Dwelling Places and Promises Kept

Remember as we studied the covenants how often God said these words: "I shall be your God, and you shall be my people"? We saw it first in Exodus, when He introduced to Moses the notion of rescuing the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt: "I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God." We saw it also notably in Ezekiel 36, that awesome "new heart" passage, those words "you shall be my people, and I will be your God".

Well, look what I found in Revelation 21:3: "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.'" And then the wiping of tears, and the dying of death.

Isn't it just like God to remember and keep His promises? This is what He had planned all along, and He is the One who brought it to pass. And this, my friends, is the end of the story that God is writing on our hearts and in our history. Can't you just wait?

Kingdoms

One last word from Second Samuel 7, along with this glorious picture of a jellyfish. Isn't she pretty? Or is it he? Well, whatever, just another wonder declaring the glory of God.

In addition to all the other promises that God spoke to King David through the prophet Nathan, we see this in verse 16: "And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever."

This begs the question: Is David still on his throne? Of course not. How then is it "forever"? I know, these are easy questions, but stay with me here. You remember the angel appearing to Mary and saying this, among other things: "And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end" (Luke 1:32-33).

There is the fulfillment of the promise. And we are citizens in that kingdom, forever and ever, because of the blood of the Lamb. "He has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever" (Revelation 1:5, 6). Amen!

Rest

Here's a little guy who knows how to rest. He also thinks he's a cat, but that's another issue.

Such a peaceful pose; do we ever really rest? I mean the deep, peaceful rest of the eternally secure ones, the ones how know that their entire wellbeing is in the Lord, who made heaven and earth?

Here's another great promise from 2 Samuel 7; remember the "house" passage? One of the many words that God speaks to David is this: "And I will give you rest from all your enemies."

A few chapters later (22), God does deliver David from all his enemies, and David rejoices. But was David's soul at rest? Was this the ultimate rest God was promising? No. Later God promises the same thing through Jeremiah: 'Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls" (6:16). This, too, is rest from our enemies. What, then is the "good way" of which Jeremiah speaks?

Here: "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lovely in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Jesus is the Way, the "good way", if you will. He is the One who gives our souls the ultimate rest that God promised to David. God had the way of salvation, the rest for our souls that we need, planned even then. He knew the plan, that Christ would come and bear His wrath for our sins that we might experience His rest.

Learn this way from Him, from the only One who gives it. Take this yoke, attaching yourself to Christ in every possible way, leaning into Him with your burdens and your life. Learn the lesson from Willie (above); splay yourself out on His mercy to find complete and perfect rest.

There's more in 2 Samuel. Stay tuned.

Dwelling among us

Second Samuel again: Thus says the Lord: "Would you build me a house to dwell in? I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent for my dwelling. . . . I have been with you wherever you went" (verses 6, 9). God Himself did not need a house, because He dwelt with His people wherever they went.

Does that remind you of another "dwelling" verse? John 1:14 says, as you all know, "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth."

Has God ever not dwelt with us? Is our God like the gods of the nations, who demand sacrifices but not relationship? This God, who made heaven and earth, asserts over and over in His Word: "And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people" (Leviticus 26:12, that's right, even the book of the law in the Old Testament says this!). This is a beautiful picture of our God, the God of steadfast love and faithfulness fame.

In fact, this God, "who is seated on the throne and who lives forever and ever" (Revelation 4:9) has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5).

Never. This is our God.

I've recently discovered a wonderful passage in 2 Samuel 7 that bears talking about. David, now settled in his kingship, experiencing rest from all his enemies, decides to build a house for the God who has prospered him. For "the ark of God dwells in a tent". So it makes complete sense, and Nathan the prophet okays it.

Until Nathan's dream that night, that is. God interrupts his sleep to give Nathan a different message for David: I will build him a house. What? David already has a house.

The house God intends to build for David is the one Paul speaks of in Ephesians 2: So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (ESV)

So God's plans for David are much bigger than David's kingdom, bigger even than his posterity. Bigger than his son's kingship, and he was the wisest man who ever lived.

We see continually in the Scriptures that God's purposes are beyond all that we imagine. Just read Ephesians 1 and see if you don't agree with me. And while you have your Bible open, read 2 Samuel 7 also and take note of all the promises God makes to David.

We'll explore them more tomorrow.

Making up part 2

Two couples--one married 61 years, the other at their wedding reception. One with many "makings-up" behind them, one with many ahead. We "make up" for each other, in our patience, our kindness, our givings-in, and our goings-without. Where one person lacks, the other fills in, and vice versa. To do this without resentment or pride is the hard thing, the thing we spend a lifetime learning.

Here's pride: In my marriage, I am the queen of grammar and pronunciation. Is this helpful, my tendency to correct my husband? Does this build him up, as I am called to do in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (below)? Probably not. And how does my husband "make up" for me? He laughs, or he practices the right way to pronounce a word. And he loves me anyway.

