Ezekiel 36
Dilemma of the mountains of Israel verse 1- 3
Also – you son of man – prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say
You mountains of Israel – hear the word of the LORD
Thus says the Lord GOD
BECAUSE the enemy has said against you – Aha
even the ancient high places are our in possession
THEREFORE prophesy and say – thus says the Lord GOD
BECAUSE they have made you desolate
and swallowed you up on every side
that you might be a possession
unto the residue of the heathen
and you are taken up in the lips of talkers
and are an infamy of the people
Solution the anger of the LORD verse 4- 5
THEREFORE – you mountains of Israel
hear the word of the Lord GOD
Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains – hills – rivers – valleys
desolate wastes – cities that are forsaken
which became a prey and derision to the residue
of the heathen that are round about
THEREFORE
thus says the Lord GOD
Surely in the fire of MY jealousy have I spoken
against the residue of the heathen – against all Idumea
which have appointed MY land into their possession
with the joy of all their heart
with despiteful minds
to cast it out for a prey
Solution nations will have their own shame verse 6- 7
Prophesy THEREFORE concerning the land of Israel and say to
the mountains – to the hills – to the rivers – to the valleys
Thus says the Lord GOD
BEHOLD – I have spoken in MY jealousy and in MY fury
BECAUSE you have borne the shame of the heathen
THEREFORE thus says the Lord God
I have lifted up MINE hand
Surely the heathen that are about you
they shall bear their shame
LORD will bless the future of Promised Land verse 8- 12
BUT you – O mountains of Israel
you shall shoot forth your branches
and yield your fruit to MY people of Israel
for they are at hand to come
For – BEHOLD – I am for you – and I will turn to you
and you shall be tilled and sown
and I will multiply men upon you – all the house of Israel
even all of it – and the cities shall be inhabited
and the wastes shall be builded
and I will multiply upon you man and beast
and they shall increase and bring fruit
and I will settle you after your old estates
and will do better unto you that at your beginnings
AND you SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD
Yea – I will cause men to walk upon you – even MY people Israel
and they shall possess you
and you shall be their inheritance
and you shall no more henceforth bereave them of men
LORD will cause Israel to not be devoured again verse 13- 15
Thus says the Lord GOD
BECAUSE they say to you – You land devour up men
and have bereaved your nations
THEREFORE you shall devour men no more
neither bereave your nations any more
says the Lord GOD
Neither will I cause men to hear in you
the shame of the heathen any more
neither shall you bear the reproach
of the people any more
neither shall you cause your nations
to fall any more
says the Lord GOD
LORD describes past sins of Israel verse 16- 20
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me
saying
Son of man – when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land
they defiled it by their own way and by their doings
their way was before ME as the uncleanness of
a removed woman
WHEREFORE I poured MY fury upon them for the blood that they
had shed upon the land and for their idols wherewith they
had polluted it and I scattered them among the heathen
and they were dispersed through the countries
according to their way and according to
their doings I judge them
And WHEN they entered unto the heathen – whither they went
they profaned MY holy name – when they said to them
These are the people of the LORD
and are gone forth out of HIS land
LORD going to restore only for HIS name’s sake verse 21-23
BUT I had pity for MINE holy name
which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen
whither they went
THEREFORE say to the house of Israel
Thus says the Lord GOD
I do not this for your sakes – O house of Israel
BUT for MINE holy name’s sake
which you have profaned among the heathen
whither you went
I will sanctify MY great name
which was profaned among the heathen
which you have profaned in the midst of them
And the heathen SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD
says the Lord GOD
when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes
LORD going to Israel a new heart verse 24- 26
FOR I will take you from among the heathen
and gather you out of all countries
and will bring you into your own land
THEN will I sprinkle clean water upon you – and ye shall be clean
from all your filthiness – and from all your idols
will I cleanse you
AND a NEW HEART also will I give you
and a NEW SPIRIT will I put within you
and I will take away the STONY HEART
out of your flesh
and I will give you an HEART OF FLESH
Holy Spirit is going to indwell them in the future verse 27- 28
AND I will put MY Spirit within you
and cause you to walk in MY statutes
and you shall keep MY judgments and do them
You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers
and you shall be MY people – and I will be your God
Israel will realize their sins after they
see future blessings verse 29- 32
I will save you from all your uncleanness – I will call for the corn
and will increase it – and lay no famine upon you
I will multiply the fruit of the tree – and the increase of the field
that you shall receive no more reproach of famine
among the heathen
THEN you shall remember your own evil ways
