Genesis 1:31
"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." (New International Version-NIV)

Truly Gods vast creation, landscape, wildlife and man is beautiful beyond description.

Saturday, May 3, 2014

Weekly Bible Study, West Chester, OH. May 3, 2014

Lord open our eyes, that we may behold wondrous things out of your word. Amen. 

This week lets look into God's word to study and learn about promises. Last week we spent a lot of time discussing choices and commitments which in one way of looking at it are the same as  a promise. We promise to do something and in making such a promise do we chose to trust and obey God to help us or are we just going to rely on our own strength. Promise. What does it mean? I am sure you have watched little children play and they will promise to do thus and so. As a parent I am sure there have been time when you have allowed your children to do something or go some where and to your instructions they say  “ I promise “. As fathers we promise our families we will do a particular thing some time. In our marriage vows we promise to do various things. When we buy a house, a car, when we sign up for a credit card are we not making a promise to pay for the item? Don’t they call the document we sign a promissory note? 

Do you find that promises are easy to keep? Which ones are easy to keep and which ones are hard to keep? Are there promises we actually never intend to keep? Can you think of one or two? When I think about it there are some things we say in certain situations where we just automatically respond with a promise with out really thinking about it. How about where a friend or family is really struggling and they ask for prayer and we say I’ll remember you in my prayers. 

Have you ever broken a promise? How did it make you feel or did it bother you at all? Have you ever had a friend or family member call you out about breaking a promise such as ,” But daddy you promised “.

Now lets turn the situation around. Have you ever experienced someone breaking a broken promise to you? Have you experienced the broken heart of a broken promise? Was this as a child, teenager or an adult?  Recently ? How did you feel about the broken promise? How did you feel about the person who broke the promise? Did you respect the person? Would you accept that persons promise in the future or would you just say, Well they said they would, but I will just wait and see. In our world today it is more the norm to break promises and to hear of broken promises than promises kept. If you doubt this just look at the divorce record. Multiple promises are broken with each and every divorce. Why are there so many broken promises?

Now let change the focus a little bit. What about God’s promises? Do you trust His promises? Has He ever failed to keep His promises to you? God is always faithful to keep all His promises. It against his very being to do otherwise. He does what He says He will do and He expects His followers ( Christians ) to do the same and to be people who keep their word. The Bible contains literally thousands of God’s promises. In our study today we will discuss some of these promises. By way of background 1 Chronicles focuses on genealogies that show the continuity of God’s redemptive plan ( Chapter 1 - 9 ) and David’s reign  ( Chapters 10 - 29 ). 1 Chronicles Chapters 1 - 9 include and the emphasis is on God’s promise from the time of Adam to that of David. Chapters 10 - 29 includes records of how David became King, brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and desired to build a temple to house it, that is build God a house. The Lord, however, did not permit David to build a house for Him. Instead, the Lord would build a house for David. Ultimately this promise was fulfilled in the coming of Jesus the Messiah.

Now let’s look at the scriptures and learn more about this. Lets read 1 Chronicles Chapter 17, verses 1 and 2.

   Verse 1: Now it came to pass, as David sat in his house, that David said to Nathan, the prophet, Lo, I dwell in a house of cedars, but the ark of the covenant of the Lord remaineth under curtains.

   Verse: 2. Then Nathan said unto David, Do all that is in thine heart for God is with thee.

Isn't it interesting to contrast King David’s house ( palace ) to that of the Ark of the Covenant      ( tent ). By the way, just what was the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord?  Boy, that could take a lot of space to explain it in detail but I will give you a short version at the end of this study. In the meantime I suggest you grab your bible and turn to Exodus 25 and you will find the detailed instructions God gave to Moses on making the ark of the covenant and the tent that housed it and numerous dos and don’t about the ark.

I doubt that you ever heard the old radio preacher Dr. J. Vernon McGee who had a program called through the bible and he taught through the entire bible in 4 - 5 years and then he would start over again. He is now dead. I spent years listening to his teachings. I love what he says in his commentary on verse 1, “ I think it rained the night before, and David heard the pitter-patter of the rain on his palace, he thought of the ark of God out there in a tent and he thinks I want to build a house for God “.  At any point what was Nathans advise to King David? ( verse 2 ). Do you think it was good advise? It appears to me that both David and Nathan forgot one important action and that is seek Gods will in the matter. I think it is easy to understand David’s motives or intentions. For years he has led the armies of Israel in one victory after another, he was a man of action and making decisions. Now he finds the nation of Israel at peace with no battles to fight and he is at ease and has time to think ( in his house ). I believe he is  just like us often times we get the idea that we want to do something for the Lord and we have the best of intentions in our thoughts and desires. What is the old saying “ the road to hell is paved with the best of intentions “. There is nothing wrong with wanting to do things for the Lord. Should we just start? Should we seek advise from friends or the pastoral staff? Here is a thought should we seek God’s will in the matter? As we apply these verses to our lives we see that even with the best of intentions, we can fail to seek the Lord’s will in a specific situation or we can be mistaken in our perception of what God wants us to do. However, one thing is for sure if we sincerely desire to act in tune with His purposes He will correct our plans.

