The Word of the Lord
God has spoken in His holiness: “I will exult, I will portion out Shechem and measure out the valley of Succoth.” Psalm 60:6 NASB
In His holiness – dabar YHVH. The word of the Lord. Isn’t that enough? YHVH spoke the cosmos into existence. His word carries power and glory. Isn’t it enough to simply say, “God has spoken” (elohim dibber)? Why does David feel it necessary to add beqodsho (“in His holiness”)? What difference does it make for God to speak in His holiness instead of simply speaking?
The answer is not about God. It is about us. God speaks beqodsho because we need to know that we are accepted by Him as the Holy One. God just speaking is about power and majesty and transcendence. God may speak but we might be excluded. Our sins put us outside His camp. Unless we are delivered, we might not even hear the words He speaks. So we must know that what He says, even to us, the ones who feel the weight of our sin, comes from His holiness. We must know that the word of the Lord which we hear is a word that brings Him close even if we are burdened with the heavy yoke. We must know that the holy God of Israel speaks to us and because He speaks to us we are no longer defiled. We hear Him.
Defilement removes us from the presence of the King. We separate ourselves from Him by our acts of disobedience. But the Lord misses us. So He sends heavy burdens, the yoke of correction and chastisement. We stumble and stagger under the weight. Our lives are distressed. So we cry out for deliverance, and, of course, this is the purpose of the heavy yoke. Back to the Lord. Teshuvah. Return to Me. But we know that we have fallen. We can’t deliver ourselves. It will take the strong arm of the Lord to accomplish this rescue. The obstacle in the way is His holiness. A defiled thing cannot enter the court of His purity. So rescue, if it is going to happen, must include restoration and atonement. That’s why Elohim must make the announcement. It is His word that purifies. We may cry out, but He must do the cleaning.
David’s poem involves the entire nation. The defilement is not simply an individual obstacle. All of Israel shares in this terrible condition. All of Israel feels the yoke of the Lord’s chastisement. And all of Israel is called upon to cry out to the Lord. The feeling might begin in the life of King David, but it cannot end with him. The problem is bigger than the man. It seems as if we share the same fate. Time and again some portion of our nation cries for deliverance, but the nation itself remains defiled. Perhaps we have passed the tipping point where it is no longer possible for the entire nation to cry out to God despite the heavy yoke He places upon us. Or perhaps the yoke isn’t heavy enough. Doesn’t the Scripture tell us that a house divided against itself cannot stand? How long do we think our multi-cultural, polytheistic, individual entitlement worldview will survive on a planet that is increasingly interconnected, increasingly under global threat and increasingly in desperate need of restoration? How much more will be necessary before all the people, beginning with the kings of the earth, cry out to the Lord of the heavens for rescue? Or have we reached the end where the rest of Isaiah will be read aloud (See Luke 4:19 and Isaiah 61:2).
Topical Index: Psalm 60:6, Luke 4:19, Isaiah 61:2, elohim dibber beqodsho, holiness
MISSING TODAY’S WORD: Apparently Mail Chimp, the server that sends out Today’s Word, has had some glitches in the last few days and email addresses for gmail and perhaps other extensions did not receive the TW. Mail Chimp is aware of this and will undoubtedly fix the problem soon. Be patient. All will return to normal.
The ultimate picture of arrogance to me in the entire Book is the Tower of Babel. In their fear and defiance of heaven, the children of Noah set out to build a physical Way to reach it. (What they thought they would do when they got there escapes me!) Today, again, many see the earth approaching the critical mass of arrogance and man-centeredness that will precipitate the necessity of the reading of the rest of Isaiah. In our secret halls of power we scheme with the evil one to imitate (draw near) heaven in our pride and desire for power over the chastisement that heaven sends us. We build an altar to Self (man) in the form of an altar to Him, and apostasy fills the cup. Only when it is darker inside than it is outside will He give the call “come out of her (Babylon) My people”. In His Name, we are building again the worship of man in the name of worship of Him. When the heads of power are but puppets on this string, it will not matter what we hear them say, for they have sold us down the river long ago. It is going to take the King Himself to save us, for the Body (church in His Name) of His Son has clearly been hijacked. Time to flee the Holy City when the standard of Rome has been erected within the holy ground. The Temple is going to burn again. That is the way I read it. YHVH help us!
My gmail is fixed now.
We were born for a time such as this. While it is easy to give in to the spirit of fear, I believe we are going to witness both great and terrifying things as we are allowed to bare witness to the coming of our Lord and savior whether in our present body or from beneath the alter?
“How Blessed”
“It is His word that purifies. We may cry out, but He must do the cleaning.” Amen, and amen! ~ Sanctify them by the Truth; Your word is Truth ~ (John 17.17)
Listen again to David’s passionate plea: ~ O send out Your Light and Your truth, let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your dwelling places ~ (Psalm 43.3)
Sometimes I wonder if we are even capable anymore of even discerning a circle from a square but “what do the scriptures say?” should ever be our “mantra” and the solid rock upon which we stand. We have in our possession [we have been “gifted with”] the written word of the LORD.
David tells us (it is written) “right out of gate,”
~ How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
[Is anyone listening?]
But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night..
[great place for a “Selah,” David!] – For we are not only “blessed,” but HOW blessed!!” Immeasurably blessed, “above and beyond” blessed!, “exceedingly abundantly” blessed! “Joy unspeakable and full of glory” blessed!
And, we are “not only, but also” blessed! For “not only” has God given unto us His inspired (God-breathed) written word, “but also” He has given unto us the “incarnate Living Word” —the Word made flesh! (John 1.1)
The Rider on the White Horse
Who is the this rider on the white horse?
~ And I saw Heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He does judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns; and He had a Name written, that no man knew, but He Himself ~
And ??
~ He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His Name [that Name which above every name] is called (???)
The Word of God.
Being emptied of self. Not easy, painful but necessary for HIS work.
I believe this is the Shemitah this month going into a Jubilee. Is that correct Skip?
Dana; We are wondering about the shemitah-jubilee also ,hope Skip can clear it up for us!
This word…Jesus! (btw, glad to know I’m not the only one missing emails lol)