Psalm 23 and 'Me'

The most popular of psalms made for all occasions is psalm 23. Books about it abound. Songs resonate through the airways. It is recited at weddings and funerals. This psalm continues to bless and amaze. Over the following blog times I’d like to share with you a type of devotional investigation into some of its verses. I’m sure there are insights you could share with me which I’d appreciate. May what follows be a joy to your heart.

‘The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want’ verse 1.

‘The’ emphasises the uniqueness, the only-ness of the person addressed, admired, adored. He is not one of many. He isn’t ‘a’ lord. He is ‘THE Lord!’

David is highlighting for us in his testimony a relationship of trust. As a shepherd boy he understood the faith sheep have in their shepherd. He knew their name and peculiarities. It is unknown (at least to me) when and how David and his Shepherd met. This is without doubt, David saw himself a one of the flock. The testimony he gave to King Saul in 1 Samuel 17:31-37 of The Lord’s protection highlighted this. Goliath was about to be added to The Lord’s victories through David. It is our honour to live in a similar fellowship of trust. It is our privilege to bear testimony, be it ever so mundane, to The Lord!

‘Lord’ is the translation usually applied to Yahweh. Such a wonderful imagery is here presented. The Creator who sustains the universe is the one who takes David under His care. This is David psalm. Have we the right to claim it as ours or is it wishful thinking? By the grace of The Lord we have His invitation to make this psalm our own. To make that real and personal requires a relocation of our heart, mind and allegiance. We are not automatically in His fold. His invitation must be accepted and, as it were, we must join His sheepfold. In the Gospel of John 10:16 we have the confidence to claim we are of ‘the other sheep’ The Lord has. David knew His Lord’s name. We know Him as Jesus, the Christ, The Son of God! He is The Lord!

‘Is’ expresses the assurance David had in whom he believed, trusted, obeyed. There isn’t a maybe or ‘I wish’ about it. David would be a silly sheep on numerous occasions but the ‘is’ remained. For what this word highlights is a covenant commitment between The Lord and His sheep, David. Such a covenant relationship is ours also because of Calvary’s cross and the empty tomb. When you, when I realised the meaning of the cross and believed what Jesus did was for us personally, we gave our life and destiny into His keeping. That is why we can say with gratitude ‘The Lord is.’

‘My’ is the personal aspect which should always astound. Why would the Creator choose to associate with me, let alone claim me as His own? John Newton’s hymn ‘Amazing Grace’ sums it up so well. I was a worthless sheep, scabby, wasted and infected with sin, at the mercy of life’s brigands. The Lord rescued me. I had nothing of merit, nothing of appeal yet in mercy He claimed me, as He did you! I am still a silly sheep from time to time, but The Lord keeps me in His fold. Why? Because He keeps His covenant. He will discipline but He will not remove my name from His book.

‘Shepherd’ is for us a warm and meaningful term. As we work through the psalm we will realise some of the ways He cares. However, strange as it may sound, a shepherd was not always held in high regard. The Egyptians in the days of Joseph saw them as beneath their dignity. In the days of Jesus a shepherd was considered a ‘low-life’ whose word couldn’t be trusted. In the spiritual realm of today this animosity still exists. It may or may not be stated, but its atmosphere prevails. Therefore, when you and I say “Jesus, The Lord is my Shepherd” we could be given the cold shoulder. This is why we must know the reality, personally and unquestionably, that The Lord [Jesus] is my shepherd and I am a sheep in His fold. Can you say “Amen” to that?

To be continued.

Ray Hawkins Feb 1^st 2016.

Sickness: diagnosed and its cure

Yahweh, the health giver is also Yahweh-Tsidkenu, the God of righteousness.  The story of Israel highlights the fact, you cannot have one without the other. The nation wanted abundance from the land, victory of invaders and good health. What they walked away from was righteousness. This meant they walked into judgement. God keeps His word. Four hundred and ninety years after entering the land of Promise, Israel was in bondage to Babylon. The reason is 2 Chronicles 36:15-21. This had been foretold in Deuteronomy 28.

Ill health usually takes time to possess a person. It can be aided by the individual’s poor habits and unhealthy lifestyle which ultimately causes serious damage, even death. A similar principle is noticed in the long slide into the moral, spiritual, mental and national illness and decay of Judah. Isaiah the prophet stressed the cumulative effect of this under the diagnosis of Yahweh. Jeremiah also emphasised this truth. We will get his health assessment another day. The prophets, when speaking about healing refer to God’s work on and in the Nation, not the individual. What they say takes us back to the Leviticus and Deuteronomy readings.