and your doings that were not good
and shall loathe yourselves
in your own sight for your
iniquities and for your abominations
NOT for your sakes do I this – says the Lord GOD
be it known unto you
be ashamed and confounded for your own ways
O house of Israel
Second Garden of Eden verse 33- 36
Thus say the Lord GOD
In the day that I shall have cleansed you
from all your iniquities
I will also cause you to dwell in the cities
and the wastes shall be builded
And the desolate land shall be tilled
whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by
AND they shall say
This land that was desolate is become like a garden of Eden
and the waste and desolate and ruined cities
are become fenced
and are inhabited
THEN the heathen that are left round about you
shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places
and plant that that was desolate
I the LORD have spoken it – and I will do it
LORD will answer prayers regarding these prophesies verse 37- 38
Thus says the Lord GOD
I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel
to do it for them
I will increase them with men like a flock as the holy flock
as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts
SO shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men
and they SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 3 Therefore prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people. (1681 “infamy” [dibbah] means whispering, defamation, evil report, unfavorable report of spies, slander, or bad reputation)
DEVOTION: Our words do hurt. If someone says anything about you it does really hurt. Too often we think it is fun to laugh at someone else. That is never true.
The children of Israel were going through a very rough time. It was their own fault because they choose to not obey the LORD. However, their neighbors didn’t have to laugh at them and say things about them that wasn’t very nice.
We can be the same way today. We can say things about people who are going through a rough time and hurt them even more. That is not what the LORD wants from those who follow HIM. The other nations were not following HIM but HE still didn’t like it and told them that they were going to get everything Israel received and more.
What would happen if that was true today of those who are followers of the LORD that gossip about other people? The LORD continually instructs HIS followers to watch their words. The hurt we cause others could come back on us.
So we should not join a crowd that is saying bad things about others. If someone wants to tell you a secret that is going to hurt other people, we should walk away. Don’t give them someone to tell their hurtful things too and maybe they will learn not to try to share them again.
The nations that surrounded Israel had a good time putting Israel down. They saw what happened to them and rejoiced. They had parties over their troubles.
God had judged them for their iniquities. They were not honoring HIM and HE only allowed that to take place for a time period before HE sent judgment.
We are constantly reminded of the long-suffering of the LORD with HIS people. They seemed to get away with sin for a long time and the LORD didn’t seem to care from their perspective.
From HIS perspective HE was giving them a season to repent of their sins and turn again to follow HIM. This didn’t happen and it was no surprise to HIM. Remember that HE is omniscient and HE doesn’t live in time so HE knows the beginning from the end of their actions.
It is hard for us to comprehend what is happening in the life of Israel. If God knows they are not going to repent, why doesn’t HE just send judgment right away?
Remember that HE has a purpose for everything to happen. HE was going to also watch the reaction of the other nations. They were ones who liked to cause more problems for the Israelites.
They used the judgment of Israel as something to gloat about. That was wrong because they were going to learn that gossiping or talking about Israel in a negative way was going to cause the LORD to judge them.
The heathen gave Israel an evil report. The LORD used the evil report to tell Israel that they were going to be blessed in the future more than even in the present.
Today Christianity is being made fun of by those in high places and in many nations. The promise to Israel is future here and our eternity blessings are future. HE is going to deal with those who dishonor HIM and HIS people. Therefore have HOPE!!!
CHALLENGE: If you are someone who enjoys hurting other people by saying things you shouldn’t say. STOP and confess it to Jesus and don’t do it again.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 5 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey. (7589 “despiteful” [sha’at] means contempt, disdain, a lack of respect, malice, pride, arrogance, scorn, or to push aside.)
DEVOTION: Sometimes we think we have committed a sin that God can never forgive. Here we find that the LORD promises the children of Israel that HE always want them to have hope in HIM.
HE lists their sins that they had committed against HIM, for which, they are receiving judgment. However, HE also says that HE will sprinkle clean water on them. That speaks of hope in the future.
As a nation they were going into judgment but as a nation one day they were going to be restored to a time of blessing. As individuals we can go through the same process.
