Romans 13:1-7, Submitting to Authority in Ukraine

I am writing these words on Feb. 24, 2022; I expect to post them on Feb. 28.  Just letting you know, because who knows what will be happening in Ukraine.  At this point, it’s about 36 hours into the Russian invasion.  We have many friends in the Zaporozhe Oblast (Region, State) after numerous trips there to minister amongst the Baptist Churches, from 1996-2018. 

Today, in my reading and time with the Lord, I spent time in Romans 13. The believers we know, who are primarily among the Baptists, are the basis for a few thoughts today.  It is quite possible that they will be dealing with this passage soon, again, as there may be a “regime change.”  The Baptists figured it out under the Communists, and they figured it out in the years of freedom (1996 to the present).  So, I am thinking they will figure it out again, if there is a change.

How do they figure it out?  First, let me say that I am aware the Ukrainian government is handing out guns to the people to use if and when it comes down to street fighting.  I cannot say how many Baptists will participate in that program.  Or if any will.  After all, I live in Montana, and any of my local readers will want to know about that. 

But here is what I know.  These believers we know are all about fulfilling the Great Commission, following Christ and making followers of Christ.  That drove them in the days of the Communists.  You may be surprised to know that the Baptist Union churches were “registered” churches in those days.  They were not meeting out in the woods somewhere, trying to hide out.  In light of that, they also knew there were “spies” in their congregations.  That was expected.  This was part of their obedience to Rom. 13:1-7.  

In case you are wondering, yes, they suffered terribly during those days.  In Stalin’s days there was a massacre of Baptist leaders in a village called Novovasilyevka.  I know the older believers had a clear memory of the starvation strategy of Stalin and the death it brought to their families and villages.  But we also heard stories of Baptist men, serving in the Russian army, who told stories of witnessing to fellow soldiers.  And we also heard of “spies” who, sitting under the gospel preaching, came to put their faith in Christ. 

Ukraine has been a persecuted nation for most of its history, like other nations in the area.  But this is not what defines the Christians we know in Ukraine.  As I said, they are about the Great Commission.  They have used the 30 years of freedom to preach the gospel, see many conversions, and to plant numerous churches.  From 1996 in our first trip, when there were 32 Baptist churches in the Zaporozhe region, our last trip had somewhere around 175 churches.  Many of these were in villages, although the city of Zaporozhe itself must have had perhaps 8-10 new churches. 

Here's another thing we witnessed.  In 1996 Ukrainians were spiritually hungry.  You could strike up a profitable conversation about Christ with just about anyone.  But as time went on, the culture changed, and people became satiated with the American way of life (pardon me for saying it like that, but that is what they said: if they couldn’t move to the US like many did, they at least wanted some of the things the US had to come to them).  Zaporozhe, a city of 900,000 in 1996, had one hotel and one restaurant (in that same hotel).  These days the main street (used to be called Lenin Ave. but got changed to Sobornyi Ave. after the Russians took Crimea), is filled with restaurants, shops, malls, bars, and a McDonalds.  Who knows?  Maybe the Lord will use this current situation to recreate some of that spiritual hunger among the people of Ukraine.  Because now, like in the US, people are focused a lot on earning a living and enjoying aspects of the “good life.”

So, here’s my point about Ukraine and the Body of Christ there.  They are not defined by the government.  They are defined by their true Lord and Savior: Jesus Christ.  If there is a regime change, Rom. 13:1-7 will still mean the same thing it means today.  The application will be different and perhaps more difficult.

Now I ask myself: what is my point about me?  How do I see Rom. 13:1-7 in this hopelessly, politically divided nation in which we live?  Am I defined by conservative/liberal/progressive politics?  Am I defined by Republican/Democrat?  Or am I defined by my Lord and Savior?  I know what I want to say.  I march under the banner of the cross. 

·       Ex. 17:15: “The LORD is my banner (nissi).”

·       Num. 21:8-9: The “bronze serpent” was a “nissi,” placed on a pole so anyone who looked at it could be saved.

