1 Sam. 14:45; 2 Sam. 7:12-17, True Authority in Christ

The NKJV, in 1 Sam. 14:45, says that “Saul established his sovereignty over Israel.”  We are in that time when God has already determined that Saul’s kingdom will not continue, and that God seeks a man after His own heart (1 Sam. 13:14).  So this caught my attention.  Here is what I found.

“Sovereignty” is a king term, but one that refers to the trappings of a king, the things that make him look like royalty.  The word (Heb. meluka, royalty) is never used of David.  It is used 24 times: 8X about and by Saul; 3X of Israel’s neighbors; 12X of Solomon and other descendents of David, and also of kings of Israel.  One time, in Ps. 22:28, we are told, the kingdom is the LORD’s and He reigns over the nations.  Here are a couple of additional notes.

·       Shimei, the descendant of Saul, who shamed David as he fled Jerusalem in the days of Absalom, accused David of having been a bloodthirsty man in taking the “royalty” of Saul (2 Sam. 16:8).

·       In the early chapters of 1 Kings (e.g. 1:46; 2:25) it is used of Solomon’s brother who tried to become king.  In other words, Adonijah had the trappings, looked kingly for some who were willing to follow him, but he never had the authority from David, as we will see.

There is another term, from the same root as the preceding term, that is translated “kingdom”: mamlaka, mng. kingdom, dominion, reign, sovereignty.  This was used of Saul, but in the context of losing it (1 Sam. 13:13-14; 24:20; 28:17; 2 Sam. 3:10).  It is also used of David, most notably by the LORD in making His covenant with David (2 Sam. 7:12,13,16).    In my thinking, when I think of King David, I don’t think of his “trappings.” A lot of what he had in his “storehouses” was for the temple that would be built by his son.  But I do think of the establishment of a national border when I think of David.  Saul fought against Israel’s enemies (14:47-48) but the borders became secure in David’s time.

Mamlaka is used, significantly, of Messiah in Isa. 9:7.  What it says is, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom.  There are no references to the throne of Saul; but there are many to the throne of David and his descendents. 

·       It is interesting that Eli (1 Sam. 1:9) and Elisha (2 Ki. 4:10) had a “throne” (same word).  The priest and prophet had not only a seat of honor but one of authority. 

·       Of significance is that God combines the throne and kingdom in making His covenant with David (1 Sam. 7:18).  The throne speaks of authority.  In 1 Kings Solomon’s throne is “the throne of David” (1 Ki. 1:13; 2:12); in Chronicles his throne is the Lord’s (1 Chron. 28:5) and Israel’s (2 Chron. 6:10). And, as we have noted, Messiah has David’s throne and kingdom.

Now, what is the point for me?  It has to do with authority that is real.  In the context of Saul and David, to me it says something about what it means to be a man after God’s heart.  Saul was rejected because he did not have that heart.  Thus, he had the trappings of royalty.  As we know, Saul was about “looks.”  He looked like a king.  He bossed people around like a king, but it wasn’t from real authority.  He threatened them but he did not speak with real authority.  David was different.  He had a royal throne, though we have no idea what it looked like.  We just know that God established his throne and that was the basis for his kingdom. 

As a Christian, I have what we can call the “raw power of God” (dunameis, strength).  It comes through His Spirit (Eph. 3:16).  But I do not merely have the “trappings” of royalty in Christ.  I have the authority, through faith in Christ, to be a son of God (Jn. 1:12).  It is an authority given by Christ to all who believe.  He has the authority to grant to believers the right or authority to have this wonderful familial relationship.  I have nothing that has not come to me “in Christ.”  By His authority (throne) I have every spiritual blessing “in Christ.”  Amen!

John 20:30-31; 21:25, Staking the Claim

Sometimes people mistakenly say that Jesus was not clear about His Messianic claims, including the claim to Deity.  Concerning what I just said, remember that the OT prophecies of Messiah included His Deity.  This can be seen in the imagery of Gen. 22 (Abraham with his “only beloved son” Isaac on Mt. Moriah).  Messiah is “Mighty God, Everlasting Father” (Isa. 9:6).  Messiah, the Branch, is “the LORD/Jehovah our righteousness” (Jer. 23:5-6).  When Messiah enters the Eastern Gate it is “the LORD God of Israel” who has entered (Ezek. 44:1-3).  And so forth.

But now, coming back to those who mistakenly say that Jesus was not clear about this, what follows is taken from John’s Gospel, chapters 1-10.  It is probably incomplete, but it reminds us of Jesus clarity.

First, several people acknowledged Jesus as Messiah and were not discouraged by Jesus in their confession.

·       John the Apostle in the prologue (1:1-18).

·       John the Baptist (1:29-34).

·       Andrew (1:41).

·       Philip (1:45).

·       Nathaniel (1:49).

·       The Samaritan Woman (4:29).

·       The crowd (6:14).

·       The man born blind, who worshiped Jesus (9:38).

Jesus sounded like and looked like Israel’s Messiah.

·       John 2:16-17: He had a Messianic zeal for His Father’s house, the temple.

·       John 3:13: He had applied a Messianic title, “Son of Man,” to Himself (Dan. 7:13-14).

·       John 4:25-26; 9:35-37: To both the woman of Samaria and the man born blind, He “introduced” Himself as Messiah and Son of God.

·       John 5:46:To the Jews He claimed to be the fulfillment of Messianic prophecies made by Moses.

·       John 8:58: He claimed to be the “I AM.”

Jesus frequently pointed to the miracles as miraculous signs of His Messiahship (3:2; 5:36; 10:25).  John, led by the Spirit, chose miracles that manifested qualities of Deity in Jesus (e.g. creative ability, omniscience).  When He turned water to wine (2:1-11, a miracle of creation) John said that Jesus “manifested His glory” (2:11; i.e. His deity, the glory He had had with the Father, 17:5).  Healing the nobleman’s son (4:43-54) displayed omniscience.  You see it in all the miracles in John because, as John himself said, these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God (20:31).

How do we know that the Jews understood what He was claiming?  We know it by their reactions.  On several occasions they sought to kill Him (John 5:18; 7:1,25; 8:59; 10:31).  Furthermore, the crowds were regularly arguing about who He was, among each other and with the leadership (7:40-44; 9:16; 10:19-21).  When you read these exchanges you will see that there were people who were getting the point about Jesus because they were seeing and hearing the things we are talking about here.  In other words, our point today: there was clarity in Jesus claims.

Now of course, the issue of clarity is not the bottom line.  The bottom line is: do I believe Jesus so that I have come to believe in Him?  

2 Tim. 4:1-8, Pure and Simple Devotion to Christ (3)

After meditating on the essence of worship, as the expression of a pure and simple devotion to Christ, todays post is a little more down the “teaching” line, but also, we trust, being an encouragement to us in our walk with Christ.  The question has to do with the “mechanics” of devotion. We are called to be devoted to God, the One and Only God!  But how does this work out in our lives?  We cannot see God.  Is this devotion to Him just a matter of saying, “I love you?”  One way we can answer this question is to see the disciplines of devotion, if you will. 

How can a person be devoted to God?

1)    Jer. 30:21: By devoting oneself to being close to God.  As James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”  What that must mean, for starters, is that God has drawn you to Christ, and you, having come to Christ, have believed on Him (John 6:35).

2)    Ezra 7:10: By devoting oneself to the study of God’s word.  As Luke told us in Acts, about the Bereans, they were more noble than other Jews of the day because they searched the Scriptures daily (Ac. 17:11). 

3)    Col. 4:2: By devoting oneself to prayer.  I find it easy to read and study the Bible.  But prayer is an essential discipline.  And, as in any relationship or friendship, the conversations must be deep on occasion as well as the short conversations brought about by some event in our lives.  Rom. 12:12 tells us to be “faithful” in prayer.

4)    1 Chron. 28:9: By devoting oneself to serving God.  Paul acknowledged the house of Stephanas, at Corinth, for their devotion to the service of the saints.  Romans 12:10 puts it this way: being devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Service is possible every moment we live.  Our lives are not full of mere “moments” but of opportunities to serve the God who made us.

5)    The disciplines for a church are the same as individual Christians. 

a)    Acts 2:42: The early Church was devoted to teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers.

b)    Titus 3:8,14: Paul told Titus to encourage the churches of Crete to be devoted to good works.

Let us not just do the study.  Let us live daily in our relationship with the One who is the King eternal, immortal, invisible, God only wise, to whom be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. (1 Tim. 1:17)

Psalm 146

Today we have read the first of the final five Psalms, again being “Hillel Psalms” as each begins and ends with a Hallelujah/Praise the Lord.  They are wonderful choruses that call us in to praise God with every means at our disposal at all times in our lives.  Let us consider this Psalm.