God is willing to give us a fresh start every morning. HIS mercies are new every morning for the children of Israel they are new every morning for us. If we understand the hope we have in Christ we should be able to rejoice.
No sin is unforgiveable expect never becoming a follower of the LORD. Once we become a follower all sins can be forgiven. There may be consequences but HE is there to help us though the consequences.
Never think it is over. The only time it is over is when we die until then there is hope. Don’t give up on the cleansing power of the LORD. People might give up on you but the LORD is not human, HE is Sovereign!!!
CHALLENGE: Be more concerned with what the LORD thinks of you rather than what others think of you. HE is the one we answer to not them!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 23 And I will sanctify MY great name which was profaned among the heathen, which you have profaned in the midst of them, and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, says the lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. (2490 “ profaned” [chalal] means to be defiled, to put into use, to be violated, to perforate, pierce through, desecrated, make common, or polluted)
DEVOTION: The children of Israel had let the LORD down by they way they treated HIM and HIS worship. They thought that they could worship any false god just like they worshiped the LORD. This was not pleasing to the LORD.
HE had to judge them for their actions. HE had to keep HIS name HOLY. HE had to show the world that HE was not just like any other false god that they worshiped.
Today we find that even believers are not honoring the LORD in their actions and words. They can use HIS name in vain and still claim to know the LORD. They can live like the rest of the world without obeying the commands given in the Bible for the way of living that they are supposed to live to please HIM in front of the world.
Too often people think that Christianity is just another religion while the Bible teaches that it is not just another religion that man has made up but the ONLY true worshiping of the only true God that created the world.
Our actions speak louder than our words, just like the actions of the children of Israel spoke louder than their words in relations to the God of the Bible.
God wants our words and actions to show that HE is the only TRUE GOD who created the world and sent HIS SON JESUS into the world to provide the only way to escape form hell for eternity.
CHALLENGE: Are believer today acting any better than the children of Israel in the Old Testament? Can those around Christians see a difference in their actions compared to the actions of those who are not believers?
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: 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. (1320 “flesh” [basar] means the body itself, kindred, blood – relations, or all living things.)
DEVOTION: The children of Israel deserved judgment. The people around were commenting on the fact that they were the chosen people of God and yet the land was desolate.
The LORD told Ezekiel that HE was going to bring the people back and forgive them of their sins. Why? Because of HIS holy name! HE was bringing them back to bring glory to HIS name. They were not doing it. They were causing it to be dishonored. At present, they have a stony heart. This stony heart will not listen to the LORD. It will not obey the LORD. It will not yield to the LORD. The LORD needs to take this heart away from the people. This heart is only taken away from the people through captivity. They needed to learn that they had to depend on the LORD alone.
However, when HE brings them back in the future there will be a change. HE is going to do something new. HE is going to give them a NEW HEART. HE is going to put HIS Holy Spirit within them. HE is going to cause the land to be fruitful. HE is going to make the land like the Garden of Eden.
This has not happened yet. HE says it will, so it is still going to happen in the future. Many think the time period talked about is the Millennium. When will the Messiah reign in Jerusalem? When will the devil will be in chains? When will people live longer lives? It will be a time of blessing.
We need to learn the same lesson. Sometimes things don’t work the way we think they should work and that is just the LORD telling us that the timing isn’t right yet. We have some more lessons to learn from HIM. The children of Israel had to wait seventy years before they would come out of their captivity. We sometimes find it hard to wait a day for the LORD to work.
Our problem is that we want the LORD to work in our timing. HE DOESN’T!!! The LORD is going to take the stony heart out of HIS people and give them a HEART of FLESH. Once we are in tune and waiting for the LORD to work, HE gives us back a heart of flesh. We are frail and HE knows it. At the point of salvation, we received a NEW HEART and a NEW SPIRIT within us. Can we wait for HIM to give us more blessings? HE does it to give glory to HIS name!!!
