Strengthened According to the Gospel

Posted on March 24, 2025 by Pete

Two passages from two different readings come together this morning to ignite praise, to prime the pump of gratitude.

O God, from my youth You have taught me,
       and I still proclaim Your wondrous deeds.
So even to old age and gray hairs,
       O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim Your might to another generation,
       Your power to all those to come.

(Psalm 71:17-18 ESV)

Old age and gray hairs . . . yup, I’m in that group! More years behind me than remain before me. Grandsons whom I address as “young man”, affectionately referring to me as “old man.” Cheaper haircuts.

Official occupation? Retired.

Unofficial preoccupation? Proclaiming Your might to another generation.

Yesterday was a pretty significant milestone in what’s been a two+ year journey. A journey where, by God’s gracious leading, this retiree found again his place in the body of Christ. A place where there’s opportunity for these gray hairs to help shepherd another generation, proclaiming God’s power to all those to come.

Okay. But where’s the power going to come from for this old man to proclaim His power? For this gray hair not to run out of gas?

Where’s the rest going to be found when the unavoidable weariness is felt? The comfort to be drawn on when undeniable mourning strikes because I’ve again come up short of not only my own expectations but of God’s as well? The sense of worth restored when –not if — I’m battered with feelings of worthlessness and wonder if God’s about done with me? The strength again felt when inescapable weakness is evident because of my failure?

Well, Paul reminds me that it will be found in the same place I need to go when, inevitably, I sin and need a Savior.

Now to Him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages . . . to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

(Romans 16:25, 27 ESV)

Strengthened according to the gospel. That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

The gospel . . . it’s not just for getting into heaven.

Oh, the tragedy of thinking of the gospel as something I needed only for dealing with my past. Of thinking of grace as something needed primarily to become a Christian and not as something desperately required to be a Christian. Of thinking of the cross as something that but allowed me to enter the race and not as a daily (hourly?) needed detour to keep me in the race.

Oh, how this gray hair needs to remember that what begun by faith is sustained by faith. That what begun by responding to the Good News will only be finished by relying on the Good News. That what begun by the Spirit can only be completed by the Spirit (Gal 3:2-3).

While other things might fade because of old age, oh that I would not forget that the gospel is the power of God for salvation (Rom. 1:16). The power for salvation past, when my sin debt was paid. The power for salvation future, that time when I will be present with the Lord and sin’s presence will be no more. And the power for right now, for salvation today; when, by the Spirit, sin’s power is being weakened, the stranglehold of sin diminished, even as the propensity to sin is still covered by the blood of Christ and the finished work of the cross.

So, Lord, even in old age and gray hairs . . . may I proclaim Your might to another generation . . . strengthened according to the gospel.

That I might always drown in Your ocean of grace.

Even as I long to rise up and ascribe to You unending glory.

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Flourishing Through Favor

Posted on March 19, 2025 by Pete

If I’m picking up what the songwriter’s laying down — if I’m getting what the Spirit’s saying — then, if you wanna change the world, start by focusing on the church. As I hover over the first two verses of Psalm 67 this morning, I’m seeing that a flourishing church is a fruitful church, not necessarily because of the effort it puts forth but — and perhaps most importantly — because of the favor it flourishes under.

May God be gracious to us and bless us
       and make His face to shine upon us,           Selah
that Your way may be known on earth,
       Your saving power among all nations.

(Psalm 67:1-2 ESV)

The song begins with the application of an ancient text. Starts with a plea that a blessing commissioned by God’s prophet (Num. 6:24-26) would be a reality known by God’s people. That words intended by God to “put His name” upon them (Num. 6:27) would, in reality, be a blessing that would actually cover them.

But while the elements of the blessing are recognizable, the order of them has been changed up. And, I’m thinking, there’s something to chew on there.

May God be gracious to us . . . that’s where it starts.

If God’s people want to be a people who desire that God’s way may be known on the earth, if they want to be a magnifying glass which brings into view God’s saving power among all nations, then it starts with may God be gracious to us. It’s not going to be our goodness that makes Him known, but His grace.

Oh sure, we should be getting “good-er.” As the redeemed, we’re no longer slaves to sin. But there’s still something in us, even after decades of pilgrimage towards the promised land, which rears its ugly head and tries to turn us back to Egypt. Something in us which, though we know we are to be not like the nations around us, tempts us to worldly wishes and fleshly ways. There’s still something which, if we’re honest with ourselves, and repentant before our God, must cry out, “God be gracious to us!” And far from that something being our kryptonite, it’s actually our superpower.

A people which daily knows God’s grace are a people primed to daily reflect God’s grace. To the measure we experience afresh undeserved favor, so will be the measure to which we exhibit anew inexplicable flourishing — reflecting love, joy, peace, and patience regardless of the circumstance; kindness, goodness, and faithfulness in and out of season; gentleness and self-control even when the world around us is callous and harsh, agitated and chaotic. God be gracious to us . . . that Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among the nations.

We need grace. And there’s no grace needed where there’s no sin present. If we’re not confessing, then how much are we receiving? If we’re not repenting and being forgiven, then what are we making known about God’s saving power?

May God be gracious to us . . .

Flourishing is found through favor.

Favor, only because of God’s grace.

Flourishing, only for God’s glory.

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Awesome?!?!

Posted on March 18, 2025 by Pete

Dissonance. A lack of agreement. A disconnect between what we think to be true and what actually may be true. Inconsistency between what’s heartfelt and what ends up being hard fact. A mingling of sounds that strike the ear harshly, a clashing of chords.

Dissonance. Kind of what I experienced hovering over Psalm 66 this morning.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
       sing the glory of His name;
       give to Him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds!

Come and see what God has done:
       He is awesome in His deeds toward the children of man.
He turned the sea into dry land;
       they passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in Him.

(Psalm 66:1-3a, 5-6 ESV)

Awesome deeds! Twice repeated. Stuff like turning a sea into dry land.

Come and see. Come and say, “How awesome are Your deeds!” I’m in!

Shout for joy! Give Him praise! Let’s do this! Bring on some more of those awesome deeds.

You brought us into the net;
       You laid a crushing burden on our backs;
You let men ride over our heads;
       we went through fire and through water;

(Psalm 66:11-12a ESV)

You brought us into the net? You laid a crushing burden on our backs? You let men ride over our heads? We went through fire and through water?

Clang! Crash! Does not compute! What’s so awesome about those deeds?

Talk about your disconnect. Talk about your inconsistency. Talk about a lack of agreement between what I think should be and what has (too often for my liking) actually been. Talk about some dissonance.

What are these “deeds” doing in a song about praising God for “awesome”?

Keep singing . . .

Bless our God, O peoples;
       let the sound of His praise be heard,
who has kept our soul among the living
       and has not let our feet slip.
For You, O God, have tested us;
       You have tried us as silver is tried.

You have brought us out to a place of abundance.

(Psalm 66:8-9,12b ESV)

Brought us out to a place of abundance . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning. And that’s awesome!

I’ve said it before, gonna say it again: God loves us just the way we are and loves us too much to leave us the way we are. Cue testing. Commence refining. And behold God as He bring us out to a place of abundance. Road-tested inside and out, taken to hell and back; finally He brings us to a well-watered place (MSG).

Awesome, huh? Yessir!

Awesome abundance as we come to know Him — like really know Him — in the fire. As we experience Him through the water. His steadfast love taking on a tangibility as it morphs from theory to experienced reality. His all-sufficient grace no longer just a platitude but an actualized, realized promise. The dissonance of whatever we may think “the good life” should be resolving itself with the symphonic delight of knowing what life in Christ can be.

Come and hear, all you who fear God,
       and I will tell what He has done for my soul.

(Psalm 66:16 ESV)

And it’s awesome!

Only by His grace. Only for His glory.

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Humbled for Testing (2020 Re-run)

Posted on March 14, 2025 by Pete

Rerunning some thoughts from five years ago — think “quarantine.” Kind of rambling, but I’m taken again by the thought of how we can be humbled by things beyond our control. Five years later, it’s still “unprecedented times” and God’s still “testing you to know what is in your heart.” Search me, O God!

Couldn’t imagine such a little text having such a potentially big impact. Someone I met with Sunday afternoon texted me Monday morning with, “Pete, I am running a low fever today.” Not words you want to hear at this current time in this current situation. So whaddya do?

Stayed home. Canceled commitments. Got myself a Zoom account for a meeting planned that night. Thought lots. Prayed lots. (Oh yeah, and I got my taxes done . . . praise God!).

Not to overuse an overused word, but this really is an unprecedented time. And, as pandemics have a way of doing, I can say, without exaggeration, it’s an unprecedented time for all of us!

So here’s what grabbed me as I was reading this morning:

And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.

(Deuteronomy 8:2 ESV)

Not too likely this is going to be a “40 years in the wilderness” experience, but it’s certainly going to be at least 40 days in uncharted territory. In Deuteronomy Moses points out what God was doing to that generation which was just emerging from doing laps around Sinai. Wondering if we might be wise to heed their “lessons learned” as we walk into a season of doing laps around our homes.

God wants to humble us. Uh, mission accomplished. For all the self-determined power we think we might have, all the self-directed freedom we think we’ve created through our own wisdom and works, it’s kind of jaw-dropping what a combo of a few letters and couple of numbers (think COVID-19) can do to turn our world literally upside down. Kind of humbling.

Do you not know? Do you not hear?
       Has it not been told you from the beginning?
       Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
It is [God] who sits above the circle of the earth,
       and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;
who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
       and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;
who brings princes to nothing,
       and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

(Isaiah 40:21-23)

Like grasshoppers! Good grief! Who’s gonna name their elite sports team “The Grasshoppers” or their league the GFL? Who’s gonna dedicate their million dollar science and research building to someone named “Grasshopper”? Who’s gonna build a workout facility and call it “Grasshoppers’ Gym”? Unless we specialize in entomology, most of us never think about grasshoppers except maybe, as boomers, when we think Jiminy Cricket, or, as a back-to-the-basics foodies we’re eating them.

God has a way of allowing things to come into our lives, in this case our collective lives, to humble us. Why? To test us. To know what’s in our heart. To shine a spotlight. To do some housecleaning, if necessary.

Pride, be gone. Self-sufficiency, take a hike. Confidence in my material accumulations, don’t look at what’s happening in the market. Instead, look up, look way up. Behold our God!

And He led the children of deliverance into the wilderness to see “whether you would keep His commandments or not.” And as we head into this season of trying to navigate this uncharted territory some of the commandments that might come to mind immediately are: “Fear not . . .” (Isa. 41:10); “Trust in the Lord with all your heart . . . ” (Prov. 3:5-6); “Love one another . . . ” (Jn 13:34); “As we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone . . . ” (Gal. 6:10); “Be ready with an answer . . .” (1Pet. 3:15).

Unprecedented (there’s that word again) days. Unchanging God. Unfaltering faithfulness. Unfailing hope. Inexhaustible grace.

Humbled so that our hearts might be tested.

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
       Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
       and lead me in the way everlasting!

(Psalm 139:23-24 ESV)

Humbled so that He might be known through our obedience.

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” ~ Jesus

(John 10:27 ESV)

Humbled so that we might stand fast.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.

(1Peter 5:6-7 ESV)

By His grace. For His glory.

p.s. Texted my friend before turning in last night. Fever false alarm. Whew!

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There Is No Other!

Posted on March 13, 2025 by Pete

Captured by a twice repeated phrase in Deuteronomy 4. A phrase which will be repeated nine more times in the Old Testament, most often by Isaiah. A phrase which to try and write about is, by it’s definition, impossible. For how do you put into words thoughts concerning something the likes of which there is no other?

Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown, that you might know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him. . . . know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.

(Deuteronomy 4:33-35, 39 ESV)

There is no other . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

No other. Nothing. None. Nada. Nobody. Zero. Zilch. A big goose egg. Know that the LORD is God; there is no other.

