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Bread From Heaven

When the nation of Israel was delivered from bondage in Egypt, they entered a wilderness where, as events transpired, they were to spend about 40 years. Though there was no doubt some food to be found in that wild area, it was not nearly enough to supply a huge number of people each day. For that reason, the Lord miraculously provided “bread from heaven” (manna) to feed them (Exod. 16:4). It never failed to be supplied through all the forty years (vs. 35).

In the New Testament, the Lord Jesus uses the manna as a picture of Himself, referring to Himself as “the Bread of Life” (Jn. 6:30-35, 47-50). With this comparison in view, it is interesting to explore the points of similarity.

  1. It came down from heaven, as Jesus came to earth from heaven’s glory.
  2. It was white (Exod. 16:31), representing Christ’s perfect purity and sinlessness.
  3. It was sweet to the taste, like honey (Exod. 16:31), suggesting how precious the Lord is to our souls.
  4. It came with the dew (Exod. 16:13-14), depicting Christ’s coming in the power of the Holy Spirit (symbolized by water in God’s Word, Jn. 7:37-39).
  5. It was found on the ground, suggesting Jesus’ lowliness and humility, and his availability to all.
  6. It had to be either gathered or trampled upon, pointing to the need for each person to decide about Christ.
  7. Once gathered, it provided nourishment through all the wilderness journey, picturing Christ’s sufficiency and His faithfulness to meet our needs.

Salvation and Praise

The prophet Isaiah gives the Lord’s pledge to Israel concerning the city of Jerusalem, “You shall call your walls Salvation, and your gates Praise” (Isa. 60:18). It is a promise made to the Jews with regard to the restored glory and blessing to be enjoyed by the city of Jerusalem in the Millennial Kingdom (cf. vs. 13-14). But perhaps there is room to apply the text metaphorically to the individual Christian today, without denying its literal and primary application to Israel (as the Amillennialists try to do).

  1. WALLS of Salvation. These represent protection, and also, in a secondary sense, identity (since they enclose a community and make it distinct). Thus salvation in Christ is both our eternal protection, and our source of identity. What makes is different is that we are “Christ-ones,” (Christians), bound together in a spiritual community by the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit.
  2. GATES of Praise. Praise bespeaks our eternal purpose. And as gates provide access both in and out, so there is a dual aspect of praise. A) Moving inward: when others come in contact with us, and look at us, they should have cause to praise God for what he is accomplishing in our lives. B) Moving outward: It is ever to be characteristic of our speaking and our doing that we reflect and express praise to God for His greatness and grace.

The Sins of Ananias and Sapphira

Acts 5:1-11 records the first encroachment of sin into the infant church. There had been a common sharing of material possessions (Acts 4:32-35), but not through the imposition of any kind “communistic” system. It was a voluntary thing (Acts 5:4a), likely intended to aid the Jews who were visiting Jerusalem for Pentecost (Acts 2:5-11) and now wanted to stay on longer to receive more teaching from the apostles.

Ananias and Sapphira

So if it was not wrong to keep back part of the money for themselves, what was involved in the sin of this couple? It was lying about what they had done. Hypocrisy was the very evil which had polluted Judaism. The Pharisees were notorious for it. Behind what Ananias and Sapphira did we can see the shadowy indication of some wrong attitudes and desires. Their actions suggest:

  1. They envied the appreciation shown to Barnabas and others for their generosity, and they craved the praise of men (4:32-37).
  2. They were unwilling to relinquish completely their claim and grip on the things of this world.
  3. They tried to generate the outward effects of the fruit of the Spirit by fleshly effort.
  4. They placed what men said to them above what God saw in them.
  5. They had more thought of what their gift would do for themselves than what it would do for others.
  6. They squandered the power of unity and agreement in the fellowship on selfish gain (cf. Matt. 18:19-20).
  7. Their priorities were temporal and material, not eternal and spiritual.
  8. They seem to have had no fear of God (cf. vs. 5, 11), or understanding of His omniscience.
  9. They did not respect the leaders of the church, who represent God among us and should be recognized for this high calling.
  10. They failed to resist temptation–which Peter’s “Why…?” (vs. 3) plainly suggests they could have and should have (cf. I Cor. 10:13).
  11. They did not live up to their names. “Ananias” means the Lord has shown grace, or whom Jehovah has graciously given. “Sapphira” means sapphire, that which is precious and beautiful. But there was nothing of grace or beauty in what they did.
  12. Their actions show that the enemy is at work within the church as well as attacking from the outside (Acts 4)

Church Service Ideas: About Love and The Heart

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With the month of February we will have another Valentine’s Day celebrating love and romance. Since the concept of love is much distorted by the world, it may be a good time to remind your congregation about the real thing.

Perhaps you could build an entire worship service around the subject, preaching from a passage such as First Corinthians 13. There are some fine hymns on the theme: And Can It Be?; O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go; Jesus Loves Even Me (Bliss’s hymn is a favourite of mine.); My Jesus, I Love Thee (written by a Canadian teen-ager around 1862); More Love to Thee; and The Love of God (with the sublime poetry of that third verse).

And here is a Bible study on the human heart which you are welcome to use with your Sunday School class or study group: The Human Heart.

A Crisis of Values and Priorities

The brief encounters described in Luke 9:57-62 identify crises of values and priorities in the lives of three individuals Jesus met. From the Lord’s comment to each more is here than meets the eye. The first man apparently has made some assumptions as to what following Christ would be like. The latter two seem to be using their requests as delaying tactics, or as a means of avoiding discipleship altogether.

  1. A priority on comfort (vs. 57-58). The man says to Jesus, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” But it seems, based on the Lord’s response, that there was a hidden qualifier in his offer. That he meant “if it seems to me to be pleasant and profitable.” The “scribe,” as Matthew 8:19 describes him, was concerned about his own material advantage and comfort.
  2. A priority on custom (vs. 59-60). “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” “Me first! What will others in my community think of me if I don’t follow the proper tradition?” There was, in ancient times (dating back even before Abraham’s day) a practice of secondary burial. A body was customarily laid out in a tomb for a year and allowed to decompose. Then the bones were taken and re-buried with those of other family members. If this is what is in view here, it could be the man is asking for a delay of months.
  3. A priority on companionship (vs. 61-62). “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid farewell to those who are in my house.” Another me first! And Jesus knows the man is “looking back” (vs. 62; cf. Lot’s wife, Gen. 19:26) with longing on the relationships and companionship he will have to relinquish to come with Him.

Four Tests of Discipleship

Luke 9 gives us several snapshots of what a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ should be like. In the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 and its aftermath, the Lord speaks to His disciples. His words become an important part of their training. There we see:

  1. The test of faith’s obedience (vs. 10-17). “You give them something to eat.”
  2. The test of faith’s knowledge (vs. 18-20). “Who do you say that I am?”
  3. The test of faith’s values (vs. 23-26, 57-62). “What advantage is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?” (Cf. Mk. 8:37; also see the “me first” of vs. 59, 61.)
  4. The test of faith’s love (vs. 46-50). “The Son of Man [came] to save” (vs. 56), while the disciples were absorbed with getting the highest place in the kingdom (cf. Matt. 19:27).

Reviews & Ideas: Rest Ministries

Have you ever heard of Rest Ministries Incorporated? It is a Christian organization, based in California, that ministers to those who chronically ill or deal with chronic pain. Doctrinally, they are sound on the basics of the Christian faith, and balanced in their view of bodily healing. (While they do not believe in healing-on-demand for all who are sick, they believe God can and does heal on occasion by supernatural means, and by His grace.)

Rest Ministries

This organization offers a number of helpful resources for your church, or for any individual who copes day by day with physical infirmity. HopeKeepers Magazine is their quarterly publication, providing encouragement and practical tools for living with chronic illness. If you are a pastor, your deaconesses and others in the church will greatly benefit from having a copy of the book Beyond Casseroles–505 Ways to Encourage a Chronically Ill Friend. (Loaded with practical ideas and tips!) They have produced other fine books and Bible studies too numerous to mention here.

