Complete the Thought (CTT)

When quoting scripture it is vitally important that we not pluck small segments out of context. Sometimes that means reading the verses leading up to the quoted text… many times it involves reading on beyond the quoted text. Sound doctrine demands we check our cliches, church-isms, and quick-quotes against the whole of scriptures, lest we deceive ourselves and those who follow.

CTT | Mockery is Condemnation

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18 century icon painter - Iconostasis of Kizhi monastery, Karelia, Russia

18 century icon painter – Iconostasis of Kizhi monastery, Karelia, Russia

We need to practice Biblical discernment in everything we do. We must share the Truth in Love. Rebuke and Admonition are unpleasant and often despised and resisted. We are often tempted to resort to mockery of those who refuse to repent. When we engage in mockery, we are pronouncing judgment and condemning the object of our mockery. We are no longer seeking repentance from the one being mocked, and this can be problematic even if we are in the right. Today I want to address the topic of bringing correction to those who are stubborn in their sin or false doctrine and reject sound doctrine and what is at stake when we resort to mockery… when we are in the right. A fool mocks from a position of error, and that is not what we will be addressing today.

Elijah Mocked the Prophets of Baal

Yes, he did. Some point to Elijah as their justification for engaging in mockery. I want to take a look at what is happening in context so that there is no mistaking what is going on in the story. To rightly understand the story of Elijah confronting the prophets of Baal, we need to first understand who Ahab was. For that, let’s begin in 1 Kings 16.

1 Kings 16:29-34 (ESV)29 In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab the son of Omri began to reign over Israel, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty-two years. 30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, more than all who were before him. 31 And as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, he took for his wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal and worshiped him. 32 He erected an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. 33 And Ahab made an Asherah. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. 34 In his days Hiel of Bethel built Jericho. He laid its foundation at the cost of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.

Now, not to get too sidetracked, did you notice that in the days of Ahab, Hiel built Jericho at the cost of 2 sons? Well, it points all of the way back to the days of Joshua, when the God destroyed Jericho on behalf of His people, Israel. If we turn briefly to Joshua 6.

Joshua 6:26-27 (ESV) 26 Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, “Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. “At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates.” 27 So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame was in all the land.

Okay, so here we have a wicked King over the northern kingdom of Israel. More wicked than any before him. His wickedness trumps that of Jeroboam in that he takes as a bride the daughter of the king of Sidon. Ahab then worships Baal, builds a temple for Baal in Samaria (the capital city of the northern Kingdom of Israel) and sets up an Asherah. Idolatry. Ahab provoked the Lord, the God of Israel to anger. So God sends His prophet to Ahab.

1 Kings 17:1 (ESV) 17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”

Now, the story follows Elijah as he goes into hiding while the judgment of the Lord falls upon Israel. Judgement provoked by the sin of Ahab.

1 Kings 18:1-6 (ESV)  18 After many days the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, show yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.” 2 So Elijah went to show himself to Ahab. Now the famine was severe in Samaria. 3 And Ahab called Obadiah, who was over the household. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly, 4 and when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them by fifties in a cave and fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the valleys. Perhaps we may find grass and save the horses and mules alive, and not lose some of the animals.” 6 So they divided the land between them to pass through it. Ahab went in one direction by himself, and Obadiah went in another direction by himself.

Now we see that Jezebel began killing the prophets of the Lord, and Obadiah hid 100 prophets in groups of 50 and fed them in secret. So, not only is Ahab worshiping a false God, his wife had also openly attack the prophets of the Lord God. It had not rained for 3 years, and the famine was rough. While Elijah was indeed a prophet of God, and heard from God directly, the shutting of the sky as a punishment for the sin of Israel is not spontaneous nor should it have been unexpected. Why? Because according to the Law, the Covenant with Moses, God already warned Israel of the punishments or curses for disobedience. We can find it in Deuteronomy 28, but specifically verse 24 states, “The Lord will make the rain of your land powder. From heaven dust shall come down on you until you are destroyed.” So, the Prophet Elijah brought the Word of the Lord to Ahab, and the sign given (lack of rain) points back to the Law of Moses. Ahab doesn’t get, as we’ll see in a moment, but the sign and wonder doesn’t point to Elijah, it points to God. This is Ahab’s first recorded warning, 3 years of drought.

1 Kings 18:17-19 (ESV) 17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is it you, you troubler of Israel?” 18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you have, and your father’s house, because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord and followed the Baals. 19 Now therefore send and gather all Israel to me at Mount Carmel, and the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

Ahab doesn’t get it. He had completely forgotten who was God of Israel, and considered Israel his own, a nation of his making, a nation that followed Baal. He did not recognize the true cause for the drought and accused Elijah of being the troubler of Israel. While 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah ate at Jezebel’s table.

1 Kings 18:20-24 (ESV)  20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. 24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.”

Elijah called an assembly of the people of Israel and charged them to choose whom they will serve, whether the One True God of Israel, or Baal. And the people remained silent. This was a second appeal to the Children of Israel to repent and reject the idols and false god Baal, and return to the True God of Israel. The Israelites responded properly to Joshua, but those assembled before Elijah fell silent. Repentance would not come without a sign. Whenever I read Matthew 12, I wonder if this very moment is part of what went through Jesus’ mind when he responded to the scribes, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign…” (Matthew 12:38-42).

