Bible Men: Elijah: A Man of like Passions as We Are

Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table. 1Ki 18:19  

Mt. Carmel: When Faith Leapt into the Sky

The Jews, those people who thirst for God as a man thirsteth for water in a dry land, sang “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help” (Ps 121:1). 

A mountain invokes worship. The soul lifts, gathering the wind in its palms, and then it breaks forth into that shaking song.

It isn’t that God lives on a mountain. The Jews knew that, and every poet whom God has inspired knows that “My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth” (Ps 121:2). 

At first it was Sinai, the mount of God, which smoked, and where the bush burned but it did not consume. Then the earth trembled and his voice thundered.

Since then mountains have gripped man’s imagination. So too has the journey of faith, in its upward trajectory, before it enters the gates.

Caleb may have prayed for much more than the physical hill when he entreated Joshua to “Give me this mountain.” Gallant deeds can aid faith just as small ones can hinder it.

So it was natural for Elijah, as a child of the law and the prophets, to choose a mountain place for a showdown between his God and Ahab’s retinue of false prophets. And what makes the heart throb is that Elijah was a man of like passions as we are.

The Genesis of Unbelief

Something draws out the heart to the novelty.

God had been very good to Adam and Eve, giving them everything. Yet our fall (as the serpent told our first parents) was predicated on the one thing we thought we didn’t have. “Ye shall not surely die.”

The children of Israel wanted a king so that they might be like other nations. It staggered them that they were different.

Does it confound you, dear child, that you are born different? If it’s a gift from God, then it’s a joy. It may sound boring now, but eternal fruits take time to ripen. “For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” 

We may react to a wilderness experience in several ways. It might enlighten us, or it may stoke anger, bitterness and death. Choose well brethren.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2Co 4:17-18  

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 1Jn 2:16-17  

Lust is a Leaf in the Wind

We know life here on earth is brief. The apostles have viewed that life as a breath, others as grass, and as a passing cloud. Lust is an enemy for the believers’ soul as the apostles have warned.

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. 1Pe 2:11  

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.  For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.  Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Col 3:1-5 

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Gal 5:16-17  

And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. Gal 5:24  

From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Jas 4:1  

But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.  Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 1Co 10:5-6 

Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; 

How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? Heb 2:1-4 

The Cure of Unbelief

A believer’s greatest arsenal against lust is faith through the word of God. “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb 12:2). 

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Heb 11:13  

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Heb 12:1

Bible Men: Elijah: A Man of like Passions as We Are

And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. 1Ki 18:21  

Decision is Life

To decide is destiny. And not to decide is destiny still.

Moses faced the children of Israel in the wilderness and frankly asked them to choose one. He meant to stump in their minds the weight decisions carry in one’s life.

I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live. Deu 30:19 

It is the introvert’s curse that every day he hovers between two opinions. The sun rises, and the sun sets, and yet he is still standing at the road junction.

I pray that by the end of this blog I shall have convinced someone to turn to the right.

The Intersection of Marriage and Decision

There is a physical and a spiritual dimension to the meaning of marriage. The Bible says the married become one flesh. That is spiritual. The physical is that they move into one house.

It underscores the point that what you choose is what you get married to, you become one with it.

God had a purpose for saying marriage is for life. He meant for a person to have conviction, and thereby to escape the jail of indecision.

It is not wrong to change decisions. In the day to day affairs it’s sometimes the wisest thing. But in the matter of Christian faith, to change decision might be to change destiny.

The Example of Israel

God had given Israel the law and its set of commandments. These were not merely letters but God breathed instructions. God had established a covenant (agreement or “marriage”) with them, to be their God and them his people.

But they transgressed the law. They became unfaithful as a wife becomes unfaithful to her husband. This is what is called apostasy. They abandoned their agreement with God.

God meant for them to be fixed in their decision (of one God), but now they were having other or multiple decisions (gods).  

Another word for this behavior is compromise. They believed in one God yes, but they also dabbled in the worship of other gods.

