Tag: there is no other

49.r. Wilderness – 13.x. “Know therefore today, and lay it to your heart”

 

Deu 4:32-40  “For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him. Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”

Moses asked Israel to carefully consider the days that are past, and if God had ever dealt with any other nation the way He had dealt with Israel. Israel needed to know they had a special place in the plan of God. Israel could know that the LORD was God, because of all the amazing things God did in the life of their nation. In the same way, when we consider how God has touched our lives – how we have experienced the power to free us from sin, to give us hope when we are discouraged, to heal our bodies, to free our bitter hearts, to answer our prayers, to overcome the most difficult obstacles – when we consider these things, we can know that the LORD Himself is God. Israel heard God’s audible voice from heaven; they saw His holy fire and benefited from His divine choice. They could know this from all God had done for them.  In light of who God is, and all He did for Israel, obedience to His commands made perfect sense. It was simply what should be done. We are fools to disobey such a God of love and power. (Guzik)

Note this is from the Old Testament while Israel was in the wilderness being encouraged by Moses before going into the Promised Land. The reasoning is pure, right, and true. Fast forward to today. We live with the knowledge of so much more knowledge of God and what He has done over the course of time up to and through the death of the writers of the New Testament. We know of God’s power and love. We have been given precious promises. He sent His one and only Son to redeem us, forgive our sins, and give us eternal life, and we have been given the Holy Spirit to indwell in us to teach, convict, encourage, lead, and guide our thoughts, words, and actions so that we would honor and glorify Jesus Christ. 

What punishment awaits those who deny, reject, neglect, and turn their backs on such a great gift of salvation?  Romans rings true; “Man is without excuse”. 

47.v. “Wilderness” – 12.a. “When he killed them, they sought him; they repented and sought God earnestly”

 

Num 21:7-9  And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

 Psalms 78:34    When he killed them, they sought him; they repented and sought God earnestly.

 1 Samuel 12:19    And all the people said to Samuel, “Pray for your servants to the LORD your God, that we may not die, for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for ourselves a king.”

 Exodus 32:30   The next day Moses said to the people, “You have sinned a great sin. And now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.”

 John 3:14-15    And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,  that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

 John 12:32    And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

 Isaiah 45:22    “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

“Their quick recognition of its source and purpose, and their swift repentance, are to be put to their credit. It is well for us when we interpret for ourselves God’s judgments, and need no Moses to urge us to humble ourselves before Him.” (Maclaren)

Even among miracles, this was unusual. There was no immediate logical connection between merely looking at a serpent on a pole and living, or refusing to look and dying. But God commanded that such an unusual thing – even a foolish thing – be used to bring salvation to Israel. Jesus referred to this remarkable event in John 3:14-15: And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. Jesus clearly said there is a similarity between what Moses did here and what Jesus did on the cross. The people were saved not by doing anything, but by simply looking to the bronze serpent. They had to trust that something that seemed to be as foolish as looking at a serpent on a pole was enough to save them. It is likely that some in Israel perished because they thought it was too simple, too foolish to simply look and live. The saving power represented by the serpent could not be exhausted. There was no limit to the number of those who could look and live. Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. We might be willing to do a hundred things to earn our salvation, but God commands us to only trust in Him – to look to Him. (Guzik)

Without seeing a need to repent – people don’t. There is a growing blindness in the world that sees no need for repentance. Sin is just a word religious people use to believe in a fake god that does not exist. Being bitten by a snake with death a certain outcome might give motivation to repent as you see others dying from their lack of repentance and trust in looking at the bronze snake on the pole to save them. Those who did not repent died because of their hardened heart. Though they could see others dying and others living, they gave no thought to belief in what Moses had said to them and they perished for this stubbornness.

Oh that we would see the sinfulness of our sin and the greatness of God’s holiness that would cause us to live out our days with eagerness to know our sin and repent from it for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ

42.u. “Wilderness” – 7.c. Sinai – No other gods before Me

 

Exodus 20:3  “You shall have no other gods before me.

 Deuteronomy 6:5   You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

 Deuteronomy 6:14    You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you

Joshua 24:22-24. Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Israel.”  And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.”

 Psalms 29:2     Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.

 Psalms 73:25   Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

 Psalms 81:9    There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

 Isaiah 26:4    Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.

 Isaiah 43:10    “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.

