The people of Israel were on their way to the Promised Land, and we read this: “Now Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel [also called Jethro] the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, ‘We are setting out for the place of which the Lord has said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well; for the Lord has promised good things to Israel” (Num. 10:29).
This appeal to Hobab–who was likely the brother of Zipporah, Moses’ wife–provides an illustration of some aspects of the gospel invitation on this side of the cross.
There is personal testimony. ( They told of being “on their way,” just was we are on a spiritual journey.) We have not arrived yet, but we are on the way.
There is a biblical foundation for faith and confidence affirmed (“The Lord has said.”) We are pilgrims under orders from the Lord Himself, and trusting in His Word.
There is a sincere invitation (“Come with us.”) Why not join the company of the committed?
There is a pledge of support. (“We will treat you well.”) That assurance needs to be conveyed to the seeking soul, that the body of God’s people can give loving help for the journey.
There is an expression of hope and the anticipation of future blessing (“The Lord has promised.”) Greater blessings–eternal ones–await us up ahead. Come along and be a part of that.
Second Peter 1:3 assures us “His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.” So, what are these “all things”?
Knowledge through God’s Word (II Tim. 3:16-17, which assures us by His promises, II Pet. 1:4).
Power through the indwelling Holy Spirit (II Cor. 3:18; Gal. 5:22-23).
Cleansing through the efficacy of the shed blood of Christ and His high priestly advocacy (I Jn. 1:7, 9; 2:1-2; Heb. 7:25) when we falter and fall.
Angelic ministration at the bidding of the Lord (Heb. 1:14; cf. Matt. 4:11; Lk. 22:43).
It should be noted, further, that access to all four of these can be implemented or enriched through believing prayer (Ps. 50:15; 91:14-16; 145:17-20; Isa. 41:10).
The multiplication of Bibles has no end. They are available in every colour and hue, size and shape, with footnotes directed to every age, occupation, and interest group imaginable. Some seem to have merit, and others have little or none. One of the popular current offerings is a large volume called the Life Application Study Bible (LASB). The one I have beside me now uses the New American Standard Bible text, and it was published by Zondervan in the year 2000. However, the study notes were apparently produced earlier by Tyndale House Publishers.
Along with the usual outlines, maps, and background material found in many study Bibles, the LASB has thousands of footnotes intended to show the reader how the text applies to daily life. A noble aim, but does it succeed? In my view the result is certainly mixed. This is not a Bible I would recommend to others. Its publisher claims the LASB is the best-selling study Bible on the market today. That could be a good thing. But perhaps it simply shows the lack of doctrinal clarity and spiritual depth in too many North American churches, and in the people they serve.
Sample a few notes on critical issues and you will find the LASB trying desperately to ride the fence–likely in an attempt to find acceptance with as many as they can, and sell as many Bibles as possible. “How long did God take to create the world?” They are unsure whether it was in six days of 24 hours each, or whether “each day represents an indefinite period of time (even millions of years).” Thus they leave the door open to evolution. And what of the flood of Noah’s day? Was it a worldwide cataclysm, or merely a local event? All the LASB will admit is “a universal flood was certainly possible.”
In matters of Bible prophecy–the rapture of the church, the tribulation, the millennial kingdom–the LASB is chronically non-committal. Some say this, some say that, and it does not really matter anyway. This latter ploy is frequent, and it reflects the common ecumenical cry, “Let’s ignore doctrine and be one big happy family.” So, in discussing whether creation took only six days we read in the LASB, “It is not important how long it took God to create the world, whether a few days or a few billion years, but that He created it just the way He wanted it.” But this is careless and grossly misleading. Far from being “not important,” our understanding of the plain words of Genesis carries with it huge implications about the trustworthiness of the Bible and the high place given to man by his Creator. Even the plan of salvation is affected.
It is not possible in this brief review to deal with some of these things. But I do want to say a word about the life application notes that provide the main rationale for this volume. Some are fine, but many involve simplistic and superficial applications of the text. Further, the editors sometimes depart from the more likely explanation of biblical events to espouse unusual and largely unsupported explanations.
As an example, consider the account of the famine in the land of Canaan in Abraham’s day (Gen. 12:10-20). Instead of trusting the Lord to provide for him in the Promised Land, Abraham heads down to Egypt in search of food. There are indications that he was not walking with the Lord at the time. He immediately conspires with Sarah to deny their marital status, in order to save his own skin. And it is striking that we have no record of him worshiping God until he later returns to Canaan (13:3-4). The LASB rightly describes this as “a test of Abraham’s faith.” But they tell us “Abram passed” the test because he made use of the intelligence God gave him! This book is not recommended.
