Forgive

Posted on May 28, 2021 by Pete

That Solomon is taken over by the Spirit of God in his prayer of dedication for the temple is beyond obvious. If there’s any question about it, the sure sign of being filled by the Spirit, prophesying, is more than evident as he refers to a day when, because of His people’s sin, God’s people will cry out in repentance from exile in a foreign land (1Kings 8:46-51).

So, listen up, Pete. The glory has descended upon the Holy of Holies. The Spirit has entered the king of promise. So hear his words, his God-breathed words, as he spreads his hands toward heaven and petitions the God of heaven.

He addresses the God who is like no other god, either in heaven above or on earth beneath. The covenant keeping God. The steadfast love demonstrating God. (8:23). The God who cannot be contained by the universe much less the meager dwelling just completed by the king (8:27). Yet Solomon dares to petition this God because He is the God who hears in heaven.

Seven times Solomon appeals to that divine dynamic. Seven times he counts on that supernatural reality. The God who is uncontainable is nevertheless approachable because He hears in heaven. Jaw-dropping!

So, what’s the first thing you ask of a transcendent, unfathomable God who hears in heaven? What’s the first request going to be when you realize that, by God’s condescending goodness and grace, you are privileged beyond privilege to appeal to Him directly? Maybe not what we’d expect.

And listen to the plea of Your servant and of Your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven Your dwelling place, and when You hear, forgive.

(1Kings 8:30 ESV)

Forgive. That’s the ask.

Me? I might have asked, bless, or lead, or protect, or something like that. But right out of the gate, on that joyous, awe-invoking day of opening the doors to the temple, after beholding the glory of God descend upon it in a cloud, that’s what Solomon comes up with. “God, when we sin, and we’re gonna sin, forgive” (8:46-50). Hmmm . . . did I mention he’s Holy Spirit filled at this point?

I’m listening in on the wisest guy in the world, at the time. And not just full of worldly wisdom, but filled with wisdom from heaven itself by God Himself. So, maybe I better listen up.

Chew on it a bit and, actually, it makes a lot of sense. The very essence of unmatched holiness breaks on the shore of fallen man’s fleshly fickleness– at some point the light is gonna expose the darkness. When it does, says Solomon, Lord, forgive. Hear our prayer, hear our plea, and forgive.

Forgive, that’s the starting point of life with God in the midst. It’s also the inevitable returning point, again and again, until the man, or woman, of flesh is fully redeemed.

It’s the reason the cross has the power it has. Because there the work of atoning for sin was finished. And that’s the work which allows a just God to forgive sin. The basis for a holy God to see the debt owed due to our transgression against Him and declare it paid in full. Which allows a slow to anger, abounding in grace God, to keep pouring forth grace. Grace greater than all my sin — past sin, present sin, and, thank God, future sin. Because of the cross, our God forgives and forgives again.

Repentance is the continuing fuel for redemption’s fire. Intimate familiarity with the four words, “Forgive us our sins” (Luke 11:4) presents that much-needed, well-worn path to the foot of the cross where, in the gospel-shadow it casts, we find the power of God for salvation.

Rather than be caught up in all that he had done for God, as Solomon beheld the glory come down, as he was filled with the Spirit within, he knew it wasn’t what he could do for God, but only what God could do for him. Forgive.

By God’s grace alone. For God’s glory alone.

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I Don’t Know Why

Posted on May 27, 2021 by Pete

They’re back to back, certainly it’s no accident. You can’t help but think the contrasting facts are intentionally juxtaposed against one another so that we’ll pick up on something that’s being laid down. The what is easy? It’s the why that’s up for debate. But maybe the real benefit lies somewhere in the how.

In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid, in the month of Ziv. And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.

Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished his entire house.

(1Kings 6:37-7:1 ESV)

Seven years. Thirteen years. Solomon took seven years to build the house of the LORD. He then took thirteen years to build his own house. Those, as Joe Friday might say, “Are the facts, ma’am, just the facts.” (Baby boomer reference). That’s the what. That’s a detail preserved in the Holy Scriptures, breathed out by God, for us to observe. The question then is, “Why?”

True confession time . . . Immediately, I think the worst. I go to the place of Solomon’s known “darker side.” His well documented Ecclesiastes side, the “I tried everything to bring lasting happiness but it was all vanity under the sun” side. Solomon spent almost twice the time building something for his own pleasure as he did building something for God’s glory. Having first set up God in His holy dwelling place, Solomon then gets distracted in trying to satisfy himself through his own over the top dwelling place. Having fulfilled his obligation to do as his father, David, had desired to do, he then descends into being consumed with lavishing upon himself what he desires to do. You get the idea. You can hear the “tsk, tsk” in my voice. You can see me shaking my head. But know also, I am looking in the mirror of Solomon’s actions and hearing, “Beware” in my own life. So is that the why?

Or, as some might suggest, is it far more pragmatic than sinister? Did the building of the temple only take seven years because of the years and year of preparation that been done before ground was broken? We know that it had been on David’s radar since ascending the throne and that throughout his reign he accumulated materials for the temple. Or maybe, it only took seven years because of the sense of urgency that Solomon had in providing a place of worship to benefit all people over providing a palace for himself to live in. Or maybe it’s because, having given to the LORD the first fruits of his time, treasures, and talents in order to build a house fit for the King, he was a little exhausted and, with what was left, had less oomph for the task of making himself a house fit for a mere king. Maybe that’s why?

So, it seems to me, the why is up for debate. Either scenario, I think, is a possibility. And, just as likely, there may be other reasons why God determined to not only record these facts but to preserve them side by side.

And that has me thinking about how I process this morning’s observation. Don’t think it’s about having to choose Option A or Option B, but about chewing on both.

Reminded that some of the why’s in Scripture are not clearly spelled out. So there’s room for debate, space for speculation. And in such cases, it calls for humility. An open-handed, God-knows-and-I-don’t sort of attitude. While we are to search diligently the Scriptures for understanding, “it is the glory of God to conceal things” (Prov. 25:2).

So, I sit back content with the lack of resolution. But it’s not that I’m devoid of any application.

First, beware a judging heart, Pete. You’re initial discernment about Solomon’s motives has evidence in Scripture, but at the end of the day it is Solomon’s heart, and only God sees it. Second, beware an attitude that says once I given something to God the rest of what’s mine is for me — it’s all the Lord’s, everything we do is to be done for His glory. Third, be quick to attend to matters of worship with urgency and a desire to bring your best — tending your own house can wait when it’s deferred for faithfully tending to God’s house, first.

Seven years vs. thirteen years. That’s the what. I don’t know why. But maybe I’ve learned something this morning through the how.

That too, by God’s grace. That too, for God’s glory.

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Deal Bountifully, Open My Eyes, Hold My Hand

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Pete

I think I’ve really believed it for some time now. But as I hover over it afresh this morning, I believe it more now than I’ve ever believed it.

Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your word. Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law. I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not Your commandments from me!

(Psalm 119:17-18 ESV)

Deal bountifully. That’s a grace plea. Don’t deserve anything, much less the God of heaven’s bountiful provision. But need it? That’s another matter entirely. How I need the God of heaven’s bountiful provision in order to live. Not just to do life, but to really live as we were created to live, bearing the image of God, flourishing as children of God.

Open my eyes. I’m processing that as a parallel petition to verse one’s plea.

Deal bountifully = Open my eyes.

The way I can live as I was created, and re-created, to live is by keeping His word. But apart from His bountiful provision in opening my eyes I am unable to behold what needs to be beheld. And beholding is vitally important. For I truly am a sojourner on the earth.

I become more and more convinced that I can’t do life apart from His word. And life that is done apart from His word is sub-optimized life. A cheap replica of life. Less life than the abundant life that He desires for us (Jn. 10:10). Like I said, I’ve really believed this for some time now, but I believe it more today than ever.

I know I believe it because it is increasingly hard for me to start the day if I am not starting most days in His word. That’s not a boast, it’s just a reality. Not because of my great discipline but because of my great desperation. I’m a sojourner and I need His word to navigate this increasingly complex world. Psalm 119:18 is as much my prayer today as it was 10 or 15 years ago. Perhaps more so.

An old gospel song comes to mind, “I can’t even walk without You holding my hand” (you can check it out here). True statement? I’m thinking. And while there are many metaphysical and transcendent ways in which God can hold our hand, isn’t there a pretty tangible way as well, through His living and active and ever accessible Word? I’m thinkin’ that too.

