They Have Killed The Servants

Posted on October 8, 2013 by heatonkent

AP0208They Have Killed The Servants

The story of Job is a canvas filled with pain, suffering, sorrow, doubts and questions of the character of God. It is a sweeping panorama examining the fury of Satan upon a righteous man and the grace of the Lord toward a man who kept his trust in the Lord in the face of insurmountable odds. As the story unfolds Satan presents himself before the Lord and asked if God’s grace is too confining for Job. Granted permission to inflict sorrow upon Job the devil test his lie against the character of an unsuspecting Job. Reading the text we learn how Job lost five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred female donkeys to the Sabeans; seven thousand sheep were burned alive by the “fire of God”; and the Chaldeans stole his three thousand camels. Following these tragic events the children of Job were killed in a storm when the house collapsed around them.

There can be no words to describe the horror of heart Job would feel receiving the news of this destruction of his herds and then the deep grief of digging from rubble the dead bodies of his children. “Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong” (Job 1:20-22). Lost in the story as focus turns to Job and his wife is the other story of sorrow when the reports of the herds of Job being stolen or destroyed: “indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword” (v15); “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them” (v16); “and killed the servants with the edge of the sword” (v17).

It is unknown how many servants died in the carnage of Satan’s touch but considering the servants needed to care for 11,500 animals it would be a significant number. From this number add the number of families impacted by the death of their loved one. The slaughter of the servants was felt in every family where there was a husband, wife, father, mother, brother, sister, etc. Death filled the land in a dread that shocked even the friends of Job. The grief of Job was not just for his children but for his servants. A just man mourns the untimely death of those that serve him because he knows the real cause is Satan. Job was unaware of the reason these calamities were coming upon him but he knew in all things Satan would be charged and not God. Death is a penalty from communion with Satan. The stench of death is the fragrance of the devil. As Job surveyed his home and his possessions he clearly saw the working of Satan and would not hold the Lord accountable. How would he comfort the families of the servants lost in death?

The sting of Satan’s fangs never inflicts a small wound. The curse of his touch is widespread. As ripples in a pond the penalty of sin flows over the lives of untold numbers. Eating the forbidden fruit in the garden (Genesis 3) did not hurt only Eve and Adam but the generations of men that followed. Death blackened the world with a grip of hopelessness. Noah witnessed firsthand the reaching consequence of Satan when the Lord destroyed “all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, all that was on the dry land” (Genesis 7:22). Satan not only destroyed the family of Job he killed the servants of Job. “They have killed the servants” is the plaintive cry of every generation of men as the flood of Satan’s work fills the earth with all “unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful” (Romans 1:29-31).

The nature of sin today remains the same as it was in the Garden of Eden. Homes broken in divorce sever relationships through children, parents and untold hosts of friends and families. Sexual immorality pervades the hearts of all those touched by its evil curse extending to broken relationships, trust, holiness and examples burned on the waste land of putridity. Anger harbored for years destroys happiness. Covetousness drives the hearts of materialistic pursuits to ruin and consuming passions of greed. Unloving parents bring forth children who are unforgiving and unmerciful. Homes filled with the worldly pleasures create nations who deny God (Psalm 9:17). Satan carves a wide path of destruction and cares nothing for what gets in his way. In seeking to destroy Job the adversary destroyed so many more lives.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16-17). Through the merciful love of God we have the answer to Satan’s hand of destruction: Jesus Christ. “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57). The impact of Satan’s touch continues in a world filled with sorrow and pain. But Christ came to set man free from the shackles of Satan’s challenge and instill hope in the hearts of all men. There is no victory in death nor sting. Jesus Christ has set us free from that fear and bondage.

The book of Job is more than just a book of suffering. It speaks of victory of faith in the obedient life of a righteous man. The message of Job also reminds us of the far reaching touch of Satan’s power but Job trusted in God’s love to give him strength. As our world continues to spiral into the pits of immorality and decay our hope is still on the same God Job trusted. The same Lord that saw him through his trials and the sorrows felt in the families of the servants. The head of the serpent has been bruised (Genesis 3:15). The judgment of Satan is sure (Matthew 25:41). Our hope is in Jesus Christ. “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

 

Posted in Morality, Old Testament, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

COEXIST

Posted on October 6, 2013 by heatonkent

COEXISTcoexist

A popular bumper sticker reflects a growing trend for religious and social tolerance combining symbols of Islam, Judaism and Christianity with variations suggesting tolerance of paganism, sexual equality, Eastern religions and homosexuality. COEXIST has become a mantra of equality for all systems of belief and the acceptance of any lifestyle. The meaning of “coexist” is to live in harmony with or alongside of others disregarding differences in the basic tenets of faith and any condemnation of a sexual preference. Is it possible to ‘coexist’ with other faiths based upon the teachings of Islam, Judaism, Christianity or other Eastern religions? At least one of these systems of faith denies the possibility of coexisting in harmony without regard to differences in faith.