Christians delight in Isaiah 53, and rightly so. Some, with a particular mind-set and teaching concerning (Christian) healing lay claim to the same chapter. Is this justified? It often appears that promoters of healing miss Isaiah’s point and Moses’ warning. Look at Isaiah chapter one. Notice the straight talking of the prophet in describing the Nation’s health. Is it any wonder it was heading for captivity! ‘The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and bleeding wounds; that have not been drained, or bound up, or softened with oil.’ Isaiah 1:5-6 (emphasis added).

It cannot be done here due to lack of space, but as you read the prophets make a note of the Nation’s condition. Leaders and the general community imagined God couldn’t see their practices, or if He did, He was indifferent to them. How easy it is to confuse the long-suffering patience of the Lord with indifference. The curse found in Deuteronomy 28 was operating slowly but surely. Sadly, the Nation’s spiritual sensitivity was dead.

One last act of grace was extended to Judah through Isaiah. Yahweh invited the leaders and people to a discussion in Isaiah 1:18. He offered cleansing from their sin (and thereby deliverance from the full force of the curse). The condition, their willingness and obedience. But in chapter six you read they were so hard-hearted they were deaf to God’s appeal. The result, no healing. How could their Covenant keeping God deal with them and fulfil His promises and purposes? Only by the eliminating of their disobedience, iniquities and the curse. What could make this possible? It would require more than the animal sacrifices.

A great note is struck in Isaiah 52. It is a promise to Jerusalem and deals with redemption and the return of the Lord to Zion. That hasn’t happened yet. How could it take place if the curse is still in force? It couldn’t! This is the backdrop to God’s revelation concerning the Suffering servant of Isaiah 53. He is appointed to be the sin-bearer, curse remover and the healer of the Nation’s sickness. We are prone to taking this chapter to ourselves without realising its primary application. It is dealing with Israel’s ‘infirmities, diseases, transgressions, iniquities.’ Verse 8 sums it up ‘He was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people.’ (Emphasis added) We believe this took place at the cross of Jesus Christ. The sadness is the Nation as a whole didn’t then haven’t yet realised it. The words of Jesus declare a day when the Nation will have eyes to see and a heart to believe. I cannot read Isaiah chapters 54-57, 62 and ignore such a future reality. ‘I have seen their ways, but I will heal them’ (57:18-19 emphasis added). Such healing requires the imparting of righteousness. That comes from the relationship with Jesus Christ as the suffering, crucified, risen, and now victorious Servant of Isaiah 53.

The wonder of wonders for me as a Gentile is recorded in Ephesians 2:11-22. That which Jesus achieved on the cross for Israel is open for me, for you. We do not become Israeli but members of the body of Christ. Romans 11 explains that and offers insight into the future for Israel.

©Ray Hawkins 24^th August 2015.

Yahweh's Health Promise

‘Getting to know you, getting to know all about you’ is a song from ‘The king and I.’ It expresses some of the reasons why I read the Bible. I want to know the Lord.  He has revealed His character and purposes through Israel and individual’s historical events. In certain cases He added a ‘surname’ to Yahweh. Genesis 22:14 is the first where He is called Yahweh-Jireh.

The second ‘surname’ is recorded in Exodus 15:26. Against the backdrop of Israel’s mumbling and grumbling at the waters of bitterness God graciously gave them a promise. First, He healed the waters. Moses had to throw a piece of a tree into the waters which cured the bitterness. (This is a type of the cross. Israel called the cross a tree in the light of Deuteronomy 21:22-23 and Galatians 3:13.) Following on from that Yahweh made the nation a promise. Conditions were attached but it was to be a sign to them of their faithfulness to Yahweh’s commandments.

God had redeemed them and given them a mission. He had also determined that they would be a unique nation, separate from and distinct to the other nations. When their ways were in keeping with the character of God there would be blessings. These are spelt out in Leviticus 26. Forty years later they are re-issued to the second generation in Deuteronomy 28-30. One feature was that He would not bring upon them any of the diseases brought upon the Egyptians. (Deuteronomy 28:27-28). This was a promise to the Nation. It would have had individual implications but it was a sign to the Nation as to its spiritual condition. It was also tied in with their possession of the land. How they cared for ‘God’s land’ was part of their calling and accountability.

On the basis of His promise, Yahweh ‘surnames’ Himself Yahweh-Rophe, the God who heals. He knew they would fail. He provided a way by which they could maintain their uniqueness. That would be by repentance and the sacrificial system to be given at Mount Sinai. No other Nation had this promise. The other side of the proverbial ‘coin’ was the huge price for treating Yahweh with contempt by trampling His commands. This is clearly spelt out in the Leviticus and Deuteronomy passages. We are witnesses to the Lord’s judgement upon them in their history and their hardness of heart in the land today. However, Deuteronomy 30:1-10 promises a brighter and healthier future for them. We should never forget this. Yahweh is their healer as well as their scourge.

