony, and are not to be disturbed by physicists’ criticisms on it as such. Its purpose is quite another, and far more important; namely, to imprint deep and ineffaceable the conviction that the one God created all things. Nor must it be forgotten that this vision of creation was given to people ignorant of natural science, and prone to fall back into surrounding idolatry. We are not to look to Genesis for a scientific cosmogony, and are not to be disturbed by physicists’ criticisms on it as such. Its purpose is quite another, and far more important; namely, to imprint deep and ineffaceable the conviction that the one God created all things. Nor must it be forgotten that this vision of creation was given to people ignorant of natural science, and prone to fall back into surrounding idolatry.  No theory has been able to bridge the chasm without admitting a divine act introducing the new element of life, and none has been able to bridge the gulf between the animal and human consciousness without admitting a divine act introducing ‘the image of God’ into man.  (MacLaren)

It is, however, in the soul of man, that we must look for the divine image. And here we easily discern it. Like God, man’s soul is a spirit, immaterial, invisible, active, intelligent, free, immortal, and, when first created, endowed with a high degree of divine knowledge, and with holiness and righteousness. (Benson)

We gather from the present chapter that God is a spirit Genesis 1:2, that he thinks, speaks, wills, and acts (Genesis 1:3-4, etc.). Here, then, are the great points of conformity to God in man, namely, reason, speech, will, and power. By reason we apprehend concrete things in perception and consciousness, and cognize abstract truth, both metaphysical and moral. By speech we make certain easy and sensible acts of our own the signs of the various objects of our contemplative faculties to ourselves and others. By will we choose, determine, and resolve upon what is to be done. By power we act, either in giving expression to our concepts in words, or effect to our determinations in deeds. In the reason is evolved the distinction of good and evil Genesis 1:4, Genesis 1:31, which is in itself the approval of the former and the disapproval of the latter. In the will is unfolded that freedom of action which chooses the good and refuses the evil. (Barnes)

We were created by God with faculties of reason, understanding, and freedom in choices and actions. It is within our soul that we freely choose to want to honor and glorify our creator, savior, and redeemer. We were created for the ultimate single purpose of this. It is also within our soul to freely choose to deny, reject, and only live to please ourselves and thereby giving no honor, glory, or want to know the Creator. There is no satisfaction or meaning in a person’s life that has denied or rejected their creator. Satan, the water of all lies, will cast both bold and subtle lies hoping they will persuade a soul to deviate from God’s purpose and blessings. Man lives and man dies, nations rise and nations fall, and throughout it, all the eternal destiny, (Heaven or Hell), of each man is determined based on the freedom of choices they make regarding their Creator.

34.i. “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

 

Matthew 19:16  And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

 John 6:27-28     Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”  Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

This man, like all people by nature, had an orientation toward earning eternal life. He wanted to know what good work or noble deed he could do to inherit eternal life. By asking this question he: 

  1. He believed in a future state; that there was an eternal life that might be inherited.
  2. He was concerned to ensure that life to himself, and was more desirous of it than of any of the enjoyments of this life: thus he differed from many of his age and quality; for the rich are apt to think it below them to make such an inquiry as this, and young people, in general, are inclined to defer making it to some future period of their lives.
  3. He had to believe that something must be done; some evils omitted, some duties performed, or divine injunctions complied with, in order to acquire it.  
  4. He was, or at least thought he was, willing to do what was to be done or to take the steps necessary to be taken for the obtaining of this eternal life. And surely those that know what it will be to enjoy eternal life will not fall short of its requirements and will be glad to accept it on any terms. (Benson)

He had attempted to keep all the commandments. He had been taught by his Jewish teachers that people were to be saved by doing something – that is, by their works; and he supposed that this was to be the way under every system of religion. He had lived externally a blameless life, but yet he was not at peace: he was anxious, and he came to ascertain what, in the view of Jesus, was to be done, that his righteousness might be complete. To “have eternal life” means to be saved. (Barnes)

Jesus knew this man’s heart and spoke to him where his heart and mind could understand. We know that no one inherits eternal life by works, no matter how moral and grant they might be. To sell all and give all to the poor will not yield eternal life. With this in mind and reading this passage, Jesus is exposing to this man what is hindering him from surrendering all, covetousness, self-worth, and self-reliance.  The young man declared that he had kept the law. That law required, among other things, that he should love his neighbor as himself. It required, also, that he should love the Lord his God supremely; that is, more than all other objects. If he had that true love for God and man – if he loved his Maker and fellow man more than he did his property, he would be willing to give up his wealth to the service of God and of man. Jesus commanded him to do this, therefore, to test his character, to show him that he had not kept the law as he pretended, and thus to show him that he needed better righteousness than his own.

Such is the life of many, loving this present world and what it has to offer.  Many hear the call to repentance and salvation but the love of what this world has to offer more than eternal life in Jesus Christ. It is not as though they don’t desire eternal life but rather their love of something other than Christ keeps them from repenting and surrendering all at His feet. Many will not even show a bit of remorse over the decision to reject this offer of eternal life.  They just simply cast it out of their mind giving it no further thought. Many will try to do enough good and wrongly think it is good enough to inherit eternal life. Many will even teach such. With such thoughts, the eye of the needle is very small and their attempts to enter through it with these thoughts of being good enough make them the size of a camel trying to enter. It is impossible. 

The eye of the needle, as it were, is reserved for those who humbly repent, turn away from sin, and the love of this worlds pleasures and offers, surrenders, follows, trusts, and relies solely on Jesus Christ.

32.o. “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”

 

Matthew 11:28  Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 Isaiah 45:22-25  “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return: ‘To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.’  “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him.

 Isaiah 55:1-3  “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.  Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.  Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

 Micah 6:6-8   “With what shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?  Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”  He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

 Isaiah 66:2     All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.

 Isaiah 1:4  Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.

 Isaiah 28:12     to whom he has said, “This is rest; give rest to the weary; and this is repose”; yet they would not hear.

What would you pay to have everlasting rest for your soul? What would you do to have it? Where would you go to find it? 

We get many invitations in life to “come” go to something, a new job, sporting event, family gathering, preacher, politician, professor, teacher, etc….. many of these invitations are for a few who have been selected or by some other means been identified as worthy of the invitation.  We get invited to some events but there is a cost associated with the invite. There are barriers at the event that prohibit people who try to coming in but do not have proof that they paid the cost of admission. Sometimes we get invitations to “free events” but there is pleading, intimidation, pressure, arm-twisting, and coercion that certainly indicate this is not a free event. Sometimes we get invited to an event that promises something big and spectacular but falls way short of delivering it and we feel cheated because what we expected was not obtained. 

Here is an invitation to all, which if it did not come from God would seem foolish. Who could ever invite “all”?  “Come to me”, does not indicate any barrier on who can come. It is an open invitation to come. 

Some look at this invitation and say it is foolish, there is no God and this is just some attempt to get followers to follow a meaningless promise. Others reject it because there is no way they want someone else paying their way into heaven or they want to pay part of it themselves. They want to earn it on their own. Others reject it because they see no need for it. Others reject it because they have taken the invitation by someone else and followed after its promises. Whatever the reason people reject or do not yoke up with Christ there is no rest for their souls now or for eternity. 

In the invitation from Jesus, there is a yoke (bond, attachment) that unites the invitee with the inviter. “Take this yoke upon you and learn from me” the yoke and its burden (faith, believing, trusting, relying, following, obeying) is not burdensome but is light and gives rest to your soul. This yoking and learning from and about Jesus gives us discernment between worldly and heavenly. Through this yoking and learning and discernment, we find rest for our soul. The invitation and the promise of rest for your soul are without any cost. Jesus paid all the costs and has invited all people to join Him in eternal life – heaven. 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but will have everlasting life. Find rest for your soul in and through Jesus Christ. He invites you without cost.

31.t. “They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works”

 

Matthew 7:21  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

 Luke 6:46     “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

 Titus 1:16    They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

 James 1:22    But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

 Romans 12:2    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.

 Malachi 3:17-18    “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.  Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

 2 Timothy 2:19    But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

This warning of Jesus applies to people who speak or say things to Jesus or about Jesus, but don’t really mean it. It isn’t that they believe Jesus is a devil; they simply say the words very superficially. Their mind is elsewhere, but they believe there is value in the bare words and fulfilling some kind of religious duty with no heart, no soul, not spirit – only bare words and passing thoughts. (Guzik)

 This warning of Jesus applies to people who say “Lord, Lord,” and yet their spiritual life has nothing to do with their daily life. They go to church, perhaps fulfill some daily religious duties, yet sin against God and man just as any other might. “There are those that speak like angels, live like devils; that have Jacob’s smooth tongue, but Esau’s rough hands.” (Trapp)

 By saying “in that day” Jesus drew our attention to a coming day of judgment for all men. “What is the chief object of your life? Will you think as much of it “in that day” as you do now? Will you then count yourself wise to have so earnestly pursued it? You fancy that you can defend it now, but will you be able to defend it then, when all things of earth and time will have melted into nothingness?” (Spurgeon)

In the end, there is one basis of salvation; it isn’t mere verbal confession, not “spiritual works,” but knowing Jesus and being known by Him. It is our connection to Him – by the gift of faith that He gives to us – that secures our salvation. Connected to Jesus we are secure; without connection to Him all the miracles and great works prove nothing.

Doing what God wants us to must come from instruction and guidance. Scripture tells us that we learn this precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little. How many of those that hear “Depart from Me” spent little to no time in His Word for their hearts and minds were captured by things of this world?  How many of these people attend church regularly? How many play church and are void of Jesus Christ in their life? 

We do well to spend time in His Word with a singular purpose to live so that all we say, think, and do is for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ.