Elisha Feeds One Hundred Men- 2 Kings 4:42-44
42 A man came from Baal-shalishah, bringing food from the first fruits to the man of God: twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of grain in his sack. Elisha said, “Give it to the people and let them eat.” 43 But his servant said, “How can I set this before a hundred people?” So he repeated, “Give it to the people and let them eat, for thus says the Lord, ‘They shall eat and have some left.’” 44 He set it before them, they ate, and had some left, according to the word of the Lord.
Its common knowledge, and easy to understand that the Old Testament is a foreshadow of the New Testament in many ways and expressions. There is the oft repeated mantra across seminaries and schools of theology that states, "The Old Testament conceals what the New Testament reveals." And we see that in many ways: Adam and Jesus, David and Jesus, The 10 Commandments and The Beatitudes, Elijah and John the Baptist, and on and on and on. The New Testament always revealing the Old Testament and making it better: a better law, and better promise, a better covenant.
Well, in this passage in 2 Kings 4, we see that Elisha feeds 100 men miraculously with 20 barley loaves. Pretty good miracle, right?
Then, in the New Testament we see Jesus feeding the 5,000 and 4,000. The feeding of the 5,000 is captured in all for Gospels. Here is Mark's account:
Feeding the Five Thousand
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34 As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. 35 When it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is now very late; 36 send them away so that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy something for themselves to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “Are we to go and buy two hundred denarii[i] worth of bread, and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves have you? Go and see.” When they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he ordered them to get all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And all ate and were filled; 43 and they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 Those who had eaten the loaves numbered five thousand men. Mark 6:30-44
Same type of miracle, but better! Here Jesus, with 15 fewer loaves feeds at least 4,900 more (that's just counting the men). Not only did they eat their fill, but instead of just having "some" left over, there are 12 baskets full left over!!
What an awesome God! What a friend we have in Jesus! Just a cool look at what a foretaste divine the Old Testament gave us of what was to come.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
Picking Up What Was Left Behind- 2 Samuel 5:21
The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his men carried them away.- 2 Samuel 5:21
I have been reading through the history books of the Old Testament lately. I recently completed Judges, 1&2 Samuel, 1 Kings, and now I'm on 2 Kings and I have the Chronicles in my sights!! This one passage has been weighing on my mind for the last few weeks.
In this passage, the Philistines are engaged in battle with David and the Israelites. Things are not going well for the Philistines, and they have brought their idols into battle for help. Much like the Israelites that would bring the Ark of the Covenant into battle to secure the victory, here the Philistines were bringing their own idols for help. Obviously, they were no help. So the Philistines abandoned their idols and fled, and David's men took the idols and carried them away. Presumably to be destroyed or disposed of accordingly, or as the King James Version states that they were burned.
But, what if they were not destroyed? What if some of the men did not dispose of them? What if they picked up these idols and were affected by them? For a moment, lets change the word "idols" to "habits".
The Philistines abandoned their habits there, and David and his men carried them away.- 2 Samuel 5:21
Now the same thing applies, you would assume that these mighty men of God would take these habits and carry them away to be disposed of. But what if they didn't dispose of all of them? What if they hung on to some of the habits?
Lets apply this to our lives. Aren't there times when we are situations where we are surrounded by bad habits, and it is so easy to pick them up and carry them away with us. We hope that we are strong enough to hold out, and dispose of them properly, but how easy is it for those habits to get picked up by us and then make their way into our lives? How easy is it to lapse into lying, gossip, cussing, drinking, cheating, etc. all because we pick up the habits left behind by others. We need to be cautious, stay in the word and follow the admonitions of Galatians 5:
The Works of the Flesh
16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy,[e] drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
The Fruit of the Spirit
22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.
I have been reading through the history books of the Old Testament lately. I recently completed Judges, 1&2 Samuel, 1 Kings, and now I'm on 2 Kings and I have the Chronicles in my sights!! This one passage has been weighing on my mind for the last few weeks.
In this passage, the Philistines are engaged in battle with David and the Israelites. Things are not going well for the Philistines, and they have brought their idols into battle for help. Much like the Israelites that would bring the Ark of the Covenant into battle to secure the victory, here the Philistines were bringing their own idols for help. Obviously, they were no help. So the Philistines abandoned their idols and fled, and David's men took the idols and carried them away. Presumably to be destroyed or disposed of accordingly, or as the King James Version states that they were burned.
But, what if they were not destroyed? What if some of the men did not dispose of them? What if they picked up these idols and were affected by them? For a moment, lets change the word "idols" to "habits".
The Philistines abandoned their habits there, and David and his men carried them away.- 2 Samuel 5:21
Now the same thing applies, you would assume that these mighty men of God would take these habits and carry them away to be disposed of. But what if they didn't dispose of all of them? What if they hung on to some of the habits?
Lets apply this to our lives. Aren't there times when we are situations where we are surrounded by bad habits, and it is so easy to pick them up and carry them away with us. We hope that we are strong enough to hold out, and dispose of them properly, but how easy is it for those habits to get picked up by us and then make their way into our lives? How easy is it to lapse into lying, gossip, cussing, drinking, cheating, etc. all because we pick up the habits left behind by others. We need to be cautious, stay in the word and follow the admonitions of Galatians 5:
The Works of the Flesh
16 Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, 21 envy,[e] drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
The Fruit of the Spirit
22 By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, competing against one another, envying one another.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Talking vs. Doing: 1 Cor 4
In 1 Corinthians 4, the Apostle Paul lays out for the church at Corinth many things, not the least of which is a guideline for behavior, and the admonition for the Corinthians to be "imitators" of him. At the end of chapter 4, verse 20, Paul states, "For the kingdom of God is not demonstrated in idle talk, but in power." Interesting, right? It's easy to talk a good game, to say the right things, but are we doing anything? Are we demonstrating the Kingdom, or just passively sitting by? Question to consider: If you imitate the Apostle Paul, how could you be idle? Paul was the model of power in service. So, are you imitating him?
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Monday, January 7, 2013
The Burden of Pride, Pretense and Artificiality
Reading some AW Tozer...great stuff in "The Pursuit of God"
The Burden of Pride
Tozer highlights three kinds of interior burdens, each one capable of attacking the heart
and mind, and eventually the body. The first is the burden of pride. The burden of pride
chains you to the labor of self-love, which is hard labor on behalf of the little god named
self. This god requires your unconditional loyalty and devotion. He forces you to remain
vigilant at all times, forever sensitive to someone speaking slightingly about you, always
scanning the room for someone who doesn’t consider you “our kind of people.” This god
has a very touchy honor that must be shielded from the opinions of others at all times. But, as Christians, were never meant to bear this burden. Jesus calls us into his rest, and meekness and humility is his method. The humble person doesn’t really care who is greater. They long ago decided that to be esteemed by the world is not worth the effort. They now define themselves as children of God, members of the body of Christ, and living stones in the Temple of God. In referring to such a person, Tozer says,
“He develops toward himself a kindly sense of humor and learns to say, ‘Oh, so you have been overlooked? They have placed someone else before you? They have whispered that you are pretty small stuff after all? And now you feel hurt because the world is saying about you the very same things you have been saying about yourself? Only yesterday you were telling God that you were nothing, a mere worm of the dust. Where is your consistency? Come on, humble yourself and cease to care what men think.’”
He reminds us to stop taking ourselves so seriously because there is One who has already taken us seriously. How seriously? The doctrine of grace humbles us without degrading us and elevates us without inflating us: in ourselves – nothing; in God – everything. God gives us an accurate audit of our spiritual poverty and then imputes to us his spiritual wealth. Our new standing is immune from the machinations and falsehoods of the world, the flesh, and the devil. We know who we are and we know whose we are.
The Burden of Pretense
The second burden is the burden of pretense. The burden of pretense superglues our face to the mask of self-importance and hides the inner ugliness of the self. At the core it is the fear of having people find out just how impoverished we really are. It “gnaws like rodents within [the] heart.” That image accurately depicts the ceaseless fear of someday coming across a person more cultured, educated, or wealthy and being unmasked as a pretender. Tozer warns, “Let no one smile this off. These burdens are real, and little by little they kill the victims of this evil and unnatural way of life.” And so, to all the victims of this heavy burden Jesus says, “Ye . . . [must] become as little children” (Matthew 18:13). The image of the child is most apropos. Tozer explains,
“For little children do not compare; they receive direct enjoyment from what they have without relating it to something else or someone else. Only as they get older and sin begins to stir within their hearts do jealousy and envy appear. Then they are unable to enjoy what they have if someone else has something larger and
better. At that early age does the galling burden come down upon their tender souls, and it never leaves them till Jesus sets them free.”
The simple way a child welcomes whatever gift is given soon gives way to the childish schemes by which we comparison-shop for what we want. But in our frenzy we forget that all the price tags are wrong. In fact, if you invert them you’re actually closer to the true worth. That which the world declares to be priceless turns out to be worthless. And that which God declares to be priceless is treated by the world as worthless. But one day, there will be a universal accounting and the true prices will be revealed. Real worth will come into its own; real treasure will be finally unearthed. Paraphrasing Jonathan Edwards, “The wisest thing a person can do is to treat things according to their true value.” This means that we assess all things according to God’s standard, not the worlds. In the meantime, we find rest for our souls as we rest in him.
The Burden of Artificiality
The third burden is the burden of artificiality. The burden of artificiality forces us to play a character in a carnival of self-deceit, hoping that the audience never awakens to the fact that underneath the costume and makeup is only an empty self. We strive to never flub a line, never miss a cue, and never, never slip out of character. The entire advertising industry is built upon artificiality – the art of convincing people that appearance is everything. But what the world has raised to an art form, each individual experiences as a burden – a burden that gets heavier as time goes on. To make matters worse, our culture encourages and celebrates artificiality without qualification. You can never go too far. Nobody cares any longer if those body parts are fake or if this designer outfit is a knock-off or if that diploma is mail order. It’s all about appearing to have more, even if you really don’t have anything. It’s about being on top, even if there really is no top. And there’s nothing new here. The artificial fruit fooled Eve. The artificial intimacy duped Samson. And the artificial reputation lured Ananias and Sapphira. The only thing that’s new is how trendy artificiality has become. At its core, artificiality is aspiration with God removed. The noble quality of aspiration: a dislike for being stuck, an impatience for mediocrity, a dissatisfaction with business-as-usual, or, as Paul proclaims in Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” But when you remove God from this praiseworthy virtue, you are left with an empty shell – all hype, no hope.
As Tozer says, “Artificiality is one curse that will drop away the moment we kneel at Jesus’ feet and surrender ourselves to his meekness. Then we will not care what people think of us so long as God is pleased. Then what we are will be everything, what we appear will take its place far down the scale of interest for us. Apart from sin we have nothing of which to be ashamed.”
The Burden of Pride
Tozer highlights three kinds of interior burdens, each one capable of attacking the heart
and mind, and eventually the body. The first is the burden of pride. The burden of pride
chains you to the labor of self-love, which is hard labor on behalf of the little god named
self. This god requires your unconditional loyalty and devotion. He forces you to remain
vigilant at all times, forever sensitive to someone speaking slightingly about you, always
scanning the room for someone who doesn’t consider you “our kind of people.” This god
has a very touchy honor that must be shielded from the opinions of others at all times. But, as Christians, were never meant to bear this burden. Jesus calls us into his rest, and meekness and humility is his method. The humble person doesn’t really care who is greater. They long ago decided that to be esteemed by the world is not worth the effort. They now define themselves as children of God, members of the body of Christ, and living stones in the Temple of God. In referring to such a person, Tozer says,
“He develops toward himself a kindly sense of humor and learns to say, ‘Oh, so you have been overlooked? They have placed someone else before you? They have whispered that you are pretty small stuff after all? And now you feel hurt because the world is saying about you the very same things you have been saying about yourself? Only yesterday you were telling God that you were nothing, a mere worm of the dust. Where is your consistency? Come on, humble yourself and cease to care what men think.’”
He reminds us to stop taking ourselves so seriously because there is One who has already taken us seriously. How seriously? The doctrine of grace humbles us without degrading us and elevates us without inflating us: in ourselves – nothing; in God – everything. God gives us an accurate audit of our spiritual poverty and then imputes to us his spiritual wealth. Our new standing is immune from the machinations and falsehoods of the world, the flesh, and the devil. We know who we are and we know whose we are.
The Burden of Pretense
The second burden is the burden of pretense. The burden of pretense superglues our face to the mask of self-importance and hides the inner ugliness of the self. At the core it is the fear of having people find out just how impoverished we really are. It “gnaws like rodents within [the] heart.” That image accurately depicts the ceaseless fear of someday coming across a person more cultured, educated, or wealthy and being unmasked as a pretender. Tozer warns, “Let no one smile this off. These burdens are real, and little by little they kill the victims of this evil and unnatural way of life.” And so, to all the victims of this heavy burden Jesus says, “Ye . . . [must] become as little children” (Matthew 18:13). The image of the child is most apropos. Tozer explains,
“For little children do not compare; they receive direct enjoyment from what they have without relating it to something else or someone else. Only as they get older and sin begins to stir within their hearts do jealousy and envy appear. Then they are unable to enjoy what they have if someone else has something larger and
better. At that early age does the galling burden come down upon their tender souls, and it never leaves them till Jesus sets them free.”
