Death At God’s Voice Deut 5:23-33

In the fifth chapter of Deuteronomy the Ten Commandments are restated for a new generation. This generation had not been there when the Lord’s presence descended on the mountain in smoke and earthquakes. They were not the ones summoned by the trumpet and told to consecrate themselves and consecrate the mountain and then told to stay behind the barrier lest they see God and die. (Ex. 19:18-23) But they needed to learn the same lesson and be equally impressed with the authority of God.  

So Moses tells them of how their fathers came to the mountain and heard the voice of the Almighty. (Deut. 5:23) When this happened they were so stunned by the power and holiness of God they were surprised that they had survived it saying, “we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives.” (Deut. 5:24)

Up until this time they did not have the proper impression of the power of God.  Their fear overtook their faith and became afraid that hearing more of God’s voice would kill now kill the, although it hadn’t done so thus far.  “Now then why should we die? For this great fire will consume us; if we hear the voice of the LORD our God any longer, then we shall die, For who is there of all flesh, who has heard the voice of the living God speaking from the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?” (Deut. 5:25,26)   

If God had wanted them to die they would have already been dead.  What God wanted from them, and from all, is for them to hear, heed and live. God did not want to kill them, or any. But sadly, many are lost for not listening to what His great voice says.

Jesus Questioned On Taxes

The of the four gospels record that Jesus was questions about paying tribute (tax) to Caesar. (Matt. 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26) The Pharisees did this after taking counsel together on how to trap Him, even including the Herodians in on the plan. 

They sent people pretending to be honest seekers to ask the question. Their hope was that he would play to the crowd and denounce the Roman governance (an easy thing to do) and then they could accuse Him of fomenting rebellion. 

Jesus easily saw through their ruse but still fully answered the question. He said that we should give the rulers of our land (whoever they are, and whatever land we’re in) what is rightfully due them. They have the power to tax us. The fact that the Jews were using Roman coins showed who was in charge, as did their armies in Jewish cities. 

But Jesus also acknowledged a higher and more important duty – the duty to God that we have wherever we are and no matter who civil authority does. So “Give to Caesar’s what’s Caesar’s, and to God what’s God’s.” Caesar is our king. God is our God. 

Those determined to condemn Jesus ignored His answer and told the authorities what they’d wished Jesus had said. “And they began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King.” (Luke 23:2They lied about His answer because truth was not their goal.

The Hand Of God Was With Ezra

In Ezra 7 & 8, Ezra successfully a led great caravan of thousands of returnees and a vast treasure given by the king for the temple at Jerusalem on a dangerous four month journey across a wilderness to go home. He credited God for the achievement. He attributed God being with him to his conscious decision to know, follow and teach God’s law.  As he explained:

Ezra 7:9,10“For on the first of the first month he began to go up from Babylon; and on the first of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, because the good hand of his God was upon him.

10For Ezra had set [prepared – KJV, NKJV] his heart to study the law of the LORD, and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.”

The safe passage of the caravan was far from the only success Ezra had. He was successful in accomplishing great and lasting things in every incident recorded of him, and in other tasks where his name is not directly mentioned. He always attributed his success to God, repeatedly saying that it was “because the good hand of his God was upon him.”  (Ezra 7:9,28, 8:18,22)

Ezra understood the basic principle that success and victory belong to the Lord. As the wisdom writer said, “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But victory belongs to the LORD” (Prov. 21:31; Ref. 2 Sam. 23:10,12; 1 Chron. 29:11; 2 Kings 5:1; Ps 98:1).  God gives victory and success to those who are with Him.

Ps. 136: “The Lovingkindness Is Everlasting”

1     Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; 

    For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

2     Give thanks to the God of gods, 

    For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

3     Give thanks to the Lord of lords, 

    For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Following a call to praise (vss. 1-3), Ps. 136 gives us 22 reasons to offer thanksgiving to God. This is one of the great history lesson psalms, but the notable the refrying “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

This is also variously translated as:

His love is eternal (HCSB)

His lovingkindness is everlasting. (NASB)

His steadfast love endures forever. (ESV)

His faithful love endures forever (NLT)

His mercy endureth for ever (KJV)

Repeated often, it is not a throw away line. It is the very heart of the psalm. We often tend to gloss over something repeated so much since we’ve already read it and its coming is predictable being every other line. 

