The Heaton File

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. (Joel 3:14)

The Valley Of Decision

Joel is the prophet of decision. Using a catastrophic locust plague as a backdrop, the prophet of God unleashes a barrage of appeals to Israel to repent or face the wrath of God. The day of the Lord was coming, and severe destruction would come if the people did not repent. Repentance is the message of the book. The totality of God’s destruction would be thorough, complete, and exhaustive. There would be no mercy to an unrepentant nation. God’s wrath would burn hot on the people if they did not heed the day of the Lord. Joel told the people the judgment of God was at hand, it was coming, and it would be great and very terrible. A day would come that would be coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. Joel’s conclusion is the appeal for the people to make a decision. He tells them the day of the Lord is at hand, and they are standing in the valley of decision.

The metaphorical language of Joel is very strong. There is no doubt the judgment of God was coming. History is replete with how God does not lie, and when He promises judgment, it comes. Israel had turned away from the Lord to serve idols. Moses had written in the law when Israel turned away from God to serve idols; judgment would come. The Lord had sent prophets into the land to turn the hearts of the people back. They rejected the messengers of God. Israel experienced a time of prosperity, but this came from becoming like the nations around them. God had not blessed them, and they forgot God. Now the Lord demands the trumpet be blown in Zion and an alarm sounded in His holy mountain. The people should tremble at the day of the Lord when they see the dust of the consuming armies coming to destroy them.

God pleads with the people to turn to Him with all their hearts, with fasting, weeping, and mourning. If they would rend their hearts, a merciful God would save them. He demands they blow the trumpet in Zion, consecrate a fast, and call a sacred assembly. When the people show works of repentance, God will relent from His fury. The day has come for a decision. Joel calls it the valley of decision. Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Those who refuse will be destroyed.

The figure of the valley of decision is how God displays His mercy for all humanity. When men refuse to follow the will of the Lord, the wrath of God comes with a furious swarm like a destructive army of locusts. The crawling, consuming, and chewing creature leaves nothing in its path, and so will the Lord bring swift and utter destruction. Jesus pleaded with the people to repent or perish. They killed the Prince of Life. God has revealed His word to all the world through the Bible, and men reject His message. There is coming a day when all men will stand before the judgment bar of God. When that time comes, there will be no hope. The time for a decision is now. Salvation must come today. There can be no waiting or indecisiveness. We all stand in the valley of decision and must decide whom we will obey. Like Joshua declared so long ago, a day must come when a decision is made. Elijah implored the people to make up their minds about whom they would obey. The Lord has done all He can do and all He will do. Every man stands in the valley of decision. What is your decision? You will decide.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

What Must I Do To Be Saved?

There is no doubt that God desires all of creation to be saved. He has given the world all the knowledge needed to answer the question of salvation. When the early church began, the first question was what needed to be done. Devout men gathered for Pentecost heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and how they had killed the promised Messiah. Their hearts were pricked, and they responded by seeking the answer to salvation. Peter told them to repent and that everyone should be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Three thousand responded and were baptized.

Peter and John went to the temple to pray and met a lame man at the temple gate. After healing the man, Peter spoke to the people reminding them once again they had denied the Holy One and the Just, and killed the Prince of Life, whom God raised from the dead. He tells them to repent and be converted so that their sins may be blotted out. Many of those who heard the word believed. When Saul of Tarsus began persecuting the church, faithful saints went everywhere preaching the word. Philip went to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. The multitudes heeded the gospel of Christ, and there was great joy in the city. Simon, a notable sorcerer, also heard the teaching of Philip, and he believed and was baptized.

The Holy Spirit directed Philip to find a man traveling from Jerusalem to his home in Ethiopia. Philip approached the Ethiopian and asked him if he understood what he was reading. The man was reading from the prophet Isaiah. Invited to join him, Philip began where the man was reading and preached Jesus to him. As they went down the road, the Ethiopian asked Philip why he could not be baptized. Philip told him if he believed with all his heart, he could. The man confessed he believed Jesus Christ was the Son of God. They stopped the chariot, and both Philip and the Ethiopian went down into the water, and he baptized him.

