- araratchurch
- Jun 30, 2024
- 2 min read
“So Potiphar gave Joseph complete administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph there, he didn’t worry about a thing—except what kind of food to eat! Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded. But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.” She kept putting pressure on Joseph day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and he kept out of her way as much as possible.”
Genesis 39:6-10 NLT
In 44 BC, Julius Caesar was murdered by a group of senators led by his “trusted friend” and protege, Marcus Brutus. It is said that his last words were something along the lines of, “Et tu, Bruté?” (You also, Brutus?)
And then, there’s this:
“But even as Jesus said this, a crowd approached, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. Judas walked over to Jesus to greet him with a kiss. But Jesus said, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?””
Luke 22:47-48 NLT
Yes, even our Lord was betrayed by someone who was very close to Him; indeed, by one of His own disciples!
Sadly, for many people, their undoing comes at the hands of people they have once trusted.
Now, whereas there are instances in which a relationship once characterized by mutual trust and respect, turned sour with one betraying the other’s trust, it is also true that many injustices are perpetrated within the context of a relationship in which one is trusting, while the other is an opportunist. In fact, this dynamic not only applies to individuals, but also to groups of people, even nations, wherein trust is greatly exploited by people with evil self-interest.
Given, if anybody would’ve had an excuse to take advantage of someone’s trust, it would’ve been Joseph. He is a young, normal male, who has been taken as a slave, plucked away from all that he had ever known. Yet, as we see in our opening scripture, he will not betray the trust of his master nor dishonor the Lord. As a matter of fact, he goes beyond the call of duty to avoid even the opportunity for doing the wrong thing.
Child of God, no matter what the circumstances in which we may find ourselves, it cannot be an excuse to exploit the trust or vulnerabilities of others.
And as for Joseph, surely his integrity will be rewarded….
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Jun 13, 2024
- 4 min read
“After Nathan returned to his home, the Lord sent a deadly illness to the child of David and Uriah’s wife. David begged God to spare the child. He went without food and lay all night on the bare ground. The elders of his household pleaded with him to get up and eat with them, but he refused. Then on the seventh day the child died. David’s advisers were afraid to tell him. “He wouldn’t listen to reason while the child was ill,” they said. “What drastic thing will he do when we tell him the child is dead?” When David saw them whispering, he realized what had happened. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, “he is dead.” Then David got up from the ground, washed himself, put on lotions, and changed his clothes. He went to the Tabernacle and worshiped the Lord. After that, he returned to the palace and was served food and ate. His advisers were amazed. “We don’t understand you,” they told him. “While the child was still living, you wept and refused to eat. But now that the child is dead, you have stopped your mourning and are eating again.” David replied, “I fasted and wept while the child was alive, for I said, ‘Perhaps the Lord will be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But why should I fast when he is dead? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him one day, but he cannot return to me.”
2 Samuel 12:15-23 NLT
If we were being honest, we would admit that our definition of justice, often directly coincides with what we “think” should happen. Assuming we have a clear understanding of right and wrong, and what is fair and unfair in every situation, makes us think that our assessment of what should happen, is “right.”
But—as we have discussed—our judgment, our idea of justice, is often limited, and/or skewed, by our agenda, experience, desires, etc., rendering us incapable of second-guessing the judgment of God.
Consider, when we offer critical assessments of God’s judgments, we are setting ourselves as being in a position of authority over Him.
But please know, accepting the judgment of God does not mean that we necessarily understand His ways, His judgments. However, we must not make the mistake of assuming that because we don’t understand His judgments, they must necessarily be unfair.
In our opening scripture we see that David did not make the mistake of conflating what he wanted, with what was “right” or “fair,” concerning whether or not his son would survive.
David was told by the prophet Nathan that because he had disregarded the commandments of God, even though he was forgiven, the child who would be born would surely die. And as Nathan had spoken, the male child who was born, was stricken with a great illness that resulted in the son’s death.
Now, when his son was stricken with illness, David earnestly beseeched the Lord to change His mind concerning the fate of the child. But when the child died, David accepted it. Notice, he did not rail against God. He did not question why. David knew that God is sovereign and His judgments are perfect and final.
Friend, we waste much energy—both spiritually and otherwise—when we constantly critique the judgments of God.
Indeed, accusing God, or even trying to defend His judgements to other people, is a fool’s errand.