The simple way a child welcomes whatever gift is given soon gives way to the childish schemes by which we comparison-shop for what we want. But in our frenzy we forget that all the price tags are wrong. In fact, if you invert them you’re actually closer to the true worth. That which the world declares to be priceless turns out to be worthless. And that which God declares to be priceless is treated by the world as worthless. But one day, there will be a universal accounting and the true prices will be revealed. Real worth will come into its own; real treasure will be finally unearthed. Paraphrasing Jonathan Edwards, “The wisest thing a person can do is to treat things according to their true value.” This means that we assess all things according to God’s standard, not the worlds. In the meantime, we find rest for our souls as we rest in him.
The Burden of Artificiality
The third burden is the burden of artificiality. The burden of artificiality forces us to play a character in a carnival of self-deceit, hoping that the audience never awakens to the fact that underneath the costume and makeup is only an empty self. We strive to never flub a line, never miss a cue, and never, never slip out of character. The entire advertising industry is built upon artificiality – the art of convincing people that appearance is everything. But what the world has raised to an art form, each individual experiences as a burden – a burden that gets heavier as time goes on. To make matters worse, our culture encourages and celebrates artificiality without qualification. You can never go too far. Nobody cares any longer if those body parts are fake or if this designer outfit is a knock-off or if that diploma is mail order. It’s all about appearing to have more, even if you really don’t have anything. It’s about being on top, even if there really is no top. And there’s nothing new here. The artificial fruit fooled Eve. The artificial intimacy duped Samson. And the artificial reputation lured Ananias and Sapphira. The only thing that’s new is how trendy artificiality has become. At its core, artificiality is aspiration with God removed. The noble quality of aspiration: a dislike for being stuck, an impatience for mediocrity, a dissatisfaction with business-as-usual, or, as Paul proclaims in Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” But when you remove God from this praiseworthy virtue, you are left with an empty shell – all hype, no hope.
As Tozer says, “Artificiality is one curse that will drop away the moment we kneel at Jesus’ feet and surrender ourselves to his meekness. Then we will not care what people think of us so long as God is pleased. Then what we are will be everything, what we appear will take its place far down the scale of interest for us. Apart from sin we have nothing of which to be ashamed.”
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Lessons From An Ostrich- Job 39:13-18
In Job chapters 38-42 we see God answering Job out of the whirlwind and asking Job if he can explain why God does the things He does. In this brief passage in chapter 39: 13-18, God explains a simple ostrich...and it's amazing. Read the passage and think about what God says here.
An ostrich has feathers, but they are ugly. Certainly nothing compared to a majestic stork.
An ostrich lays her eggs out in the open. No hidden nest to protect it. It is unconcerned about the safety of her egg. And when the egg hatches, she is not a caring mother, but rather is harsh with her young. It's as if she does not care, because she does not have wisdom.
But when she runs, she laughs at the horse and rider!! How awesome is that!
You see, the ostrich is ugly, dumb, and uncaring. But God did not make the ostrich to be beautiful or smart. God made the ostrich to run!! And when she runs...she laughs at the horse and rider! When the ostrich does what it is meant to do, the ostrich laughs with joy.
That's our lesson. What are we meant to do? What are you created to do? When we do what we are created by God to do, we too will laugh with joy.
An ostrich has feathers, but they are ugly. Certainly nothing compared to a majestic stork.
An ostrich lays her eggs out in the open. No hidden nest to protect it. It is unconcerned about the safety of her egg. And when the egg hatches, she is not a caring mother, but rather is harsh with her young. It's as if she does not care, because she does not have wisdom.
But when she runs, she laughs at the horse and rider!! How awesome is that!
You see, the ostrich is ugly, dumb, and uncaring. But God did not make the ostrich to be beautiful or smart. God made the ostrich to run!! And when she runs...she laughs at the horse and rider! When the ostrich does what it is meant to do, the ostrich laughs with joy.
That's our lesson. What are we meant to do? What are you created to do? When we do what we are created by God to do, we too will laugh with joy.
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