“Righteousness and peace have kissed.”

The Word for today: Deuteronomy 26

Does the Bible contradict itself? Consider:

If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them,then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives,
and they shall say to the elders of his city, 'This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.'
Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear. (Deuteronomy 21:18-21)

There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, “Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.” And he divided his property between them.
Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.
But when he came to himself, he said, 
“I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you…’”
And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. (Luke 15:11-20)

Why isn’t the son in the book of Luke punished, as the book of Deuteronomy demands?

This apparent contradiction is no contradiction at all to the student of the entire word of God. The passage from Deuteronomy comes from the Law. The law demands that we get what we deserve. The passage from Luke is an example of God’s grace. Grace is when we get good things that we don’t deserve.

The purpose of the law is to lead us to God’s grace. The law is a tutor, showing us that we have fallen short of God’s standard, taking us by the hand to ask for God’s forgiveness:

Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. (Gal 3:24/NKJV)

You can see the law at work in the life of the Prodigal Son. The son tells the Father that he does not deserve to be called his son. The boy is right. So we see that the law is right. And it is for our good.

But the law cannot restore us to the inheritance we have forfeited through sin. Only God’s grace makes it possible for Him to shower His blessing upon us. The Father restored all that the boy had squandered, and more.

Is the Law still in effect? Absolutely. The wages of sin is still death (Romans 6:23).

The Good News is that God has a Way back home! Jesus took upon Himself the demands of the law for all those who look to Him for their salvation. That's what Jesus meant when He said, “I have not come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.” (Matthew 5:17)

Jesus paid it all, so God’s law in Deuteronomy is fulfilled to the last letter. And His love is showered upon us, just as the story of the Prodigal Son describes. There is no contradiction in the Bible, or in the character of God.

The seeming contradictions -- between the Old and New Testaments, between God's law and his grace, between the prodigal boy in Deuteronomy and the prodigal boy in Luke -- are reconciled at the cross of Jesus Christ, where God combined uncompromising wrath against sin with unconditional forgiveness. There at the cross, in a display of the entire spectrum of His character,

Mercy and truth have met together; 
Righteousness and peace have kissed.  (Psalms 85:10)

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Aaron is us

The Word for today: Deuteronomy 24, 25

Aaron is often overlooked by Christians. We know him, vaguely, as Moses’ brother, but other than that he gets lost in the background.

So if Aaron is lost to you, find him! We have a whole lot to learn from Aaron, because Aaron is us.

Moses foreshadows Jesus Christ as the lawgiver and the Deliverer:

Moses pronounced the law at Mt. Sinai; Jesus pronounced the enhanced version of the law in the Sermon on the Mount.
Moses led the people of Israel out of their captivity in Egypt; Jesus led captivity itself captive:

When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men. (Ephesians 4:8)

1. Aaron, as Moses’ prophet (1), foreshadows the church, who proclaim the grace and truth of Jesus Christ.

The church-era prophet is a forth-teller, proclaiming the Word of the LORD which was already spoken through Moses, Samuel, David, Matthew, Paul, Peter, etc. The church-era prophet, then, is very much in the position of Aaron the prophet.

2. Aaron as priest foreshadows the church, who are a kingdom of priests (2).

How can we be both prophet and priest?

When I write this blog, or when you tuck your kids in bed with a Bible story, or when you stand for God’s Word in a discussion at work, then we are functioning as prophets like Aaron.

When we pray for someone, we are functioning as priests like Aaron.

3. The tribes were given an allotment in the Promised Land. But as a Levite (the tribe assigned to religious duties) Aaron received no inheritance in the Promised Land. Instead, God was his inheritance. That is the position of the believer today.

God has promised us spiritual blessings; He Himself is our inheritance. The church is never promised temporal blessings. Be sure that he will feed and clothe us, like the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. But we should not direct our prayers or expectations toward material blessings. Our prayers and expectations should be focused on an ever-closer relationship with God. He is our portion and our cup.

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(1) Exodus 4:15-16; 7:1; (2) 1Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6; 5:10; 20:6

the Word the prophets will speak

The Word for today: Deuteronomy 22, 23

The basic, unadorned definition of a prophet is that he speaks the word of another.

