Archives For Exposition

Learning from a Biblical Chronology of Early Music: Part II

October 31, 2013

In Part I, I treated Genesis 4:21, Job 21:12, Job 30:31, Job 35:10, Job 38:7, and Genesis 31:27 to bring out several points about what Scripture reveals about music early in the history of mankind. This article brings out a key truth seen from comparing these passages both among themselves and with other relatively early references to music.

Comparing These Passages among Themselves

Genesis 4:21 reveals that Jubal in the ungodly line of Cain may have invented two musical instruments:

Gen 4:21 And his brother’s name was Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle the harp [Heb. כִּנּוֹר; a stringed instrument] and organ [Heb. עוּגָב; a wind instrument].

Job 21:12 reveals that wicked people used three different instruments at the time of Job:

Job 21:7 Wherefore do the wicked live, become old, yea, are mighty in power? . . . 12They take the timbrel (Heb. תֹּף; a percussion instrument) and harp [Heb. כִּנּוֹר; a stringed instrument], and rejoice at the sound of the organ [Heb. עוּגָב; a wind instrument].

Job 30:31 shows that Job either played two of the same instruments as the wicked did or had someone in his household who did so:

Job 30:31 My harp [Heb. כִּנּוֹר] also is turned to mourning, and my organ [Heb. עוּגָב] into the voice of them that weep.

Regardless of which way we understand the verse, we see that God’s people used the same instruments at this time that the wicked did.

Moreover, Job was the most righteous person of his time (Job 1:8; 2:3). His use of the same instruments as the ungodly used forcefully supports the propriety of doing so.

Comparing These Passages with Other Early References to Music

Some later passages both confirm this conclusion and go beyond it.

After God destroyed Pharaoh and his armies in the Red Sea, Miriam and all the women used timbrels to extol God in dance and song:

Exo 15:20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel (Heb. תֹּף) in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels (Heb. תֹּף)and with dances.  21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

These Israelite women used the same instrument (“timbrel” [Heb. תֹּף]) that the ungodly used back in the time of Job (Job 21:12). More importantly, these women used the timbrel in a sacred setting!

Other relatively early references show God’s people using in sacred settings all the instruments mentioned in earlier references to the music of the wicked:

1Sa 10:5 After that thou shalt come to the hill of God, where is the garrison of the Philistines: and it shall come to pass, when thou art come thither to the city, that thou shalt meet a company of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret (Heb. תֹּף), and a pipe, and a harp [Heb. כִּנּוֹר], before them; and they shall prophesy:

Psa 150:4 Praise him with the timbrel (Heb. תֹּף) and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs [Heb. עוּגָב].

Whereas First Samuel 10:5 attests that specially consecrated people of God used these instruments in his service, Psalm 150:4 attests to the propriety of all of God’s people doing so.

This analysis of music in the early history of God’s peoples conclusively shows that God’s people used the same instruments as the wicked did, including serving and worshiping Him with those instruments. What’s more, He commanded them to use those very instruments in their serving and worshiping Him (e.g., Ps. 150:4)!

The Contemporary Significance of These Passages

Some believers today object to Christian use of the guitar because of its “paganistic origins.”[1] Some believers also object to its use in Christian worship because of how ungodly people have used it to play ungodly music in ungodly settings.

A careful examination of Scripture, however, shows that these are invalid objections because God’s people have used in their service and worship of God (1 Sam. 10:5) instruments that the wicked may have invented (Gen. 4:21). In fact, God commanded them to do so (Ps. 150:4).

Furthermore, they did so at the same time that the wicked were using those same instruments to play music in their ungodly lives (e.g., Job 30:31 cf. 21:12).

Believers today who choose to use the guitar appropriately in Christian worship have abundant and conclusive Scriptural basis for doing so.

 

[1] One person voiced his concern this way: “Do you know that guitars have paganistic origins. Maybe you should research more into the history of classical guitars before you promote it so much.”

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Exposition, Guitar Music, Interpretation, Music
 permalink

God’s Rebuke of Sensuality among Those Who Worship Him

October 2, 2013

Scripture is our only infallible source of information about God’s perspectives concerning people who engage in worship and the actual nature of that worship. In Ezekiel 33, He reveals to us vital principles about how He should be worshiped through His assessment of the presence and nature of the sensuality among those who worshipped Him at that time.

Among the Jews who were exiled in Babylon, there were those whose worship was not what it appeared to be (33:30-33):

Also, thou son of man, the children of thy people still are talking against thee by the walls and in the doors of the houses, and speak one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come, I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from the LORD. 

 31 And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness. 

 32 And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument: for they hear thy words, but they do them not. 

 33 And when this cometh to pass, (lo, it will come,) then shall they know that a prophet hath been among them. 

God made known to Ezekiel that his fellow Jews were maligning him even while they were exhorting one another to come hear his ministry of the Word of the Lord that he was proclaiming (Ezekiel 33:30).

These seeming worshipers were intermingled with true worshipers and mimicked the worship of the latter. They came as the others did and sat before him as the rest of God’s people did (Ezekiel 33:31).

They listened intently to Ezekiel’s proclamation of God’s words (Ezekiel 33:31a-c), but the true nature of their supposed worship of God was revealed by their failure to heed God’s words (Ezekiel 33:31d). God exposed them as hypocritical worshipers who did not do what He said because although they professed great love for Him, they were actually motivated by their lustful hearts and their pursuit of personal gain (Ezekiel 33:31e-f).

