Genesis 28:10-19, Psalm 139:1-12, Psalm 139:23-24, Isaiah 44:6-8, Psalm 86:11-17, Romans 8:12-25, Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43
A). AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER WITH GOD.
Genesis 28:10-19a.
GENESIS 28:10. Jacob had defrauded his brother Esau of both his birthright and his blessing. So now Jacob was on the run from his brother Esau, headed back in the direction of the city which their grandfather Abraham had left behind so many decades ago (cf. Genesis 12:1). Jacob’s mother Rebekah devised this escape under the pretext of Jacob’s need to find himself a wife out of the right family.
GENESIS 28:11. About 55 miles into his journey north and eastwards, Jacob came to (literally) “the place.” The sun had set, and Jacob took of the stones of “that place,” and put them for his pillows, and lay down in “that place” and slept. Jacob was at a low point in his life, but it was in this place that God was about to reveal Himself to him.
GENESIS 28:12. Jacob dreamed, and in his dream he saw a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven,” and he beheld “the angels of God ascending and descending on it.” Men are constantly trying to reach upwards towards God: but this ladder is no ‘tower of Babel’ of man’s devising, but, like the Cross, it is totally of God’s devising. Perhaps this is the passage which Nathanael was meditating upon under the fig tree when Philip called him to Jesus (cf. John 1:48-51.)
GENESIS 28:13. The picture is of the LORD above the ladder, inclining towards Jacob to speak to him. The LORD introduced Himself: the God of your fathers, and the God of your descendants. The land which the LORD had previously covenanted to give to Abraham’s seed, and to Isaac’s, He now covenanted to give to Jacob’s seed.
GENESIS 28:14. And Jacob would have a plentiful seed. Also, “in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” I am inclined here to think of the singular seed, ‘which is Christ’ (cf. Galatians 3:16), in whom the whole world is indeed blessed.
GENESIS 28:15. Jacob was on the run: but wherever he was going, he was assured that God would be with him. And God would bring him back to this land, and would not fail to fulfil all His promises to Jacob. This is the promise to all Christians: “I am with you; I will keep you; I will not leave you.”
GENESIS 28:16. “Surely the LORD is in this place.” Jacob rested here merely because he was tired: but it turned out to be God’s appointed place for the renewal of His covenant promises. We do not know when God might appear to revive and renew His church: it is He who sets the agenda. We do not know that a place is holy until God appears.
GENESIS 28:17. Jacob’s fear was a reverent fear: “How dreadful is this place.” It is the awesomeness of the presence of God that makes it so. “This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.”
GENESIS 28:18-19a. Jacob set up the stone that he had used as a pillow as a pillar to memorialise his encounter. In the absence of the resources for a sacrifice, Jacob anointed the stone with oil. Jacob called the name of that place, “Bethel” meaning ‘the house of God.’
B). THE OMNISCIENCE OF GOD.
Psalm 139:1-12, Psalm 139:23-24.
When we read Psalm 139, sometimes it is hard to tell whether we should read it with a sense of dread: The LORD knows me (PSALM 139:1); He knows everything I am doing (PSALM 139:2); He knows where I am going (PSALM 139:3); He knows my every word even before it is spoken (PSALM 139:4).
Or whether our sense of the LORD hemming us in (PSALM 139:5) has more to do with gratitude at His protection than with any sense of foreboding. This might depend upon whether we are looking at the LORD from outside a personal relationship, or from within. Either way, the concept of an all-knowing God is quite incomprehensible to the finite mind (PSALM 139:6).
We are reminded of Jonah, who tried to run away from the presence of the LORD (cf. Jonah 1:3). Yet the prophet discovered that we cannot hide from the Spirit of the LORD (PSALM 139:7): not in the highest heights of heaven, nor in the deepest depths of hell (PSALM 139:8); neither in the easternmost sky, nor in the westernmost sea (PSALM 139:9). Wherever we care to run, we discover that the LORD got there before us (PSALM 139:10).
Read PSALM 139:10 again. Is there not a hint here of the love of the LORD? Like the father of the prodigal son, He allows us to try out our wings in the far country, if that is what we have set our minds to do. But He is waiting to embrace us when we ‘come to our senses’ and return (cf. Luke 15:17-20).
This Psalm would also provide comfort to those who were exiled to distant pagan lands, or those who are experiencing the ‘dark night’ of the soul (PSALM 139:11-12). The light shines in the darkness (cf. John 1:5), and the valley of death is reduced to nothing but a shadow (cf. Psalm 23:4). The cry of dereliction (cf. Mark 15:34) becomes a cry of triumph (cf. John 19:30), and Good Friday gives way to Easter Sunday.
The response to ‘The LORD has searched me’ (cf. Psalm 139:1) is “Search me and know my thoughts” (PSALM 139:23). He is my judge. Only He is able to lead me in the way everlasting (PSALM 139:24).
C). THE TRIAL OF GOD.
Isaiah 44:6-8.
The LORD is deeply grieved by His people’s tendency towards idol worship. Again and again He asserts His superiority over the nations, whose ‘gods’ are nothing but dumb idols (1 Corinthians 12:2). Not only does the LORD put the false gods on trial, but He is willing to put Himself on trial before men (Job 38:4; Isaiah 40:21-22; Isaiah 41:1) - and, here in Isaiah 44:6-8, before the ‘gods’.
1. Here comes the Judge (Isaiah 44:6).
“The LORD” - whose name means ‘I AM’ (Exodus 3:14): ‘the one who was, and is, and is to come’ (Revelation 4:8).
“The King of Israel” - whose Kingship precedes and supersedes that of the house of David (a house which was failing in Isaiah’s day).
“His Redeemer” - a reference to the LORD as Redeemer of Israel (Isaiah 43:1), but also a title of the LORD of hosts.
“The LORD of hosts” - the ‘Captain of the host of the LORD’ (Joshua 5:13-15) being none other than the LORD Himself, revealed to us now in the Person of Jesus.
“The first and the last” - who alone created, sustains, and brings all to a conclusion.
“Beside me there is no God” (cf. Exodus 20:2-3; Deuteronomy 6:4-5).
2. The speaking God (Isaiah 44:7).
Earlier the LORD summoned the ‘gods,’ and invited them to make their case (Isaiah 41:21). Then He called His own people as His witnesses (Isaiah 43:10). Now He challenges the ‘gods’ to speak - to say something, anything: “declare it, set it forth before me, tell us what is yet to be.”
We remember Creation (Genesis 1). God spoke, and whatever He said came into being. There is power in words, especially in divine words.
By contrast, Elijah taunted the Baal prophets, exactly because their ‘god’ was incapable of answering even their wildest gesticulations (1 Kings 18:27-29). ‘All their gods are idols dumb: mouths have they, and cannot speak’ (Psalm 135:15-16). Why then should the heathen say, ‘Where is now their God?’ (Psalm 115:2).
3. Calling the witnesses (Isaiah 44:8).
Throughout the Scripture the LORD reassures His people, “Fear not, neither be afraid” (cf. Joshua 1:9; John 14:27).
The witnesses stand to the truth that the ‘gods’ cannot declare anything at all. But “I have declared it,” says the LORD. We are His witnesses (Acts 1:8), and we add our testimony to His.
4. The verdict (Isaiah 44:8).
There is no other God: no other “Rock” as some translations suggest (Deuteronomy 32:4; Psalm 18:31). ‘Upon this Rock will I build my church,’ says Jesus (Matthew 16:18). ‘And that Rock is Christ,’ adds the Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 10:4).
There is no other God, no other Saviour (45:21). He brings near His salvation (Isaiah 46:13). ‘And He shall be called JESUS (which means Salvation): for He shall save His people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:21).
