sovereignty

Have You Tasted?

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

(Psalm 34:8, ESV)

In reading through Isaiah chapters 43-44 this morning, I was struck by the fatherly tone of the Lord as he spoke to his people. There are words of comfort, words of encouragement, words of rebuke and correction, words of hope and words of instruction–all in the span of two chapters.

Pointing back to the centuries of his faithfulness to Israel, the Lord is lovingly calling his people back to himself. As I read these tender words, I was reminded of Psalm 34:8. Israel had tasted and seen that the Lord is good. In these two chapters, she was now being called upon by the Lord to live in a way that was consistent with her experience.

How was she to behave? Quickly I scratched out at least five ways the Lord was calling Israel to respond:

  • By not being fearful (43:1-2, 5).
    • Because of her disobedience, Israel had suffered greatly and Isaiah prophesied that Judah would be next. Severe starvation, exhile in a foreign land, the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem would leave the people filled with fear and foreboding.
    • But notice the tenderness of the Lord’s loving words to his disobedient people: “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” (Isaiah 43:1–2, ESV)
    • The Lord had not abandoned his people in their time of need. As a matter of fact, he was in control of everything. He had brought this trouble upon them in order to chasten them, because he loved them.
  • By being a witness to the nations (43:10, 12; 44:8).
    • The pagan nations around them could point to gods of wood and stone, but none could save. When Israel had replaced Yahweh with one of these gods, they suffered even more because they offended the Lord with their idolatry.
    • Because they had tasted and seen that the Lord is good, they were called upon to testify of the goodness of God before the world. He had saved them. Just as he claimed in v. 2, he had made them pass through the waters (Ex. 14), through the rivers (Josh 3), and would cause Daniel’s friends to pass through fire and not be burned (Dan. 3).
    • The pagan gods could not do any of this. The Lord called ISrael to produce any evidence of these idols foretelling accurately what would happen. They couldn’t do it. Which idol had brought victory in war? Which idol had provided for them in the wilderness? Which idol could compare to the Lord?
    • If ISrael would only stop and consider what they had tasted and seen, then they would not fail to be a witness to the faithfulness of the Lord.
  • By turning from sin and returning to worship (43:22-28)
    • If they had truly seen all that the Lord had done for them, then Israel was called to turn from their ongoing rebellion and return to worshipping the Lord exclusively as they should.
    • In favor of the gods of their neighbors, they had stopped calling out to Yahweh. They had become weary of worshipping the Lord (42:22). This attitude of the heart manifested itself in their worship.
    • Israel stopped bringing sacrifices, and offerings. Instead, they burdened the Lord with their sins.
    • If only they would remember that he is the God who can take their sin and blot it out. That he alone can bring total forgiveness. The false gods could not do this, and yet Israel had forsaken the One True God and turned to worthless pursuit of these empty idols.
  • By forsaking all idols (44:6-20).
    • If Israel had seen that the Lord was good in his gracious dealings with them in the past, would they also see how foolish idolatry was? How is it that the creation of human hands, so frail and weak, could somehow save the very men who had made it? They were blind to the obvious!
    • And as if that weren’t bad enough, the delusion had a devastating effect upon the nation. How could a stump of wood be expected to be a savior? Not only were these false idols lifeless, but they were also powerless to save and many had died under the deception that they could do anything for them.
    • And yet, here was their God pursuing them! He was calling his wayward people to turn from these false hopes and non-gods and to come back to him. “Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.” (Isaiah 44:21, ESV)
  • By remembering the majesty of the Lord (44:21-28).
    • Finally, Israel would be able to testify to the goodness of God by remembering his majesty in his grace and willingness to forgive, in his creation of all things, in his fulfillment of prophecy which he declares through his servants, and through his building up and bringing low of Jerusalem and his people.
    • If Israel would remember, she would once again taste and see that the Lord is good–and majestic in his sovereignty.

As I thought about each of these, I considered how I too, have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. Have I forgotten in times of fearful fretting? Have I forgotten in my failure to be a faithful witness? Have I been slow to turn from my sin because I have forgotten his lovingkindness and mercy? Has this made me slow and cold in worship? Have I continued to cling to my heart-idols because, like Israel, I have forgotten the sweetness of the Lord to me? Have I remembered that no matter where I am, no matter what my present circumstance, and no matter what this life has brought to me, the Lord in his perfect plan has decreed everything as it should be. He is majestic, and every hill and valley and curve in life is part of his plan.

Our Father in heaven loves us, even when we stray. He sent his Son to save us in the midst of our stubborn rebellion. We not very different from the people of Israel at times. The solution for them is the same as it is for us–turn to the Savior. He will never turn you away.

On Christ the Solid Rock We Stand

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of Samaria is the son of Remaliah. If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.’ ””

(Isaiah 7:9, ESV)

As the prophet Isaiah stood before the king of Judah, the circumstances were extremely dire. War was imminent and the kings of Syria and Israel were ready to snuff out Ahaz and his people. At the news, the king and his people “shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind” (Isaiah 7:2).

The man of God had come to bring a word from the Lord to King Ahaz: “Be careful, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands…” (Isaiah 7:4). Just as the terror Ahaz and the people felt was real, so too was the reality of the threats from these kings. The message wasn’t that Ahaz was overreacting, because he wasn’t. The message was one of faith.

The prophet Isaiah brought a word to this king that these two kings, mighty by human standards, were nothing more to God than smoldering logs in a campfire; in other words, harmless to do any damage. Both of these kings would be dead in two years. But Ahaz didn’t know this. All the evidence that he could see pointed to defeat and death. As far as the king could see with his limited understanding, destruction was the inevitable outcome. But God…

In response, the prophet spoke words of hope to the King of Judah. The threats would not stand and would never come to pass. The heads of these nations would be cut off and the people would be shattered. God himself would eliminate the danger and would rescue his people.

The question was, would the king capitalize on these words? Would King Ahaz find a firm footing on the Word of God so that he could have the peace he and his people wanted and needed? “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.”

The Israelites would face many years in captivity, and they would wonder if there would ever be that peace that God promised. Many could not see it. They could not understand the coming of Immanuel and the eternal peace that he would offer through his sacrificial death and triumphant resurrection. The could not see that the final King David, of the tribe of Judah, will come and restore everything once again and establish eternal peace. But some did see it through eyes of faith, and looked forward to the coming of the Promised One. And in these promises they found hope and peace.

Today, I hear and see many Christians clamoring for hope when hope is right in front of them. They are scared–scared of a virus, scared of riots, scared of political winds changing to more radicalism, scared of losing everything. “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all.“

Do you want peace? “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.” (Isaiah 26:3–4, ESV) Put your trust in Jesus Christ–the wind and wave stiller, the sickness healer, the serpant crusher, the death destroyer, the sin forgiver, the gift giver, the life restorer, the only-wise King eternal.

Only Jesus Christ will stand. All other ground is sinking sand.

Where Are You Looking For Help?

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”

(Psalm 121:1–2, ESV)

Christian, where are you looking for help? Are you looking for it in the President? Honestly, are you? Are you looking for your help to come in the passing of “righteous laws?” Are you hoping in the Constitution? Have you placed your trust in political action and conservatism? Yes, I admit, the Lord can use these things, but are you placing your trust in them and not in the Lord? Have you become confused about where your loyalties lie?

Christian, where are you looking for help? Are you looking for it in a vaccine or medical cure that will keep you safe from the Coronavirus? Are you hoping in science and doctors? Are you panicked that you won’t have enough masks and gloves and hand sanitizer? Are you stockpiling supplies selfishly because you believe that you need to take care of yourself? Are you trusting in media reports, graphs and charts, medical “experts” and the word on the street from social media? Are your driven by fear for your life? Have you become so fearful that God has become small and you must help him along?

Christian, where are you looking for help? Have you become convinced of the thinking that overthrowing the world with angry rhetoric and supporting violent riots is somehow supposed to bring justice in a wicked and fallen world? Have you placed your hope in a Kingdom now, where human philosophy and effort can build a utopia that will somehow address the sin of man’s soul? Have you exchanged the gospel of the crucified Jesus for a gospel of equality and justice won through protest, political action, and evangelism of those who don’t think like you? Have you become so driven by the issue of injustice that you no longer look to Jesus as the one who loves and sent his Son to be the Savior of the world? Have you misplaced your zeal in a hope that things will change without Christ?

Christian, where are you looking for your help? Can you confidently say, “My help comes from the Lord”?

“But”, you say, “we need to exercise our rights as citizens…” Yes, but has your citizenship on earth overridden your trust that this world is not your home?

“But we must make sure that we protect those who are vulnerable. This sickness has killed people.” Yes, but aren’t we already vulnerable, like grass that is here today and gone tomorrow? Does not the Lord see your needs, and cares for you? Does he not already know the number of your days? Does not his love cast out fear? Aren’t we told not to be anxious, but by prayer and supplication make our needs known to the Lord? Will we not all die, even if we have placed our bodies in a vacuum-sealed clean room? But how will you have lived for Christ?

