Revelation 4: The Living Creatures

Today’s reading is Revelation 4.

As we learned yesterday, John is giving us a tour of the heavenly reality upon which the ancient Israelite tabernacle was based. Recall, in the tabernacle, the mercy seat was “guarded” by two cherubim (Exodus 25:18). Additionally, the veil separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was made “with cherubim skillfully worked into it” (Exodus 26:31, ESV).

We are not surprised then to find cherubim in the true heavenly Most Holy Place. The four living creatures are cherubim. When you think of a cherub, you really have to quit thinking of a cute little baby with wings. A cherub is a heavenly being so powerful and frightening, if one actually walked into the room, we’d likely faint dead away. By the way, we learn from the visions of Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1 and 10, that these living creatures are cherubim. Don’t forget, God stationed cherubim with a flaming sword to guard the way to the tree of life after He threw Adam and Eve out of the garden (Genesis 3:24).

In 1 Kings 10:19-18 and 2 Chronicles 9:18-19, we read about the throne room of Solomon. He made an ivory throne and overlaid it with pure gold. The throne had a footrest of gold and two armrests. On each side, beside the armrests, were two lions (presumably statues). Then on each of the six steps leading up to the dais, he also placed two lions. Solomon placed 14 magnificent creatures leading up to his throne. What an awesome sight that must have been to enter his throne room and see him sitting at the head of such powerful creatures. The point was clear. Solomon was powerful and glorious.

But now we see God’s throne room. He is not surrounded by statues, dead creatures. But by living creatures. And such living creatures. One is like a lion, another like an ox, another with the face of a man, and another like an eagle. They have eyes in front and behind and have six wings. These creatures do not represent the four gospels. They are cherubim. They represent cherubim. This is God’s throne room. As Solomon sat on and above magnificent creatures, God sits on and above even more magnificent creatures, heavenly creatures.

If we walked into a room with lions, we would likely turn around and run out as fast as we can. If we walked into a room with cherubim, we’d likely just pass out. They are amazing, incredible, awe-inspiring. But what do they do? Do they bask in their own glory? No. Rather, day and night they never cease to say:

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

Revelation 4:8 (ESV)

And they give glory and honor and thanks to God sitting on the throne. They worship God. If these glorious creatures give glory to and worship God, what should we do? Give them glory? No. We give God glory.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Revelation 4.

PODCAST!!!

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PATHS:
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John 9: Who Opens Eyes?

Today’s reading is John 9.

The Jews were upset about another healing miracle on the Sabbath. Clearly, though Jesus had given them lawful authority for doing so, they hadn’t accepted His arguments. They kept asking the blind man how it happened. He told them the same story every time. Finally, he said this, “Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing.” The Pharisees had no argument against that, so they made an ad hominem attack: “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” Instead of considering the weight of his argument, they dismissed him so they could dismiss his argument.

But let’s think about that argument for a moment. What is John, the author, drawing to our attention by letting us hear this statement from the healed man? Jesus did something even Moses never did. He did something no other prophet did. Jesus didn’t just perform signs like Moses and the prophets, He went a step beyond.

However, now that we’ve considered the Law and the Prophets and looked for someone who opened the eyes of the blind, we start to notice something. We never see anyone do what Jesus did. But we do read statements about who could do what Jesus did.

Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

Exodus 4:11 (ESV)

The LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.

Psalm 146:8

Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it: “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.”

Isaiah 42:5-8 (ESV)

The LORD is the one who gives sight to the blind. Additionally, the LORD will give His glory to no other. Do we really expect God to take this sign so clearly marked as His and His alone and give it to a false prophet?

Who is Jesus? He is the Prophet. He is the Messiah. More than that, He is the LORD.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is John 9.

PODCAST!!!

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PATHS:
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Psalm 102: Faith in the Face of Defeat

Today’s reading is Psalm 102.

In Psalm 102:14, the Lord’s servants do not hold Zion’s walls dear. They don’t have pity on the Lord’s house. They hold Zion’s stones dear and have pity on her dust. Zion has been destroyed. More than destroyed, crushed, pulverized. But God’s people hold Zion dear though it is in ruins.

Yet, our psalmist declares to the Lord:

You will arise and have pity on Zion;
it is the time to favor her;
the appointed time has come.
…
Nations will fear the name of the LORD,
and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
For the LORD builds up Zion;
he appears in his glory;
he regards the prayer of the destitute
and does not despise their prayer.