D). A PRAYER FOR THE CONTINUATION OF GOD’S GRACE.
Psalm 86:11-17.
There is a chorus which connects Psalm 86:10 to the beginning of Psalm 86:11.
“For thou art great,
and doest wondrous things;
thou art God alone.
Teach me thy way O LORD.”
PSALM 86:11. The prayer “Teach me thy way” is followed by a promise: “I will walk in thy truth.” We cannot even attempt to walk in God’s truth, let alone pledge to do so, unless He teaches us, and enables us to do so. It is all about mindset: so he continues with a second petition: “unite my heart to fear thy name.”
It is clear from this second request that, outside of Christ, our hearts are divided. Our heart longs to find fulfilment, and will only find peace when we are filled by Him. Even as Christians we feel the pulls and tugs of too many distractions, so we need to be committed wholeheartedly to the cause of the Lord.
PSALM 86:12. The last time David called the Lord ‘my God’ it was a prayer of need (cf. Psalm 86:2). Now the very knowledge that the Lord IS “the Lord my God” causes the Psalmist to sing praise to Him “with my whole heart;” and he pledges to glorify His name “for evermore.”
PSALM 86:13. The reason is not far to seek. It is because of the Lord’s mercy “toward me.” This is a personal testimony. In Psalm 86:7 the Psalmist had pledged that he would call upon the LORD in the day of his trouble. And this he had now done: and the Lord had “delivered my soul from the lowest hell!” This is the testimony of Jesus also.
PSALM 86:14. David’s enemies were God’s enemies. They sought to kill him because they had no regard for God. Wicked men hated Jesus, too, and sought to destroy Him. And He has said that His followers will also be persecuted. There is nothing that so inflames would-be oppressors as holiness within a man.
PSALM 86:15. This is one of those “But God” moments in the narrative of the Bible. As for the wicked, let them bluster and fume: “But thou O Lord…” There is a gentle serenity about the statement: “thou art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” We find our all in Him.
PSALM 86:16. The plea for mercy recognises the need, and the Psalmist’s personal inability to meet that need. We are reminded of David’s repentant ‘Have mercy upon me, O God’ (cf. Psalm 51:1). The plea for strength shows the Psalmist’s recognition that ‘My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth’ (cf. Psalm 121:2).
PSALM 86:17. The request for “a token for good,” a sign, is not for his own personal reassurance, but for the benefit of his haters: that THEY “may see it and be ashamed.” The victory is the Sovereign Lord’s, and in the end we return thanks “BECAUSE thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me.”
E). THE DESTINY OF CREATION.
Romans 8:12-25.
1. The Mortification of Sin (Romans 8:12-14).
Paul has just commented that ‘if Christ is in you the body is dead on account of sin’ (cf. Romans 8:10). And that ‘the Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead will also quicken (revivify, make alive) your mortal bodies by His Spirit who dwells in you’ (cf. Romans 8:11).
On account of this we have an obligation - a debt of gratitude - “not to live according to the flesh” but (by inference) according to the Spirit (ROMANS 8:12). This is a process known as ‘the mortification of sin in our bodies.’ This is a “putting to death” of sin - a handing it over to be executed (ROMANS 8:13).
Jesus was handed over into the hands of evil men, and crucified (cf. Luke 24:7), and we are instructed to ‘take up the cross daily and follow Him’ (cf. Luke 9:23). The execution of our fleshly nature has taken place (cf. Galatians 5:24), but it is the responsibility of each of us to go on mortifying the misdeeds of the body. It is a life choice (cf. Deuteronomy 30:19).
The only way to put our sins to death is through the empowering of the Holy Spirit (cf. ROMANS 8:13), and by His leading (ROMANS 8:14). However, if we really are Christians, then the Holy Spirit has already taken up residence within us (cf. Romans 8:9). This is a powerful resource, which we are obliged to tap into.