God then called Ezekiel to perceive what was taking place in the hearts and minds of such people: “And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument.” (33:32). The Hebrew word rendered as “very lovely” (that modifies the word song) uses a word (‘Əgavah) that is used in a negative sense in Scripture for “sensual desire” that is “condemned” (Holladay, 264).

Ezekiel thus was to them like a song characterized by sensuality that was ministered by a person having a beautiful voice and playing a stringed instrument skillfully (33:32a-b). Implicit thus in this statement is these people’s appetite for sensual songs and God’s condemnation of that fleshly proclivity.

This statement revealed the essential problematic sensuality of these supposed worshipers of God. Because of that sensuality, God’s words did not profit them in bringing about obedience to Him in their lives, just as hearing a sensual love song sung by one with a pleasant voice accompanied well on an instrument does not.

Through this comparison, God was not condemning those who have lovely voices or can play stringed instruments with great skill–He is the One who gifts people with these priceless gifts. His statement indicts the people who were hearing Ezekiel’s ministry of the Word with the same fleshly orientation of heart as they would hear sensual songs.

Unquestionably, Ezekiel was not preaching a sensual message to them; he apparently then had an appealing, pleasant speaking voice, good vocal production, and great skillfulness in his speaking for God. These sensuality-oriented worshipers were drawn to these elements of his ministry, but they did not have a heart for hearing from God to do what He was saying through Ezekiel.

This account warns us that we must come to hear the ministry of God’s Word with a true and sincere heart to obey Him. To have such a heart to hear from God, we through the Spirit must mortify all manifestations of the sensuality that our flesh is irredeemably bent toward. Otherwise, even hearing a true prophet of God preach His words in His house will not profit us, and our worship will be spoiled by the same sensuality for which God rebuked those among His people who came with that ungodly orientation to hear Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry.

 

For help with issues concerning CCM, please see the many resources that I have compiled: Resources That Provide Answers to Key Issues Concerning CCM 

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Exhortation, Exposition, Music
 permalink

The NT Key to a Fuller Understanding of the Golden Calf Incident

September 29, 2013

The NT provides fuller understanding about many key OT people and events, including Creation, the Exodus, and the ministry of Enoch. In a striking way not specifically revealed in the OT, First Corinthians 10 gives believers the key to a fuller understanding of the Golden Calf incident and its contemporary relevance.*

Prior Revelation about the Golden Calf Incident

Prior to First Corinthians 10, at least five passages give us explicit revelation about the Golden Calf incident: Exodus 32; Deuteronomy 9; Nehemiah 9; Psalm 106; Acts 7. A thorough analysis of these passages shows that the incident was a profoundly important event in sacred history (see the previous articles in this series, which are listed below, for more information).

Fittingly, this prior revelation, however, does not reveal a key facet about the event that is necessary to know in order to understand it fully. God gives us that key through vital Pauline teaching in First Corinthians 10.

First Corinthians 10 and the Golden Calf Incident

Of the two NT references to the Golden Calf incident, Acts 7:39-41 only indirectly pertains to believers today because it is part of Stephen’s defense before the high priest and other Jewish people who accosted and persecuted him (Acts 6:9-7:60). The reference in First Corinthians 10:7, however, is in epistolary teaching specifically directed to Christians.

Because Paul explicitly cites the Golden Calf incident in important epistolary teaching to believers, we know that properly understanding it and its application to us is vital. Moreover, Paul states both before (1 Cor. 10:6) and after (1 Cor. 10:11) his reference to the incident (1 Cor. 10:7) that the account is exemplary for us and was recorded for our instruction.

We must take pains, therefore, to study all the passages about the incident carefully and thoroughly. When we do so with First Corinthians 10, we discover at least three key aspects of the incident that pertain to believers today and need more attention.

Christian Liberty and the Golden Calf Incident

Paul wrote First Corinthians to believers who were facing many problems in the church at Corinth. First Corinthians 10 is part of three chapters (1 Cor. 8:1-11:1) that he wrote to address problems that the Church was facing with issues concerning Christian liberty.

A key feature of the Golden Calf incident was its essential character as an instance of religious syncretism. Paul’s use of that account in First Corinthians 10 to warn Christians must alert us to the profound potential dangers posed by some disputed practices among believers that many regard as involving similar religious syncretism.

Invoking Christian liberty as justification for such practices without bringing to bear pertinent truths from the Golden Calf incident puts contemporary believers at profound spiritual risk. No discussion of such issues about Christian liberty is legitimate if it does not account fully for Paul’s teaching in First Corinthians 10 concerning the relevance of the incident for Christians.

Meat Offered to Idols and the Golden Calf Incident

In First Corinthians 10:7, Paul commands all believers not to be idolaters. He cites Exodus 32:6 as a Scriptural record of some highly privileged people (cf. 1 Cor. 10:1-4) who became idolaters in the Golden Calf incident:

Exo 32:6 And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. 

1Co 10:7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 

By citing this aspect of the incident in his command, Paul made clear that their eating, drinking, and playing on this occasion were all part of their idolatry.

Moreover, the reference to their eating and drinking in Exodus 32:6 is not pointing to ordinary eating and drinking that took place after they worshiped the calf. Rather, it refers to their eating and drinking food and drink that they had offered to the idol.