1 Kings 18:25-40 (ESV) 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34 And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. 35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water.

36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” 40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.

The false prophets stood condemned long before God consumed the altar with fire. Their fate was already sealed according to the Law of Moses.

Deuteronomy 13:4-5 (ESV) 4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

Judgement had come to Israel. So why did Elijah mock the false prophets? Not for their sake, not for their repentance; rather, so that they would double-down and leave no room for doubt that they had fully exhausted everything they had into their apostasy, for the sake of the witness of Israel. Israel’s silence, while a failure, at least shielded them from being put to death along with the false prophets. They repented immediately at the sign of the Lord God, and they obeyed Elijah’s command to seize the false prophets. Elijah put them to death, as required by the Law.

Now lets look at something very cool. Turn with me to 2 Chronicles 7 (yes, this is before the events in 1 Kings 18) to the dedication of the Temple built by King Solomon.

2 Chronicles 7:1-3 (ESV)7 As soon as Solomon finished his prayer, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the Lord’s house. 3 When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

2 Chronicles 7:11-14 (ESV) 11 Thus Solomon finished the house of the Lord and the king’s house. All that Solomon had planned to do in the house of the Lord and in his own house he successfully accomplished.12 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. 13 When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, 14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

The people should have recognized the 3 year drought as a sign of rebuke for their sin. They should have repented. They did not. Notice also here that the fire being called down from heaven was not new to Israel. This is how the Lord God answered Solomon’s prayer that began 2 Chronicles 6. So even the sign that Elijah proposed points back to the Lord God. God had already done this for His people. And the significance of that fire points back to when God lead the Children of Israel in the wilderness at night. How great is the Mercy and Grace of our God!

Conclusion

There is a time for mockery, but it is always a sign of judgement and condemnation. Israel will continue to sin and chase after false gods, and God makes a mockery of her among the nations. Hence the eventual scattering of the 10 tribes of Israel, leaving only Judah and Levi. They, too, are sent into Exile for 70 years, when they can repent and cry out to God.

We must rebuke false teaching, and silence false teachers. We must do so in love and humility, for it is not by our power or authority, but by the Word of God. You cannot mock a professing Christian in the name of “reaching out to them that they might repent”, that is not what mockery does. One who continues in sin, rejecting the Gospel of Jesus Christ and sound doctrine (defined by the Word of God, not the doctrines of men), then mockery may be in order so that the one who stands condemned by their own might be a warning to all who believe. Mocking someone who is caught in sin will harden his/her heart before it leads to repentance. Elijah didn’t begin with mockery, he closed with it… and then he put the false prophets to death.  Notice, this entire study has been under the singular premise that the one mocking was undeniably correct and spoke the Word of the Lord. Mocking someone from a position of error adds sin upon sin and invites condemnation of its own. Ultimately, we should be slow to mock, quick to forgive, and we should always point others to the Word of God and to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

May the Peace of God remain with you,
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

CTT | The Error of Balaam

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While writing the closing portion of yesterday’s post, I made a reference to Balaam’s donkey. Today’s CTT post will explore the story of Balaam, particularly from the perspective of the New Testament.

In reviewing the first draft of my post, I caught an error that really got me thinking about Balaam and forced me to rewrite that reference. I caught myself saying, “If God can speak through a donkey…” Have you ever heard that before? Clearly I had, and if I’m not mistaken I’ve heard it in the same light as the List we reviewed recently, basically if God can talk through a donkey then He can use anyone for His purposes. Now, we could make this an Old Testament study where we dive into the story of Balaam and where it takes place in Israel’s exodus out of Egypt and into the land of Promise, but for today I want to limit our scope to that of the New Testament. Balaam is referenced 3 times in the New Testament (by Peter, Jude, and in Revelation) and each time he is referenced in relation to false teaching. Let’s begin by seeing how Peter references Balaam. The entire chapter is devoted to this topic so let’s just read the whole thing.

2 Peter 2 (ESV)
False Prophets and Teachers
2 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 if by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked 8 (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment,10 and especially those who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and despise authority.

Bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, 11 whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord. 12 But these, like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed, blaspheming about matters of which they are ignorant, will also be destroyed in their destruction, 13 suffering wrong as the wage for their wrongdoing. They count it pleasure to revel in the daytime. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deceptions, while they feast with you. 14 They have eyes full of adultery, insatiable for sin. They entice unsteady souls. They have hearts trained in greed. Accursed children! 15 Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, 16 but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

17 These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. 18 For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 20 For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. 21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. 22 What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

So, yeah… Peter wastes no time mincing his words. At the end of his reference to Balaam’s donkey, we see clearly the error in my first (unpublished) draft. God didn’t speak through the donkey, the speechless donkey spoke. So, let’s turn to Numbers chapter 22 to read the account of Balaam and his donkey.

Numbers 22:1-14 (ESV)
22 Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. 2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. 4 And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, 5 sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the people of Amaw, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. 6 Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak’s message. 8 And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” 12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” 14 So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”

Okay, so we have Moab and Midian conspiring to stop the advance of Israel. Balaam is not among the Israelites. Nevertheless, God went to Balaam to warn him not to curse His people. Balaam refuses to go with the men… but notice that he didn’t tell them all that the Lord had told him, and there is no mention of returning the fees for divination. He kept the money paid to him, and withheld information. Let’s continue on.

