This study of the
symbolism of the exchange of weapons and belt will give you a deeper
understanding of the Word of God as seen from the perspective of God's
blood covenant with His sons and daughters.
Amplification of the truth that God
defends those with whom He is in covenant:
In one of many examples of God's defense of His people with whom He was
in covenant recall that when Aram, Israel's enemy, came against King
Jehoshaphat, the king responded by seeking his Covenant Defender,
Scripture recording that
Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his
attention to seek the LORD; and proclaimed a fast throughout all
Judah...and he said, "O LORD, the God of our fathers (this description
appeals to the covenant Jehovah had cut with their "fathers", Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob), art Thou not God in the heavens? And art Thou not
ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Thy
hand so that no one can stand against Thee...Should evil come upon us,
the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before
this house and before Thee (for Thy name is in this house) and cry to
Thee in our distress, and Thou wilt hear and deliver us...O our God,
wilt Thou not judge them? For we are powerless before this great
multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our
eyes are on Thee." (2
Chronicles 20:3-12)
In response to the King's plea to
Jehovah, Israel's Covenant Defender, God sent an answer via a prophet who
said...
"Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and
King Jehoshaphat: thus says the LORD to you, 'Do not fear or be
dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours
but God's...You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, stand and see
the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.' Do not
fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, for the LORD
(your Covenant Defender) is with
you." (2
Chronicles 20:15-17)
God defended His people and destroyed
the Aramean army. This is one of many Old Testament examples in which
God showed Himself to be Israel's Covenant Defender and Protector.
The
binding nature of being a "covenant defender": Joshua & the Men of
Gibeon:
In
Joshua 9
we see the principle of covenant and
how covenant binds one to take on the other covenant partner's enemies.
Joshua had entered Canaan which by virtue of God's promise in the
Abrahamic Covenant was to be Israel's permanent possession. Joshua
strategizes to take defeat the enemies occupying the land with a three‑pronged attack. The people in
Canaan are trembling
because they have heard about the defeat of Jericho by Joshua's army
(really by Joshua's God). The iniquity of the Amorites is full and the
children of Israel are going in to take the land. It is right that they
do so because God is judging the land of Canaan for their sins (cf
Genesis 15:16). After they go in there is a group of people, the
Gibeonites, who are very much afraid.
Joshua 9:3-27 records this
fascinating but sad interlude in Israel's history...
When the inhabitants of Gibeon
heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai, (4) they also acted
craftily and set out as envoys, and took worn-out sacks on their
donkeys, and wineskins, worn-out and torn and mended, (5) and worn-out
and patched sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes on themselves;
and all the bread of their provision was dry and had become crumbled.
(6) And they went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and
to the men of Israel, "We have come from a far country; now therefore,
make a
covenant."
(7) And the men of Israel said to the Hivites, "Perhaps you are living
within our land; how then shall we
make a
covenant
with you?" (8) But they said to Joshua, "We are your servants." Then
Joshua said to them, "Who are you, and where do you come from?" (9) And
they said to him, "Your servants have come from a very far country (Note: they are lying)
because of the fame of the LORD your God; for we have heard the report
of Him and all that He did in Egypt, (10) and all that He did to the two
kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon and to Og
king of Bashan who was at Ashtaroth. (11) So our elders and all the
inhabitants of our country spoke to us, saying, 'Take provisions in your
hand for the journey, and go to meet them and say to them, "We are your
servants; now then,
make a
covenant
with us. (12) "This our bread was warm when we took it for our
provisions out of our houses on the day that we left to come to you; but
now behold, it is dry and has become crumbled. (Note:
they are deceptive) (13) And
these wineskins which we filled were new, and behold, they are torn; and
these our clothes and our sandals are worn out because of the very long
journey." (14) So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did
not ask for the counsel of the LORD. (Note:
The leaders acted independent of God which is the very essence of all
sin. How many times would this verse be appended to our words and
actions?! Not only that, but God had clearly commanded Israel not to
make a
covenant
with any pf the inhabitants of Canaan
(cf
Deut 7:2).
Instead, they were to drive them out lest their corrupting influences cause them to stumble and
worship their idolatrous gods.)
(15) And Joshua made peace with them and
make a
covenant
with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation
swore an oath to them (Note:
the common elements of covenant - peace, swearing of an oath).
(16) And it came about at the end of three days after they had
make a
covenant
with them, that they heard that they were neighbors and that they were
living within their land.
(17) Then the sons of Israel set out and
came to their cities on the third day. Now their cities were Gibeon and
Chephirah and Beeroth and Kiriath-jearim. (18) And the sons of Israel did
not strike them because the leaders of the congregation had sworn to
them by the LORD the God of Israel (Note:
the solemn, binding nature of covenant, even cut under such questionable
circumstances.) (18) And the
whole congregation grumbled against the leaders. (19) But all the leaders
said to the whole congregation, "We have sworn to them by the LORD,
the God of Israel, and now we cannot touch them. (Note: in fact
Israel was now the "covenant defender" of the Gibeonites!) (20) "This we
will do to them, even let them live, lest wrath be upon us for the oath
which we swore to them." (Note:
The leaders understood the binding nature of their covenant and knew
that they dare not break it lest God bring retribution against them.)
(21) And the leaders said to them,
"Let them live." So they became hewers of wood and drawers of water for
the whole congregation, just as the leaders had spoken to them. (22)
Then Joshua called for them and spoke to them, saying, "Why have you
deceived us, saying, 'We are very far from you,' when you are living
within our land? (23) "Now therefore, you are cursed, and you shall
never cease being slaves, both hewers of wood and drawers of water for
the house of my God." (24) So they answered Joshua and said, "Because it
was certainly told your servants that the LORD your God had commanded
His servant Moses to give you all the land (Note:
this is "remnant" of covenant, for the unconditional promise of the land
of Canaan was given initially to Abraham not Moses),
and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land before you; therefore we
feared greatly for our lives because of you, and have done this thing.
(25) "And now behold, we are in your hands; do as it seems good and
right in your sight to do to us." (26) Thus he did to them, and
delivered them from the hands of the sons of Israel, and they did not
kill them. (Note:
because of the covenant)
(27) But Joshua made them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water
for the congregation and for the altar of the LORD, to this day, in the
place which He would choose.
As we have noted, remnants of truth about covenant
were known throughout the peoples of the
earth. The Gibeonites knew about covenant though they did not know
the Covenant Keeping God.
And yet even though they were pagans, they knew that covenant was a solemn, binding
agreement. They knew that if they duped the leaders of Israel into
cutting a
covenant
that
Israel would be bound to protect them as their covenant partner and
would would not be able to destroy
them as God had decreed.
Did Joshua fulfill his promise to
be the covenant defender of Gibeon? When the Gibeonites were
attacked by Adoni-zedek the Amorite king of Jerusalem along with 9 other
kings, the men of Gibeon appealed to the solemn covenant with Israel,
Joshua 10
recording that...
"the five kings of the Amorites, the
king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of
Lachish, and the king of Eglon, gathered together and went up, they with
all their armies, and camped by Gibeon and fought against it. Then the
men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal, saying, "Do not
abandon your servants (Note:
here they appeal to the binding covenant with Israel that she would be
their defender and their enemies would be Israel's enemies);
come up to us quickly and save us and help us, for all the kings of the
Amorites that live in the hill country have assembled against us." So
Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him and
all the valiant warriors. And the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not fear
them, for I have given them into your hands; not one of them shall stand
before you." So Joshua came upon them suddenly by marching all night
from Gilgal. And the LORD confounded them before Israel, and He slew
them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and pursued them by the way of
the ascent of Beth-horon, and struck them as far as Azekah and Makkedah.
And it came about as they fled from before Israel, while they were at
the descent of Beth-horon, that the LORD threw large stones from heaven
on them as far as Azekah, and they died; there were more who died from
the hailstones than those whom the sons of Israel killed with the sword.
Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the
Amorites before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel,
"O sun, stand still at Gibeon, And O moon in the valley of Aijalon." So
the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, until the nation avenged
themselves of their enemies (Note:
Gibeon's enemies were now Israel's enemies).
Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun stopped in the
middle of the sky, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.
And there was no day like that before it or after it, when the LORD
listened to the voice of a man; for the LORD fought for Israel."
Joshua remained true to his covenant
vow and experienced a supernatural victory (brought about by Jehovah
Israel's Covenant Defender!), relieving the besieged city, pursuing the
attackers down the ascent of Beth-horon and winning decisively.
How serious and long-lasting was
Israel's covenant with Gibeon?
Saul appears to have broken this
covenant, and in a fit of enthusiasm or patriotism to have killed some
of the Gibeonites and devised a general massacre of the rest. Israel
would reap the consequences of Saul's failure to keep covenant with
Gibeon, the consequences of which would include a 3 year famine in
Israel and the death of 7 of Saul's descendants at the hands of the Gibeonites.
