Genesis 12:1-9, Psalm 33:1-12, Hosea 5:15, Hosea 6:1-6, Psalm 50:7-15, Romans 4:13-25, Matthew 9:9-13, Matthew 9:18-26.
A). THE CALL OF ABRAHAM.
Genesis 12:1-9.
Our history begins in Ur of the Chaldees, in what is now Southern Iraq, a predominantly pagan city of about 250,000 people, with a central temple to the moon god Sin. Here Abram’s father Terah was thought to have been a craftsman within the moon cult. At a crucial turning point in history, and for reasons unknown, Terah and various members of his family determined to travel to Canaan, and, uprooting themselves from all that was familiar, took to the road.
They got as far as Haran, another centre of moon worship on the trade routes between Syria and Turkey. The allure of this pagan city detained them, and there they settled down (Genesis 11:31). Where they stopped, there Terah died.
Abram was called to leave his father’s house in order to go to a land which the LORD would show him (Genesis 12:1). So with his wife and nephew, and the people he had gotten in Haran (Genesis 12:5), he ventured out once more, into the unknown. This was a step of faith not unlike our initiation into Christianity, where we are required to leave all and follow Jesus (Luke 9:57-62).
Along with the command, the LORD made two promises. First of all there was a promise of land (Genesis 12:1). Secondly, though Abram’s wife Sarai was barren (cf. Genesis 11:30), Abram was informed that he would become a great nation (Genesis 12:2).
Furthermore Abram would be blessed in his walk with God. That blessing would manifest itself in a tangible “greatness.” The “exalted Father” (as his name means) would become a source of blessing to others (Genesis 12:2).
God was focussing the whole of salvation history into one family. From that family, the whole world would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). Yet every single person who opposes this family, which is ultimately the family of Jesus Christ, falls under a divine curse.
At 75 years old Abram obeyed the call of the LORD, left Haran (Genesis 12:4), and came to Canaan (Genesis 12:5). Shechem may have contained a Canaanite teaching shrine (Genesis 12:6), but it was there that the LORD appeared to Abram and promised him the land (Genesis 12:7). Abram staked his claim by building an altar.
From there, Abram and his entourage moved to a mountain to the east of Bethel (Genesis 12:8). The pitching of his tent in this mountainous area represented a departure from the well-used trade routes. This was unknown territory, and who knew what lay ahead of them? Again Abram built an altar, and called upon the name of the LORD (Genesis 12:8), before continuing southward (Genesis 12:9).
Abraham’s name is found in the list of faith’s champions (Hebrews 11:8-12). There we are reminded that Abram obeyed God, stepped out beyond the spurious security of all that was familiar, and set his sights beyond the temporal to the eternal. Sarah’s faith is also praised in relation to the birth of their son.
This is only the beginning of the life story of Abraham, but we know from the rest of Scripture that it had a good end. Certainly Abram possessed little by way of land within the land of promise, but he was blessed with prosperity there, and received the promise of posterity (Hebrews 6:13-15). And through Jesus Christ “the son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1) blessing does come to “every tribe and kindred and tongue and nation” (Revelation 5:9).
B). A SONG FOR THE UPRIGHT.
Psalm 33:1-12.
PSALM 33:1. We see first of all the exhortation: “Rejoice in the LORD” (cf. Philippians 4:4). Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:22). When we abide in Jesus the true vine, not only do we dwell in His love, but we also partake of His joy (cf. John 15:11). Jesus has a special joy in the redemption of His people (cf. Hebrews 12:2), and we are privileged to share in that joy. We have such a special joy in His goodness to us that we hardly need to look for reasons to keep the Apostolic precept to ‘Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice’ (cf. Philippians 4:4).
Second, we see in whom we are to rejoice: “in the LORD.” There is no real or lasting joy in earthly comforts. But when we consider what God has done for our poor benighted beleaguered souls, our heart bubbles over with joy, and our voice soars upward to join the heavenly host in their song.