“But, there is racism and poverty in this world, and Jesus calls us to fight for the innocent and to call out sin.” Yes, and we must speak truth to those lies that would undercut the value of any human, whether because of the color of his skin or the money in his pocket. But, a poor man or a man who has hatred for his brother will still be cast into outer darkness when he has money and no longer hates those different than he is. This world is broken. It has been so since the beginning of mankind. Where does Christ fit in for you? Is he simply used to further your personal agenda? And how much are we seeking his help in overcoming the sin of this world, and how much of it is our drive to fix things in our own flesh?

Where does your help come from? It’s an honest question. The Sunday school answer is that “our help comes from the Lord.” But we need to assess our hearts and ask if that is really true. Look around you. Does your life, your actions, your words, reflect a person who trusts in the Lord, or have you placed your hopes elsewhere? He alone, the one who made heaven and earth, is able to overcome. Place your full trust in him alone.

The Glory of God in Saving Sinners- Psalm 106

/ Richard Bargas / 2 Comments

“Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider your wondrous works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
that he might make known his mighty power.” (Psalm 106:7–8 (ESV))

Reflecting on the rebellious heart of the nation of Israel, the psalmist freely admits that they did not deserve salvation. After seeing the amazingly powerful hand of God in the ten plagues, Israel still did not place its faith in the Lord.

In Exodus 14:10-12, we read of the response of the people:

“When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we said to you in Egypt: ‘Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.””

The Hebrew word which is translated by most Bibles as “yet” or “nevertheless” points to the Lord’s action in spite of Israel’s rebellious spirit. The reason for his decision to save them was “for his name’s sake…” Although this wasn’t the reason that these rebels surmised as why the Lord saved them. The commentator H.C. Leupold states,

“For the first reaction of the nation when danger began to threaten at the shores of the Red Sea was to raise the cry that God had brought the Israelites out of Egypt in order to slay them. That can scarcely be classed as gratitude for the mighty works that He had done in their behalf.”—H. C. Leupold, Exposition of the Psalms (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1959), 746.

So, why did the Lord save them? And even more important for us, why did he save you or me? Why does God save, not just these, but any sinful person? What is his ultimate purpose? It is not first and foremost for the relief of our misery or for our happiness. These are results, yes, but not the Lord’s primary concern. His ultimate purposes are doxological–that he might receive glory and that he would act according to his holy, merciful, and righteous character. His character is on full display as the powerful and merciful God, and this is seen in his saving grace.

We, who are saved in Christ, are trophies of his grace. We are the manifestation of the love of God. But even more so, we can look at what the Lord has done in salvation and stand in amazement at what an amazing God he truly is!

Don’t Forget to Look Up

/ Richard Bargas / Leave a comment

“But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever; you are remembered throughout all generations.” (Psalm 102:12, ESV)

Psalm 102 begins with great misery and pain. The superscription on this psalms reads: “A prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord.”

As you read through this psalm one gets a great sense of his pain and anguish, which appears to be spiritual, emotional, and even physical. He groans, struggles with insomnia, weeps, and feels his body engulfed in fever and suffering so great that he cannot eat.

There are many of God’s people who can identify with such suffering. But what is the solution for the man or woman of God in such trying times? Here in America, it might be the time to see a physician or a psychologist. One might be given medications to help with the sleep and pain. Perhaps, a self-help group would be recommended so that the suffering might console one another.

But the psalmist has a different route. It stands out vividly beginning in verse 12 and begins with a strong contrast, “But you, O Lord…” In contrast to whatever is happening in our human experience on earth, there is another reality as well that is occurring in heaven: the Lord is enthroned forever. This is not simply about the duration of is reign, but about the permanency and the settled nature of it as well. The Lord has not been unseated. There has not been a coup in heaven whereby the demons have grappled control of the throne of God. No, he is still there.

The following verses build upon this hope-filled truth. If he is there, then he can hear. And if he can hear, he can answer. The Lord is glorious, and he will judge the wicked. He can see everything and he hears our cries. He still is worthy of praise and glorious. Although our suffering is difficult, this meditation on the fuller reality above our circumstances helps us to realize that the Lord God is fully aware, fully powerful to act, and still loves and cares for his people.

And even though our suffering may be prolonged, and even might usher us into the Lord’s presence, there is yet hope. The psalmist closes his song with these words that reach beyond this life and into eternity: “They will perish, but you will remain; they will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but you are the same, and your years have no end. The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.” (Psalm 102:26–28, ESV)

One day, we will no longer experience the pains and trials of this life. One day all danger will have passed and every threat will be gone. One day, we will be with the Lord who is eternal, and we shall be like him. But even better, we shall be with him. So, the next time you’re days are dark and seem to be without much hope, don’t forget to look up, and remember that there is more happening than meets the eye.