Effie Darlene Barba ⋆ Inspiring Joy in Lifes Toughest Moments

How do I really know Jesus is Our Joyous Kinsman Redeemer?

“Fear not, for you will not be put to shame;

And do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced;

But you will forget the shame of your youth,

And the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.

5 “For your husband is your Maker,

Whose name is the Lord of hosts;

And your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel,

Who is called the God of all the earth.

6 “For the Lord has called you,

Like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,

Isaiah 54 (NASB)

When Joshua died, the people declared they would be faithful to God. That did not happen. Very quickly they all began to do what was right in their own eyes. They included God, more as a side thought, believing themselves protected by Him regardless of their idolatrous lifestyles. God, on the other hand remained faithful to all His Promises. From the beginning, He promised a Joyous Kinsman Redeemer for fallen humanity. He told Eve that her seed would crush the head of serpent. In doing so, Jesus purchased the deed of earth with His own blood. But I am getting ahead of the story. So let us step back to look at the book of Judges and then Ruth.

The book of Judges is a sad and dark book in the Bible. It is filled with failures. God chooses judges to guide the people. However, all through the book of judges even the judges become further and further flawed. Not until Samuel do you find a judge who truly follows God’s commands with all their heart. Gideon for a while was a bright star. But before his death he made a golden ephod, telling the people to follow only God to be their King. But alas, they worshipped the golden object instead.

Samson was a mess, but still ultimately did God’s will. Even if only after losing everything. Judges shows God’s faithfulness to the nation regardless of the people. It also shows how God could use the least of us to accomplish His will with even a thread of faith.

How Low Can a People Go?

Still in the end, the book ends with a true picture of how debauchery had thrived within the nation. A Levite priest gives his concubine to a group of sexual perverts from the tribe of Benjamin to save himself from these men’s sexual assault. They sexually abuse her to her death. He then cuts her body into pieces and sends it to the other tribes, inciting a civil war. Then the book of judges ends with this.

²⁵In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 21: 25 (NASB)

John MacArthur comments, “Judges 17-21 vividly demonstrates how bizarre and deep sin can become when people throw off the authority of God…This was an appropriate, but tragic conclusion to a bleak period of Israelite history”¹

They had failed to heed the warnings in Deuteronomy. Soon God would appoint Samuel as the final judge through whom He would give the people Kings—both good and bad. That is the case with human Kings. Yet, it is through the line of King David that the Joyous Kinsmen Redeemer for the nation and for the gentiles would be born. Only He could truly save and redeem the earth. How appropriate then that during the days of the judges, we are introduced to Ruth.

Trials to Test the Faith Leading to God’s Providence

Now it came about in the days when the judges governed, that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the land of Moab with his wife and his two sons. ²The name of the man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife, Naomi; and the names of his two sons were Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem in Judah. Now they entered the land of Moab and remained there. Ruth 1 (NASB)

So, rather than trust God, Elimelech took his family to the land of Moab and settled in. He named his sons Mahlon (meaning sickly) and Chiliion (pining or wasting away). Odd names perhaps depicting their own spiritual state at the time. We do not know a lot about Naomi’s faith at the time. However, she dutifully followed her husband.

³Then Elimelech, Naomi’s husband, died; and she was left with her two sons. ⁴They took for themselves Moabite women as wives; the name of the one was Orpah and the name of the other Ruth. And they lived there about ten years. ⁵Then both Mahlon and Chilion also died, and the woman was bereft of her two children and her husband.

Naomi decides to return to the land of Judah. Once might surmise that throughout the 10 years, she had demonstrated a faith in God despite her husband’s lack thereof. I say that because Ruth chooses to believe in Naomi’s God and go with her.

Tragedy Turns to Triumph

Despite all the darkness seen in the book of Judges, we are presented with an epic love story. Ruth chooses to follow Naomi, out of loving devotion to her.

¹⁶But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. ¹⁷Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus, may the Lord do to me, and worse, if anything but death parts you and me.” Ruth 1 (NASB)

On her return, she first said that God had dealt bitterly with her. Yet, little did she realize, God was about to make her infamous. His blessings would surpass anything He had taken from her. It would even surpass her wildest imaginations as through a joyous kinsman redeemer, she would become heiress to the world’s joyous kinsman redeemer.

Once in the land of Judah, they had no money and no means of support. Ruth asks to go with the poor and glean from the fields behind the others. God’s law had included a provision to provide for the poor and the stranger.

⁹‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. ¹⁰Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19 (NASB)

So, willingly, Ruth went out to walk behind the workers and gather enough for she and Naomi.

An Act of God—She Meets Her Joyous Kinsman Redeemer

²And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.” ³So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. ⁴Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “May the Lord be with you.” And they said to him, “May the Lord bless you.” ⁵Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?” ⁶The servant in charge of the reapers replied, “She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. ⁷And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ Thus, she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.”

She happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz. He happened to come from Bethlehem at that same time. And he realized who she was and what she had done. He saw her true beauty. Furthermore, he addressed her as daughter suggesting he was much older than she. Yet, he had no son of his own. He was very wealthy and was related to Elimilech and therefore could redeem Abimelech’s land.

He Saw Her and Had Compassion on her.

⁸Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids. ⁹Let your eyes be on the field which they reap and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw.” ¹⁰Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”

¹¹Boaz replied to her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth and came to a people that you did not previously know. ¹²May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” ¹³Then she said, “I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.”

Also note his acts of kindness to provide for her and to protect her from harm. Certainly, in a time when many did whatever they thought right, a Moabite woman could have been preyed upon. Much like how Jesus sees you and me.

Ruth Seeks Her Joyous Kinsman Redeemer

God Wrote in Leviticus 25

²³‘The land, moreover, shall not be sold permanently, for the land is Mine; for you are but aliens and sojourners with Me. ²⁴Thus for every piece of your property, you are to provide for the redemption of the land.

²⁵‘If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell part of his property, then his nearest kinsman is to come and buy back what his relative has sold.

^48…One of his brothers may redeem him, ⁴⁹or his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or one of his blood relatives from his family may redeem him

These laws were to protect the land, the heritage of the people, and provide a way of continuing the lineage of even the deceased.

A Proposal of Sorts by Ruth

Ruth must have thought this man kind, but she was not aware of who he was until she told Naomi of him. Can you imagine? Naomi believed all was lost and Ruth came to tell her of Boaz. She must have said, “Boaz? You met Boaz? He is a relative and can be your kinsman redeemer.”

So, Ruth does as Naomi told her. She goes to the threshing floor and lays down at the feet of Boaz. When he awoke, she asked him to redeem her. He said he would if the nearer kinsman did not.

Proposal Accepted with Glee

Listen to these his words toward her:

⁸It happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. ⁹He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative.” ¹⁰Then he said, “May you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. ¹²Now it is true I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. ¹³Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the Lord lives. Lie down until morning.”

¹⁴So she lay at his feet until morning Ruth 3

The Joyous Kinsman Redeemer Eagerly Completed His Promise

The next morning, he hurried to the square where he offered the land and Ruth to the nearer relative. He declined as he did not want to potentially harm his own inheritance. Happily, then Moab declared.

¹⁰Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased will not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today.” ¹¹All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. ¹²Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

¹³So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the Lord enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. ¹⁴Then the women said to Naomi, “Blessed is the Lord who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. ¹⁵May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

The Line of David Began Here

¹⁶Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap and became his nurse. ¹⁷The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi!” So, they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

Boaz a Shadow of Our Joyous Kinsman Redeemer

Three things were needed to be a kinsman redeemer according to the law. 1. Must be a relative of the impoverished or deceased.

2. Must have the means of redeeming them.

3. Must be willing.

In the case of Ruth, both were needed. Not only redeem the land; but the lineage of Abimelech was to be preserved. God chose a gentile Moabite woman to be in the line of Jesus Christ. How fitting. A gentile bride who entered the land of Judah by faith in God and because of love.

The same is true of us. Jesus is Our Joyous Kinsman Redeemer.

When I look at Boaz, I think, you remind me of somebody named Jesus. Because what he does with Ruth and with this land is a picture of what Jesus Christ will do. The Goel, the kinsman redeemer, is one of the clearest pictures of Jesus in the Bible– a bridegroom who buys a Gentile bride and prepares that Gentile to be his wife.

The Gentile bride is the church. Jesus gave a parable in which he said, the kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid, and for the joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has, and he buys the field. Real quickly, fast forward to the ultimate real estate transaction in history, Revelation chapter 5.

You don’t have to turn there, but in Revelation chapter 5, John sees the scroll in the right hand of him who sat on the throne, written on the inside and on the outside, sealed with seven seals. And somebody said, who is worthy to take the scroll and then loose the seals? And nobody came forth.

So John said, I wept much. Why did he weep? Because he realized what is being held is the title deed to the Earth– the title deed to the Earth that was lost when Adam gave it away, essentially, at the fall to Satan the usurper, who became the god of this world, the prince of the power of the air. And nobody came forward to redeem it, and so he wept much.

Revelation chapter 5 is what we call– or what you would call, if you’re in the real estate business– the closing, where Jesus, at the end, comes to fully redeem the Earth. He redeemed by his own blood. He is the kinsman who was related– that’s the first qualification– he was related. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

So first qualification, he’s related us. That’s why there was an incarnation. Jesus became a man, flesh, and blood, because now he’s related to us, as the Goel. He was willing to do it– the second qualification. He says, nobody takes my life from me. I lay it down of myself. I have the power to lay it down and take it again. So he was willing to do it.

And third, He was able to do it. He had what it took to pay for it. What did He use for his payment? Blood. Paul said, feed the flock of God, which he purchased with his own blood. Jesus Christ, related, willing, and able, steps forward and takes the scroll from God the Father on the throne.

And that is the picture of what goes on during that tribulation period, and ends when Jesus comes back, to rule and reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lord over the field from which He purchased the bride– the bride of Christ, the church. So yeah, it’s a great story. ..

What’s amazing is that the book of Ruth takes place during the time of the Judges, which were such dark days. And in the midst of such dark days, such a beautiful love story occurs. Here’s the parallel. We live in a dark day and age, but behind the scenes, God is all about preparing a bride– the church.

And everyone who says, yes, Jesus, yes, Lord, I give myself to you, I surrender myself to you, becomes part of that great company– the bride of Christ– comprised of Jew and Gentile– largely Gentile– that he calls out, that become his own, and will enjoy that inheritance forever. Father, as we close this book, we open our hearts to these great truths of a kinsman redeemer, and of the great providence of almighty God.

Lord, you gave, through Your spirit, in this book of Ruth, a picture, a preview in very easy-to-understand form of what is going to take place with a greater transaction at the end of time, When the lion of the tribe of Judah, the Lamb of God slain, steps forward and takes that scroll and unlooses the seals, fulfilling the qualifications, and redeems the world lost at the fall, and buys and redeems the world back to You, Father.

And then Jesus will rule and reign over this creation for 1,000 years of a restored Earth. The field itself will be renewed, and the church, the bride, will be in that field ruling and reigning with Him for 1,000 years. Lord, thank you for this preview of great and coming attractions. And I pray for anyone who doesn’t know You, hasn’t committed their life to You, that they would say yes to Jesus, yes to the Savior, yes to the bridegroom, the lover of their soul.²
Skip Heitzig

References

¹ MacArthur, John, The MacArthur Study Bible, 2006, Thomas Nelson, Inc, pg 515

² Heitzig, SKIP; Ruth 1-4 – The Bible from 30,000 Feet – Skip Heitzig – Flight RUT01; Flight RUT01 | SkipHeitzig.com accessed 4/6/2024; or listen at https://youtu.be/LqI5z16rLgs?si=oBpkatt4n5QQKI-U

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.

Therefore if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you today. Go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.

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Do You Desire the Promised Land of Unconditional Rest and Joy?

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2024

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. Furthermore, I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

BSB (BEREAN STUDY BIBLE)

The Berean Bible and Majority Bible texts are officially dedicated to the public domain as of April 30, 2023.

English Standard Version (ESV)

PICTURE Licensed from Goodsalt.com

Do You Desire the Promised Land of Unconditional Rest and Joy?

Now it came about after many days, when the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies on every side, and Joshua was old, advanced in years, 2 that Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and their heads and their judges and their officers, and said to them, “I am old, advanced in years. 3 And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who has been fighting for you. Joshua 23 (NASB)

They Lord gave rest to Israel nearing the end of Joshua’s life. After all the trials and the battles, they faced, finally this generation had come into the promised land. God had won every battle that they had trusted Him for. He did all that He promised. But their rest was not an unconditional rest and joy. It was totally conditioned on their loving God and keeping His commandments.

Take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God. ¹²For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, ¹³know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you. Joshua 23 (NASB)

Joshua as a Picture of Christ, although only a shadow

1 Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ servant, saying, ²“Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel. ³Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses. ⁴From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory. ⁵No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life.

Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. ⁶Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. ⁷Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. ⁸This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. ⁹Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1 (NASB)

But Concerning Unconditional Rest, it was not Joshua’s to give

And so, Joshua led the people into the promised land. Theirs was not a unconditional rest. Instead, it was conditional and to some extent while we are this side of heaven so is ours. Yet, we are promised a land where we will enjoy unconditional rest and joy. We can experience tastes of that here and now. How? By resting in the arms of Jesus, placing him as 1^st and foremost. Joshua brought the people to a place of rest. However the sustenance for peace and rest meant focusing on God first. We, too, must keep our eyes on Jesus. Unlike Jesus, Joshua could not be the substitutionary sacrifice to keep them faithful or pay their sins for them. Moses had wanted to be, but his own sins stood in the way.

Moses unable to Provide Unconditional Rest

³⁰On the next day Moses said to the people, “You yourselves have committed a great sin. Now I am going up to the Lord, perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.” ³¹Then Moses returned to the Lord, and said, “Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. ³²But now, if You will, forgive their sin. And if not, please blot me out from Your book which You have written!”

³³The Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book. ³⁴But go now, lead the people where I told you. Behold, My angel shall go before you; nevertheless, in the day when I punish, I will punish them for their sin.” ³⁵Then the Lord smote the people, because of what they did with the calf which Aaron had made. Exodus 32 (NASB)

But Moses could not promise unconditional rest. Only faith in the Messiah to come. The messiah who has already come and paid the price for our sins. Yet, even when He arrived, they rejected Him. For that reason Paul speaks of His grief.

Paul’s grief for His People

I am telling the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, ²that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. ³For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh, ⁴who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, ⁵whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen….

³⁰What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; ³¹but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. ³²Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone, Romans 9

Other Times of Rest

Various times during their story, the Jewish nation did experience rest. They did not however, have unconditional rest. One of their greatest times of rest was during the reign of King Solomon. Israel’s influence and domain expanded. Their neighbors both feared and loved them.

King Solomon at the dedication of the Temple

⁵⁶“Blessed be the Lord, who has given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He promised; not one word has failed of all His good promise, which He promised through Moses His servant. ⁵⁷May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with our fathers; may He not leave us or forsake us, ⁵⁸that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers.

⁵⁹And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day requires, ⁶⁰so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no one else. ⁶¹Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and to keep His commandments, as at this day.” I Kings 8 NASB

Joshua Also Warned The People

So, take diligent heed to yourselves to love the Lord your God. ¹²For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you ^[^g^]associate with them and they with you, ¹³know with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to ^[^h^]drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you.

¹⁴“Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.

¹⁵It shall come about that just as all the good words which the Lord your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the Lord will bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you. ¹⁶When you transgress the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the Lord will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.”

What About Us? Is there Hope of Unconditional Rest?

Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. ²For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.

Did you get that? The difference between receiving unconditional rest and joy is faith. We who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will enter the true promised land of unconditional rest with Him.

³For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said,

“As I swore in My wrath,
They shall not enter My rest,”

although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.

The truth of Jesus has always been true since before the foundations of the world. The only way to Him always and forever is through faith, not works.

⁶Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, ⁷He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before,

“Today if you hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.”

⁸For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that. ⁹So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. ¹⁰For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.

How Can We enter unconditional rest?

¹¹Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience. ¹²For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ¹³And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

¹⁴Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrew 4

It has been and always will be by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone in Jesus Christ Alone.

⁸By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; ¹⁰for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ¹¹By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. ¹²Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

¹³All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. ¹⁵And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

¹⁷By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son; ¹⁸it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.” ¹⁹He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. ²⁰By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. ²¹By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. ²²By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.

²³By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. ²⁴By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, ²⁵choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. ²⁷By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen. ²⁸By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them. ²⁹By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.

³⁰By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. ³¹By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.
Hebrews 11 (NASB)

So, what does all this mean for us?

There is hope of unconditional rest because of Jesus Christ. We can look forward to the promised land and unconditional rest one day. But what about now? Ah, now we can find our rest in Him. Keep your eyes on Him. Let Jesus be in you, surround you, and give you all that you need. We have his Holy Spirit in us to Guide us into His unconditional rest and joy

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.

For Prayer or Comments

If you have a prayer request feel free to email me by clicking here

Furthermore, if you would like to share your story or thoughts, you can comment here

What Do You Really Want from God? Joyful Blessing or Curse?

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2024

BSB (BEREAN STUDY BIBLE)

The Berean Bible and Majority Bible texts are officially dedicated to the public domain as of April 30, 2023.

English Standard Version (ESV)

PICTURE Licensed from Goodsalt.com

What Do You Really Want from God? Joyful Blessing or Curse?

19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have placed before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So, choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, 20 by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding close to Him; for this is your life Deuteronomy 30 (NASB)

One might think that is a strange question. What do you really want from God, Joyful blessing, or Curse? Of course, I want joyful blessing, all would say. But then how is it that we live so far from that? We may blame the world around us, situations, and the devil. But as you will see, Moses clearly taught the children of Israel what was necessary to find joyful blessings. Yet, alas, they would fail once they entered the land. Just as their parents had before them.

¹²“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, ¹³and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good? Deuteronomy 10 (NASB)

We want the joyful blessing, but we want it on our terms. Just give us the joyful blessing but to love you with all my heart would mean, I must remove myself from the throne of my own heart. Your desires must supersede mine? I would have to say like Jesus, Your will, not my own.

So Why Would I Want His Will Over Mine?

What else did Moses say?

¹⁴Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. ¹⁵Yet the Lord set His affection on your fathers, to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, you over all the other peoples, as it is this day. Deuteronomy 10 (NASB)

⁶“For you are a holy nation to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the nations on the earth, to be His own. ⁷The Lord did not give you His love and choose you because you were more people than any of the nations. For the number of your people was less than all nations. ⁸But it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the promise He made to your fathers. So the Lord brought you out by a strong hand. He set you free from the land where you were servants, and from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Deuteronomy 7 (NASB)

He is God, there is no other. Those chosen are loved, because it is his will and pleasure to love them. No other reason. Is that fair?