Here's resentment: Giving up time to help with the taxes, turning back to watch the Super Bowl when there are five minutes left to Downton Abbey, explaining things twice. Dennis is a good man, and deserves better than this from me.

"Therefore encourage one another, and build one another up, just as you are doing." 1 Thessalonians is full of such admonitions, and we do well in the Lord to keep trying to obey, remembering always that "it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

Making up

I read something today in the Milwaukee paper about a couple celebrating their 80th wedding anniversary. Yup, she was only 15 when they wed, which is how they made it to 80. Isn't that amazing?

Something a granddaughter said about them caught my eye, actually caught my heart: "Grandpa can't see very well, and Grandma can't hear very well. So they make up for each other." (See article below.)

What a great thing to say. Isn't that what it means to be a part of the Body of Christ? Note these verses:

• "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:32

• "bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." Colossians 3:13

Isn't that what "making up for each other" looks like? Arthur Pink, in his The Attributes of God, says it another way: "When tempted to be disgusted at the dullness of another, or to be revenged on one who has wronged you, call to remembrance God's infinite patience and longsuffering with yourself." Then you can make up for each other.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/couple-celebrates-80-years-of-compromising-qu43ef7-138829074.html

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Since I have a new computer and haven't yet mastered the technique of adding my own photos to the blog, I am just using photos that are included with the computer, hence these cute penguins. It is winter, after all.

Yesterday we looked at the Red Sea episode and saw the great deliverance that God wrought for the Israelites. And what happened to the Egyptians? Did God just send them a memo telling them to turn back? Did He send them back another way so He could deliver His people? No. He killed them. Without warning? No again, with plenty of warning. Remember all the plagues in Egypt? Even near their dreadful end, God sent a cloud between the Israelites and Pharoah's army to keep them from one another. That should have given the army pause. But they persisted in following the Israelites, God's people, straight into the Red Sea . . . and died.

We see here both God's righteous wrath against the children of men, and His amazing grace to the children of men. Exodus 14:30 says this: Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.

Were the Israelites so much better than the Egyptians that God chose to save them and not the others? You and I both know the answer to that. Just look at Exodus 15:24, three verses after their glorious song thanking God for His deliverance. They were just a toe's length out of Egypt when they began grumbling against the Lord who rescued them. They were no better than the Egyptians, and neither are we.

Why then the rescue of an ungrateful people? Deuteronomy 7:7 gives us the answer. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that He swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery.

He rescues because He is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant and loves those who are His own. This rescue is about His awesome grace and steadfast love. We would be as the Egyptians if it were not for Him. Let us live today as His rescued ones.

Who is like Him?

Not long ago, I was driving with my mother and my daughter, three generations mind you, on an icy road when a semi came sliding through an adjacent, and very near, stop sign, rotating on its front wheels 270 degrees, its rear end sweeping the road just in front of us. My heart stopped, my mother grabbed my arm, and we three waited. There was nothing else to do but wait to see what the damage would be in terms of lives and vehicles (ours).

That scenario came to mind this morning as I read of the Red Sea episode, which is so full of lessons as to be a textbook in its own right. In Exodus 14, the people were camping outside of Egypt a ways, and "they lifted up their eyes", and saw Pharaoh and his army approaching and not in good moods. Their hearts stopped, I imagine. Their whining started, as ours would have. And Moses said this: "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. . . . You have only to be silent." Wow. Have you ever been able to sit still and be silent when the world as you know it is caving in all around? These are amazing words. But Moses meant it. If the people had gone with their instincts, then they would have missed what God was going to do. God intended to show Himself mighty and capable of governing the affairs of men.

When all was said and done, at the Red Sea I mean, they sang: "Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?" And to think they might not have known that about God.

So, that day in the car, we sat still and waited for God's deliverance. By God's grace, the semi did not have a full-length trailer behind it, and it swung just short of us. My heart started beating again, and was full of praise to a God who does wonders.

Transformed!

I have been thinking about 2 Corinthians 3:18 lately; it keeps coming to mind, which is a sure sign that I should be thinking about it. Paul begins by talking about the veil that hides the

truths of Scripture from those who don't know God, here the Israelites. "To this day, whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts." (verse 15)

How is that veil removed? "When one turns to the Lord" (verse 16). And, glory of glories, now that the veil is removed we behold the glory of the Lord Himself in His Word and His doings. And more that that, we are becoming like Him. This, sisters, is not a small thing. To become like Christ!!!

So here is the verse: "And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." So much here.

How do we behold the Lord's glory? Reading, studying, meditating on His Word. Spending time with Him in prayer. Observing His acts in history. Contemplating Christ's place in our redemption. And this, this!, transforms us into His image. Our work? No, His work in us, "from the Lord, the Spirit." It is the Spirit in us, enabling us to understand and love what God has done, that transforms us. We are the watchers, God is the transformer of our hearts.

So, keep your eyes open and your Bible open, and watch.