Or, as Barrett put it in his book on God, the one core conviction that the people of God need to have at the core of their being is that “God is someone than whom none greater can be conceived” (Barrett, Matthew. None Greater: The Undomesticated Attributes of God. Baker Publishing Group.) If the wording of that stretches your mind a bit, it’s meant to . . . just as trying to comprehend a God who is like no other is meant to.

It’s what the people who have heard God’s voice are to know. It’s what those redeemed from Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm are to get. It’s what those who have seen the means of deliverance executed on their behalf are to take from it all. That the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.

We have heard the voice of God. For “in these last days [God] has spoken to us by His Son” (Heb. 1:1). To know the Son is to know the Father (Jn. 14:9-10). Thus, to know Jesus is know that the LORD is God; there is no other.

We have heard the voice of God. For all Scripture is God breathed (2Tim. 3:16). Thus, His voice is heard every time we open our Bibles and experience again an encounter of the divine kind as the Spirit of God in us reveals God through His word, illuminating words, thoughts, concepts, and wisdom communicated directly by the Maker of heaven and earth. How come? So that we might know afresh the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.

We have seen the power of deliverance. A blood-stained cross. An empty tomb. A risen Savior. An ever-present Helper. A sure hope. A glorious promise. Knowing firsthand what it means to be a people taken for Himself, a chosen race, a holy nation, a people claimed for His own possession (1Pet. 2:9-10). Before our eyes we’ve seen it, we’ve experienced it. Know that the LORD is God; there is no other besides Him!

There is no other!

Sit in that for a while. Lay it to your heart. Let it wash over you. Let it waste you. Let it prime the pump of worship within you.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Prepared Beforehand for Glory

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Pete

To be honest, sometimes it can be a bit difficult reading Romans 9. While I’d expect nothing less in a god who is truly God than that He would be incomprehensible and sovereign, some of the implications of incomprehensible sovereignty can be a bit mind-stretching for this mere mortal. While I like the idea of God raising up “children of promise” and counting them as offspring (9:8), it’s a bit harder to settle into the reality of people raised up to be hardened so that God’s power and name would be known in them as objects of wrath (9:17-18). Yeah, there’s a bit to wrestle with here. And wrestling is good. For if I could completely wrap my head around God, He wouldn’t be God.

But, while sometimes I wrestle when reading Romans 9, other times I find a deep rest. While I might wonder at the mysterious ways of a God who is altogether other than us, I also find bubbling up a fountain of worship.

What if God, desiring to show His wrath and to make known His power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory — even us whom He has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

(Romans 9:22-24 ESV)

Vessels of mercy . . . prepared beforehand for glory . . . even us . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

It’s been said by others far more eloquently, but the wonder is not that He chooses not to save some, but that He chooses to save any. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) and the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23a). The default, logical, and just outcome for a creation which has embraced self-determination, thus rebelling against its Creator, is to end up as vessels of wrath. And yet, our God — who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness (Ex. 34:6) — in order to make the riches of His glory known purposed to show unmerited favor towards vessels of mercy, determining to display such for all eternity as trophies of His grace (Eph. 2:4-7). Even us.

And so, I pause. I reflect. I marvel. I rest, wonder, and worship at being prepared beforehand for glory.

Why me, Lord? No idea. But oh, so grateful.

Nothing in my hand I bring;
Simply to Thy cross I cling.
(Rock of Ages, Toplady, verse 3)

Once far off but now brought near by the blood of Christ (Eph. 2:13). Not because of any merit in myself, but solely because He purposed that I would be a vessel of mercy. Not dependent upon my will and best efforts, but depending only upon the determination of a sovereign, incomprehensible God, “who has mercy” (Rom. 9:16).

Prepared beforehand for glory . . .

What can you say to that? How can you fully fathom that? I can’t.

And I can’t help but jump ahead . . .

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!

(Romans 11:33 ESV)

Resting in His grace. Worshiping for His glory.

Amen?

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Stage by Stage

Posted on March 11, 2025 by Pete

Moses — the guy did it all! Body surfing the Nile as a baby, he was educated at the U. of Egypt as a young man. Took up activism in his late 30’s, standing against the oppression his adoptive family so harshly promoted. And then ended up crossing a line, making him a fugitive and forcing him to flee into relative obscurity for a number of decades. Obscure decades but not uneventful decades. Took a wife, had some kids, learned to be a shepherd, stood before a burning bush, talked to God, was recruited to be a deliverer.

Back in Egypt, partnered with his brother who would become his spokesmen, learned some cool moves with his staff, and went head-to-head with Pharaoh. A few plagues later, and one unforgettable night that would not only stand out, but would “pass over” every other night, he would then lead a nation of slaves out of bondage and into freedom. Well, actually, he first led them up against a sea — but that was quickly remedied. And then — though not plan “A” — he led them for forty years in the wilderness, talking with God, interceding for the people, and performing a miracle every now and then. And oh, yeah, one more thing — he kept a diary.

These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the LORD, and these are their stages according to their starting places.

(Numbers 33:1-2 ESV)

Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage . . . that’s what I’m chewing on this morning. “Under GOD’s instruction Moses kept a log of every time they moved, camp by camp” (MSG).

Come on! With all the stuff that was already on his plate, with all the disputes he settled, with all the grumbling he heard, with all the opposition he incurred, with all the acts of rebellion that ended up in the death of dozens and hundreds and thousands, he kept a diary too? Evidently.

And it sparks a thought . . . while Moses wrote about the journey, he was but a co-author. After all, all Scripture is breathed out by God (2Tim. 3:16) and the prophets of old spoke (and I would think wrote) “as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2Pet. 1:21). So, while Moses journaled in the wilderness, it was God who was keeping track.

Isn’t that just like our Father in heaven, the One who orders our steps (Ps. 37:23, Ps. 18:36), the One who numbers even the hairs on our head (Mt. 10:30), and the One who is so compassionately attentive that He collects our tears in a bottle (Ps. 56:8)? Yeah, that’s Him. The One who knows our starting places, stage by stage.

With all the setbacks Moses encountered along the way, I’m thinking God knew it was important for Moses to keep reminding himself that he was still making progress. To know afresh that, every time they set forth, God was with them, His presence always leading them, His glory always hovering over them. For a journey that seemed to take a lifetime (and it did), every time Moses wrote a starting place down on whatever he wrote it down on, he remembered that what God had delivered His people for, God would deliver His people to.

Our God is the God of the journey. The God of all our starting places. Of our going forth. Of our making progress. Even in those seasons when the trek seems to be marked by three-steps-forward-and-two-steps-back, He is the God who is tracking our journey, stage by stage, and wants us to track it too. For He is the God who has promised that the good work begun in us through deliverance, would be the good work completed in us through our Deliverer (Php. 1:6).

Stage by stage. Little by little. One day at a time.

God knows our way. God leads our way. God keeps track of our way. All along the way.

By His grace. For His glory.

He leadeth me: O blessed thought!
O words with heavenly comfort fraught!
Whate’er I do, where’er I be,
still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom,
sometimes where Eden’s flowers bloom,
by waters calm, o’er troubled sea,
still ’tis God’s hand that leadeth me.

Lord, I would clasp Thy hand in mine,
nor ever murmur nor repine;
content, whatever lot I see,
since ’tis my God that leadeth me.

And when my task on earth is done,
when, by Thy grace, the victory’s won,
e’en death’s cold wave I will not flee,
since God through Jordan leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me;
by His own hand He leadeth me:
His faithful follower I would be,
for by His hand He leadeth me.

~ Joseph H. Gilmore

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A Banner

Posted on March 10, 2025 by Pete

I read this morning in Romans 8 how all of creation is groaning until that day when Jesus returns and thus, how groaning is part of our normative experience, too (Rom. 8:19-23). And yeah, while I believe that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Rom. 8:18), it doesn’t change the fact that there are still the “sufferings of this present time.” So, what do we do in this present time? What do we do in the meantime until the end-time when Jesus receives us into His very presence for all time beyond time? David the lyricist provided some helpful coaching this morning.

You have made Your people see hard things;
       You have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.
You have set up a banner for those who fear You,
       that they may flee to it from the bow.                      Selah

(Psalm 60:3-4 ESV)

If God is a sovereign God (and He is), then He is just as much the Author of hard things as He is the good things. Not only, as the southern gospel song goes, is He the God of the mountains, but He’s also God of the valleys. Or, as Isaiah puts it: He who forms light also creates darkness; He who makes well-being also creates calamity; for He is the LORD “who does all these things” (Isa. 45:7). But the One who serves up wine to drink that make us stagger, is also the One who has set up a banner to flee to.

And that’s what — I mean, who — I’m thinking on this morning. A Banner . . .

God revealed Himself to Moses as Jehovah-Nissi, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner (Ex. 17:15).

A banner for those who fear Him. Something lifted up. A standard raised. A rallying point lifted up for those who are taking it in the teeth and need a refuge to which to retreat. For those who need a defender to bring to bear a defense. For those who need a deliverer to bring deliverance. For those who need a conqueror to help them become more than conquerors.

God has set up a banner for when His people encounter hard things. The LORD Himself is our banner. Jesus is the banner lifted up.

Lifted up on cross, as was the serpent in the wilderness, that whoever flees to Him in faith may have eternal life (Jn. 3:14-15).

Lifted up from the earth — resurrected and ascended after dying on the cross — ready to draw all people to Himself (Jn. 12:32). Often drawing people to Himself through the hard things He’s made them see.

Our banner, set up for those ready to flee to Him.

“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” ~ Jesus

(Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)

O, we can praise God for a banner! And even praise Him for the hard things that prompt us, and compel us, to know again the sweet refuge of fleeing to, and abiding in, His presence.

His banner over me is love (Song 2:4). And we know that nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39).

A Banner.

The Son lifted up, the fountain of ever-flowing and over-flowing grace.

The Sovereign over all, worthy of ever-flowing and over-flowing glory.

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Jesus is the Man

Posted on March 6, 2025 by Pete

You never know when you’re going to see Jesus in the Scriptures. Well, that’s not true. If you’re reading the gospels, you kind of know. And, if you’re reading the epistles, you’re pretty sure He’s gonna show up there as well — like, a lot. So, maybe what I mean to say is . . . You never know when you’re going to see Jesus in the Old Testament Scriptures. “Found Him” this morning just east of the promised land, on the other side of the Jordan.

The LORD said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.”

(Numbers 27:12-17 ESV)

Appoint a man over the congregation . . . that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd. That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

Moses is going to see the promised land though he’s not going to enter it. But this one who was God’s deliverer from the bondage of Egypt has, for the past forty years, also been the people’s intercessor through the wilderness. (It would be interesting to go back and count how many times Moses went face down on behalf the grumbling, groaning, complaining people of God. Wouldn’t be surprised if he had a bit of a pug nose from it all. But I digress). And Moses intercedes to the end. Appoint a man over the congregation, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.

He knew his congregation. He knew their weakness. He knew they were prone to wander. He knew they needed someone to lead them, that going it alone wouldn’t go well. That they were like sheep. That they needed a shepherd.

Me too. Us too. Appoint a man over the congregation, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.

Behold the man, Jesus!

The One whose heart was attuned as was Moses’ so that “when He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt. 9:36). The One who knew that, ultimately, He had been appointed to be the man Moses pleaded for, proclaiming, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me” (Jn. 10:11, 14). The One who accepted the appointment as an eternal assignment, “for the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and He will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev. 7:17).

Jesus, is the man.

Hallelujah, what a Savior!

O’ to wonder afresh at the great Shepherd of the sheep who through His blood brought us into everlasting covenant (Heb. 13:20). To rest deeply as we, with confidence, abide with the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls (1Pet. 2:25). To labor and wait expectantly knowing that soon and very soon the chief Shepherd will appear (1Pet. 5:4).