The idea of being “led by the Spirit” (ROMANS 8:14) is a yielding to His guidance. It may or may not include the idea of being ‘driven’ (cf. Mark 1:12), but could be as tender an operation as removing the speck from your brother’s eye (cf. Matthew 7:4). As the Holy Spirit enlightens us in relation to the sins which we commit, so He persuades us to deal with them - and our submission to His control is, in the final analysis, voluntary.
One of the proofs of our interest in this matter is a holy abhorrence toward sin, especially within ourselves. As we deal with this (ROMANS 8:13) we enter into the fullness that Jesus promises (cf. John 10:10). It is only those who are led by the Spirit of God who are thus manifested to be “the sons of God” (ROMANS 8:14).
2. The Witness of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:15-17).
Not everybody receives Jesus, nor believes in His name (cf. John 1:11-12). Our inclusion in the family of God is on account of our faith (cf. Galatians 3:26). So - although Paul said elsewhere, quoting the Greek poets, ‘we are all His offspring’ (cf. Acts 17:28) - it is not the so-called and somewhat overstated ‘universal Fatherhood of God’ that the Apostle is speaking about here.
As children of God we have been translated from an area of bondage to fear (cf. Galatians 4:3), into the freedom of a loving relationship with God (ROMANS 8:15). In Roman times to be ‘adopted’ was to be brought into the father’s family to inherit his estate and perpetuate his name. We have, on this analogy, been hand-picked to bear the Father’s name and reproduce His character in our lives - not on account of any worthiness on our own part, but out of His love (cf. 1 John 3:1).
We have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry: “Abba, Father” (ROMANS 8:15). This is a combination of the Aramaic and Greek words for ‘father’ and is a formula used by Jesus Himself when addressing God (cf. Mark 14:36). The Cross stands between us and Gethsemane, and now we are enabled to address God in the same intimate manner (cf. Galatians 4:6).
When we are thus enabled to pray, it is the Spirit Himself “bearing witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God” (ROMANS 8:16). This is the Holy Spirit’s ministry of inward assurance, whereby He has poured out the love of God in our hearts (cf. Romans 5:5). The Holy Spirit gives us assurance of both God’s love, and our son-ship.
Paul also affirms that if we are the children of God then we are also heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ (ROMANS 8:17). Jesus prayed that those whom the Father has given to Him will be with Him where He is, and behold His glory (cf. John 17:24). The path to glory was not without its sufferings for Jesus (cf. Luke 24:26). But if indeed we suffer with Him, we shall also be glorified together with Him (ROMANS 8:17).
3. Suffering and Glory (Romans 8:18-21).
Paul weighs “the sufferings of the present time” over against “the glory which shall be revealed in us” (ROMANS 8:18; cf. 2 Corinthians 4:17-18). Our inheritance is not only what God has to offer, but God Himself (cf. 1 John 3:2).
It is amazing to visualise the whole creation standing on tiptoes, looking to the horizon, straining towards the future ‘in earnest expectation (or ‘eager anticipation’) of the manifestation of the sons of God’ (ROMANS 8:19).
Creation has been made subject to ‘vanity’ (ROMANS 8:20a) - or ‘meaninglessness’ (cf. Ecclesiastes 1:2) – as a result of the fall of man. One patriarch suggests the possibility that land might cry out, and complain (cf. Job 31:38), whilst one of the prophets hears the earth mourning (cf. Isaiah 24:4). This personification of the inanimate is familiar throughout the book of Psalms.
The reason why creation is subjected to vanity is “because of the One who subjected the same in hope” (ROMANS 8:20b). It is God who cursed the ground, and it is only in God that there can be any hope for creation.
Because of this hope from God, we can be sure that creation WILL be liberated (ROMANS 8:21). Liberated FROM the bondage of corruption INTO the glorious liberty of the children of God. That is to say, into the freedom of OUR glory.