Third, we see who are to rejoice: “O ye righteous.” The only ones who can rightly rejoice are those who are partakers of the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ our Lord (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21). It is all very well when worldly choral societies take the words of Scripture upon their lips, and seem to sing with passion and gusto to and about our Lord: but sometimes their faces give away the sham. ‘The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination unto the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is His delight’ (cf. Proverbs 15:8). Those who are born again may be less precise in their diction or in their rendition, but what they lack in finesse they make up for in their genuine interaction with the One to whom they raise their voices.
And fourth, a reason is given: “for praise is comely to the upright.” This is how the Lord sees us: we are righteous in His eyes, upright. That is who we are in Christ Jesus, His finished work. True praise belongs to the whole congregation of God’s redeemed people: all of us, not just the choir. The LORD accepts of our prayers, and our praises, and pardons our sins.
PSALM 33:2. The musical instruments which surround the exhortation to “sing unto Him” are there to assist, not to dominate. The instruments represent the diversity and range of possibilities in the music. However, the purest form of worship is the human voice.
PSALM 33:3. “Sing unto Him a new song.” Even old songs become new as we grow in our knowledge and understanding. There is a freshness in ‘the old, old, story’ of the gospel. Our mercies are ‘new every morning’ (cf. Lamentations 3:22-23) and so should our praises be. If we do have musical instruments, there is a need to “play skilfully.” Everything must be done ‘decently and in order’ (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:40). The “loud noise” at the end of this verse is not a dissonant cacophony, but a triumphant crescendo. To the praise of the LORD.
PSALM 33:4-5. The reasons for praise are further elucidated in terms of the word, works, and covenant love of the LORD (cf. Exodus 34:6). His word is right, His works are done in faithfulness, He loves righteousness and justice. This over-arches the moral fabric of society, and “the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.”
PSALM 33:6-7. Furthermore, “the word” mentioned in Psalm 33:4 is the same powerful, Creative word by which the cosmos was created (cf. Genesis 1:3). And Jesus is the Word (cf. John 1:1-3). “By the breath of His mouth” corresponds to the work of the Holy Spirit in Creation as there is only one Hebrew word for both “breath” and “Spirit.” The waters gathered together “as an heap” is also reminiscent of the Redemptive power of the LORD in the parting of the Red Sea (cf. Exodus 15:8).
PSALM 33:8-9. The whole earth is summoned to “fear the LORD” and “stand in awe of Him. For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” All things of nothing!
PSALM 33:10-11. This same God confounds the counsel of the ungodly (cf. Psalm 2:2-3), and sets up His own unchanging counsel for all generations.
PSALM 33:12. “Blessed is the NATION whose God is the LORD; and the PEOPLE whom He hath CHOSEN for His own inheritance.” In ancient times, it was only Israel who had such a relationship with the LORD. Not that they chose Him, but that He chose them.
It is still true today that there is only one “people” who can thus be defined as those “whose God is the LORD… whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance.” That is the people referred to as ‘the Israel of God’ in Galatians 6:16 - the church of our Lord Jesus Christ - ‘chosen in Him from the foundation of the world’ (cf. Ephesians 1:4), and made up of both Jews and Gentiles (cf. Galatians 3:7-9). The word to the church is, ‘But ye are a CHOSEN generation, a royal priesthood, an holy NATION, a peculiar PEOPLE’ (cf. 1 Peter 2:9). It was His choice, not ours: but what a blessing it is! What an honour!
C). COME LET US RETURN TO THE LORD.
Hosea 5:15, Hosea 6:1-6.
HOSEA 5:15. This verse contains the words of the LORD. He is withdrawing from His wayward people until such time as they will acknowledge their sin, and seek His face.
HOSEA 6:1a. The appeal of Hosea is, “Come, and let us return to the LORD.” The people were already wayward before He withdrew: He has withdrawn, so it is time for them (for us) to ‘seek the LORD while He may be found’ (cf. Isaiah 55:6).