Numbers 22:15 Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me, 17 for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Come, curse this people for me.’” 18 But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more. 19 So you, too, please stay here tonight, that I may know what more the Lord will say to me.” 20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.” 21 So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.

22 But God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. 25 And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam’s foot against the wall. So he struck her again. 26 Then the angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” 30 And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.”

Now this transition is admittedly difficult. Something is missing between God allowing Balaam to go and God’s anger being kindled because he went. The text doesn’t say explicitly what it was about his going that angered the Lord God. Peter’s depiction of Balaam gives us our best answer, “who loved gain from wrongdoing”. The God the Holy Spirit gave Peter the reason, it was because Balaam loved gain. Just as he took the fees from the first entourage and only told them half of the message, this time he tells them nothing at all, and saddles up his donkey and follows them. God judges the heart, and was angered by what He saw in Balaam.

The donkey sees the angel of the Lord. Now, many scholars believe that OT references to the “angel of the Lord” are references to Jesus before the virgin birth. This fits how the Gospel of John introduces Jesus and it is also part of our understanding of the Trinity. The donkey sees the Lord and attempts to avoid certain judgement as is punished by Balaam for it twice. Finally, she just lays down and receives a third punishment. The Lord opens her mouth and she pleads her case with Balaam.

Balaam is so angry he doesn’t seem alarmed by the sudden speech from his donkey, and he doesn’t immediately assume the Lord God is involved. Balaam practiced divination for money. Let’s see what happens next.

Numbers 22:31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. 32 And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.” 34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.” 35 And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.

The portion in bold and underlined is important for later. For now, we see that this angel of the Lord did not rebuke Balaam for prostrating before Him and spoke to Balaam as his Lord, not a messenger from the Lord. Here, we see Balaam repent, and the Lord tells him to go and only speak what he is told. In the next  2 chapters we see Balaam obey the Word of the Lord and speak only blessings upon the people of God, the Israelites, and then departs from Balak. But is that all of the story? Let’s look at how Balaam is referenced in Revelation.

Revelation 2:12-17 (ESV)
12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

Wait a second… where did we see sexual immorality and eating of food sacrificed to idols in relation to Balaam? Well, to see how Balaam is involved we need to start in Numbers 31 and then reach back to chapter 25.

Numbers 31:1-4 (ESV) 1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.” 3 So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian. 4 You shall send a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to the war.”

Numbers 31:7-12 (ESV) 7 They warred against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses, and killed every male. 8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword. 9 And the people of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones, and they took as plunder all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods. 10 All their cities in the places where they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire, 11 and took all the spoil and all the plunder, both of man and of beast. 12 Then they brought the captives and the plunder and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the people of Israel, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

Numbers 31:15-16 (ESV) 15 Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? 16 Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord.

Okay, now we see that Balaam was responsible for the incident of Peor. What happened at Peor?

Numbers 25:1-9 (ESV)
1 While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. 4 And the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the Lord, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” 5 And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.” 6 And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand 8 and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. 9 Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.

Remember the test of a Prophet isn’t limited to whether or not the sign or wonder comes to pass; it includes his doctrine, what he preaches/teaches. If the sign comes to pass and he leads Israel to worship false gods, strange gods, gods you do not know, he is to be put to death. Balaam was responsible for this stumbling block placed before Israel, for the sexual immorality and the worshiping of the false god (Baal) of Peor. Throughout the Old Testament, idolatry and sexual immorality are linked. Our God is a jealous God and He will have NO OTHER God before Him (the first and greatest commandment). And as a result of the advice of Balaam, the false prophet, 24,000 died by the plague.

It isn’t enough that at one time the Word of the Lord was faithfully spoken. God remains sovereign. Balaam’s obedience to bless the Children of God required direct intervention by the Lord, and Balaam quickly sinned and lead Israel to sin against God. That is why we see his name invoked in the New Testament as an example of a False Prophet and Teacher.

While we didn’t get to Balaam’s mention in Jude, it is in the same light. In closing, I’d like to once-again share from the doxology of Jude

Jude 1: 24-25 (ESV) Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
In Christ Jesus,
Jorge

CTT | Touch Not God’s Anointed

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CTTThe subject of “spiritual abuse” is one that is very serious and must be addressed whenever it rears its ugly head. A prime example of spiritual abuse is the list of allegations presented by 21 former pastors at Mars Hill against Mark Driscoll. There are plenty of people reporting and writing about the struggles of Mars Hill over the past several years. Yesterday, Mark yielded (a step in the right direction) and announced he would step down (temporarily) as Senior Pastor while the elders review the charges. Today’s post will not be about Mars Hill; rather, we will look at one of the most commonly misquoted scriptures, often to silence anyone who dare question, challenge, rebuke, or correct a leader in the church. This is a strong-arm tactic that can sometimes lead to Spiritual Abuse, and today we are going to look at this verse in its context.