Based on First Corinthians 10:7, we understand that the Israelites’ eating and drinking what was offered to the idol and their playing afterwards are all key information that must warn us to flee from idolatry (1 Cor. 10:14). We must accept, therefore, that the profound danger that idolatry poses for believers involves much more than a believer’s personally doing homage to an idol by bowing to it or engaging in some other related actions that involve only the believer’s body and no other external objects.

What Paul then explains in the rest of First Corinthians 10 reveals just how this is the case with a believer’s partaking of meat offered to idols. In this concluding material, he gives us the profound revelation that is the key to a fuller understanding of the Golden Calf incident.

Fallen Spirits and the Golden Calf Incident

Paul teaches that believers “know that an idol is nothing in the world” (1 Cor. 8:4) and that food in and of itself does not commend us to God (1 Cor. 8:8). He later reiterates both truths through two questions (“What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing?” [1 Cor. 10:19]).

What Paul says next brings out the horrific spiritual reality of what takes place when people offer sacrifices to idols:

But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils (1 Cor. 10:20). 

Paul reveals that Gentiles who sacrifice to idols in reality offer sacrifices to fallen spirits and not to God! Although neither an idol nor what is offered to it has any innate spiritual qualities to it individually, people who combine the two in a worship context in reality worship fallen spirits—regardless of whether they intend to or not.

Worse yet, not only do they worship the fallen spirits, but they also have fellowship with them! Eating meat offered to an idol in a worship context thus puts those who eat that meat into direct contact with demons.

Moreover, Paul teaches that it is not possible to partake of both the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils (1 Cor. 10:21a). Nor is it possible to partake both of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons (1 Cor. 10:21b).

These statements make clear that believers who engage in worship that features any such religious syncretism are incapable of worshiping the Lord aright. True believers who do engage in such actions must fear provoking the Lord to jealousy (1 Cor. 10:22) because they are not stronger than He is, and He will surely chasten them for doing so.

When these considerations are brought to bear on our understanding of what happened in the Golden Calf incident, we learn that all that the passages record of their shameful debauched behavior after they had eaten and drunk what was offered to the idol was not merely human deviancy on display. Rather, their playing (Exod. 32:6; 1 Cor. 10:7), singing (Exod. 32:18; Acts 7:41), and dancing (Exod. 32:19; Acts 7:41) in unrestrained ways that brought them into shame with their enemies (Exod. 32:25) was the deviant behavior of people who had come into direct contact with fallen spirits and been influenced by them to engage in that shameful debauched behavior! 

Moreover, we understand better God’s profound anger with the people on that occasion—they had provoked Him to wrath because their religious syncretism brought them into direct fellowship with demons. Because His people had become profoundly “contaminated” in that manner, He ordered that many of them be executed (Exod. 32:26-29) and would have destroyed them all had not Moses interceded for them (Exod. 32:11-14).

Conclusion

Based on the points covered above, any sound treatment of the Golden Calf incident and its relevance for believers today must account for its being a record of demon-influenced immoral behavior by spiritually privileged people that resulted from their engaging in purported worship of the Lord that included religious syncretism. We must allow God’s profound displeasure with His people on that occasion to underscore Paul’s use of that incident in First Corinthians 10 to warn us to take heed that we not fall similarly in matters concerning Christian liberty because we think that we stand (1 Cor. 10:12).

As I hope to show in future articles, this fuller understanding of the incident has profound relevance for contemporary debates about the propriety of incorporating debauched pagan elements into worship of the Lord.

 *If you have not done so, please read the previous articles in this series before reading this article:

1. Toward Fully Understanding the Golden Calf Incident

2. More Insights about the Golden Calf Incident

3. Leadership Failure and the Golden Calf Incident

4. Religious Syncretism and the Golden Calf Incident

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Discipleship, Exposition, Music, Theology
 permalink

Religious Syncretism and the Golden Calf Incident

September 23, 2013

In three previous articles, I treated various broader aspects of the Golden Calf incident, such as the basic teachings of the passages concerning the incident and some of their various applications to believers today.1 This post focuses attention on the Israelites’ religious syncretism in what took place on that infamous occasion.

Israel’s Knowledge of God before the Incident

Through the plagues that He brought upon Egypt, God judged its gods (Exod. 12:12) and showed to His people as well as to others that He was the one and only true God (cf. Exod. 8:10; 9:14; 10:2; 14:4, 18; 18:11). He then gave the Israelites who came out of Egypt clear teaching that they were not to make any idols or images (Exod. 20:4, 23), as the Egyptians and other peoples did (cf. Exod. 23:24).

Furthermore, He instructed the Israelites about the feasts that they were to keep to Him (Exod. 23:14-19). He made known to them as well the altars (Exod. 20:24-26; cf. Exod. 27:1-8; 30:1-6) that they would build to Him and the sacrifices that they would offer upon them as part of their worshiping Him (Exod. 20:24; 29:1-30:38).

Israel’s Religious Syncretism in the Incident

Before the Israelites, therefore, engaged in the Golden Calf incident, they had been thoroughly instructed by God about what they were and were not to do in worshiping Him. Nevertheless, in the absence of Moses, the people congregated around Aaron and demanded that he make for them an idol (Exod. 32:1).