What if 5 men stood trial for murder. All were guilty. Then, the judge upon sentencing chose to set 1 free and even pay the price himself? We would cry out unjust because one went free. Not because of the ones punished. Is that not our case? Are we not guilty as well? He chose to love them, not because of anything they had done. That is how He chose me as well. For that reason, I owe Him everything. The older I get, the more I realize that

Joyful blessing or curse

⁹Know then that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God. He keeps His promise and shows His loving-kindness to those who love Him and keep His Laws, even to a thousand family groups in the future. ¹⁰But He destroys those who hate Him. He will not show kindness to the one who hates Him, but will punish him to his face. ¹¹So keep and obey all the Laws I am telling you today. Deuteronomy 7 (NASB).

All deserve to die. So why not end it now. Send all away to judgement now. There are a few we wish He would. How horrific the atrocities that occur in the world. Child trafficking. The horrors of war. Death, destruction, power hunger leaders who care only for themselves. How horrific. Why not end it all now?

He could have. As soon as Adam sinned, He could have said “Done. Or in the days of Noah, Sodom and Gomorrah, or now. Yet, how often do they choose idol worship, pride, and seek to worship other gods. After all that God has done for them? But what about us, are we much different?

Joyful Blessing or Curse from an All Powerful, Sovereign God.

Oh, listen to this Song of Moses

Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak;

And let the earth hear the words of my mouth.

²“Let my teaching drop as the rain,

My speech distill as the dew,

As the droplets on the fresh grass

And as the showers on the herb.

³“For I proclaim the name of the Lord;

Ascribe greatness to our God!

⁴“The Rock! His work is perfect,

For all His ways are just;

A God of faithfulness and without injustice,

Righteous and upright is He.

⁵They have acted corruptly toward Him,

They are not His children, because of their defect;

But are a perverse and crooked generation.

⁶“Do you thus repay the Lord,

O foolish and unwise people?

Is not He your Father who has bought you?

He has made you and established you. Deuteronomy 32

Accursed; yet, God steadies His hand of grace. Yes, destruction, judgement is deserved and will come in the fullness of time. It is His will to continue to provide common grace to even these. For until the moment they die, they are given the chance of turning to Jesus.

Judgement will come swiftly

³⁵‘Vengeance is Mine, and retribution,

In due time their foot will slip;

For the day of their calamity is near,

And the impending things are hastening upon them.’

³⁶“For the Lord will vindicate His people,

And will have compassion on His servants,

When He sees that their strength is gone,

And there is none remaining, bond or free.

³⁷“And He will say, ‘Where are their gods,

The rock in which they sought refuge? Deuteronomy 32

They had searched to find strength in gods who do not even exist. In our time, also such gods as success, fame, power, greed, and lust. When they do fall, where are these gods to save them. They are gone with the wind.

Further description of their destitution.

³⁸‘Who ate the fat of their sacrifices,

And drank the wine of their drink offering?

Let them rise up and help you,

Let them be your hiding place!

³⁹‘See now that I, I am He,

And there is no god besides Me;

It is I who put to death and give life.

I have wounded and it is I who heal,

And there is no one who can deliver from My hand. Deuteronomy 32

Can all these desires of their heart save them in the end from hell and destruction?

⁴⁰‘Indeed, I lift up My hand to heaven,

And say, as I live forever,

⁴¹If I sharpen My flashing sword,

And My hand takes hold on justice,

I will render vengeance on My adversaries,

And I will repay those who hate Me.

⁴²‘I will make My arrows drunk with blood,

And My sword will devour flesh,

With the blood of the slain and the captives,

From the long-haired leaders of the enemy.’ Deuteronomy 32

But for those who love Him, Truly His own.

⁴³“Rejoice, O nations, with His people;

For He will avenge the blood of His servants,

And will render vengeance on His adversaries,

And will atone for His land and His people.” Deuteronomy 32

Jesus in Deuteronomy

Jesus took our curse upon Himself, so that we might have His Joyous Blessing. Is that not why we should adore Him above everything else. Cut away all the desires that go against Him. So, what need we do? Look to Jesus and in looking love Him more than anything else. If we truly look upon Him, we will love Him.

¹⁶So circumcise your heart, and do not stiffen your neck any longer. ¹⁷For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe. ¹⁸He executes justice for the orphan and the widow and shows His love for the stranger by giving him food and clothing.

¹⁹So show your love for the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. ²⁰You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. ²¹He is your glory, and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen. Deuteronomy 10 (NASB)

But What then If We Fail?

¹⁵“But it shall come about, if you do not obey the Lord your God, to be careful to follow all His commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

¹⁶“Cursed will you be in the city, and cursed will you be in the ^[^p^]country.

¹⁷“Cursed will be your basket and your kneading bowl.

¹⁸“Cursed will be the ^[^q^]children of your womb, the ^[^r^]produce of your ground, the newborn of your herd, and the offspring of your flock.

¹⁹“Cursed will you be when you come in, and cursed will you be when you go out.

²⁰“The Lord will send against you curses, panic, and rebuke, in ^[^s^]everything you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have abandoned Me. Deuteronomy 28

Why?

⁴⁵“So all these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping His commandments and His statutes which He commanded you. ⁴⁶And they will become a sign and a wonder against you and your descendants forever.

⁴⁷“Since you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a cheerful heart, in gratitude for the abundance of all things, ⁴⁸you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger, thirst, nakedness, and devoid of all things; and He will put an iron yoke on your neck until He has destroyed you. Deuteronomy 28

And What then?

“So it will be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have placed before you, and you call them to mind in all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you, ²and you return to the Lord your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul in accordance with everything that I am commanding you today, you and your sons, ³then the Lord your God will restore ^[^c^]you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you. ⁴If any of your scattered countrymen are at the ends of the earth, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. ⁵The Lord your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will be good to you and make you more numerous than your fathers.

God Will Do It–The Blessing

⁶“Moreover, the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, to love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul, so that you may live. ⁷And the Lord your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. ⁸And you will again obey the Lord, and follow all His commandments which I am commanding you today. ⁹Then the Lord your God will prosper you abundantly in every work of your hand, in the children of your womb, the offspring of your cattle, and in the produce of your ground, for the Lord will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; ¹⁰you obey the Lord your God, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Law, if you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and soul.