Touch Not God’s Anointed

I’ve seen this partial quote used primarily by those claiming to have a special anointing of the Holy Spirit to either prophesy or to heal or even to cast vision for a body of believers. They sometimes place themselves in a Mosaic leadership role (or claim the role of an Apostle) where they hear from God in private, and then they tell the people what God has commanded and they all follow the prophetic leader. Should anyone disagree with the vision or the direction, the implication is that they aren’t disagreeing with the man, they are disagreeing with the Holy Spirit and so should probably either repent from their disagreement or find a different place “where the Holy Spirit leads them”. Should anyone dare to challenge what is being proclaimed or taught by the self-proclaimed “anointed one”, the partial quote of “touch not God’s anointed” might come out (tends to happen more in blogs or on twitter than in sermons, but I have heard it). So let’s look at where this comes from and see if the application fits.

The phrase, “Touch not my anointed ones” (ESV) can be found in 2 places, 1 Chronicles 16 and again in Psalms 105. This is a song of thanksgiving written by King David after the Ark of the Covenant is finally returned to Jerusalem and was placed in David’s Tent. This is after Uzzah was struck dead for wrongfully touching the Ark, despite his desire not to see it fall. I believe that what is recorded in 1 Chronicles is what took place at the time and in that moment, and then David wrote a more detailed song of thanksgiving detailing what God had done for His people in the 105th Psalm. Let’s look at the account in 1 Chronicles.

1 Chronicles 16:1-22 (ESV)
1 And they brought in the ark of God and set it inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before God. 2 And when David had finished offering the burnt offerings and the peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord 3 and distributed to all Israel, both men and women, to each a loaf of bread, a portion of meat, and a cake of raisins. 4 Then he appointed some of the Levites as ministers before the ark of the Lord, to invoke, to thank, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel. 5 Asaph was the chief, and second to him were Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel, who were to play harps and lyres; Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6 and Benaiah and Jahaziel the priests were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of the covenant of God. 7 Then on that day David first appointed that thanksgiving be sung to the Lord by Asaph and his brothers.

8 Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
9 Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!
10 Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
11 Seek the Lord and his strength;
seek his presence continually!
12 Remember the wondrous works that he has done,
his miracles and the judgments he uttered,
13 O offspring of Israel his servant,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones!
14 He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
15 Remember his covenant forever,
the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
16 the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
17 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
18 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan,
as your portion for an inheritance.”
19 When you were few in number,
    of little account, and sojourners in it,
20 wandering from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another people,
21 he allowed no one to oppress them;
    he rebuked kings on their account,
22 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,
    do my prophets no harm!”

Interesting that this verse doesn’t get fully quoted whenever it is invoked today. Completing the sentence “do my prophets no harm” would make it extremely difficult to equate “harm” with questioning, discerning, rebuking, or refuting said prophet. This isn’t harm as in “the reputation of my ministry has been marred”, this refers to real harm.

David here, is giving thanks to the Lord God and leading all people in a song of thanksgiving. He opens up by praising the Name of God. In verse 12, he transitions to remembrance of all the wondrous works the Lord God has done for His people. The Covenant God made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac and to Jacob as a statue. An everlasting covenant. Then in verse 19, he goes back to when they were few in number, of little account. Notice to whom the Lord God spoke the command “touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!“, to the kings of the kingdoms in which God’s people wandered as sojourners. When did such a rebuke take place? We can find one such occasion in Genesis 20.

Genesis 20 (ESV)
1 From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb and lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he sojourned in Gerar. 2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. 3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “Behold, you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man’s wife.” 4 Now Abimelech had not approached her. So he said, “Lord, will you kill an innocent people? 5 Did he not himself say to me, ‘She is my sister’? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this.” 6 Then God said to him in the dream, “Yes, I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart, and it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.7 Now then, return the man’s wife, for he is a prophet, so that he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not return her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.”

8 So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his servants and told them all these things. And the men were very much afraid. 9 Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you, that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin? You have done to me things that ought not to be done.” 10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What did you see, that you did this thing?” 11 Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’ 12 Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 And when God caused me to wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘This is the kindness you must do me: at every place to which we come, say of me, “He is my brother.”’”

14 Then Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male servants and female servants, and gave them to Abraham, and returned Sarah his wife to him. 15 And Abimelech said, “Behold, my land is before you; dwell where it pleases you.” 16 To Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver. It is a sign of your innocence in the eyes of all who are with you, and before everyone you are vindicated.”17 Then Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children. 18 For the Lord had closed all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

Abraham was indeed a prophet of the Lord God. We see here a few things. First, Abraham sought to protect his own life by misleading Abimelech. We see in scripture that this was a sin committed by Abraham, nevertheless, God acted first to protect Abimelech from committing sin against Sarah and Abraham. We see clearly God telling Abimelech that it was by His Grace that the king had not touched Sarah. Had he done so, God would have judged all that belonged to Abimelech, despite Abraham’s deception. That is the power of a covenant, and marriage is a covenant. Nevertheless, God intervened and then He spoke to Abimelech directly in a dream, warning him of his impending disaster. Abimelech responded in repentance and confusion since he had acted in good-faith as far as he was aware. In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this is no small assertion. God does not rebuke him for this, in fact, He says “Yes, I know…” God then directs Abimelech to return Sarah to her husband, His prophet, and ask for Abraham to pray over the house of Abimelech so that no harm will befall him. In Abimelech’s confrontation with Abraham, notice that Abimelech charges Abraham with wrong doing, with sinning against Abimelech and doing to him things that ought not be done. Abraham had wronged Abimelech, and sinned against him. Abimelech, after hearing directly from God that he needed to correct a wrong and seek prayer, was justified in accusing Abraham (God’s prophet) of wrong doing. Abraham confessed his sin to Abimelech, shared his reasoning, and Abimelech forgave Abraham and granted him free travels and mercy while in his lands. He restored Sarah to him and paid a proof of her innocence (that he had NOT touched her) so that all may know that she was vindicated and that no adultery was committed.

God Made the Declaration

In both the Psalm and the account in 1 Chronicles, it is clear that David is praising and thanking God for His protection of His people from the Gentiles. That God told kings and nations “touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm”. Whether or not you believe that God still appoints Prophets today, the claim of being a prophet of God isn’t strengthened by the same person making a declaration that was made by God to protect His people (Israel) from the nations. If the misquote comes as a response to someone challenging the validity of a man’s claim to being a prophet, then quoting this scripture is at best an attempt at applying circular reasoning and at worst an attempt to silence Biblical discernment through fear of invoking the wrath of God. Especially since we in modern-day Christianity are not seeking to stone or put to death.

False Doctrine & Teaching is Harmful

Titus 1:7-14 (ESV) 7 For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. 9 He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

10 For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. 11 They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach. 12 One of the Cretans, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not devoting themselves to Jewish myths and the commands of people who turn away from the truth.

To the one claiming a special anointing from God, preach the word of God and submit to the test of a prophet. Know that if what you say will come to pass does not, you spoke presumptuously and took the Name of the Lord in vain. Know also that if you preach a different gospel than the one preached by the Apostles, Galatians 1 says you are to be accursed. (twice, and the Apostle Paul included himself, and Angels in that charge). If you think you are speaking the very words of God, you would do well to test them in God’s Word first before speaking. God’s voice is not the only one we can hear, and we are commanded not to believe every spirit, but to test them to see they are of God.

2 Timothy 2:14-19 (ESV) 14 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 16 But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

If you are a cessationist, then you have even less excuse to whip out this misquoted verse/phrase. Either what you teach/preach is biblically sound (meaning, the Word of God serves as the testimony of what you preach) or it is not and you need to repent. Either way, it is God’s Word that determines truth, not your self-proclaimed “anointing” or your seminary background. Pointing to a “church father” who is not one of the Apostles is equally unhelpful. All Scripture is God-breathed and sufficient.

We serve a loving and gracious God, one who loves and protects His people. Put your trust in God and in His Word. It is not for you to scare your “opponents” into silence or capitulation. That is abuse. Take every thought captive to obey Christ, that is, to His Word.

Romans 8:31-39 (ESV)
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

May the Lord bless and keep you,
In Him,
Jorge

CTT | Be Like Noble Bereans

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CTTWe have had a heavy week here at Faithful Stewardship. A few posts blew completely past our intended word limit. I hope that in the future I can do some better planning to keep these posts from getting so long. Today I just want to leave you with an encouragement for this weekend. Some might take this as a challenge of sorts.

This weekend, whether you attend church worship service on Saturday or Sunday, whether you also participate in a Bible study or home/small group study, I’d like to encourage you to be like the Jews in Berea, who Paul described as more noble than the Jews in Thessalonica. Before I break down what I am indeed encouraging each of your to do this weekend, let us first begin by reading the short passage in Acts.

Acts 17:1-15 (ESV)
17 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.

Think for just a moment about the first underlined portion. Paul’s method of evangelism was to seek out the synagogue of the Jews first and reason with the Jews from the Scriptures explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and die. Remember the Jews were expecting the Messiah, the Son of David, to be a conquering King to re-establish the Throne of David on Earth. Paul reasoned from the Scriptures pointing first to the true purpose that the Messiah would come to fulfill, and then Paul proclaimed that Jesus, who suffered and died according to the Scriptures, is indeed the Messiah, the Christ. You know what I find really cool? Paul reasoned from the Scriptures they had in the Jewish Synagogue… the Law and the Prophets, what we call the “Old Testament”. Paul preached the Gospel from the Law and the Prophets. Today we have been blessed with the New Testament writings to better understand the Law and the Prophets and how they point to and are fulfilled by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This should equip us all-the-more to preach the Gospel from nearly any portion of the Bible with faithfulness to the Word of God.

Some of the Jews, and a great many of devout Greeks were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, and the jealousy of the Jews lead them to act dishonorably. Notice that they couldn’t find fault with them according to the Law of Moses; rather, they appealed to Caesar, the government to take action against Paul and Silas. The brothers sent them away by night to Berea. Here, we see Paul doing the same thing, seeking out the synagogue. Since Luke (the author of Acts) has already told us how Paul preached, we know that Paul was reasoning from the Law and the Prophets. These Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica, they eagerly received the word and examined the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul’s testimony* was true. As a result of this testing of the Scriptures many believed. Paul isn’t saying they were more Noble because they believed. Not all in Berea believed, and there were some who believed in Thessalonica. They were more noble because they eagerly searched the scriptures daily, to see if what Paul said was true. The Jews of Thessalonica pursued Paul and Silas in Berea, still unable to refute their testimony, and riled up the mob to persecute them. The brothers, again, sent Paul and Silas on their way.

Be Like Noble Bereans

This weekend, while sitting in a pew, sanctuary, or auditorium, have your Bible with you. I recommend having your Bible there in a form you are able to make notes in. Sure, you might have a cell phone app that allows you to read the Bible, but can you take notes in it? It’s good to take notes so that the next time you open up to this passage, you can see that you had been there once before and you can see what was on your heart at that time. The point here is that we need to be eager to receive the word spoken by the pastor/elder/teacher while faithfully examining the Scriptures to see if the word spoken is true.

  • What is being preached? Not every sermon these days is preached from a passage of Scripture. Too often, they are preached from popular books sold in local “Christian Bookstores”. If the sermon is being preached from a book, you’ll have to take every assertion, every assumption, every prescription, and every declaration to the Scriptures to see if they are sound. That is tedious work, and hopefully the pastor/elder/teacher is doing it from the pulpit with you… then again, if it can be preached from the Word, it should be. If the sermon is being preached from a passage of scripture, be sure to read the portion before the text and continue reading beyond the text. In most cases, there should be a natural break in theme, or thought, or subject. If not, then you’ll need to examine why the text being preached is only a portion of the natural subject. It could just be a part of a series of sermons, or it could be an indication that the portion of scripture is being preached out of its natural context.
  • Who is being preached? We see that Paul entered the Synagogues and reasoned from the Scriptures pointing to Christ. If anyone could have been justified to preach of himself it could be argued that Paul could have. He was a Jew of Jews, a Pharisee of Pharisees, who persecuted the church until Jesus Christ confronted him physically on the road to Damascus. He was a witness to the resurrected Christ. Yet, we see none of this mentioned here. In fact, when we do see Paul speak of himself, he does so sarcastically pointing out the error in listening to self-proclaimed apostles (or super apostles). Now, in some topical sermons, there is room for a pastor/elder/teacher to share some personal stories, but our personal anecdotes are not a replacement for Scripture, nor do they add weight to them (it is the Scripture that adds weight to our anecdotes). It is a means of expressing or relating only so far as it is in keeping with the Truth of God’s Word.
  • Context, context, context. Did the pastor/elder/teacher just throw out a churchy-saying or was he quoting Scripture? Not sure? Look it up. I keep my smartphone handy with the Bible Gateway App specifically for this purpose. I will not hesitate to search a phrase uttered in a sermon in an attempt to find a Scriptural basis. Especially when it comes out in King James English… I don’t read scripture in dated English language, I prefer ESV and NASB. Was what I heard an actual quote or a proof text? What that means is, did the speaker quote a verse or even a complete thought or was it just a portion of the verse or passage? You’d be surprised how the most commonly quoted proof texts are generally taken out of context to validate a point that cannot be plainly taught from a passage of scripture.
    We’ve looked a some of those here in CTT posts of the past:

  • What are the caveats? I can appreciate if on occasion the speaker caveats something he is preaching as something “he’s struggling with” or “just a thought I had and wanted to share” or even “I was really inspired by this so I wanted to share”. Those are fine and I rarely take issue with those caveats unless what is shared is actually in poor taste or scripturally unsound. I so struggle when a sermon starts with repeated appeals to direct-revelation rather than to Scripture. If the speaker starts a sermon with “the Lord showed me” then he should say it once and stand and be tested as a prophet of the Lord God. If he keeps using the caveat, it rings less of a prophetic call and more of a diversion or a deflection of responsibility for what it is he is preaching. The implication is, “hey, this isn’t me talking, it’s the very Word of God; therefore, if you reject what I’m saying you reject Him”. In today’s church, very few would make that statement, and most would appeal to how they were brought up in the church, or that they truly believe that the Holy Spirit is the one who prompted the pastor/elder/teacher to write the message. Here is the problem with such a bold assertion (the Holy Spirit showed me), if in your message you go on to mishandle the Word of God then either the spirit who showed you this message was NOT of God, or you weren’t really hearing from any spirit it was just a thought born of your flesh. In either case, you’ve taken the Name of God in vain. We are told to Preach the Word of God. So do it, knowing that all scripture is God-Breathed.
  • Be willing to ask or even question the pastor/elder/teacher. He is charged of God to shepherd His flock. You must do so in humility and love, don’t ever let anyone dissuade you from asking for clarification, questioning, or even challenging the pastor/elder/teacher on his use of Scripture or on his doctrine. Now, you need to be willing to be corrected, taught, trained, and even rebuked for any sin on your part, but that doesn’t absolve the pastor/elder/teacher of the responsibility to teach and to preach only that which accords with sound doctrine. I recommend going privately first. If you feel the pastor/elder/teacher is in sin, then you must not levy a charge except on the word of two or more witnesses. Hey, sometimes the speaker just makes a mistake. In such cases confession and forgiveness should be a simple fix, and the bond of brotherhood should actually be strengthened by such interaction.

Above all else, do your homework and study God’s word. It’s all well and good if you are a proud Lutheran, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, or Baptist… that’s great that you feel so connected to a denomination of man. But if all you have going into a discussion or confrontation is your church’s doctrine or how your favorite “church father” explained it better than their “church father” did… you’re wrong. Sola Scriptura, if it means anything, means Scripture Alone. The Bereans didn’t search their traditions daily, they sought the Scriptures daily. Let us do likewise, in the bonds of brotherly (and sisterly) love. From time to time, we should all examine the scriptures to see if our church doctrine is true.