Saul had begun to persecute all the disciples of the Way, disciples of Jesus Christ, with fierce persecution. He made plans to go to Damascus and arrest all the followers of Christ he could find. As he approached the city, the Lord appeared to him and told him to go into the city, and he would be told what to do. Blinded, Saul entered the city and stayed with a man named Judas, who lived on a street called Straight. Three days later, Ananias comes to where Saul is and heals him of his blindness. Ananias then tells Saul to arise, be baptized, and wash away his sins. Saul obeys.

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the Roman army. He was a devout man who feared God with all his household, giving alms generously to the people and always praying to God. He was not a Christian, and none of his household were Christians. An angel appears to Cornelius and tells him to send to Joppa for a man called Peter. This man would tell Cornelius and his household words whereby they would be saved. Cornelius obeys, and when Peter comes, the family of Cornelius is baptized in water.

Paul and Barnabas go throughout the regions of the Roman Empire, preaching the gospel of Christ. Multitudes believe and are baptized. People from Cyprus, Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, and Derbe believed in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Lydia and her household were baptized in Philippi. The Philippian jailer and his household were baptized. Many in the city of Thessalonica believed, including a great multitude of devout Greeks and not a few of the city’s leading women. The Bereans believed. Converts were made in the city of Athens. Many in the city of Corinth would believe as Paul spent a year and six months teaching. Paul found twelve men in the city of Ephesus who knew only the baptism of John. The apostle baptized the men into the name of Jesus Christ.

There are many untold stories of those who heard the word of God, repented of their sins, confessed that Jesus Christ was Lord and Savior, and were baptized for the remission of their sins. Luke offers the story of the early church, and every conversion story is the same pattern. Jesus had told the apostles to go into all the world and preach the gospel, baptizing in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Luke testifies this is what the apostles did. There are no stories of people being saved because they were good people. The apostles never taught salvation by faith only or grace alone. If you are a good person, that will not save you. Believing faith alone will save you is a lie. Thinking God’s grace alone will save you is a false hope. The book of Acts contains a little over 24,000 words. Read the book of Acts and see what you must do to be saved. Stop believing men and believe the word of God.

This is the way of an adulterous woman: she eats and wipes her mouth and says, “I have done no wickedness.” (Proverbs 30:20)

The Innocent Cry Of The Guilty

The nature of sin is realized in different ways. For some, transgressing God’s law brings shame and fear. Adam and Eve hid in fear because of sin and were ashamed. Cain had no fear or regrets about killing his brother. For most people, sin is a religious term that does not apply to them. The popularity of sin attests to the fact that most of the world is under the persuasion of the deceiver, who denies the guilt of sin. Agur points out in the proverb an adulterous woman engages in sexual immorality without any guilt or shame for what she does. This explains the nature of sin and why so many people have no guilt about the kind of lives they lead.

Satan has done well to blind the minds of sinful man to the reality of God’s omniscience. The omniscience of God is His all-knowing spirit that knows everything done by every person on the face of the planet – at the same time (which is part of his omnipotence). A woman can engage in sexual immorality in secret, but the man she is with knows, but most importantly, God knows. No darkness can keep things from the eyes of God. No place on earth exists where the Lord is not there. Men brag about reaching the summit of Mt. Everest, but God has been there since it was formed. The deepest part of the oceans is the dwelling place of God.

An adulterous woman forgets that God sees in secret. She may have escaped the detection of the world, but she (and he) can never escape the eyes of the Lord. Assuming the character of a good woman is a fantasy built upon hypocrisy. The world may see her as a beautiful debutante, sophisticated, and happy, but the Lord sees the blackness of her soul. Sin looks appealing. The lesson from Agur is the deceptive nature of sin. Satan has filled the world with souls bound for perdition who appear innocent and pure. Like the immoral woman, they wipe their mouths of sin and proclaim their innocence. “I have done no wickedness,” they chant. Their lies do not change the evidence of God’s knowledge.

There will be many shocked souls at the judgment bar of God when they hear the words of destruction. They will die believing they are innocent because no one found their guilt. Nothing they have done is wrong because they lived according to their desires with no guilt or shame. Sadly, the measure of sin is weighed in the divine balances of mercy, grace, and truth. Those who have failed to keep the will of the Father will find no favor on the last day. They may have fooled the world but can never fool the Lord. Let it be known. God sees and knows all. Every man will stand before the Lord God and Judge and give an account of all they have done in this body. Nothing will be left out. No one will claim innocence who is guilty when the judgment comes. All the guilty will know the power of God’s truth. He sees all, and He knows all.