Charles Spurgeon said, “We shall have this repeated in every verse of this song, but not once too often.  It is the sweetest stanza that man can sing. What joy that there is mercy, mercy with Jehovah, enduring mercy, mercy enduring for ever. We are ever needing it, trying it, praying for it, receiving it: therefore let us for ever sing of it.”  (Treasury of David, Ps. 136, vs. 1)

The _____ Of God

In this week’s reading the phrase “_insert things here_ of God” occurred in two conspicuous places. 

This construction was first found when Moses was on the “mountain of God” when God appeared to him in the burning bush. (3:1) This struck me as a bit odd since nothing had yet happened on this mountain. The same description is used4:27 when Aaron meets Moses there. But the meaning of this seems fully revealed in Ex. 24:13, when Moses and Joshua went up on the “mountain of God” to receive the Law. 

And also the term “staff of God” occurs in our reading (Ex. 4:20) and will occur once more (Ex. 17:9). Of course we know a lot more about this staff than just these two verses since Moses staff mentioned 19 times in Exodus. With it he turned the water of the Nile to blood (7:15-20), summoned the frogs (8:5) and gnats (8:16), brought the thunder and hail (9:23),  the locust (10:13), parted the Red Sea (Ex. 14:16), and finally was raised to give victory of the Amalekites (17:9). 

When I looked into “_insert things here_ of God” I found that this construction occurs over 850 in the Bible. It always denotes a thing especially dedicated to, or belonging to God. It is very thought provoking to consider the things belonging to or dedicated to God:

House of God, 78

Man of God, 73

Kingdom of God, 65

Word of God, 47

Son of God, 43

Ark of God, 33

Spirit of God, 24

Will of God, 23

Grace of God, 20

Wrath of God, 12

Love of God, 11

Children of God, 10

Gospel of God, 8

Church of God, 8

Fear of God, 7

Angels of God, 7

Throne of God, 6

Salvation of God, 3

God’s 4 Chapter Speech To Job

The later chapters of Job are striking to me for two reasons. First, and most obviously, it is by far the longest speech that God Himself makes in the entire Bible, and not be a little bit, but by a lot.

 In the New Testament the direct speeches from God are just the brief announcements of Jesus as His beloved son at His baptism and transfiguration. In the Old Testament direct speech from God is recorded more often, such as speaking to Moses in the burning bush, giving the Ten Commandments in His own voice the very first time they are given and a conversation with Elijah in 1 Kings 19 about the 7,000 who have not bowed to Baal.  But still, any direct speech from God is extraordinary, especially since there is nothing else near this length.

In this long speech (Ch. 38-41) God doesn’t give Job the answer He seeks.  He rebukes Job for his insolence and then He gives him reason to trust God 

38:4,5“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Who set its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it?“

God goes on to ask about the stars, the sea, the clouds, the sunrise, the snow, hail, rain, the constellations, the beasts: goat, ostrich, horse and hawk, the Behemoth and Leviathan. Was any man there to set that up with God?  If no, and obviously it is no, then why ask how He governs the world and does it wrongly. The answer God gave did not tell Job why he suffered, but that a great and wise God knew about it and was ruling the world in a marvelous manner. That the answer Job got, and its one for all of us to remember.

Consider Jesus: God, The True God

Let us continue to “consider Jesus.” (Heb. 3:1) 

1 Jn. 5:19,20 “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” 20 “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know shim who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.” ESV

The last statement of 1 Jn. 5 :20 is a summary and restatement of the truth John had explained at longer length above. Some translations give the restatement as “He is the true God…” and others, “This is the true God…” Some think summary states that the God with us the true one and Jesus His son is the way of eternal life. This is true. Others think this summary states that Jesus Himself is the true God and is the way of eternal life. This is true as well. Which of these senses John means here, you may decide for yourself. 

