Tag: divine sovereignty

A Divine Appointment (2 Kings 8:1-6)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year BLeave a comment
The prophet Elisha and the Shunammite woman, by Pieter Lastman, 1620

Elisha spoke to the woman whose son he had brought back to life: “You and your household must go away and live wherever you can, because the Lord has called for a famine. It is coming to the land and will last seven years.”

So the woman went and did what the man of God asked. She and her household moved away, living in Philistia seven years. When seven years had passed, the woman returned from Philistia. She went to appeal to the king for her house and her farmland. The king was speaking to Gehazi, the man of God’s servant, asking him, “Tell me about all the great things Elisha has done.” So Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had brought the dead to life. At that very moment, the woman whose son he had brought back to life began to appeal to the king for her house and her farmland.

Gehazi said, “Your Majesty, this is the woman herself! And this is her son, the one Elisha brought to life!”

The king questioned the woman, and she told him her story. Then the king appointed an official to help her, saying, “Return everything that belongs to her, as well as everything that the farmland has produced, starting from the day she left the country until right now.” (Common English Bible)

People of faith typically don’t see divine appointments coming at all; they often show up in the middle of hard mundane days.

The prophecies and actions of the prophet Elisha are covered in the book of 2 Kings with a series of ten incredible narratives (chapters 2-9). Each of them are designed to demonstrate the power of God over (and sometimes against) the power of the king.

This was important because the royal decisions and actions of most of the Israelite kings were quite disconnected from God’s law and justice. Most kings did whatever they wanted, sometimes to the point of completely leading the people away from the worship of Yahweh and toward the worship of other gods.

Today’s Old Testament lesson concerns the ninth story in this series of narratives. A widow, whose son Elisha had restored to life in the second narrative (2 Kings 4:8-37) left for the land of the Philistines when there was a severe famine. Although the woman was simply listening to the prophet and doing what he said, squatters took advantage of the situation and took over her house and property while she was away.

In a clear demonstration of what a “divine appointment” looks like in Holy Scripture, Elisha’s servant and the king were talking together about this very woman and the miracle that took place with her son. The prophet had essentially raised her dead child to life. Then, lo and behold, the woman walked into the conversation to appeal the injustice that had happened to her and her family.

Even the worst of kings would discern the right thing to do in such a situation. After questioning the woman, the king ensured that she would get everything restored to her. Through it all, we are meant to see the power and sovereignty of God over the human authority of political kings.

I hope that you, at some point in your life, have experienced a meeting with another person that you can see was unmistakably arranged by God. And a great need you had was met because of this encounter. The Lord blessed you through it in a way that you didn’t see coming at all.

The fact of the matter is that God is sovereign, all-knowing, and all-powerful, along with being infinitely gracious, good, just, right, and loving. Therefore, God sets about to bless both us and other people. And when God determines to do something, nothing and no one in heaven or on earth can stop it.

Wherever you presently are, and whatever it is you are doing now in your life, is really no accident. And if your life situation is awful and far from any sort of idyllic scene of blessing, then please know that this is a circumstance that is ripe for a divine appointment.

For how could we ever know God as the Great Deliverer unless we were between a rock and a hard place with nowhere to turn? How could we ever experience God as the Divine Healer unless we were broken and/or brokenhearted?

How could we ever realize God as Provider unless we were out of resources and down to our last penny? Or God as Helper unless we were desperate and unable to move? Or God as the One who restores unless we had lost everything?

Just as there cannot be resurrection and new life without a crucifixion and an old life, so our lives will inevitably take a trajectory of suffering and hardship before glory and blessing. In order to allow the good to completely fill us, we must be totally emptied of everything else.

Maybe you will never experience something quite as dramatic as the woman did with gaining her son back to life, and her property restored after a terrible famine, but know this: The great Lord and God of all, the Sovereign of the universe, has your back through all that you’re going through on this earth.

I often get asked by patients and parishioners alike, “Where is God?” It feels to them that God is absent, silent, and far from understanding what they’re going through in the midst of their very challenging adversity.

Really, however, it’s actually an easy question for me to answer: Jesus is our Immanuel, God with us. The Spirit of God is right beside you, walking with you, even holding you up at times, through all the crud and crap of this old fallen sinful world of ours. Seeing only one set of footsteps in the sand, it turns out God is the One that carries the weak and weary in their trouble. The Lord is anything but absent.

If God has authority over earthly rulers, then the Lord most certainly has power to handle your life.

O God, why have you abandoned me? Though you have hidden your face from me, still from this dread and empty place, I cry to you, who have promised me that underneath are your everlasting arms. God, you are my help and comfort; you shelter and surround me in love so tender that I may know your presence with me, now and always. Amen.

The Trouble Is Turned (Esther 7:1-10)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
The Coronation of Queen Esther, from the 1617 Scroll of Esther, Ferrara, Italy.

So the king and Haman came to have dinner with Queen Esther. On the second day, while they were drinking wine, the king asked Esther, “What is your request, Queen Esther? It will be granted to you. And what would you like? Even if it is up to half of the kingdom, it will be granted.”

Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor with you, Your Majesty, and if it pleases you, Your Majesty, spare my life. That is my request. And spare the life of my people. That is what I ask for. You see, we—my people and I—have been sold so that we can be wiped out, killed, and destroyed. If our men and women had only been sold as slaves, I would have kept silent because the enemy is not worth troubling you about, Your Majesty.”

Then King Xerxes interrupted Queen Esther and said, “Who is this person? Where is the person who has dared to do this?”

Esther answered, “Our vicious enemy is this wicked man Haman!” Then Haman became panic-stricken in the presence of the king and queen.

The king was furious as he got up from dinner and went into the palace garden. But Haman stayed to beg Queen Esther for his life, because he saw that the king had a terrible end in mind for him. When the king returned from the palace garden to the palace dining room, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was lying. The king thought, “Is he even going to rape the queen while I’m in the palace?” Then the king passed sentence on him, and servants covered Haman’s face.

Harbona, one of the eunuchs present with the king, said, “What a coincidence! The 75-foot pole Haman made for Mordecai, who spoke up for the well-being of the king, is still standing at Haman’s house.”

The king responded, “Hang him on it!” So servants hung Haman’s dead body on the very pole he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the king got over his raging anger. (God’s Word Translation)

“Let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you. All things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things. Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices.”

Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515-1582)

I sometimes half-jokingly say to people that it’s important for me to keep busy so that I stay out of trouble. The truth is, however, that I tend to find myself in trouble a lot – whether I’m busy, or not. The same could be said for the Jewish people.

If you are anything like me, you have experienced, on more than one occasion, of feeling like you are in a circumstance that’s like quicksand. It’s as if you are stuck with no way out. Queen Esther found herself in such a situation. Through no fault of her own, she was thrust upon the stage of being the intercessor between life and death, salvation and elimination. 

The wicked Haman, a high official to the king of Persia, had it out for the Jews. So, he orchestrated a devious plan to do away with them once and for all – even building a gallows on his own property in the anticipation of hanging one of them on it. That’s how much the guy hated Jews.

The King, Haman, and Esther, by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1660

But God, who is always awake and alert to whatever is happening in this world, had their backs. Even though the book of Esther does not once pronounce the name of God, the Lord’s influence and divine sovereignty are evident throughout the entirety of the story. 

God seems to specialize in hard cases, and in people who keep getting into trouble, despite their good intentions. And through providential means, the Lord inevitably gains the glory, and God’s people are wonderfully saved from circumstances well beyond their ability to save themselves.

Esther, a Jewish girl who became part of the king’s harem, and then the king’s wife and queen, humbly and prayerfully entered the king’s presence on behalf of her people, the Jews. Even though she was exalted to such a status, there was still the very real possibility that taking such an initiative would get Esther into deep trouble.

Yet, because of divine providence superintending the whole affair, the tables were turned, with the Jews being joyously delivered; and Haman literally finding himself at the end of his rope, on his own gallows. 

Prayer, sensitivity to God, and the humility to listen, undergirded Esther’s decision and courage to step out and act on behalf of her people. 

Especially when it comes to trouble, prayer is not optional equipment for the believer, but absolutely essential to facing each and every difficult situation. That’s because it is God, not us, nor any of our skill or ingenuity, that ultimately brings deliverance. 

Saving ourselves from impossible situations and dire circumstances is way above our pay grade; only God can bring true deliverance – the kind that genuinely changes people so that divine purposes are accomplished.