Blessing IS Not Too Hard with God’s Grace

¹¹“For this commandment which I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it far away. ¹²It is not in heaven, that you could say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us and get it for us, and proclaim it to us, so that we may follow it?’ ¹³Nor is it beyond the sea, that you could say, ‘Who will cross the sea for us and get it for us and proclaim it to us, so that we may follow it?’ ¹⁴On the contrary, the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that you may follow it. Deuteronomy 30

²⁹“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, so that we may ^[^j^]follow all the words of this Law. Deuteronomy 29:29

OH FATHER, I LOVE THEE

Oh, Father I came to you first in my youth

Ready to run and tell of Your truth

I studied and worked to make you so proud

You’d see all I’d done- I’m not like the crowd

Polished and shined Your Glory I’d show

From mountaintops shout to the valleys below

I knew I could do it-then you would see

All of my beauty-then you’d love me

Then came the years when all seemed so wrong

I fell to the ground-crushed by the throng

Though I struggled so hard with all of my might

Nothing seemed good, nothing seemed right

Oh Father, my Father; I don’t understand

Weary and worn by the years in this land

I’ve failed you so often, I’ve made Your heart sad

When all that I wanted was to make your heart glad

All of the struggles, the trials of life

The sickness, the pain, the sorrow and strife

I’m covered with scars, the battles I’ve lost

While chasing vain dreams at such a high cost

Then God said,

“Dear Child, don’t you see it is all as I planned

So, please, my dear child, come take my hand

Your beauty will shine bright as the stars

Aglow with my spirit covering the scars

Your eyes are so tender, washed by a tear

My Grace to reflect to all who draw near

Your heart that was broken-stripped of your will

A vessel now emptied- my spirit could fill

Oh, how I do love you, my child don’t you see

I’ve heard every whisper, I’ve heard every plea

It was I who held you tight in the dark of the night

I sang you love songs until the dawn’s light

I’ve watched how you’ve grown, the love in your heart

That sparkle of joy to strangers impart

You could not become the person you are

Were it not for the tears or occasional scar

I’m so proud of you child, all you’ve become

I’ll shout from the heavens, my child “Well Done”

You’ve been faithful and true through all of your life

Through the trials, the heart breaks, and even the strife

Covered with righteousness bought by my son

Redeemed you have been, your victory won

You never were meant to win by your might

The battle was mine, mine only to fight”

Oh, Father, I love you with all of my heart

My greatest treasure you’ve been from the start

The Joy I know now, came from all those years

A precious, rare gift you gave me through tears
Effie Darlene Barba

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.

For Prayer or Comments

If you have a prayer request feel free to email me by clicking here

Furthermore, if you would like to share your story or thoughts, you can comment here

Wonderful Jesus Alone Saves. What Do You Need do? Look

©Effie Darlene Barba, 2024

BSB (BEREAN STUDY BIBLE)

The Berean Bible and Majority Bible texts are officially dedicated to the public domain as of April 30, 2023.

English Standard Version (ESV)

PICTURE Licensed from Goodsalt.com

Wonderful Jesus Alone Saves. What Do You Need do? Look

“Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.

Isaiah 45 (NKJV)

Charles Spurgeon grew up with a knowledge of God. He searched scripture but was not certain as to why; other than he was supposed to. But he found himself miserable, much the way Martin Luther described. Or C.S. Lewis for that matter. Always believing it to be so impossible to be a Christian or to live this thing called faith. Which it is utterly impossible of ones own strength! It is no wonder so many would rather cast aside this whole idea of faith or religion. All religions demand so much and we fall into despair even thinking about it. After all is said and done, “Do I really believe?” Do I believe enough or love God enough? Or is my faith too weak? But what if all I had to do was look?

Odd thought, but is that not what God has said? It is not I that saves me but the one to whom I look, Jesus Christ. It is gazing upon Him, seeing Him I am saved. If all I do is look upon Him, He performs the rest.

Look to Jesus Who Delights Our Soul

I sought the Lord, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
⁵They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces were not ashamed.
⁶This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
⁷The ^[^a^]angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him,
And delivers them.

⁸Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Psalm 34 (NKJV)

Look to the Elect One of God—His Son

“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold,
My Elect One in whom My soul delights!
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.
²He will not cry out, nor raise His voice,
Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
³A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;
He will bring forth justice for truth.
⁴He will not fail nor be discouraged,
Till He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”

⁵Thus says God the Lord,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
(And) Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it,
Who gives breath to the people on it,
And spirit to those who walk on it:
⁶“I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness,
And will hold Your hand;
I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the Gentiles,
⁷To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the prison,
Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
⁸I am the Lord, that is My name;
And My glory I will not give to another,

Isaiah 42 (NKJV)

We cannot even look unless our blinded eyes are opened by Him. How often we look to leaders or others to save us from our trials here on earth. They cannot do anything apart from Him.

Even those who curse Him will one day look

³¹Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. ³²Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. ³³But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs.

³⁴But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. ³⁵And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. ³⁶For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” ³⁷And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.” John 19 (NKJV)

But Even that Seems Futile at Times, How Can I Truly Look ?

John Newton wrote this hymn and I feel so often as he expressed here.

Tis a Point I Long to Know.

Tis a point I long to know,
Oft it causes anxious thought;
Do I love the Lord, or no?
Am I His, or am I not?

If I love, why am I thus?
Why this dull and lifeless frame?
Hardly, sure, can they be worse,
Who have never heard His name!

Could my heart so hard remain,
Prayer a task and burden prove;
Every trifle give me pain,
If I knew a Savior’s love?

When I turn my eyes within,
All is dark, and vain, and wild;
Filled with unbelief and sin,
Can I deem myself a child?

If I pray, or hear, or read,
Sin is mixed with all I do;
You that love the Lord indeed,
Tell me: Is it thus with you?

Yet I mourn my stubborn will,
Find my sin a grief, and thrall;
Should I grieve for what I feel,
If I did not love at all?

Could I joy His saints to meet,
Choose the ways I once abhorred,
Find, at times, the promise sweet,
If I did not love the Lord?

Lord, decide the doubtful case!
Thou who art Thy people’s sun;
Shine upon Thy work of grace,
If it be indeed begun.

Let me love Thee more and more,
If I love at all, I pray;
If I have not loved before,
Help me to begin today.
John Newton¹

²⁰But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, ²¹keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Jude 1:20 (NKJV)

But that is it, we must look for Mercy as did the Jewish nation in the book of Numbers.

Look and be Saved

⁴Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. ⁵And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” ⁶So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.

⁷Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

⁸Then the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” ⁹So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. Numbers 21 (NKJV)

The people had not changed. Filled with the serpent’s poison, just as we, all they had to do was look to live. No cleaning themselves up. Nor were they to crawl toward the mountain. All they did was look. We too are not able to transform ourselves.

Jesus Told Nicodemus, All One Must Do is Look to Him

³Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

⁴Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”

⁵Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. ⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. ⁷Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

⁹Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”

¹⁰Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? ¹¹Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.