God is serious about keeping covenant. This tragic story is recorded in
2 Samuel 21:1-6 where we read as follows...
Now there was a famine in the
days of David for three years, year after year; and David sought the
presence of the LORD. And the LORD said, "It is for Saul and his bloody
house, because he put the Gibeonites to death." (Note:
God used the famine to bring Saul's disobedience the attention of David.
Note carefully that Saul's sin was "personal" but it was not "private"
in the sense that the consequences had broad ranging effects. The same
principle applies to our personal sins. Saul must have known that Joshua
had promised the Gibeonites immunity from the extermination decreed for
the other inhabitants of Canaan but in his unbiblical "zeal" he broke
the covenant) So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them (now the
Gibeonites were not of the sons of Israel but of the remnant of the
Amorites, and the sons of Israel
make a
covenant
with them, but Saul had
sought to kill them in his zeal for the sons of Israel and Judah). Thus David said to the Gibeonites, "What should I do for you? And how
can I make atonement that you may bless the inheritance of the LORD?"
(David asked the Gibeonites
what they would accept as settlement for the injustice) Then the Gibeonites said to him, "We have no concern of silver or gold
with Saul or his house, nor is it for us to put any man to death in
Israel." And he said, "I will do for you whatever you say." So they said to the king, "The man who consumed us, and who planned to
exterminate us from remaining within any border of Israel, let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will hang them
before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD." And the king
said, "I will give them."
When David tried to arrange matters
with them they stood upon their ancient covenant rights, claiming
life for life, which is in keeping with the solemn nature of covenant
when it is broken by one of the parties. The Gibeonites would accept no
"blood money" but instead demanded blood from the family of the slayer
of their people. And so seven men of Saul’s descendants were given over to the
Gibeonites, who hung them “before Jehovah”—as a kind of sacrifice—in
Gibeah, Saul’s own town! God is serious about keeping covenant!
A three years’ famine in the days of
David was attributed to God’s anger at the crime of Saul in slaying the
Gibeonites. He did this “in his zeal for .... Israel and Judah” who
may have fretted at the inconvenience of having the Gibeonites among
them. The latter believed that Saul’s desire was to destroy them
utterly. This demand David could not resist, and handed over to them
seven sons of Saul (2 Sa 21:1 ff).
Who
are God's enemies?
God's enemies are the world, the
devil, the flesh. The whole WORLD SYSTEM is against God. The Greek word
for "world" is kosmos which in this context describes this
present evil man-centered (humanistic) world-system ruled and directed
by Satan. John writes that the whole world lies in the hands of the evil
one (1Jn 5:19). Kosmos is the world apart from God
and opposed to Him. God called to Himself a covenant people out of this
world to live distinctively different from everyone else on the
face of the earth (this idea is the inherent in the root meaning of
"holy" or "saint"). That puts them at enmity with the world. Why? The
world does not love God. It hates Jesus Christ because the world lies in
darkness and in the hands of the evil one.
John 15:18-22
(Jesus speaking) "If ("If" is a first class condition
which signifies that what follows is true) the world hates you, you know that it
has hated Me before it hated you. 19 "If you were of the world, the
world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I
chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.20 "Remember
the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.'
If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My
word, they will keep yours also.21 "But all these things they will do to
you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.22
"If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now
they have no excuse for their sin.23 "He who hates Me hates My Father
also.
We are called out of the world to live as Christ lived. We have
exchanged robes. We have put an the identity and the character of the
Lord Jesus Christ, and so not surprisingly our
righteousness (His righteousness shining forth from His temples our
bodies) condemns the unrighteousness of the world. We are in the
world. We are SALT. Salt is a preservative from evil. We are LIGHT.
Light dispels darkness. Therefore, the world hates us.
We feel out of step with the world and are tempted to stand with one
foot in the world and one foot in Christianity which is only to
compromise. We are tempted to become friends with the world so that it
is easier to live in the midst of them. Our temptation is to compromise,
but, the world is God's enemy. Therefore we must stand against it. Jesus
made it very clear that...
No
one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the
other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve
God and mammon. (see note
Matthew 6:24)
We are in covenant with Jesus and we
expect God to come to our defense. Are we willing to stand against the
world or are we going to be adulteresses?
James
4:4 "You adulteresses
(Greek word
moichalis
= one unfaithful to marriage vows.