•        146:2,9: In v2 the phrase as long as I have my being translates the same Hebrew word that in v9 is translated relieves.  This may seem strange, that these translations are so different.  But actually there is a wonderful truth here.  The root meaning of the word is to turn back or return but then came to mean to say again and again, to testify, to exhort.  In this Psalm it is used in both ways.  Verse 2 says to repeat again and again, i.e. as long as I have my being, our praise for God.  Verse 9 tells us something that is praiseworthy of God, which is that He turns back or relieves the difficulties of the fatherless and widow.  So we are encouraged to give repeated praise to God, and that praise is not empty because God repeatedly blesses the needy.  Consider this illustration from Spurgeon’s Treasury of David of the extent of praising God as long as I have my being.

While I live will I praise the LORD. George Carpenter, the Bavarian martyr, being desired by some godly brethren, that when he was burning in the fire he would give them some sign of his constancy, answered, "Let this be a sure sign unto you of my faith and perseverance in the truth, that so long as I am able to hold open my mouth, or to whisper, I will never cease to praise God, and to profess his truth"; the which also he did, saith mine author; and so did many other martyrs besides.—John Trapp.

2 Cor. 10:14-11:4, Pure and Simple Devotion to Christ (2)

We are continuing with passages for meditation, now in the New Testament.

1)    The Gospels.

a)    Mt. 6:24: No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and mammon.

b)    Matt. 6:33: But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

c)    Matt. 10:34-39: This passage includes this … “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.  And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Mt.  He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.  (See also Mt. 16:24-25.)

2)    The Epistles.

a)    Rom. 12:1-2: … present your bodies unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world but be transformed, by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

b)    Gal. 5:1-2: Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery … if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you.

c)    Gal. 6:14: May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

d)    Eph. 6:24: Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

e)    Phil. 1:20-21: I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed but will have sufficient courage so that now, as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.  For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

f)     Phil. 3:7-11,14: But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.  Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, my any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. … I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

g)    Col. 3:1-2: Since then you have bene raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God; set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

h)    Rev. 22:13: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

Mark 14:3-9, Pure and Simple Devotion to Christ (1)

Jesus indicated that Mary’s act of worship was so profound she would be known for this throughout the history of the Church.  It was the kind of whole-hearted worship called for throughout Scripture.  Please meditate on this with me.

1)    In the Law.

a)    Ex. 20:3: You shall have no other gods before me.

b)    Dt. 6:4-5: Hear O Israel the Lord is one.  Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul and strength.

c)    Dt. 10:12-13: And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good.

d)    Deut. 13;3: (When tempted to idolatry), “The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

2)    Books of History.

a)    Josh. 24:15,23: Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house hold we will serve the Lord. … throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.

b)    1 Chron. 28:9-10: And you my son Solomon acknowledge the God of your father and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.

3)    Books of Poetry.

a)    Psalm 2:11-12: Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling; Kiss the Son lest He be angry and you be destroyed in your way.

b)    Ps. 20:7: Some trust in chariots and some in horses but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

c)    Ps. 73:25: Whom have I in heaven but you? and earth has nothing I desire besides you.

d)    Ps. 150:6: Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

e)    Prov. 1:7: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

4)    The Prophets.

a)    Isa. 43:10b-11: Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.  I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.

b)    Jer. 9:23-24: Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom, or the strong man in his strength, of the rich man in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on the earth for in these I delight declared the Lord.

c)    Three illustrations of “pure and simple devotion” in Daniel:

i)      1:8: But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine.

ii)   3:16,18: Daniel’s three friends told the king, “we do not need to defend ourselves in this matter … the God we serve is able to save us from this fire … but even if He does not we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

d)    6:23: No wound was found on Daniel because he had trusted in his God.

e)    Hosea 13:4: But I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt.  You shall acknowledge no God but Me, no Savior except Me.

f)     Micah 6:8: He has shown you, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.

John 12:37-50, Jesus' Final Call to the Nation

We have come to the conclusion of Jesus’ ministry to the nation of Israel.  There are nine more chapters in John’s Gospel, but 13:1 brings us to the night before He was crucified.  John 13-17 and 21 record His ministry to the disciples, preparing them for His departure.  John 18-20 record the arrest, trials, death and resurrection.  The general assessment is that the nation did not put their faith in Him (12:37).  Isaiah 53:1 was fulfilled in this: they heard the report, and they saw the signs by which “the arm of the LORD was revealed.” 