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
       He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
       He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
       for His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
       I will fear no evil,
       for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff,
       they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
       in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
       my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
       all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

(Psalm 23, ESV)

O’ praise God for the Man appointed over the congregation!

Praise Him for His grace!

Praise Him for His glory!

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The Horns of the Wild Ox

Posted on March 5, 2025 by Pete

It’s one of those repeated phrases that arrests the attention. But this one, I’m pretty sure, for the first time.

I’m in Numbers and reading of Barak’s frustrating attempt to get Balaam, a well-known practitioner of divination, to curse God’s people. When reading this familiar account in the past, my attention has been captured by the wonder of God’s unpredictable ways as, far from condemning this fortune teller for hire, He partners with him — speaking with him twice and then sending His Spirit to come upon him. What?!? And in that “wow-ness” of reading this passage, I think I’ve tended to overlook the words given by God to be spoken by Balaam over Israel. And, like I said, it’s the repetition of some of those words, declared in two of his oracles over Israel, that I’m chewing on this morning.

Behold, I received a command to bless:
       [God] has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.
He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob,
       nor has He seen trouble in Israel.
The LORD their God is with them,
       and the shout of a king is among them.
God brings them out of Egypt
       and is for them like the horns of the wild ox.

(Numbers 23:20-22 ESV)

Water shall flow from [Israel’s] buckets,
       and his seed shall be in many waters;
his king shall be higher than Agag,
       and his kingdom shall be exalted.
God brings him out of Egypt
       and is for him like the horns of the wild ox . . .

(Numbers 24:7-8a ESV)

Okay, some “full disclosure” . . . This is the only place you’re going to find this phrase in the OT and, it seems, it’s not a gimme to translate. The exact meaning of the word translated “wild ox” is not known — the old King James translated it “unicorn.” The horn on the head connection has others speculating it refers to an ancient, now extinct animal akin to a rhinoceros. Bottom line, think big, think fast, think powerful!

And who is “like the horns of the wild ox”? God the deliverer? Israel the delivered? You’ll find both. But, given that I’m reading the ESV, I’m going with the sense of what those translators thinks it conveys. So, I’m in awe this morning of the God who brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox. The same God who brought me out of slavery, bondage, and death. The same God who is for me.

First, what I notice is the grace in Numbers 23 where God tells Balaam to tell Balak (and all who have ears to hear), “He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has He seen trouble in Israel.” Come on! God has “no bone to pick with Jacob, he sees nothing wrong with Israel” (MSG)? Has God not been reading Numbers? Is He not aware of why these guys are doing laps in the desert? O’, what grace! Yeah, they have been a rebellious people, but they are still God’s people. Thus, there’s a veil cast upon them where He counts them unconditionally as His own and commits to them unconditionally because of a promise.

And so, He brings them out of Egypt. The sense there is that He is bringing them out of Egypt. Yeah, they are wandering in the wilderness, but the tabernacle is still with them, the glory of God is still among them, the cloud and the pillar of fire still over them. And so, God’s going to bring them to the land He promised He’d bring them to. Because God is for them like the horns of the wild ox.

God is for His people. What God freed from Egypt He’s going to deliver to Canaan. What God started He’s going to finish. And if God is for them like the horns of the wild ox, then who can be against them? Sound familiar (Philippians 1:6, Romans 8:31).

True for them? True for us! God is for His people, His church, the Redeemed! And He is bringing us out of Egypt and into a land of promise. As Calvin puts it, He is our “perpetual guardian.”

And He is bringing us out with a power beyond description, a power for which words are inadequate. A power sourced in Him, a power given to us (Col. 1:11). Such that, it is not a matter of if we will cross the Jordan into that land flowing with milk and honey, but only a matter of when. And all because God is for them like the horns of the wild ox.

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

(Romans 8:31 ESV)

For us always by His abundant, overflowing grace.

For us always that He might receive everlasting, all-deserving glory.

Amen?

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