Our discouraging situations, hard cases, difficult people problems, and vexing trouble – whatever the situation – God has your back, and delights to answer our desperate pleas for help and deliverance. 

Like me, you may find yourself in trouble. But you can also find yourself with all the power of heaven behind you; and with an answer to your prayer that is beyond what you can even think or imagine.

Loving God, your Son Jesus Christ came that we might have life and have it abundantly. We humbly ask that you pour out your blessing upon our nation. Where there is illness, bring your healing touch; where there is fear, strengthen us with the knowledge of your presence; where there is uncertainty, build us up in faith; where there is dishonesty, lead us into truth; where there is discord, may we know the harmony of your love. This we are to bold to pray through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit are one God, now and forever. Amen.

God Will Make a Way (Exodus 2:1-10)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Moses is saved from the water by Pharaoh’s daughter, by Marc Chagall, 1966

Now a man from Levi’s household married a Levite woman. The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that the baby was healthy and beautiful, so she hid him for three months. When she couldn’t hide him any longer, she took a reed basket and sealed it up with black tar. She put the child in the basket and set the basket among the reeds at the riverbank. The baby’s older sister stood watch nearby to see what would happen to him.

Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, while her women servants walked along beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds, and she sent one of her servants to bring it to her. When she opened it, she saw the child. The boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. She said, “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children.”

Then the baby’s sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Would you like me to go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?”

Pharaoh’s daughter agreed, “Yes, do that.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I’ll pay you for your work.” So the woman took the child and nursed it. After the child had grown up, she brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her son. She named him Moses, “because,” she said, “I pulled him out of the water.” (Common English Bible)

A new Pharaoh was enthroned in Egypt. Enough time had gone by that the legacy of Joseph as the administrator in saving many Egyptian people was lost. So, because the Israelites had grown to such large numbers, Pharaoh was afraid.

The politics of fear typically results in somebody getting oppressed. Indeed, fear became the driving force to a series of escalating oppressive policies initiated by Pharaoh, even to the point of planned infanticide. The Jewish midwives were instructed toward this end.

But the midwives did not fear the Egyptian Pharaoh. Instead they had a healthy fear of God (Exodus 1:17, 21). With such rightly ordered fear, the Jewish midwives defied the order of Pharaoh and openly disobeyed the royal command to murder Hebrew boys.

Here then, we have the setting for a special Hebrew baby to be born named Moses. He is the healthy child of two devout Levites. And although God’s name is not referenced in the verses for today, we can nonetheless see the providence and protection of the Lord within the narrative.

Through a complex chain of events, both the birth mother and the royal daughter care for this baby, protecting his life, with a divine provision for the needs of the infant Moses. Most stories in the Old Testament have contrasting characters within them, and today’s is no exception.

Pharaoh was the ruler over all of Egypt, and yet, he feared a loss of power and the status quo because of the Israelites – even though he reigned during a time of political peace, with hegemony reaching into the Middle East. As Pharaoh’s paranoid fear rose, so did God’s response of divine sovereignty over him, by providing protection against his diabolical intentions.

In contrast to Pharaoh, a powerless and non-descript Hebrew couple were married, conceived and bore a family of a daughter and two sons – Moses being the youngest. They had nothing, yet everything; whereas Pharaoh had everything, yet nothing. Thriving and flourishing has to do with a lot more than wealth and material resources.

Maternal care is powerful. And it finds a way to win the day and not only save a baby, but also to ensure that the baby grows, lives, and thrives. No royal edict can defeat the resilient strength of maternal compassion.

Despite Pharaoh’s increasing oppression, the compassion of several women ends up raising the very one who will lead the Israelites into liberation from this oppression.

With the Lord, a way will be found where there is no way. God + nothing = everything.

For us today, there is often a tendency to look back on the good old days when God did great things, and to look ahead when the Lord will return and make all things new and right. Yet we too often neglect to be mindful and live in the present moment, and know the God who is present with us right now.

We may remember the awesome deeds that God once did; and rejoice in biblical stories which demonstrate the Lord’s power, provision, and protection. We may look forward to the fulfillment of God’s promises in the person of Jesus when he returns, and gain hope from that.

Now, in this present evil age, and in this messed up world, we also have the God of the present tense. God will make a way, in this present time, where there seems to be no way. God is doing something new and amazing for us today.

