January 10, 2010
Scripture:
John 20:17
This is a precious statement. They are the first words spoken on this side of the Resurrection; a message for our Lord’s people. But notice that our Lord didn’t say, “I ascend to our Father, and our God.” He made a distinction. He was the Son in the unity of the Trinity. That was His special place, His eternal Sonship, one of His glories. However, He has brought us into a parental relationship with God. We can now come to Him as Father. It’s precious when we think of Who God is, and what we were, and what we’ve been brought into. He is a Father that loves us, cares for us, and undertakes for us. We’ve been brought into this precious relationship with our Father and our God.
Hymn 306 - Like a little wandering lamb
Prayer
1 Samuel 7:15-17
Samuel visited Bethel, Gilgal, Mizpeh, and Ramah in a circuit. As he went, he judged Israel. He showed them what was right and what was wrong. Ecclesiastes 12:13. God wants us to do what is right by obeying and honouring Him.
Now, I’d like to take a look at what each of these names means.
1. Bethel - The house of God.
After Jacob had tricked his father into giving him Esau’s blessing, he went to visit his uncle Laban. On the way, he slept at a place called Luz. While sleeping he had a dream, and in this dream God promised to take care of him. When he woke up, Jacob named that place Bethel. He then kept going to Laban’s house, but later God sent him back to Bethel. God had a purpose for him there, and God has a purpose for each of us.
2. Gilgal - The removal of the flesh.
When the Children of Israel came out of Egypt, God had them do something that reminded them that they were separated from the things in Egypt. Like them, we are to remove the flesh, or our old nature. Sometimes we want to do wrong things, but instead we must remove these things. We must remove all that displeases the Lord, so that we might let our light shine.
3. Mizpeh - Watchtower
A watchtower is used to look out for danger. In Bible times, they used them to watch for enemies. We must watch and look out for wrong things in our lives.
4. Ramah - Height
This is the place that Samuel always came back to. Heights in the Bible often refer to our enjoyment of spiritual things. Colossians 3:2. Even though we are still on earth, we can enjoy things of heaven, like working for and obeying the Lord.
So, we must recognize that God has a purpose for our lives, we must remove anything wrong in our lives, and we must watch out for sin and the enemy, so that we can enjoy the Lord’s things.
We’re looking at this prayer of the children of Israel; it started in v. 5 with worship. We’ve been reading about what God did for them. However, they were not grateful for all that He did for them. They had His blessing, and were in a covenant with God, but they “dealt proudly.” We read that they “dealt proudly” in Egypt (v. 10), in the wilderness (v. 16), and in the land (v. 29). Pride is something we all have to deal with in life. Pride is not accepting authority; it goes along with disobedience or rebellion. Read Psalm 34:18.
We also read that the children of Israel hardened their necks; read II Kings 17: 13 - 15. It seems to mean that they did not want to listen. They hearkened not to the commandments. Sometimes when we teach truth, it seems to fall on deaf ears. Often, we’re selective in what we believe. We hear, but we don’t listen. When we leave some truth behind, we are in danger of leaving the right path behind.
So the children of Israel wouldn’t obey; are we any better? They didn’t believe God’s word to them; do we? They wanted to go back to Egypt, but think of how much they would have missed if they did. We’ll miss a lot too, if we don’t follow God’s truth. They saw His wonders in Egypt and in the wilderness. But they didn’t care. We’ve seen many of God’s wonders too: so many wonders in salvation, and many in our daily lives. We shouldn’t ignore it all; we should try to enter into it.
Hymn 216 - How good is the God we adore
Prayer