Figuratively as in this verse of one who is unfaithful toward God as an
adulteress is unfaithful toward her husband. In the Greek OT it is used
mainly of those who forsook God for idols)! Don't you know that
friendship with the world is enmity against God. Therefore whoever
wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy with God."
The Amplified version rendering is
even more direct...
James 4:4 You [are like] unfaithful
wives [having illicit love affairs with the world and breaking your
marriage vow to God]! Do you not know that being the world's friend is
being God's enemy? So whoever chooses to be a friend of the world takes
his stand as an enemy of God.
When we become friends with the world
while waiting for the heavenly bridegroom to come you are acting like a
harlot. Paul picks up on this picture of those who are in covenant with
Christ, betrothed to Him as our bridegroom and we as His bride forever,
writing...
"I am jealous for you with a godly
jealousy; for I betrothed (Greek =
harmozo
= from the noun meaning "joint" and so to fitly join together) you to one husband, that to Christ I might
present you as a pure virgin." (2
Corinthians 11:2)
The Biblical concept of
betrothal unlike our modern idea of engagement was a much more serious matter and was
essentially analogous to a covenant. To break that pre-nuptial covenant, a bill of
divorcement was required. If impurity (any unfaithfulness was considered
adultery) was found in the bride, then the bride could actually be put
to death. Paul is acting like a Jewish father who is giving his
daughter, the Corinthian believers (and by analogy all believers), to
their bridegroom, Christ. Betrothal lasted for about twelve months,
during which the home was to be prepared by the groom, and the wedding
clothes would be prepared by the bride. In summary, as those in who are
in covenant and betrothed to Jesus Christ, we should hate our
Bridegroom's enemies and so keep ourselves
"unstained (literally
without spot or blemish...on our "bright, fine linen" wedding gowns, the
new clothes we are in by virtue of our betrothal to Christ) by the world." (James
1:27)
If the world is God's enemy, we must
understand that we are in the world but not of the world. Paul
summarized this idea of separation in his letter to the Corinthians
writing...
14 Do not be bound together with
unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or
what fellowship has light with darkness?
15 Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in
common with an unbeliever?
16 Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the
temple of the living God; just as God said, "I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND
WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
17 "Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the
Lord. "AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.
18 "And I will be a father to you, And you shall be sons and daughters
to Me," Says the Lord Almighty.
7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves
from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear
of God. (2
Cor 6:14-18
7:1)
Romans 12:17-21
Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the
sight of all men.
Paul concludes the chapter with the
most lengthy, and perhaps the most difficult to manifest, evidence of
being a living sacrifice. Not taking revenge when wronged. Since it
takes two to fight, if believers do not seek revenge, there will be a
greater possibility of establishing peace. (See notes on
Romans 12:17;
12:18;
12:19;
12:20;
12:21)
David's
Example of not taking his own revenge but leaving room for the wrath of
God.
David understood the principle of covenant. David was pursued by Saul
who wanted to kill
him because of the favor David had attained with the people of Israel as
a result of his victories over the Philistines. Saul was filled with
anger directed against David and had twice tried to pin David by
throwing his spear at him.
1Samuel 26:6-11 records the story in which David took Saul's
spear and water jug while Saul slept. He had opportunity to kill him,
but would not touch God's anointed.
(CONTEXT: Saul came down to
the wilderness of Ziph when informed by the Ziphites David in hiding.
David however had sent out spies and knew that Saul was coming for him.)
1Samuel 26:5-11 David then arose and came to the place where Saul
had camped. And David saw the place where Saul lay, and Abner the son of
Ner, the commander of his army; and Saul was lying in the circle of the
camp, and the people were camped around him. Then David answered
and said to Ahimelech the Hittite and to Abishai the son of Zeruiah,
Joab's brother, saying,
"Who will go down with me to Saul in
the camp?"
And Abishai said,
"I will go down with you."
So David and Abishai came to the
people by night, and behold, Saul lay sleeping inside the circle of the
camp, with his spear stuck in the ground at his head; and Abner and the
people were lying around him. Then Abishai said to David,
"Today God has delivered your enemy
into your hand; now therefore, please let me strike him with the spear
to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him the second
time." (Note:
Abishai is presenting David the seemingly logical view. "Take your
revenge. It's clearly the Lord's will. Why else would you have been able
to walk into his camp undisturbed and unnoticed". This is the natural
man's view and it does seem quite logical. After all David could have
justified his actions reasoning that God had already appointed him to be
king and this must be the time the Lord had orchestrated for him to take
his throne. But David is not a "natural" man.)
But David said to Abishai,
"Do not destroy him, for who can
stretch out his hand against the LORD'S anointed and be without guilt?"
David also said,
"As the LORD lives, surely the LORD
will strike him, or his day will come that he dies, or he will go down
into battle and perish. The LORD forbid that I should stretch out my
hand against the LORD'S anointed; but now please take the spear that is
at his head and the jug of water, and let us go."
David understood and respected
covenant. He knew that the promises of God that he would one day reign
as king were Yea and Amen. He knew that if God had anointed him to be
the king of Israel, then he would be the king of Israel. David also knew
he had a mighty Covenant Defender in whom he would place his very life.
For example when he fled from his own son Absalom David acknowledged...
Thou, O LORD, art a shield
about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head. (Psalm 3:3 -
Spurgeon's comment)
In the beautiful Psalm 18
David acknowledge God as His Covenant Defender...
1 (For the choir director. A Psalm
of David the servant of the LORD, who) (spoke to the LORD the words of
this song in the day that the LORD) (delivered him from the hand of all
his enemies and from the hand of Saul. And) (he said,) "I love Thee, O
LORD, my strength." (Note:
"exchange" of strength is a covenant concept.
Click discussion on exchange of belts)
(Spurgeon's
comment)
2 The LORD is my Rock and my Fortress and my Deliverer,
My God, my Rock, in Whom I take refuge; My Shield and the Horn of my salvation, my Stronghold.
(Spurgeon's
comment)
3 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved
from my enemies... (Spurgeon's
comment)
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice out of His temple, and my cry for help before Him came
into His ears.... (Spurgeon's
comment)
16 He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.
(Spurgeon's
comment)
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from those who
hated me, for they were too mighty for me. (Spurgeon's
comment)
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my
Stay. (Spurgeon's
comment)
19 He brought me forth also into a broad place. He rescued me,
because He delighted in me. (Spurgeon's
comment)
In short David sought his Covenant
Partner's will above his own will and his own personal ambition. David
had presented himself to Jehovah as a living sacrifice and desired
respected what was right in the sight of all men and as much as was
possible sought to be at peace with Saul, ever refusing to take his own
revenge but to leave room for his Covenant Keeping God Who promised
"Vengeance is Mine. I will repay." And so David's conscience was clear.
What a great example to emulate.
Those who
wait for the LORD will gain new strength
The Amplified Version renders
Isaiah 40:31...
But those who wait for the Lord [who
expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength
and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as
eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they
shall walk and not faint or become tired. (Ed note: the
Septuagint (LXX)
the translates the phrase "mount up
like eagles" as "they shall put forth new feathers like eagles")
John MacArthur comments
that...
There is a general principle here
that patient, praying believers are blessed by God with strength in
their trials (cf. 2 Cor 12:8-10). The Lord also expected His people to
be patient and await His coming in glory at the end to fulfill the
promises of national deliverance, when believing Israel would become
stronger than they had ever been. (MacArthur,
J.: The MacArthur Study Bible Nashville: Word Pub)
Warren Wiersbe has an
insightful comment on
Isaiah 40:31
writing that...
If we trust ourselves, we will faint
and fall, but if we wait on the Lord by faith, we will receive
strength for the journey. The word "wait" does not suggest that
we sit around and do nothing. It means "to hope," to look to God
for all that we need (Isaiah 26:3; 30:15). This involves meditating on His
character and His promises, praying, and seeking to glorify Him.
The word "renew" means "to
exchange," as taking off old clothing and putting on new. We
exchange our weakness for His power (cf
2 Cor. 12:1-10).
As we wait before Him, God enables us to soar when there is a crisis, to
run when the challenges are many, and to walk faithfully in the
day-by-day demands of life. It is much harder to walk in the ordinary
pressures of life than to fly like the eagle in a time of crisis.
"I can plod," said William Carey, the
father of modern missions. "That is my only genius. I can persevere in
any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything."
The journey of a thousand miles
begins with one step. The greatest heroes of faith are not always those
who seem to be soaring; often it is they who are patiently plodding. As
we wait on the Lord, He enables us not only to fly higher
and run faster, but also to walk longer. Blessed
are the plodders, for they eventually arrive at their destination!
(Wiersbe,
W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor
or
Logos) (Bolding
added)
Sir Humphry Davy has a
beautiful description of mounting with wings like eagles writing that...