The organization also offers help to churches wishing to develop a support group for the chronically ill (HopeKeepers Groups). Why would you want to do that? Because it can provide an exciting new outreach for Christ! Here are some statistics from Rest Ministries to consider: Nearly 1 in 2 Americans has a chronic condition of some kind. And 96% of illness is invisible. The divorce rate for the chronically ill is over 75%. Uncontrollable physical pain is a factor in 70% of suicides. Some 66% of sufferers say if their church started a Bible study for those with chronic illness they would definitely attend.

The Rest Ministries website provides hundreds of pages of resources and links that can be of help with this kind of ministry. About 50,000 people a month visit the site. The overwhelming majority of these feel their church does not understand invisible illness. Visit their official website here: Rest Ministries.

Isaiah 9:3 (textual question)

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Question: Glenn asks, “In the King James translation, verse 3 [of Isaiah 9] includes the word “not.” ‘Thou has multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy; they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.’ In my New King James Version and other more modern translations, the word “not” is omitted. What is the correct translation according to the original Hebrew?”

Answer: Good question. While I am confident in the absolute accuracy of the original manuscripts of the Scriptures, that is no guarantee that every copy made is free from mistakes. But having said that, we have enough manuscript evidence and other tools that can help us arrive at what God’s Word originally said with precision.

In the case you mention, with the word “not” in there, the verse actually seems to contradict itself, since it goes on to say “they rejoice”! It contradicts the context too–that the people have “seen a great light” (cause for rejoicing). The passage concerns the coming of the Messiah, and particularly His future glorious reign (Isaiah 9:6-7).

The correct rendering, I believe, omits the word “not.” It is a small difference in the Hebrew text, one easily missed by a copier. “Not” = lo’ but the Hebrew lo = to him (i.e. “You multiply the nation, You increase to him joy.”) Another possibility seems to be that the Hebrew word haggil’o was wrongly divided into two words by some copier, with the last syllable, lo, being treated as a separate word. Even a tiny space left by a copier could result in that difference.

Both because of the context, and because of the possible technical transmission problems, it seems best to omit the word “not.” Concerning the Messiah’s millennial kingdom, the Lord later speaks of multiplied joys, “Be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying” (Isa. 65:18-19).

My Shepherd Will Supply My Need (Resignation)

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Question: Gloria asks, “Do you have a story for Resignation also known as “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need”? We are using it throughout Lent. Thanks.”

Shepherd with his sheep

Answer: There is not much information available on the hymn itself. I’ll give you what I know, and also tell you a bit about the author. “My Shepherd Will Supply My Need,” is a paraphrase of Psalm 23. It was written by Isaac Watts and first published in 1719, when he was 45 years old. “Resignation” is not the name of the hymn, but a name given to the tune frequently used with the song. It is a traditional American melody whose origins are obscure.

Isaac Watts (1674-1748) was both a pastor and a brilliant scholar, authoring some 60 books. He was also a hymn writer who has given us about 700 hymns. Considering that he died 260 years ago, it is a measure of the quality of his work that many of his hymns (around 25) are still in common use. Watts is called “the Father of English Hymnody,” because it was by his efforts that the church of his time broke away from singing only the words of Scripture (chiefly psalms). It was believed that to sing anything else in the house of God was a heresy tantamount to adding to the Word of God! But young Isaac argued with his father (a deacon in the church) that to focus on the Psalms meant they were missing important New Testament truths, particularly about the saving work of Christ.

Deacon Watts said sternly, “That old hymnal was good enough for your grandfather, and your father, so I reckon it will have to be good enough for you!” But the son was not to be so easily discouraged. He responded, “Father, I have [a hymn] which is better. Will you listen to it?” And his father was willing to hear what his son had composed. The words were indeed prophetic. The hymn begins, “Behold, the glories of the Lamb, / Amidst His Father’s throne; / Prepare new honours for His name, / And songs before unknown.” History records that Deacon Watts rose from his seat, put his arm around Isaac, and apologized for his hasty words. The congregation sang the hymn the next morning. It was such a blessing the people asked for more. The year was 1692–when Isaac Watts was only 18. But he began turning out one new hymn a week for them, a practice he kept up for years.

A compilation of these (including the hymn you ask about) was published in 1719 with the descriptive title, The Psalms of David, Imitated in the Language of the New Testament, and Applied to the Christian State and Worship. (They went in for long titles back then!) But the title is helpful, because it clearly explains the purpose behind Watts’s work. He had published Hymns and Spiritual Songs a few years earlier (in 1707, and a re-edited version in 1709). I mention that work because it contained the author’s masterpiece, still considered among the greatest two or three hymns in the English language–“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.”

Watts lived to the age of 75, which was exceptional in that day. But in 1712 he had to retire from pastoral ministry, due to failing health. He went to live with the family of Sir Thomas Abney, and became a tutor to his children. Perhaps the hymn in question was written during his time of infirmity and suffering, which would give it particular poignancy. We know the author laboured from 1700 to 1719 on the book which first contained the hymn in question. When the volume was completed he wrote, “May that God, who has favoured me with life and capacity to finish this work for the service of His churches, after so many years of tiresome sickness and confinement, accept this humble offering from a thankful heart.”

Day By Day

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Question: Nancy asks, “Do you know the story behind the hymn “Day by Day? I would appreciate this information. Thank you.”

Answer: In his autobiography, Out of the Depths, hymn writer John Newton makes this practical observation: “Sometimes I compare the troubles which we have to undergo in the course of a year to a great bundle of [fire wood], far too large for us to lift. But God does not require us to carry the whole at once; He mercifully unties the bundle, and gives us first one stick, which we are to carry today, and then another which we are to carry tomorrow, and so on. This we might easily manage, if we would only take the burden appointed for us each day; but we chose to increase our troubles by carrying yesterday’s stick over again today, and adding tomorrow’s burden to our load, before we are required to bear it.”

It is well said. So often our fretting over yesterday’s failures and our speculation about tomorrow’s possible problems robs us of present peace. In discussing the crippling danger of anxious care, the Lord Jesus reminds us, “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (Matt. 6:34). As creatures of time, we live in the present moment, and that is where the Lord has promised to help us. We are invited to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11). And His pledge is, “As you days, so shall your strength be” (Deut. 33:25).

Of course this does not preclude planning for the future. “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it?” (Lk. 14:28). Setting goals and evaluating our resources is one thing. Worrying and stewing over things that are beyond our control is quite another. Even with the best of preparation, tomorrow will have its unexpected challenges–and its blessings, too. We must leave that in God’s hands, looking to Him for the wisdom and strength to do His will (Heb. 4:16). His promise is, “My grace is sufficient for you” (II Cor. 12:9).

One who learned to take each day as it came was Carolina Sandell Berg (1832-1903). Lina Sandell, as she was commonly known, was married in 1867, to C. O. Berg, a merchant in the city of Stockholm. Mrs. Berg was the daughter of a Lutheran pastor, in Sweden. She wrote numerous hymns that were used of God in the revivals that touched Scandinavia in the late 19th century. Her early contributions gained her the nickname “the Fanny Crosby of Sweden.” But one day in 1852 tragedy struck. She and her father were traveling by sea to Gothenburg when the ship pitched, suddenly. Pastor Sandell was thrown overboard and drowned. It is said that the songs which flowed from the young woman’s grieving heart afterward had a new spiritual depth. They breathed a simple, child-like faith, and an keen awareness of the presence of her loving Lord. She had learned the importance of trusting Him moment by moment.

“Day by Day” is one such hymn. It says, “Day by day and with each passing moment, / Strength I find to meet my trials here; / Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment, / I’ve no cause for worry or for fear. / He whose heart is kind beyond all measure / Gives unto each day what He deems best— / Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure, / Mingling toil with peace and rest.” Then the last stanza is a prayerful appeal. “Help me then in ev’ry tribulation / So to trust Thy promises, O Lord, / That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation / Offered me within Thy holy Word. / Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting, / E’er to take, as from a father’s hand, / One by one, the days, the moments fleeting, / Till I reach the promised land.” That is how to deal with all the days God gives us–one by one–with our eyes on Him, and our trust in His unfailing Word.

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