Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. (Isaiah 42:1 MSG)
In verses 1 to 4, I can feel the Father’s pride regarding his Son. The way He talks about the Son, you can tell the depth of the relationship they share. Which just makes me realize even more the greatness of the sacrifice they made. Why go to that extent? Because God loves us (verses 5 to 9). Worship, then, is the natural response, as encouraged in the next verses. Although, just by the greatness of His power He is already most worthy of worship, we worship not because of fear, but we are able to worship because of gratefulness and love.
So hear, look – don’t just stand there passively! God is speaking and showing you great things, and you have to actively listen and see.
Last Sunday in TBC, Pastor Akira shared the story of his time in Bible school when he consulted his professor about his plan to make an in-depth study of the Old Testament Law (the Torah, first five books). His professor advised him that it is difficult, and can even be dangerous, to study the Old Testament just by itself. I understand that now – without Jesus, many things in the Law does not make sense, and can be quite discouraging. Case in point, the second part of Numbers 5.
A husband, who finds out his wife committed adultery – or even just thinks that she did, whether it is true or not – has some things within his right that he is able to do. He can present his wife to God through the priest, and let her go through a test. Up until here the focus is on the jealous husband, but now the focus is on the wife. She is made to give a testimony in front of God of her innocence, and the effect of the water (holy, mixed with dust from the area inside the temple) she is made to drink will determine if she is truthful or not.
There are so many angles we can look at regarding this passage, but for now, just one. God tells us that He is a jealous God. He is jealous for the people He created, loves, and through Jesus, sacrificed and gave up so much for. He is forever faithful and, rightly so, expects those who has committed themselves to Him to be faithful as well. God calls the Church – his people – as his bride.
If we as a church, or just personally, were made to stand before God now – will we be able to say confidently that we are faithful? We can hide from people, our sins can be hidden, but not to God. I would not drink the holy water. I would break down and confess my sin. Numbers 5 does not say what happens in that case, but I do know what the jealous God will do. What He has already done. He forgives, he took the punishment in our place, he cleanses us, and we are made new. We are able to escape the curse, and we are even recipients of greater blessings.
It’s fitting to end this post with the song “How He Loves”:
He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of His wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.
And oh, how He loves us, oh,
Oh, how He loves us,
How He loves us all
Such a short passage for a long trip, but spot on as always.
Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. (Psalm 125:1 ESV)
I am feeling a bit shaken recently, at least more than I would admit even to myself. I am learning that it takes faith both in trusting God in the unknown as well as trusting God – persevering – in what is known. You are now here, you trusted God to bring you to it, now you need to trust God as you go through it.
Remain in Him, abide in Him, be upright in your heart and in your life. This is God’s message to me today.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people, from this time forth and forevermore. (Psalm 125:2 ESV)
People going to and preparing for war, working on their craft, going about their business. Saying about their own work, “it is good.” God’s people on the other hand, may not be as strong, or as ready, compared to the others. But God says, “fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10 ESV)
“Fear not, because I the Lord…”
He is great, and able to do great things far beyond what any man can do. Trust in Him.
To paraphrase verse 1-2: Since there is (great) encouragement in Christ, comfort from love, participation in the Spirit, affection and sympathy – we should be of the same mind, have the same love, be in full accord and of one mind. This will also bring joy to our spiritual fathers, those who have come before us.
As Jesus has said, “the world will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”
Not surprisingly, we have an actual opportunity now where we can show our love to our brothers and sisters in Christ. This is God’s reminder to us.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, (Philippians 2:3-5 ESV)