But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. (Matthew 9:36)

Why Men Are Weary

The sheep is an animal wholly dependent upon someone to care, protect, and provide for them. When God created the sheep, He did not instill any means of protection like large teeth or razor-sharp claws. The feet of a lamb cannot deliver him from the fierce attack of a lion or bear. There is little a flock of sheep can do against wolves who come to feed. By themselves, the sheep are the most helpless of animals. Left to themselves, they would wander about without direction and starve to death or die of thirst. The only salvation sheep have is a shepherd’s guidance, protection, and care.

God created the sheep to be helpless, and God created man to be powerless. A lion is a fierce beast who devours its foe with ease. The instincts of the lion will find food and water. A lion is independent and singular in its purpose. This is not the case with the poor lamb, which cannot protect itself or provide its own nourishment. The nature of a man is like that of a lamb. God created humanity to be a creature wholly dependent upon the blessings of the Creator. The difference between a lamb and a man is that man was created in the image of God. He can choose evil or good, light or darkness, and righteousness or unrighteousness. Made in the image of God separates man from animals, but more often, the animals know God better than man. The ox knows its master’s crib. Man refuses to acknowledge that God is his Creator. With all the blessings of creation where man is created in God’s image, he struggles with accepting the will of God.

Jesus saw the people in the way a shepherd looks upon aimless sheep. Multitudes followed Jesus to hear His teaching and to be healed of their diseases. The miracles of Jesus were to confirm that He was the Son of God, but most people saw only the miracles. Jesus taught the word of the Father, and most turned a dull ear. The work of Jesus was complete with signs, wonders, and miracles confirming the message of salvation to a lost world; and often, at the end of the day, Jesus could only see the people as sheep without a shepherd.

The people that followed Jesus were weary, harassed, scattered, and helpless. This was not in an economic, political, or religious sense. What Jesus saw lacking in the people was a spiritual purpose. They were burdened under the weight of a failed religious system that exalted the rich and oppressed the poor. The Jewish teachers had corrupted the Law of Moses to their advantage at the cost of the people. Jesus taught as one with authority, not like the scribes. The people were amazed at the teaching of Jesus because it was direct and true. He fed the people the pure manna of God’s word. Those who followed the teachings of Jesus found peace in His word because it gave them purpose and direction. Jesus was sad when He looked upon the multitude and saw they looked so helpless.

Jesus came to take away the hopeless spirit of a destitute world. The Son of God came to seek and save the lost. There would always be the poor among the nations of the world, but Jesus came to give life to those dead in sin. The world is filled with helpless, wandering, aimless lives of people who seem fine on the outside but are inwardly empty shells. Jesus wants His people to see the fields are white to harvest in sharing the good news of Christ to a lost and dying world. We must recognize the need to show a world full of empty shells: Jesus Christ. Sheep without a shepherd – need a shepherd. Your neighbor without Christ – needs Christ.

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3)

What Is The Love Of God?

There has always been one thing God wants from His creation. Creating man and woman was the highest of His creation, and He crowned humanity with the divine image of an eternal nature. God did not ask much, but He expected everything. To love God, one must keep His commandments. God has always wanted men to love Him enough to keep His commandments. Rejecting the word of God is an affront to the nature and character of God. It shows disregard for the love of God. Man was created to show the glory of the Father. When men refuse to keep the will of the Father, it shows the lack of love needed for God’s blessings. The love of God is found when men keep the commandments of the Lord.

It is easy to say one loves God. What becomes difficult is to have that love and keep His commandments. The problem men have faced with their relationship with God is that they want to say they love Him but are not interested in doing what God says. Many will claim to love Jesus and never consider following His commands. Today’s health and wealth religion hawks the pleasure-driven-do-what-you-want-to-do gospel of loving Jesus and not worrying whether one is following the will of God. If a person believes in Jesus, that is all required. Loving God is an expression of outward faith without any action on the part of the individual. Religion becomes nothing more than a shallow emotional experience.