In Old Testament writings God called out Israel for being a prostitute. He chose them, and married them, yet they went to find other lovers. They were not satisfied with him. In language which trembles with feeling, God opens out his pain with his first “wife” Israel.

And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.  I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare. 

Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.  Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.  I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk. 

I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck. And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.  Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.  And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD. 

But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was. Eze 16:6-15 

So the prophet Elijah looked at Israel and his zeal burnt. It wasn’t for himself. It wasn’t for his God either but for his people. They were foolish. Jeremiah wailed that they had chosen broken cisterns. Jesus looked at Jerusalem and wept.

Created for Higher Dreams and Decisions

God created us for himself. He is our husband and we are his wives, metaphorically speaking. We struggle in this world to find the meaning of life, but we look for it in the wrong places. We look for it in our many “lovers”, our many teachers and many ideas. “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions” (Ecc 7:29).  

But our inventions will always leave us hungry. They will always leave us empty. That is why the famous King Solomon gasped, “I hated life” and “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity” (Ecc 1:2).  

And so it is even to this day.

In the book of Proverbs Solomon exhorts his son to choose God because that is the path of wisdom. He implores him to decide wisely. Choosing God is choosing life and rejecting him is choosing death.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Pro 9:10  

Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Pro 3:5-6 

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. Pro 4:7  

Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.  Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors.  For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death. Pro 8:33-36 

Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice? Pro 8:1 

So weigh your decisions very, very carefully. It is your life or your death. Please, I beg you, allow this to sink just for a short while. “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” 

Bible Men: Elijah: A Man of like Passions as We Are

And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,  Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. 1Ki 17:8-9 

From Lost Hope to Newfound Joy

From a brook and ravens into a Gentile city. The changing scenarios of God’s providences. The world had been beautiful once. But now the earth was as hard as iron. A drought had decimated the land, leaving it bare, and shattering the hopes of many. Dust lifted on the footpaths and left trails hanging in the air.

So Elijah arose to go to Zarephath, “which belongeth to Zidon.” It is here he finds the widow woman gathering sticks for making her last meal for her and her son, before she sits down and waits for death.

She didn’t mean to blurt out all her despair at once to a stranger, but for the prophet leading her on towards her faith, as if step by step.

And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah. 1Ki 17:15-16 

And it is here that I note something remarkable. That a miracle of God had indeed happened is quite obvious. But it is not until the widow’s son dies and is resurrected, after much knotting of the soul, that, finally, she acknowledges the obvious: “And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth” (1Ki 17:24) . 

Sometimes we acknowledge easily that God is God, but other times it is only through a tremendous choking of the heart that we come to a full acknowledgement that God is God.

In Whose Name?

Another remarkable trait of this story is that this widow woman had no proper name. We know her only by her town name of Zarephath.

And she’s not the only bible character without a name. I remember the woman at the well in Samaria, the one who was living with her sixth husband but Jesus did not call her a prostitute (to condemn is easy, it is persuasion which is harder). And then we have The Good Samaritan.

I think there are instances when the name is important and other times it’s not. We have all known the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But who was the woman who had an issue of blood for 12 years, or the man with an unclean spirit, or the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus?

I think there are instances when it’s not the name which is of import but the grace.

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins. Eph 2:1  

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:  Not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph 2:8-9  

Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Eph 2:11-13 

Christ’s Compassionate Heart

She’s a widow woman. And the Lord has great compassion for widows and the fatherless children. Another people which are a Bible favourite are prostitutes. “Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you” (Mat 21:31b).

The above scene is also mentioned in the New Testament concerning Elijah’s war with Ahab over the latter’s dabbling in false prophets, in cahoots with his idolatrous wife Jezebel.

And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land;  But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. Luk 4:24-26 

The widow woman might’ve been very angry. She might’ve thrown tantrums at the prophet. But God’s grace had rained on her. “I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.” How had God commanded her? I think through the Spirit.