And that way will be clear enough for us to know – and incredible enough for us to not predict or imagine. For God’s watch-care and deliverance can (and does) take many forms. When the Lord fulfills divine plans, it sometimes comes in the most creative and incredible way possible, so that we will have no doubt where it came from.

“God Will Make a Way” by Don Moen

God will make a way, Where there seems to be no way
He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me
He will be my guide, Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength, For each new day
He will make a way He will make a way

By a roadway in the wilderness, He’ll lead me
And rivers in the desert will I see
Heaven and earth will fade
But His Word will still remain
He will do something new today

Bread from Heaven (Exodus 16:27-35)

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Christian Spirituality Blog, Daily Bible Reading Blog, Year ALeave a comment
Bread From Heaven, by Nigel Wynter

On the seventh day some people went out to gather food, but they didn’t find any. The Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to do what I have commanded and instructed you to do? Remember: The Lord has given you this day of rest as a holy day. That’s why he gives you enough food on the sixth day for two days. On the seventh day stay in your place—no one is to go out. Everyone, stay where you are.” So the people never worked on the seventh day of the week.

The Israelites called the food manna. It was like coriander seeds. It was white and tasted like wafers made with honey.

Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: Take two quarts of manna to be kept for your descendants. This way they will see the food that I gave you to eat in the desert when I brought you out of Egypt.”

Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar, put two quarts of manna in it, and put it in the Lord’s presence to be kept for your descendants.” Aaron put the jar of manna in front of the words of God’s promise to be kept there, as the Lord commanded Moses.

The Israelites ate manna for 40 years until they came to a place to settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of Canaan. (God’s Word Translation)

“What is it?” is the quite literal meaning of the word manna. And the answer is: It is bread from heaven.

The manna was food for the Israelite people in their 40 years of sojourning through the desert. There is also an implicit question surrounding this bread: What to do with it? Well, of course, you eat it. But, before eating it, there are issues and instructions about the manna’s arrival and collection.

The special food, only graciously given to this particular group of cantankerous people, appeared in the mornings for six days a week, not seven, and only had a shelf life of one day, with the exception of the singular Sabbath day each week.

There is a time to go out and gather, and there is a time to stay put and eat; a time to work, and a time to rest. The lack of wisdom in timing could cost you not only a meal, but also your overall sense of paying attention to God’s commands.

It is the fool who spurns the relationship between events, that is, the space between when the Lord speaks and when humanity responds. Our human responsibility is dependent upon Divine sovereignty. Ignoring the voice of God, or simply failing to listen out of present anxieties or fears, will nearly always result in a skewed response-ability.

Yes, indeed, we all have very legitimate needs for cuisine, clothing, companionship, care, and compassion. If these vital needs go unmet, we are undone and shall die. Yet, there is also the question of how we will go about getting those very important and basic needs met – and many people, having not listened well to the instructions about life, will go about attempting to meet those needs in illegitimate ways.

Trying to satisfy legitimate needs through illegitimate means ends up eroding the soul, compromising character, and searing the conscience. It’s inevitable that such a person will grumble and complain, projecting on God the evil that is, in reality, residing within the human heart.

Whenever folks go out and try to gather what isn’t there, they have lost their way and their very real needs will not really be met, at all.

This is why humans need remembrances – to have reminders of what time it is and what’s important to do and not do, to seek the appropriate paths of living well, and to avoid the pitfalls of dead end trails.

One purpose of Sabbath is to remember – to recall the great story of deliverance and never forget where we came from, so that we will continually have before us where we are going.

I Am the Bread of Life, by Joseph Matar

The Christian remembers the saving and redemptive events of Jesus by coming to the Table. We gather together to ingest bread from heaven, to partake of the Bread of Life. For those who choose to carefully listen and pay attention, the words of Christ will not only speak life into our weary selves, but shall also shape how we go about getting our needs met and satisfied:

The people began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven….”

But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said. For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me….

“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life! Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”

Then the people began arguing with each other about what he meant. “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” they asked.

So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.” (John 6:41-58, NLT)

Consider well, then, where and how you will find the sustenance of the soul, love, and in what ways you will listen to the words of Jesus and gather them for your next meal. Will you hoard your heaven-sent food, or will you share?

O God, our Provider and Sustainer, we who are many are one body in Christ, for we all share in the one bread. Refresh, strengthen, and preserve us as we journey in this life, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.