Keeping the commandments of God requires obedience to the word. This is called action. It is not possible to choose and pick which commands to keep. Obedience comes from the act of doing what the word of God says one must do to be saved. Saying you love God and refusing to be baptized for the remission of sins will not change a person into a saved individual. Proclaiming love for Jesus does not bring salvation apart from keeping the commandments. The faith-only doctrines of men destroy the fabric of the gospel to its core. There is no doctrine of faith-only in scripture, with the exception that salvation does not come by faith alone. Too many souls walk aimlessly through life, saying they love God and Jesus Christ and never do one thing to keep the commandments of the Lord.

The striking character of the commandments of God is to know that none of them are burdensome. When has God asked any man or woman to do something they could not do? The Lord told Abraham to offer Isaac as a burnt offering because God knew the test that would go through the mind of Abraham would be proven by his faith. God did not ask too much of Jonah, but Jonah thought so. On the day of Pentecost, when Peter and the apostles preached to the multitudes gathered at the temple, did the Holy Spirit ask them to do something they could not do? Peter told them to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, and three thousand people obeyed. Why? They loved God.

When the scriptures say that salvation is found when a man repents and is baptized, refusing to obey the command shows a lack of love for God. Whatever the Lord has told men to do is not hard to understand and no less challenging to follow. At the root of the problem is love. People who refuse to do what the scriptures say show a lack of love for God. Do you want to love God? Keep His commandments, and remember that God has not and will not ask you to do something hard to do. Jesus did the hard part so that we could enjoy the grace of His Father. Love God. Keep His commandments.

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. (Matthew 27:50-53)

What Happened When The Creator Died

The death of Jesus is the focal point of God’s scheme of redemption. There is nothing in history before or that which is to come that will rival the significance of what happened at Golgotha in the city of Jerusalem. Jesus died to save men from sin. Through His sacrifice, death is defeated, Satan is limited, and the portals of Heaven are opened for those who seek its glory. Every first day of the week, faithful saints gather to remember the sacrifice of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper. The blood of Jesus is explained in the cup, and the bread representing the body of Jesus is taken to remember the love of God. For two thousand years, God’s people have memorialized the death of Jesus. There is something else that happened when Jesus died that is remarkable.

Jesus claimed to be God. He told the Pharisees He existed before Abraham. By the power of the Holy Spirit, the man from Nazareth healed every disease, cured all ailments, raised the dead, walked on water, and performed many signs and wonders before the people. His miraculous power proved He was the Son of God. No man could do what He did, and no man taught like Jesus. Accepting the miracles of Jesus as proof of His divinity also proves that He is the Creator of the world. He could not have power over the world unless He had greater power over the creation of the world. Jesus could curse a fig tree because He made the fig tree. Healing blindness was Jesus exercising divine authority over disease. Raising the dead comes from the creative power of the Son of God. Everything Jesus did proved He was the Son of God, Creator of the world. All things were created through Him and for Him.

The death of Jesus on the cross was unlike the death of the two men crucified on His right and left. Their legs were broken, and they died. Jesus died, and creation erupted. When the two thieves died, no one took notice. They were taken down and buried in some unmarked graves. Jesus Christ died, and the world almost came apart. The veil in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This veil was not a thin fabric easily torn. Ancient texts suggest the veil was so large it took nearly two hundred men to manipulate it. It was so thick when ripped in two the noise would have been deafening. When Jesus died, the priests would have begun the service for the afternoon. The veil was torn from top to bottom. This was not something any man could do. The world tore that veil asunder. It was the declaration by the hand of God the new covenant had come to the world, and the Law of Moses was obsolete.

When Jesus died, the literal earth reacted. There was an earthquake, and the rocks were split. Creation shook at the death of its Creator, the Messiah, the Son of God. When Jesus died, the world suffered the death of the One who created it. Graves were opened up throughout the region. After Jesus rose from the dead three days later, many saints who had died rose from the dead and walked into Jerusalem. Wives received their husbands alive again, fathers returned to their families, and a host of righteous people rose from the dead to testify to the death of the Creator. When Jesus died, the world responded. What a day when Jesus died.