Psalm 102:13-17 (ESV)

What incredible faith! The city lies in ruins. It is a heap of stones and a pile of dust. But our psalmist believes, knows the Lord will rebuild her. Perhaps the psalmist has been reading the same Jeremiah text as Daniel in Daniel 9:2 (see Jeremiah 25:12; 29:10). He knows the time has come. And he believes. He doubts he will see it, but he believe.

This is the kind of faith we need to develop. This is no blind faith. The psalmist has plenty of reason to believe God will deliver. He knows the history. He knows the power of the Lord. But, it is a strong faith, surprisingly so. Let’s admit it. With the city as rubble, believing God will rebuild seems like a real long shot. Yet, the psalmist believes.

This is where we need to grow my faith. How about you? We look around at our present culture and tend to think Christ’s church is in ruins. Hardly a week goes by that someone doesn’t talk about shrinking congregations and wandering youth. Every day, someone decries the dwindling spirituality of the present generation. The God of heaven seems to be overwhelmed by the god of this world.

He is not. He will win. We should have even more faith He will win because we have this psalm as a testimony. God did rebuild the temple. He did rebuild the city. He was victorious. It worked out just as He promised.

Our God still keeps His promises. Our God is still able to keep His promises. Let us learn to have faith even in the face of seeming defeat. No matter how dark it gets, know God always wins.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 102.

PODCAST!!!

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PATHS:
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Psalm 98: The Lord Has Remembered

Today’s reading is Psalm 98.

The LORD has made known his salvation;
he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.

Psalm 98:2-3a (ESV).

In Exodus 34:6-7, the Lord declared to Moses His steadfast love and faithfulness. These qualities are such a part of God’s character, He included them in the declaration and explanation of His name. When Moses interceded for the people on multiple occasions, he recalled these aspects of God’s name and others.

But what does the psalmist mean, “He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness”? Had God forgotten His steadfast love and faithfulness? Is that why Israel and Judah were judged? Did God forget His promises to Abraham? Did He forget His very character described to Moses? Did He just one day look down, see His people in captivity, and say, “Oh snap! I forgot to love My people”?

Of course not. The psalmist is not saying God had forgotten but something jogged His memory. He is saying God acted in love and faithfulness. We should remember sending Israel to Assyria and Judah to Babylon was actually also acting in that love. After all, the Lord disciplines whom He loves as a father does the child whom he loves (Proverbs 3:11-12; Hebrews 12:5-6).

When we are living in the interim between when God has made His promises and when He keeps His promises, we do not have to worry He has forgotten His promises. God always remembers His promises. God always remembers His character. God always remembers His love and faithfulness. Which means God will always act in the right and necessary way based on His love and faithfulness. Further, it means when the time is right, He will always provide the deliverance and rescue based on His love and faithfulness to those who have covenanted with Him and loved Him.

I don’t know what is going on in your life right now. But I know this. God is acting in love and faithfulness to you. If you respond to that with love and allegiance, He will deliver and rescue you at the right time.

That is how God our God is. Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 98.

PODCAST!!!

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Psalm 98: The Ends of the Earth Have Seen His Salvation Again

Today’s reading is Psalm 98.

His right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
…
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.

Psalm 98:1b, 3b (ESV)

We read something similar in Isaiah 52:9-10.

Break forth together into singing,
you waste places of Jerusalem,
for the LORD has comforted his people;
he has redeemed Jerusalem.
The LORD has bared his holy arm
before the eyes of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God (ESV).

Yesterday, we saw this imagery used to look back to the exodus from Egypt. Here, Isaiah uses this imagery to foretell the return from Babylon. Recall Daniel 5, in which God conquered Babylon and Belshazzar by the Medes and the Persians. Babylon fell, but Daniel, God’s prophet, continued on.

More than that, Cyrus the Great, ruler of Medo-Persia released as many Jews as would go to return to their homeland with the following proclamation throughout his empire:

Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel–he is the God who is in Jerusalem.

Ezra 1:2-3 (ESV)

God knows how to deliver His people. He knows how to deliver His people in a way that all the world knows He did it. Granted, a great deal of time occurred between the exodus from Egypt and the return from Babylon. God doesn’t exercise that kind of marvel every day. Between these two major events many things happened. Sometimes God intervened decisively, other times He worked more behind the scenes if you will.

