He Delights in Steadfast Love

Posted on December 15, 2025 by Pete

This year, reading through Micah has been particularly brutal. For some reason (a Holy Spirit reason?), I’ve been more impacted during this year’s readings by the relentlessness and heaviness of God leaving His “holy temple” and “coming out of His place” to “tread upon the high places of the earth” (Micah 1:3). And tread He has — for the better part of seven chapters. And the mountains have “melted” and the valleys have “split open” as God in righteousness judges “the transgression of Jacob ” and “the sins of the house of Israel” (Micah 1:4-5).

So, perhaps it shouldn’t surprise me that Micah wraps his prophetic word with a probing question: “Who is a God like you?”

But I’m struck by the God-breathed answer to the prophet’s rhetorical question. For it is a 180-degree turn from the predominant theme of the book.

Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity
       and passing over transgression
       for the remnant of His inheritance?
He does not retain His anger forever,
       because He delights in steadfast love.
He will again have compassion on us;
       He will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
       into the depths of the sea.
You will show faithfulness to Jacob
       and steadfast love to Abraham,
as You have sworn to our fathers
       from the days of old.

(Micah 7:18-20 ESV)

He delights in steadfast love . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

I wrap-up Micah and I can’t help but think, “Oh, the wrath Jesus suffered on my behalf.” And not just for those sins I committed before that moment I first believed, but for the iniquity and transgression of yesterday. For, though yesterday’s sins may not have been as “big” as the sins of my distant past, before a holy God, they are just as offensive. And though I often don’t keep as “short an account” as I should when it comes to confessing my daily sins, yet His wrath is stayed, and His kindness prevails as He patiently leads me to repentance so that He might again pardon iniquity and pass over transgression. All because my God delights in steadfast love.

Behold, our God! A God who delights in steadfast love!

Who is a God like You?

Pardoning iniquity, passing over transgression. Having compassion and pouring out grace. Treading iniquities underfoot and casting sins into the depths of the sea. Showing faithfulness because of promises sworn in days of old. Not retaining His just and holy anger forever. And how come? He delights in steadfast love.

Our God must be provoked to wrath because mercy is His “specialty”, it’s what He “loves most” (MSG). He must be incited to indignation, for His default is to delight in unfailing, unwavering, unconditional love.

Behold, our God! Again!

The God who delights to love with a steadfast love. For our God is love (1Jn. 4:16).

Thus, daily we are recipients of ever new and abundant grace.

And only for His eternal and all-deserving glory.

Amen?

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The Temple Opened (2014 Rerun)

Posted on December 12, 2025 by Pete

One of those mornings where, rather than write in my journal, I read from it. And these thoughts from 12 years ago stir my soul.

What “infinite grace” . . . that I might enter a heavenly place . . . to look on His face!

Glory for me? To be sure.

That the glory might be to Him? Always!

So often I focus on Jesus’ revelation to John as something to be figured out rather than something to be experienced. I can be so intent on the “the trees” that I miss “the forest” . . . so consumed with the facts and what they mean and not spend time in wonder at John’s experience and how it must have felt. Point in case this morning as I sit back and think about the temple opened.

Then God s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

(Revelation 11:19 ESV)

First, a door standing in heaven was opened and John is invited to come up (Rev. 4:1). Now, the temple of God is opened, and John is invited to come in. John is permitted greater and greater access to the inner sanctum of heaven . . . and so, John draws nearer and nearer as the vision continues to play out on man’s last days on earth.

And it becomes clear to me that as God’s holiness is increasingly revealed, the justification for, and the intensity of His wrath are more understood. Open the doors to the temple, expose the Most Holy Place to the dealings of earth and you might expect nothing less than lightning and thunder, earthquake and heavy hail, to fall upon a world bent on rebellion and transgression.

But what was it for John to see God’s temple in heaven opened? What was it to look into heaven’s Holy of Holies and behold the ark of God’s covenant? Jaw-dropping I’m thinking. Isaiah had a taste of it . . .

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

       “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
       the whole earth is full of His glory!”

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”

(Isaiah 6:1-5 ESV)

Jaw-dropping . . . face-planting . . . awe-invoking. What wonder!

Isaiah trembled because of how aware he was of his uncleanness. John, however, approaches washed in the blood of the Lamb . . . robed in the righteousness of Christ . . . adopted and counted as family with the Son . . . aware of how much he has been forgiven and of what privilege He possesses in the One he has known as Savior.