The sadness of this unique nation is in the fact that they didn’t want to be different. In 1^st Samuel is the account of them wanting a king. There wasn’t much wrong with this request. It had already been legislated for in Deuteronomy 17:14-20. Their problem was they wanted to be like the other nations. This is a constant ‘disease’ attacking people who belong to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 12:1-2 lays it on the line for us today. We are not to be conformed to this world, easier said than done. The World is ever trying to break us down and put us into its mould. Our power to resist and escape it is by the transforming power of a renewed mind. How does that come about? By knowing Christ Jesus in a fresh, intelligent and obedient manner through His word. Failure to keep our relationship fresh will have a hardening of our spiritual life, a deafening of our ears to His voice and a blindness to His path.

Next week we will look at such a hardening, deafness and blindness which affected Israel with terrible consequences. Isaiah spells it out in no uncertain terms. He also points us to how Yahweh had to deal with His curses upon the nation because of their unbelief and disobedience. Without this sacrifice and its fulfilment there could be no future for the Nation.

In closing, let’s read part of Psalm 103. This is usually applied to individuals in our day. Is it not David’s confidence in Yahweh-Rophe’s promise to which David looked especially on behalf of the Nation? ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits – who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the Pit…’

©Ray Hawkins August 24^th 2015.

O for Eyes to See, Ears to Hear.

Boycotting Israel is a fascinating political and semi-religious extortion program conducted by that Country’s detractors. Why does such a small country, with a wonderful legacy of Nobel Prize winners and inventors, suffer such opposition? Because of an inherent hatred of Gentile nations and their twisted thinking. This is compounded by so many who support terrorists such Hamas, P.A. and Hezbollah.

A sad feature of this boycott program is the way certain Denominations think that God has abandoned Israel. In its place, they think, He has put the Church. Such faulty interpretation of Scripture and thereby the nature of God’s calling, injects unbelief in the Bible. In turn, we see this sickness effecting many other Biblical doctrines such as the Kingdom of God, Christ’s Second coming, Holiness, assurance of salvation and Creation.

No-one can read the Old Testament seriously and not be confronted by the God who is faithful to His word, even when people are unfaithful. In Deuteronomy 28-30 is the record of Israel’s future under curses and blessings. These need to be read so as to understand Israel’s history and the message of the prophets. They based their convictions on the God who keeps His word. (Surely this is what we as Christians also do. God is faithful and the New Testament endorses this truth. This is fortunate for us as we are as faithless as ancient Israel. However, Romans 11:29 is our joy.)

Ezekiel was the prophet of the Babylonian captivity. His ministry wasn’t easy. However, within the pages of his writings is a very unmistakable declaration. It occurs at least 40 times applied to Israel and 25 times to certain nations. That statement is ‘they shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken…’

To Israel, some of the references are to past or present events. God seemed to be saying these have happened and why haven’t you realised it and believed. Then, Ezekiel takes his readers and hearers into the future. Chapters 33, 34, 36, 37, are specific to an unknown date but to a promised fulfilment in relation to the covenanted Nation. Why does God bother? The prophet seems to put forward two reasons. Ezekiel 36:21-23 ‘I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came. Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. I will sanctify my great name… and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when through you I display my holiness before their eyes.’

The second reason is Ezekiel 37. This is a wonderful chapter. It talks about something only God can do. Verses 25-28 ‘They shall live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your ancestors lived; they and their children’s children shall live there forever; and my servant David shall be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will bless them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary among them forevermore. My dwelling place will be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations shall know that I the Lord sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is among them forevermore.’ (Emphasis added)

This is a bit much for those who have written off Israel. The more virulent opponents, such as Islam, endeavour to remove any trace of Israel’s occupation in the land. As in last week’s blog, the soil has kept guard over the Nation’s scattered fragments. In effect their Allah is in a pitched battle with the Judeo-Christian Yahweh to try and make the Lord God a failure and a liar. Our God’s track record in keeping His promises is our guarantee of the future promised to Israel.

What was said by the Lord Jesus Christ to the people of His day can be said to the World at large today. Such people have ears, but hear not the word of God when spoken. They have eyes to see but see not what God has done to fulfil His word in the yesteryears. They stand, however, condemned. Why? Because, in the words of Ezekiel, the Lord God has done, and will do things, so that you (and the World) will know that He is God.

Do you want to have your eyes opened? Do you want to have ears that hear? Read especially Isaiah and Ezekiel. As you do, ask the Lord to open your eyes to see His faithfulness; open your ears to hear His word.

(For those who want to follow some other references to this blog:

Ezekiel 6:7, 10, 13-14.   7:4, 9, 27.  28:25.  33:29. 36:11, 38.  39:22, 28.)

Ray Hawkins.

God has and will honour His promises.