“Return” to the LORD. Confess your sins. Repent. ‘Be ye reconciled to God’ (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:20).
HOSEA 6:1b. “He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up.”
This is not a case of, ‘The good Lord will pardon, that’s His trade.’ But rather an acknowledgement that the power to heal rests with the LORD who smites us. ‘Whom He loveth He chasteneth’ (cf. Hebrews 12:6).
HOSEA 6:2a. Whether Hosea knew it or not, with hindsight, we can detect an allusion to the death and resurrection of Jesus in this verse. Jesus was “two days” in the tomb, and on “the third day” rose again ‘according to the scriptures’ (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:4).
HOSEA 6:2b. Not only does the LORD ‘heal us’ and ‘bind us up’ as in Hosea 6:1b. but He “revives us” and “raises us up,” and “we shall live in His sight.” He brings us from death to life – new life in Jesus.
HOSEA 6:3a. “Then shall we know, (if) we follow on to know the LORD.”
There is a basic knowledge of God, which says, ‘God is.’ But true Biblical knowledge of God is more intimate than that. Christianity is not a religion, but a living relationship with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (cf. John 17:3).
HOSEA 6:3b. As we return to Him, He comes to us. The prodigal’s father set off running towards his returning son (cf. Luke 15:20). The LORD will appear, as certainly as the sun shall rise in “the morning.”
He shall come as the “the latter and former rain upon the earth.” He will turn back the drought (cf. Hosea 2:9-13), even the drought of the word of God (cf. Amos 8:11-12).
HOSEA 6:4. The two halves of this verse are two examples of parallelism.
First, the LORD laments over the two kingdoms of Israel: “Ephraim” in the north, and “Judah” in the south. The loving Father asks each in turn, “What shall I do unto you?” And we can almost hear the tears in His voice.
Second, the reason for the LORD’s exasperation (so to speak). “For your goodness is as a morning cloud; and as the early dew it goeth away.” The “goodness” of the tribes of the LORD is like the morning mist, which is gone as soon as the sun rises.
This is almost in answer to the previous verse, where Hosea had exhorted the people of God to ‘know’ Him, and to grow in the knowledge of Him because ‘His going forth is as the morning’ (cf. Hosea 6:3). His going forth is as certain as the sun rising, but their returning to Him is as fleeting as the morning dew!
HOSEA 6:5ab. “Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth.” Another example of parallelism.
This is not an uncontrolled outburst of anger, but the LORD has warned His people by the prophets, and chastened them by the words of His mouth. The patience of the LORD gives time and opportunity to repent (cf. 2 Peter 3:9).
HOSEA 6:5c. “Thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.”
“Thy judgments,” or “thy justice” foresees a time when the people will be ready to return to a right way of thinking (which is what repentance is all about). And at such a time, it shall no longer be fleeting like a cloud (cf. Hosea 6:4b), but “shall be as the light that goeth forth.”
HOSEA 6:6. “For I desired mercy and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
I call this holy exaggeration. The problem is that people will sooner busy themselves with albeit God-given ritual than attend to their other responsibilities.
These words are taken up by Jesus in His corrective ministry towards the Pharisees (cf. Matthew 9:13; Matthew 12:7).
It is a matter of priorities: ‘To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice’ (cf. Proverbs 21:3). ‘Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams’ (cf. 1 Samuel 15:22).
D). ABOUT FORMALISM IN WORSHIP.
Psalm 50:7-15.
Taken as a whole, the content of this Psalm appears as a court case, with El Elohim Yahweh, “the Mighty God the LORD” (cf. Psalm 50:1) presiding as Judge (cf. Psalm 50:6) - and God’s covenant people in the dock (cf. Psalm 50:5).