"I once saw a very interesting sight
above the crags of Ben Nevis. Two parent eagles were teaching their
offspring, two young birds, the maneuvers of flight. They began by
rising from the top of the mountain in the eye of the sun. It was about
mid-day, and bright for the climate. They at first made small circles,
and the young birds imitated them. They paused on their wings, waiting
till they had made their flight, and then took a second and larger
gyration, always rising toward the sun, and enlarging their circle of
flight so as to make a gradually ascending spiral. The young ones still
and slowly followed, apparently flying better as they mounted; and they
continued this sublime exercise, always rising till they became mere
points in the air, and the young ones were lost, and afterwards their
parents, to our aching sight."
F B Meyer in
Our
Daily Walk
(February 9) writes a devotional entitled "CHANGING OUR STRENGTH"
"They that wait upon the Lord shall
renew their strength."-- Isaiah 40:31.
IT IS more than probable that these lines will be read by some who have
lost heart. They are fainting beneath the long and arduous strain of
life, and ready to give up in despair. It seems as though God had
forgotten to be gracious, and in anger had shut up His tender mercies.
To all such, Isaiah says: God is not tired: you think He is because you
are. Wait upon the Lord, and change your strength.
The question is not as to altering your environment, but altering your
courage, your power of endurance, your assurance of victory; then,
notwithstanding every hindrance and difficulty, you will mount up on
wings like eagles, you will run without being weary, you will walk
without being faint.
The inevitable order. Mounting up--running--walking! We should have
supposed that it should have been walking in the beginnings of religious
experience; then the walk breaking into the run; and finally the runner
leaping on wings into the azure, like the eagle a black speck against
the blue! But experience confirms the prophetic order. Isaiah is right!
We mount, we run, we walk!
Let us claim the promise--"They that wait on the Lord shall change their
strength." Too often in the past we have depended on the stimulus of
services, sermons, conventions which have made the embers glow again on
the heart's altar. We have gone back to our homes, to our daily calling,
with a new zeal and impulse that has lasted for weeks or months. Then we
have found ourselves flagging again; we have run and got weary; we have
walked and become faint.
To all such comes the word; if you would once more mount up and run and
walk, you must change your strength. Time tells on us! Moods influence
us! Circumstances impede us! Satan blows cold blasts on our heart-fires
and cools them! Sins pile up their debris between us and God! From all
these let us turn once more to Jesus and wait on Him. "My soul, wait
thou only upon the Lord, for my expectation is from Him." Look not back,
but forward! Not down, but up! Not in, but out! Never to your own heart,
but keep looking to Jesus, made near and living by the grace of the Holy
Spirit. So shall you change your strength, as you wait upon the Lord.
PRAYER Thou knowest, Lord, how often I am sorely let and hindered in
running the race which is set before me. May Thy bountiful grace and
mercy come to my help, that I may finish my course with joy, and receive
the crown of life. AMEN
2 Corinthians
12:9-10 "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in
your weakness."
Jesus is saying to Paul and you dear
covenant partner "My grace is enough for you...it will suffice in any
and every weakness, insult, distress, persecution or difficulty you
might encounter." Peter in [see note
1 Peter 4:10] explains why God's grace is enough
for every situation, every need, every trial, writing that it is ''the
manifold (variegated) grace of God.'' God's grace is variegated so that
whatever "color" trial we are facing, God has a hue of grace perfectly
matched to our need.
Jehovah Jireh: The LORD Will Provide
is His name, the God Who provides.
Solomon prayed...
And may these words of mine, with
which I have made supplication before the LORD, be near to the LORD our
God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the
cause of His people Israel, as each day requires. (1
Kings 8:59)
THE TWO
SUFFICIENTS
Evil shall pass with the day that brought it,
As the sea is stayed by the barrier land;
When the Giver of Good shall say, "No farther,"
And bid the foeman restrain his hand;
But the grace of the Lord outstays the evil,
Outlasts the darkness, outruns the morn,
Outwatches the stars in their nightly vigil,
And the foe that returns with the day re-born,
As he left it unwearied, shall find it unworn.
--Annie
Johnson Flint (click for more poems)
What is the lesson we need to learn
(and re-learn)? Is it not to learn to thank God for whatever we are
experiencing. He is
El Elyon: Most High God - Sovereign Over All and whoever dwells in
Him will abide in the shadow of the Almighty, El Shaddai (Psalm 91:1 -
see Spurgeon's commentary).