CHALLENGE: Today we have a new heart in our body as we yield ourselves to Christ in salvation. Our heart of stone is removed. We are no longer blinded to the things of the LORD.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
I will be inquired of by the house of Israel verse 37
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
Solemn feasts verse 38
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Word of the LORD verse 1, 16
Thus says the Lord GOD verse 2- 7, 13, 14, 22, 33
Word of the Lord GOD verse 4
Statutes verse 27
Judgments verse 27
I the LORD have spoken it and do it verse 36
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 11, 16, 20, 23, 36, 38
Lord – Adonai (Owner, Master) verse 2- 7, 13- 15, 22, 23, 32, 33, 37
GOD – Jehovah verse 2–7, 13–15, 22, 23, 32, 33, 37
Lord GOD verse 2-7, 13-15, 22, 23, 32, 33, 37
Fire of jealousy verse 5, 6
Fury verse 6, 18
I have lifted up MY hand verse 7
MY people verse 8, 12, 28
I am for you (Israel) verse 9
I will turn to you and you shall be tilled and sown verse 9
I will multiply verse 10, 11, 30, 37
I will settle verse 11
I am the LORD verse 11, 38
I will cause men to not hear in you the shame
of the heathen any more, neither shall
you cause YOUR nations to fall
any more verse 15
I scattered Israel among the heathen verse 19
Judge verse 19
I had pity for MINE holy name verse 21
Holy name verse 22, 23
I shall be sanctified in Israel before the heathen
my holy name verse 23
Name profaned among the heathen verse 23
Heathen shall know that I am the LORD verse 23
I will sprinkle clean water on Israel verse 25
I will cleanse you (Israel) verse 25, 33
I will give Israel a new heart and new spirit verse 26
I will take away the stony heart out of your
flesh verse 26
I will give you an heart of flesh verse 26
I will put MY Spirit within you and cause
you to walk in MY statutes verse 27
You shall keep MY judgments and do them verse 27
I will be your God verse 28
God – Elohim (Creator, Sovereign, Plural name) verse 28
I will save verse 29
I will call for the corn and will increase it and
lay no famine on you verse 29
I will multiply the fruit if the tree and the
increase of the field verse 30
I will cause you to dwell in cities and the
wastes shall be built verse 33
I will build and plant verse 36
I the LORD have spoken it and I will do it verse 36
I will increase them (Israel) with men like
a flock verse 37
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Holy Spirit within people of God verse 27
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Enemy verse 2, 3
Made Israel desolate
Swallowed up on every side
Heathen shall bear the shame verse 3- 7, 15, 19- 24, 30, 36
Idumea verse 5
Garden of Eden verse 35
Heathen know the LORD verse 36
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
High places verse 2
Heathen verse 3- 7, 15, 19-24, 30, 36
Lips of talkers verse 3
Infamy verse 3
Despiteful minds verse 5
Shame verse 6, 7, 15
Uncleanness verse 17, 29
Shed blood verse 18
Idols verse 18, 25
Polluted the land verse 18
Their way verse 19, 31
Profaned the name of the LORD verse 20- 23
Filthiness verse 25
Stony heart verse 26
Evil ways verse 31
Doings that were not good verse 31
Iniquities verse 31, 33
Abominations verse 31
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Prophesy verse 1, 3, 6
Know the LORD verse 11, 38
Inheritance verse 12, 17, 28
Sanctified verse 23, 29
Clean water verse 25
Cleansed verse 25, 33
New heart verse 26
New spirit verse 26
Heart of flesh verse 26
Walk in LORD’S statutes verse 27
Keep LORD’S judgments verse 27
No more reproach verse 30
Holy flock verse 38
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Son of man = Ezekiel verse 1, 17
Prophesy
Mountains of Israel verse 1, 4, 8
Taken up in the lips of talkers verse 3
Land of Israel verse 6, 24
MY people Israel verse 8, 11, 20, 28
House of Israel verse 10, 17, 21, 22, 32, 37
Profaned holy name of LORD among
the heathen verse 21, 22
Defiled the land by their own way and
by their own doing verse 17
You shall be clean verse 25
You shall keep MY judgments and do them verse 27
You shall dwell in the land that I gave
to your fathers verse 28
You shall be MY people verse 28
You shall receive no more reproach of
famine among the heathen verse 30
Be ashamed and confounded for your own
ways verse 32
Desolate lands shall be tilled verse 34
Land will become like the garden of Eden verse 35
Cities will become fenced and inhabited verse 35
Holy flock verse 38
Jerusalem verse 38
Waste cities will be filled with flocks of men verse 38
They shall know that I am the LORD verse 38
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