Aaron not only cooperated with them in making the idol (Exod. 32:2-4; 35), but he also made an altar before it (Exod. 32:5a). Moreover, he declared that the next day would be a feast to the Lord (Exod. 32:5b).

When the people, therefore, rose early the next day and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings and sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play (Exod. 32:6), they purportedly were supposed to have been observing a feast to the Lord. In reality, however, they were engaged in religious syncretism that robbed God of His glory (Ps. 106:20-21) and was idolatrous worship that greatly provoked the Lord (Neh. 9:18).

Their feasting that purportedly was supposed to have been to the Lord was in actuality the rejoicing in the works of the hands (Acts 7:41) of people who had turned back to Egypt in their hearts (Acts 7:39). Their singing and dancing in what was supposed to have been a feast to the Lord (Exod. 32:17-19) was in fact not worship of the Lord at all but the unrestrained debauchery of people of whom even their enemies were ashamed (Exod. 32:25)!

God’s Rejection of Their Religious Syncretism

While the people were supposedly observing what was supposed to have been their observing a feast to the Lord, the Lord informed Moses of the heinous sinfulness of what they actually had done and were doing (Exod. 32:7-8). God rejected their religious syncretism and purposed to annihilate them for their idolatrous perversion of His worship (Exod. 32:9-10; 1 Cor. 10:7).

Aaron had brought very great sin (Exod. 32:21) upon the people through the leading role that he played in their perversion of the worship of the Lord (cf. Exod. 32:25). God was intensely angry with both the people and him and would have destroyed them all had Moses not interceded for them (Exod. 32:11-14; Deut. 9:19-20).

God’s Gracious Dealings with Them in spite of Their Sinfulness in the Incident

In His great compassion and mercy, the Lord did not annihilate them nor forsake them in the wilderness (Neh. 9:18-19). In fact, He continued His goodness to them in leading them, instructing them, providing for them, and using them for His own purposes in spite of the great sinfulness of what they did in the Golden Calf incident (Neh. 9:19-25).

Conclusion

The Israelites thoroughly perverted the worship of the Lord on this occasion through their incorporation of an element of pagan worship (the idol) into what was supposed to have been a feast to the Lord. The heinous sinfulness of their religious syncretism should cause all believers to take heed not to incorporate elements of debauched pagan origin into any aspect of their worshiping the Lord.

1If you have not done so, please read the previous articles in this series before reading this article:

1. Toward Fully Understanding the Golden Calf Incident

2. More Insights about the Golden Calf Incident

3. Leadership Failure and the Golden Calf Incident

(See all the articles in this series under point 11 here)

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Discipleship, Exposition, Music, Theology
 permalink

Leadership Failure and the Golden Calf Incident

September 17, 2013

Exodus 32 and Deuteronomy 9 document the profound leadership failure that allowed the Golden Calf incident to be the horrific event that it was. God wants all believers to be warned from this incident so that they will not sin the way Aaron and the people did on that occasion.1

Aaron’s Failure to Repulse the People

In the absence of Moses, Aaron was the top leader of God’s people present with them when the Golden Calf incident took place. As an aged saint who was even older than Moses was (cf. Exod. 7:7), he no doubt commanded respect even by virtue of his advanced age.

Prior to the Golden Calf incident taking place, God had already appointed Aaron to be the first high priest of His people (Exod. 28:1-2; cf. Heb. 5:1-4)—whose foremost calling would be to minister to God Himself (Exod. 28:1, 3, 4, 41; 29:1, 44; 40:13). Secondarily, he would minister for the spiritual wellbeing of the people (Exod. 28:12, 29, 30, 38; Heb. 5:1).

When the people congregated to request that he make an idol for them (Exod. 32:1), Aaron failed profoundly in both respects. His recent unique appointment to future divine service should have caused him to repulse them vehemently.

Instead, he failed the Lord and brought very great sin upon the people (Exod. 32:21) by instructing them about what materials they should provide him with to make the idol (Exod. 32:2-3) and by fashioning the idol for them (Exod. 32:4). The people then proclaimed that the calf was their god who had successfully brought about their departure from Egypt (Exod. 32:4).

Aaron also built an altar before the calf (Exod. 32:5) and proclaimed that there would be a feast to the Lord tomorrow (Exod. 32:5). He thus greatly facilitated their great sinfulness at this time.

Aaron’s Failure to Restrain the People

On the next day, the people worshiped the calf, offered sacrifices to it, sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play (Exod. 32:6, 8). Their playing included singing (Exod. 32:18) and dancing (Exod. 32:19) in such an unrestrained manner that they were brought into shame among their enemies (Exod. 32:25). They shamefully rejoiced in the works of their own hands (Acts 7:41) instead of rejoicing in the Lord and in all that He had done for them.

Moses held Aaron responsible for their shameful, unrestrained idolatrous activities (Exod. 32:25). Aaron should have restrained them but instead failed both God and His people by not doing so.

Aaron’s Failure to Acknowledge His Responsibility for What Happened

When Moses confronted Aaron about what had taken place (Exod. 32:21), Aaron blamed the people instead of acknowledging his own failures (Exod. 32:22-24). He even ridiculously asserted that the calf somehow just came out of the fire after he had thrown the gold into the fire (Exod. 32:24b).

Because of his great sinfulness on this occasion, God was prepared to destroy both the people (Deut. 9:19) and Aaron (Deut. 9:20). Only Moses’ intercession spared them (Exod. 32:11-13; Deut. 9:19; Ps. 106:23) and Aaron (Deut. 9:20).