Today, I can read of the temples of times past and marvel at their function as a place of worship . . . and wonder at what it was like for the glory of God to dwell within their walls. Or, I can be reminded that today God’s people are being built into a living temple . . . a habitation for the glory of God through the Spirit of God.

But what will it be when heaven’s door is opened and I am invited to come up? To, at first, stand at the outer edge of those who, from every tribe and language and people and nation, are gathered around Him who sits on the throne and worship the Lamb in the midst? And then, to see the temple opened . . . and to be invited to draw near . . . that, face to face, I might behold the majesty, the might, and the glory of God. What will that be like? I can only imagine.

When, by the gift of His infinite grace,
I am accorded in heaven a place,
Just to be there and to look on His face,
Will through the ages be glory for me.

Oh, that will be glory for me,
Glory for me, glory for me,
When by His grace I shall look on His face,
That will be glory, be glory for me.

Oh, That Will Be Glory by Charles H. Gabriel

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The Right Filter (2022 Remix)

Posted on December 10, 2025 by Pete

Elihu presents the encore argument.

Job’s other friends, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite are done talking. Though they came to Job to “show him sympathy and comfort him” (Job 2:11), in trying to make sense of why Job is suffering they have instead speculated on what nature of sin he must have committed that would merit such devastation in his life. But Job doesn’t budge in declaring his righteousness and demanding a day before the throne of the Great Judge in order to plead his case. And so, the friends are frustrated into silence, “they ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes” (32:1).

Cue Elihu. Not sure where he came from, but he’s been listening for awhile. And he’s been getting angry. Angry at Job “because he justified himself rather than God” (32:2). Angry at Job’s three friends because “they had failed to refute him, and yet had condemned him” (32:3 CSB). And so the youngest among the these five men, burning with anger, thinks to provide the answer to the question that no one else has been able to provide.

In essence, Elihu rebukes Job’s friends for condemning Job for sin which Job hasn’t committed. He also rebukes Job for his self-justifying arrogance that because he had no sin God needed to explain Himself. And, most importantly, he reminds his elders about the need for the right filter — that we are to see life’s circumstance in light of who God is rather than see God in light of our circumstance. That hit home today in my reading in Job 34.

“Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding:
       far be it from God that He should do wickedness,
       and from the Almighty that He should do wrong. . .

Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,
       and the Almighty will not pervert justice.”

(Job 34:10, 12 ESV)

Whatever the situation, whatever the circumstance . . . however you try and factor God into it, God cannot act wickedly, He cannot do wrong, He will not pervert justice. Full stop. That becomes at least part of the filter for processing problems, for discerning dilemmas, for figuring out a fallen world.

Job faltered in this filter and demanded God explain himself and defend His sense of justice.

For Job’s friends, even though Job was in fact blameless, upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil, they had to come up with a sin narrative in order to convince themselves that God wasn’t “doing wickedness” by allowing a “righteous man” to go through the ringer.

Both Job and his friends tried to force an answer to the enigmatic question, “Why do the righteous suffer?”

They did this because they had put God in a box, a box that said that a good God must bring about good things in the life of good people. Neither Job nor his friends were prepared to entertain that suffering under the hand of a sovereign and good God must still be a good God thing for a good God’s purposes — even if those purposes were not at all clear.

Subject God to the filter of our understanding, or subject ourselves to the filter of His revelation concerning Himself? See life’s circumstance and judge God, or see God and trust Him with life’s circumstance in light of who He is?

Seems to me that’s what I’m picking up from what’s being laid down this morning — the need for the right filter.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

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No Famine in the Land

Posted on December 9, 2025 by Pete

I’ve been working my way through the Minor Prophets. No beating around the bush with those guys. They don’t have a lot of papyrus to fill so they get their message out fast and they get their message out hard. A lot of judgment prophesied in these morning readings — getting kind of commonplace. But this morning, Amos lays down a judgment that sends chills down my spine.

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD,
       “when I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
       but of hearing the words of the LORD.
They shall wander from sea to sea,
       and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD,
       but they shall not find it.”

(Amos 8:11-12 ESV)

Famine. A pretty common tool in God’s toolkit of judgment. A “go to” retribution designed to get the attention of a hard-hearted, stiff-necked, rebellious people. Sometimes a result of God withholding the natural elements needed for food to be found, sometimes because God calls a foreign army to lay siege to a city. Whatever the cause, something about not eating that’s linked to encouraging a people to have ears to hear what the Lord has to say.

But what if the Lord stops speaking? What if that famine is not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. What if, though they should awake to their wretched condition, come to their senses, and though they run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, they shall not find it?

No more prophecy. No more preaching. No more pleading for wayward souls to return. No more promises of gracious redemption. Just silence. Nothing but nothing. Kind of makes me shudder!

Oh, the abundance that is ours when it comes to the words of the LORD. Those written words — God-breathed (2Tim. 3:16), living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12). Ready to bear much fruit when it is planted on good soil (Mt. 13:23). So many words, so available, that we can so easily take them for granted. So many words and yet we can find ourselves going days, weeks, and even longer without longing for their taste — fasting from the words of the LORD rather than feasting on them.

Oh, the flood that is ours through the word of the LORD. The living Word. The Word who was in the beginning. The Word who was with God. The Word who was God. The Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. The Word from whom we have received grace upon grace (Jn. 1:1, 14, 16). Why would we be content to not seek to hear His voice, and open the door, so that we might eat with Him and He with us (Rev. 3:20)?

What would it be to have a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD? I can’t even imagine.

Oh, that we would never take for granted the words or the Word of the LORD. That we would come to the table often. That we would come to the table famished. That we would come to the table and be filled.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
       reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
       making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right,
       rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
       enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is clean,
       enduring forever;
the rules of the LORD are true,
       and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
       even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
       and drippings of the honeycomb.

(Psalm 19:7-10 ESV)

How sweet are Your words to my taste,
       sweeter than honey to my mouth!

(Psalm 119:103 ESV)

No famine in the land.

By His grace. For His glory.

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No More Tears

Posted on December 8, 2025 by Pete

The fact of the matter is that I am less sure now of how the “end times” play out than I was 30 or 40 years ago. Then, I had it nailed and was ready to spot, identify, and check-off the “signs of the time.” Now I find myself just as sure as I was then of His imminent return, but less sure of exactly how that’s gonna happen. So, when I read Revelation these days I do so — for the most part — trying to keep the big picture in mind. While I try to ask the “literal or symbolic” question as I come to the text, I tend to settle on what’s “for sure” after that time of great tribulation. One of those for sures? No more tears.

Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

“Therefore they are before the throne of God,
       and serve Him day and night in His temple;
       and He who sits on the throne will shelter them with His presence.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
       the sun shall not strike them,
       nor any scorching heat.
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.”

(Revelation 7:13-17 ESV)

Good will wipe away every tear from their eyes . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

Whether the great tribulation is a literal 7-year period or the church age, whether the great multitude (Rev. 7:9) is different than, or the same as the 144,000 (Rev. 7:4-8), what I do know is that their robes have been washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb, and that at some point — whether it’s in heaven or in a Millennial kingdom on earth — they are before the throne of God and that the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd. And while the Son guides them to living water, the Father, as Isaiah prophesied (Isa. 25:8), wipes away every tear.

Count on it! For them. For us too.

No more tears. Hmm . . . Imagine that.

No more tears. Wiped away. Removed. Erased. Blotted out. Obliterated.

No more tears because mourning becomes a thing of the past. No more tears as pain, suffering, and the sorrow of separation are forever resolved. No more tears because the final victory over death is won. No more tears “for the former things have passed way” (Rev. 21:4).

While I may not be sure of the all the details and dynamics of what leads up to the former things passing away, I am sure of this, God will wipe away every tear.

No more tears.

Can’t wait.

Oh, the grace — coming soon — to be anticipated! Oh, the glory — here and now — given to the God whose promises are sure.

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Search Me O’ God . . . ‘Cause I’m Finding Nothing!

Posted on December 3, 2025 by Pete

It’s complicated. Yup, that’s the story of Job.

A man who God Himself repeatedly declares to be “a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil” (Job 1:8, 2:3). And yet, we know that there is “none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10, Ps. 14:2-3, Ps. 53:2-3) — Job had his stuff; his foibles, his faults, and his failings. And yet again, Job was a sacrificer (Job 1:5), aware that only with the shedding of blood can there be forgiveness of sin (Heb. 9:22). So, he’s a saint whose gotta be a sinner and, like everyone else, is in need of a sacrifice.