·       John 3:14-15: In the same way, Christ is my “nissi,” lifted up on the cross so anyone can look to Him and be saved.

(For my own benefit, here are some “prayer-reminding-photos” of some very precious Ukrainian believers.  If you want more, or want to know who these people are, check out our “RonCindy Youde” Facebook page, and look for the photo album “Ukraine 2018.”)

Psalm 53

Psalm 53 is almost word-for-word the same as Psalm 14.  If you are interested, our thoughts on Psalm 14 were recorded on this blog Nov. 30, 2014.  It included a discussion as to why David (assuming the titles are correct and that this is a contemplation of David) might refer to the captivity.  There is also a discussion as to why the Holy Spirit included two almost identical Songs and why we might need the reminder both of the sinfulness of man as well as God’s care for His people.

Briefly let us consider the fact that there is a difference between the two Psalms that should be encouraging for us.  To begin with, Psalm 14 speaks of “the LORD” while Psalm 53 uses “God” in the same 4 places.  Furthermore, in 14:5-6 God is for the righteous.  He is their refuge.  The emphasis is on what the LORD, the name that should encourage His people, is for His own.  In 53:5 God encamps against the workers of iniquity.  The emphasis is on what He is toward His enemies, and the reference to “God” is general and fits those nations that would oppress His people.

The fact is that God’s people live in a world dominated, as both Songs say, by those who deny God’s existence and have no desire to seek Him out.  At the same time the nations need to hear God’s word for them, which is that He is against them.  You may have noticed this kind of language throughout Scripture, but I am thinking especially of Ezekiel’s prophecy.  To the nations several times God made it clear that He was “against” them (Ezek. 28:22; 29:4,10).  Those words need to be said to and heard by the nations, by those who are at ease in sin, to those who as workers of iniquity seek to make life difficult for the people of God.  But Ezekiel, at a very timely place in his prophecy, also told the scattered and captive people of Israel, “I am for you” (Ezek. 36:9).  In helplessness we need to know God sees and knows and will work against the oppressors.  In our hopelessness we need to know the LORD is for us! 

What shall we then say to these things?  If God be for us, who can be against us? (Rom. 8:31)  Can we not say, at the same time, that if God is against us, who can be for us?  May we find ourselves on the right side of eternity, the right side of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!  At no time in history was God ever for us as He was when He made atonement for our sins through the blood of His only Son!

Esther 8-10, The Occasion of Purim

Esther 8: The advancement of Mordecai.

·       8:3: Esther spoke to the king about the decree.  Mordecai and Esther are now safe.  But they are “others-centered.”  Esther is touched by the deep emotion of her people.

·       8:5: Esther’s wisdom is seen again.  There is another speech, with poetic construction (alternating parallelism, 1&3, 2&4). 

·       8:5-6: Her request is made known, laying all the blame on Haman, not on the king. 

·       8:8: The king gave Esther the privilege of writing what she wanted to say in his name.

·       8:11: Many feel Esther was cruel in this decree.  She wasn’t.

o   The Jews were given the right to defend, not attack.

o   Both “little ones and women,” this is a quote from Haman’s decree.  Some feel this was unnecessary, but it was necessary.  There was a certain part of the population that hated the Jews and wanted them destroyed. 

§  Note 9:11: there was an attempt in the capital to destroy them;

§  9:15: the next day 300 more were killed;

§  9:16: 75,000 were killed after an attack on the Jews.

·       8:11: The Jews weren’t interested in taking spoils.  Again, in 9:10, they killed Haman’s sons but did not take the spoil.

·       8:15: Shushan rejoiced because Haman was gone, and Mordecai was Prime Minister.  They were opposites.  They also rejoiced when the purge was over.

·       8:17: The “fear of the Jews.”  1) It could be fear of Mordecai and Esther.  2) Better yet, fear of the Lord.  The Jews had had a miracle in the sight of all.

Esther 9: Delivering of the Jews.