Nevertheless, the Lord would not leave them unpunished for their “malicious talk and slander” (36:3), their “scorn” (36:6, 15; cf. 36:4; 35:12–13), or for the “glee” (or “rejoicing”) and “malice in their hearts” (36:5; cf. “hostility,” “bloodshed,” “anger,” “jealousy,” and “hatred” in 35:5–6, 11) with which they acted. Most important, he would not allow them to retain possession of his land but would return it to his people, “the whole house of Israel” (36:10; cf. 35:15). (Cooper, L. E. (1994). Ezekiel (Vol. 17, p. 312). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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The Lord vindicates his righteousness and his people. He had declared in the Abrahamic covenant that he would bless those who bless Israel, but he also would curse those who curse his people (Gen 12:3). Therefore God declared that Israel had borne enough scorn and shame from the nations. His fiery jealousy would come against those who had joyously and scornfully invaded Israel for spoils (vv.5–6). As the nations had brought shame on Israel, so he would cause them to bear shame and disgrace. The Lord emphatically “lifted up his hand” against the nations in a symbol of strength and wrath (v.7). He would exonerate his people. (Alexander, R. H. (1986). Ezekiel. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel (Vol. 6, p. 918). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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36:1–7. God promised to punish Israel’s enemies for their sin in hounding, slandering (v. 3), plundering (vv. 4–5), rejoicing over, and having malice against Israel. Therefore God swore with uplifted hand (a gesture accompanying an oath; cf. 20:5, 15, 23; 47:14) that the nations who had scorned her (36:6) will also suffer scorn. Surrounding nations seemed to have triumphed, but their victory was merely temporary. They would suffer for their sin. (Dyer, C. H. (1985). Ezekiel. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1296). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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But the Lord knew what the enemy was saying and doing, and He determined that there would be serious consequences because of their decisions. That’s why you find the word “therefore” six times in this section (vv. 3–7, 14). First, the fire of God’s jealous love would burn against Israel’s enemies because of the way they had treated His people and His land (vv. 4–6; Lev. 25:23). He even took an oath (Ezek. 36:7) that the nations would be repaid for the way they treated the Jews. They had taunted and ridiculed the Jews, but now they themselves would be put to shame. (Wiersbe, W. W. (2000). Be reverent (p. 158). Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor/Cook Communications.)
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Ver. 5. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, &c.] Because these Heathens have acted such an unkind and cruel part to Israel: surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken; in his fierce wrath and hot displeasure, resenting the ill usage of his people; hot with indignation against their enemies, having a fervent zeal for his own glory, and an affectionate concern for the good of his people. It is in the original text in the form of an oath, if I have not spoken, &c.; let me be reckoned a liar, or not God; believe me that I have spoken, and in this warm manner; and have not only foretold in prophecy, and threatened the destruction of these nations, but have resolved and determined upon it in my own mind. So the Targum, “if I have not in the fire of my vengeance decreed in my word:” against the residue of the Heathen, and against all Idumea; or Edom; the Edomites, even all of them, who of all the Heathen were the most inveterate and implacable enemies of the Jews, though related to them, and are therefore particularly mentioned as the objects of the divine vengeance: the reason follows, which have appointed my land into their possession; the land where his chosen people dwelt, and which he chose for them, and gave unto them; the land where he himself dwelt, and granted his presence; where his temple was, and he was worshipped. So the Targum, “the land of the house of my majesty.” Now this the Lord took ill at their hands, and resented, that they should lay out this land for themselves, and determine upon it as a possession and inheritance of theirs. With the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey; with the utmost joy they joined Nebuchadnezzar’s army when he invaded the land of Judea and besieged Jerusalem, out of pure malice and spite to the people of the Jews, in order to eject them from the possession of their land, that it might become a prey to them; see Psal. 137:7. Obad. ver. 12, 13, 14. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 6, p. 185). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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FROM MY READING:
With so many things coming back in style, I can’t wait until morals, respect and intelligence become a trend again. (Denzel Washington)
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1 Kings 1
God grants Solomon wisdom.
INSIGHT
Solomon’s heart is manifested by the purity of his prayer. He could have asked for a long life; he could have asked for riches and honor. But instead Solomon asks simply for wisdom. What an honest and unselfish prayer.
Being honest with God is not as easy as we might think. We all tend to live life with masks on-behind which the real “us” hides-to make a better impression on people.