Numerous times Bible events are associated with caves, in part because the terrain in that area is often riddled with them. Commonly, caves in the Scriptures became either hiding places or graves. They were home to the desperate, the destitute, and the dead. Here are some examples of events related to caves.
Lot’s shameful end came in a cave (Gen. 19:30).
Abraham was buried in a cave, as were other patriarchs (Gen. 25:9).
Evil men in Job’s time hid themselves in caves (Job 30:6).
Five Canaanite kings hid from Joshua in a cave, but they were found and killed (Josh. 10:16ff).
The backslidden Israelites hid from the Midianites in caves (Jud. 6:2).
And they hid from the Philistines in caves (I Sam. 13:6).
David hid from King Saul in a cave (I Sam. 22:1).
David showed mercy to Saul in a cave (I Sam. 24:3ff).
Faithful Obadiah hid 150 prophets of the Lord in a cave (I Kgs. 18:4ff).
Elijah hid from Jezebel in a cave (I Kgs. 19:9).
Ezekiel predicted Israel would be chastened by the Babylonians and men would hide in caves (Ezek. 33:27).
Lazarus was buried in a cave (Jn. 11:38).
Persecuted believers, in the early church, hid in caves (Heb. 11:38).
In the future Day of the Lord, people will attempt to hide from Him in caves (Isa. 2:19; Rev. 6:15)
Backsliding rarely, if ever, happens suddenly and completely in an instant. There is a process of spiritual drift, and a number of seemingly small decisions and actions contribute to the end result. That is so in the life of Abraham’s nephew Lot. His experience is a cautionary tale for us all. Even though he seems to have been a believer (cf. II Pet. 2:7-8), Lot made too many choices based on worldly and materialistic values. Psalm 1 could have been written about him. He walked in the counsel of the ungodly, stood in the path of sinners, and sat in the seat of the scornful. And in the end, he lost everything.
He chose to move near the wicked city of Sodom for materialistic reasons (Gen. 13:10-11).
He moved into a house in Sodom, perhaps for convenience (Gen. 14:12; cf. 19:3).
He gained a position of power and prestige in Sodom’s society (Gen. 19:1, where “sitting in the gate” suggests he was an elder on the town council).
He was willing to sacrifice his daughter’s purity and physical safety (Gen. 19:7-8). (And note that the wicked Sodomites had become “my brethren.”)
He was reluctant to leave condemned Sodom, and had to be dragged from the doomed city (Gen. 19:15-16).
He made a final attempt to cling to some of the old comforts (Gen. 19:17-20).
We see him last in destitution and drunken shame (Gen. 19:30-36).
Lot’s children by his daughters, were ancestors of the Moabites and the Ammonites, who later led Israel into idolatry and immorality (Num. 25:1-2), and into child sacrifice (to the god Molech, Lev. 18:21).
Early in the Scriptures the experience of Abraham gives us a lovely example of intercessory prayer. The old patriarch prays for the deliverance of his nephew Lot, when he learns that God is about to destroy the city of Sodom where Lot and his family live. “Abraham came near [to the Lord] and said, ‘Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?’” (Gen. 18:23). He then pleads for the safety of the city if fifty righteous can be found in it, bargaining his way down to ten righteous people.
This latter figure could well be the number in Lot’s own family. There were: Lot and his wife, and two virgin daughters living at home (Gen. 19:15, 4 people), plus sons-in-law, married to Lot’s daughters (vs. 14, at least 4 more people), and “sons” (vs. 12, may imply at least 2 more). Abraham knew his nephew was a believer (cf. II Pet. 2:7-8), but he seems to have assumed a greater influence for that worldly compromiser than Lot actually had.
Abraham showed an appreciation for the justice of God in his prayer (Gen. 18:25).
He had a loving concern for the welfare of others.
He speaks to God with humility (vs. 27).
Perhaps there is even a desire to see the wicked Sodomites come to repentance and faith in God, in that the preservation of a few righteous would spare the whole city.
In the end Lot was rescued because of Abraham’s intercession (Gen. 19:29).