But what we learn in both circumstances is simply this. God knows how to rescue. Do you want rescue? Hang on to God. He delivers decisively when the time is right.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 98.

PODCAST!!!

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Psalm 98: The Ends of the Earth Have Seen His Salvation

Today’s reading is Psalm 98.

His right hand and his holy arm
have worked salvation for him.
…
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.

Psalm 98:1b, 3b (ESV)

We find a similar statement in Psalm 44:2-3:

…you with your own hand drove out the nations,
but them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
but them you set free;
for not by their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
and the light of your face,
for you delighted in them (ESV).

In this earlier psalm, the author is looking back to the exodus from Egypt and the conquest of Canaan. In fact, I can’t help but recall the words of Rahab the Canaanite ancestor of Jesus Christ when the spies came to her house 40 years after the exodus.

I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you. For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no spirit left in any man because of you…

Joshua 2:9-11

Wow! God rescued Israel and the ends of the earth heard it. That is, all the way in Canaan they heard about the Red Sea. It made such an impression on them they remembered it 40 years later.

God knows how to rescue His own. He knows how to demonstrate His power so the whole world is aware. Sadly, many of those who hear cower in fear and rise up in rebellion, deciding to double down in their opposition to the Lord instead of deciding to turn to Him in awe and reverence. Almost all of Jericho decided to hole up behind their city walls, take up arms against God and His people, and see if they or their own gods could save them. They were judged and destroyed in their idolatry. It didn’t have to be like that for them. Rahab shows the way. She saw the glory of the Lord, submitted, helped His people, and was welcomed into God’s family–quite literally. She became the great-great-great…great-grandmother of God’s one and only Son.

Which side are you taking? God knows how to rescue and save. Hang on to Him.

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 98.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
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How does Psalm 98 prompt or improve your praise of God?

Psalm 97: Darkness and Fire

Today’s reading is Psalm 97.

Imagine herding sheep and seeing a bush on fire which just keeps burning and won’t go out. Moses experienced that. Imagine camping at the base of a mountain and seeing the top of the mountain burn and smoke, with shaking, quaking, and lightening. Israel experienced that.

Our psalmist reminds us of these early experiences with the God of Israel. He is a God of fire and darkness. Does that sound odd to you as it does me? Darkness doesn’t go with fire. Fire burns bright, sheds light, and scatters the darkness. But Exodus 14:20 explains the presence of God came between Israel and Egypt at the Red Sea. On the one hand, there was cloud and darkness. On the other, it lit up the night. It kept Egypt from coming near Israel as they passed through the Sea. Then when Israel camped at Sinai, according to Exodus 19 and then Deuteronomy 5:22, God spoke to the assembly “out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness” (ESV).

This picture seems to me to describe the activity of God. At times, God acts like fire. He is a shining light. You can’t miss His action. Flood envelops the world. Plagues conquer Egypt. A sea parts and allows His people to pass through. Walls fall down. The Sun stands still in the sky. A crucified “criminal” resurrects on the third day. God cannot be missed in these fiery moments. However, at other times, God is enveloped in clouds and darkness. His hand is involved but cannot be seen. We are left like Mordecai and Paul saying, “Who knows, but perhaps…” (see Esther 4:14; Philemon 15). We give thanks to God because every good gift comes from Him, but we don’t know how He worked. Like David taking aim with a sling and then killing Goliath, we are sure God was involved, but we don’t know what God did.

This is our God. He is the God of fire and of darkness. But either way, He is sovereign. He is acting. We can rely on Him.

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 97.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
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Psalm 95: He’s Got the Whole World in His Hand

Today’s reading is Psalm 95.

Moses’s fantastic psalm (Psalm 90) kicks off Book Four of the Psalter. He provides the seeds for further meditations in the psalms to follow. For instance Psalm 93 meditated on Moses’s statement, “from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90:2c). Additionally, in Psalm 93, the door was opened for ongoing meditation on and consideration of not merely the everlasting nature of God’s existence, but the everlasting nature of God’s reign, rule, dominion, and kingship. That becomes a theme for meditation at least through Psalm 99.

Though Psalm 94 did not use the words “reign” or “king,” the judgment of God is certainly part of His rule. However, Psalm 95 takes up the meditation in explicit earnest.

For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.

Psalm 95:3 (ESV).