 The Society was sick, morally, spiritually and physically. Isaiah highlights some of the

symptoms in the opening passages of his writings. ‘From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness- only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with oil. (Isaiah 1:6)

The Nation was also fascinated by the occult. Moses warned the people of his day about this danger. He had it recorded in Deuteronomy 7:1-6 and 18:9-13 to steer Israel clear of the Darkness of the nations prevalent in the land Israel was entering. It is still good advice today. Similar to the Israelite nation of yesteryear people today find a fascination with the Devil’s doorways to despair and bondage.

By the time Isaiah speaks out the nation has become obsessed. ‘When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?’ The result of this involvement is played out in the poverty of the nation and their unbridled anger. The hellishness of their situation is written in Isaiah 8:21,22. ‘Distressed and hungry, they will roam through the land; when they are famished, they will become enraged and, looking upward, they will curse their king and their God. Then they will look toward the earth and see only distress and darkness and fearful gloom, and they will be thrust into utter darkness.’

As you read that it would be easy to imagine that the eternal and Holy God would simply judge and obliterate the nation. This presumably would be what most others with any such authority would do. But that is not the way of the ever faithful Covenant keeping God. The nation may, and did, break the Covenant but not the Lord. It is an expression of His Holy providence that He is able to achieve His purposes even with a nation acting contrary to Its calling. It is in such unco-operative circumstances that we realise the grace,  power and perseverance of the God who will honour His word.

Flowing on from his bleak estimation of the Nation’s unfitness before the Lord the prophet shatters the dismal scene with one word. Nevertheless! (Isa.9:1) God will not be denied the fulfillment of His purposes. In fact the scene will be one of stark contrast, National Darkness penetrated by Heaven’s Light. The impact will be more glorious than a conquering army sharing in the spoils of victory. It will be more joyous than end of harvest celebrations. (Isa.9:2-4)

What will usher in these celebrations? What will be so awesome that it can only be compared to light bursting into the darkness? What will have such authority as to break the bondage of the yoke of the occult? Isaiah doesn’t point to the Lord God of Hosts slaying the unrighteous and casting down the demonic. He adds to a promised babe in chapter 7:14 the following declaration, For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, asnd the government will be on his shoulders. He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.’ (Is.9:6,7)

So great is the power of God to achieve His purposes that He will use a male babe, the child, to conquer the darkness and turn the Nation’s heart to the Lord God Almighty. Ever since the prophet wrote those words Israel, and indeed the world have waited for it to come to pass. Unfortunately some have endeavoured to prevent it. Some have tried to deny it. Others have sought to corrupt it or smother it. However, God who can turn Humankind’s anger to His own purposes will not be put off by such opposition.

There is a claimant to the fulfilment of this promise. In fact a Jewish Tax collector recorded the life of the one he believed met the requirements of Isaiah’s prophecy. Matthew took the words of Isaiah 9:1,2 and wrote, ‘Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which is by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali - to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah, “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, along the Jordon, Galilee of the Gentiles - the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” (Matthew 4:12-16)

The person Matthew was writing about has come to be known as Yeshua. At his birth, which Matthew records, as well as does Luke a Gentile Doctor, the sense of Isaiah’s insights of a babe to be born dominate.

 It is in the life and work of this person that the ‘Nevertheless’ is able to be fulfilled. He is the source of Heaven’s light in the midst of a Nation’s darkness. Yeshua is God’s ‘Nevertheless’ to all that is blocking a relationship with the Everlasting Lord. Isaiah goes on to deal in more detail with this ‘Son given’ unveiling his character (ch.11), his ministry (ch.42) his rejection, death and resurrection (ch.53) and his return in judgement (ch.63).

 Casting an eye over the world scene today is enough to create despair. It would almost appear to make the days of Isaiah a light hearted romp. If the prophet broke his heart then how would he feel today? One thing is for sure, he would still rest secure in the Covenant keeping God. The prophet would acknowledge the seriousness of the situation and bounce back with that declaration of Faith, ‘Nevertheless!’

 God will fulfill His word to the Nation of Israel despite internal unbelief and external hatred. He will reign from Zion (Isaiah 2) He will honour His word to David (Psalm 89:20-37) He will be known as The Redeemer (Isaiah 43:14) This is the power and significance of ‘Nevertheless’ in the N.I.V translation of Isaiah 9:1. A foretaste of it has been revealed in the babe of Bethlehem who became the man of Nazareth. A deepening appreciation is gained when he is recognised as the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 and the cursed one of Psalm 22. A sense of awe is born when it permeates the mind that in both those passages as in Psalm 118 there is the vibrancy of resurrection life.

God, in our estimation, might be taking His time. When He decides ‘time’s up’ events will happen quickly to the fulfilling of His promises.  Let God’s ‘Nevertheless’ take your eyes and heart away from the darkness and look to what He has already fulfilled and what He has promised for the future.

 

Ray Hawkins. ©Oct. 2014.

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