When John uses the phrase, “The true God” it is to tie belief in Jesus with Jehovah, the living God of in the Old Testament (Ref. 2 Chron. 15:3; Jer. 10:10) as is also done by Jesus Himself and Paul. (Jn. 17:3; 1 Thess. 1:9)  

This great continuity of truth embodied in Jesus is the source of our salvation. He is the true God.

Consider Jesus: God With Us

Let us continue to “consider Jesus.” (Heb. 3:1) 

Matt. 1:22-25  “Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, 23  “BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD, AND SHALL BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.” 24  And Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, 25  and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.”

In this familiar passage, Matthew opens the record of the birth of Jesus with the story of Jesus’ history and a quote from Isaiah 7. The quote from Isaiah sets the life of Jesus from the very start as central to the prophesied plan of God, it explains the highly unusual circumstances of His birth, and establishes Jesus as divine, “God with us.”

Jesus is “God with us,” sharing with us, being us. He was not just “God to us,” showing us God, which He did.  And He was not “God similar to us,” being like us in appearance only.  

Instead, there is a great comfort in the reciprocal nature of God’s appearance among man “with us”. He came as man, and in every relevant way like us, while also being divine in nature and expressing deity here. And “with” us, “for” us, coming to help us.

Consider Jesus: God Manifest In The Flesh

Let us continue to “consider Jesus.” (Heb. 3:1) 

1 Tim. 3:16 “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” KJV

Here is the great mystery of God, that God would come in the flesh. He came as a man to redeem man. He came as God to reveal God to us. 

The scriptures as equally and readily affirm Jesus as God in one passage and man in the next. He’s the son of God and the son of man.  

Jn. 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Rom. 1:3,4  “His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord”

This is a fact hard to explain. The scriptures simply tell us that Mary was overshadowed by the Spirit and through this she conceived. (Ref. Luke 1:35-38) The faith of many has floundered and many heresies have sprung up in trying to explain more than the scriptures affirm and the faithful have always believed: That God was with us in the person of Jesus.

Considering Jesus: God Blessed Forever

Let us continue to “consider Jesus.” (Heb. 3:1) 

Rom. 9:4,5 “Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.”

This proclamation is parallel to the one that Paul opened the books of Romans with. 

Romans 1:3,4  “concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord”

In both of these passages, the line of reasoning is the same. Jesus, who is from the Jews, the descendant of David, according to his fleshly body, is also Divine. And not just slightly elevated, a demi-god, a noble personage, but truly the God, our Lord. He is the one blessed forever. The Jews had already been worshipping Him as God when they worshipped Jehovah in truth, and now we have His person fully known to us and still blessed forever. 

This is the same conclusion that Peter preached and taught as he told people about the work of God that was accomplished in Jesus: “preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)” (Acts 10:36)

Considering Jesus: Jesus is God

Let us continue to “consider Jesus.” (Heb. 3:1) 

John begins his gospel by stating “the Word (Jesus) was with God and the Word was God” (Jn. 1:1). This is a fact that scripture affirms in a variety of interesting claims. 

Early on in his gospel, Matthew tells us of His coming and its meaning. “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” (1:23)

Peter tells us that He is our “God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1:1). This agrees with the prophecy of Isaiah that “your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, Who is called the God of all the earth.” (Isa 54:5)

The apostle Paul declared him to be, “the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.” in Romans 9:5. and the we should all be,  “looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus” in Titus 2:13.

Paul records for us a little poem, likely an early hymn, that tells the whole story of Jesus in a few words. “By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness: He [God] who was revealed in the flesh,/Was vindicated in the Spirit,/Seen by angels,/Proclaimed among the nations,/Believed on in the world,/Taken up in glory.” (1 Tim. 3:16)

As John summarizes for us as revelation was coming to come to a close: “And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.” (1 Jn. 5:20)