Now, in the case of David’s son, I don’t know why this child had to die. And truth be told, you don’t either.
We could say that it was a result of sowing and reaping: David sowed destruction and loss, and received the same. But even that type of analysis can not be coupled with a, “they got what they deserved,”attitude.
In order to participate as one of God’s delegated authorities in this present world, we must accept His judgments and His justice without resenting or condemning what He does. With that, we must not place ourselves as a “different sort” than the one who is being punished.
Indeed, rejoicing over the fact that an enemy has gotten something they “deserved,”is a fast track to getting something you weren’t aware that you deserved (in terms of punishment).
Given, we may be tempted to greatly rejoice when we see God do something against our enemies, or against just someone else who we suppose “deserved” what they got. But if our rejoicing goes beyond the fact that the Lord has vindicated or saved us, to rejoicing that the enemy, or the“lesser” child, has suffered, we may soon be facing the same judgment boomerang we sent forth in someone else’s direction.
The attitude of rejoicing that someone else has gotten a punishment they deserved, as well as the attitude of criticizing that God allowed something to happen to someone who didn’t deserve it (often, this person is ourself), displeases Him.
Our part regarding God’s judgments we do understand or “like,” as well as His judgments we don’t understand, or that go against what we wanted to happen, is to accept that God is God all by Himself. He knows what we do not know. His understanding is beyond our comprehension.
One day, we will understand everything. For now, we must trust and accept God’s judgments. We must respect the justice of God.
We end today with the words of one who knew a little bit about our topic:
“Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.”
Job 1:20-22 ESV
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- Jun 12, 2024
- 4 min read
““This is what the Lord says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view. You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.””
2 Samuel 12:11-12 NLT
We’ve come full circle from where we started on Day 2 with the story of Nathan the prophet confronting King David with what he had done.
Now we have rehearsed the process through which David came to disregard justice and take another man’s wife. Then, to cover his sin, he resorted to ordering the death of righteous Uriah when his deceptive scheme didn’t work.
We carefully considered David’s failure regarding Bathsheba and Uriah, to understand that injustice rarely happens overnight. A person rarely goes to sleep as one who administers justice and wakes as one who perverts justice. Indeed, we took this journey into David’s failure so that we can understand that injustice happens when we look away from what is right, desiring rather, to fulfill our own desire.
Make no mistake, for justice to reign, the judgments of God, what He requires, must be given preeminence over any individual desire, agenda, and so on.
As we have observed before, God’s way of being and doing, His righteousness, is often an enigma to us. On our own we cannot fully understand the pillars of perfect justice, much less carry it out.
No, perfection in judgment is only possible in One Who is perfectly holy, One Who is immune to any other factors that distract from what is right. God is a holy God and He is a consuming fire. His ways are always just.
If we are to do justice, then we must be walking in the fear of the Lord, allowing His Spirit to direct us.
Now, when Solomon was building the temple for the Lord, the Lord came to him in a dreaming vision and offered to give him whatever he asked.
“Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours?” The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. So God replied, “Because you have asked for wisdom in governing my people with justice and have not asked for a long life or wealth or the death of your enemies— I will give you what you asked for! I will give you a wise and understanding heart such as no one else has had or ever will have! And I will also give you what you did not ask for—riches and fame! No other king in all the world will be compared to you for the rest of your life!“
1 Kings 3:9-13 NLT
Solomon asked for wisdom to be able to rule with justice. God gave him wisdom and much more!
Sadly, Solomon ended up doing things that were not pleasing to the Lord. He married foreign women and worshiped their Gods.
“The Lord was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the Lord’s command. So now the Lord said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son.”
1 Kings 11:9-12 NLT
Solomon’s gift of wisdom was useless to him without the power of God in his life. He could not do that which was just, without God’s presence with him.
In our opening scripture we see that a judgment is spoken against King David, punishing him for what he has done. The Lord had forgiven David; but justice required punishment.
“Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
Galatians 6:7-9 NLT
King David sowed a great sin into his life and would now reap a bountiful harvest of that same sin. Just a little while later on, his own son, Absalom, would rise up against him and would openly have sex with King David’s concubines on the roof of his palace.
“Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.” So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s concubines.”
2 Samuel 16:21-22 NLT
King David had a painful lesson in what God’s judgment looks like. Yes, even one who was one-time “after God’s own heart,” would—because of the blood on his own hands—suffer loss at the hands of a perfectly just God.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!