I am a procrastinator and this proverb strikes close to home for me. It is important to work hard when the time is right, so that you have resources later.
This psalm is directed at rulers, but its message applies to everyone. If we trust in God and rejoice in His strength we will have victory over our enemies. It is important to remember that part of trusting God is trusting that following His will leads to our greatest happiness.
Here Paul lays out the obligation we have as Christians to preach the Gospel, and as the Church to commission people to preach the Gospel. In yesterday’s passage Paul described how people can only be saved by calling on the name of the Lord. However, today he points out that no one will call on the Lord if they do not believe in Him. They will not believe in Him if they have never heard of Him. They will not hear of Him unless someone tells them about Him (hint, hint. Yeah, that is meant for you and me). No one will go to tell them unless they are sent.
This last is the part where we as a Church fail so often. An ambassador does not appoint himself. We, as members of the Church, need to identify those among us with the gift of preaching and teaching the Gospel and send them to where their mission can be the most fruitful. Paul did not appoint himself to go on his first mission trip. The Church in Antioch did so. In the same way, we in the Church today need to seek out those among us whom God is calling to ministry of one kind or another and send them to that ministry.
Jehoshaphat is a great example of a good ruler. He did not just stay in Jerusalem and wait for news of the people to come to him there. He traveled throughout the land he ruled, learning first hand what people were going through, while encouraging them to worship God, and only God. Further he appointed judges to judge the disputes between people, advising those judges that God would hold them accountable for judging fairly.
At one point, Jehoshaphat received news that several other nations had allied and were marching to attack Judah with an overwhelming army. Rather than panic, or attempt to enlist a powerful nation as an ally, Jehoshaphat turned to God. He called on the people of Judah to fast and pray, doing so himself. This story shows us God’s power. The army of Judah marched out to meet the enemy on God’s command. However, before they reached the enemy God had stirred up conflict within the allied armies so that Judah’s enemies has destroyed each other completely. If we trust and obey God, He will defeat our enemies for us.
Procrastination can lead to problems. Just as there is a time when crops must be planted in order to gain a harvest, so too must many other tasks be completed at the appropriate time or the benefits will be lost.
Not everyone who can offer us good advice will freely give it, some people do not even know that they have good advice to give us. However, the person with understanding will learn to recognize sources of hidden wisdom and find ways to get those who possess it to share.
Many people will claim to be a friend who can be relied upon, but you will never be sure who the truly reliable people are until the chips are down.
If we trust in the Lord He will give us victory. Those who oppose Him will be consumed and destroyed, but God will preserve the life of those who trust in Him.
Having established that the only route to salvation is through belief in Jesus, Paul then points out some important things. No one can believe in the Gospel unless they hear it. They cannot hear the Gospel unless someone tells preaches it to them. Finally, Paul tells us that no one will preach the Gospel to the unsaved unless someone sends them.
My experience in the Church is that we seem to have a pretty good understanding of the need for Christians to preach the Gospel to the unsaved. We often have a much less developed understanding of how to do so, but we understand the need. However, I am not so sure we pay enough attention to the final piece of Paul’s message here. Do we seek out those among us who have the gift of preaching the Gospel to the unsaved and commission them to go and preach? I know that when someone feels the call to go and preach to the unsaved, we support them. But, do we find those who have not realized their gifts, or are unsure of their calling, and encourage them to make use of the gifts that we see in them?
Paul and Barnabas did not decide to go out on their fist missionary journey. The Church in Antioch sent out on that journey. If we go back a little further, it was not Saul who decided he should go to Antioch to help build up the Church there. Barnabas went and brought Saul to Antioch because he recognized that Saul had gifts which the Church in Antioch needed. How will the unsaved be saved if we do not send those God has given the gift to preach the Gospel to them?
I commented yesterday that Jehoshaphat’s alliance with Ahab led to problems later. Today, we have mentioned that when Jehoshaphat returned from going to war with Ahab a prophet confronted him. The prophet told Jehoshaphat that God was angry with him for allying himself with someone who was wicked. Despite being angry with Jehoshaphat over his alliance with Ahab, God was pleased with the way he ruled his own kingdom.