Some would deny that it is possible for our prayers to change God’s mind, but I am not so sure about that. God knows what will eventually be done, because He knows all things. But somehow He has designed intercessory and prevailing prayer to operate within the sphere of His sovereignty. Prayer “avails much” (Jas. 5:16). Prayer moves the hand of God in those matters He has sovereignly permitted to be affected by the input of His people. So, do we pray for others as we should? That is the question.
Consider the story of the Prodigal Son. Before he left home, in his immaturity, he demanded, “Father, give me…” (Lk. 15:12). But when, as the Bible puts it, “he came to himself” (vs. 17), his plea was, “Father…make me…” (vs. 18-19). He was willing to bow low at his father’s feet and learn to be the humblest servant in his father’s house.
As individuals or as churches we often find our prayer times full of “gimmes.” We list our wants and wishes with great persistence. And they have their place, of course. But we might better say, “Father, make me.” Make me the kind of compassionate person who will reach out to others. Make me the kind of humble servant in Your house that will support and encourage our leaders, and draw others into our church family. Make me what I ought to be, so the Holy Spirit can do His work unhindered in our church.
One of the Bible’s shortest verses expresses an admonition from the lips of Jesus, “Remember Lot’s wife” (Lk. 17:32). But what is there to “remember”? In all the Scriptures there is only one verse about this woman. When Lot and his family were dragged from the city of Sodom by two angels, prior to its fiery destruction, we read, “But his wife looked back behind him, and she became a pillar of salt” (Gen. 19:26). But in spite of the limited detail, here are some things we know about her.
That she is a historical figure is confirmed by the words of Jesus. This is not a mythical person, but a flesh-and-blood woman whose time on this earth and tragic end needs to be remembered.
That she lived in the wicked city of Sodom. Was she perhaps a native of the area? We do not know, but it seems possible.
That she lived with a righteous husband (cf. II Pet. 2:7-8), likely for more than two decades, since their children were grown.
That all her children were worldly, either refusing to leave the city or, in the case of Lot’s two unmarried daughters, carrying its morals away with them (Gen. 19:30-38).
That she loved the lifestyle of Sodom. The wording in Genesis suggests she lagged behind, and pulled back toward the city, not wanting to leave.
That she willfully disobeyed both her husband and the Lord (Gen. 19:15, 17), showing her true heart’s attitude.
That she experienced the judgment of God, dying a terrible death.
That she is an example and a reminder of the danger of turning back from a course once begun (cf. Lk. 9:62; II Tim. 4:10; Heb. 10:38). Specifically, in the context, Lot’s wife is to be a lesson for the people of Israel in the Tribulation not to turn back from following Christ (Lk. 17:24-37).
Scientists and physicians are just beginning to discover the physical and emotional benefits of laughter. If it is related to that which is wholesome, and appropriate to the occasion, it can be a good thing. Other reasons for laughter are not so good. Here are some kinds (or reasons) for laughter:
Health-giving laughter that does good like a medicine (Prov. 17:22; and see especially #3, and perhaps #4)
Unbelieving laughter that doubts God’s promise (Gen. 17:17; 18:12, 15)
Joyful laughter at a happy surprise (Gen. 21:6; cf. vs. 3, Isaac means laughter)
Sympathetic laughter at the foibles of man (much comedy in which we see our own failings portrayed is based on this)
Thoughtless, empty laughter, the laughter of a fool (Ecc. 7:6)
Immoral laughter, making a joke of what is displeasing to God (Eph. 5:4–a lot of television comedy sadly sinks to this)
Mocking laughter the belittles another’s folly (This can be cruel or righteous, depending on who and what is being mocked, cf. Gen. 21:9; Ps. 2:4, 4.)
It is important to show that Christmas is more than the sentimental celebration of a birth. It involves the incarnation of the Son of God, who came to give His life as a ransom for lost sinners. Thus there is an important tie between the crib and the cross. So, why not have a service, mid-way between the two events, which brings the two together?
The date of Easter: Easter does not fall on the same day each year, as Christmas does. But there is a way to calculate when it will occur. It always falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following March 21st. Here’s a site that shows the date of Easter for the next 100 years.
A good date is usually sometime early to mid February. (If it’s close to the 14th, perhaps a link could be made to the love theme of Valentine’s.) When we did this in our church, there were simple decorations representing both occasions. The hymns (carols) and Scriptures (etc.) in the first half of the service revolved around Christmas. In the second half, the focus was on Easter. The Bible message emphasized the relationship between the two. The program was greatly appreciated by all in attendance.