Quench not the Spirit. 1Th 5:19 

Despise not prophesyings. 1Th 5:20  

Today we have a feast. But tonight let’s also pray for his grace, that tomorrow we might hear the birds singing again.

Do things look that bad? Remember the widow woman of Zarephath.

Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 1Pe 4:9  

And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. Mat 10:42  

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Php 4:19  

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Heb 13:2  

 

Bible Men: Elijah: A Man of like Passions as We Are

Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.  And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 1Ki 17:3-4  

The God of Brooks and Ravens

“Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?” That was the poet’s way of rendering the disbelief of the Israel children in the wilderness (Ps 78:19).

But Elijah heard, and Elijah obeyed.

So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. 1Ki 17:5-6  

This sort of commandment would look strange to a modern believer. Did it really happen? What of the miracles of the Old Testament, did they really happen or didn’t they? Was Goliath a true person or a myth? Did God really create the world in six literal days? Was the flood in Noah’s time universal or local?

And can one still be called a believer if they don’t believe these things? Can one still be said that they are of faith?

Elijah heard. And Elijah obeyed. Isn’t this still the principal in a modern believer’s day? I think it is. Only now we don’t hear the actual voice but that God speaks through his word and through the Holy Spirit.

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,  Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds. Heb 1:1-2 

I think the next natural question is whether God can actually command a modern believer to be fed by ravens. I don’t think such a thing would actually happen, but I know a believer can hear (through the promptings of the Holy Spirit) a command to do something. That is if we take the word of God as the whole truth which has been revealed to us through the Holy Scriptures. The question is whether we can obey it instantly as Elijah did – or as Abraham did.

So what is the lesson for us in this passage? I think it concerns our ability to believe God for all things, and at all circumstances. I think it is about our faith or the lack of it. I think the other lesson is whether we really know our God that well or not. For Elijah, his testimony stretched all the way from the beginning of Israel as a nation. That was the work of God, and continues to be so up to this day

Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. 1Ki 8:56  

There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass. Jos 21:45  

 

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Num 23:19 

 

So this is the God I believe, and if he says ravens will feed me there why shouldn’t I believe it? What have you heard fellow believer, and are you ready to obey (or disbelieve) it?

Abraham heard God’s commandment, and “he went out, not knowing whither he went.” That is the kind of faith I wish to pursue. What about you?

Yes ravens can still feed a man if he has faith!

For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Mar 11:23  

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. Heb 11:3  

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. Heb 11:6  

But Elijah heard God, and Elijah obeyed God. So are you ready to hear too, and are you ready to obey God like that?

Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit. Jas 5:17-18  

The Language of God is Heard by those who Believe

The natural reaction of man is that of unbelief. One may laugh while another might sneer. That is perfectly natural. The men, at the day of Pentecost, were thought mad.

What is not natural is to believe. That takes the supernatural power of God for a man to do so. “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day” (Joh 6:44).  

It takes a surrendered man to hear and obey God. Why don’t you become that man or woman of faith from today? How the sun stays brighter when we obey, and how the sky grows dark when we disobey! Remember Jonah? God commanded him to go this way, but he went another way. And the result was his depression in the belly of the fish!

Fellow believer, it starts with a simple act of obedience. After that nothing shall be impossible with God. Please believe that, and please arise and let’s go and hide by the brook Cherith. The ravens will feed us there!

Bible Men: Elijah: A Man of like Passions as We Are

And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. 1Ki 17:1  

The God Before Whom I Stand

Elijah means “Jehovah is God.” Here is a prophet who was fully clothed in God.

Paul wrote of the believer as having his loins girt about with truth, his breastplate adorned with righteousness, his feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; his head covered with the helmet of salvation, and his hand gripping the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Such then is the image of a believer, of one who prays “always with all prayer” (Eph 6:14-18).   

Such is the seriousness of the matter, especially where life is involved. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph 6:12). 