Our Spirit is dead. So even to look is an act of Grace by a merciful God.

The Bronze Serpent on the Pole Represent Christ Death in Our Place

Our sin. All the poison of it was laid upon Him and nailed to the cross. Unless we truly see our lack of righteousness, we will never be able to look on Him as our salvation. We look within. Thinking there is something within me that makes me worthy; but alas that is the dilemma that keeps us farthest from Him.

¹²If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? ¹³No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. ¹⁴And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

¹⁸“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” John 3

When Did Spurgeon Decide to Look

At the age of 16, Charles Spurgeon was struggling with the ideas of faith and his own lack despite searching for it. Indeed, he toiled with the ideas of atheism or spiritualism much like C.S. Lewis. Then one winter during a snowstorm, he ended up in a little church where he had never attended before.

The minister did not come that morning; he was snowed up, I suppose. At last, a very thin-looking man,* a shoemaker, or tailor, or something of that sort, went up into the pulpit to preach. Now, it is well that preachers should be instructed; but this man was really stupid. He was obliged to stick to his text, for the simple reason that he had little else to say. The text was,—

“LOOK UNTO ME, AND BE YE SAVED, ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.”
He did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not matter. There was, I thought, a glimpse of hope for me in that text. The preacher began thus—”My dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says, ‘Look.’ Now lookin’ don’t take a deal of pains. It ain’t liftin’ your foot or your finger; it is just, ‘Look.’ Well, a man needn’t go to College to learn to look. You may be the biggest fool, and yet you can look. A man needn’t be worth a thousand a year to be able to look. Anyone can look; even a child can look. But then the text says, ‘Look unto Me.’ Ay!” said he, in broad Essex, “many on ye are lookin’ to yourselves, but it’s no use lookin’ there. You’ll never find any comfort in yourselves. Some look to God the Father. No, look to Him by-and-by. Jesus Christ says, ‘Look unto Me.’ Some on ye say, ‘We must wait for the Spirit’s workin’.’ You have no business with that just now. Look to Christ. The text says, ‘Look unto Me.'”

Then the good man followed up his text in this way:—”Look unto Me; I am sweatin’ great drops of blood. Look unto Me; I am hangin’ on the cross. Look unto Me; I am dead and buried. Look unto Me; I rise again. Look unto Me; I ascend to Heaven. Look unto Me; I am sittin’ at the Father’s right hand. O poor sinner, look unto Me! look unto Me!

When he had gone to about that length, and managed to spin out ten minutes or so, he was at the end of his tether. Then he looked at me under the gallery, and I daresay, with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger. Just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew all my heart, he said, “Young man, you look very miserable.” Well, I did; but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before. However, it was a good blow, struck right home. He continued, “and you always will be miserable—miserable in life, and miserable in death,—if you don’t obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved.” Then, lifting up his hands, he shouted, as only a Primitive Methodist could do, “Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! Look! You have nothin’ to do but to look and live.” I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said,—I did not take much notice of it,—I was so possessed with that one thought. Like as when the brazen serpent was lifted up, the people only looked and were healed, so it was with me. I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard that word, “Look!” what a charming word it seemed to me! Oh! I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away. There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen that instant, and sung with the most enthusiastic of them, of the precious blood of Christ, and the simple faith which looks alone to Him. Oh, that somebody had told me this before, “Trust Christ, and you shall be saved.” Yet it was, no doubt, all wisely ordered, and now I can say,—
C. H. Spurgeon²

A Thought of How Even We Look by Charles Spurgeon

One weekend when I was sitting in the house of God, I was not thinking about the preacher’s sermon, for I did not believe it. The thought struck me, How did you come to be a Christian? I sought the Lord. But how did you come to seek the Lord? The truth flashed across my mind in a moment — I should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him. I prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, How came I to pray? I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so? Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, and from that doctrine I have not departed to this day, and I desire to make this my constant confession, “I ascribe my change wholly to God.”‘
Charles Spurgeon³

From Morning to Evening Devotional—Look to Christ

It is ever the Holy Spirit’s work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan’s work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, ‘Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of his children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus.’ All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: he tells us that we are nothing, but that ‘Christ is all in all.’

Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee—it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument—it is Christ’s blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by “looking unto Jesus.” Keep thine eye simply on him; let his death, his sufferings, his merits, his glories, his intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to him; when thou liest down at night look to him. Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after him, and he will never fail thee.

‘My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness:

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.’”
– Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)
From: Morning and Evening, Morning devotion for June 28.⁴

¹ ’Tis a Point I Long to Know | Tim Challies

² The Great Change – Conversion – Spurgeon Sermons with C.H. Spurgeon (oneplace.com)

³ https://involutedgenealogies.wordpress.com/2010/07/22/spurgeon-on-gods-effectual-calling/

⁴ Look to Christ, Not to Self by C. H. Spurgeon | Monergism

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.

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A Joyous Feast Celebrating the Lord Jesus is Coming. Are you ready?

BSB (BEREAN STUDY BIBLE)

The Berean Bible and Majority Bible texts are officially dedicated to the public domain as of April 30, 2023.

English Standard Version (ESV)

PICTURE Licensed from Goodsalt.com

A Joyous Feast Celebrating the Lord Jesus is Coming. Are you ready?

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Serve the Lord with jubilation;
Come before Him with rejoicing.
3 Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
And His courtyards with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
5 For the Lord is good;
His mercy is everlasting
And His faithfulness is to all generations. Psalm 100

Who does not want to attend a joyous feast? Leviticus 23 is a perfect outline of God ordered feasts filled with joy, hope, redemption, and celebration. But what if I told you, these were all a typology of Jesus? It is so amazing how God has woven the scarlet threads of Jesus Christ and His life throughout every part of scripture. Also, He has woven those threads throughout every celebration He ordained. God intricately has woven Jesus Christ into every part of history. Additionally, He is the story yet to come. We, who know Him as Lord and Savior will be present at the greatest feast and celebration of all. Are you ready?

The Lord spoke to Moses: ²“Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘These are the Lord’s appointed times which you must proclaim as holy assemblies—my appointed times. Leviticus 23 (NET)

Weekly Celebration in Worship of God

These feasts were to be held at the tabernacle with all attending. It began with a day of rest and remembrance to the Lord weekly. That was to be the Sabbath when all rested from labor. God established this as a day of rest, knowing that humanity needed a time to reflect, to be re-energized, and most importantly spend time with God Himself. The sabbath was a gift of God for his creatures. A time to spend with family, all worshiping Him. Nothing lifts a broken soul so much as worshiping God, remembering all He has provided. A joyous feast unto the Lord. A moment to remember that the Lord Jesus gave His all that I might have life abundant in Him.