And honestly (not that I’m ever trying to be dishonest), I don’t know that we really get a grasp on His hand, or He gets a grasp on ours, if we’re seeking wondrous things from His word on a hit-and-miss, only on Sunday, whenever I feel like it basis. Regular, meaningful interaction with God’s word sets us up for practically realizing His bountiful provision for us as He opens our eyes through an encounter of the divine kind — the Spirit of God illuminating the word of God to children of God. Giving wisdom and discernment and power as we navigate our way through this culture, desperately needing to know how to sojourn in a way that’s truly for our good and His glory.

Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.

(Psalm 119:24 ESV)

My delight. My counselors.

Bountifully revealed by His abundant grace. Wondrously presented to eyes He opens for His everlasting glory.

Amen?

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Still In the Game

Posted on May 25, 2021 by Pete

There’s an advantage, in a sense, of having legalistic tendencies. By seeing all the stuff that shouldn’t be, you appreciate more the grace of God that is. Case in point? The opening verses of 1Kings 3.

Solomon made a marriage alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt. He took Pharaoh’s daughter and brought her into the city of David until he had finished building his own house and the house of the LORD and the wall around Jerusalem. The people were sacrificing at the high places, however, because no house had yet been built for the name of the LORD. Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father, only he sacrificed and made offerings at the high places.

(1Kings 3:1-3 ESV)

Solomon marries an Egyptian. Smart strategically, perhaps, but forbidden under the law. Bad on him. Then, the people are sacrificing at high places. Less than ideal to say the least. Sure, the ark of the covenant hasn’t yet found a permanent home since Shiloh was destroyed, but hey, no excuses. Strike two. Cherry on top? Solomon’s sacrificing and making his offerings at the high places, as well. Outrageous! Strike three. You’re outta there!

But maybe not. Read what else God breathes out in these verses, Pete.

Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father . . .

Missteps in the flesh do not necessarily mean out and out misdirection in the heart. And God looks on the heart (1Sam. 16:7). We know that’s the case as we read further in 1Kings 3. God provides opportunity for the heart of Solomon to be laid bare as He appears to the young king in a dream and says to him, “Ask what I shall give you” (3:5).

God doesn’t appear to him in a dream to judge his marriage of military convenience, though it’s wrong. He doesn’t inflict Solomon with nightmares for not technically offering in the way offerings should be done. Instead, knowing that Solomon really does love Him, and sincerely wants to walk in His ways, God appears to this stumbler in the faith and says, in effect, “Let me grace you. Show me your heart.”

It’s not that God overlooks Solomon’s sin. In fact, God Himself, through His Son, will pay the price for that sin with His own offering. The once for all offering of the promised Deliverer on a Roman cross centuries in the future, so that God could justly “pass over the sins that were previously committed” (Rom. 3:23-25). And to be sure, Solomon’s habitual sin will find him out. What begins as one foreign wife will multiply to 100’s of foreign wives who eventually turn Solomon’s heart away from the Lord (1Ki. 11:1-4). But at this time, in this place, despite being tripped up in wayward ways, Solomon loved the LORD and really did want to walk in His ways.

So, rather than being tossed out of the game for three strikes, He is granted His hearts desire because of grace. Grace for the good of Solomon. But ultimately, grace for the glory of God. God’s purposes would be accomplished through Solomon, in a sense, despite Solomon.

Truth is, my legalistic tendency comes when I sit in a balcony watching Solomon’s story through a magnifying glass as arbiter of righteousness. But when I get off my high horse and enter Solomon’s story, putting away my magnifying glass and viewing him more as a mirror, then I’m probably in a position to process things more accurately.

I am Solomon. No, not a king. Not gonna be one of the wisest men ever. But a lover of God, a seeker of his statutes, yet prone to failures of the flesh. Yet, even more, a recipient of sanctifying grace by a longsuffering, loving God. The Father determined to complete the work He has begun in me, and wants to do through me, sometimes in spite of me (Php. 1:6).

To be sure, I need to confess and repent of my sin as God, in His kindness, continues to reveal my sin. But praise God it’s not three strikes and your out! Instead, I rest in the assurance that through the finished work of the cross, just as Solomon was, I’m still in the game.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Blessed Are Those . . .