Jesus Christ taught His disciples in John 14:6-7, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” The Son of God taught the only way to God is through Him. Christ Jesus affirmed the only truth that would save a man was Himself. Jesus denies eternal life to anyone apart from Him. In a very clear and demonstrative manner the Lord Jesus Christ removed all other avenues to the Father except through Him. Just on face value the reader of John’s gospel will realize that Jesus removes the possibility of being saved by Mohammed or Islam and to a Jewish audience foretells the removal of Moses and the Law as a means of salvation.

The foundation of Jesus’ teaching was to prove that He (and only He) was the true Son of God. Later the apostle John writes, “And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31). The signs and wonders performed by Jesus prove that He is the only way, the only truth and the only life. Mohammed cannot claim this, nor Moses, Buddha, Confucius, the Pope or Joseph Smith. The Bible teaches the impossibility of coexisting in accepting all faiths as valid. Paul the apostle affirmed to the pagans of Athens there was only one God and “He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). The “Man” Paul spoke of was only Jesus Christ.

Is it possible to “coexist” with homosexuality as an accepted lifestyle? For the believer of Jesus Christ this is an impossibility as the Lord condemned sexual immorality from the beginning of time (Romans 1:18-32). Other systems of faith and churches can embrace homosexuality and attempt to paint a picture of acceptance but this does not change the mind of God who in love condemns those who serve their own vile passions and deny the knowledge of God.

COEXIST is a fraud attempting to dissuade the minds of people to accept anything based upon the personal belief of man. This error leads to a false religion of hope where everyone does what is right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25).  Jehovah God said, “You thought that I was altogether like you; but I will rebuke you” (Psalms 50:21).

Posted in Morality, Social Issues, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Thinking About Heaven

Posted on October 4, 2013 by heatonkent

Thinking About Heaven

 Can you imagine a city so large that it encompasses two million and a quarter square miles? The northern boundary is 1500 miles as well as the east, west and southern boundaries. Not only is the size of the city massive in length and width – the height of the city is also 1500 miles. Is it possible to wrap the mind around a city of this size? Imagine further this grand city being made of pure gold and the walls that stretch for 1500 miles in either direction are made of jasper. The foundation of the city is made up of a myriad of jewels with twelve gates made of one pearl each. All the streets are paved with gold but have no street lights adorning the curb. This incredible city with its gates standing open eternally is brightened by the glory of God. If we can imagine a city so unbelievable and majestic then we have shared in the tendril of “the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:10).

John’s account of the “new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1) burst from the pages of holy writ. The Revelation captures the imagination from beginning to end as the war between righteousness and evil plays out on the parchment of John’s book. The trumpet of victory sounds in the latter part with the triumph of the “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (Revelation 19:16) when all that opposes God is banished in the “second death” (Revelation 20:11-15). Rising with wonder is the promise of the city long ago given by God to His saints in illusionary words as Divine seeks to instill in mortality a view of Heaven.

The terms of length and height and materials are only figurative as God seeks in the feeble mind of man to instill an image of Heaven that is beyond anything man could ever dream of. We are not to understand the fullness of its beauty. It is beyond man’s greatest imagination to come to terms with a city of such vast space and splendor; and that is the point of the illustration. If man could ever understand fully the blessing of eternal life then man has mastered the knowledge of God. Yet the Lord keeps man far from the level of knowledge that would give him hope and the longing for something beyond his power.

The Almighty wants his people to think about Heaven and when thinking about Heaven to consider how great God is and how blessed man is to be allowed to dwell in such a place. This is not something built by man; this is built by God. The Hebrew writer alludes to this promise in Hebrews 11:13-16. “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:13-16).

If a man lives to be one thousand years old he will only grasp the hem of the garment understanding what Heaven is like. What a wonderful life to live and think about something so beautiful and so grand. David said, “I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works” (Psalms 145:5). Think!

Posted in New Testament, Social Issues, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

THE FAMILY OF JESUS

Posted on October 4, 2013 by heatonkent

ImageThe Family Of Jesus

(Kent Heaton)

It is not every day that one can say their older brother is the Son of God. For James, Joseph, Simon, Judas and at least two sisters the family of Joseph and Mary enjoyed the blessing of Jesus being a son and a brother. Thanks to the Papists of long ago and the continuing doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church many people fail to realize that Jesus had brothers and sisters and lived a very normal life as a man. One of the great testimonies of God’s wisdom is the manner by which the Almighty embedded His Son into the world of humanity. The wisdom of man would have such royalty to come in grand measures of pomp and circumstance and God’s Son could only be of noble birth to noble parents and live life in a noble manner. Not so the life of Jesus. He came to save all men and to share the message of hope with the common man.