But Isaiah 6:9-10 was also fulfilled.  The nation could not believe because God blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts.  This is a strategic passage in the New Testament.  Jesus quoted it when He was explaining to His disciples why He was now speaking to the people in parables (Matt. 13:13-15).  The Apostle Paul quoted it to the Jews in Rome, as a warning that provides a conclusion to the book of Acts, not long before the destruction of the temple by Rome (Ac. 28:26).  As for Isaiah, the original prophecy was God’s instruction to the prophet.  He was to preach, but they would not understand.  If you read on (Isa. 6:11-13), Isaiah asked the LORD how long this blindness would last.  God’s answer was that it would continue until the cities were laid waste.  He also, however, promised there would be a “remnant;” though the tree was cut down, the stump would remain and be the holy seed.

All those details were about to come true for Israel.  Jesus had warned them several times of the coming judgment in 70AD (e.g. Lk. 19:41-44).  But be sure you note: the promise of the “stump” was also fulfilled.  John, from the beginning of his Gospel, has told us: He came unto His own and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become children of God, even to them that believe on His name (Jn. 1:12).  Therefore, even among the rulers many believed in Him (12:42).  On the day of Pentecost there were 120 Christians of Jewish background who gave rise to 5,000 more Jewish believers (Ac. 2:41; 4:4), and from them the gospel would go to the world.

The closing verses of John 12 are both a summary of Jesus’ message to the nation as well as a continuing offer of the gospel.  He reaffirms His oneness with the Father (12:44-45); He reaffirms that He is the defining issue of life: all who believe in Him will be transferred to the kingdom of light, while those who reject Him will bear the judgment of that decision (12:46-48); and He reaffirms that He has only spoken the words that were given to Him by His Father (12:49-50). This continuing message of Christ is for today as well.  What we do with the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection will judge us in the last day.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 12:33-43, Israel’s Struggle of Faith

In previous verses there are two things to note concerning the necessity of Jesus’ death.  First, Jn. 12:25 applied to Jesus even as it does to us.  These words are recorded in all four Gospels (cf. Mt. 16:25; Mk. 8:35; Lk. 9:24).  As we have said before, to have resurrection life there must be a death.  In this principle we are, as always, following Christ.  His death was necessary. 

But second, the Jewish people could not grasp this concerning the Messiah.  The title “Son of Man” was a Messianic title known to the Jewish people.  Read Daniel 7:13-14 for background on the controversy we see in John 12:34. Daniel recorded that Messiah’s kingdom, the kingdom given to the “Son of Man” by “the Ancient of Days,” was an eternal kingdom.  Thus, the Jews are raising the age-old question: how can Messiah be eternal if He must suffer and die?  Jesus’ answer, in 12:35-36, is a call to the people to believe in Him, to walk in His light, the light of the One who was and is the Light of the world!

Though Jesus gave them great encouragement, as was usually the case, they did not believe in Him.  Even with the powerful signs and the constant debate, they did not believe in Him.  Without question, Jesus was not surprised.  He had already made it clear that the hour had come for Him, the grain of wheat, to die for the sake of the salvation of many people.  He knew from the beginning that He would be rejected and that He would die (review Jn. 1:29; 2:19-22).  But it was not just from the beginning of His ministry; He knew this in His youth, when He was engaging the Jews (the religious experts) concerning His Father’s “business” (Lk. 2:41-50).

How could He have known this?  It was not because His Father had implanted special knowledge of this truth, other than what could have been found by any student of the Bible at the time.  That is what John tells us in 12:38-41. 

Consider first that, in v38, John quotes from Isa. 53:1.  This is the great Servant Song (Isa. 52:13-53:12.)  It clearly predicted Messiah’s death and just as clearly anticipated His resurrection.  John realizes that he, and the other Apostles of Christ, reported the message given by Isaiah, even as the people did not receive it in Isaiah’s day.  John has revealed the “arm of the Lord,” because he had recorded the signs that would give the strongest encouragement to believe in Christ (John 20:30-31). 

There is a dual emphasis in faith   First, who has believed our report?  The report had gone out, through Christ in His ministry and then through the Apostles.  The gospel had been preached.  But faith also requires the work of the Spirit, a work of revelation: to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?  They had seen the miraculous signs; but had they truly understood their meaning?  The answer we are given is that “they did not” (v37) although many did (v42).  Consider where you are in Jesus call to believe in Him.  (We will continue with this passage in our next post.)