YHWH is not simply King of the world, King of all nations, King of all peoples, He is the King above all gods. Recall Psalm 86:8, 10 to remember this reference to other gods does not assert the existence of other truly divine beings (even if other spiritual beings existed that ancients worshiped as gods, cf. Deuteronomy 32:17; 1 Corinthians 10:20). Only One has an existence and being rising to the level of true deity: YHWH. Which is why, of course, His kingship places Him above all gods. YHWH’s being and power surpass anything and anyone else people classify as god, whether they are worshiping figments of their imagination or lesser spiritual beings.

Then the psalmist gives testimony of God’s greatness.

In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

Psalm 95:4-5 (ESV)

Psalm 95 is cut from the same cloth as Isaiah 40. Both draw on similar pictures. Isaiah wrote:

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
…
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,
and are accounted as the dust on the scales;
behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.

Isaiah 40:12, 15 (ESV)

God is so grand, so amazing, if we gathered every drop of water on the earth, He could hold it all in the hollow of His hand. He is able to hold all the land in one of His measuring cups. All the nations, compared to Him, are but dust on a scale. We don’t even worry about dust on a scale.

This is our grand and amazing God. He has the whole world in His hand. How much more does He hold you and me there?

Praise the Lord!

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 95.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
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How does Psalm 95 prompt or improve your praise of God?

Psalm 94: O LORD, God of Vengeance

Today’s reading is Psalm 94.

Are you shocked by the opening salvo of Psalm 94?

God of vengeance. God of vengeance. Judge of the earth.

Wow! These are likely the least favorite characteristics of God among people today. God of love? We love Him. God of mercy? Can’t get enough of Him. God of grace? He makes us feel so good. God of vengeance? Whoa, now! That’s super old school. It’s 2023. Haven’t we gotten past such antiquated views of God? People today don’t like to think of God as judge. Certainly, they don’t like to think God as vengeful. Perhaps because we have so little good experience when others take vengeance or when others judge. We and all the people around us are so bad at judgment and vengeance, we can hardly imagine anyone judging or avenging well.

While these may not be our favorite characteristics of God to meditate upon, we should be exceedingly grateful these are God’s characteristics. He is the one being in existence who can actually handle these jobs. The Judge of all the earth will do right (Genesis 18:25). When God takes vengeance, we can be sure vengeance is warranted.

God is not fickle. He is not capricious. He is not a power-mad tyrant. He isn’t a five-year-old mad He didn’t get His way. He is the righteous, holy, creator, judge. When He exacts justice, we can be assured it really is justice. Additionally, while He will not act on our timetable (more on that tomorrow), we can be sure He will not deny justice. He will justify those who are to be justified. He will condemn those who are to be condemned. He will not mix the two or get it wrong.

Praise the Lord, He is the God of vengeance and not someone else. And let us be so glad it is His job that we don’t try to take it over. Vengeance is His. Let God repay.

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 94.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
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Psalm 93: The Established Earth

Today’s reading is Psalm 93.

Why will the earth never be moved? Because it is from everlasting to everlasting? Because it is eternal? Actually, no. The earth will never be moved because the earth has been established. Who established it? The Lord whose throne was established from of old. That is, the Lord whose throne was established from even before the establishment of the earth.

God is from everlasting. The reason the earth is established is because God established it. The earth remains only by the Lord’s establishing hand. If He were to remove His upholding and sustaining power, the earth would collapse and crumble. This is the strength of our God. Recall Hebrews 1:3. God, through Jesus, not only created the world but upholds the universe by the word of His power.

Keep that in mind. Certainly, we are to steward God’s created world well. However, let us not think we are so powerful as to be able to destroy God’s world. We cannot hope to be so powerful. The world is destroyed only when God decides to overturn what He has established. He did that once in the flood, allowing the reversal of His creative work. He will do it once again when He decides to consume the earth with fire (2 Peter 3:10-13).

Since such a fate awaits the world, what kind of people ought we to be? What kind of lives ought we to live? Peter says lives of holiness and godliness. But always remember, the fact this has not occurred yet is not to be counted the weakness of the Lord, but His patience. At any time, He could bring that judgment. He is waiting for more to be saved. May we surrender and may we bring others with us to the throne of God that is from everlasting to everlasting before it is everlastingly too late.

Tomorrow’s reading is Psalm 93.

PODCAST!!!

Click here to take about 15 minutes to listen to the Text Talk conversation between Andrew Roberts and Edwin Crozier sparked by this post.

PATHS:
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How does Psalm 93 prompt or improve your trust in God?