The Timeline of God on Earth

⁴“‘These are the Lord’s appointed times, holy assemblies, which you must proclaim at their appointed time. Leviticus 23: (NET)

Notice the word MUST. This was God’s Calendar and remains His Calendar concerning both the Jewish nation and for all of creation. Each feast represented a moment in history and foreshadowing of the events yet to come. We have seen that often throughout the Bible where prophecies are for soon and then far away fulfillments. One would ask, “Is God commanding joy and worship?” Well, yes, He is. He who created us, also knows He is the only true source of our joy. By commanding these festivals, He is guiding each of us to maintain our focus on Him.

Furthermore, when we understand their significance and how Jesus did fulfill them and will fulfill the remaining, how can we do anything but rejoice. Each feast was also called the SABBATH—such as the Passover being the 14^th Day of the Month of Nisan—it was honored by not working—gathering at the tabernacle.

Joyous Feast #1: The Passover: Day 14 of the Month of Nisan

⁵In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, is a Passover offering to the Lord. Leviticus 23:(NET)

Now the details surrounding the Passover feast are not detailed in this chapter. However, those were outlined in Exodus 12. Following the Passover that happened in Egypt, they were to perform the same ritual every year. This was to be in their calendar as the 1^st month of their year. The month was called Abib and later named Nisan. It corresponds to our March or April.

The lamb was to be without blemish, maintained within their homes for 5 days and then slaughtered. They were to prepare the lamb and eat it as outlined by God. The blood was to be presented in the tabernacle to remember the time they were saved from the death angel in Egypt. It was eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

This was to be done in remembrance of their deliverance from slavery. It is also a picture of Christ who would be the perfect unblemished lamb. He came into Jerusalem 5 days before His death on the cross where He would be the final perfect sacrifice for our sins. There he would free us from the slavery of sin.

ROMANS 12 (ESV)

⁶We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷For one who has died has been set free from sin. ⁸Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. ¹¹So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹²Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. ¹³Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. ¹⁴For sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law but under grace.

Joyous Feast #2: the Feast of the Unleavened Bread (Days 15-21 of Nisan)

This began the day after the Passover, as a memorial to the Jewish nation fleeing their bondage in Egypt. It signifies sanctification and justification.

⁶Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast affects the whole batch of dough? ⁷Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch of dough—you are, in fact, without yeast. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. ⁸So then, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of vice and evil, but with the bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth. I Corinthians 5 (NET)

We are to be removing the “leaven of sin, anger, and evil” as we are being sanctified. The Holy Spirit is about the work of sanctification. Sometimes it is about our yielding to the Baker’s hand easily or resisting all the way. Whatever, it takes those who know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will be transformed. Then we will feast with immense joy, after the trials and sacrifices we face here on earth have completed their work within us.

Joyous Feast #3: The Day of First Fruits

⁹The Lord spoke to Moses: ¹⁰“Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land that I am about to give to you and you gather in its harvest, then you must bring the sheaf of the first portion of your harvest to the priest, ¹¹and he must wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for your benefit —on the day after the Sabbath the priest is to wave it.

¹²On the day you wave the sheaf you must also offer a flawless yearling lamb for a burnt offering to the Lord, ¹³along with its grain offering, two-tenths of an ephah of choice wheat flour mixed with olive oil, as a gift to the Lord, a soothing aroma, and its drink offering, one-fourth of a Hin of wine.¹⁴You must not eat bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain until this very day, until you bring the offering to your God. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all the places where you live. Leviticus 23 (NASB)

Then and Now

Now for the Jewish nation this was to begin once they entered the land. The feast of first fruits includes great dancing, music, and celebration. It was to represent the faith in God providing plenty more. It represented a new beginning. A resurrection of life. Jesus resurrected from the dead on the day of First Fruits AD 33.

²⁰But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. ²²For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. ²³But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; then when Christ comes, those who belong to him. I Corinthians 15 (NET)

A Joyous Feast—The Festival of Weeks (the Day of Pentacost-50 days)

¹⁵“‘You must count for yourselves seven weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day you bring the wave offering sheaf; they must be complete weeks. ¹⁶You must count fifty days—until the day after the seventh Sabbath—and then you must present a new grain offering to the Lord. ….^{21 “}On this very day you must proclaim an assembly; it is to be a holy assembly for you. You must not do any regular work. This is a perpetual statute in all the places where you live throughout your generations ²²When you gather in the harvest of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field, and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and the resident foreigner I am the Lord your God.’” Leviticus 23 (NET)

This was to celebrate the harvest. Specifically, it occurred exactly 50 days (about 1 and a half months) after the feast of the first fruits. Tradition also says that this fell on the same day Moses received the law; but that is not proven. However, Orthodox Jews stay up all night to study the TORAH all night to contrast with their ancestors whom they believed fell asleep.

Also, here they bring two loaves of leavened bread. It was on the day of Pentecost that the Holy Spirit was given to the church. Also, note two loaves were presented and may represent salvation for both jew and gentile. Also, this feast included provision for the foreigner.

Although Somber, yet a Joyous Feast—The feast of Trumpets

²³The Lord spoke to Moses: ²⁴“Tell the Israelites, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you must have a complete rest, a memorial announced by loud horn blasts, a holy assembly. ²⁵You must not do any regular work, but you must present a gift to the Lord.’” Leviticus 23 (NET)

This feast occurs on the 7^th month—notice there have been many months between the earlier feasts and this one. It is a day of feast to announce the day of atonement which is to occur in 10 days. They begin the preparation toward the most solemn event of the year when they as a nation will be cleansed. These are called the “days of awe.”

Therefore, this trumpet corresponds to the trumpet that will call us forth in the rapture. The rapture then ushers in the tribulation which is the cleansing of the Jewish nation as predicted by Daniel.

¹²At that time the Lord will shake the tree, from the Euphrates River to the Stream of Egypt. Then you will be gathered up one by one, O Israelites. ¹³At that time a large trumpet will be blown, and the ones lost in the land of Assyria will come, as well as the refugees in the land of Egypt. They will worship the Lord on the holy mountain in Jerusalem. Isaiah 27 (NET)

There will be a time yet when Israel will be cleansed and will turn to God to be their Lord. It will be during the awful tribulation that they are prepared for this day of Atonement.