Behold, the nations are as a drop in a bucket, and are counted as the small dust on the scales; look, He lifts up the isles as a very little thing. (Isaiah 40:15)

Nations Are Only Drips

A 2021 survey ranks nations according to military alliances, international alliances, political influence, economic influence, and leadership. This survey determines how to define the nations that exert the greatest power on earth. In the 2021 survey, the top five nations are the United States, China, Russia, Germany, and the United Kingdom (in descending order). Ranked number 1, the United States boasts an economy with a GDP of $20.93 trillion in 2020. The United States spends more on its military budget ($778 Billion) than China, India, Russia, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Germany, France, Japan, and South Korea combined.

Great empires in history covered vast areas of land. The British Empire at one time covered 26% of the world. Rome built an empire spreading across three continents. In the steppes of Mongolia, the Mongol nation rose to one of the most powerful nations on earth. Russia, China, Spain, and the French once ruled vast tracts of land. Throughout history, nations have risen to prominence, boasting of powerful armies and navies, conquering peoples throughout the world. The empires of Rome, Britain, Mongolia, Germany, and Japan have all vanished in the dustbins of history, as will all nations. There will come a day when the United States of America will be a nation of no importance. All nations are nothing but a drop in the bucket in the eyes of God.

Isaiah wrote his message about God during the days of world upheaval. The Assyrians had been a fierce and powerful nation conquering the nations around them. Nineveh fell in 612 B.C. when the Babylonians, Scythians, and Medes attacked the city. In 605 B.C., the end of the Assyrians came at the battle of Carchemish. Babylon rose to world power after defeating Assyria. Isaiah lived through these turbulent times and offered a fresh view of world domination. God sees nations as nothing more than a drop in a bucket – a drip. Compared to the Lord God Creator, the greatest nation is but dust on a scale. The same Creator that formed the earth and destroyed the world in the days of Noah looks upon nations as merely a drop of water – nothing.

Everything must be viewed in perspective. God knows exactly how much water there is on earth to the ounce. Science has opened the vista of the heavenly portals but admits it has yet to reach a point of conclusion. God has measured the heavens and knows how big the universe is and how many stars there are to an exact number (He has a name for every star). If a man were to inquire how much the mountains weigh and the weight of the hills, God would give him an exact number. Why would a nation that spends $778 billion on the military cause any concern for God? Does it matter to the Lord if a country has a robust GPD of $20.93 trillion? As much as He is concerned about one drop of water.

Humanity is a funny creature, unlike the animals of the world. Isaiah began his book declaring the ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel did not know God. The animals know how great God is, but man refuses to acknowledge how small he is. Nations boast of their power and strength to the amusement of the animal kingdom. A nation will rise and fall, but God does not change. Nations are nothing more than a drop in the bucket and dust on the scale held in the hand of the Almighty. This is true of our country and any other country in the world. Praise God.

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. (Psalm 103:10)

We Don’t Get What We Deserve

It is hard to understand the depravity of the human spirit when the character of the human soul considers itself to be worthy of honor. For the most part, a person is a good character in many ways. Many elements of the world are vile, rebellious, wicked, and immoral. The majority of the people on earth have a good moral compass, but their lives are not governed by a higher righteous law. A nonbeliever can be a good man. The goodness of a man’s worth can be measured in his kindness, generosity, love, and willingness to help others. These are good traits that help make the world a better place. It does not make a man righteous.

The struggle of the human identity has always been to see the value of the human soul in regard to the righteousness of God. When a man is told he is a sinner, he evaluates his life by his good deeds failing to appreciate the deeper consequence of his relationship with God. There are only two kinds of people in the world – righteous and unrighteous. This characterization can only be defined as good and evil, holy and unholy, or saved and lost. There is no third option to call a man good or benevolent. In the eyes of God, there can only be righteous and unrighteous. A man’s relationship with God is measured by whether the man does the will of the Father, not if he is religious or not. Understanding the true character of a man is where seeking salvation begins.