And that knowledge is enough for any contingency.
Paul was afflicted w. a thorn in the
flesh (whatever that was is not important...it pricked and afflicted
him) and he asked God to remove it (3x) and Jesus told him
''My grace is sufficient for you, for
power is perfected in weakness.''
We would not have known this truth if
Paul had not persevered in the midst of the furnace. Praise the Lord.
The Lord more uses our weakness more than our strength: our strength is
often His rival; our weakness, His servant, drawing on His resources,
and showing forth His glory.
Man's extremity is God's opportunity;
Man's security is Satan's opportunity.
God's way is not to take His children
out of, but to give them strength to bear up against trial. The story of
martyr Thomas Hauker (England, 1555) illustrates this principle in the
hour of need. This story is entitled "I Have to Know"
"Thomas", his friend lowered his
voice so as not to be heard by the guard. "I have to ask you a favor. I
need to know if what the others say about the grace of God is true.
Tomorrow, when they burn you at the stake, if the pain is tolerable and
your mind is still at peace, lift your hands above your head. Do it
right before you die. Thomas I HAVE to know." Thomas Hauker whispered to
his friend, "I will." The next morning, Hauker was bound to the stake
and the fire was lit. The fire burned a long time, but Hauker remained
motionless. His skin was burnt to a crisp and his fingers were gone.
Everyone watching supposed he was dead. Suddenly, miraculously, Hauker
lifted his hands, still on fire, over his head. He reached them up to
the living God & then, with great rejoicing, clapped them together three
times. The people there broke into shouts of praise and applause.
Hauker's friend had his answer."
Trouble and the grace to bear
it come in the same package.
Annie Johnson Flint (see
more poems)
put it this way...
He giveth more grace when the burdens
grow greater,
He sendeth more strength when the labors increase;
To added affliction He addeth His mercy,
To multiplied trials, His multiplied peace. --Flint
F B Meyer in his devotional
Our Daily Homily comments on "When I am weak, then am I strong"
writing...
We need not discuss the nature of
Paul’s thorn in the flesh. It is enough that he calls it “a stake,” as
though he had been impaled. It must have, therefore, been very painful.
It must also have been physical, because he could not have prayed thrice
for the removal of a moral taint, and been refused. It came from Satan,
permitted by God, as in the case of Job, to buffet his servant. It is
not unlikely that be suffered from weak eyes, or some distressing form
of ophthalmia; hence the eagerness of the Galatian converts to give him
their eyes (see Galatians 4:15).
God does not take away our thorns,
but He communicates sufficient grace. He always answers prayer, though
not as we expect. Let the music of these tender words soar unto thee,
poor sufferer! “My grace is sufficient even for thee.” Sufficient when
friends forsake, and foes pursue; sufficient to make thee strong against
an infuriated crowd and a tyran nical judge; sufficient for excessive
physical exertion and spiritual conflict; sufficient to enable thee to
do as much work, and even more, than if health and vigour were not
impaired, because the very weakness of our nature is the chosen
condition under which God will manifest the strength of his.
Do not sit down before that mistaken
marriage, that uncongenial business, that physical weakness, as though
thy life must be a failure; but take in large reinforcements of that
Divine grace which is given to the weak and to those who have no might.
It is clear that Paul had reached such a condition, that it was a matter
of deep congratulation to him to be deficient in much that men hold
dear, and to have what most men dread. He rejoiced in all that
diminished creature-might and strengthened his hold on God.
F B Meyer in his devotional
Our
Daily Walk (June 5)
comments writes about GLORYING IN INFIRMITIES!
"My grace is sufficient for thee: for
My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I
rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon
me."-- 2Corinthians 12:9.
THE APOSTLE seems to have enjoyed wonderful revelations of God. Not once
or twice, but often he beheld things that eye hath not seen, and heard
words that ear cannot receive, and God felt it was necessary for him to
have a make-weight lest he should be exalted beyond measure (2Cor 12:7).
What the thorn or stake in the flesh was it is impossible to say with
certainty. He may have suffered from some distressing form of ophthalmia.
We infer this from the eagerness of the Galatian converts to give him
their eyes (Gal 4:13-17), and from his dependence on an amanuensis. His
pain made him very conscious of weakness, and very sensitive of
infirmity, and kept him near to the majority of those to whom he
ministered, who did not live on the mountain heights, but in the
valleys, where demons possess and worry the afflicted. Be willing that
your visions of Paradise should be transient, and turn your back on the
mountain summit, where the glory shines, as our Lord did, in order to
minister to souls in anguish (2Co 12:4; Matt 17:14-18).
