Say word
“…but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Matthew 8:8
The centurion had faith, and apparently a good bit more than God’s chosen people (v 10). His servant was in a great deal of pain and Jesus offered to come heal him. But the Roman soldier stopped the Lord and asked that he only say the word, and it would be done. And he did, and it was.
Many of us are stuck at home for a little while. How can we improve our situation? By pondering the faith of the centurion. He saw spiritual realities. He knows he has no power to heal his suffering servant. He even knows (bold belief!) that Jesus’ physical presence will add nothing. What was really needed was a command from the top of the ranks.
How does this apply to us? There are many things we cannot do right now. What a wonderful time to reflect on all the things that Jesus can do from where he sits. Let’s crowd his throne with prayers for things like salvations, comforts, and merciful healings to go out into the world. It’s nothing but a word to him, for all these things are under his pulsating authority.
A time for rebellion
“And the LORD was with him; wherever he went out, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him.“ 2 Kings 18:7
Hezekiah is a breath of fresh air to the reader of biblical history, a righteous king in a troubled line (v 5-6). In verse 7 we see a very OT pattern in the king: the LORD was with him and he prospered in all that he did. But the second half of this verse gives us the negative side of things: his walk with God was also a walk of rebellion.
We can learn something from ol’ Hezzie. We too must rebel, if we are to serve God. Our rebellion will look different than his, but it is rebellion all the same. It is times like these when our rebellion must be at its greatest. “Pastor, are you saying we should revolt against wicked rulers?” Well, yeah. Of course we should. But maybe you’re thinking of the wrong kind of rulers.
Idols and sin rule us by nature. A true turning to God is a turning against them; we cannot have the one without the other. And now is the time to rebel against sin in all forms, especially the doubting of God’s promises, sovereignty, and good plans. We must raise our fists high against ungodly fear and worldly worry. We have served these false gods long enough. The living God is watching over us; all is well.
Rebel with a high hand against every power in your heart and mind that does not cheerfully submit to the Lord Jesus Christ and the utter surety of his reign. For it is he, the supreme Potentate, who says to us, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). Let’s go about our business as best we can, and let’s rejoice that we have such a Lord, such a Shepherd, such a God, and such a Friend as he.
Necromancy of another sort
“as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet” 2 Kings 13:21
Communication with the dead may occur after a godly fashion, for the dead bones of the prophets have been known to quicken. The miraculous virtues of the Spirit still flowed through that earthen vessel long after his own life had withered. In fact, an encounter with Elisha in the Old Book may easily awaken the spirit man to this day.
O Church, how may we apply this? Hang out with the dead. Dust off your old volumes, for they are the true holy relics. Unlock the sealed vault of the Puritans. Peruse once again the writings of the Reformers. Dare you go further? Rub shoulders with the literary bones of the Fathers, for even there you will find surprising quickening power.
What we have here is life in death. It is the pattern. And it is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose death for us gives us life forevermore, if once we touch him by faith.
A Porcelain Throne
“And they…demolished the house of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day.” 2 Kings 10:27
Sin is gross. To help us understand what it’s really like, God has designed the destiny of the wicked to be disgusting. Hell is the gehenna, the burning sewage pile outside of the city.
I daresay you’ve heard of the notorious porcelain throne. Well, it was the only throne left for Baal when God was done with him. He turned his house from temple to toilet. Elijah had a similar thought: “he is relieving himself” (1 Kings 18:27). Could it be that Elijah did more than mock? Perhaps it was a poopy prophecy.
This is the destiny of fake gods and their worshippers. Wicked men boast of crowns in hell, but not even a porcelain seat will be found in that filthy place. Flee to Christ today to be washed and cleansed of things far worse than sewage.
Of sermon and snoozefest
“And so it happened to him…” 2 Kings 7:20
God’s word is startling. Here is a good example. Elisha had prophesied that within 24 hours the city of Samaria would go from horrifying starvation to plenteous bounty. The king’s messenger disbelieved it, and so the prophet added a second prophecy: the doubting messenger would see it, but not taste of it. And so it came about, when the people trampled him in the gate.
Prophets say outrageous things. It comes with the territory. They are the mouthpieces of the living God, and what he says is anything but expected. For instance, deep into a severe drought, Elijah told Ahab to mount his chariot and ride “lest the rain stop you” (1 Kings 18:44). Unreal! But the showers fell. This word is like it.
But it isn’t just these “little” things of his word that are outrageous, it’s the big things, the biggest things of all. God’s love for sinners expressed in the Lord Jesus Christ is an unbelievable matter. His first word in response to the fall was completely unexpected: I’m going to send a Savior to undo this. What! “This day,” he says to the thief beside him, “you shall be with me in Paradise.” And so it happened to him, and so it shall be with every wretched sinner who trusts him.
The concepts of Scripture enter our minds and take shape in our thoughts, but that is only the beginning. These are not just words and ideas; they are realities. Everything our God has spoken will appear, will turn real, in waking life. Buckle your seatbelt.
Truth, Beauty, and Gooseness
“Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
Truth, beauty, and goodness are classically known as the transcendentals, or ideals of human endeavor and creation. For something to be what we would commonly call good, it must embody all three of these realities: logical truth, artistic beauty, and the goodness of God. We should screen everything we watch, read, listen to, and generally consume, through this template.