How foolish! God sees behind the mask-as do most people. We can learn from Solomon. God is pleased with honest, transparent prayers. (Quiet Walk)
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REDISCOVERING THE CENTRAL TRUTHS OF THE GOSPEL
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure. 2 Timothy 2:19
Without a single exception it is the rediscovery of the cardinal doctrines of the Christian faith that has led ultimately to revival. There is always a preliminary to revival. It appears to come suddenly, and in a sense it does. But if you look carefully into the history, you will always find that there was something going on quietly, there was a preliminary, a preparation unobserved by people. And the preparation, invariably, has been a rediscovery of these grand and glorious central truths.
Take, for instance, the history of the Protestant Reformation. It was only after Martin Luther had suddenly seen the grand truth of justification by faith alone that the Protestant revival came. It was getting back to that truth, in the epistles to the Galatians and the Romans, that prepared the way for the outpouring of the Spirit. It happened in this country and in every country where the Reformation spread.
That also happened in the eighteenth century. There you had that deadness. Bishop Butler wrote his book The Analogy of Religion, and the “Boyle lectures” were started in an attempt to counter this rationalism, but it availed nothing. Then suddenly the revival seemed to come. Whitefield, the Wesleys, and others like them appeared. Yes, but how did revival come through these men? Well, the story is well-known. What really made it possible for John Wesley to have the experience he had in Aldersgate Street, when his heart was “strangely warmed” by the Holy Spirit, was something that happened three months earlier. He had the experience in Aldersgate Street on May 24, 1738, but in March 1738 his eyes had been opened to the truth of justification by faith only. The famous conversation, on the journey between London and Oxford, between Peter Bülow and Wesley was all about justification by faith alone. It was only after he had seen that, and it had gripped him, that the Holy Spirit ca me upon him and began to use him.
A Thought to Ponder: There is always a preliminary to revival. (From Revival, pp. 35-36, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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The Healing Ministry of Jesus
“When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” (Matthew 8:16-17)
The earthly healing ministries of Jesus are here said to have fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 53:4: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.” The Hebrew words used do allow this New Testament application, so this passage does, indeed, predict the healing work of the Messiah in His earthly ministry. Isaiah 53:5-6 then predicts the substitutionary atoning work of the Messiah, concluding with the statement: “The LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
The order is important. The healing ministry preceded the atonement, just as the prophecy of healing preceded the prophecy of Christ’s atoning work. This means that particular healings cannot be a part of the atonement itself. The reason for the earthly healing work of Christ was “that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins” (Matthew 9:6).
The saving work of Christ includes deliverance from the death penalty for sin in one’s past life, the power of sin in this present life, and the very presence of sin in the future life. Our great salvation has already delivered us from the eternal torments of the second death (Revelation 20:14; 21:8), from the defeating power of physical infirmities in ourpresent bodies, and from the very presence of sickness and pain in the future. In any case, there is no question that God is well able in particular situations right now either to provide direct healing in answer to prayer or sufficient grace to meet whatever physical need we have in a way that honors Him (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Don’t Waste Your Cancer John Piper
Note: This article originally appeared in 2006. John Piper no longer has cancer.
I write this on the eve of prostate surgery. I believe in God’s power to heal—by miracle and by medicine. I believe it is right and good to pray for both kinds of healing. Cancer is not wasted when it is healed by God. He gets the glory and that is why cancer exists. So not to pray for healing may waste your cancer. But healing is not God’s plan for everyone. And there are many other ways to waste your cancer. I am praying for myself and for you that we will not waste this pain.
1. You will waste your cancer if you do not believe it is designed for you by God.
It will not do to say that God only uses our cancer but does not design it. What God permits, he permits for a reason. And that reason is his design. If God foresees molecular developments becoming cancer, he can stop it or not. If he does not, he has a purpose. Since he is infinitely wise, it is right to call this purpose a design. Satan is real and causes many pleasures and pains. But he is not ultimate. So when he strikes Job with boils (Job 2:7), Job attributes it ultimately to God (2:10) and the inspired writer agrees: “They . . . comforted him for all the evil that the LORD had brought upon him” (Job 42:11). If you don’t believe your cancer is designed for you by God, you will waste it.
2. You will waste your cancer if you believe it is a curse and not a gift.
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). “There is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel” (Numbers 23:23). “The LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11).