Thus Moses was God's prophet. He spoke the word of God.

In the same way, Aaron was Moses' prophet:
So the Lord said to Moses: "See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.”  (Exodus 7:1)
Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. So he shall be your spokesman to the people. (Exodus 4:15-16)

Yesterday, we became fore-telling prophets. Just like Moses and Isaiah and Hosea And Daniel and Zechariah, we foretold the future. (You, too, can be a fore-telling prophet. Just Read yesterday's article to find out how it's done.)

Today, we are going to find out how to become forth-telling prophets…

The church-era prophet is a forth-teller, giving out the Word of the LORD as it was already spoken through Moses, Samuel, David, Matthew, Paul, Peter, etc.  The church-era prophet, then, is very much in the position of Aaron the prophet.

***

Canonical Prophets.

No more prophets like Moses, Isaiah, Zephaniah, Zechariah, etc. will arise. That is, prophets whose words are canonical--to be included in scripture (see Revelation 22:18).

If a prophet claims new revelation from God on the level of canonicity (that his words should be considered scripture) that prophet is false. Jesus was the fulfilling, culminating Word (Hebrews 1:1-2).

The fore-telling prophet had to speak into a local situation so that the truth (or falsehood) of his prophecies could be tested:
You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?" If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:21-22)

The words of the church-era prophets are to be tested against every word that proceeds from the mouth of God--against every verse of scripture (2 Peter 1:20, 2 Timothy 2:15).

The forth-telling, church-era prophet will teach Christ crucified--the price God paid to expiate sin. (See 1 Corinthians 1:23.)

He will teach Christ according to scripture (1 Corinthians 5:3-4).

Survival guide:

The fore-telling prophets were tested when they predicted something in the near future that the people could verify.

Today, the prophet tells forth Jesus, according to scripture. If today's prophet is not teaching Jesus according to scripture, then he is a false prophet.

So who is Jesus, according to scripture?

He is God, the eternal Son of the eternal Father.
He entered humanity via a virgin womb.
He performed miracles, the Creator with the means to direct His creation to His chosen ends.
In the power of the Holy Spirit He lived a sinless life.
He died for my sins according to scripture, and rose again the third day according to scripture.
He will judge the living and the dead.
Of the increase of His kingdom and peace there will be no end.
He is the Word the prophets speak.

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Let's prophesy!

The Word for today: Deuteronomy 20, 21

Deuteronomy has a lot to say about prophets. First, it tells us about the qualifications of…

A prophet. A prophet had to speak into a local, immediate situation to prove he is a true prophet of God:

You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?" If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:21-22)

Then Deuteronomy tells us about one to come who will be, in word and deed, indistinguishable from God's Word. This prophet is not just a prophet, but...

The Prophet:

I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him. If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account. (Deuteronomy 18:18-19)

***

All of this talk of prophets puts me in the mood to prophesy. So…let's prophesy!

You, too, can be a prophet. It's fun, fulfilling, and will amaze your friends! How (you might ask) can I prophesy? Well, it's easy, because God's character is its own prophecy:

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8)

The future will correspond to God's character.  Therefore, if you know Jesus, you can foretell the future.  As an illustration, let's pick something the Bible doesn't really tell us a lot about…

Heaven.

To think that the God whose Spirit brooded over the universe before He conceived it, then let there be light, then created the beauty that was Eve, imbued her with moral freedom with all its inherent risks;

Who floated an ark, wrestled with Jacob, foretold the sacrifice of himself by the sacrifice of Isaac and by the illustration of the altar of the tabernacle;

Who gave an ass a voice, a lion's courage to Caleb, unquenchable integrity to Joshua;

Who put up with Samson, made something out of Gideon, watched Boaz fall all over himself the first time he saw Ruth;

Who spoke to Job out of the whirlwind, to Elijah in a still small voice;

Who guided the stone slung by the shepherd who would be king;

Who watched that king fall under the weight of sin and get up again, and then again, and then once more;

Who leadeth me beside the still waters;

by whose stripes we are healed;

Who wrote on the wall, gave Jonah another chance, questioned the scholars about his Father's business;

Who healed the sick, raised the dead, and calmed the storm;

Who directed that the last shall be first, that blessed are the poor in spirit, that he without sin should throw first;

Who suffered the little children, delighted in their praises, called a rock his pillow, and walked on the sea;

Who called out the hypocrites, chased out the moneychangers, told Satan to get behind him, and told Matthew, Follow me;

Who set is face like a flint for Jerusalem, there to be about his Father's business again, now as a man to settle the questions he'd astonished them with as a boy;

Who, crowned with thorns, a King under the weight of sin, fell, then got up again, and then again, and then once more in ascendancy…

To think that God, who is the power, glory, poetry, and miracle behind Scripture, and has gone to prepare his bride a home, would bring her into the kind of static, inert heaven which many imagine -- is out of God's character.

Rest assured that God, who never changes, will forever surpass the extent of your imagination.  "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever" does not mean same old, same old. It means wild, unpredictable, unquenchable, uncontrollable, undeniable, and forever free.

So get to know him and prophesy away!   The future will be a reflection of his character.

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no weapon forged against it will prosper

The Word for today:
Deuteronomy 18, 19

But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed. He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them. The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the LORD your God. (Deuteronomy 7:23-25)

Then the LORD said to him, "Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. You, however, will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age. In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure." (Genesis 15:13-16)

The truth – the Word of God -- is actively suppressed (Romans 1:18) by unbelievers who are (often unwittingly) under the direction of the rulers of this present darkness (Ephesians 6:12/RSV).

As I was driving around town yesterday morning, literally minding my own business, I got an earful of truth suppression. With my car radio tuned into a normally harmless local talk show, I was subjected to a couple examples of the attacks that are mounted against the Bible by its enemies, under the direction of their commander in chief, Satan.

I don't get too indignant over criticism of the Bible because I understand why its critics snipe at it.

They snipe at it because they are dumber than bricks about it. They are dumber than bricks about the Bible because the Bible actively hides the truth from those who approach it with a critical spirit.

The Bible is a closed book to anyone who opens it to find fault with it. The Bible is spiritually discerned, which means that the person who won't believe it can't believe it:

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.  (1 Corinthians 2:14)

So as I was driving around doing some errands, I heard a caller, on a local radio talk show, call out Scripture on two issues. One was God’s command to annihilate certain peoples in the Promised Land:

But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, throwing them into great confusion until they are destroyed. He will give their kings into your hand, and you will wipe out their names from under heaven. No one will be able to stand up against you; you will destroy them. The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the LORD your God. (Deuteronomy 7:23-25)

What the caller did not know is that God had told Abraham that he was going to give these people (the Amorites in the land of Canaan) 430 more years to turn from idolatry.

God had promised Abraham that Israel would possess the Promised Land, but not until the sin of the Amorites had reached its full measure. (See Genesis 15:13-16, above.)

God was going to give a sin-laden people half of a millennium to turn to him. Only after it was demonstrated that they were beyond the point of no return would God command their annihilation in order to save Israel from their contagious idolatry and (historians tell us) their epidemic venereal diseases.

***

Fifteen minutes later, I heard a different caller on the same show attack the Bible for being pro-slavery.

While it is true that the Bible (particularly Paul in his epistles) speaks of slavery matter-of-factly, it is only because slavery was a matter of fact!

At the time a great percentage (some estimate more than 50%) of the people in the Roman Empire were "slaves." But it wasn't racial slavery like the US once had, and it was temporary. For the most part, they were more like indentured servants who were paying off a debt.

Slavery, then, was just a fact of their circumstances. For Paul not to matter-of-factly mention slaves would be to remove the cultural background out of any picture he painted. That he dealt in real terms with the prevailing conditions of his time did not mean that he condoned them.

Furthermore, biblical principles and the Christians who espoused them (Wilberforce, etc.) have done more to end slavery than all other factors and forces and philosophies combined.

But, of course, the caller never mentioned these matters of fact.