 Isaiah 45:22    “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

 Isaiah 46:9   remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me

 Jeremiah 25:6   Do not go after other gods to serve and worship them, or provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’

 Jeremiah 35:15   I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me.

 Matthew 4:10    Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

 Philippians 3:19   Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things.

In these first few words, God both reminded and taught Israel essential facts or principles about who He is, about His nature.

· God is above nature; He is not merely the personification of fire, or the wind, or the sun, or the sky, or any other created thing.

· God is personal; He is not a depersonalized force; He relates with and communicates to man in an understandable way. God has a mind, a will, a voice, and so forth.

· God is good; He had done good for Israel and now does good for them in giving these commands, the keeping of which not only pleases Him, but is genuinely best for humanity.

· God is holy; He is different than the supposed gods of the pagans, and He therefore also expects His people to be different.

“God did not promulgate a code of laws for the children of Israel, while they were in bondage, telling them that if they would obey it, He would deliver them. He brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, and then gave them His law.” (Morgan)

The first commandment logically flowed from understanding who God was and what He had done for Israel. Because of that, nothing was to come before God and He was the only God we worship and serve. In the days of ancient Israel, there was great temptation to worship the gods of materialism (such as Baal, the god of weather and financial success) and sex (such as Ashtoreth, the goddess of sex, romance, and reproduction), or any number of other local deities. We are tempted to worship the same gods, but without the old-fashioned names and images. It has been said (perhaps first by John Calvin) that human nature is like an idol factory that operates constantly. We constantly deal with the temptation to set all kinds of things before or competing with God and His preeminent place in our life. This means God demands to be more than added to our lives. We don’t just add Jesus to the life we already have. We must give Him all our life. Failure to obey this commandment is called idolatry. We are to flee idolatry. (Guzik)

God will have no rivals and competitors; though he was worshipped, yet if others were worshipped with him, if others were set before him and worshipped along with him, or it was pretended he was worshipped in them, and even he with a superior and they with an inferior kind of worship; yet this was what he could by no means admit. (Gill)

The Israelites had lived in bondage within a nation that had worshipped many idols.  God has not only shown them His power and might and love by many signs and wonders, He has also led, fed, and given water to them. He was a fire by night and cloud by day – ever-present. He allowed them to hear His voice speaking to Moses. His first commandment was clear – “You shall have no other gods besides me”.  You shall not share in worship, praise, honor, or glory with another god or idol in your life. Whatever we place before or whatever we allow to take place of honor, glory, worship, and praise of God is falling short of this commandment.  Family, friends, sports, work, pleasure, etc…. all have the potential to consume not only our time but our worship of God and time with God. In fact, it is placing something else in front of Him. 

We do well to live in His presence at all times with the deep desire and commitment to honor and glorify Him in all we think, say, and do.

131. That people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides Me

2 Samuel 22:31   This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. “For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless.

Deuteronomy 32:4     “The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

Daniel 4:37     Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Revelation 15:3    And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!

Proverbs 30:5     Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

Psalms 91:4    He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

Isaiah 45:21    And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior; there is none besides me.

Isaiah 45:5-6   I am the LORD, and there is no other, besides me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know me,  that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.

If we are to believe in, honor, worship, submit to, follow, obey, cling to, rely on, and trust in the one and only God, it is not enough to have a vague notion that there is some higher power out there, even if we concede that there is only one such higher power. We must seek to know who this God is. The Bible presents us with this one true God in a specific and detailed self-revelation(s).  The God of the Bible makes very clear His identity as the one, self-existent, eternal, living God. The very first verse of the Bible announces that it was He who created both the heavens and the earth. If we are to know God, it can only be through God willfully making Himself known to us, and He has done so in the Bible, through His Spirit, and in the person of Jesus Christ.

Luke Wayne:  “The God of the Bible is not just one culture’s version of every other god. The great I AM of Holy Scripture is the unique Creator, Governor, Provider, and Redeemer to whom all men of every nation must come to on God’s terms and not on our own. While this might be “narrow” and “exclusive,” it is true and is, in fact, quite good news! God has made Himself known to His creation and provided a way for us to come into true fellowship with Him! Not only is there one true and living God to believe in, but you can also know and commune with that God! You can stand is His awesome power, unfailing justice, and everlasting love.”

110.  Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live

1 Samuel 22:1   David departed from there and escaped to the cave of Adullam. And when his brothers and all his father’s house heard it, they went down there to him. And everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became commander over them. And there were with him about four hundred men.