3. You will waste your cancer if you seek comfort from your odds rather than from God.
The design of God in your cancer is not to train you in the rationalistic, human calculation of odds. The world gets comfort from their odds. Not Christians. Some count their chariots (percentages of survival) and some count their horses (side effects of treatment), but we trust in the name of the LORD our God (Psalm 20:7). God’s design is clear from 2 Corinthians 1:9, “We felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.” The aim of God in your cancer (among a thousand other good things) is to knock props out from under our hearts so that we rely utterly on him.
4. You will waste your cancer if you refuse to think about death.
We will all die, if Jesus postpones his return. Not to think about what it will be like to leave this life and meet God is folly. Ecclesiastes 7:2 says, “It is better to go to the house of mourning [a funeral] than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.” How can you lay it to heart if you won’t think about it? Psalm 90:12says, “Teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” Numbering your days means thinking about how few there are and that they will end. How will you get a heart of wisdom if you refuse to think about this? What a waste, if we do not think about death.
5. You will waste your cancer if you think that “beating” cancer means staying alive rather than cherishing Christ.
Satan’s and God’s designs in your cancer are not the same. Satan designs to destroy your love for Christ. God designs to deepen your love for Christ. Cancer does not win if you die. It wins if you fail to cherish Christ. God’s design is to wean you off the breast of the world and feast you on the sufficiency of Christ. It is meant to help you say and feel, “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” And to know that therefore, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 3:8; 1:21).
6. You will waste your cancer if you spend too much time reading about cancer and not enough time reading about God.
It is not wrong to know about cancer. Ignorance is not a virtue. But the lure to know more and more and the lack of zeal to know God more and more is symptomatic of unbelief. Cancer is meant to waken us to the reality of God. It is meant to put feeling and force behind the command, “Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD” (Hosea 6:3). It is meant to waken us to the truth of Daniel 11:32, “The people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.” It is meant to make unshakable, indestructible oak trees out of us: “His delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers” (Psalm 1:2). What a waste of cancer if we read day and night about cancer and not about God.
7. You will waste your cancer if you let it drive you into solitude instead of deepen your relationships with manifest affection.
When Epaphroditus brought the gifts to Paul sent by the Philippian church he became ill and almost died. Paul tells the Philippians, “He has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill” (Philippians 2:26-27). What an amazing response! It does not say they were distressed that he was ill, but that he was distressed because they heard he was ill. That is the kind of heart God is aiming to create with cancer: a deeply affectionate, caring heart for people. Don’t waste your cancer by retreating into yourself.
8. You will waste your cancer if you grieve as those who have no hope.
Paul used this phrase in relation to those whose loved ones had died: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). There is a grief at death. Even for the believer who dies, there is temporary loss—loss of body, and loss of loved ones here, and loss of earthly ministry. But the grief is different—it is permeated with hope. “We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Don’t waste your cancer grieving as those who don’t have this hope.
9. You will waste your cancer if you treat sin as casually as before.
Are your besetting sins as attractive as they were before you had cancer? If so you are wasting your cancer. Cancer is designed to destroy the appetite for sin. Pride, greed, lust, hatred, unforgiveness, impatience, laziness, procrastination—all these are the adversaries that cancer is meant to attack. Don’t just think of battling against cancer. Also think of battling with cancer. All these things are worse enemies than cancer. Don’t waste the power of cancer to crush these foes. Let the presence of eternity make the sins of time look as futile as they really are. “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?” (Luke 9:25).
10. You will waste your cancer if you fail to use it as a means of witness to the truth and glory of Christ.
Christians are never anywhere by divine accident. There are reasons for why we wind up where we do. Consider what Jesus said about painful, unplanned circumstances: “They will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness” (Luke 21:12 -13). So it is with cancer. This will be an opportunity to bear witness. Christ is infinitely worthy. Here is a golden opportunity to show that he is worth more than life. Don’t waste it.
Remember you are not left alone. You will have the help you need. “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
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In his Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, D.Martyn Lloyd-Jones give us this powerful insight into the nature of true repentance: Repentance means that you realize that you are a guilty, vile sinner in the presence of God, that you deserve the wrath and punishment of God, that you are hell-bound. It means that you begin to realize that this thing called sin is in you, that you long to get rid of it, and that you turn your back on it in every shape and form. You renounce the world whatever the cost, the world in its mind and outlook as well as its practice, and you deny yourself, and take up the cross and go after Christ.” (pg 171-2 ) (Christ’s Call TO REFORM the Church by John MacArthur)
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