But there’s more . . . The complication continues in that Job, fundamentally, is aligned with his non-comforting comforters that sin will bring about suffering and thus, if one’s suffering it must be because of some sin. But Job knows, like we know, that his suffering isn’t tied to any specific sin. In fact, you could say it is tied to his lack of sin — that because he is “a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil”, the God of heaven permits Satan, the ruler of this world, to trouble him (Job 1:9-12, 2:4-6). So, while these flakey friends start grilling a ravaged Job on what sin(s) he must have committed to deserve such sorrow and suffering, Job’s only reply is, “I didn’t do it! Not me!” And so, for Job, life wasn’t making much sense. Like I said, it’s complicated.

Thus, in Job 31, Job starts running through an inventory of potential sins that might merit suffering. Lustful looks at a virgin? Nope. Walk in the way of falsehood? Not me. Making moves on my neighbor’s wife? Uh, uh.

Ignored my servants’ complaints against me? Withheld from the poor when I could have helped? Allowed someone to perish because of lack of clothing? Raised my hand against an orphan? Made gold my trust? Kissed my own hand as I pridefully considered my own splendor above that of the sun or the moon? Rejoiced at the ruin of an enemy, or ignored the hunger of a sojourner? I don’t think so.

I get it, says Job, if what’s happening to me is because “I have concealed my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart” (Job 31:33). But, Job says in effect, I’ve searched my heart, and I’m finding nothing.

And so, he looks outside himself.

Oh, that I had one to hear me!
       (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!)
       Oh, that I had the indictment written by my Adversary!
Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;
       I would bind it on me as a crown;

(Job 31:35-36 ESV)

So complicated is Job’s state that he regards the Almighty as his adversary, his prosecutor. And so, he asks, “Someone give me a hearing! Let me see the indictment!” And what would Job do with such a list of accusations?

I would give Him an account of all my steps;
       like a prince I would approach Him.

(Job 31:-37 ESV)

I would give Him an account of all my steps . . .

I read that. Paused at that. And then shuddered at that. I would give Him an account . . .

Peterson puts it this way: “I’m prepared to account for every move I’ve ever made” (MSG).

Really? Oh, the thought of standing before God and giving an account for every move I’ve ever made. Not just for the sins known, but what about the sins unknown? Heavy sigh!

To be sure, I want God to search me and reveal my sin. But not so I can give an account. But so I can repent in response to such divine, dividing-asunder kindness (Heb. 4:12, Rom. 2:4). So that I can know afresh the forgiveness and cleansing that comes only through the shed blood of the Lamb (Jn. 1:29, 1Jn. 1:9).

While I want my sin to be “found out” it’s not so that I can defend myself but so that I can, by faith, plea again the righteousness of Christ credited to my account resulting from my union with Him. Found out not that the Almighty would be my adversary, but that He would be my refuge.

While I might be finding nothing, thank God the finished work of the cross covers everything.

And that’s not all that complicated.

Because of God’s amazing grace. Only for God’s all-deserving glory.

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Advantage, Us!

Posted on December 2, 2025 by Pete

Though Jesus spoke it to the Twelve, He intended us to hear it as well. Though their ministry would be unique to them and to their time and to their place, the mission was to be shared by all who Jesus would call friend (Jn. 15:15). Thus, what they would need, we would need. And so, advantage, us!

“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you.” ~ Jesus

(John 16:7 ESV)

It is to your advantage . . . chew on that for a bit.

I’m going away, says Jesus, and it will be “better for you” (MSG). “In fact, it is best for you” (NLT). Advantage, us!

The Helper has come. The Comforter (KJV). The Counselor (NIV). The Advocate. The One sent by Jesus, called to draw alongside us. Sent to live inside us. The One who leads the followers of Christ into a deeper truth, and imparts to His disciples a dynamic power, and fills them with a divine presence. Talk about an advantage!

But wait there’s more . . . The advantage isn’t just for our personal benefit but because of our prevailing mission.

And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” ~ Jesus

(John 16:8 ESV)

More than just deeper truth, dynamic power, and divine presence, the Third Person of the Godhead is sent to disrupt the world. He’s a world-changer.

Okay, isn’t that a bit of overkill? I appreciate the benefit of deeper understanding. I’m all in for more personal power. And yeah, bring on God’s presence. But do I really need a world-changer? Evidently.

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness about Me. And you also will bear witness . . .” ~ Jesus

(John 15:26-27a ESV)

You also will bear witness . . . chew on that too!