Learning from Aaron’s Leadership Failures

When Moses was away, Aaron and the people sinned horrifically against God. Both Testaments record Aaron’s sin (Exod. 32; Acts 7:40), which underscores its enormity.

Learning from what happened in the Golden Calf incident, churches and other Christian institutions must beware that the times when their top leaders are away are potentially very dangerous times. Top leaders who must be away from their people should pray fervently that their people not stray from God and His ways in their absence.

Subordinate leaders should be very alert at such times that they not fail God and His people profoundly while the top leader is away. Unlike what Aaron did, they must value the glory of God and the spiritual wellbeing of His people enough to repulse any sinful developments that may take place among the people at such times.

Moreover, if they make some bad decisions at such times, they must take proper responsibility for their failures. They must also diligently seek to restrain as much as possible any sinful aftermath that may result in such situations.

Conclusion

God has provided us with the accounts of the Golden Calf incident so that we may learn from them and so that we may be warned about certain aspects of leadership failure and their potentially horrific consequences. Let us diligently take these truths to heart and not allow any such leadership failures or incidents to take place among God’s people in our day.

1If you have not done so, you should read the previous articles in this series before reading this article:

Toward Fully Understanding the Golden Calf Incident

More Insights about the Golden Calf Incident

(See the rest of the articles in this series under point 11 here)

 

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Discipleship, Exposition, Theology
 permalink

Behold the Wondrous Mercy of Our God!

September 2, 2013

King Ahab was a uniquely wicked man (1 Kin. 21:25) whose wickedness so provoked God that He pronounced fierce judgment upon him and his entire house (1 Kin. 21:21-22). Ahab responded to the message of his impending doom in a remarkably humble way that elicited a response from God that highlights His wondrous mercy!

The Unique Wickedness of Ahab

When Ahab murdered Naboth and took possession of his vineyard (1 Kin. 21:1-16), God commanded Elijah to go and confront him with his sinfulness (1 Kin. 21:17-18). The Lord instructed Elijah about what he was to say to the king:

1Ki 21:19 And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.

Because Ahab wickedly had Naboth killed, God sentenced him to experience the same fate that Naboth had experienced—the dogs would lick his blood in the very place where they had licked Naboth’s blood.

Ahab responded to Elijah with a question that revealed that he viewed Elijah as his enemy: And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? (1 Kin. 21:20a). Elijah answered him by declaring further the fierce judgment that he and his entire household would experience because of his wickedness and the wickedness of his wife Jezebel:

20 And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.

21 Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel,

 22 And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin.

 23 And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.

 24 Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat.

The writer of First Kings then adds two statements that declare the unique wickedness of Ahab:

 25 But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up.

 26 And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel.

Ahab had sold himself to do wickedness in a unique way, including his murdering Naboth and his being an exceedingly abominable idolater in the sight of the Lord.

The Remarkably Humble Response of Ahab to God’s Pronouncement of His Doom

Hearing of the fierce judgment that God had pronounced upon him for his wickedness, Ahab responded by remarkably humbling himself publicly before God:

1Ki 21:27 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.

This statement shows that Ahab’s response was not just a momentary response—he abased himself openly for an extended period.

The Wondrously Merciful Response of God to Ahab’s Humbling Himself 

When Ahab responded in such a remarkably humble way, God underscored to Elijah his humility and made known that He would have mercy on him:

1Ki 21:28 And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying,

 29 Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son’s days will I bring the evil upon his house.

God declared that he would not bring His judgment upon Ahab in his days. Ahab’s house, however, eventually would be judged because they would end up not humbling themselves before God, as Ahab did.

Even though Ahab had been so horrifically wicked before God, God bestowed mercy upon him when he humbled himself before Him!

No matter what evil you may have done in your life, you can still receive wondrous mercy from God by truly repenting of your sins and humbling yourself openly before Him (cf. Isa. 55:6-7)! Our God is a God who delights in mercy (Micah 7:18). He has provided the account of His having mercy on Ahab so that you might behold His wondrous mercy and flee from His wrath that is coming on all sinners who do not repent toward Him and believe in His Son Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21).

Behold the wondrous mercy of our God!

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Exhortation, Exposition
 permalink

God Wants to Redeem You!

August 31, 2013

Through providing us with the Scriptural accounts of His redemption of Rahab the harlot, God has made known that He wants to redeem people by working in their lives, as He did in her life. Six key truths about His desire to redeem people are clear from the accounts about Rahab.

God Wants to Redeem You from False Religion

Rahab was a harlot who lived in Jericho, a Canaanite city. Although we do not know with certainty what her prior religious beliefs were, the Scriptural information that we are given about her imply that she moved from a belief in a false religion to belief in the Lord as the one and only true and living God:

Jos 2:9 And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

Heb 11:31 By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace.

God wants to redeem you from false religion, as He did with Rahab!

God Wants to Redeem You from Sinful Living

Prior to her encounter with the two Israelite spies, Rahab was a harlot (Josh. 2:1). After the Israelites had destroyed everyone in Jericho except for Rahab and others who were related to her in one way or another, Rahab continued to live among God’s people even to the time when the book of Joshua was written:

Jos 6:25 And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.