Joseph and Mary were poor folk living in Nazareth scraping out an existence in the work of carpentry. When the days of purification were complete Jesus was brought to Jerusalem at forty days to be presented at the Temple “and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, ‘A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons’” (Luke 2:24). The Law of Moses required a lamb to be presented but if the family was unable to afford a lamb a “young pigeon or a turtledove” could be presented “as a sin offering, to the door of the tabernacle of meeting” (Leviticus 12:6).

Jesus would be born of obscure parents in the eyes of men but royal spirits in the eyes of God. Luke records the message of the angel Gabriel to Mary, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” (Luke 1:28). The coming of the Son of God was the eternal plan of the Father and the question would be given to whom would receive the blessing of bearing the child into the world. Joseph and Mary were chosen not for their place in the world but in their place in the heart of God. Joseph was a just man (Matthew 1:19) and Mary would bear the child of Deity for nine months and in the natural manner of creation the Creator would be born. Luke would give the details of the birth in Luke 2 when as Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem “the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:6-7). One has to express a sense of admiration for Joseph and Mary as alone in an animal’s crib the cries of labor and birth are echoed in the natural manner of birth for all men. Jesus entered the world in the manner of the pain decreed in the garden when the Lord said to Eve, “In pain you shall bring forth children” (Genesis 3:16).

Cutting the umbilical cord, cleaning the newborn and wrapping him in swaddling clothes, Joseph and Mary laid God’s Son in a manger of hay. As the newborn child lay in the manager some strangers approached to behold the new child. Shepherds from the field had come to see the newborn and marvel at “Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). The King of God’s people did not come to the world in the palaces of power but the power of God’s grace in a crib of poverty.

Remaining in Bethlehem for nearly two years the little child would learn to walk and talk and play with the wooden toys Joseph would make for his little boy. What a marvelous time that would be for Joseph and Mary as they woke in the night to feed little Jesus, changing his ‘diaper’, helping him see the world about him, taking the little boy to the market place, laughing and smiling as this precious gift given to them by God would fill their lives. And how precious this gift was in so many ways. Joseph and Mary knew the little face that looked back at them and giggled with toothless grins was the Son of God. Luke points out in the genealogy record of Jesus that was Joseph was the “supposed” father of Jesus (Luke 3:23). Joseph knew he was not the father. How he loved his little boy. What a beautiful time for Mary to caress and care for the Son of God.

The day came when more strangers would enter their lives. Wise men from a faraway land would seek the young child and leave great gifts of wealth for the family (Matthew 2:1-11). What did this all men for Joseph and Mary? The answer would come when “an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.’ When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt” (Matthew 2:13-14). They would remain in Egypt away from the massacre of the innocent in Bethlehem and the bloody thirst of Herod (Matthew 2:16-18). When Herod died the family would return to Nazareth and live a quiet and peaceful life in the work of carpentry.

During this time at Nazareth Jesus’ brothers and sisters were born. Matthew records the names of four brothers and suggests at least two sisters of Jesus. “Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters … (Matthew 13:55-56; see also Mark 6:3). On a number of occasions the family of Jesus is mentioned. “While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. Then one said to Him, ‘Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You’” (Matthew 12:46-47). The gospel writers speak of the brothers of Jesus in Mark 3:31-32; Luke 8:19-20; John 2:12; 7:1-10. Luke again refers to the brothers of Jesus in Acts 1:14. Paul includes the reference to the family of Jesus in 1 Corinthians 9:5 and Galatians 1:19. It is commonly accepted the book of James is written by the brother of Jesus.

It is clear that some time before Jesus began His ministry at the age of 30 (Luke 3:23) that Joseph had died. Mary is found with her sons or often alone with Jesus. How difficult that must have been on the family with the loss of such a wonderful husband and father. On the cross Jesus reflected that feeling when he prayed John would care for His mother (John 19:25-27). John also writes that there was a time the brothers of Jesus did not believe on Him (John 7:1-10). Yet we find in Acts 1:14, 1 Corinthians 9:5 and Galatians 1:19 the brothers were an integral part of the early church.

Jesus grew up in a normal Jewish family. He ate with his family and worked with his family in carpentry and was subject to the same joys and sadness of life that all men experience. Hebrews 4:15 shows He faced the same temptations as His brothers and His sisters yet without sin. He partook of flesh and blood and shared in the same and was human just like you and me (Hebrews 2:14-18). He cried, laughed, hungered, experienced pain physically and mentally, was challenged by a sinful world and lived as human a life as any man since Adam.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). The Son of God was flesh and lived in the world as all men and died in the flesh to save us from sin. He was like us so that we can be like Him. “Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:6-8). Thank God for the life of Jesus in the form of man.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment