Imperatives for God’s Followers

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require 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 keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord which I am commanding you today for your good.  Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.  Yet the Lord set His heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day.  Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.  For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.” –Deuteronomy 10:12-17 (ESV).

Imperative is defined as “entreaty, command, exhortation.”  In this focal passage from Deuteronomy, God gives five strong imperatives:  fear the Lord, love Him, serve Him, walk in His ways, and keep (obey) His commandments.  Note the progression of these exhortations:  The first is to fear the Lord; recognizing His reverence and holiness is paramount to fulfilling the remainder of the entreaties.  Next comes the command to love Him.  Whom we love, we honor and respect.  We love Him because He first loved us (I John 4:9). Next, we serve Him; no half-hearted allegiance, but “with all your heart and all your soul.”  Next comes obedience, keeping His statutes and commandments.  Moreover, He reminds us that these actions on the part of God’s followers are “for your good.” 

Then comes a wonderful reminder of Who is giving these imperatives:  God, maker and sustainer of heaven and earth and all therein; the loving Father of us all who called and ordained our forefathers for a special service and continued the line through us.  A further imperative:  “circumcise, therefore, the foreskin of your heart.” The original physical circumcision of all males was part of the covenant between God and Abraham and all of Abraham’s descendants (Genesis 17).  Here we are asked to cut away all the stubbornness and rebellious thoughts and actions that prevent the heart from trusting and loving God.  This is an intentional spiritual exercise to cleanse and purify the heart; but at the same time it is beyond our human capacity to accomplish.  A change in the heart is wrought by faith and is the work of the Holy Spirit who woos and invites the individual to turn to God.  Then cleansing comes, not through an outward act, not through good works, but by the change in the heart brought about by God in response to faith.

Today many will go to houses of worship throughout our land to call upon the name of the Lord.  We are reminiscent of the Psalmist’s adulation when he said, “I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord” (Psalm 122:1).  Statistics of regular church attendance in America do not coincide with those who state they believe in God.  Putting other activities ahead of worship in a corporate body can easily distract us from that joyous intention the Psalmist declared, the joy at gathering at the house of the Lord.  If you are reading this, and have allowed personal interests, seeking after pleasure or entertainment, or other distractions to rob you of the joy of church attendance, perhaps now is a time to renew your vows to “neglect not to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25).  At this crucial time of crossroads in our nation and in our world, we need to meet together to worship, pray and be instructed in God’s Word.

Prayer.  God, may we seriously heed these imperatives given so long ago to Your people.  They are still needful and applicable today as we prepare ourselves to stand firmly for the right.  Amen.

“Yahweh Tsidkenu”—The Lord Our Righteousness

“Behold the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.  In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely.  And this is the name by which He will be called:  ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’”-Joshua 23:5-6.

“A Branch out of the stem of David” was one of the most acclaimed Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament.  It is no wonder that when Jesus came to earth and His followers began to claim him as the promised Messiah, they expected Him to overthrow Roman rule and set up a kingdom of righteousness and justice and quell the reign of oppression.  Jeremiah recognized that the promised king would be “Yahweh Tsidkenu”—or “The Lord our Righteousness.”  God had a larger plan than just for the nations of Judah and Israel.  “The Lord our Righteousness” would be for all people who acknowledged the Messiah and attuned to His rule of righteousness.  But the Kingdom is not of this world.  It is in the hearts of men and women and children who truly recognize Jesus as Lord of Lord and King of Kings.  This was reinforced, as given in the angel’s announcement to Mary at the time of her conception:  “”And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.  And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. (Luke 1:30-33).  It was seen  in Matthew 2:2: when wise men from the East came to bow before Jesus: “Where is He who has been born king of the Jews?  For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”  When Jesus called Nathanael to be a disciple, he accepted with these words:  “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel” (Luke 2:1:49).  Jesus replied to Nathanael:  “Truly, truly I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man” (Luke 1:51).  Nathanael lived to see Jesus’ prophetic words come true, for he gathered with the other believers at the ascension of Christ back into heaven after His mission to earth was finished. 

The greatest news about the “Branch out of the stem of David” who is “the righteousness of God” is that we have His righteousness credited to our account:  “For our sake He made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).  Jesus imputed (credited) His righteousness to our account.  This is justification by Him through our faith for “we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes we are healed” (1 Peter 2:24b).  And under God’s saving grace made possible through faith in Jesus Christ, our sins and iniquities are not only forgiven but they are remembered no more: “I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.  Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin” (Hebrews 10:17-18).  One day He will come again in His glory to receive us unto Himself forever.  Praise be to God!

‘Turn to Me and Be Saved’ God Pleads

“Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, you survivors of the nations!  They have no knowledge who carry about their wooden idols, and keep on praying to a god that cannot save.  Declare and present your case; let them take counsel together!  Who told this long ago?  Who declared it of old?  Was it not I, the Lord?  And there is no other god besides me, a righteous God and a Savior, there is none besides me.  Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!  For I am God, and there is no other.  By myself I have sworn; from my mouth has gone out in righteousness a word that shall not return:  To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.”-Isaiah 45:20-23 (ESV).

This compelling  passage in Isaiah is predictive prophecy.  In chapter 45 of Isaiah, the prophet is forthseeing that Cyrus, king of Persia, will conquer Babylon where the Israelites were in bondage and exile.  The prophecy was written years before the actual historical events predicted.  Isaiah began to prophesy in 740 B. C., the year that the honored and aged good King Uzziah died as recorded in Isaiah 6.  Cyrus began to rule in Medio-Persia about 550 B. C.  His famous decree which we read about in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 and Ezra 1:1-4 set the captives in Babylon free to return to their own countries.  Among them were the exiled Israelites.  By the best computation of history, this restoration occurred in the year 539 B. C.  They had been taken captive in 587 B. C.  The Israelites were allowed to return to rebuild the Temple and the city of Jerusalem.  Cyrus also restored some of the treasures of the Temple taken in exile.  Ironically, some of the Jews, who had fared rather well in Babylonian captivity, did not want to return to war-ravaged Judah.  From those staying in Babylon, Cyrus exacted a tax to help finance the return and the rebuilding.

In today’s focus passage, Isaiah 45: 20-23, Isaiah is consoling his discouraged people in exile.  He first asks them to assemble together to hear the word of the Lord.  It is important for believers to assemble.  Hebrews 10:25 admonishes that we should not “forsake the assembling of ourselves together...and so much so as you see the day (of the Lord) approaching.”Isaiah reminded the exiles that the people who worshiped ‘wooden idols’ had no knowledge of the true God and those they called gods could not save.  “There is none beside me” declares God, “a righteous God and a Savior” (v. 21).  But notice the invitation extended through Isaiah from the one true God:  “Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!...To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance.” (vv. 22, 23)

Josephus, Jewish historian in his Jewish Antiquities, 11:5-7)  records that when Cyrus the king became cognizant of the prophecy written by Isaiah years before his reign began, he was very strongly impressed to follow the prophecy and fulfill it.  In the providence of God, a pagan emperor became the “shepherd” of the Israelites and allowed them to be restored to their land.  “I equip you, though you do not know me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides me.  I am the Lord, and there is no other.”  (Isaiah 45:5b-6).  We stand, centuries later, in a troubled time in our own nation.  Many deny the sovereignty of God and want vestiges of “one nation under God,” and “in God we trust” removed from usage.  What hope does the predictive prophecy of Isaiah hold for us today who see our nation departing from its stand as a nation “blessed…whose God is the Lord”? (Psalm 33:12).  As Isaiah of old tried to encourage his people and remind them of God’s promises, so we need a major return to the God who holds all nations within His own power.  We cannot forget God  and His statutes and principles.  In every age and nation they hold true.  We know for surety that one day “every knee shall bow and every tongue swear allegiance” to God.  Until that “terrible day of the Lord” when He pours out His judgment, we still have opportunity to turn to Him in confession and allegiance.  The plea made by Isaiah in his day is a paean cry for our day:  “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth!  For I am God, and there is no other”  (Isaiah 45:22).

Practical Advice for Christians

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” –Hebrews 10:22-25 (ESV).

These verses on living out the Christian faith are set within the discussion of the former priestly way of offering sacrifices for sin. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that “once for all” Christ offered the supreme sacrifice for sin (See Hebrews 10:10). We know assuredly that we do not have to provide sacrifice for our sins because of the loving gift of our Lord and Savior. He has made a way for us to “enter the holy place.” We can enter boldly into the presence of God. The Holy Spirit bears witness of these eternal truths to us: “And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds;’ then He says, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’” (Hebrews 10:15-17).

After assuring us that we indeed are in position, through Christ’s sacrifice, to approach God, the writer of Hebrews then gives practical advice (or exhortations) for Christians. It might be well for us to look at these as a Christian’s “to do” list:

(1) Draw near. In this drawing near to God for worship, we come in confession, with hearts ‘sprinkled clean,’ and our consciences cleared before God.

(2) Hold fast. This indicates that we should not allow doubts to weaken our faith. My pastor from my early years as a Christian, Rev. Claude Boynton, used to admonish us, “Know what you believe and why you believe it.” “He who promised is faithful.” We don’t have to doubt that what Jesus tells us is true; He is faithful and He is our anchor. Therefore, “hold fast.”

(3) Stir up each other. We have a responsibility to each other in the Christian fellowship. Stimulating each other to love and good works is seeing beyond ourselves and our immediate needs. In our church we have an intercessory prayer ministry that keeps us informed of prayer concerns. We have monthly missions emphases that stimulate us to reach out to others who need our helping hands. Stimulating each other in the faith also includes instruction in and proclamation of the Word. How we need these and how important they are to a Christian’s spiritual growth and development.

(4) Assemble together. We have the local church congregation for many reasons but a very important one is for providing a place for Christians to assemble and worship the Lord together. It is also a place where we encourage one another. Gathering for worship, prayer, instruction and fellowship becomes even more important as “the Day” draws near.

As we anticipate the Day of His Second Coming and as signs of His coming accelerate, how very important become these four exhortations to Christians. May we be faithful in drawing near to Him, holding fast to our faith, stirring up or stimulating each other to love and good works, and assembling together for worship. With heart humble before God, I seek now to evaluate how I measure up on these practical ways to live out my Christian life.

Scapegoat Needed No More!

“But the goat on which the lot fell to be the scapegoat shall be presented alive before the Lord, to make atonement upon it, and to let it go as the scapegoat into the wilderness..And he who released the goat as the scapegoat shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp.”-Leviticus 16:10, 26. “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins...then He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.’ He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” –Hebrews 10:4, 9-10 (references from NKJV).

In the ancient customs of Hebrew worship, it was necessary for the priest to offer sacrifices for sins. A bull sacrificed in a certain way assured the taking away of the priest’s sins. Two goats, one for a blood sacrifice, and one upon which the priest ceremoniously placed the sins of the people by the laying of his hands on the goat’s head, was to be released into the wilderness, thus taking far away the sins of the people. A full account of this custom and how it was carried out according to law is described in Leviticus 16. This was done on the Day of Atonement, once a year, when the priest led this solemn, serious duty.

Jeremiah began to realize that a new day was coming when this yearly sacrifice and the releasing of the scapegoat would not be necessary. We read in Jeremiah 31:33-34: “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, says the Lord, I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord, ' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them' says the Lord. 'For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.'" (NKJV)

The letter to the Hebrews makes clear that the “new day” Jeremiah prophesied about has truly come. Read Hebrews 1:1-3 to be assured that Jesus Christ indeed came to purge our sins and to sit down at the right hand of the Father, victorious and exalted. There is no more need for the scapegoat of old who was ceremoniously released to take the people’s sins into the wilderness. Hebrews 10 reemphasizes that animal sacrifices are insufficient, and, moreover, are no longer needed. The writer of Hebrews quotes from Psalm 40:6-8 that states God did not desire nor take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices. “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14). Praise be to God, Jesus is our sacrifice, our offering, the One Who “bore the sin of many” (Isaiah 53:12).

The hymn written by Philip Paul Bliss in 1873, “Once for All” is hardly ever heard any more—in fact, may not be published in modern-day hymnbooks. But in the country church where I grew up, we used to sing it, thinking about the depth and truth of the theology in the words of the hymn:

“Once for all, O happy condition,

Jesus has bled and there is remission,

Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall,

Grace hath redeemed us once for all.”

Chorus:

“Once for all, O sinner, receive it;

Once for all, O brother, believe it,

Cling to the cross, the burden will fall,

Christ hath redeemed us once for all.”

I had a wonderful worship experience by accessing this hymn online, hearing a beautiful piano rendition of it played the way we sang it in past years, and thanking God that the scapegoat sacrifice of old is no longer needed. Thanks be to God