Had Rahab remained a harlot after coming to believe in the Lord, she would not have been able to live in Israel because the Law of God demanded that any woman who was a harlot was to be put to death (Deut. 22:21; cf. Gen. 38:24). Because Rahab continued to live among the Israelites for many years, we can be certain that she turned away from her harlotry at some point after she came to believe in the Lord.

God, therefore, redeemed Rahab not only from false religion but also from her horrifically sinful living! He wants to do the same for you!

God Wants to Redeem You for the Good of Others

God did more than just redeem Rahab herself; His redemption of her also spared her father, mother, brothers, sisters, and any others who may have been in “her father’s household” at least from destruction by the Israelites (Josh. 2:13; 6:17, 23, 25). Moreover, Rahab later married Salmon, a prominent Israelite man, and became the mother of Boaz, who served as a kinsman-redeemer for Naomi and Ruth (Ruth 2:1, 20; 3:1-4:22; Matt. 1:5).

Through His redemption of Rahab the harlot, God brought great good to many other people. He wants to redeem you also for the good of others!

God Wants to Redeem You for His Own Glory through His Son

Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus Christ reveals that Rahab was a foremother of Jesus the Messiah (Matt. 1:5, 16). God ultimately redeemed Rahab the harlot, therefore, to glorify Himself through His Son who would be her greatest Descendant!

Even as He did with Rahab, God continues today to redeem sinners from false religion and sinful living for His eternal glory in the Church through His Son (Eph. 3:20-21)! He wants to redeem you as well for His own glory through His Son!

God Wants to Redeem You by Faith

The writer of Hebrews includes Rahab the harlot among the exemplars of faith whose faith he highlights (Heb. 11:31). He makes clear that Rahab did not perish because of her faith.

God redeemed Rahab through bringing her to believe in Him (Josh. 2:11) based on what she had heard about Him (Josh. 2:9-11). God wants to redeem you also through faith that is based on your hearing His Word (Rom. 10:17)!

God Wants to Redeem You to Do Good Works

Rahab’s new faith in the Lord led her to hide the Israelite spies who came to her (Josh 2; Heb. 11:31). Her faith was a living faith that produced these good works (James 2:25-26).

Through bringing her to believe in Him, God redeemed Rahab from her false religion and harlotry to do good works for her good, the good of many others, and His eternal glory through His Son. Through bringing you to faith in Him, God also wants to redeem you from your false religion and sinful living to do good works for your good, the good of others, and His eternal glory through His Son!

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Exposition, Preaching, Theology
 permalink

Nine Reasons Why Solomon Did Not Perish Eternally

August 19, 2013

Later in his life, Solomon sinned grievously against God. Does Solomon’s sinfulness late in his life and the lack of mention of his repentance mean that he died as an apostate and perished eternally?

Based on my study of Scripture, I believe that there are at least nine solid reasons to hold that he did not perish eternally.

Solomon Did Not Completely Turn Away from God

Scripture records the horrific sinfulness of Solomon later in his life in several passages. First Kings 11 is the primary passage.

Solomon disobeyed God’s commands not to marry women from certain nations who would surely cause him to turn after their gods (1 Kin. 11:1-3; 10, 11). Just as God warned, his foreign wives turned his heart away after other gods (1 Kin. 11:3, 4). As a result, he did much evil in God’s sight, building high places “for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods” (1 Kin. 11:5-8).

Solomon’s horrific sinfulness so angered the Lord that He decreed that He would certainly tear the kingdom from him and give it to his servant (1 Kin. 11:9-11). The Lord stirred up adversaries against Solomon who plagued him for the rest of his life (1 Kin. 11:14-25), and Jereboam rebelled against him (1 Kin. 11:26-40).

Three verses inform us about the rest of his acts, his death, and his burial in Jerusalem, the city of David his father (1 Kin. 11:41-43a-b). His son Rehoboam then reigned in his place (1 Kin. 11:43c).

Two other passages corroborate the dark record of Solomon’s later life (2 Kin. 23:13; Neh. 13:25, 26).

In spite of the darkness that these passages about Solomon record, First Kings 11 makes clear, however, that Solomon did not completely turn away from God:

1 Kings 11:4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

1 Kings 11:6 And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.

The statement that Solomon’s “heart was not perfect with the LORD his God” (1 Kin. 11:4) implies that it was still imperfectly “with the LORD his God.” The statement that he “went not fully after the LORD” (1 Kin. 11:6) also implies that he yet had a continuing relationship with Him.

Solomon did not perish eternally because he never did completely turn away from God. Many other Scriptural considerations confirm this interpretation.

God’s Promises to David about Solomon

Long before Solomon had been born, God made some special promises to David about a special son named Solomon (1 Chron. 22:9) that he would have:

2Sa 7:12 And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.

 13 He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.

 14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:

 15 But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee.

God promised that He would have a Father-son relationship with Solomon, David’s son, who would build for Him a house for His name (2 Sam. 7:13; cf. 1 Chron. 28:6). His special relationship with that seed would include His chastening him if he would commit iniquity (2 Sam. 7:14).

Furthermore, God promised David that although He would chasten that son when he would commit iniquity, He would not take away from His lovingkindness, as He did with Saul (2 Sam. 7:15; 1 Chron. 17:13). These promises make it impossible for Solomon to have perished eternally.

God’s Loving Solomon at His Birth

Beyond God’s special promises about Solomon, God had a special regard for Solomon when he was born:

2Sa 12:24 And David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called his name Solomon: and the LORD loved him.