The Helper will bear witness, because we are to bear witness. (Like I said, though spoken specifically to the Twelve, also intended for us).

Thus, we need a world-changer, because, within our time and place, we are meant to be world-changers. Testifying through our walk and by our words — as we seek to live in a manner worthy of our calling (Eph. 4:1) — to the reality of sin, and of the true standard and only source of righteousness, and of the judgment already rendered against “the ruler of this world” and the bondage he brings through sin and death (Jn. 16:9-10).

Advantage, us! But not just for us. For the world around us.

We are meant to be channels of power not just cisterns. Acting as rivers of Living Water not reservoirs. A great mission creating a great need met only through the coming alongside of a great Helper.

A Helper who imparts great grace. All for the glory of a great God.

Advantage, us!

Amen?

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The God of the Good Life

Posted on December 1, 2025 by Pete

All Job really wanted was to go back. To go back to the good old days. Back to the “then” before now.

Back to when his children were all around him (Job 29:5). Back to when “everything was going my way, and nothing seemed too difficult” (Job 29:6 MSG), when “my steps were washed with butter” (ESV). The days when he commanded respect from all those he encountered (Job 29:7-10) — and not because he demanded it, but because he deserved it (Job 29:12-13, 15-17). The days when his righteousness and his pursuit of justice were evident and counted for something (Job 29:14).

Yeah, all Job wanted was to go back to those days when God was watching over him.

And Job again took up his discourse, and said:

“Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
     as in the days when God watched over me,
when His lamp shone upon my head,
     and by His light I walked through darkness,
as I was in my prime,
     when the friendship of God was upon my tent,
when the Almighty was yet with me.

(Job 29:1-5a ESV)

The days when God watched over me . . . That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

When God watched . . . Literally, when He kept, guarded, gave heed, and observed. The days when God knew what was going on and engaged with what was going on. And for Job, God’s watch was known by the ease and joy and blessings Job experienced along life’s way. For Job, God was being God when he was the God of the good life.

But we know what’s going on behind the curtain (Job 1:1-2:10). Talk about engaged! God’s engaged! Boasting before heaven about His servant Job — the Creator confident of Job’s character. Butting heads with Satan (if that’s even an appropriate word picture to use) about the depths of His servant’s fidelity — the sovereign Advocate allowing the enemy to mess with Job’s life this much and yet not a hair more. Oh, God’s watching.

But Job’s not picking up that heaven is looking down. So much loss, so much sorrow, so much suffering. These days feel nothing like the months of old when God watched. If this was the friendship of God, then what a painful friendship it was. Job longed to experience again the God of the good life.

I’m not faulting Job. Not looking down my nose thinking, “How could he?” Nope. I think I get it . . . at least to some degree.

But what God wants Job to know, and what He reminds me of this morning, is that it’s not about seeing God only in the good life but about knowing the good God in all of life. When, by faith, we know He’s near even when we can’t feel Him. When we trust that all things are under His control even though they are so obviously out of control. When we find a peace that passes understanding because we believe His promise that all things (yes, all things) really are working together for good — at the very least (which is the absolute most), the good of being conformed into the likeness of our risen Redeemer. When after the fire, we look over our shoulder and know afresh that He has been faithful.

The God of the good life. Good because it is life lived trusting in a God who is good.

Only by His grace. Always for His glory.

—

All my life You have been faithful
All my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God.

(Have a couple of extra minutes? Click here to enjoy the Isaac’s version of the song.)

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Hidden Manna

Posted on November 25, 2025 by Pete

It wasn’t easy being them. The church at Pergamum had nasty neighbors. They lived “where Satan’s throne is”. They walked the streets “where Satan dwells”. To stand fast for their faith could cost them their lives (Rev. 2:13).

In a sense, I wonder if we couldn’t think of this counter-cultural congregation as being under siege where, with the world in which they lived, friendship, food, and fleshly pleasures were pretty sparse. So perhaps it’s not surprising that some stumbled as they were wooed by “the teaching of Balaam”, ready to hang out at tables were idol-meats were served and sexual immorality was practiced (Rev. 2:14). But Jesus says to His church, “Repent” (Rev. 2:16). Make a U-turn. Do a 180. Though you hunger now “where Satan dwells”, know that what awaits is hidden manna.

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.”

(Revelation 2:27 ESV)

Hidden manna . . . What is this hidden manna?