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.

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

John 6:37     All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

Jeremiah 6:16     Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

Isaiah 48:17-18     Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go.  Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;

Where do you find rest from the distress of trials and troubles of this life?  Is there any place of refuge where our soul will find peace of mind?  There is a place of peace and rest for our heart, soul, and mind, but it comes at a price few are willing to pay.  The price is total surrender and total reliance and total trust and a total clinging to Jesus.  Don’t get me wrong on this for many people in their distress come to Jesus to find peace, hope, and rest.  The problem is that once they are on the other side of the trial/trouble they do not see the need anymore.  It is as though Jesus is a sugar daddy who is there to serve them in their distress but He is not worthy of much past this.

There is a place of refuge, peace, rest, hope, joy in the life of those who intentionally choose and are committed to being humbly serving, honoring, following, and obeying Jesus.  Jesus calls out, “come to Me, all who labor and are heavy with burden and I will give you rest.”  “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me.”  Jesus did not say come and leave, He said come and yoke to me, learn from me.

If we are looking for a quick fix for our trials/troubles/issues this is not going to give us lasting peace and rest.  Jesus is willing to take on our burdens and He does this out of love, mercy, and grace.  However if there is no daily surrender to Him, no commitment to Him, no humble love, gratitude, and thankfulness to Him, no want or desire to know more of Him and how to honor, glorify, serve, follow and obey Him, there will be no lasting peace, purpose, or satisfaction for your soul.   It seems we see Jesus more as a personal genie for us rather than seeing the Son of God who gave His life for us so that we would not perish but have eternal life.

Jesus is worthy of all honor, glory, and praise.  He wants us to yoke with Him.  He wants to give us abounded life now and for eternity.  Learn to surrender each day to Him.   Learn to trust Him.  Learn to rely on Him.  Cling to Him.  Learn to cast your cares on Him.  Find rest for your souls in Him each day.

31. We wait for it with patience.

Numbers 21:4  From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

Psalms 106:43-45   Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity.  Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry.  For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

1 Corinthians 10:9     We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents,

John 3:14-15     And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,  that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

John 12:32     And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

Isaiah 45:22    “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

John 6:40     For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Zechariah 12:10    “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

“And we loathe this worthless food”,  How many times have we read about the grumbling, impatient, rebellious ways of God’s chosen?  God did miracles, wonders, and signs before their very eyes.  His presence was before them in fire by night and smoke by day.  He provided for them.  He protected them.  He supplied their needs.  He told them of His plan and purpose for them.  He gave them promises.  He gave them commands to live by.  He chose them.  He loved them.  They wanted a remedy to their problem, in their time, in their way, and did not want to believe in or wait for God’s perfect plan.  They closed their heart and mind to believe.  They opened their heart and mind to impatience, rebellion, unthankfulness, and grumbling.

Exodus 14:14 – “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Isaiah 30:18 – “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”

Psalm 27:14 – “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Romans 12:12 – “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

Romans 8:25 – “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”

Jesus is not honored by impatience, unbelief, neglect, complacency, unthankfulness, pride, greed, lust, hate, or unforgiveness.  He is honored by obedience, hope,  patience, love, reliance, trust, and faith that does not shift with circumstance but remains firm and steadfast.  Nothing tests the steadfastness of our faith and belief more than trials.  In these troubles, our faith and hope are demonstrated as either being refined and becoming more and more dependent upon God or to impatience, grumbling, unthankfulness, and rebellion.

Wait upon Him, trust Him, rely on Him, and cling to Him.

Isaiah 40:31 -“but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

Know that I am God

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

“Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!”

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.

Psalms 95:3     For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.

Deuteronomy 4:35     To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides him.

Deuteronomy 4:39     know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.

John 17:3     And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Acts 17:23-24     For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.  The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,

2 Corinthians 4:6     For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 4:8-9     Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.  But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?

From John Gill’s exposition:

if the Lord has made us, and not we ourselves, then we are not our own, but his, and ought to serve and glorify him: we are his by creation; “we are also his offspring”, we are his people; by choice and covenant; by his Father’s gift, and his own purchase; and by the power of his grace, bringing to a voluntary surrender and subjection to him; even the Gentiles particularly, who were not his people, but now his people, and the sheep of his pasture; his sheep also by gift and purchase, called by him, made to know his voice, and follow him; for whom he provides pasture, leads to it, and feeds them with it himself.