 25 And he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he called his name Jedidiah, because of the LORD.

Solomon is the only person of whom the Scripture explicitly specifies that the Lord loved him when he was born. Moreover, God’s sending a prophet to give him a special name Jedidiah, which means “beloved of the Lord,” highly emphasizes God’s special love for Solomon.

God’s special promises to David about Solomon and His special love for Solomon as a baby make it certain that we will see Solomon in heaven one day.                                                                                                        

Solomon Loved God

The inspired writer of First Kings says that Solomon loved God:

1 Ki 3:3 And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.

In his natural state, no man loves God (Rom. 5:10; Rom. 8:7); Solomon’s loving God shows that he was a believer. Although his love for God was incomplete, it was genuine because God first loved him (2 Sam. 12:24-25; cf. 1 John 4:19).

As a believer who loved God, Solomon did not perish eternally when he died.

God’s Chastening Solomon

Solomon was David’s son who built the Temple (1 Kin. 5-6) and later committed iniquity. As He had promised to do, God chastened Solomon “with the rod of men and with the stripe of the children of men” (2 Sam. 7:14) through Hadad and Razon (1 Kin. 11:14-25).

God’s chastening Solomon in His mercy to him (cf. 2 Sam. 7:15) shows that Solomon was a true believer whose Heavenly Father chastened him because He loved him (Prov. 3:11-12; written by Solomon). Solomon was a true son of the Heavenly Father who chastens every child of His (Heb. 12:4-11, which quotes Prov. 3:11-12).

Furthermore, First Corinthians 11 teaches plainly that those whom God chastens, He chastens so that they will not be condemned with the world:

1Co 11:30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

 31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Even those whom God chastens with death because they do not repent (“many sleep” [1 Cor. 11:30]) will not be condemned with the world (1 Cor. 11:32).

Scripture does not give any clear indication that Solomon repented of his sinfulness before he died. Even if he did not repent before he died, we would be right in inferring that God chastened him with death for his being an unrepentant believer so that he would not be condemned with the world (1 Cor. 11:30-32).

Because of God’s faithfulness to chasten those whom He loves, Solomon, and all other true believers will be together in heaven one day!

The Record of Solomon’s Life in Second Chronicles

Amazingly, the lengthy record of Solomon’s life in Second Chronicles (2 Chron. 1-9) does not explicitly mention anything about Solomon’s great sinfulness. Because 2 Chronicles records at length the sinfulness of other kings of Israel and Judah (for example, 2 Chron. 33:1-9), the lack of mention of Solomon’s sinfulness suggests that God regarded Solomon in a special way so that He inspired the writing of this book of Scripture that does not say explicitly that he sinned against God.

Furthermore, Ecclesiastes also does not explicitly say that Solomon sinned against God. In fact, except for 1 Kings 11 and a few other verses in later Scripture, the vast majority of narrative Scripture passages (excludes Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon) present Solomon in a profoundly positive and spiritual light that does not support holding that he perished eternally when he died.

A Striking Passage That Includes an Emphatic Statement about God’s Love for Solomon

Nehemiah reiterated God’s special love for Solomon as part of his challenge to people who were sinning through mixed marriages:

Neh 13:26 Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin.

Strikingly, this restatement of God’s love for Solomon that emphasizes the uniqueness of God’s love for him (“among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God”) occurs in a statement that has as its main point how his association with evil women made even him to sin. This passage thus explicitly reminds us of God’s special love for Solomon, which again points to his not perishing eternally when he died.

Solomon Was Not an Apostate Writer of Multiple Books of Scripture

Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, most of Proverbs, and he probably also wrote Psalms 72 and 127. Peter specifies that those whom God inspired to write Scripture were special men:

2Pe 1:20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.

 21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

According to these statements, Solomon was a holy man of God whom the Holy Spirit moved to write the Scripture that he wrote. It is untenable to hold that Solomon was such a man of God when he wrote the Scriptures that he wrote but then he apostatized to perish eternally.

No Mention of Solomon in the NT as an Example of One Who Apostatized

The NT briefly refers to Solomon in seven verses (Matt. 1:6, 7; 6:29; 12:42; Luke 11:31; 12:27; Acts 7:47). Had Solomon apostatized from the faith to perish eternally, he would surely have been mentioned in one or more warning passages in the NT because he would have been a profound example of one who did so.

The lack of mention of his apostatizing in the NT makes it certain that he did not do so. We should not read into the OT record of his life what the Bible never says directly, that is, he apostatized, died unrepentant of his sins, and perished eternally.

Conclusion

Based on the reasons given above, I believe that Solomon did not perish eternally when he died. We will see Solomon in heaven one day because of God’s faithfulness to those whom He loves, even when they as believers sin profoundly against Him.

In His love, God chastened Solomon intensely because of what he did. Let us fear to sin as Solomon did through his ungodly associations with ungodly people.

See also Did Solomon Repent Before He Died?

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Exposition, Interpretation, Theology
 permalink

Will We As Christians Give a Future Account for Certain Sins?

August 13, 2013

In Miletus, the apostle Paul earnestly ministered to a group of church elders whom he summoned from Ephesus (Acts 20:17-38). In his address to them, Paul made a statement that raises a crucial question—will we as Christians give a future account for certain sins?