Sin is a transgression of the law of God, and every man sins. The relationship between man and God is solely based on how man acknowledges the nature of sin. If he refuses to admit he is a sinner who needs grace, God will never mean anything to him. Each time the Bible reveals a person’s true character is when the heart understands the nature of sin. Noah built the ark, moved by godly fear, believing in the power of grace and mercy because he understood the consequence of sin. Abraham was justified by faith as a measure of knowing his need for a loving God. David experienced the forgiveness of the Lord God when the man after God’s own heart sinned with Bathsheba. He said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

David wrote in Psalm 103 how he understood the grace of God. Looking at himself through the mirror of self-introspection, David knew if God dealt with him as he deserved, he would not live. Comparing God’s righteousness and man’s sinful nature is where man realizes how God should punish man but does not. Everyone deserves God’s wrath, the Lord’s anger, and the righteous judgment of a fearful and living God. And yet – God does not punish according to what a man deserves. He should deal harshly with sinful men. There is every right for the Lord to punish a man for what he really deserves. God does not.

There is no comparison to the mercy of God. On his best day, a man can never measure up to the loving-kindness of a forgiving Father. As the man who prayed at the temple implored, “God be merciful to me, a sinner.” There is nothing else to say. When we have done all we can do, we are still unprofitable servants worthy of death. The grace of God says otherwise. First, God sent His Son so that we can have forgiveness through His blood. Allowing sinful man to be in His presence is the great measure of grace given to man. Second, the Father has promised sinful man to dwell with Him in eternity, washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, and risen to walk in newness of life. We are not punished according to our sin and iniquity. Thank God.

Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you.’ ” So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” And He said, “Cast it on the ground.” So he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail” (and he reached out his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand), “that they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” (Exodus 4:1-5)

Catching A Snake By The Tail

When the Lord spoke to Moses at the burning bush, He told him he would return to Egypt to bring the Hebrews out of Egypt. Moses had fled forty years earlier and had become a shepherd with his father-in-law, Jethro. The time had come for God to fulfill His promise to Abraham giving the children of Abraham a law and the land that was promised in the covenant of circumcision. Pharoah would not willingly let the people go. The ruler of Egypt refused Moses on multiple occasions until the final plague, where the firstborn of Egypt would die, and Pharaoh relented.

Moses had left Egypt after killing an Egyptian fighting with a Hebrew. He believed he would deliver the Hebrews from their oppressors, but God had other plans. After forty years, the Lord appears to Moses at the burning bush, telling him to return to Egypt, but Moses hesitates. He did not consider himself qualified to do the work of the Lord, arguing with God about what he was asked to do. The day after he killed the Egyptian many years earlier, two Hebrews were fighting when Moses tried to break them up. They asked Moses if he intended to kill them as he did the Egyptian. Moses had no confidence in himself to carry out the will of the Lord. He questioned God about what qualified him to be the deliverer of the people.

The Lord told Moses to look at what was in his hand. As a shepherd, Moses carried a shepherd’s staff or rod. God instructed Moses to throw the staff on the ground which Moses did. Immediately, it became a serpent. The scriptures do not suggest what kind of serpent the rod of Moses became, but it scared Moses enough that he ran from it. God was proving something more than turning a rod into a serpent. It would also test the faith of Moses. The Lord told Moses to reach out his hand and take the serpent by its tail. Anyone who handles snakes, especially poisonous snakes, knows how to catch the snake by the head. Catching a snake by the tail makes certain the snake will bite, even if it is not poisonous. Moses had to have faith and courage to obey the word of the Lord, and the writhing snake became a rod again.

There are many lessons found when Moses took the snake by the tail. Later, after God sent fiery serpents among the people killing many, Moses made a bronze serpent placing it on a pole which became the salvation of the people. The rod turning into a snake could have symbolized the cobra, an imagery of Egypt. There is an allusion that could be drawn from the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Whatever lesson is drawn from the rod becoming a snake, the image of Moses grasping a serpent by the tail is an object lesson of trusting faith in the will of God.

The scriptures do not say what kind of snake it was, but it can be easily assumed that it was a serpent with deadly intentions. Moses fled from the snake. He was afraid of the snake. As a seasoned shepherd, he knew the difference between a harmless and a poisonous serpent. God told Moses to take the serpent by the tail demanding a lot of faith on Moses’s part. Later, Aaron, brother of Moses, threw down his rod before Pharaoh and it became a serpent. In a similar manner, the magicians of Pharaoh also threw down their rods, and they became snakes through enchantment. But Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. This was a sign to the court of Pharoah, but it was also a reminder to Moses that God was with him. He was to lead the people out of Egypt. It would not be an easy task. The will of God was accomplished through His power working through Moses.

