Different circumstances, same conclusion

In the books of Job and Ecclesiastes, two important Biblical figures reflect on the meaning and purpose of life. The circumstances in which they find themselves differ drastically. Job has lost his earthly possessions, his family, and his bodily health. Solomon, on the other hand, is enjoying the pinnacle of earthly prosperity and celebrity.

Yet despite those different circumstances, both Job and Solomon, as they reflect upon life, reach the exact same conclusion!

In Ecclesiastes 12:13 (KJV), Solomon succinctly summarizes his reflections,

Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

And in Job 28:28 (KJV),

Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.

Those passages show two things. First, the meaning and purpose of life is not complicated: fear God and obey him. Second, that conclusion applies regardless of our life circumstances. Whether we sit on top of the world like Solomon or suffer in the depths of agony like Job, our mission is the same: fear God and obey him.

Searching for and finding mercy

The Bible is often described as a book that explains itself. For example, Proverbs 21:21 (KJV) reads,

He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour.

Those seem like huge rewards for following righteousness and mercy! Now, the "righteousness" part of this is clear: we must follow God's commands. And note, from the passage, that righteousness is, in fact, a reward for pursuing righteousness. So righteousness appears to beget itself.

But what about "mercy"? Where do we find that? Although the immediate surrounding text doesn't provide an answer, other parts of the Bible do. For example, Psalm 36:5 (KJV) reads,

Thy mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens.

So all mercy emanates from God in heaven. And the way for us to connect to that mercy is to pray to God for that heavenly gift of mercy.

This is but one, relatively easy-to-understand, example of the Bible explaining itself. The Bible's pattern of explaining itself, I think, becomes clear if one habitually reads the Bible, especially a "literal" translation that attempts to adhere to the original Hebrew and Greek wording. Making a practice of doing that (eventually) helps clarify passages and answers questions that some sections might pose.

(Note: I don't mean to disparage more "dynamic" translations. I, myself, frequently use the NLT!)

God's promise and warning

2 Chronicles 7 finds the ancient Hebrews, led by Solomon, dedicating the newly-constructed Temple. As part of the dedication ceremony, God issues a powerful promise, and an equally powerful warning.

First, for the promise, summarized in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV),

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

If we've sinned or drifted away from God in any way, then this verse is directed right at us. What a great verse of hope and grace!

But then, in verses 19-20 (KJV), comes the warning,

But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of my sight...

Taken together, these verses indicate that sinful behavior causes God to turn from us, but just as quickly, repentance brings about mercy and forgiveness. This, of course, is a dominant theme throughout the Bible, and one which should animate all of our prayers. Today, let us praise God for his infinite mercy!

Trust in God, not institutions

I've posted before about our over-reliance on the institutions of society. That is, many (but not all!) societies has a veneer of decency, owing to their governments, laws, markets, and systems of education. But what if those foundations of modern society were to vanish? Would society still appear "decent"?

Psalm 11:3 (KJV) touches upon this concern,

If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?

The answer can be found many places, including Psalm 9:10 (KJV),

They that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

The point is not that we should disrespect the institutions of society. Quite to the contrary, 1 Peter 2:13 (KJV) states,

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake

Rather, the point is to place our faith in God above our faith in those institutions.

Seeing spiritual things

Our senses, of course, are designed to detect physical, temporal things. For example, we open our eyes, and we see trees, buildings, streets, etc. And that's how we perceive the world.

But an important element of a spiritual journey is training our senses to detect spiritual, rather than physical, things. For an example, consider 2 Kings 6. That chapter finds the Syrian army attempting to capture the prophet Elisha. One of Elisha's assistants reports to Elisha that their camp is surrounded by the Syrian army.

But Elisha responds to the assistant (2 Kings 6:16, KJV),

Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

Of course, the assistant must be confused, because Elisha does not have an army. At least, not a physical one! Elisha then prays (2 Kings 6:17, KJV),

LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see.

And after that prayer (2 Kings 6:17, KJV),

The LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

The lesson seems to be this: God's power is greater than any earthly power. And we must, through prayer, train our eyes to see that power!

The nearness of God

Sometimes when we struggle to pray, our prayers can feel like they just evaporating right above our heads, never reaching God's ears. At those times, God can seem very distant.

But the Bible speaks repeatedly that God, despite being the creator of time and space, is very near to those who seek him. For example, Psalm 145:18 (KJV) says,

The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

("Nigh," of course, is an archaic version of the word "near.") Paul expands on this theme in Acts 17:27 (KJV), where he explains the reason that God placed humans at the center of his creation. In Paul's explanation, God wants people to

...seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us.

("Haply" is an archaic version of the word "perhaps.") Essentially, Paul is explaining that, while seeking God requires work on our part, God is near to us as we undertake that work. Keeping that in mind can greatly enhance our prayer lives!

The still small voice

When we inevitably find ourselves doubting our faith, where do we turn? Many people, myself included, turn to 1 Corinthians 15. But in this point, I'd also like to encourage consulting 1 Kings 19.

To set the scene, Elijah, fleeing from Ahab and Jezebel, finds himself in the wilderness at Mount Horeb. He's all alone and in need of God's encouragement. When we need encouragement, do we expect some substantial demonstration from God? Some overwhelming miracle, confirming once and for all that God exists? Elijah probably did.

First comes a great storm, but "the LORD was not in the wind." Then comes an earthquake, but "the LORD was not in the earthquake." Next comes a fire, but "the LORD was not in the fire."

So God spoke through none of those temporal means! Finally, in 1 Kings 19:12-13 (KJV),

And after the fire a still small voice. And ... Elijah heard it

A still small voice -- the exact opposite of the tremendous, substantial sign Elijah might have expected. And just as important, Elijah heard it.

Just as Elijah, we must train our ears to detect spiritual sounds that might be "still" and "small." Why does God speak this way? Why does he not speak with overwhelming sounds of thunder? Perhaps because humans, at their core, are spiritual beings, and therefore humans are more likely to respond to spiritual, as opposed to temporal, stimuli. After all, the book of Revelation makes clear that, even in the face of overwhelming temporal demonstrations of God's existence, many people still rebel against him. But who could rebel against that "still small voice," if their ears were inclined to hear it?

(Note: Charles Spurgeon issued on excellent sermon that explored 1 Kings 19.)