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Date: Tue, 30 Jan 1996 16:18:50 +-100
Reply-To: Christian explanation of the Scriptures to Israel
Sender: Christian explanation of the Scriptures to Israel
From: Teus Benschop
Subject: ChrExp, The Scriptures opened, 68
To: Multiple recipients of list CHR-EXP
Contents
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1. Exodus 14:14 - Peace! The LORD fights for you
2. Jeremiah 23:5,6 - The Lord our Righteousness
3. 2 Timothy 2:3 - Jesus Christ's soldier suffers
1. Exodus 14:14 - Peace! The LORD fights for you
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Weekly reading: Exodus 13:17 - 17:16
Exodus 14:14
The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
When the LORD is for you, you need fear no longer. When the LORD
fights for you, you will be at peace. When you must do all yourself,
then you are always at work. When you must fight for yourself, then
there is no peace, and you always find yourself in danger of loss. But
when the LORD takes up the banner, goes before you, then all enemies
will be scattered. Look at the Israelites. They stood before the Red
Sea, with the Egyptians behind them. They were in danger of death.
"The Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of
Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping
by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon. And when Pharaoh
drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold,
the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the
children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. And they said unto Moses,
Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die
in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us
forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in
Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it
had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die
in the wilderness. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand
still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to
day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them
again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall
hold your peace." Exodus 14:9-14.
When you know that the LORD fights for you, when you are assured
of His protection, what a great peace will that give in your heart!
Then you understand the real meaning and sense of the text: The LORD
shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. When you have been
in danger, and saw all enemies coming around, and when you experienced
that the LORD fought for, and when you experienced the peace in your
heart because of that knowledge, then you no longer know the text with
your mind only, but also with your heart. The LORD fought for you, and
you had great peace in your heart. Then you say with David: "In God
have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me".
Psalm 56:11. And in another Psalm, David tells us the same. The LORD
was for him, so whom should he fear? "The LORD is my light and my
salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of
whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1. How blessed are those that have
the LORD as their Protector. How blessed are they, because whatever
evil may happen to them, it all works out to their good. With whatever
dangers he may be beset, he will not fear, because the Lord is with
him. "Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD,
that delighteth greatly in his commandments. He shall not be afraid of
evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. His heart is
established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his
enemies." Psalm 112:1,7,8.
Think also of Elisha the prophet. God fought for him. The king of
Syria sent his host to capture the prophet of Israel. He sent horses,
and chariots, and a great host to Dothan, where Elisha was. They came
by night and compassed the city about. When Elisha's servant was risen
early, he saw the host around the city, together with the horses and
the chariots. This servant, as opposed to Elisha, did not trust in the
LORD. Therefore he feared exceedingly, and said to the prophet: Alas,
my master! What shall we do? But Elisha trusted in the LORD, Who
fought for him. Therefore he answered his servant: "Fear not, for they
that be with us are more then they that be with them". The servant
much dreaded the enemies, but Elisha was at peace. The servant saw no
way of escape, but Elisha trusted in the LORD, and knew that God had
sent His host to protect him. After God opened the eyes of the
servant, he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of
fire round about Elisha. See this history in 2 Kings 6.
The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
Blessed are those that have put their trust in the LORD. As long as
they rely on Him, they will have great peace within them. They will be
like David, who did not fear the giant Goliath. And why didn't David
fear? Because He knew that the LORD was with him. He knew that "the
battle is the LORD'S", as he said in 1 Samuel 17:47. The LORD fought
for him, and he was at peace. And the result? A smitten giant. And the
faith of David was confirmed. The next time, he could look back on
this event, in faith, and thus his faith might be increased.
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Fear is a manifest sign of unbelief, but the person with a living
faith, says: The LORD is my light and my salvation. So, whom shall I
fear? The LORD is the strength of my life. So, of whom shall I be
afraid?
2. Jeremiah 23:5,6 - The Lord our Righteousness
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Jeremiah 23:5,6
5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David
a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall
execute judgement and justice in the earth.
6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and
this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Here is prophesied of a righteous Branch of David. God will raise unto
the house of David a righteous Branch, a King. This is King Messiah.
He will reign and prosper, and will execute judgement and justice in
the earth. Under his wings, Judah and Israel will dwell safely. But
then we hear that this King, the Messiah, will have a very special
name. He shall be called with the name "The Lord Our Righteousness".