The Joyous Feast: The Day of Atonement

This is observed yearly 10 days (about 1 and a half weeks) after the feast of the trumpet. I started thinking. God is so exacting in days regarding every prediction, then would it be 10 years after the rapture for the completion of the 7-year tribulation. Are we taken out 3 years ahead of the tribulation, so the final preparations are completed? I do not know the answer, but this was a question I pondered upon this week. We did do a deeper discussion of the day of atonement sacrifices with the scape goat last week, so will not go too deep into this this week.

²⁶The Lord spoke to Moses: ²⁷“The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must humble yourselves and present a gift to the Lord. ²⁸You must not do any work on this particular day, because it is a day of atonement to make atonement for yourselves before the Lord your God. ²⁹Indeed, any person who does not behave with humility on this particular day will be cut off from his people. Leviticus 23

Though this is a time of fasting and not feasting until after the sins are removed. Then there is a day of great feasting. There will be a day of great mourning and sorrow. A day of repentance.

¹⁰“I will pour out on the kingship of David and the population of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication so that they will look to me, the one they have pierced. They will lament for him as one laments for an only son, and there will be a bitter cry for him like the bitter cry for a firstborn. Zechariah 12 (NET)

A Joyous Feast—the Feast of Booths

They then have a feast of relocation celebration. It is one in which they camp out in tents, celebrating God’s provision through the wilderness. A reminder of their heritage.

³³The Lord spoke to Moses: ³⁴“Tell the Israelites, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Feast of Shelters for seven days to the Lord. ³⁵On the first day is a holy assembly; you must do no regular work. ³⁶For seven days you must present a gift to the Lord. On the eighth day there is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must present a gift to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly day; you must not do any regular work.

This will be fulfilled during the millennial reign of Christ.

²²I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over them all. They will never again be two nations and never again be divided into two kingdoms. ²³They will not defile themselves with their idols, their detestable things, and all their rebellious deeds. I will save them from all their unfaithfulness by which they sinned. I will purify them; they will become my people, and I will become their God.

²⁴“‘My servant David will be king over them; there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow my regulations and carefully observe my statutes. ²⁵They will live in the land I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your fathers lived; they will live in it—they and their children and their grandchildren forever. David my servant will be prince over them forever. ²⁶I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be a perpetual covenant with them. I will establish them increase their numbers and place my sanctuary among them forever. ²⁷My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be my people. ²⁸Then, when my sanctuary is among them forever, the nations will know that I, the Lord, sanctify Israel.’”Ezekiel 37 (NET)

A Joyous Feast—Celebrating the Lord Jesus. He is Coming Are you ready?

Then after the millenial reign,

²⁴Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, when he has brought to an end all rule and all authority and power. ²⁵For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶The last enemy to be eliminated is death. ²⁷For he has put everything in subjection under his feet. But when it says “everything” has been put in subjection, it is clear that this does not include the one who put everything in subjection to him. ²⁸And when all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will be subjected to the one who subjected everything to him, so that God may be all in all. (I Corinthians 15 NET)

Are you ready to meet Him at the joyous wedding feast yet to come?

⁶Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
    the Almighty reigns.
⁷Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his Bride has made herself ready;
⁸it was granted her to clothe herself
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

⁹And the angel said^[a] to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” Revelation 19-6-9 (ESV)

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.

For Prayer or Comments

If you have a prayer request feel free to email me by clicking here

Furthermore, if you would like to share your story or thoughts, you can comment here

How Absolutely Beautifully Glorious. Look and see Jesus in Leviticus

BSB (BEREAN STUDY BIBLE)

The Berean Bible and Majority Bible texts are officially dedicated to the public domain as of April 30, 2023.

English Standard Version (ESV)

PICTURE Licensed from Goodsalt.com

How Low Can a People Go?

Trials to Test the Faith Leading to God’s Providence

Tragedy Turns to Triumph

An Act of God—She Meets Her Joyous Kinsman Redeemer

He Saw Her and Had Compassion on her.

Ruth Seeks Her Joyous Kinsman Redeemer

A Proposal of Sorts by Ruth

Proposal Accepted with Glee

The Joyous Kinsman Redeemer Eagerly Completed His Promise

The Line of David Began Here

Boaz a Shadow of Our Joyous Kinsman Redeemer

The same is true of us. Jesus is Our Joyous Kinsman Redeemer.

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.

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Joshua as a Picture of Christ, although only a shadow

But Concerning Unconditional Rest, it was not Joshua’s to give

Moses unable to Provide Unconditional Rest

Paul’s grief for His People

Other Times of Rest

King Solomon at the dedication of the Temple

Joshua Also Warned The People

What About Us? Is there Hope of Unconditional Rest?

How Can We enter unconditional rest?

It has been and always will be by Grace Alone, through Faith Alone in Jesus Christ Alone.

So, what does all this mean for us?

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.

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So Why Would I Want His Will Over Mine?

Joyful blessing or curse

Joyful Blessing or Curse from an All Powerful, Sovereign God.

Judgement will come swiftly

Further description of their destitution.

Jesus in Deuteronomy

But What then If We Fail?

Why?

And What then?

God Will Do It–The Blessing

Blessing IS Not Too Hard with God’s Grace

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.

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Look to Jesus Who Delights Our Soul

Look to the Elect One of God—His Son

Even those who curse Him will one day look

But Even that Seems Futile at Times, How Can I Truly Look ?

Look and be Saved

Jesus Told Nicodemus, All One Must Do is Look to Him

The Bronze Serpent on the Pole Represent Christ Death in Our Place

When Did Spurgeon Decide to Look

A Thought of How Even We Look by Charles Spurgeon

From Morning to Evening Devotional—Look to Christ

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.

For Prayer or Comments

PREVIOUS

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Weekly Celebration in Worship of God

The Timeline of God on Earth

Joyous Feast #1: The Passover: Day 14 of the Month of Nisan

ROMANS 12 (ESV)

Joyous Feast #2: the Feast of the Unleavened Bread (Days 15-21 of Nisan)

Joyous Feast #3: The Day of First Fruits

Then and Now

A Joyous Feast—The Festival of Weeks (the Day of Pentacost-50 days)

Although Somber, yet a Joyous Feast—The feast of Trumpets

The Joyous Feast: The Day of Atonement

A Joyous Feast—the Feast of Booths

This will be fulfilled during the millennial reign of Christ.

A Joyous Feast—Celebrating the Lord Jesus. He is Coming Are you ready?

DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.

For Prayer or Comments

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