·       9:3: Mordecai had a great influence on other leaders.  Note: no nation has been persecuted and been in danger of destruction as the Jews.  But they continue.  The answer? The providence of God.  This was promised and prophesied in Genesis. (Ed. note: Gen. 12:1-3; and numerous other places in the OT and NT alike.)

·       9:13: Some think Esther was blood-thirsty.  Rather, it was wisdom.  There had been attacks after Haman’s set time limit.  So hers was extended also.

·       9:26: The Feast of Purim is introduced.  Purim is the plural of the word “poor.”  It begins with a “fast of Esther” for one day.  The second day, they go to the synagogue where Esther is read.  The next morning they go back, read Exodus 17:8-16, the destruction of the Amalekites.  Then they pray and read Esther again.  It is a feast according to custom, not law.   

·       10:1-3: The book closes with the greatness of Mordecai and Ahasuerus.

Esther 6-7, The Fall of Haman

Esther 6: Mordecai is honored

·       6:1-2: The king could not sleep (because of the influence of God).  He had the book of Chronicles (Persian version) read to him where he was reminded of Mordecai saving his life.  The timing was perfect.

·       6:3: The king found out that Mordecai had not been rewarded, and the king was upset.

·       6:4-9: Haman was consulted about the reward and thought it was for him.  He gave advice, then was told to do what he suggested for Mordecai.  Haman was at this time bent on the murder of Mordecai.  Both focusing on the same man.  Both wanted Mordecai to be the first item of business for the day.  God waited until the last minute to do anything.

o   If the king had remembered Mordecai 30 days before he probably would have forgotten and let Haman kill him.  This shows the danger of pride; Haman thought only of himself and was brought to great embarrassment.

·       6:10: Mordecai’s reward was to be dressed in the king’s clothes and put on the king’s horse and taken through the city.  He was greatly honored. 

·       6:12: Mordecai was humble and shrank from public view.  So did Haman, but a different humility and a different motivation.

·       6:13: Haman tells his family what had happened to him.  They told him what was going to happen to him (that he didn’t have a chance against the Jews). 

·       6:14: Haman hurried to his execution.

Esther 7: Haman’s execution.

·       7:1-2: Again, the king offers half the kingdom.

·       7:3-4: Esther’s request is made in beautiful language, written in couplets (as is common in Hebrew poetry).  Her expression in the form of her words greatly impressed the king.  She tells the king that she and her people were going to be put to death.  Then she tells him how this would ruin his kingdom.  It would destroy the economy of his kingdom because Jews are good at making money.

·       7:6: Here Esther’s words are dramatic: “This is the man!”  She told the king that Haman was the man that would destroy her and her people.

·       7:7: The king left the room in anger.  Haman appealed to Esther for his life.

·       7:8: Haman was on Esther’s bed and the king got the wrong idea which made him even more angry.  In his anger, the king thought that this was Haman’s highest attempt to seize the government and a threat to chastity of the queen and to the king’s position.  The king’s servants covered Haman’s face; he stood condemned.

·       7:9: Then the king ordered Haman hung on his own gallows.  Harbonah told of gallows 75 feet high; all the servants must have been aware of it.  Harbonah knew that Mordecai had been faithful and Haman wicked.  Mordecai never had to do a thing to Haman; it was all done by others: Haman built the gallows, Harbonah made the suggestion, Ahasuerus gave the order; exit Haman!  “Vengeance is mine,” saith the Lord, “I will repay.”

Esther 4-5, Haman’s Hatred of the Jews

(We are continuing Esther 3, Haman’s decree against the Jews.)

·       3:8: There is no evidence in history that Haman’s charge against the Jews was true.  It was not true that the king was supposed to get rid of them.  Those nations against the Jews were always punished.

·       3:9: Haman would get the money from the Jew’s possessions.

·       3:10: Ahasuerus was quick to do what one man Haman wanted rather than hear from his counselors upon this matter.

·       3:15: The decree was given, and the city of Shushan was perplexed.  But Ahasuerus and Haman were drinking and having a good time.  The threat against the Jews was of great concern to all the people.

Esther 4: Esther agrees to help her people.