Jehoshaphat traveled throughout his kingdom, encouraging the people to faithfully follow the Lord. He appointed judges to judge the various disputes. He instructed the judges to act in an honest manner and to make their judgements in fear of the Lord. Jehoshaphat further instructed the judges to encourage the people to follow God’s laws and not to sin.
The surrounding nations allied together to make war against Jehoshaphat and the kingdom of Judah. Jehoshaphat was frightened by the size of the army mustered against him. Rather than follow his father’s example and seek an alliance with another nation to defeat his enemies, Jehoshaphat turned to God for guidance. He called on the people of Judah to fast and pray to God. He asked them to come to Jerusalem for a gathering before the Lord. There in front of the gathered people of Judah, Jehoshaphat cried out to God and admitted that he did not know what to do. God sent His Spirit on to one of the men so gathered to prophecy that the army should march forth to meet the enemy, but that they would not need to fight.
The next morning Jehoshaphat led the army out to battle. He told them that despite the fact that they were facing an overwhelming force, they should believe God’s prophets and trust in Him. He then led the army in songs of praise as they marched into battle. At the same time, that the army of Judah began singing praise to God, the armies of the nations gathered against them turned on one another. By the time the army of Judah arrived at the battlefield, the opposing armies had wiped each other out. Jehoshaphat won a great victory without having to enter into battle at all. As a result of this victory, Jehoshaphat had peace for the rest of his life.
I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
When Jehoshaphat returned from visiting King Ahab (where he had joined King Ahab in going into the battle where Ahab was killed) a prophet confronted him for befriending Ahab. The prophet told him that God was angry with him for aiding the wicked king Ahab, but happy about his destruction of Asherah poles and commitment to seeking the Lord.
The passage tells us that Jehoshaphat went out among the people all throughout the land he controlled, encouraging them to be faithful to God. While doing this he appointed judges throughout the land, setting up a system of appeals. He instructed the judges to think carefully before pronouncing judgment and to remember that they were to please God with their judgments, not people. They were to pass judgment in fear of the Lord, with faithfulness and integrity.
Sometime after this, three of Judah’s neighboring countries allied together against Jehoshaphat and gathered their armies to attack him. Jehoshaphat sent out word to the whole nation for a fast seeking God’s guidance and help against these enemies. He called an assembly of the people and led them in a prayer requesting the Lord’s aid against their enemies. When Jehoshaphat finished praying a prophet received word from the Lord that they were to assemble their fighting force and march forth to meet the enemy armies. The prophet told them where they would find the enemy, but told them that they would not need to fight. God would defeat the enemy for them.
The following morning Jehoshaphat led the army out to battle. He instructed the men to have faith in God and believe the message from His prophets. He then appointed singers to lead them in songs of praise as they marched. While the army of Judah sang praises to God and marched to battle, their enemies had a falling out and began fighting among themselves. By the time the army of Judah arrived at the point where they planned to take their defensive position, the three armies had destroyed each other. Jehoshaphat and his men plundered the dead of the enemy armies. It took them three days to gather all of the plunder. When word spread of what happened the other neighboring kingdoms were afraid to make war against Jehoshaphat.
Today’s passage is one of the great calls to missionary work. Paul says (my paraphrase), “How can they call on God if they don’t believe in Him? How can they believe in Him, if they haven’t heard about Him? How can they hear about Him unless somebody tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them about Him, unless we send them?” So, this is not just about those who are missionaries, but also about the congregations which send them out to be missionaries as well. In other words, we have an obligation not just to preach the Gospel to the unbelievers but also to commission and send others to preach to the unbelievers. To those who welcome the good news of God’s Salvation, those who bring the message are to be praised.
However, not everyone welcomes the good news of God’s Salvation. While faith comes from hearing the Gospel, not everyone who hears it accepts it. Paul here speaks about how many of the Jews rejected God’s salvation. He points out that Jews have been rejecting God’s commands and His messengers for their entire history. However, he is quick to point out that it has never been all Jews, that God has always had those that he reserved for Himself. The salvation of these Jews comes purely by God’s free and undeserved grace. Paul tells us that because the Jews rejected God’s salvation, God aroused their jealousy by extending it to Gentiles. He wanted them to claim His salvation for themselves by accepting His free gift. Paul tells us that the Gentiles were enriched by the Jews rejection of God’s salvation, but the entire world will be even more blessed when the Jews turn to God and accept His salvation.
Overall this is a Messianic prophecy, but there are some things that apply not just to Christ here.
You have endowed him with eternal blessings
and given him the joy of your presence.
For the king trusts in the Lord.
The unfailing love of the Most High will keep him from stumbling.
This reflects Christ, but it could certainly be changed slightly and read to apply to us as well.
***
I read it today like this:
You have endowed me with eternal blessings
and given me the joy of your presence.
For I trust in the Lord.
The unfailing love of the Most High will keep me from stumbling.
For this is certainly true, God has given me eternal blessings. He has given me the joy of His presence and His unfailing love keeps me from stumbling as long as I trust in Him.
Reading Phillies conference on the mound
There is a time to plow and plant if we want to eat at the time of harvest. Sometimes it takes effort on our part to gain the advice we need from those who have it to give. Am I willing to be that faithful friend who is so hard to find?
I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.
Jehoshaphat was a king who traveled among his people. One of the things he did was to appoint judges throughout the land to hear cases concerning the Law of the Lord and civil disputes. He even set up an appellate process with the high priest having final say in religious cases and a civil authority having final say in civil disputes. He instructed the judges to make their judgements in fear of the Lord, warning them not to pervert justice, show favoritism, or take bribes.
At some point after this, several of the neighboring kingdoms joined forces to attack Judah. Jehoshaphat ordered a nationwide fast. In response many of the people of Judah came to Jerusalem with their families. Jehoshaphat calls in the Lord for rescue from the attacking armies. The Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men in the gathering and he prophesied that they should go out against the enemy army, but that they would not need to fight it. The following morning the army of Judah marched forth, singing praises to God. While they were on their way to confront the enemy armies, the three armies began fighting each other. By the time the army of Judah reached the battlefield, the enemy armies had completely killed each other. They found so much plunder among the dead of the enemy armies that it took them three days to gather it all. After this battle, all of the neighboring kingdoms were afraid to attack Jehoshaphat.
Paul begins today’s passage with an important logical progression. He has just finished telling us that all anyone must do to be saved is call on God for salvation. Here he tells us that in order for people to call upon God for salvation they must first believe in Him. Then he tells us that in order for people to believe in God they must first be told about Him. He finishes this by saying that in order for someone to go to tell people about God and his salvation they must be sent. This tells us that we as a Church should not be waiting for people to feel the call from God to go out on missions and then supporting them. We should be calling people, sending them out on missions and supporting them. There is nothing wrong with the first, except that it is not as good as the second. While we should be sending people out to missions, we must not let the better be the enemy of the good. (It is good that people go out on missions. It would be better if they were sent out on missions.) When I found the clip art for this passage I had one thought, no, we cannot change the world. However, God can change the world through us, if we let Him propel our feet to take us to the place where He wishes us to bring His message.
Paul tells us that salvation comes from faith and faith comes from hearing the word. However, he tells us that not everyone who hears the Gospel will accept it. He further tells us in particular that many of the Jews have rejected the Gospel. He tells us that some Jews have listened to the Gospel and received salvation. He tells us that it is like when Elijah was depressed and cried out to God that he was the only one left, God told Elijah that He had 7,000 others that had remained faithful. This is something that we must remember when we begin to think that everyone around us is hostile to faith in God. There are more around us who are faithful to God than we might think.
Paul concludes today’s passage by telling us that it was God’s plan that many of the Jews would reject the Gospel, so that the Gospel might get preached to the Gentiles. That through the rejection of the Gospel by the Jews, the world was blessed. However, Paul tells us that the Jews are God’s special people and He wants them to turn to Him. He tells us that if the Jews turn to God and accept His salvation, this will bring an even greater blessing to the world.
The psalmist tells us that those who trust in the Lord will be kept from stumbling by God’s unfailing love. He also tells us that the wicked plot against God’s plans. However, their plots will fail and when God turns His attention to them, they will run and attempt to hide.
Today we are told that we must take action when the time is right. If we put off action, it may be too late and we will go hungry. The second proverb tells us that sometimes people who know how to deal with our problems are reluctant to give us advice, but if we are wise we will find a way to draw that advice out of them. The third proverb tells us that many people will claim to be our true friends, but it is very hard to find one who is truly reliable.