Here the accused are addressed as “Israel,” and are reassured that they are dealing with (literally) “I, God your God” (Psalm 50:7). It is not that God was against the sacrifices altogether (Psalm 50:8) - after all, He had commanded them, and they pointed forward to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus (cf. Hebrews 10:4-10) - but He was refusing to accept their sacrifices (Psalm 50:9) as long as they were offered as bribes, or as long as people imagined that He benefited from them (Psalm 50:10-13). This is like church people imagining that their attendance at church earns them credits with God, or that their sacrificial giving is somehow them helping God!
Animal sacrifices were never meant to be an end in themselves. Rather, “Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High” (Psalm 50:14). The fault was not with the sacrifices offered, the visible, but with the inner heart of the offerors. It is not good when our worship is nothing more than a formality, rather than an engagement with the One whom we are supposedly worshipping.
One token of trust in the LORD is that we “call upon” Him “in the day of trouble” (Psalm 50:15). That too is a sacrifice - when we are willing to lay aside self: self-reliance, self-sufficiency, and to rest upon Him. Such trust is rewarded with deliverance. And we "glorify" Him.
We hear the gentle voice of Jesus saying, ‘thy faith hath saved thee’ (cf. Luke 18:42). And we “glorify” our great and gracious God, who ‘has done all things well’ (cf. Mark 7:37).
E). NOT THROUGH LAW.
Romans 4:13-25.
The Apostle Paul has already established that Abraham was not justified (made righteous) by works, otherwise he would have grounds of boasting - and who can boast before God? (Romans 4:2). Neither was Abraham justified by circumcision since that rite was not introduced until AFTER the patriarch’s justification (Romans 4:11). It stands to reason that, if Abraham was not justified by works, then neither was he justified by the law (which had not yet been given - cf. Galatians 3:17).
In the Greek, the Apostle places the phrase “For not through law” emphatically, at the beginning of a sentence (Romans 4:13). The teaching throughout the Scripture is that Abraham, and his spiritual progeny, are justified (made righteous) by faith.
The argument continues that, if the inheritance belongs to those who supposedly keep the law, then faith has been emptied, and the promise has been rendered ineffective (Romans 4:14; cf. Galatians 3:18).
Law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no breach of the law, and therefore no wrath (Romans 4:15; cf. Romans 7:7-8).
Salvation, covenant righteousness, justification - whatever we want to call it - has its source in the grace of God, and is received only by faith (Romans 4:16; cf. Ephesians 2:8-9).
Which all brings us back to Abraham, and his spiritual seed (who are those who share his faith). If Abraham believed for the land (Genesis 13:15), and for the progeny (Genesis 15:5-6), it is also clear that he believed in God as the one who raises the dead, as he would later prove (Romans 4:17; cf. Hebrews 11:17-19).
In the meantime, Abraham believed in God as the one ‘who calls into being things that are not’ (Romans 4:17; cf. Hebrews 11:3).
So, where all human hope ended, Abraham “in hope believed” the promise of God (Romans 4:18).
We are told here that Abraham was not weak in faith, even when confronted with both the lifelessness of his own body, and the corresponding barrenness of Sarah’s womb (Romans 4:19).
It is not that Paul was unaware of the old couple’s attempt to ‘help God out’ by the introduction of Hagar into the equation (Genesis 16:2), but rather the Apostle is taking the God’s-eye view. When God looks upon those whom He has justified, HE DOES NOT COUNT OUR SINS AGAINST US (2 Corinthians 5:19).
The emphasis falls upon Abraham’s unwavering faith in relation to the promise of God, his lack of unbelief, and his being strengthened in faith, giving glory to God (Romans 4:20).
In other words, he was convinced that God had the power to fulfil His promise (Romans 4:21; cf. Philippians 1:6).
And it was this conviction that “counted as righteousness” to Abraham (Romans 4:22; cf. Genesis 15:6).
Now, says Paul, this was not written for Abraham alone, that it was accounted to him as righteousness (Romans 4:23). ‘Whatever things were written before, were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope’ (Romans 15:4; cf. 1 Corinthians 10:11).
When we believe in the God who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, our faith also will be accounted as righteousness (Romans 4:24).