4. Groaning and Hope (Romans 8:22-25).
We read next of a “groaning” – a groaning in which the whole creation participates, and in which we also participate (ROMANS 8:22-23). The groaning of creation is likened to birth pangs (ROMANS 8:22), a figure which Jesus also uses (cf. Mark 13:8).
The Holy Spirit is the first fruits of our inheritance (ROMANS 8:23), the down-payment (cf. Ephesians 1:13-14). We wait “eagerly” for the ‘not yet’ bit of our salvation. We await the full manifestation of our adoption, and we long for the redemption of our body.
We were “saved” (ROMANS 8:24) when we were washed from our sins in the blood of Jesus (cf. Romans 5:9). We are saved “in hope” of our total liberation. This is not an uncertain hope, but a living hope based in the promises of God (cf. 1 Peter 1:3-5).
When we have faith to believe (cf. Hebrews 11:1) we are enabled to ‘wait patiently’ (cf. Psalm 40:1), and to reach out with hope and confidence towards God’s future (ROMANS 8:25). Sometimes as we wait, our patience is tried: this is only human.
F). THE PARABLE OF THE WEEDS.
Matthew 13:24-30, Matthew 13:36-43.
The interpretation of the parable of the wheat and the tares (MATTHEW 13:24-30) should not be a matter of contention, as Jesus Himself gives the interpretation in Matthew 13:36-43.
MATTHEW 13:24. “The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field.”
Ever careful of the commandment against blasphemy, Matthew uses the term “kingdom of heaven” rather than Luke's ‘kingdom of God.’ In both cases, what is being spoken of is God's rule upon earth.
Jesus identifies the “man” with Himself, and the seed which He sowed is “good seed” (cf. Matthew 13:37). His “field” is ‘the world,’ says Jesus; and the good seed stands for ‘the children of the kingdom’ as opposed to ‘the children of the wicked one’ (cf. Matthew 13:38).
MATTHEW 13:25. “But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.”
Jesus does not comment on the fact that men were sleeping, but it is part of the stealth of the malicious one to come at such a time. Jesus identifies the “enemy” as ‘the devil’ (cf. Matthew 13:39).
This kind of sabotage was not uncommon in the Ancient Near East. The Romans even made a law against it.
MATTHEW 13:26. “But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.”
When wheat begins to grow, there springs up with it a weed called darnel. Both look alike until the seed heads appear, then the darnel can be identified by its grey colour. But by this time the roots are intertwined, and it is impossible to separate them until the harvest.
MATTHEW 13:27. “So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, ‘Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares?’”
The servants of the householder are His faithful preachers. “The householder” is synonymous with “the man” (cf. MATTHEW 13:24), and therefore with ‘the Son of man’ (cf. Matthew 13:37). When our ministry is not going to (our) plan, we need indeed ask the Lord why it should be so.
MATTHEW 13:28. “He said unto them, ‘An enemy hath done this.’ The servants said unto him, ‘Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?’”
The Lord does not judge them, but answers their question. Anxious to help, they suggest a remedy.
MATTHEW 13:29. “But he said, ‘Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them.’”
It is just as well that they did not do what they suggested before consulting their Master. We need to be patient in matters of discipline, and look to Him for guidance before dashing forward with our own agenda.
MATTHEW 13:30. “Let both grow until harvest, and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘gather ye together first the tares, and bind them together in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
So it is in the world, God's ‘field’ (cf. Matthew 13:38). He has sown the good seed – ‘the children of the kingdom.’ The devil has sowed bad seed, but there is no separating out of ‘the children of the wicked’ until the harvest.
At the end of the world the angels reap the harvest (cf. Matthew 13:41). Just as the tares were first gathered and burned (cf. Matthew 13:40), the condemnation of the wicked precedes the full establishment of God's kingdom amongst His elect.
All that offend and continue in their iniquity will be cast into a furnace of fire, consciously aware with wailing and gnashing of teeth that God's judgment is against them (cf. Matthew 13:42).
Then, and only then, will ‘the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear’ (cf. Matthew 13:43).