>From this we learn two main points:
1. The Messiah is LORD.
2. The Messiah is our Righteousness.
These two points are denied in Jewish doctrine. Instead of confessing
with Scripture that the Messiah is LORD, that deny it, and state that
He is a mere man. And instead of confessing with the Scriptures that
the Messiah is our Righteousness, that He pays for us in order that we
are righteous before God, they deny it, and state that nobody pays for
us. So the Jewish doctrine is unscriptural, and therefore false. Let's
reject that.
The truth is otherwise. As already said:
1. The Messiah is LORD.
2. The Messiah is our Righteousness.
What does this mean, "our Righteousness"? When we are righteous by
keeping the law, we ourselves are our righteousness. But Jeremiah
teaches us that not we ourselves, but the Messiah is our
Righteousness. What does this mean? It means that we cannot be
righteous in the sight of God, but that the Messiah is righteous in
our stead. God looks at Christ's righteousness, and imputes that to
us. Through Christ's righteousness, our unrighteous and sinful nature
is covered; our sins are covered. Instead of looking at our sins, and
being furious about that, the LORD sees Christ's righteousness. And He
imputes that to us, so that we are righteous in His sight. This
righteousness of the Messiah is then of us. With the righteousness of
the Messiah, we can stand before God's tribunal. Christ is "our
Righteousness", so that we are righteous before God.
Our own righteousness (at least if one is so proud and blind to name
our sins with that name); our own righteousness is worthless. "We are
all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags;" Isa. 64:6. God, with His penetrating, all seeing eyes, looks
through us. Nothing is hid from His holy eyes. Who will ever stand
before this holy God? With our own righteousness, (that is, with our
filthy rags), we never will be able to endure God's presence. Fire
will devour us, because His holiness, and our uncleanness, have
nothing in common. Sin isn't able to stand before God's pureness. And
our own righteousness is worthless, so we stand in need of another
righteousness. We need a perfect righteousness, to stand before God.
Therefore, we need "The LORD Our Righteousness", the Messiah. Only
when we are in Him, covered with His righteousness, we will be safe.
The stated truths are then, again:
1. The Messiah is LORD.
2. The Messiah is our Righteousness.
Anyone that denies these truths is erring greatly. He denies the Word.
Moreover, he denies the eternal truths of God. Nay, he perverts God's
words. Let these deniers then return to their God, and to His Word.
Those who reject God's righteousness, offered to us in Christ Jesus,
will be devoured by the flames of God's holiness. Any imperfect so-
called righteousness is of no value before Him.
People, in the Name of God, be clothed with Christ's
righteousness, and live. Why should you die? It is still the time of
grace. Flee then to Jesus Christ, and be saved. "Look unto me, and be
ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none
else", Isaiah 45:22. The Messiah is LORD; yes, and He may justly say:
I am God, and there is none else. The Messiah is your LORD. Flee then
to Him, be clothed with His righteousness, and be saved, all you ends
of the earth!
How long still? How long will you continue in unbelief? Turn to
Christ, your God, and be saved! He is your Righteousness, if you but
believed it. Your handmade righteousness, which differs in no respect
from filthy rags, will be torn off. And then you stand naked before
the penetrating eyes of God. You stand naked, void of any
righteousness. Your handmade clothes appear to be of no worth. Be then
clothed with Christ.
Again:
1. The Messiah is LORD.
2. The Messiah is our Righteousness.
These are the truths. Come then to your Messiah, before it is too
late. What? Still denying? Not accepting God's free offer in Christ?
Still being stiff-necked? Continuing to live in your handmade rags? If
these things are so, and you don't wish to come to Christ, then you
will have your reward. There is but death outside of Christ, and that
will be your part. You are warned now.
The days have come, that the LORD has risen unto David a righteous
Branch. This is Christ, the Son of David. He is King; He reigns and
prospers. He executes judgement and justice in the earth. In His days,
Judah and Israel are saved and dwell safely. With Judah and Israel are
meant the people of God. This is the name whereby Christ is called:
T H E L O R D O U R R I G H T E O U S N E S S
3. 2 Timothy 2:3 - Jesus Christ's soldier suffers
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Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
These are Paul's words, in his letter to Timothy. The servant of
Christ leads a life that is not easy. It involves fight. The people
are unwilling to listen to the Gospel (at least when it is brought in
its real force). Because they don't accept the Gospel, they always and
ever object. It is a struggle to tell them the truth, because they
always evade, and they have their objections ready. The servant of
Christ doesn't make much progress, if he makes any. Paul calls the
servants of Christ soldiers. A good soldier of Christ will fight for
his Master. In doing that he will experience hardness.
"Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus
Christ", says Paul. A good soldier of Christ will suffer evils, will
experience many troubles, and will be afflicted. Because the majority
rejects his message, he suffers. And even the less learned Christians
reject the more unknown truths of the Word.
Let we take an example. In that example you see one of the many
sufferings Christ's servants are subjected to. The servant of Christ
begins to speak about prayer. Jesus went around on earth, praying very
often. While working and preaching, he prayed. And at the end of the
day, when He was very tired, he went to bed and rose up very early to
pray. "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he
(that is Jesus) went out, and departed into a solitary place, and
there prayed." Mark 1:35. Then the servant of Christ asks the
Christian about his prayers. Has he ever risen so early? Or did he
sleep in the night? Why didn't he follow Christ's example? Is his life
of prayer dead? When there is no prayer, where is the new life? No
matter how tired Jesus was, but He always and ever prayed. And he also
taught these things. "And he spake a parable unto them to this end,
that men ought always to pray, and not to faint", Luke 18:1. Men
always ought to pray, and never to cease.
When the servant of Christ has taught these things, the objection
arises. An unlearned Christian will always object against the deeper
and heavier parts of Christ's doctrine. So the objection is that we
aren't able to pray always and ever. "What will become of our bodies?
Don't we need our fixed times of rest? Man cannot pray in the night,
but when he does it on the day, that is enough." These are the
objections, and though the servant of Christ tries to explain Jesus'
example, and says that we have to follow Him, it doesn't help. The
unlearned Christian sticks to his guns, and insists that we may sleep
at night. Then he begins to tell a story like "we need our rest; five
or six hours of sleep isn't enough; you cannot persist in getting up
every night, and praying." So, the unlearned Christian makes void the
entire example of Christ. Jesus often prayed in the night, but he
maintains that we need not follow that example. "That is too extreme;
we cannot bear that; our bodies will soon be worn-out".
The servant of God tries to explain that we have to follow
Christ's example, no matter what our fleshly minds may think. But the
easy Christian refuses his words. Then the servant feels rejected, and
suffers because of Christ's sake. At the end he tries this one:
Christ "spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought
always to pray, and not to faint", Luke 18:1. But you told a story to
this end, that men need not always to pray, but may take rest. See the
difference between your story and Christ's one. Christ told a parable
to this end that men ought always to pray, but you to this end that we
not always ought to pray. Christ's parable was to this end that we
should not faint in praying, but your one taught us that we make take
rest now and then.
But also this didn't help...
So you see in this example that a servant of Christ suffers always. At
least when he tells the truth. A false servant of Christ says to every
one that he is right. And he never suffers, because they agree with
him. But you, be a true and honest one. Tell them the truth. "Thou
therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." "Watch
thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist,
make full proof of thy ministry." 2 Timothy 4:5. Don't think that
being a true minister is a light work. Ministers suffer because of
their work, so if you don't suffer you are a false minister. You are a
wolf, devouring the sheep of Christ, fattening yourself. The good
soldiers have the battle, not only against the sleepy name-Christians,
but also against the evil spirits in the air; against sin within and
out. "Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor
of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the
gospel according to the power of God", 2 Tim. 1:8.
As a good soldier of Christ, suffer, endure hardness, be afflicted.
How? In own strength? I hope none thinks we are able to endure
sufferings in own power. Yet we will suffer, as a good soldier of the
Messiah. How? We endure sufferings in the power of God. "I can do all
things through Christ which strengtheneth me", Philippians 4:13. Let
we then lift up our eyes, while in the midst of our sufferings for
Christ's sake, to Jesus our Master. Let we look "unto Jesus the author
and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right
hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:2. There will be an end to the
hardness we endure. Look at Jesus. He endured the cross, because of
the joy that was set before Him. He endured the cross, knowing that it
was but for a time. The good soldier does the same. He knows that he
is but for a time on this earth. He has seen in faith the joy that
lies before him, and in the strength of Christ, he endures all. Yet a
short while, and He will come.
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chr-exp@nic.surfnet.nl
"A Christian explanation of the Scriptures to Israel"
Institute Practical Bible-education
Web: http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/ipb-e/ipbe-home.html
Written by Teus Benschop -- t.benschop@pobox.ruu.nl
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file: /pub/resources/text/ipb-e/so: s-open-068.txt
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