***

Those are but two examples of the invective and ignorance that are constantly being hurled at Scripture. We include these examples only because we want you to know that for every criticism there is an irrefutable defense.

Stand in the Rain doesn’t major in apologetics (a branch of theology which is devoted to the defense of scripture and doctrine) because we do not believe the Bible needs defending. We know that it will eternally prevail:

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (Matthew 24:35)

So our concern today is not for the Bible but for inexperienced believers who have begun to trust God's Word, only to hear it ridiculed and demeaned.

If you are one of them, do not dismay. You will eventually see the undefeated Word take on all of its detractors and triumph over them. Ultimately, no weapon forged against it will prosper.

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condemned to ignorance

The Word for today: Deuteronomy 16, 17

The truth – the Word of God -- is actively suppressed (Romans 1:18) by unbelievers who are (often unwittingly) under the direction of the rulers of this present darkness (Ephesians 6:12/RSV).

As I was driving around town this morning, literally minding my own business, I got an earful of truth suppression. With my car radio tuned into a normally harmless local talk show, I was subjected to a couple examples of the attacks that are mounted against the Bible by its enemies, under the direction of their commander in chief, Satan.

Satan hates the Word of God, and especially the book of Deuteronomy, for it is the specific Sword by which Jesus Christ withstood him in the wilderness:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”
But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”  (Deuteronomy 8:3)

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,
and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” (Deuteronomy 6:16)

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.
And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ” (Deuteronomy 6:13)
Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. (Matthew 4:1-11)

Moreover, the Bible is the Sword which will enforce Satan’s ultimate demise:

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.
Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. (Revelation 19:11-15a, 19-20)

I don't get too indignant over criticism of the Bible because I understand why its critics snipe at it.

They snipe at it because they are dumber than bricks about it. They are dumber than bricks about the Bible because the Bible actively hides the truth from those who approach it with a critical spirit.

It is a closed book to anyone who opens it to find fault with it. The Bible is spiritually discerned, which means that the person who won't believe it can't believe it:

No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.  (1 Corinthians 2:11-14)

If a person opens the Bible to find truth, he will find truth. If he opens it to find life, he will find life. If he opens it to find love, he will find love. If he opens it to find God, he will find God.

But if he opens it to condemn it, he will find himself condemned to ignorance.

***

Tomorrow, we will hear the attacks I heard this morning. Then we will counterattack.

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Unforgivers Anonymous

The Word for today:
Deuteronomy 14, 15

At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts. (Deuteronomy 15:1)

“Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12)

Off the top of my head, if I were to name my most prevalent sins, I would say…

1. Unbelief (I believe in Jesus, enough to be saved, but I don’t trust God like Jesus -- or Joseph in Genesis -- did.)

2. Pride. (I got the mother lode.)

3. Unforgiveness. (I don’t hold grudges, I just emotionally disengage and physically disappear. Instead of reconciling with people, I just let relationships dematerialize.)

And this is what I’m doing about them:

1. The Bible has a prescription (called “the Bible”) for unbelief. And, as you know, I take my medicine every day:

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)

2. The Bible has an antidote (called “God”) for pride. He puts me in circumstances where I must swallow my pride every day:

I, the LORD, will crush the arrogance of the proud. (Isaiah 13:11)

3. The Bible also has a rehab process (called “forgive”) for unforgiveness. Sad to say, but this is the therapy I keep resisting. They try to make me go, but I say No, no, no.

***

Unforgiveness is the hardest sin for many of us to overcome. Scripture indicates that God knew this, because he instituted a program (I call it Unforgivers Anonymous) of regularly scheduled debt forgiveness so that people might break the habit of unforgiveness (or stay in the habit of forgiveness.)

This program included a “sabbath year” (when debts were cancelled every seventh year) and a Year of Jubilee (which meant the cancelling of debts plus the liberation of slaves and the return of land to its original owners every fiftieth year).

“Forgive us our ‘debts’ as we forgive our ‘debtors.’” --

Jesus told us to pray it, he showed us how to do it, and he gave us a program to practice it.

One of these days I’ve got to get on the wagon and get with the program.

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