June 12, 2011
Scripture:
Ministry:
Turn to Ezekiel 34:1 - 3: “And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.” This is a rebuke to the shepherds of Israel, who were not fulfilling their responsibilities. Let’s compare this to Psalm 23: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters” (vv. 1 & 2).
Hymn 367 - When He cometh When He cometh
Prayer
1 Samuel 24
At the end of the last chapter, Saul had to stop searching for David, since the Philistines had come and invaded the land. But at the beginning of our chapter, Saul put together a band of 3,000 men and went to find David. He looked on the rocks of the wild goats, and eventually came to some sheep-cotes. A sheep-cote is a sheepfold.
By this sheepfold was a cave. Saul decided to go into the cave to “cover his feet” (to sleep). However, it just so happened that David and his men were in the cave. They were in the shadows of the cave, where Saul could not see them when he came in. I’m sure you know what it’s like to go into a dark room after you have been in the light: you can’t see anything at first; you are relying on your hands and ears.
Now, imagine what David was thinking when Saul came into the cave: it was probably something like, “the man that has been wanting to kill me is in this cave.” The men that were with David reminded him that the Lord promised to deliver him from Saul. Saul must have been sleeping, because David then arose and cut off a piece of Saul’s robe and returned to the shadows of the cave. David then told his men—who were probably encouraging him to kill Saul—that it wasn’t for him to kill God’s anointed.
After Saul’s rest, he arose and went out of the cave. David didn’t follow him right away; he let Saul get a piece off, and then he went after him and called him. David told Saul that he was not out to kill him. He even told Saul that he had a chance to kill him but didn’t. We see David is waiting for the Lord to tell him what to do: he could have killed Saul, but he would have done it only if the Lord told him to. We can read psalms that David wrote at this time, expressing his dependence on the Lord.
Saul told David that David’s heart was better than his own. Saul realized that David didn’t see him as a enemy. He told David that he knew David would be king some day. This is what made Saul want to kill David. It worried Saul, because he thought David would take revenge on Saul’s family for what Saul had done to him. Saul entreated David to be kind to his family. David promised to do so, and we can see that in his love toward Mephibosheth later on.
The Lord showed grace to Saul by not letting David kill him.
Luke 5:12-17
This was a pathetic leprosy case if there ever was one. This man —full of leprosy—fell on his face and said, “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.” He was desperate. His leprosy was incurable. We’ve said that it’s a picture of sin. This man went to the only place of hope, and that was outside of himself. As sinners, the only place of hope for us is outside of ourselves; it’s in Jesus Christ. Our Lord touched and healed this man. He knew Jesus’ power, but up until that point he didn’t know his heart.
It’s interesting to study the laws concerning lepers. There are two chapters in Leviticus (chapters 13 and 14) given to telling priests how to deal with leprosy. God covered Creation in one chapter, but gave a lot more detail when it came to lepers. It’s one thing for God to make the world; it’s another thing for us to realise our sin. This is a message to all of us, because we’re all sinners. We’re all ‘lepers’ with a terminal disease. Unfortunately, this leper acted more desperate than most sinners do. Thankfully, we know about the sin problem, and we know the cure. There is no cure given for leprosy in Leviticus, but God has given us the cure to be free from sin. This leper had the testimony of “Unclean!” that he was supposed to call out. Unbelievers have that same testimony.
Just as the leper didn’t know the love of the Lord, so many Christians don’t know His love. It’s so much more to know the Lord personally. It’s spiritual growth.
The Jews were not allowed to touch lepers, but Jesus did; the leper must have been surprised. He was healed immediately. When we come to Christ in repentance and faith, we are saved immediately. It’s not a long process.
Jesus told this man not to tell anyone that he had been cleansed. Before, this man’s testimony was, “Unclean!” Now, you would think the Lord would tell him go around telling people, “I’m clean!”, but no. Jesus told him to go to the priest and to offer what the law told him to. We know that this man had already been to the priest, because the priest was the one that had declared him to be a leper in the first place. He represented the law. Jesus told this man to go back and show himself to the priest, and go through the procedure for cleansing. That would be his testimony in the face of a condemning law, and an incurable illness.
We have four stories in this chapter. First we see the Lord with Peter, and He gave him a commission: “From henceforth thou shalt catch men.” Peter, James, and John followed Jesus. Second we have the Lord with this leper, and, as we’ve seen, He told him to, “Go show thyself to the priest.” Next Jesus tells the palsied man, “Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.” And finally He tells Levi, “Follow me.” Peter and Levi weren’t healed of some physical disease. They saw something in the Lord that attracted them. The Lord didn’t make disciples out of those that He healed. He gave them back to their relatives or sent them on their way. His services were without obligation. Those that He called had a special commission.
So did the leper keep silence? No, this was something that he couldn’t seem to put a lid on. He had been outside of all social and religious activities, and now all of that had changed. He was cleansed and able to enter into the things that he had so long been shut out of. It’s like how we are saved and then sanctified.
These miracles weren’t done in a corner. The reports of them drew big crowds around Jesus. In Luke, our Lord is brought before us as the Son of Man. He was God, but man. We may wonder, did our Lord ever have to rest? Well it wasn’t so much rest that He needed as it was communion with the Father. He went into the wilderness to pray. In other places we read that He went up a mountain to pray. We have mountain top experiences in our lives, and then at other times - maybe more often - we have wilderness experiences. Either way, how we need to pray. It’s an easy thing to neglect, so we need to make time for it.
One day the Pharisees and doctors of the law were sitting and listening to Jesus. We’ve just seen Jesus with the multitudes that were opening their hearts to Him, and the power of the Lord was pouring out upon them. Now we have the Pharisees who are just sitting there, probably thinking, “We don’t need this, we’re religious.” The power of the Lord was present to heal them, but they wouldn’t be healed. How much blessing we can miss when we’re too proud to receive it. We shouldn’t be ashamed of our needs. We all have needs, and we know the One Who can meet them. His power is the same today as it was then.
Next time we’ll look at the story of the palsied man. He had no power; yet the Lord gave him all the power that he needed, and forgave his sins. The scribes heard that and said, “Who is this that speaks blasphemies?” They weren’t there to receive, but rather to give criticism. We receive the truth through faith, not through reason.
There are lots of lessons here. The Lord was making vessels of mercy, but He could only do it if the vessels were willing.
Hymn 282 - What a friend we have in Jesus
Prayer