|
Giving Thanks: The Thing That Ye Shall Do The story is told of a retired man who volunteered to entertain patients in nursing homes and hospitals with his portable keyboard. He told some jokes, sang some songs, and even went from room to room to see those who couldn't gather. When he finished in one room, he told the elderly gentleman, "I hope you get better." To which he replied, "I hope you get better, too!" OOOOO—that hurt! As one who goes to several nursing homes to teach Bible Studies during the week and lead worship services on Sunday afternoon, I can identify with the above story. I think it speaks a very deep spiritual truth, as well. Shouldn't the goal of every Christian be better than that—not just to "get better," but to be so led by the power of the Holy Spirit, that, as each day passes, we are more and more conformed into the perfect image of our Lord Jesus Christ? Is not the life God intends us to live to be ever-filled with a thankful Spirit for all that the Lord provides, for His miraculous keeping, and for a powerful anticipation of all He has yet to do in us and through us? I see this in 2 Kings 11, which contains the story of how seven year-old Jehoash came to rule Judah at just the right time. How did it happen? Well, Athaliah, the daughter of wicked King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, ascended to the throne when her son, King Ahaziah, was killed in a purge led by Jehu. Now this presented a very real problem, for she was the only ruler of Judah, to date, who had not been in the Davidic line. Years before, the prophet Nathan had promised David—"And thine house and thy Kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever."(2 Samuel 7:16) The situation was further complicated when Queen Athaliah "…arose and destroyed all the seed royal,"—meaning, she attempted to rid Judah of all of David's descendants, killing even all of her own grandsons. That was her plan, but, Thank God, that was not the Lord's plan. In all of the mayhem of the ensuing bloodbath, Jehosheba, the wife of the godly High Priest Jehoiada, was able to hide the queen's own infant grandson, Jehoash, and thereby, save his life. And amazingly, not just for a few days—with the Lord's protective hand, she was able to keep him away from the queen for six whole years—right in one of the chambers of the Temple. Queen Athaliah's reign of terror couldn't touch him, because God had a plan—after all, if David's line were terminated, from where would the Messiah come? In the seventh year, the High Priest Jehoiada sent for and gathered 500 captains, guards, and Levites from all over Judah. In giving them their instruction, he said, "This is the thing that ye shall do," (vs.5a)—one third of those who came on duty during the Sabbath were to be divided into three parts. One band was to stand guard at the palace; another group was to guard the palace exit, known as the Gate of Sur; and the last detail was to guard the approach to the palace. The other two-thirds were to guard the Temple and the young future king. And they weren't just standing around with their hands in their pockets—"…ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in." (vs. 8) They even had to take an oath, swearing their allegiance to the king! Absolutely every precaution was taken to ensure that the rightful heir to the throne lives long enough to ascend that throne. And, Oh, what a picture it puts before us! God has every intention of protecting and preserving the life of Christ that He plants in His people. Remember—when the Lord calls us into one life, it is intended to mean that we leave the old one behind. A.W. Tozer once wrote, "The same grace that saves, teaches the believer inwardly, and its teaching is both negative and positive. Negatively, it teaches us to deny ungodliness and even the most logical of our plans and our own order. Positively, it teaches us to live righteously, embracing God's order and His leading—right here in this present world. Remember—the best way to keep the enemy out is to keep Christ in!" On one hand, there is the guarding of the palace—this is where the wicked queen is. Every effort is made to keep her in her own place, and to make sure she has no contact with Jehoash. On the other hand, the majority of the guards are placed around the precious boy—no one who shouldn't get close to him, gets close to him. Christ in, Enemy out! Most people today think that Christianity is a matter of discerning good from evil, and doing their best to avoid the latter. But that is a gross over simplification! Evil is not just the obvious, like Germany's Adolph Hitler, North Korea's Kim Jong II, or Iraq's Saddam Hussein. Multiple thousands sit in communist and Muslim-state prisons even this very day—for the true faith! Why? The Bible says that Satan is the "prince of this world." (John 12:31) First John 5:19, tells us, "The whole world lieth in the evil one." (RV, 1881) In other words, the whole world, and all of its systems, have satanic fingerprints all over them. And that goes for our own plans, agendas, and logical ways of doing things, as well—if they don't come from the power of the Holy Spirit. For example, many equate salvation with infant baptism, absolutely denying the Biblical call to surrender and a changed heart. Others suggest salvation is found in a sinner's prayer or even repentance—no, they are fruit of salvation, not the cause of it. We are saved by grace through faith—the same grace that brings us out of one life and into another. All other ideas were concocted by Satan! Do you see it, yet? All who would come to the Lord and be filled with Him, must also be emptied—not just of the obviously evil, but of every bit of our own strength, abilities, and ideas. But how, and where does it lead? Well, it "happens" in absolute surrender to the Lord's heart, and we see where it leads in verse 12—"And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king." The boy had always been set apart for the Lord's service, but now it was official! The Hebrew word for "crown" is "nayzer," which ultimately points to the King of kings and Lord of lords, who would be raised up hundreds of years later in "Nazar"eth! But notice, the boy is also given "the testimony." Probably referring to the Ten Commandments, they speak forth that a godly rule will only be found in following His expectations. All previous crowns were of the flesh (2 Samuel 1 and 12)—this crown has power, and power comes in praising God for His Holy Word! Remember—Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law; He came to fulfill it! Christ in, Enemy out! Oh, sure, not everybody is going to like it—the world won't, and its boss, Satan, won't, either. When Athaliah heard all the commotion and came running, she cried, "Treason, treason." (vs. 14b) They quite promptly took her outside the temple and killed her—for all evil must be unceremoniously cast out of the house of the Lord and destroyed. But who will do it? Who will take a stand on the truth of God's Word nowadays? The High Priest Jehoiada did when he established a covenant between the king, the Lord, and all of the people. And the result today?—"…they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death." (Rev. 12:11) Immediately, the house of Baal was destroyed, as was it's priest, Mattan. In the ensuing months, Jehoash proceeded to oversee the repairs to the temple, but did he go all the way? Tragically, no—before the next Chapter is done, he buckles to a foreign king and down he goes! Yes, there is a thing that ye shall do, and that thing must go all the way—a heart thankful for God's logic. Recently, a Northern Sudanese soldier yelled at the captive Christian, "Sing this Muslim Creed, or you will die!" As the soldier pressed a huge knife to his throat, the Christian could see the hatred in his eyes that had killed so many others. Logic told him, "Sing! God knows you are under pressure. Why give up your life for not saying a few words you don't believe anyway? On the other hand, he knew that the Bible taught that a person's words have power. Would a blasphemous confession be powerful, too? Even if he didn't mean it? The questions seemed to do battle in his mind—his logic was fighting his love for Christ! Many before him had refused to sing it, and they died. They stated that Christ living in them could not sing such a song, and therefore, they faced the blade. They were already dead in Christ—dead to sin, dead to human logic, one more death didn't matter—they had Jesus! Oh, give thanks—there is a thing we must do—Christ in, Enemy out! All of Christ, AND all of the Enemy! Copyright (c)
2005 Christ Our Rock Bible Church. |