Posted on May 23, 2021 by Pete

Started in on Psalm 119. These twenty-two readings in Psalm 119 are among the highlights of my annual reading plan. Twenty-two stanzas of eight verses each. Each line of each stanza beginning with the same letter of the twenty-two letter Hebrew alphabet. Beginning with Aleph, then Beth, all the way through Taw. One grand subject: the Word of God. A Spirit produced, God-breathed love letter to God’s enduring, living, active, mind-renewing, life-transforming revelation.

And something hits me anew as I read the first couple of verses. That the blessing which comes with pursuing and following God’s word is more of a cause and effect thing than it is a quid pro quo thing.

Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD! Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart, who also do no wrong, but walk in His ways!

(Psalm 119:1-3 ESV)

It doesn’t take long before we understand that the intended outcome for the hearer of the Word is to be a doer. Nor will this extended love song stray far from the theme that knowing God’s precepts is not just to gain knowledge but to impact how we live. Thus, the songwriter declares a double blessing on those who walk in His ways and keep His testimonies. But I wonder if we might mistake this for a quid pro quo rather than a cause and effect.

Quid pro quo. “A favor or advantage granted or expected in return for something.” God, if I obey Your word, then You will bless me. If I walk in Your ways then I will gain Your favor. I do for You, You do for me. If I measure up then You will mete out. Ugh! Who needs that kind of pressure? What tyranny is a quid pro quo blessing? Prosperity for performance? Blessing for jumping the bar? Don’t know it’s really a viable path for getting to the point where one would declare:

Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.

(Psalm 119:97 ESV)

But what if the blessing of embracing the word of God is not intended to be a quid pro quo thing but a cause and effect thing?

Cause and effect. This happens because that happens. As a result of this action you realize that reaction. Less that God owes us a blessing because of our obedience, but that the natural (perhaps more accurately, supernatural) outcome of sowing seeds of obeying God’s word and walking in God’s way is reaping the fruit of the blessing of knowing God’s will. We will thrive as children of God when we think on and follow the commandments of God.

Blessed because we believe. Blessed through how we behave. Blessed because His words are the words of life and we were created, and then redeemed, that we might have life and have it to the full.

His way, the best way. His thoughts, the best thoughts. Our potential fully realized through His promises.

Blessed are those . . .

Not because God owes it to us, but because it’s just the way we’ll flourish.

“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” ~ Jesus quoting Deuteronomy 8:3

(Matthew 4:4 ESV)

Blessed are those . . .

Not because of perfectly walking in God’s prescribed ways, but as the outcome of a whole-hearted pursuit of God’s perfect will.

By His grace. For His glory.

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The Sweet Psalmist

Posted on May 21, 2021 by Pete

Is Jesus a songwriter? Hovering over the following verse has me asking the question.

Now these are the last words of David: The oracle of David, the son of Jesse, the oracle of the man who was raised on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel . . .

(2Samuel 23:1 ESV)

Taking notice of how David self identifies: the son of Jessie; the man who was raised on high; the anointed of God; the sweet psalmist of Israel. And the Greater David comes to mind. The foretold Son of David, the promised Messiah. The heir to an eternal throne, the King of a kingdom come and yet to come. Immediately I think, “This could be His bio.” But then I pause and think to myself, “Self, but is Jesus also a sweet psalmist?”

To the extent that Jesus is God, and God is the Creator of all things, and all things includes music, then, to be sure, Jesus is a composer. And to the extent that Jesus is God, and God through the Spirit breathes out all Scripture, then, for sure, Jesus is a songwriter as well — every psalm is His psalm. And, for sure again, we know Jesus is a singer:

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

(Matthew 26:30 ESV)

So, could I refer to Jesus as the Sweet Psalmist? I’m thinkin’ . . .

He’s writing lyrics all the time:

. . . you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

(2Corinthians 3:3 ESV)

Add a little music to the redemption story told through our lives and you’ve got a whole range of psalms. Psalms of praise and psalms of sorrow. Psalms of thanksgiving and psalms of lament. Psalms of desperation and psalms dawning forth eternal hope. Yup, Jesus is the Sweet Psalmist.

But it’s not just the songs He’s writing now. Aren’t we also looking forward to entirely new, fresh, and unimaginable psalms to come. Songs entirely compatible with the golden oldies yet so leading edge that “we can only imagine what it will be like” (thanx again MercyMe) to sing them.

And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are Your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations!

(Revelation 15:3 ESV)

But as I much as I relish the thought of Jesus the Music-Maker bringing an as yet unrevealed catalog of tunes; as much as I wonder at what new, new lyrics He will give to telling the old, old, story; it’s the anticipation of hearing the Sweet Psalmist sing that most enraptures me.

For it was fitting that He, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why He is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying, “I will tell of Your name to My brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”

(Hebrews 2:10-12 ESV)

What will it be to hear the Son sing the praise of the Father in our midst? To hear the Sweet Psalmist give melody, words, and voice to declaring the glories of God? Unlike any worship I’ve ever heard. Like I said before, I can only imagine.

But wait . . . there’s more. Not only will the Sweet Psalmist be singing of God’s glory, but He will also have a love song or two for God’s children:

The LORD your God is in your midst, a Mighty One who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.

(Zephaniah 3:17 ESV)

He will exult over you with loud singing!

Sing it, my sweet sweet Song!

Indeed, He is the Sweet Psalmist of Israel! And the Sweet Psalmist of my soul!

Because of unfathomable grace. All for His eternal glory.

Amen?

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Jesus the Corpse

Posted on May 20, 2021 by Pete

Finishing up Mark 15 this morning. And if there’s anything the Spirit wants us to know through these post-crucifixion verses, it’s that Jesus was dead. Not mostly dead, not kinda dead, not somehow “less dead” because He was the Son of God, but dead dead.

Pilate was surprised to hear that [Jesus] should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether He was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that He was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking Him down, wrapped Him in the linen shroud and laid Him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where He was laid.

(Mark 15:44-47 ESV)

Jesus was dead and Pilate granted the corpse to Joseph. The corpse! Those two words hit me like a ton of bricks this morning.

Not new knowledge. But also not usually that first thing (or the next 10 or 20 things) that comes immediately to mind when I quiet myself, be still, and know that He is God (Ps. 46:10).

Jesus the Messiah, that comes to mind. Or, Jesus the Good Shepherd. Jesus the Rock of my salvation. Jesus the Way, the Truth, the Life. Jesus the coming King. Even Jesus the Lamb of God, the suffering Savior, the once forever atoning sacrifice. Those all find a place in my meditative thoughts much easier than does Jesus the Corpse.

What was it for the Son of Man to be dead? What was it for the Son of God who came in flesh to be found as lifeless flesh? Honestly, kind above my pay grade.

But I need to resist the inclination to “move on” from it too quickly. To think that, though “He had to be made like His brothers in every respect, so that He might become a merciful and faithful High Priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people”, He wasn’t really made like His brothers in respect to death. To think such a thing, I think, would be failing to fully grasp the depths of Jesus’ humiliation, the depths to which He humbled Himself in order to redeem His lost, rebellious creation.

. . . though He was in the form of God, [Jesus] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

(Philippians 2:6-8 ESV)

Jesus the Corpse. Doesn’t roll off the tongue too naturally. But sit and chew on it for a bit and it overwhelms the heart and soul completely.

Alas and did My Savior bleed, and did My Sovereign die? Alas, He did.

Unfathomable.

Such is grace. To God be the glory.

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Just Say It (A 2017 Rerun)

Posted on May 19, 2021 by Pete

Finished my readings this morning, found myself hovering over Psalm 116. Particularly, the part about “rendering to the Lord” the embracing of “the cup of salvation” as a way to respond to “all his benefits to me” (Ps. 116:12). Because I knew I’d “eaten here” before, I went back and looked at some previous years posts on Psalm 116. Was reminded that Psalm 116 was the song I read to my wife 4 years ago just before she went to be with the Lord. But was also challenged to heed my own exhortation from another post in 2017. So, rather than labor over the keyboard this morning, I’m going to rerun the post so I can redeem the time by grabbing a cup of coffee, being still, and telling the Lord I love Him.

It was a promise we made to each other when we were first married and, for the most part, a promise we kept throughout 35+ years of marriage. We said we would not turn out the lights at night without saying, “I love you” to each other. And, for more nights than not, we did. For the vast majority of those nights, it was easy to do. For some of those nights, especially those that were at the end of an exhausting day, it likely was more out of habit than as a fresh expression (but hey, as a friend’s mom once told him about the habit of going to church, “At least it will be a good habit”). And, on some nights, it’s what we needed to reset the day, to repent and ask for forgiveness for some tension between us.