On three separate occasions the Apostle besought the Lord for
deliverance from his infirmity, and finally received the assurance that
though the thorn could not be removed, yet sufficient grace would be
given to enable him to do his life-work, and he was more than content.
On the one hand, there was the buffeting of this messenger of Satan; but
on the other, there were the gains of meekness, humility, and of greater
grace than would have been possible if he had not needed it so
sorely--and he gladly accepted an infirmity for which there were such
abundant compensations.
Do not sit down baffled by your difficulties and infirmities, but rum
from them to claim Christ's abundant grace and strength, that at the end
of life you may have done all that was set you to do, and more, because
the greatness of your need made you lean more heavily on His infinite
resources. "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might
He increaseth strength."
PRAYER: Help us, O Lord, to look on the bright side of things; not on
the dark cloud, but on Thy rainbow of covenant mercy; not on the stormy
waters, but on the face of Jesus; not on what Thou hast taken, or
withheld, but on what Thou hast left. Enable us to realise Thine
all-sufficiency. AMEN.
I can do all things
through Him who strengthens me.
Click
for more commentary on
Philippians 4:11-13.
Christ
continually ''pours'' His supernatural power into Paul to enable him in
each circumstance.
J Vernon McGee
recommends some caution when interpreting "I can do all things"
writing
When Paul says all things,
does he literally mean all things? Does it mean you can go
outside and jump over your house? Of course not. Paul says, “I can do
all things in Christ”—that is, in the context of the will of Christ
for your life. Whatever Christ has for you to do, He will supply the
power. Whatever gift He gives you, He will give the power to exercise
that gift. A gift is a manifestation of the Spirit of God in the life of
the believer. As long as you function in Christ, you will have
power...Now Paul is not saying that we can do all things. I can't
jump like a grasshopper can jump. When I was in school I was the high
jumper, but I can't jump anymore. You see, I can't do all things, but I
can do all things which God has for me to do from the time
He saved me to the time He will take me out of this world.
(McGee,
J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson
or
Logos)
(Listen
to Dr McGee's Thru the Bible Commentary on this verse)
Through
Him is literally in
Him (See related study on
In Christ
and
in Christ Jesus), a key phrase here and in all of Paul's epistles for it speaks
of the believer's New Covenant union and identification
with Christ, so that even as a branch apart from a vine can bear no
fruit, even so a believer apart from abiding in the "Vine" can do
nothing of lasting import. It is all from Him, through Him and to Him be
the glory. Amen. Because Paul had learned the secret of continually
abiding in Christ, Paul justifiably felt that it was impossible for
life to confront him
with anything that he and the Lord could not handle, no matter how
severe or how favorable!
Strengthens (1743)
(endunamoo
from en = in + dunamóo = strengthen) (Click
for detailed discussion of
endunamoo)
means to enable one to do or experience something.
Robertson
say it means "to
pour power into one" and thus "Paul had strength so long as Jesus kept
putting His power into him".
Endunamoo
is in the
present tense
indicating that Christ is continually able to infuse or pour in
the power we need for the need of the moment. If we experience a "power
outage" or "power failure", it is not because of a failure in the Source
but a failure to depend on the Source.
Kenneth Wuest and William Barclay
both translate endunamoo as "infuse" an
excellent rendering for it gives us a word picture. For example,
Webster says that to infuse something is to to cause it to
be permeated with something else (in context of
Philippians 4:13 [note], this
would be Christ), the infusion resulting in an alteration which is
usually for the better -- this is a good picture of what happens to the
believer who is constantly "infused" with Jesus! Ponder another
definition of infuse as to introduce one thing into
another so as to affect it throughout with the implication that there is
a pouring in of something that gives new life or significance! Let your
life be infused with your the life of your New Covenant partner Jesus!
This "infusion of strength" is based upon the believer's living union
and identification with Christ, our Life.
Galatians 2:20 (see note) brings out the vital
nature of this union for Paul declares
I have been crucified with Christ;
and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who
loved me and gave Himself up for me.Paul uses
endunamoo commanding the Ephesian saints to
be
strong (endunamoo
=
present imperative
= continually be empowered via
union with Christ) in the
Lord and in the strength of His might." (see note
Ephesians 6:10)
Paul used
endunamoo repeatedly in his epistles to Timothy, initially writing
I thank Christ
