February 12, 2012
Scripture:
Scripture:
Isaiah 26:8 - We read about the Lord’s desire to have the passover with His disciples and there He gave them emblems.
A verse or two came to mind in Ecclesiastes 9:14-15, “There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and besieged it, and built great bulwarks against it: Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.” This is a picture of the world. That poor wise man is the One we remembered this morning. May we not forget Him.
Hymn 312 - Jesus loves me this I know
Prayer
Last time, we read 2 Samuel 10. After that story, unfortunately, David fell into sin. Of course, there were consequences to those sins. Thankfully, David repented. We are going to skip those chapters and read 2 Samuel 22. This is an interesting chapter because it is actually Psalm 18.
In David’s life, we see the Lord’s hand of help and protection. There was time when he was a shepherd that a lion and a bear attacked the sheep and the Lord gave him the strength to fight and overcome them. Then there were the times when Saul was chasing after him, to kill him and the Lord protected him. In this chapter David uses several metaphors to describe the Lord.
In the New Testament, ten lepers begged the Lord to heal them. The Lord told them to go and show themselves to the priest; as they went, they were healed. Only one of the lepers returned to thank the Lord. We need to be thankful to the Lord for what he has done for us, as David is in today’s chapter.
First, David describes the Lord as a rock. A rock is an object that one can lean on or hide behind. David saw the Lord as One that he could lean on for help. Second, David refers to the Lord as a fortress. When a city was being attacked by enemies, the people would go into the fortress because it was the safest place; it was like a tower. David saw the Lord as One he could run to for protection. We see how David is remembering all the times that the Lord was with him. Next David calls the Lord a shield. The windshield on a car protects the people in the car from wind. The type of shield that David is talking about is an army shield, which would protect a soldier in battle. Then David calls the Lord a refuge, one he could go to for help. Finally he calls the Lord a lamp: a lamp gives light and David saw how the Lord had shed light on his path.
David was thankful for the Lord’s help, protection and guidance. We can see the Lord helping us in many situations in our own lives, and we should also be thankful.
Luke 10:1-19
In the proceeding chapters we have seen both the Lord’s ministry, and the ministry of the disciples; now we get the ministry of the seventy. This takes place “after these things” (v1) - after we have seen (from the three men at the end of chapter nine) that following the Lord is not an easy task. These seventy didn’t go out by themselves, Jesus chose, appointed and instructed them.
They didn’t all go out in different directions, either; they were sent two by two. The number two stands for testimony, because, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established” (2 Corinthians 13:1). These men had seen the Lord work and therefore they had a testimony to give. What is our testimony? Do others see us as a Christian, as one who follows the Lord?
The Lord looked on souls as a harvest to be brought in. He said that the harvest was great - imagine a huge grain field on the prairies - but the labourers were few. He told the seventy to, “pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest”. Who is that? It’s the Lord Himself. But He wasn’t just the Lord of the Harvest, He was a labourer too. John 4:34-36. One day the harvest will be over, and the last sheaf will be brought in. Our chapter shows us the beginning of harvest, but we may be living at the end of harvest.
Our Lord then sent the seventy on to places where He Himself would come later in His ministry. This made their job all the more serious, because they needed to convey the right message about the One Who was coming after them, and would be checking on that message. We can see the Lord’s grace in sending these forerunners; He sent them to prepare the people so that many would accept Him.
Jesus didn’t make out that this would be an easy task for the seventy, and He gave them a light packing list; but first He mentioned the risks involved. In Matthew 10:5-6 Jesus sends forth the twelve, “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”. The seventy, on the other hand, were sent out “as lambs among wolves” (v.3). What had happened? The Lord’s rejection had been declared (Luke 9:44). Israel had rejected Him. Did that mean He wouldn’t tell them of the Kingdom? No, He still went and preached.
The seventy took very little for their needs, so they had to be dependant on the Lord. However, seventy went, and v.17 tells us that seventy returned. They all survived their service; and the service was the point. They weren’t able to give a full gospel message the way that we’re able to, but they were able to do something we can’t: heal the sick. This was evidence to the people they spoke to that they had been sent out by the Lord of the harvest. The Kingdom came nigh to those people, and it was a message of peace.
Hymn 366 - We are little children, very young indeed
Prayer