·       4:4: Esther was informed of the decree concerning the Jewish people.

·       4:5: Then she finds out more about it.

·       4:6: Hatach went out to get more info from Mordecai.

·       4:5-9: The queen’s way of communicating was through messengers.

·       4:11: Esther was afraid to go before the king because she had not been called for 30 days.  She could face death.

·       4:14: Mordecai knew that Esther was placed in her position by God to deliver the people of Israel (God was not mentioned but His presence is evident).

·       4:16-17: Esther was willing to pay the price if necessary.  She was neither a coward nor a pessimist.  She displayed extreme courage.

Esther 5: Esther’s feast.

·       5:1: The royalty of the scene and occasion are emphasized.  The king is holding court, on his throne.  Esther is dressed as the queen to impress him.

·       5:2: He is impressed and extends the scepter and she is received.

·       5:3: Three times King Ahasuerus offers Esther half of his kingdom.

·       5:4: Esther requests the privilege of giving a banquet for the king and Haman.  Note: 1) She could not expose Haman in front of all the important people of the court.  2) She wanted to get the king in a good mood (i.e. by wining and dining).  3) Esther wanted to get the king and Haman alone so that Haman couldn’t influence the king’s decision.  This all shows Esther’s great wisdom.

·       5:6-8: The king again offers half the kingdom; she invites him to a banquet again.  She was trying to impress him again by putting the request off till the next day.

·       5:9: Haman is very pleased with himself at being favored by the king and queen.

·       5:11-12: He bragged about his great possessions and his position.

Esther 2-3, Esther Becomes Queen

Esther 1:

·       1:1: Ahasuerus is Xerxes.  There are 2 other Persian kings named Ahasuerus (Dan. 9:1; Ezra 4:6).  The writer is careful not to confuse him with the other two.

·       1:2-5: There were 2 feasts.  First, one for 180 days for the leaders of the empire.  Then one for 7 days for all the people at the palace at that time.

·       1:8: Drinking was according to the law: every man drank only if he wanted to.

·       1:9: A feast was given by Queen Vashti, for women only.  She was not dependent on the king financially.

·       1:10-12: Vashi refused to be made a public spectacle.  She was a heathen in religion but her morality was commendable.  She refused properly.  The king was drunk.  In Persia women were to be veiled in public, especially the Queen.  The king was making an indecent and illegal demand.  She was the queen and it was beneath her dignity.  Vashti was right in her position.  King Ahasuerus was wrong in every way, nevertheless she was removed from the office of Queen. 

·       1:13-22: Ahasuerus was a law unto himself.  He could break the law if he wanted to; he dared to do things that other Persian monarchs wouldn’t think of doing.  He was often sorry for it.

Esther 2: Esther is made queen.

·       Four years elapsed between the feast and the selection of Esther (1:3/2:16).  Ahasuerus was at war during this time.

·       2:1: He remembered what had happened to Vashti and he wanted a new queen.

·       2:10: Esther kept quiet about her race so that it couldn’t interfere with her becoming queen.  Esther was obedient to Mordecai.

·       2:11: Mordecai could no longer communicate with Esther now that she was in the harem.  He had to go through a messenger.

·       2:15: Esther did not require anything (jewelry, etc.), but let the king’s servant choose for her.  She knew that he knew the king's tastes and what the king would like.  She was naturally beautiful.

·       2:15-20: Esther was chosen queen.  The second time the virgins came before the king was when he chose his harem.  Again, Esther continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions. 

Esther 3: Haman’s decree against the Jews.

·       3:1-2: Haman was set in a high position and reverenced by all except Mordecai.  This reverence had religious significance.  A Persian ruler was supposed to be a form of deity.  Mordecai was loyal to the law of Israel.

·       3:4: Mordecai was forced to reveal his race to explain why he would not bow down to Haman.  Jews were exempt from worshiping rulers.

