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“The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.” — Judges 5:7

Image credit: Meggyn Pomerleau via Unsplash

An interesting fact, the name Deborah in the Hebrew means “bee.” The queen bee is typically the mother of all the bees in a hive, and God’s word is often compared to honey...[1] In time as I was reading Isaiah 54 and a light came on in my head:

“Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear, break forth into singing…For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left, and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited[2].”

Deborah lived out Isaiah 54 in a way, as both picture of Christ’s Church. We are told that Deborah was married in Judges 4:4, but we are not told that she had any children (and indeed it might make her decision to go straight into the warzone with Barak a little bit more questionable if she had small children to look after), yet by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit she proclaims herself to be a mother in Israel who repopulated empty villages. How can this be? By the preaching of the gospel. As we have discussed in prior messages, by preaching and discipling others, we can convert far more disciples than we can physically birth in a lifetime, if the Lord wills.

The best way to study the Bible is by pairing scripture with scripture, “comparing spiritual things with spiritual.[1]” Respectable commentaries on Deborah’s song left me feeling like something was still missing. In these sorts of cases I find the best thing to do is pray for understanding and wait upon the Lord. For difficult passages of scripture just keep reading and praying for wisdom and little by little it will come to you.

Selah.

Scripture References:

[1]Ps 119:103, Ps19:10, Ez [2] 1st Cor 2:13 [3] Is 54:1-3

Two Things We Must Do

In the book of Samuel we see how corruption from within the church bleeds into the greater society.

Take Hophni and Phineas for example, Sons of Eli the priest, who took cuts of the temple sacrifices for themselves and threatened parishioners if they did not comply. They also preyed on women at the doors of the tabernacle and had relations with them.

They corrupted their positions of power and soured the temple rituals for the entire congregation. To make things worse, when Eli the Priest found out, he took no action against his sons.

“Also before they burnt the fat, the priest's servant came, and said to the man that sacrificed, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he will not have sodden flesh of thee, but raw. And if any man said unto him, Let them not fail to burn the fat presently, and then take as much as thy soul desireth; then he would answer him, Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if not, I will take it by force. Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD: for men abhorred the offering of the LORD.”

-I Samuel 2:15-17

The people, now discouraged by the hypocrisy of church administrators, started to look outward to politics rather than upward for salvation. This is a similar scenario today, where church participation is at an all time low and many former churchgoers have been put off by religious corruption.

But instead of holding the line for Christ through repentance and keeping of the sabbath, many professing Christians prefer to spend their time debating which antichrist politician to elect to office next. Until we as a nation put God ahead of men, then we should expect our judaized nation to rage on.

“And ye have this day rejected your God, who himself saved you out of all your adversities and your tribulations; and ye have said unto him, Nay, but set a king over us.”

-I Samuel 10:19

We can elect new presidents into eternity, but absent repentance, we will go deeper and deeper into ruin. For professing Christians, the work has already been done. Our sins, past, present, and future, are forgiven through the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and so we can go on boldly, even in pagan America. Now we call on those who are lapsed in faith, to pick up their crosses and to follow suit.

“For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

-Romans 14:8

To all peoples who consider themselves Christians, to those who have been baptized, to those who have fallen away, to those who have stopped going to church, return now to the Lord your God, repent of your sins, and prepare for battle.

Two Things We Must Do:

1. Get back to church despite the current state of things. Find a church that holds to a Reformed confession of faith and support that church and its people with all of your heart and soul. Seek peace among the brethren.

The church may seem weak and impotent at the moment, but the Lord put us here to fortify the Kingdom, if only with a remnant.

“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” -Romans 12:18

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work." -Exodus 20:8-10

2. Pray. Pray all of the time. Quietly, aloud, in the morning, in the evening, in private, in public, pray for yourself, pray for others. Pray for born-again Christians to get elected. Make your supplications known to the LORD. Stay in communication with your Creator.

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” -James 5:16

When you come to the end of your life and you have to answer for your part in this wicked world, where will you stand in light of God’s creation? What will your heap of belongings avail you in the last day? Will you proclaim the righteousness of Jesus Christ or will you die in your sins?

Praise God Almighty. Amen.

Pemi Trail - Lincoln, NH

Active Remembrance

“When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterward: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt: therefore I command thee to do this thing.” — Deuteronomy 24:21-22

“Only they would that we should remember the poor, the same which I also was forward to do.” — Galatians 2:10

Image Credit: Jonathan Kho Ming Jun via Unsplash creative commons

As I read through Job’s afflictions or Jeremiah’s lamentations, we see some of the most breathtaking proclamations of God’s absolute goodness, justice, and sovereignty. Yet in His infinite goodness he allows the righteous to suffer and the wicked to prosper, at least for a time. “Joseph is a fruitful bough…The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him.” [1] “They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty[2]…”

None suffered more than Christ, “the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit[3]…”

Throughout the books of Moses God calls the people to remember that they were once slaves to oppressive rules in Egypt for around four hundred years! Were those generations who lived and died in obscurity worse sinners than others? We are not told so. They cried out to God but not everyone saw deliverance in their lifetime. It seems that they were persecuted for righteousness’ sake,[4] and God allowed it and preserved it in His Word for his glory and for the sanctification of the people.

The remembrance we are being called to in scripture is not just head-knowledge or intellectual assent, it is calling us to compassion for the suffering of others in our midst that works itself out in acts of kindness and charity. It takes diligence to generate a profit in our labors and faith to leave some of that profit off for the welfare of people we do not necessarily know. But we must do it and actively remember those in need so that “the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands[5].”

It's a commandment with promise brethren!

Selah.

Scripture References: [1] Gen 49:22-23 [2] Ps 69:4 [3] 1st Peter 3:18 [4] Mat 5:10 [5] Deut 24:19