Paul’s Unceasing Evangelistic Ministry in Asia Minor

Paul reminded these elders that they knew the life of serving the Lord that he led among them during his entire time with them (Acts 20:18-19). He emphasized that he had not refrained from ministering to them and to others concerning repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:20-21).

He informed them of how he was constrained in spirit to go to Jerusalem regardless of the bonds and afflictions that the Spirit had testified to him would await him everywhere (Acts 20:22-23). Testifying that he was unmoved by any of these things, he explained that he lived his life selflessly so that he might finish joyfully his course and the ministry that the Lord Jesus had given him to testify the gospel (Acts 20:24).

Paul’s Certainty about the Future

Paul then declared that he knew that these all among whom he had been preaching the kingdom of God would never see his face again (Acts 20:25). Apparently, the Lord in some unexplained manner had informed Paul of this fact.

Paul’s Confidence concerning His Freedom from Bloodguiltiness

Because Paul knew that he would never have another opportunity to minister to them personally, he wanted to be certain that he had finished giving them all the truth that they needed to hear from him. He, therefore, testified to them that day that he was “pure from the blood of all men” because he had not shunned declaring to them “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:26-27).

Paul thus asserted his own confidence that he was free from bloodguiltiness concerning all people. He, however, did much more than that because saying these things he implicitly challenged these elders about their own need to be free from the blood of all men by giving them all the truth that they themselves should.

The Profound Implications That Paul’s Statements concerning Bloodguiltiness Seem to Have

What Paul said to these elders about why he was confident that he was pure from the blood of all men appears to have some profound implications. Paul apparently believed that he would not have been free from such bloodguiltiness had he failed to declare all the counsel of God to them.

Did Paul, then, believe that had he failed in that respect, such failure would have been something that he would have had to give an account for to the Lord one day after his life on earth had ended? If so, Paul would be teaching that he believed that Christians would give a future account for certain sins.

Does Paul’s Teaching in Romans 14 Confirm His Statements in Acts 20?

Paul’s teaching in Romans 14 may help us to assess the validity of our understanding that his statements in Acts 20 have such implications. In Romans 14, he cites the future accountability of every believer to the Lord as his Judge to warn believers against judging their brethren wrongly or treating them with contempt (Rom. 14:10-13). Although Acts 20 pertains to a sin of omission of necessary testimony but Romans 14 pertains to sins of commission of treating brethren unjustly, future accountability for the one would necessarily seem to imply future accountability for the other.

Whether or not Paul’s statements in Acts 20 actually do imply such future accountability for certain sins, clearly, he believed that future accountability to the Lord must vitally shape our present behavior. In view of the potential implications of his statements in Acts 20, we should be sure that we have confessed, forsaken, and made any necessary reparations for all our known sins while we still have the opportunity to do so.

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Exposition, Theology
 permalink

A Fascinating Account of God’s Working in Human Lives That Should Lead Us to Trust Him in All Our Ways

August 11, 2013

First Samuel 9 presents the account of Saul’s searching for his father’s donkeys that were lost. In a fascinating way, this account reveals God’s working in human lives to bring about His purposes.

Kish Sends His Son and A Servant to Look for His Donkeys

Kish was a prominent man in Benjamin (1 Sam. 9:1) whose son Saul was both the most handsome person in Israel and the tallest (1 Sam. 9:2). When Kish’s donkeys were lost, he sent Saul and one of his servants to seek them (1 Sam. 9:3).

Unable to find them after a lengthy search, Saul spoke to his servant to return to his father so that his father would not become concerned about Saul and his servant instead of the lost donkeys (1 Sam. 9:4-5). Because they were in the land of Zuph and the servant knew that there was a man of God there, he convinced Saul instead to go to the prophet to seek counsel from him about the way that they should go (1 Sam. 9:6-10).

Saul and the Servant Meet Samuel

As they were going to the city to seek out the prophet, they encountered some young women who directed them about where they should go to meet him (1 Sam. 9:11-13). As they were following their directions, Samuel, the prophet, met them because he was going to the same place that the women had directed them to go meet him (1 Sam. 9:14).

Remarkable Information about God’s Working

The next verses in First Samuel 9 record what God had informed Samuel about on the day prior to this meeting with Saul:

1Sa 9:15 Now the LORD had told Samuel in his ear a day before Saul came, saying,

 16 To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me [bold added].

These verses show that God had told Samuel that He would send him tomorrow around the very time of their meeting a man out of Benjamin to anoint as the captain over His people who would deliver them.

When we read, however, the earlier verses in the chapter, we do not find any indication that God spoke to either Saul or the servant to go to the prophet. Nor do we find any indication of His directing them to do so through any means of which they were aware.

Without the information in First Samuel 9:16, we would not have known even to think that it was God who sent Saul to Samuel through the events that took place. In a fascinating way, this passage thus teaches us about God’s working in human lives to direct them to His ends without their having any direct communication from Him about what He wants them to do.

It also illustrates how God uses circumstances and people in our lives to bring us together with other people for His purposes and does so in inscrutable ways that we should not regard as luck, chance, or coincidence.

This account should encourage us to trust God to work in our lives in ways that are “exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Eph. 3:20), just as He did for Kish, Saul, and his servant, who all had no idea of what God was going to do through Kish’s sending them to look for his lost donkeys!

Copyright © 2011-2024 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.

In Discipleship, Exposition, Theology
 permalink