I think of manna and it was anything but hidden (Numbers 11). Showed up every morning, six days a week. Sustenance in the wilderness. Sufficient for getting to the promised land. So, what is this hidden manna promised for those who conquer, for those who refuse meat sacrificed to idols?

Then Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: Fill a two-quart container with manna to preserve it for your descendants. Then later generations will be able to see the food I gave you in the wilderness when I set you free from Egypt.” Moses said to Aaron, “Get a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. Then put it in a sacred place before the LORD to preserve it for all future generations.” Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded Moses. He eventually placed it in the Ark of the Covenant—in front of the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant.

(Exodus 16:32-34 NLT)

Is this the hidden manna? Bread from heaven kept before the LORD preserved for all future generations. Bread found in the holy of holies. Bread from where the glory of God dwells. Bread which Jesus said pointed to Himself (Jn. 6:35-41).

Is Jesus the hidden manna? I’m thinkin’ . . .

Say “no” to the teaching of Balaam, stand firm in the siege, pass on what’s sacrificed to idols, and know the reality of feeding on the hidden manna. Our union with Christ our access to the holy of holies, to the place where the glory dwells, where the manna is preserved, where food for the soul is available. And that food is Jesus Himself.

“Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on Him God the Father has set His seal.”

“I am the bread of life.”

“As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on Me, he also will live because of Me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

~ Jesus (John 6:27, 48, 57-58 ESV)

Hidden manna . . . chew on it.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Wooed in the Wilderness

Posted on November 21, 2025 by Pete

A “wife of whoredom.” Who’s entering that into the search criteria in their dating app? “Unfaithful.” “Often doesn’t come home at night.” “Likely to ignore the kids.” No one’s swiping right on those descriptors.

Cue Hosea. Told by God to live out the most costly of object lessons.

“Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have children of whoredom, for the land commits great whoredom by forsaking the LORD.”

(Hosea 1:2 ESV)

Slow and down and chew on the first three chapters of Hosea and how do you not finish reading them and say to yourself, “Crazy!” Cause that’s what it is for a man to wittingly and willfully take as his bride “a wife of whoredom.”

What grace. What patience. What hurt. What persistence. What love. Behold our God.

‘Cause in this storyline, we ain’t Hosea. If we’re honest with ourselves, we’re more like Gomer — drawn to playing the field with idols of all kinds.

And here’s the thing that jumped off the page this morning; God will intervene with judgment to remove our idols so that He might woo us to Himself in the wilderness.

“Therefore I will hedge up her way with thorns,
       and I will build a wall against her,
       so that she cannot find her paths.
She shall pursue her lovers
       but not overtake them,
and she shall seek them
       but shall not find them.
Then she shall say,
       ‘I will go and return to my first husband,
       for it was better for me then than now.'” . . .

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
       and bring her into the wilderness,
       and speak tenderly to her.”

(Hosea 2:6-7, 14 ESV)

Behold, the way of God towards a bride prone to wander. Hedge her up and bring her into the wilderness. And for what purpose? To speak tenderly to her.

The work God began in Israel He would fulfill in Israel. Yet, even as He redeemed a people from the bondage of slavery to be His people, He was fully aware that she had a propensity for unfaithfulness. But though she frequently faltered with being faithless, yet “He remains faithful — for He cannot deny Himself” (2Tim. 2:13).

And so, “the Lord disciplines the one He loves” (Heb. 12:6-8). God hedges up His bride with thorns. He builds a wall against her so that, though she lustfully seeks to pursue her lovers, she can’t find them. And He takes her into the wilderness.

Into the wilderness. Not to the woodshed. She can’t pay the debt she owes, only He can do that. But she can return — and the wilderness has a way of reminding idolatrous wanderers of the way home. Coming to her senses, a wayward bride can realize afresh that “it was better for me then than now” and again give her Bridegroom her face and not her back. So, even though she has been treacherous, He will speak tenderly. He will woo her in the wilderness.

I don’t have much of a liking for the wilderness. But I know that whether I think “I deserve it” or not, it’s where I’ve often known His allure, where I’ve again heard again His gentle whisper, where I’ve been ready to clearly pick up on “the voice of my beloved” (Song 2:8) as He beckons (again and again), “Come home. Come to Me. Abide in Me.”

If we’ll receive it, the prize through our sin and in our suffering is Jesus, only Jesus.

For He seeks to woo us in the wilderness.

By His grace. For His glory.

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