Not sure it was THE secret to a happy marriage, but it was one of them.

Came to mind as I read Psalm 116 this morning.

I love the LORD, because He has heard
my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because He inclined His ear to me,
therefore I will call on Him as long as I live.

(Psalm 116:1-2 ESV)

I love the Lord. You’ll only find that four word phrase here. You’d think you’d find it more often throughout Scripture, but you don’t. That simple expression of fact and feeling is found but once in all the Bible. Oh sure, we are often exhorted in the Bible to love the Lord, but how often do we articulate it? When’s the last time we spoke out loud, “I love the Lord?”

We might thank the Lord, bless the Lord, and worship the Lord. But when’s the last time we told someone, “I love the Lord?” When’s the last time we took a break from our list of people to pray for, and from the many petitions to lift up, just to say to Jesus, “Lord, I love You?”

Or, are we like that proverbial guy who responded to his wife’s complaint that he hadn’t stated his affection for her in a long time by saying, “I told you I loved you when we got married . . . and if anything changes, I’ll let you know.” Ouch!

I love the Lord. Can’t help but think that if those four words were part of our regular vocabulary it would make a difference in our relationship with the risen Christ. That, to be more purposeful in declaring to Him our affection for Him, would only enhance abiding in Him.

I love the Lord as I look again to the cross, the source of my salvation. I love the Lord as I sit at His feet and listen as I open His word, the place of my sanctification.

I love the Lord when I head out to face the day, for He has promised never to leave me nor forsake me.

I love the Lord when times are good. I love the Lord when times aren’t so good. I love the Lord when the way seems clear, and still love the Lord when I’m confused.

I love the Lord when He’s heard my voice and my pleas and answered as I asked Him to. I love the Lord when He hears and His answer is different than what I desired.

I love the Lord, because He first loved me.

I love the Lord. Say it. Say it often. Say it if only out of habit. Say it ideally from the heart.

Just say it.

Because of grace. For His glory.

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Perspective from the King’s Table

Posted on May 18, 2021 by Pete

If anyone had the right to demand justice and seek vengeance it was this guy.

Life had been anything but easy. At the age of 5, not only was his dad killed in battle but because of a tragic accident he had been left unable to walk, as well (2Sam. 4:4). Moreover, he was the grandson of King Saul, who had also been killed in battle, and thus would have naturally been placed on a hit-list so as to remove any other claimants to the throne David now possessed.

Instead, David foreshadowed the grace of the Greater David and purposed to show Mephibosheth kindness for the sake of his late father. He restored to Mephibosheth all the land of Saul and commissioned Saul’s servant, Ziba, to tend the land and harvest its crops. And then, favor beyond favor, David set a permanent place for the son of Jonathan at his own royal table. (2Sam. 9)

But when David had to flee because of Absalom’s coup attempt, Mephibosheth was nowhere to be seen in the parade of those who demonstrated their loyalty to the king by fleeing Jerusalem with him. Instead, Ziba the servant shows up with a boat load of food waving a “Bon Voyage! Be safe!” banner for the king to see. David takes notice and asks Ziba, “Where’s Mephibosheth?” Ziba reports that the lone heir of Saul had elected to stay in Jerusalem and make his own power play for the throne (2Sam. 16:1-4). Spoiler alert: Not true! Nevertheless, David buys Ziba’s story and ends up stripping Mephibosheth of all his grandfather’s assets and assigns them to this “loyal” servant.

When David returns after his army crushes the coup, he finds out what really happened. Mephibosheth comes to meet the king upon his return to Jerusalem, and Mephibosheth is a mess. “He had neither taken care of his feet nor trimmed his beard nor washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came back in safety” (2Sam. 19:24). It was obvious this guy had been fasting and mourning for the entire duration of David’s short exile. Then David hears the rest of the story:

“My lord the king, my servant Ziba deceived me. I told him, ‘Saddle my donkey so I can go with the king.’ For as you know I am crippled. Ziba has slandered me by saying that I refused to come.”