Now lets consider Nathan and how we would feel if we were in his shoes and now we have to go back to King David and tell him the disappointing news since we just a short while ago told him to do what was in his heart. It appears that God spoke to Nathan with a sense of urgency to go tell David that he would not be building a house ( the temple ) for God. It is my opinion that God knew David and like I said earlier David was a man of action so he might just set plans in action in the middle of the night. I think this is a perfect lesson for us here in that if we want to and plan to do something for the Lord and we are talking to the Lord about it He will let us know if we are out of His will.

God told Nathan to go and tell my servant David. He did not leave any option. The indication is  “ now “ don’t wait. In the old testament the term servant is applied to various persons who faithfully served God, including Abraham, Job, Moses, Joshua and Caleb and here King David.  Amazingly, God also calls some ruthless kings his servants as he used them to punish his people Israel. I think it is important here to note that Nathan was told to tell David “ this is what the Lord says”.  Nathan didn’t say “ I have been thinking about this and I think maybe you ought to think about this for a day or two”.  Clearly The Lord wanted David to know the instructions were from him and to know them “ right now “.

Do you think that David was disappointed over the Lords decision that he would not be permitted to build the temple? I would think that was obvious but he was not left out of the process completely. Because of the political stability Israel now enjoyed there were no enemies to hinder the construction. David prepared the plans for the temple and raised tremendous amounts of money for the temple.

Permit me to ask you this. Have there been times when you wanted to do something for the Lord? Such as, teach a class or serve on a particular team or committee and you did not get to do it because someone else was selected. Did you get all bent out of shape? How can we handle the disappoint the next time we face this situation? There is a big object lesson here for all of us. We should rejoice over the fact that the project is getting done. If not, it just might be that we wanted to do it for personal glory rather than for the glory of the Lord. It might also be just like in David’s case the Lord has something better in store for us.

Now lets look at the next section of our study and read 1 Chronicles Chapter 17: verse 7, 10 - 14.

   Verse 7: Now therefore thus shalt thou say unto my servant David, Thus saith the Lord of host, I took thee from the sheepeote ( sheepfold ), even from following the sheep, that thou shouldest be ruler over my people Israel:

   Verse 10: And since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. Moreover I will subdue all thine enemies. Furthermore I tell thee, that the Lord will build thee an house.

   Verse 11: And it shall come to pass, when thy days be expired that thou must go to be with thy fathers, that I will raise up thy seed after thee, which shall be of thy sons; and I will establish his kingdom.

   Verse 12: He shall build me a house, and I will stablish ( establish his throne for ever.

   Verse 13: I will be his father, and he shall be my son: and I will not take my mercy away from him that was before thee.

   Verse 14: But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever; and his throne shall be established for evermore.

In some of the verses we did not read God says that he has traveled with Israel all these years and has never ask anyone to build a house for him. Isn’t that just like our God?  Israel was living in tents as they traveled so God lived in a tent. It is interesting to note that as Israel settled into the promised land and stopped wandering around they started building homes for themselves but the Lord was still residing in the tent. David wants to build a house for God and God tells him I can’t let you do it because you are a bloody man. 

In verse 7 God recites to David all the things he has done for him and then in verses 11 - 14 amazingly he proceeds to tell David his plans for the future. More promises. It was in David’s heart to build a house for God and God gave him credit for that.

So who did actually get to build the temple? Solomon, David’s son would build the temple. So doesn’t this bring up an obvious question of what was the house God promised that he would build for David? It was God’s house and kingdom that would last forever. Now contrast this to the earthly temple which Solomon built  and which was completely destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar yet the temple and kingdom God is talking about will last forever.

God promised David that he would raise up one of David’s sons and would establish his kingdom. This verse applies to Solomon but it looks beyond Solomon to Jesus Christ, the Messiah because Jesus is out of the linage of David.. Only Jesus’ throne is established forever. As Christians today we celebrate the reign of Christ, whose kingdom has no end.

Now we will look at the final scripture in today’s study. 1 Chronicles 17: verses 23 - 27.