This week I had a cool opportunity to teach my kids about truth, beauty, and goodness using an interesting method: a video game about a goose. The description says it all: It's a lovely morning in the village, and you are a horrible goose. The object of the game is to wreak general havoc on people, places, and things. We took the principles in order.
First, does the game contain truth? Yes, this is what geese are like. We played with the speed and capabilities of the goose, which made the game more difficult. This forced us to use strategy and logic, which is also truth. Second, does it contain beauty? Most certainly. The game is charming; it’s more like playable art. Third, is the game good? This posed problems for us because, well, the goose is horrible. How could the game be good? As they puzzled over this my daughter realized that the game is played as a goose, from its perspective and according to its nature. So we worshipped God for his clever and strange creations and had lots of fun doing it. And that’s good.
Beloved, we can grow as redeemed image bearers through everything we consume. If we surround ourselves with truth, beauty, and goodness, we will find ourselves in rich communion with the living God and being conformed to his image in all things. This is how we do everything to his glory.
Stones of Offense of Another Sort
A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty, but a fool’s provocation is heavier than both. Proverbs 27:3
What does this proverb mean? It means a fool who loses his cool is insufferable. The wise man wins souls, but the unleashed fool torments the spirits of men and grinds them to powder.
Do you know this individual? I think you do. As a matter of fact, we all do. Each one of us may, at this point, borrow the words of the old Jedi: “Well of course I know him. He’s me.”
Brothers and sisters, we are sinners, and this means we’ve been insufferable to God and men. Sometimes we still are. Our guilt in this alone—our foolish anger—is enough to sink us to the deepest levels of hell. The mere thought of it is pulverizing. Is there really hope for people like us?
Glory to God! Jesus loves us and bore the crushing weight of our sin on the tree.
When Prophets get Wheels
“And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.” 1 Kings 18:46
Elijah had mad prophet game. When the Spirit of God was upon him, he was quick-witted, and quick-footed (and, before the end, quick-winged). The word of God sped swiftly from his lips, fulfilling its purpose, summoning drought and rain, rendering judgment, and grace, and life to the dead. And, he enjoyed physical superpowers for a short while.
God’s prophets sometimes experienced supernatural traveling arrangements: Philip’s teleportation, Paul’s visit to paradise, Ezekiel’s vision-journeys, and Elijah’s escort to heaven. But this was a physical enablement, more akin to Samson’s feats of war. Here was bodily training that was profitable for all things. The Tishbite Wingfoot left Ahab’s chariot in the dust.
What can we say? When God needs his prophets to run, they will run. He provides for us in similar ways. I suppose the rare, extraordinary physical feat could still occur among us, but more ordinarily, he quickens us with supernatural grace and speeds us along on our errands for his glory. With his hand upon us, we easily outpace the machinations of the evil one.
A prophet’s stipend
“You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 1 Kings 17:4
Elijah administered the drought, but didn’t suffer the drought. He lived, and ate, and drank, while Ahab’s Israel languished under the judgment. A prophet need not feel bad about it either. Elijah wasn’t super-holy, pretending to want to starve along with Ahab. It was God himself who told the prophet where to go and what to receive. He didn’t refuse God’s provision.
The church, like ol’ E, also administers spiritual judgments as part of the ministry of the word of God, but is herself judged by none of them. Her good stipend is the kindness and care of God. The prophet is, after all, still a sheep, a member of the body of Christ in his own right. Believers enjoy the rich, spiritual provisions of Christ even while declaring his terrifying judgments to a lost world.
O ye sinner, flee to the Brook to be saved from eternal death!
The Prophet’s New Clothes
“Now Ahijah had dressed himself in a new garment, and the two of them were alone in the open country. Then Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces.” (1 Kings 11:29-30)
The Old Testament prophets were fond of object lessons. Here’s a well known one. Ahijah foretold the kingdom split using a charade with his outfit. He grabbed his brand new threads and ripped them into twelve pieces. These represented the twelve tribes; the ten given to Jeroboam represented the ten tribes that he would receive (this became Israel in the North, while Judah remained in the South).
Twice we are told that it was a new garment. What a waste! Ah, but the wasting of the new garment is nothing to the wasting of the new kingdom. Solomon just established it—when the sounds of the prophet’s torn jacket ripped through the air, the son of David still sat upon his glorious throne. It reminds us of Eden. We don’t know how long Adam ruled that happy Place, but it wasn’t very long. It seems like the command to be fruitful and multiply was still ringing in his ears when they met the tempter; Eve’s childlessness makes us think so. And so, the Garden, like the Kingdom, was but a babe when it was torn from the hands of our first father, God’s unfaithful king.
It should come as no surprise that Jesus, the true Son of David, succeeded where all who came before him failed. He established a kingdom for us that does not depend on our faithfulness, but upon his own. It does not run any risk of destruction; its fate does not hang in the balance. Eternal life is ours, and ever new it springs up in our hearts. Our garment of salvation cannot be torn, but unifies us with Jesus Christ in the utter surety of his reign. Entrust everything to the faithful Friend of sinners who sits upon the throne.