Whereas a non-believer sees fate in the matters of life, a believer sees prophecy. So Elijah could boldly say ‘but according to my word.’ The joy of the LORD is a believer’s strength.

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD. Isa 54:17  

I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Psa 91:2 

The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. Psa 34:7  

The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. Pro 18:10  

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? Rom 8:31 

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed. 2Co 4:8-9  

We have been chosen. Called to be saints. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.” That’s a great privilege. That’s the mark of a great love. And pray how can one simply impugn such a great gift?

Knowing your God is Important

Paul called our faith a “high calling.” That’s not saying it’s esoteric, or that which is only understood by a few. It’s not the education but faith.

Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Eph 2:19-22 

 And this is the LORD God of Israel before whom we stand.

Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. Joh 6:68  

Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. Psa 73:25  

Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psa 16:11  

As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. Psa 17:15  

Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God. Psa 43:4  

Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Psa 63:3  

For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD? Psa 89:6  

 The Privilege of a Vision

Elijah delivered the word of God to Ahab and it took effect immediately. The just shall live by faith.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Heb 11:13 

For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.  And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.  But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city. Heb 11:14-16  

By faith they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the Egyptians assaying to do were drowned. Heb 11:29  

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days. Heb 11:30 

Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.  Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:  And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:  They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;  (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. Heb 11:33-40

 

I felt your love brethren. It was a balm. Thanks and God bless!

 The Joy of Silence

Be still, and know that I am God. Psa 46:10

Seasons Come and Seasons Go

Greetings Friends.

I am sorry I got swallowed by silence.

I know it’s bad manners. But I trust I am forgiven.

Solomon wrote “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” A time for talking, and a time for silence; a time for gazing at the stars, and a time for going inside.

Some things can only be done in silence and not in a hurry. I am attempting such a task. It will make me scarce this year but God is in control. I ask only for your prayers. I need them.

Nothing Strange

Now I love silence. From childhood I have been a silence hawk. But a dear friend of mine has averred that I am traumatized. She worries it is why I am silent. I don’t know that I suffer from such a thing. I know I have laughed out aloud through my life instead!

Is that traumatic?

Her solution though is that I should talk – the very thing (if I have a trauma) which drove me into a trauma in the first place! I have hated talking since childhood!

My favourite gesture as a child, I remember, was resting my palms in my cheeks. It infuriated my mom. Many times she threw a live log of fire in my direction to drive her point home: “Remove those hands there! No one has died here!”

It always sent me laughing.

Mind you, I am not taking traumas lightly. They are real. They are devastating.

But from a believer’s perspective it is not strange.

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 

But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 1Pe 4:12-13  

God has used “traumas” before to bring his will to prevail among his beloved people. Take Israel’s slavery in Egypt, their exile in Babylon, and the holocaust for example.  

Mankind has been in exile since Adam and Eve lost Eden. And exiles are always traumatic. We are restless, and we shall remain so, until we return home to God where we belong.

Finally God did not spare his own beloved Son from the worst trauma of sin. He did it, because he loved us. Love, believe me, can be traumatic.

Has there ever been in history such a traumatic cry as this, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

A Love As Strong As Death

Yet the amazing thing is that God did it. He unleashed his full wrath on his beloved Son.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Isa 53:3-4 

It’s quite amazing. God traumatized his Son in our behalf. That love is breathtaking. If he were a woman we should call her crazy and deranged. But this isn’t a woman but God!

Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. 

Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned. Son 8:6-7  

Healed By a Trauma

But why should God love like this? To remove the trauma of our sin. To make our return to Paradise possible.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isa 53:5 

God did it for his name’s sake. He did it for his mercy’s sake. He did it so we may have his peace which passes all understanding.

That’s the silence which I want to enjoy for life.

Are you restless? Are you traumatized?

God died for you!

He went to the uttermost.

For Good or For Worse

So whether we suffer good, or traumas or tribulations, God is not limited to use anything to save, even swords and deaths.

But don’t fear.

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1Co 10:13  

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Rom 8:28 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Rom 8:35  

So I think, if I have a trauma, then it is because my silence was stolen from me in childhood!

Too much noise, I think, is akin to a trauma, especially to the sensitive heart.

Today we don’t wonder. We don’t fear.

Everything is beautiful. And therein, I believe, lies the root of our traumas. For we can’t call evil good and good evil without badly upsetting the foundations of the heart.

It wrecks it.

But noise is a distraction. It throws up the blinds. And the result is always pain and the loss of the childhood wonder.

Book for All Seasons

The Bible is a book of trauma. But it is also a book of miracles. The grave gave up the dead. And now Christ lives forever. But even more the Bible is a book of great silence.

Sometimes it’s those tunnels of great darkness which are the true bulwarks of our Christian faith. That is the lesson of Job’s trauma – and that of all the prophets. For we walk by faith and not by sight.

The great silence of heaven has meaning. God wishes for everybody to find that out by whatever way he chooses for his beloved.

Don’t resist him.

It takes dirt to dig out gold. It takes fire to polish it.

May the God of all grace grant you the joy of silent seasons this year!

Bible Men: King Solomon: Notes On the Meaning of Vanity

And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. 1Ki 10:1  

The Queen of Sheba: When the Heart Catches Fire

The heart is a restless organ. We are born desiring to know. Some things are irresistible. They are like “coals of fire which hath a most vehement flame.” “Many waters cannot quench love,” Solomon’s lover sang, and neither can a flood drown the hunger for truth.

Even in New Testament Christ commended the queen for her relentless search for truth. “The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here” (Mat 12:42). Will he commend me and you?

Granted, such struggles are common even in men, but they are most fervent in a woman. She literally leaves no stone unturned until she has found her missing coin. A man would sooner forget it and move on.

It’s true that it’s hazardous for a man to be too serious about everything. But equally it’s perilous for a man to be frivolous about everything in life. I think the right note is not to take mystical things lightly, like love, and death, and truth. Such was the tragedy of the men in the Parable of the Great Banquet who disdained the king’s invitation for a scrap of earth and flesh (Luke 14:15-24).

The queen of Sheba was not like that. History was calling and she wanted to be in it. “And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom” (1Ki 4:34).  

She heard the fame. Now she was ready to test it for herself. “And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions” (1Ki 10:1).  

Many have attempted a task. But they soon gave up. The queen was adoringly astute. “And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart” (1Ki 10:2).  

Men are great travellers. But men are invariably poor communicators. The queen “communed with him of all that was in her heart.” It’s the people who ask questions who find answers.

And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon's wisdom, and the house that he had built, And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. 1Ki 10:3-5 

Don’t be Feeble, Have Courage

We are given life, not just to gaze at, but to question it, and where possible to write down our findings.

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Act 17:11

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. 1Pe 3:15  

Don’t ignore anything. Question everything. Such was the path the queen took. And walking along it she emerged into the open field of eternal sunshine.

And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. 1Ki 10:6-7 

What is that which is burning inside your heart? Ask God to show you what it is. He is faithful and he will do it.

For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. Psa 107:9 

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Luk 11:9-10 

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. Jer 29:13  

The Grace of God is Irresistible

Many kings were drawn to Jerusalem to see this king. But all had different purposes. Maybe it was curiosity for some. Maybe sheer jealous for others. But don’t be afraid. Ask. Christ has come and today not everyone has to go to Jerusalem. Just call on him wherever you are. Ask him hard questions and you will find you have a ready friend waiting to hear you.

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isa 1:18  

Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Isa 41:21  

Christmas is coming and many will be driven to “Jerusalem” to see this king. Quite many still will be driven for other reasons. Not that it is wrong. Only that it seems vain. What is a greater sight to behold than the king of the whole world – the king of history?

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:  Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Mat 13:44-46 

Yes the grace of God is a gift. If you have it please rejoice in it and pray also for those other wayfarers who don’t have it yet.