   Verse 23: Therefore now, Lord, let the thing that thou hast spoken concerning thy servant and  concerning his house be established for ever, and do as thou hast said.

   Verse 24: Let it even be established, that thy name may be magnified forever, saying, The Lord of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to Israel: and let the house of David thy servant be established before thee.

   Verse 25: For thou, O my God, hast told thy servant that thou wilt build him an house; therefore thy servant hath found in his heart to pray before thee.

   Verse 26: And now, Lord thou art God, and hast promised this goodness unto thy servant;

   Verse 27: Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever; for thou blessest, O Lord, and it shall be blessed for ever.

I asked the question earlier whether you thought David was disappointed over God’s decision that he would not be permitted to build the temple and said that he probably was but in the verses above we find what ever disappointment there was turning to joy. These passages teach us that we can count on God’s promises. David’s disappointment must not have lasted long because it appears that after hearing the words that God told Nathan to say to David, David started praying. At first he expressed his humble thanksgiving to God who promised to work through David’s descendants. Then David’s prayer describes God’s incomparable greatness and His choice of Israel as His people. David’s prayer implores the Lord to fulfill His promise to build an eternal house or dynasty through David’s descendants. Finally David ends his prayer with a statement of assurance about the Lord continuing his blessing. I love the last part of verse 27 which in effect indicates that if the Lord blesses it is blessed. Now that is assurance of God’s promises.

Here we realize that through David’s line God would send His Son, the Messiah. Through Jesus Christ, the Messiah salvation is offered freely to all who accept Him, as Lord and Savior. By receiving this gift, we too, can enjoy God’s blessings forever. God has kept his promises. He always has and always will. It appears to me that as we conclude this study that we take God’s goodness and his promises to much for granted. Rightly so God’s promises are guarantees even if some are conditional. I mean by this that when in God’s word it says “ if my people or if you will do “  it means there is a condition. We have to obey God’s word or such and such to satisfy the condition for God to bless us. Obviously he will not bless us for a sinful life but he will forgive our sins is we confess them. Perhaps rather than dwell so much on what God had promised we ought to take inventory and think of all the times we have promised God that we never followed through on or never even attempted to do at all. May God forgive us for our failures in this regard. 

For you future study you might be interested in looking at  2nd Samuel , Chapter 7 which also covers this entire incident. I mentioned earlier I would discuss a little about the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.  As I said earlier I refer you to Exodus Chapter 25 and following for detailed instruction on how to make the Ark and  what material to us and so forth. God gave Moses these instruction at Mount Sinai. The Ark was to be made out of Shittim wood ( Acacia ). It was covered inside and outside with gold. This wood  came from a tree which was plentiful in the area where the Israelites were located. It is a beautiful wood, tight grained and long lasting. Some commentaries describe its durability to that of redwood. There are several species of this tree and  bush.  They are a most picturesque tree with gnarled trunks, sometimes 2 ft. thick. They have  twisted, thorny branches, which often give the whole tree an umbrella-like form. They have curiously twisted pods and masses of gum exude in many parts. I have seen some descriptions which say it’s leaves are very small and look like the leaves of our Mimosa trees. The trees yield a valuable, hard, close-grained timber, not readily attacked by insects.

God gave Moses very specific instruction on how to carry the Ark. It had to be carried with poles placed in ring on the side of the Ark. The Levite priest carrying the Ark were prohibited touching it or seeing it. When the Israelites were traveling the Ark had to be covered and carried 2,000 cubits in front of the Israelites. This brings up a good question of what is a cubit which was a basic unit of measurement in olden days. The answer to that question is the distance from the elbow to the finger tip. Now there are many differences between us, male and female for example. There were difference between races  which ranged from 17.5 inches to 20.6 inches but it is generally accepted that a cubit is about 18 inches so you can do the math. The next question is what was in the  Ark. Here again there is some discussion about this but the scriptures ( Hebrews 9: verse 4 ) indicate the Ark contained The Tablets of Stone ( Ten Commandment ), Aaron’s rod, and a jar of Manna. The Ark it’s tent and every thing in and about it are extremely symbolic and would be an excellent topic for study at a future date.  If you watch many movies you will know that the Ark has been the subject of several movies story lines which totally miss the point of the Ark . They want to find it because of its value ( gold ) or for powers it possess.

Until we meet again let me remind you the God loves you and so do I.

Grandpa Bill

1 comment:

  1. Dad,
    I love J. Vernon Magee! The girls we a captive audience and listened to him for years in the car when I drove them to school.. I still love hearing his accent. He is still on Family Talk Radio on XM Radio and I love listening to his sermons!
    Love,
    Janice

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