(2Samuel 19:26-27a NLT)

What a rat! What a jerk! What an opportunist. Ziba sees the chaos created by Absalom’s insurrection and uses it as cover to steal the inheritance of someone physically dependent upon him — even after having pledged to the king that he would care for the son of Jonathan. Like I said, if anyone had the right to demand justice and seek vengeance it was Mephibosheth, the guy crippled in both feet, the guy swindled out of his inheritance, the guy slandered before the king.

Instead, Mephibosheth says to David, in effect, “Let Ziba have it all. All that truly matters, my king, is that you’re back” (2Sam. 19:30). So what allowed the son of Jonathan to respond in such a manner?

Here’s what I’m chewing on this morning:

“For all my father’s house were but men doomed to death before my lord the king, but you set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right have I, then, to cry to the king?”

(2Samuel 19:28 ESV)

He had been deserving of death by nature of the family he was born into. His best hope was to be lame in life, without hope of profiting from any natural inheritance. So, that he had been swindled and slandered by a slippery servant was of little consequence because he had been shown favor by the king. He had been gifted a permanent seat at the kings table. And now, the king was back! Let Ziba have it all.

Hear Mephibosheth say, I am content to be at the king’s table. What else do I need?

Is this how Paul had learned to be a content in every situation, circumstance, and season (Php. 4:11)? Didn’t matter whether he had a little or a lot, whether he was well-fed or hungry, regardless of whether he enjoyed great abundance or endured great need. It was all good because he had a seat at the King’s table. He had known the King’s kindness. Received of the King’s over-the-top provision.

That’s all that really mattered. That’s perspective from the King’s table.

What further right have I, then, to cry to the king?

Because of grace. For His glory.

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Until Christ is Formed in You

Posted on May 18, 2021 by Pete

Working my way through Galatians. And it’s clear: Paul wasn’t content that they had prayed the prayer, he wanted them to mirror the Master.

Perhaps Paul’s most passionate letter, he comes out of the corner with both fists swinging. You are turning to a different gospel? Call it what it is, you are deserting the gospel for a distortion and I am blown away! (Gal. 1:6-7). Others are preaching a gospel other than by grace alone through faith alone? Curse them! And curse them, again! (Gal. 1:8-9).

This is a big deal! The gospel of eternal salvation was at stake. Get this wrong and everything else goes south.

What’s also evident is that Paul viewed the gospel not just as a ticket to heaven, but as the means to holiness.

It wasn’t just the “Jesus+” words that were used which vexed Paul. More than just adding Jewish practice onto genuine belief. The foolishness of it all was that they somehow thought that what had “begun by the Spirit” could then be “perfected by the flesh” (Gal. 3:3). “Perfected” — that, for Paul, was what true salvation was about, being perfected. The gospel’s endgame wasn’t in getting people to pray a prayer, but in transforming people to reflect the Redeemer.

But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? . . . my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

(Galatians 4:9, 19-20 ESV)

Until Christ is formed in you. That’s the endgame. That’s what being saved is about. Not just about sinners saved, but saints seen. Not just about escaping hell, but about emerging holy. Not just about beating the devil, but about becoming like Jesus.

That’s the purpose of the gospel. That’s the power of the gospel. That’s the proof of the gospel. Christ formed in you.

We know that these Gentile believers at Galatia had authentically been saved by the gospel Paul had preached. Paul calls them brothers and sisters (4:12) because they really had been adopted as sons and daughters, sealed by the Spirit, and were part of the family of God (4:6-7). He calls them “my little children” (4:19) because they had, in fact, been born again. Yet, though their souls were secure, for Paul, he was again in the agony of wanting to birth them all over again because they weren’t meant just to be born again, they were meant to be becoming like Jesus. And that too, by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

Christ formed in you. That’s what it means to be saved, to be born again, to be redeemed.

Christ formed in you. Paul would settle for nothing less. The gospel demands nothing less. The glory of God is seen through nothing less. We should labor for nothing less.

Labor in the truth of the gospel. Labor by the power of the gospel. To settle for anything less perplexed Paul. To rely on anything else astonished Paul. To prize anything more angered Paul.

Mirroring the Master. Reflecting the Redeemer. Salvation to the full.

Empowered through the dynamics of the gospel.

Until Christ is formed in you.

By His grace. For His glory.

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