·       3:6: Haman was one of the smallest great men in history (he was a despicable little man; he would kill a whole nation because he hated one man).  Haman was an Amalekite; Mordecai was a Jew. (Ed. note: from 3:1.  Agag was the king that Samuel hacked to pieces when Saul disobeyed the LORD, 1 Sam. 15:8.  Also cf. Num. 24:7 in the third prophecy of Balaam.)

Read Esther 1, Introduction to Esther

 Introduction to ...

Class Notes from the teaching of Prof. Curtis Mitchell, Biola University, 1967-1968, Old Testament Survey

Professor at the time, and later to be Dr. Curtis Mitchell, was a powerful teacher of the Bible during my years at Biola (1967-1970).  In addition, the woman I would later be blessed to have as my wife, as well as two cousins were in some of those classes.  For me, after 2 years of secular Junior College, my first class with Prof. Mitchell was in my first semester.  He lectured.  He was not a particularly “charismatic” personality.  But I was profoundly gripped by the Word of God as he opened up the Scriptures.  My notes were amazingly meticulous.  And not long after I took those hand-written notes and typed them up, making a good-sized book.  And yes, I said “typed,” not on a computer but using a very “non-electric” Smith-Corona typewriter, one that required finger strength for each letter. 

I doubt that it is possible for me to do what I’m about to do and make his teaching come alive for you.  But I am going to digitalize my notes of his lectures.  I hope this will be beneficial to you.  For now, I am going to start with the Book of Esther because it is where we are in our survey of the Old Testament.  These we will post on our blog.

I found the following introduction of Dr. Curtis Mitchell attached to an article he penned for the Chafer Theological Seminary Journal in 1996:

Curtis Mitchell, B.A. (Biola University), B.D. (Talbot Theological Seminary), Th.M. (Western Seminary), Th.D. (Grace Theological Seminary). Dr. Mitchell taught at Biola University for nearly 25 years and has contributed scholarly articles to journals such as Bibliotheca Sacra and the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society.

The Book of Esther

1.    Name: Esther is the heroine of the story.  Jews place great emphasis on Esther.

2.    Author: Inconclusive.  1) In 1:1 and 10:2 it indicates the reign of Ahasuerus was past when the book was written.  2) The writer was acquainted with the Persian court and its customs, so he was a contemporary.  Suggestions are Ezra or Mordecai.  In style it is not like Ezra, but that isn’t so important.  Others say Mordecai wouldn’t have spoken of himself so greatly.

3.    The time of writing: 1) Again, it was written after the reign of Ahasuerus.  2) In 2:5 there is a genealogy of Mordecai.  3) There is mention of Ahasuerus’ death (10:2).  It was likely written close to the time it happened.

4.    Purpose: 1) To show the origin of the feast of Purim.  2) To show the overruling providence of God.

5.    Outline:

a.     Ch. 1-2: Esther made queen.

b.    Ch. 3-6: Haman’s rise to power and his hatred of the Jews.

c.     Ch. 7-10: The Jew’s deliverance through Esther’s influence.

6. Relation to other books of the OT: It is unrelated to other books of the OT.  It is written and happens at the same time as Ezra and Nehemiah. 

a.     This book reads like an oriental romance and takes place in scenes of grandeur. 

b.    This book commemorates things of great importance to the Jews but it lacks characteristics evident in other OT books. 

c.     God is not mentioned but it is evident that He is working behind the scenes.

d.    There is no longing for the homeland as in other books of the time (Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah). 

e.     There is no reference to the temple, priest or sacrifice.  Esther and Mordecai attempted to conceal their Jewish parentage, to gain favor in the Persian court.  The author was born and raised a Persian.  So he lacked a knowledge of conditions and institutions in the homeland. 

f.      We know the book is trustworthy because of the reference to the feast of Purim in 2 Maccabees 15:36. Josephus, a historian, refers to it.  Archaeology attests to the trustworthiness of the court life, customs, etc.  So if it isn’t related to OT books it is related to other things. 

g.    The Jews placed this book next to the Pentateuch in importance.  The Pentateuch begins the Jewish nation, and Esther the preservation of the Jewish nation.  They would have disappeared.  Humanly speaking, only Esther’s intervention saved them.