For the Lord was delivered over to death because of our sins, and was raised with a view to our justification (Romans 4:25).
After all, ‘if Christ is not raised, we are yet in our sins’ (1 Corinthians 15:17)!
F). THE CALL AND COMPASSION OF JESUS.
Matthew 9:9-13; Matthew 9:18-26.
1. The Call of Matthew
(Matthew 9:9-13)
Wherever we live, under whatever regime, tax collectors are unpopular. It was no different in first century Israel, where Matthew’s trade involved collaboration with the Romans, and the constant suspicion of theft. Matthew was a man alone, and Jesus called him alone.
Yet within this account of the call of one man is included the call of every one of us. Jesus says, “Follow me” (Matthew 9:9), and like Matthew - putting all argument and debate aside - we must quietly obey. As is later explained, Jesus came not to call the “righteous” but “sinners” to repentance (Matthew 9:13).
Not only did Matthew follow Jesus, but he took Him home. Hospitality is not only a common courtesy, but a means of sharing Jesus with others. It is inevitable that the people around our table are going to be people like ourselves, but this is as good a place as any to begin our evangelism.
The other guests at Matthew’s table inevitably met with the disapproval of certain religious teachers. These “Pharisees” addressed their narrow-minded comments to Jesus’ disciples (Matthew 9:11), trying to undermine the believers’ new-found faith. It is Jesus’ answer, however, which embraces us all: He did not come for those who THINK they are righteous, but He came to bring those who KNOW they are sinners to repentance (Matthew 9:13).
2. A story within a story
(Matthew 9:18-26)
In this particular section Matthew presents us with a ‘story within a story’ – and, as you might expect with such a literary device, there are both similarities and dissimilarities. First, we see the contrast in status of Jesus’ two petitioners. One was a “ruler” (Matthew 9:18); the other was a ritually unclean woman (Matthew 9:20). Second, we observe that both showed faith (Matthew 9:18; Matthew 9:21-22).
When the ruler came to Jesus, our Lord arose and followed him, and so did His disciples (Matthew 9:19). Earlier Matthew had arisen and had begun to follow Jesus (Matthew 9:9), so now Matthew continued to follow our Lord all the way to the house of the ruler. Much of the account is first-hand, and it is Matthew alone of the evangelists who mentions the “minstrels” (Matthew 9:23). By the time they got to the house, the wake had already begun!
The poor woman who had interrupted their journey had been suffering for “twelve years” (Matthew 9:20). It turns out that the girl who had died was ‘the age of twelve years’ (cf. Mark 5:42). All that girl’s life, the woman had been suffering; for the one it was too long for her to suffer, for the other it was too young for her to die!
I say the woman was ‘poor’ both out of sympathy to her condition, and because she had actually spent all her substance on ineffectual doctors (cf. Mark 5:26). This serves as a contrast to Jesus’ efficacious and holistic healing.
The touch was very daring because it theoretically rendered Jesus ceremonially unclean. Yet Jesus is willing to reach out and touch us, or to be touched, whatever our infirmities (cf. Hebrews 4:15). His words to the woman are very reassuring to those of us who hardly dare approach Him (Matthew 9:22).
It is interesting to notice that Jesus addressed the woman, who interrupted His journey to the ruler’s daughter, as “Daughter” (Matthew 9:22). Rulers and outcasts are all made one in Christ Jesus (cf. Galatians 3:28), and God is a Father to us all (cf. 2 Corinthians 6:18).
When Jesus arrived at the ruler’s house, the mourners were inclined to laugh at Jesus’ comment (Matthew 9:24). “Sleep” is an acceptable Christian euphemism for death (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:20).
Touching a dead body (Matthew 9:25) would also have rendered an ordinary man or woman ceremonially unclean – but Jesus is no ordinary man! Jesus has power over disease (Isaiah 53:4-5). Jesus has power over death (Acts 2:23-24). Jesus has power over sin (Matthew 9:2).
That power is ours to receive if we will put our trust in Him.