Romans 12:1-2 (ESV)
1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

May the Lord bless and keep you,
In Him,
Jorge

CTT | A Still Small Voice?

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CTTHave you ever heard someone teach that in order to hear from God you need to pray and then meditate, or be silent and wait for God to speak directly to you in “a still small voice”? Where does this idea come from? Should we expect to hear God audibly in a still small voice? Is God the only “still small voice” we might hear? How are you supposed to tell the difference? Is there a problem with this teaching? Well, at the very least, let us see what happens when we look to the Scriptures to complete the thought.

The only reference in scripture to this “still small voice” is found in 1 Kings chapter 19. Let’s look at how the passage is usually quoted/referenced by those who present this as THE way we should seek direction from the Holy Spirit:

1 Kings 19:11-13a (NKJV)
11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave.

The ESV translates the highlighted phrase “the sound of a low whisper”. I decided to see what the Hebrew says here using an online interlinear Bible:

 

If we look at the word-for-word translation (which is NOT the only way we translate any document, much less the Bible) it comes out “the voice of thin stillness”. The Hebrew really is a beautiful language, and some day I’d like to study it, but what we have here is an attempt to capture/describe the silence that fell after the fire. The point here is that I don’t see anything wrong with translating it “the voice of thin stillness”, “the sound of a low whisper”, or “a still small voice”. I think the latter allows a little too much room for springboarding, but as with all Scripture, I think we’ll understand this concept better if we look at the greater context. We’ll continue in NKJV for this next portion before switching back to the ESV.

1 Kings 19:1-18 (NKJV)
19 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” 3 And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” 8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.

9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

10 So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire,but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.

13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

14 And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”

15 Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. 16 Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. 17 It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. 18 Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Wow, there are some truly awesome and wonderful things taking place in this passage. Things that point to earlier scriptures, too. However, before we can get into those wonderful treasures, we have to dispense with the false-gold of this “still small voice” distraction. I’d like to first draw your attention to the fact that the “still small voice” Elijah heard was not bringing the message or the command of the Lord; rather, it was how Elijah knew it was time to take action. Elijah didn’t move for the violent wind, the earthquake, or the fire because the text clearly states that the Lord was not in them. Upon hearing the still small voice, Elijah didn’t get his revelation or message from God, he recognized that the Lord was coming. He then covered his face and did what God had commanded him to do, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord“. Once Elijah was standing at the entrance of the cave, a voice came to him… the Voice of the Lord. And He spoke as He no doubt spoke in verse 9, and just prior to the signs and wonders in verse 11.

So, can God the Holy Spirit speak to us in a whisper? Yes, He is God. Is that the only way God speaks? Absolutely not. Does this passage mean that I should expect to God to speak to me in a whisper? Nope. In fact, since it’s the only time we have a reference to this in Scripture it should fall in the same category as God’s hand appearing and writing on the wall. So we can’t expect to hear from God? Yes, but not necessarily audibly or in a vision or a dream. God is not the only one capable of speaking, He’s just the only One we should be serving. By way of reminder, let us look at how we were warned by the Apostles:

1 John 4:1-6 (ESV)
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Galatians 1:6-9 (ESV)
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

2 Corinthians 11:10-15 (ESV)
10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. 11 And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! 12 And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

Not only do we have to guard against false spirits, demons, and false prophets/teachers/apostles but we have our very own flesh to contend with. For our very flesh is fallen and actively seeks self-gratification working against the Spirit of God.

Galatians 5:16-21 (ESV)
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Our flesh, our selfish hearts, will plot and scheme to rationalize sinful behavior, or to self-indulgence. I highlighted here sensuality, idolatry, and sorcery to point out that the flesh also seeks out these things apart from demonic influence. Pantheism, panentheism, and eastern mysticism all serve man’s fleshly desire to deny the One True God of worship. This is a sickness in our flesh that will be once-and-for-all healed when by the grace of God and the blood of Jesus Christ we are given new bodies, free of the curse of sin and death. Until that day, we are to take up our crosses daily and follow Christ, by crucifying the flesh and its evil desires, and walking in the Spirit of God.

So, how do we hear from God? I do believe that God the Holy Spirit is always working in our lives and speaking to us, but I can also point you to the one method of communication that is available to everyone, infallible, inerrant, and sufficient… the Word of God in the Scriptures. Will always be an audible voice (whispered or thundered)? Nope. Can it be? Yes, it could be, but even if it is… you MUST search for it in God’s Word. There is no excuse, you MUST test the spirits, and the ONLY test of the Spirits is the Word of God. Jesus is the Word made flesh. Remember, the testimony of Jesus is the Spirit of prophecy!

If someone starts with “the Lord told me” and ends up twisting scripture, taking it out of context, or teaching or teaching something that cannot be found in scripture, it isn’t the Lord that spoke. If it is a prophecy that doesn’t come to pass, it wasn’t God (it could have simply been their flesh). If it is a prophecy/sign/wonder that does come to pass but they are teaching a false gospel, it isn’t God and is most likely demons. They are to be rebuked sharply, and if they do not repent they are to be rejected.

Bonus Material

Okay, now I didn’t want to bring this to a close without looking at some of the fascinating things going on in our text. I’ll be switching back to the ESV but please note that you can always change the translation in the web links as well as open up your own Bible at your leisure.

What takes place in 1 Kings 19 is of great spiritual and historical significance. First, this takes place after God answered Elijah’s prayer that He show Himself to a rebellious people who had turned away after Baal. God completely consumed the sacrifice, the alter, and the water making perfectly clear that He is God. Then Elijah slew the prophets of Baal (450 men). Remember, though, that most (if not all) of these were Israelites who had turned away from God. This was judgement, according to the Law of Moses. Anyone who led the children of Israel to worship false gods, gods they did not know, gods that did not deliver them from Egypt was to be put to death. This is made clear in Elijah’s prayer and in the response of the children of Israel at Mount Caramel.

1 Kings 18:36-40 (ESV)
36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” 40 And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape.” And they seized them. And Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and slaughtered them there.

Judgement came to the House of Israel. The people confessed the Lord as God. They fell on their faces in repentance. Judgement was dispensed. Elijah then asked the Lord to open up the heavens to bring the rain, and He did so. By all accounts, this should have been a sign of Israel turning back to God as in the time of the Judges. However, Ahab was a weak and evil king and Jezebel was unrepentant and sought to kill Elijah. Elijah flees Israel and stops in the land of Judah where he leaves his servant and then asks God to just kill him.

1 Kings 19:4-8 (ESV)
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

I his despair, we see that Elijah considers himself a failure. The role of the Prophet is to speak the Word of the Lord to His people, so that they will turn their hearts to God. Repentance is always the goal, whether by way of warning of impending judgement, or in the midst of tribulation to bring about repentance leading to salvation. The people repented after the fantastic display of God’s might, only for Jezebel to seek vengeance on Elijah. God sends him and angel, twice, to get him up and feed him, and to let him know his journey will be too great. Where is he going? To Horeb, the mount of God. Now this… is where it gets pretty awesome. Horeb is where Moses spoke to God and was given the 10 Commandments, the tablets of the Testimony. Why was he going there? To seek God and intercede for His people, Israel just as Moses did after they had worshiped the golden calf. Let’s start reading and I think you’ll smile at the parallels.

Exodus 33:12-23 (ESV)
12 Moses said to the Lord, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’ 13 Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” 14 And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. 16 For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?”

17 And the Lord said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” 18 Moses said, “Please show me your glory.” 19 And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by.23 Then I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen.”

I believe Elijah came to Horeb, and could have very well been in the very same cleft in the rock when the violent wind, the earthquake and the fire came. But God was not in those supernatural events (thought clearly He caused them). I say this because notice Elijah’s reaction when he recognizes the Lord in the sound of the silence… he covers his face with his cloak. God then speaks to Elijah, but begins by asking “What are you doing here, Elijah”? Let’s look at Elijah’s answer:

1 Kings 19:14 (ESV)
14 He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”

Elijah believed himself to be the only faithful prophet left, and rather than be regarded as a true Prophet of God, he was being hunted. God’s answer makes it clear that judgement was not complete, and God is still in control.

1 Kings 19:15-18 (ESV)
15 And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. 16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. 17 And the one who escapes fromthe sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. 18 Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

God doesn’t stop to explain Himself, He commands Elijah to anoint 3 individuals, Elisha (his successor), Jehu (king of Israel), and Hazael (king of Syria). God is not finished, and Elijah is not alone. God will preserve 7,000 in Israel who did not bow to Baal or kissed his idol. By this time, we see God already revealing His plan to bring judgement upon the house of Israel. Israel is divided into 2 kingdoms, and we know that Israel (northern kingdom) gets scattered by Assyria. Judah will go into Exile some time afterward. All pointing to the coming of the Messiah, the branch of David, the Christ. Remember John the Baptist?

Matthew 17:9-13 (ESV)
9 And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” 10 And the disciples asked him, “Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?” 11 He answered, “Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. 12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands.” 13 Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.

I believe that Elijah was discouraged and ran to Horeb to seek God, because he didn’t understand why after such an awesome and overwhelming miracle and ultimate demonstration of who the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel is… that still the people did not turn from their wickedness. There was no shortage of faith, he just didn’t see God’s full plan. He called the people to repent at Mt. Carmel, and John the Baptist called the people in the wilderness to repent and be baptized. The Word of the Lord had been spoken and recorded, either they would believe in the Word of the Lord by Moses and the Prophets, or they would not. Jesus made it very clear in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

Luke 16:27-31 (ESV)
27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father [Abraham], to send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

The Scriptures point to Jesus. The Law and the Prophets point to Him. The Holy Spirit testifies of Jesus Christ, and does not speak of Himself, but of what is spoken by God the Father and God the Son. We have the Word of God, and it is sufficient. Does God speak to us? Absolutely… and He will always point us to His Word. You don’t learn to recognize the voice of God by “intuition” or “feeling” or even by “signs and wonders”; rather, you learn to recognize the Voice of God by spending time in His Word. Ignore the mysticism, and turn to the Word of God.

I am not a cessationist, that discussion will come very soon, but I am also not willing to accept every wind of doctrine or allow every self-proclaimed prophet or apostle to take the Name of the Lord in vain. Not all prophesy, not all hear the voice of God audibly. Each person with a Bible, or access to the Internet, have access to the very Word of God preserved by the Spirit of God.

In Him,
Jorge