7.    Lessons – Values.

a.     Shows how the Jews sought to hide their origin and ancestry.

b.    Bears witness to piety and faith of Esther and Mordecai.

c.     Bears witness to Mordecai’s faithfulness to his convictions (3:2,3).

d.    Bears witness to Esther’s willingness to suffer for her people.

e.     The whole book attests the fact that God is working behind the scenes.

f.      The follies of Xerxes/Ahasuerus and the wickedness of Haman are overruled by God.

g.    Esther is the counterpart of Ezra and Nehemiah; the latter took care of the returning Jews, while Esther shows how God took care of those who stayed.

h.    God watched over the Jews even when they were removed from an outward relationship with Him and even when they weren’t talking to Him.

Exodus 31:12-18, The Sign of the Sabbath

“Sabbath” is sometimes used loosely.  Christians use it in speaking of Sunday, that it’s our “Sabbath.”  In Jerusalem Friday is the Muslim day, Saturday the Jewish day, and Sunday the Christian day.  The benefit of all that is that any day you can find a grocery store open somewhere. 😊

On the other hand, there are some Christians who see Sunday as the “Sabbath” and use it as a day of ministry.  We saw this at Metropolitan Tabernacle (Spurgeon’s church) in London.  After a wonderful worship service we roamed around the building afterwards, and saw many people fixing lunch in preparation for an afternoon of ministry.  They would go out into various neighborhoods and hold Sunday Schools.  I thought to myself, what a great way to use the day.

I am aware, of course, that there are those who insist that we must keep the Sabbath, meaning Saturday, as a day that is holy and devoted to worship or ministry or rest.  We might have a peaceable attitude towards these folks, remembering that Paul said one day is as good as another (Rom. 14:5-6).  The problem, of course, is that they “insist” that it must be Saturday.  After all, God assigned Saturday as the holy day because of creation (Ex. 31:17b) and we are all the product of God’s work of creating all things in six days and resting on the seventh.   Let me also note that usually those who insist on the Sabbath insist on other aspects of the Mosaic Law. 

Having noted these varieties on the subject, as I was reading Ex. 31 recently, I was reminded again of a critical truth.  Ex. 31:17a says, of the Sabbath, “it is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever.”  This sign exists between God and Israel, specifically.  Why the Sabbath?  Yes, because it was the day of God’s rest in creation.  But that is not a basis for assigning the Sabbath to the Church. The Sabbath was never given as a sign of our relationship with the Lord. 

If you are wondering, the Body of Christ is not the “Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16).  That is a reference to the Jewish believers in the New Testament Church.  By their faith in Christ they had come to receive the blessings of the New Covenant and were thus what we sometimes call “fulfilled Jews.”   Their existence was the reason for the conflict addressed in Galatians and the encouragement in Ephesians for Jewish and Gentile Christians to recognize their unity in Christ.

Why is this important to me?  Because the Bible cannot be properly understood, Old and New Testament, if you do not keep Israel in their God-given place, the Church in its God-given place, and the proper distinction maintained between the Church and Israel.  All Christians today are in the Body of Christ, Jew and Gentile, and they are all spiritual descendents of Abraham.  Not all Christians are Israel.  It is not for the Church to appropriate Israel’s commands or blessings or curses.  Such a view does great damage to the Word of God, Old and New Testament alike.

Psalm 52

The Psalms begin by affirming, “The LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish” (Psalm 1:6).  Psalm 52 is a song of faith, trusting God in that very issue.  God shall likewise destroy you forever, David says to the wicked.  Of himself he says, I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.  The distinction is clear in what is a true “black and white” matter.  In that sense this Psalm is not unusual as other hymns do the same.

What is uniquely valuable for God’s people in this Psalm is the context.  The title, of course, ties it to the story of King Saul’s massacre of the priests when Doeg the Edomite reported seeing the renegade David speaking with the priest Ahimelech (1 Sam. 22:6-23).  Not only did Doeg inform the king; when the king’s soldiers would not kill the priests he called on Doeg to do it.  He was more than willing.

The title is, of course, not part of the inspired text.  It is likely true.  But in any case it simply provides us with a picture to attach to David’s words.  The picture is of an evil man, who is mighty (i.e. has great strength as Doeg did, being one of Saul’s administrators), and who has the king’s ear.  It’s the wicked man’s words that most occupy David’s attention (v2-4), though in the end David understands what we should understand: the love of money is the root of all evil (v7). 

And the true bottom line is trust.  The evil man does not make God his strength while the saints will wait on Your name.  David waited for several years, running from Saul, before he experienced “the goodness of God” (v1) and “the mercy of God” (v8) which are forever.  The wicked seemed to gain an initial victory; what a display of the power of wickedness was the death of 85 priests that day.  But in the end victory was with David.

While this Psalm is not Messianic it still reminds us of our Lord Jesus Christ.  As He Himself said in the Garden of Gethsemane, “this is your hour, and the power of darkness” (Luke 22:53).  But three days later the risen Lord would say, “Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:26). 

And what then can we say for ourselves, who by faith are trusting Christ?  What did He say of us?  If we would follow Him we must deny ourselves and take up our cross daily!  We cannot follow Him without a life that is headed to Jerusalem, to the cross.  In other words, in this world it is to be expected that we will encounter mighty evil people, those who brag about their evil intentions and deeds, those who trust in their wealth and not in God.  May the words of our hearts encourage us as we trust God:

Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man?

The goodness of God endures continually.

Exodus 31:1-11; Eph. 2:19-22, Gifts for Temple Building

(Before we "survey" the Books of Poetry, I need to share some "miscellaneous" posts.  They are somewhat devotional in nature.  I hope you will find them encouraging.)

In Jerusalem today, there’s a Bezalel Street, Bezalel Hotel, Bezalel Arts and Crafts Fair, Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design.  We walked occasionally on Bezalel Street, usually without knowing the name.  The rest of those I had never heard of.  But what we do remember was having a meal at Cafe Bezalel.  It was near the route we took to get to the Baptist House, when we attended there which we often did.  It was kind of a coffee shop/café as I remember.  We ate there once, just to say we did, because Bezalel was a pretty cool dude, as we used to say.

More than a cool dude: he was filled with the Holy Spirit.  That in itself was unusual because in OT times the Holy Spirit did not indwell “believers” (i.e. the righteous, the saints) as He does under the New Covenant.  God placed His Spirit on people at His discretion. This man was truly gifted.  He was wise, understanding and knowledgeable generally; and then he was a master in artistic design; how to make things from gold, silver and bronze; in cutting jewels for settings; in carving wood; and in all workmanship (v3-5). 

Bezalel was, of course, exactly who was needed for the building of the “tabernacle,” the “tent of meeting.”  With him God also provided Aholiab and all the gifted artisans of Israel.  The project they were working on (v7-11) had to be fitting as “the dwelling place of the God of Israel.” 

We are also involved in building a dwelling place for God (that’s what a temple is, by definition: the “house of God”.)  In 2 Cor. 6:16 Paul says to the Corinthian Church, “you are the temple of the living God.”  He is speaking of the body of believers, as the rest of the verse makes clear with all the “plural” terms: them, their, they, My people.  The Body of Christ is a building that is growing into “a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also (the Ephesian Church) are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2:21-22).  As Peter put it, “you also, as living stones are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pt. 2:5).

We too have been blessed with the provision of Christ.  He gave to the Church Apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry for the edifying (building up) of the body of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-12).  As for the “saints,” each has been equipped with a spiritual gift.  These are not the kind Bezalel had.  The temple we are building is a spiritual temple, not made with gold, silver or bronze.  The gifts are prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading and showing mercy (Rom. 12:6-8). 

When these gifts are used in ministry they produce God’s work (1 Cor. 12:8-11), and the temple built to the glory of God (Eph. 4:13-16).  As a believer in Christ, you have a gift.  Use it as a faithful builder of this holy temple.