There are times God asks His people to trust Him enough to take a snake by its tail. The business end of the snake can bring a lot of harm and damage, but God says to take it by its tail. With faith, courage, and trusting in the will of God, we can face those challenges knowing that God will turn our serpents into wooden staffs – harmless and useful. We can grab that wily serpent called the devil by the tail and defeat him through the power of God. When heartaches and trouble come upon us, we can know that God will use His power to make those trials useful in our lives. When Moses took the serpent by the tail, it turned into a rod. The shepherd’s staff was one of the most important tools in his work. It saved lost lambs and drove off the wolves who tried to take the sheep. Let God turn your serpents into a useful staff – grab it by the tail and believe in God’s power.

When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” And they said, “He is dead.” So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. (2 Samuel 12:19-20)

Why Is It Well With My Soul?

The hymn “It Is Well With My Soul” is one of the most influential and enduring songs written. Singing the hymn is a moving experience of the deep emotion set as the backdrop to a terrible event that happened to the author of the hymn, Horatio Spafford. The Spaffords had suffered the loss of their four-year-son, and the 1871 fire in Chicago financially ruined the family. Horatio had been a successful lawyer who invested heavily in the area of Chicago that was destroyed by the fire. In 1873, the family suffered an economic loss when things took a turn for the worse. Deciding a trip to Europe was needed for the family; the Spaffords booked to travel on the SS Ville du Havre to join D. L. Moody in an upcoming evangelistic tour in England. At the last minute, Horatio could not go and sent his wife and four daughters ahead.

Tragically on the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, the SS Ville du Havre collided with another ship, the Loch Earn, and sank quickly. Horatio’s four daughters perished, and only his wife survived. When she arrived in England, she telegraphed her husband a simple telegram, “Saved alone.” Rushing to her side, Horatio came to the place where the SS Ville du Havre had sunk, and his daughters perished and wrote the words of the hymn. Originally the hymn was called Ville du Havre, from the name of the stricken ship. Philip Bliss put the words to music in 1876, and it has become the hallmark of hymns describing the deep pain of loss but the resilient spirit of hope in Jesus Christ.

How is it possible to have hope in the face of such sorrow? What brought Spafford to write that it was well with his soul when the sadness of loss overwhelmed him like the rolling sea billows? Many answers can be given. Those who have suffered this loss are the only ones who truly know the depth of pain the Spaffords suffered that day. What is found as the pinnacle of hope in the song is the spirit of promise that God has given His children that whatever happens to them in life, God has taught His children to trust Him and know that all can be well with their soul. This will not take away the searing pain of loss. It will find a place to live with the emptiness and void that is left.

Perspective has much to do with the value of life and how it is viewed. Job suffered the loss of ten children in one event in one day. There were ten burial gowns made for his children. Ten burial plots were chosen. One funeral for ten children. How can anyone endure this kind of loss? All of the sufferings of Job came from the loss of everything else. He was a very wealthy man who became a very poor man in an instant. And then he lost his health. He did not sin, and he did not blame God. There were times of struggle, and he debated his friends, and he would find himself questioning the will of God, but Satan could not destroy his faith and trust in God. Most would have cursed God and given up hope. Not so with Job. He sang long ago, “It is well with my soul.”

David was punished with the death of his child born to Bathsheba. He knew the cause of the child’s death was the consequence of his sin with Bathsheba. It should be remembered that Bathsheba lost a child that day also. David and Bathsheba mourned their child and were able to continue to serve God in faithfulness. When he knew of the child’s death, he dressed himself and worshiped the Lord. Afterward, he returned home to eat. The servants were nervous about how David was acting. He assured them he was of sound mind. He was at peace with the will of God.

How can it be well in the soul of one who has suffered such great loss? The wellness of the soul is the peace found in the love of God and His protective care that He knows, He understands, and He has a family that embraces those who mourn. There is no family like the family of God made up of people who share their loss as a victory in Christ to overcome. The joy of eternal life is when the Father wipes away all the tears from the eyes. Those eyes that mourn their loved ones gone too early. It is possible to be well in the soul. Find your comfort in God, in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the family of God. It is well with my soul.