Sunday, August 31, 2008
MORE GOSPEL IN GENESIS 3
Genesis 3:20-24
Lord willing, we are going to finish Genesis 3 this morning. When we think of Genesis 3, what is the first thing that usually comes into our minds? Immediately, I think of the fall of man. In only the third chapter of the Bible, man has already rebelled against God. What a tragedy! Isn’t that sad? Not only do we read about the fall of man in Genesis 3, but we then read of the curses that came as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve.
Praise God that isn’t all we find in Genesis 3. Let’s go back and read that wonderful promise in Gen. 3:15. Before we read it, remember that this was actually a part of God’s curse upon Satan. Isn’t it beautiful that the first promise of the Savior came in the middle of a curse. “Sorrow may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Ps. 30:5). Now let’s read Gen. 3:14-15…
And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Because we have the privilege of looking back from the other side, we know that the seed of the woman is Jesus, who bruised the head of Satan at the cross. As we talked about last Sunday evening, it was there that Jesus stripped the devil of his power. The day is soon coming when Satan will actually be destroyed by the seed of the woman.
This is not the end of the good news in Genesis 3. This morning we come to verses 20-24. There is much more here than we may realize at first sight. Let’s read it… (Gen. 3:20-24)
And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21. Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 22. And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23. Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
May God speak to us as we consider this portion of His Word.
I. The Seed of Faith in Adam (20)
Read verse 20 again, “And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.” When we read this in the English, it is a bit hard to see the connection, but it becomes much clearer when we understand that the Hebrew word translated “Eve” means “life.” Adam named his wife “Life.” Up until this time Adam called his wife what? Let’s read it in Gen. 2:23-24, "And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." From the Hebrew language, Adam called her “Ishah” because she was taken out of “Ish.” And I suppose that was a very special name in itself, for no one else had that name. It was unique to her.
So now we must ask the question: Why would Adam give his wife a new name? He hardly needed to distinguish her from anyone else named “Woman.” And furthermore, why would he give her a name which meant “Life”? We are told it was because she was the mother of all living. But wait a minute; she wasn’t the mother of anyone. How could Adam give her the name “Life,” when they were under the curse of death? Remember what God had told Adam, as recorded in 2:17, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." With the smell of death hanging over them, Adam gives his wife the name “Life.” Of course, we know now that every human being since then has been a descendant of Eve, but Adam could not see that. God had promised them death for the sin they had committed.
I want to suggest to you that in this name which Adam gave to his wife we see the faith of Adam. But what is faith? Heb. 11:1 gives us this definition: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence [conviction] of things not seen." Faith is simply believing what God said. That’s what it has always been and that’s what it is today. Whether it’s Old Testament times or New Testament times, faith is still believing the Word of God. So what had God said to Adam and Eve? Yes, He told Adam that he would die in the day when he ate the fruit, but that isn’t the end of the story. While God did not speak the words of verse 15 to Adam and Eve, they certainly heard what God said to the serpent. “And I will put enmity between your seed and the seed of the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.” God spoke of the seed of the woman.
Now let’s go back a bit in the story. Remember when God created mankind. Let’s read what He said to them in Gen 1:27-28,
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
God told them to be fruitful and multiply. That was His plan for Adam and Eve. But before they could begin to obey that command, they rebelled against God. And what was it that caused them to do so? It was certainly their lack of trust in God. But what was the specific incident that revealed this lack of trust? We remember well that the serpent came and tempted the woman. He was very deceptive from the beginning, saying, “Did God say that you can’t eat from any of these trees in the garden?” After listening to Eve’s answer, he then became more bold, saying, “You will not surely die. God knows that if you eat from that tree, you will know good and evil and become like him. Surely God is holding out on you. He doesn’t want the best of you.” I’m reading between the lines a bit, but it isn’t difficult to do. When we boil it all down, the bottom line is this: they trusted Satan instead of trusting God. They fell for his pack of lies.
Now what happened when they disobeyed God and ate the fruit? As soon as they ate (end of verse 6), then it is immediately stated in verse 7, “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked…” As soon as they sinned against God, things changed. We read at the end of chapter 2 that they were both naked and they were not ashamed. But now they are ashamed. Sinful thoughts have risen in their minds. Now they are dealing with guilt and shame. They thought the serpent had their best interests in mind, but now they knew better. Now they could see that he was a liar. Yes, they knew good and evil, but it wasn’t like they thought. They knew evil because they were experiencing evil. As one man put it, they knew evil like a cancer patient knows cancer. Don’t you know they regretted listening to the serpent? But they couldn’t go back and change their decision. He had deceived them and now they were reaping the consequences. No doubt, both Adam and Eve remembered well what God had said about death as a result of eating the tree.
That brings us back again to verse 15. Adam not only remembered what God said about death as a result of eating from the tree, but fresh in his mind were these words about the seed of the woman. In spite of what God had said about death, now He was saying that Eve would have children, and some day one of those children would defeat that lying serpent! But how could it be? Everything was so dark now. Adam and Eve couldn’t even face each other, much less God.
In this context, Adam gives his wife the name “Eve,” or “Life,” recognizing her as the mother of all living. Though she had not borne a child, he names her “Life.” Surely it was because he was trusting God. He was simply believing what God said. If God said she would have children, then he was going to trust God to bring those children.
Isn’t this a beautiful picture of faith! Before Adam and Eve fell to the temptation of Satan, everything was wonderful. They lived in a garden that was paradise. The Creator of the universe walked and talked with them. No one could ask for anything more. Yet in that situation, they distrusted God and believed Satan. But now, when it seems like nothing is right, when they are filled with guilt and shame and have hidden themselves from God, Adam expressed his faith, trusting what God has said. It is no different for us. We walk by faith, not by sight. Faith often arises in the darkest times. It doesn’t seem to make any sense, but we find it to be so.
II. The Story of Redemption in Picture (21)
When Adam and Eve sinned and immediately realized they were naked, what did they do? They covered up as best they could. That wasn’t very good, because clothes were a new thing for them. They had no experience at making clothes. We are told that they sewed fig leaves together and made aprons for themselves. In other words, they got something together to cover themselves. Instead of coming to God in repentance, they covered themselves and hid from God.
In verse 21 we see something completely different. Let’s read it again, “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” The word the KJV translates as “coats” is rendered “garments” by the NASV and the NIV, and “long tunics” by the Amplified. Whatever the exact detail of this piece of clothing, notice that the Lord “clothed them.” He didn’t just cover them; He clothed them. Adam and Eve hurried to cover up, but God carefully clothed them.
If you have been through the Stranger Study with us, you know that we make a big deal out of the fact that the Lord clothed them with garments made from animal skins. And where did the Lord get animal skins? That’s right – from an animal. By the way, there are some who believe that the Lord told Adam and Eve to kill an animal and use its skin to make clothes. While that is certainly possible, it seems best to me to take this very literally, that God Himself was the one who killed the animal. At any rate, it was His initiative. It was God’s idea completely.
So why is it so important that God killed an animal? It is important because this is the first sacrifice found in the Bible. When we read the Old Testament, we read over and over again of how the people offered sacrifices to God because of their sins. We see it again in the very next chapter, and the practice goes on from there. Of course, there are many who contend that because we find the idea of animal sacrifice in most every ancient culture, this was something that was just a part of man’s thinking. No, the reason we find it in various ancient cultures is because it had its beginning with the beginning of the human race. The root of animal sacrifice in every culture is found here in Genesis 3, for all men were descended from Adam and Eve.
We have already said that Adam exercised faith by believing what God said, but don’t forget that Adam and Eve sinned against their Creator. As a result, they died in their relationship to God. We are not speculating, we are simply noticing that they now hid themselves from God. Things are not the same. Sin has made a mess of their wonderful relationship with God. Is there anything that can restore that relationship? Will faith do it? Faith is a wonderful thing, but it isn’t faith that saves us. Remember that a dead man can’t do anything for himself (see Eph. 2:1). Someone from outside the coffin has to do something. When God killed an animal, He provided what was needed to cover the sins of Adam and Eve. We read later in the book of Hebrews that there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood (Heb. 9:22).
So why is this shedding of blood necessary for the forgiveness of sins? Someone might think, “That’s just what God decided. He could have decided that spinning around three times was what was necessary. It was just His arbitrary decision.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The animal that God killed in Genesis 3 was only a picture of the real lamb, Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Recently someone pointed out to me that there is an alternative translation to Rev. 13:8. However, I still believe “from the foundation of the world” is referring to the slaying of the Lamb. Even if that is not the sense of Rev. 13:8, that is the sense of the overall message of scripture, for we were chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. God’s plan to give us Son to die on the cross was formed at the beginning. It was not a plan He came up with after the sin of Adam and Eve. The blood of the animal God killed in Genesis 3 was sufficient to cover the sins of Adam and Eve because it looked back to the eternal plan of God from the beginning and it looked forward to the reality of Christ’s death on the cross. “Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). No, they didn’t have perfect understanding of all that, but they believed what God said.
The animal God killed was not just the source of their clothing, but it was also the sacrifice for their sins. But what a beautiful picture we have here. God gave His Son on the cross as a substitute for our sins. “For he made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (II Cor. 5:21). Jesus’ death not only provides forgiveness for our sins, but in Him we are made the righteousness of God. That is, we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ, just as they were clothed with the skin of that animal sacrifice. Our Lord has done all things well.
Don’t miss the beauty of this picture. It is applicable to every human being. There is no one who has sinned more than Adam. He disobeyed the direct command of His Creator. You couldn’t sin like Adam, even if you tried. We are told in Rom. 5:14 that death reigned over us who did not sin after the likeness of Adam’s sin. Adam’s sin was terrible, “but where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20). Praise God! But nothing less than the death of the sacrifice can make you clean. You can’t do anything for yourself. You can’t even provide the sacrifice. Who was it that killed Jesus? It was God the Father, for it pleased the Lord to bruise Him (Is. 53:10). “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (I John 4:10). God sent His Son into this world that He might die on that cross under the wrath of God, paying the penalty for our sins. That’s why we don’t have to pay the penalty; it is because Jesus paid it all. He tasted death for us, that we might not have to taste it ourselves.
It must have been a terrible thing to watch that animal die. It never did anything wrong. Because of the sin of Adam and Eve, God killed it. And as they watched it die, it must have been a scary thing. After all, they were under the sentence of death, but they had never seen death. Now they were observing it firsthand. Was this what would happen to them? God could have killed them on the spot. He would have been just, if He had chosen to do that, giving them no opportunity to repent and believe. Praise God that He was merciful and that He is merciful! “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee” (Ps. 86:5).
III. The Sending Away from the Tree of Life (22-24)
Now let’s read again verses 22-24…
And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23. Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.
There are different ideas about the sense of the first part of verse 22. Some see it as sarcasm, but I’m not sure that’s the way it is. Man did become like God in that he knew something about good and evil, but even that was a tragedy, because he learned about evil in the wrong way (by doing it). That is the only way man became like God. In reality, he was cut off from God, as a result of his decision to trust the serpent. When the Lord says, “Behold, the man is become as one of us,” we can only assume that the “us” is evidence of the Trinity. You will remember that we first encountered this in 1:26, “Let us make man in our image…”
The biggest question here has to do with the possibility of man eating from the tree of life. What would happen if Adam and Eve had eaten from the tree of life in their fallen condition? Some contend that they would have lived forever in their present sinful state. Of course, that would indeed be very tragic. Others question the truth of that idea. They would say that Adam and Eve would be tempted to eat from the tree in an attempt to avoid death. God had promised death if they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they had eaten, so death awaited them. They would likely have thought that they could escape death by eating from the tree of life.
God did not choose to give us the details, but He does make it very clear that He didn’t want them to eat from the tree of life. It is interesting the way this is stated in verses 22-23, "And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23. Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken." The statement of verse 22 isn’t finished; it is left incomplete. In order that Adam and Eve not eat from the tree of life, “therefore the Lord God send him forth from the garden of Eden…” Regardless of how we interpret the details, the tree of life was no longer available to them.
We then read that God sent Adam out of the garden to till the ground from which he was taken. In this action we see the mercy of the Lord. God would have been justified in destroying Adam, but He did not. Rather, He enforced the sentence He had already passed upon Adam in verse 18, “…thou shalt eat of the herb of the field.” Though life would not be easy, Adam would continue to live and be able to produce enough food to live on.
There is a strong indication that Adam was not very receptive to this plan. Notice that in verse 23 God sent Adam out of the garden. But in verse 24 we read, “So he drove out the man.” I get the impression that Adam didn’t go willingly. Is it any wonder? He was leaving the luxurious garden of plenty to go out and fight the thorns and thistles.
So that Adam and Eve would not be able to change their minds and enter the garden again, God posted a guard at the entrance of the garden. No, He didn’t place a lion or tiger there. Rather, the Lord placed cherubim at the entrance, along with a flaming sword. Now who are these cherubim? Where else do we find them? There are many references to them in the Old Testament (in the New Testament, only Heb. 9:5). When I think of the cherubim, my mind goes immediately to the ark of the covenant. Many of you will recall that when they made the lid to the ark (called the mercy seat), they made two winged creatures as a part of it. These were cherubim. These winged heavenly creatures are associated again and again with the throne of God and the presence of God. It seems accurate to say that they guarded the presence of God, just as they guarded the tree of life here in Genesis 3.
So is there any application for us? Surely there is. Sin has excluded us from the tree of life, from the life that God intended for man. We have been shut out of the garden of His presence. But just as Adam and Eve heard the promise of a Savior who would come and deal with Satan, so we have read the good news of that Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember that Jesus said, “Don’t think I have come to send peace on the earth; I didn’t come to send peace, but a sword” (Matt. 10:34). Until that sword falls upon us, we cannot partake of the tree of life; we cannot share the life of our Lord. Speaking of Himself, Jesus used another figure that accomplishes the same purpose as the sword. Matt. 21:44, "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder." That is why Paul says that the true Christian was crucified with Christ. The old man was crucified with Christ; the old man was dealt with by the sword, that we might partake of the tree of life.
Conclusion
What good news we find in Genesis 3! As it was with Adam, so it is with us. He rebelled against his Creator, trusting Satan instead of God. So we have rebelled against our Creator, taking our cues from Satan, who was our master. As God would not allow Adam to partake of the tree of life in his sinful condition, so God will not give us His life, as long as sin rules us. But praise God that the cherubim guarded the tree of life. While they did not allow Adam and Eve to enter at that time, they preserved the tree of life. Remember that while God would not allow them to immediately eat of the tree of life, He did not destroy it. He had a plan by which a man or woman could share His life, and that plan was centered in the Lord Jesus Christ. And the animal the Lord killed was a picture of Jesus, whom the Father would crush on the cross. And as Adam and Eve were clothed with the skin of that animal, so all who come to Jesus are clothed with His righteousness.
Are you clothed with the righteousness of Christ? Has the sword fallen upon your life, so that you have been crucified with Christ? Are you partaking of the tree of life, sharing the very life of the Father and Son? That is what’s available to you in Him.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Worship and Witness -- 8/17/08
Sunday, August 17, 2008
WORSHIP AND WITNESS
Read II Cor. 5:17-21…
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Now let me ask you a question. Can you worship a God like that? “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” Think about yourself. Think of all the evil deeds you have done. Recall some of the wicked thoughts that have passed through your mind, both the lustful thoughts and the unkind thoughts. Don’t forget some of the cutting remarks you have made that hurt others. And what about your neglect of the God who created you? How many times you did your own thing instead of what you knew He wanted you to do! Now hear the words again: “If anyone is in Christ, he/she is a new creation.” Can you bow down before the God who could take such a wicked person as you and make you brand new? Is not the new creation the miracle of miracles?
Now another question. Can you unashamedly proclaim the greatness of the God described here? Verse 21 again, “For God has made Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” Think about it. No one else could fix what was wrong with you. How can anyone take a person who has nothing to offer but filthy rags and make him the righteousness of God? How could God dare to place all of our sins upon His own precious Son? Who can imagine Almighty God pouring out the full force of His wrath and punishment upon His pure and spotless Son? Can you tell the world about a God like that? If God could do that in your life, can you invite the world to come to Him? Can you urge one and all to glorify the God you glorify?
Some people attempt to boil the entire Christian life down to our testimony for Christ. Surely that is why the Lord leaves us in this world. He could just take us on home to heaven, but He leaves us here in order that He might use us to draw others to Himself. Our witness for the Lord must be the one driving purpose in our lives. Didn’t Jesus leave us with the Great Commission? “Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20a).
On the other hand, others would say that the great purpose of our lives is to worship the God to whom we owe everything. What does it mean to tell others about the Lord, if we ourselves are not His true worshippers? Remember the simple words of Jesus: "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23-24). Surely the most important thing in life is to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to Him, even as Mary did (Lk. 10:38-42).
This morning let’s take a look at our worship and our witness. As we will discover, the two go together. They are so closely linked that they can hardly be separated. In order to demonstrate that, I mainly just want us to go through some well-known scripture passages.
I. A Lesson from Isaiah
Let’s begin with Isaiah 6:1-8…
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7. And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
Did Isaiah worship the Lord? Indeed, he did. And where did that worship begin? It began when Isaiah saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. Isaiah got a glimpse of who God really is. He heard the seraphim cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, (or the Lord Almighty).” Upon seeing God for who He was, Isaiah could either run and hide, or he could face the truth about himself. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5). And that light pierces to the depths of the human spirit; it exposes us for who we are. Naked and exposed, Isaiah cried out, “Woe is me, for I am undone.” Isaiah understood what he would later state, that all of our righteousnesses (righteous deeds) are like filthy rags. Anyone who gets a glimpse of God and is honest with himself will say with Isaiah, “Woe is me, for I am undone.” We can compare ourselves with others and manipulate those comparisons until we come out okay, but when we see the Lord, we realize that we are a mess. Isaiah joined the seraphim in worshipping the Lord God Almighty.
I ask you, is this passage not all about worship? Yes, Isaiah worshipped God in spirit and in truth. There was no pretense. God, who is light, pierced through the darkness and Isaiah let go of all pretense. Yes, this passage is all about worship.
But wait a minute. After the Lord cleansed Isaiah through sending one of the seraphim to him with a hot coal and announcing this cleansing, there is something else that happened. It’s in verse 8, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? and, Who will go for us?” There is nothing here which would indicate that the Lord was speaking directly to Isaiah. No, it’s like Isaiah overheard the Lord in His conversation with the angels. Surely the Lord had much to say to His people Israel, but whom would He send? Isaiah broke in with enthusiasm and said, “Here am I; send me.” “Lord, don’t look any further; I’m at your service. Send me with your message. I’ll go.” The rest of the book is basically Isaiah proclaiming the message of the Lord.
In light of verse 8 and the rest of the book, couldn’t we say that this passage is all about witness? Though the people wouldn’t listen to Isaiah, he faithfully proclaimed the message of the Lord. It is Isaiah who penned those words, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:6). It is Isaiah that we quote, when we say, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Is. 9:6). Though he lived some 700 years before Jesus came into the world, he was God’s faithful witness to proclaim the coming of the Messiah.
Can we see it? Worship and witness are tied together. After seeing the Lord high and lifted up, there was only one things for Isaiah to do. He made himself available to declare the good tidings of the Lord. How could he do anything else? How could he agree with the seraphim that the Lord is absolute holiness and that the whole earth is full of his glory, and then not lead the way in declaring that truth to the people God created?
II. Philippians 2:5-11
Let’s read again Phil. 2:5-11… (If you haven’t committed this passage to memory, I would encourage you to do so. Much of God’s plan is within this passage).
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6. Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Can you worship the God who sent His Son into this world to die and then exalted Him above every name? Can you worship the Christ who left the glory of heaven and lowered Himself and lowered Himself and lowered Himself until He finally gave Himself for us on the cross? Can you worship the Christ before whom every knee will some day bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord? Can you refuse to give glory to God the Father for conceiving and executing this plan to redeem man and bring glory to Himself and His Son?
Now I ask you, can you tell the world about a God like this? Can you keep within you this message about the Lord Jesus? Can you fail to tell your acquaintances about the Jesus who left the glory of heaven in order to die on the cross? Can you contain the news about the ever-increasing glory of the Lord Jesus Christ?
Surely as we meditate on this passage, we will be driven to worship the Lord. But just as surely, will we not be stirred to tell the world? Can we worship this God and not be a witness of His glory? Can we tell others of Him and not bow down to Him ourselves?
Charles Spurgeon was a man who knew the importance of worship and witness. Out of his worship grew a deep desire to see others come to know his Lord. Listen to these blunt and searching words which he spoke… “Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that.”
III. Worship and Witness in the Psalms
Now let’s come to a passage that deals more directly with our worship and witness. Let’s read Psalm 95:1-7a...
O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 2. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. 3. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. 5. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. 6. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. 7. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
The Psalmist invites us to come into the presence of the Lord with thanksgiving and singing, to joyfully sing to the rock of our salvation. He describes that rock as the Lord, who is a great God and a great King above all other so-called gods. This God is so great that He made and sustains all of creation. Yes, He made it all and he owns it all. So the Psalmist comes to the climax in verses 5-7a, “O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”
Are you heeding the Lord’s invitation to worship Him? Are we responding to that invitation to worship? Let’s be honest. As a whole, we are weak in our worship. I must remind you that not everything which calls itself worship is truly worship. That was the message which Jesus delivered to the Pharisees. Let’s read it in Mark 7:6-7, "He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." To the outward eye, it seemed like they worshiped because their lips spoke words of praise to God, but their hearts were far from the Lord. Is that not an apt description of much of what passes for worship in our day? And I suggest that it describes too much of what goes on with us.
Notice again verse 6, “Come let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our maker.” Why the words “bow down” and “kneel”? You might say, “It’s possible to get on your knees and still not worship.” You would be absolutely correct. I suspect that was true of some of the Pharisees. Nevertheless, we can’t just ignore what the Lord has given to us in His Word. Why didn’t he simply say, “Come, let us worship”? Why the two-fold exhortation to bow before the Lord?
We do many things that are good and honorable in the sight of the Lord. For example, we read His Word. That is certainly pleasing to the Lord (provided we do it in the right spirit). Jesus said, “If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed” (Jn. 8:31). We could quote dozens of passages that commend the reading of the Word. We can serve Him by being a servant to those around us in His name. As a matter of fact, we are told in II Tim. 3:16-17 that it is the ministry of the Word that prepares us for service. We can do these things in obedience to our Lord.
Nevertheless, there is something a bit different about worship. To worship the Lord we must give up control, dignity, respectability. We see that in the concept of bowing down, of kneeling before the Lord. This kneeling speaks of a deep submission to Him. Yes, I know that we can kneel outwardly and not be submitted, but I’m talking about a submission that begins on the inside and works itself out in the body.
For some of us, in order for us to bow down before the Lord, He would have to do a work within us, because there is pride within us. Kneeling is not natural. That is not something we normally do. If I did that, there would only be one reason, and that is because I am submitted to Him. But now some of you are already protesting. You say the reason you don’t kneel before the Lord is that you don’t want to call attention to yourself. You don’t want to make a big show like the Pharisees did. May the Lord open our eyes to the deception of the enemy. Do you see it? Instead of our eyes being upon the Lord who is worthy of all our worship, we are consumed with concerns about what others will think. The bottom line is that we are not able to focus upon the Lord Himself. We are people-centered instead of God-centered. I’m not saying we are like that in every aspect of life, but as a people we are like that when we come together to worship the Lord. For the most part, we are too dignified to heed the invitation of Psalm 95.
Don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that if we all got on our knees this morning, we would suddenly be worshipping the Lord in spirit and in truth. What I am saying is that the Lord wants to use this passage to expose our self-centeredness and human focus. When we learn to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, we won’t be able to carefully control everything that happens. And there are some of us that greatly fear losing control.
I remember a dear lady that was dominated by the fear that she would shed tears. She was never able to share herself with others because she was afraid that she would cry. I am not condemning her; I hurt with her. What a tragedy that pride and respectability ruled her life. Brothers and sisters, she is not alone.
Let me remind you of a story you might not have thought about in a while. David had become established in Jerusalem, but the ark of God had not yet been brought into the city. So David prepared to bring the ark up from the house of Abinadab, where it had been taken during the reign of Saul (I Sam. 7:1-2; II Sam. 6:3). The ark of God should be in the holy city, where the Lord’s anointed reigned. So they put the ark on a new cart and two of Abinadab’s sons drove the cart. As they were in route to Jerusalem, Uzzah, one of Abinadab’s sons which drove the cart, reached out to steady the cart. Apparently, they hit a rough spot in the road and the ark was in danger of falling off the cart. When Uzzah touched the ark, God was angry and killed him on the spot. We read that David was displeased because of what the Lord had done (II Sam. 6:8), but he wasn’t nearly as displeased as God was. And why was God angry? Why did He kill Uzzah? It was because they had not obeyed the law of the Lord. Later (I Chron. 15:1ff), after the ark spent three months in the house of Obededom, David decided to try again. But this time we read that David told them how to transport the ark. The Levites carried the ark on their shoulders, using staves, as Moses had commanded them in the law (Ex. 25:14; see I Chron. 15:14-15). David acknowledged that they had not properly sought the Lord the first time, and that’s why Uzzah died.
Now as they were bringing the ark up to Jerusalem the second time, it was quite an occasion. David made a really big deal out of the whole procession. Why? Because this was the ark of the Lord, where the Lord dwelt between the cherubim. Above the mercy seat, which was the lid of the ark, the Lord’s presence dwelt in a very special way. Therefore David had arranged for sacrifices and for singers and for great celebration at the bringing of the ark to Jerusalem. It is this context that we read these words… (II Sam. 6:13-23)
And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. 14. And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. 15. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. 16. And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. 17. And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. 18. And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts. 19. And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house. 20. Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself! 21. And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD. 22. And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour. 23. Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.
Don’t misunderstand. Some people have gotten the idea that David was naked when he danced before the Lord. No, not at all. We read here that he had on an ephod. Let’s read the parallel account in 1 Chron. 15:27, "And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers: David also had upon him an ephod of linen." So we see that he also had on a robe of fine linen. The ephod was originally a garment worn by the high priest. It covered the upper part of the body, as a coat would, but it had special features. You can read about it in Ex. 28.
So what did David’s wife Michal mean when she spoke to David about “shamelessly uncovering himself”? There is no indication of this, other than the words of his wife. Remember that when she saw David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. We could wish to know more of the details, but this is all we are told. Though we don’t know the details, the key seems to be the hardness of her heart. She complained about him uncovering himself in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants. Why wasn’t Michal out there among the handmaids? I suspect she was too dignified for such a thing. David threw away all his dignity as he worshiped the Lord that day. He was consumed by the glory of the Lord, as they brought in the ark. That is what bothered Michal. Her husband was supposed to be the king, and now he was acting no differently than the lowest servant. Instead of wearing his royal clothing, he wore a linen robe and an ephod. I suspect that he was leaping and dancing with such vigor that the proper position of the ephod was disturbed. Perhaps it came unfastened and hung in a rather undignified manner. This has nothing to do with immodesty, but everything to do with dignity, refinement, and sophistication. David threw it all away in his desire to worship the Lord. And when rebuked by his wife, he made it clear that he would not change a thing, but would become even more “vile,” if that’s what it meant to rejoice in the Lord. A close New Testament parallel is found in Mary, as she anointed our Lord and wiped His feet with her hair. She was so consumed with the glory of her Lord that nothing else mattered. Oh that we might be able to worship the Lord like that.
But Psalm 95 does not end at the middle of verse 7. There is another whole section. It is striking that these two sections are put together in one Psalm. We almost wonder if there is a mistake, because the second half seems to bear absolutely no resemblance to the first. The invitation to worship is followed closely by a very stern warning. “Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your heart.” May we hear the warning, and may we proclaim the warning. We worship the King who is above all gods, but we also warn of the danger of rejecting this Almighty King.
And if you move into the next Psalm (and don’t ever think that there is no reason for the arrangement of the Psalms, especially in this section), we find that it is one of those missionary Psalms, emphasizing the fact that His glory is to be proclaimed to all nations. Just read the first 9 verses… (Ps. 96:1-9)
O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. 2. Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; show forth his salvation from day to day. 3. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. 4. For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. 5. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens. 6. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 7. Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. 8. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. 9. O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
So even here we see that there is a connection between our worship and our witness. Oh that we might lose ourselves in the glory of our God, but when we do, how can we not rise to proclaim Him to one and all?
Conclusion
We could look at many other passages, but let’s close with this question: Worship and witness are linked closely together, but does one come before the other? Is either one of these primary? The answer is, “Yes.” Our witness grows out of our worship. That is not denying for a minute the importance of our testimony for the Lord. Nevertheless, worship comes first.
Many of you have probably already throught of Mary and Martha. Let’s read it again in Luke 10:38-42…
Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 40. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42. But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Was the service of Martha unimportant? That is not what Jesus is saying. There is a time for service, but Martha’s timing wasn’t as good as Mary’s. Mary saw the importance of sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening intently to Him. As a result, she would later perform an act of service that neither Martha, the apostles, or anyone else was able to perform. How did she know that it was right and proper to go and anoint Jesus with the expensive perfume? Was it not because her service, her testimony, rose out of her worship of her Lord?
Consider a parallel. What about faith and works? They are very, very closely connected, as we see in James 2. Faith without works is dead. If there are no works, rest assured that the so-called faith is not genuine. But if there is no faith, there can be no works. But does one come before the other? Is one of the two primary? Yes. Faith comes first; works rises out of faith. We see this clearly in Eph. 2:8-10…
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
We are save by grace through faith, and not by works. But when that faith is genuine, works will be produced as a result.
I was reminded the other day of some words that I have read in the past. It was good to be reminded. I want to read you the opening paragraph of a book entitled Let the Nations Be Glad, by John Piper. In this paragraph he speaks about worship and missions. I don’t believe we will do it any violence to substitute the word “witness” for missions. So when I read the word “missions,” make the application to our witness. I will try to read it rather slowly, so that we can grasp what he is saying.
Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. it is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever… Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal in missions.
Brothers and sisters, the day is coming when bearing witness for Christ will not be necessary. All those in His presence will be worshipping Him along with us. We bear witness in order to effectively invite as many as possible to join in this eternity-long worship of Him who is worthy.
There is no better preparation for heaven than our worship and witness. As we worship, we are preparing for what we will do forever and ever. As we witness, we are urging others to join us in worshipping Him. We know that the day is coming when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. Our desire is that those around us will bow the knee now, so that the bowing and confessing in the end will be with joy rather than regret, shame, and despair. But make no mistake about it, the effectiveness of our witness depends upon the reality of our worship.
WORSHIP AND WITNESS
Read II Cor. 5:17-21…
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 18. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Now let me ask you a question. Can you worship a God like that? “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” Think about yourself. Think of all the evil deeds you have done. Recall some of the wicked thoughts that have passed through your mind, both the lustful thoughts and the unkind thoughts. Don’t forget some of the cutting remarks you have made that hurt others. And what about your neglect of the God who created you? How many times you did your own thing instead of what you knew He wanted you to do! Now hear the words again: “If anyone is in Christ, he/she is a new creation.” Can you bow down before the God who could take such a wicked person as you and make you brand new? Is not the new creation the miracle of miracles?
Now another question. Can you unashamedly proclaim the greatness of the God described here? Verse 21 again, “For God has made Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” Think about it. No one else could fix what was wrong with you. How can anyone take a person who has nothing to offer but filthy rags and make him the righteousness of God? How could God dare to place all of our sins upon His own precious Son? Who can imagine Almighty God pouring out the full force of His wrath and punishment upon His pure and spotless Son? Can you tell the world about a God like that? If God could do that in your life, can you invite the world to come to Him? Can you urge one and all to glorify the God you glorify?
Some people attempt to boil the entire Christian life down to our testimony for Christ. Surely that is why the Lord leaves us in this world. He could just take us on home to heaven, but He leaves us here in order that He might use us to draw others to Himself. Our witness for the Lord must be the one driving purpose in our lives. Didn’t Jesus leave us with the Great Commission? “Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20a).
On the other hand, others would say that the great purpose of our lives is to worship the God to whom we owe everything. What does it mean to tell others about the Lord, if we ourselves are not His true worshippers? Remember the simple words of Jesus: "But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23-24). Surely the most important thing in life is to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to Him, even as Mary did (Lk. 10:38-42).
This morning let’s take a look at our worship and our witness. As we will discover, the two go together. They are so closely linked that they can hardly be separated. In order to demonstrate that, I mainly just want us to go through some well-known scripture passages.
I. A Lesson from Isaiah
Let’s begin with Isaiah 6:1-8…
In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. 5. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts. 6. Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: 7. And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged. 8. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.
Did Isaiah worship the Lord? Indeed, he did. And where did that worship begin? It began when Isaiah saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up. Isaiah got a glimpse of who God really is. He heard the seraphim cry out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, (or the Lord Almighty).” Upon seeing God for who He was, Isaiah could either run and hide, or he could face the truth about himself. “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (I John 1:5). And that light pierces to the depths of the human spirit; it exposes us for who we are. Naked and exposed, Isaiah cried out, “Woe is me, for I am undone.” Isaiah understood what he would later state, that all of our righteousnesses (righteous deeds) are like filthy rags. Anyone who gets a glimpse of God and is honest with himself will say with Isaiah, “Woe is me, for I am undone.” We can compare ourselves with others and manipulate those comparisons until we come out okay, but when we see the Lord, we realize that we are a mess. Isaiah joined the seraphim in worshipping the Lord God Almighty.
I ask you, is this passage not all about worship? Yes, Isaiah worshipped God in spirit and in truth. There was no pretense. God, who is light, pierced through the darkness and Isaiah let go of all pretense. Yes, this passage is all about worship.
But wait a minute. After the Lord cleansed Isaiah through sending one of the seraphim to him with a hot coal and announcing this cleansing, there is something else that happened. It’s in verse 8, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? and, Who will go for us?” There is nothing here which would indicate that the Lord was speaking directly to Isaiah. No, it’s like Isaiah overheard the Lord in His conversation with the angels. Surely the Lord had much to say to His people Israel, but whom would He send? Isaiah broke in with enthusiasm and said, “Here am I; send me.” “Lord, don’t look any further; I’m at your service. Send me with your message. I’ll go.” The rest of the book is basically Isaiah proclaiming the message of the Lord.
In light of verse 8 and the rest of the book, couldn’t we say that this passage is all about witness? Though the people wouldn’t listen to Isaiah, he faithfully proclaimed the message of the Lord. It is Isaiah who penned those words, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:6). It is Isaiah that we quote, when we say, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace" (Is. 9:6). Though he lived some 700 years before Jesus came into the world, he was God’s faithful witness to proclaim the coming of the Messiah.
Can we see it? Worship and witness are tied together. After seeing the Lord high and lifted up, there was only one things for Isaiah to do. He made himself available to declare the good tidings of the Lord. How could he do anything else? How could he agree with the seraphim that the Lord is absolute holiness and that the whole earth is full of his glory, and then not lead the way in declaring that truth to the people God created?
II. Philippians 2:5-11
Let’s read again Phil. 2:5-11… (If you haven’t committed this passage to memory, I would encourage you to do so. Much of God’s plan is within this passage).
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6. Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7. But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10. That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Can you worship the God who sent His Son into this world to die and then exalted Him above every name? Can you worship the Christ who left the glory of heaven and lowered Himself and lowered Himself and lowered Himself until He finally gave Himself for us on the cross? Can you worship the Christ before whom every knee will some day bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord? Can you refuse to give glory to God the Father for conceiving and executing this plan to redeem man and bring glory to Himself and His Son?
Now I ask you, can you tell the world about a God like this? Can you keep within you this message about the Lord Jesus? Can you fail to tell your acquaintances about the Jesus who left the glory of heaven in order to die on the cross? Can you contain the news about the ever-increasing glory of the Lord Jesus Christ?
Surely as we meditate on this passage, we will be driven to worship the Lord. But just as surely, will we not be stirred to tell the world? Can we worship this God and not be a witness of His glory? Can we tell others of Him and not bow down to Him ourselves?
Charles Spurgeon was a man who knew the importance of worship and witness. Out of his worship grew a deep desire to see others come to know his Lord. Listen to these blunt and searching words which he spoke… “Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that.”
III. Worship and Witness in the Psalms
Now let’s come to a passage that deals more directly with our worship and witness. Let’s read Psalm 95:1-7a...
O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. 2. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. 3. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. 5. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. 6. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. 7. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.
The Psalmist invites us to come into the presence of the Lord with thanksgiving and singing, to joyfully sing to the rock of our salvation. He describes that rock as the Lord, who is a great God and a great King above all other so-called gods. This God is so great that He made and sustains all of creation. Yes, He made it all and he owns it all. So the Psalmist comes to the climax in verses 5-7a, “O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”
Are you heeding the Lord’s invitation to worship Him? Are we responding to that invitation to worship? Let’s be honest. As a whole, we are weak in our worship. I must remind you that not everything which calls itself worship is truly worship. That was the message which Jesus delivered to the Pharisees. Let’s read it in Mark 7:6-7, "He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. 7. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." To the outward eye, it seemed like they worshiped because their lips spoke words of praise to God, but their hearts were far from the Lord. Is that not an apt description of much of what passes for worship in our day? And I suggest that it describes too much of what goes on with us.
Notice again verse 6, “Come let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our maker.” Why the words “bow down” and “kneel”? You might say, “It’s possible to get on your knees and still not worship.” You would be absolutely correct. I suspect that was true of some of the Pharisees. Nevertheless, we can’t just ignore what the Lord has given to us in His Word. Why didn’t he simply say, “Come, let us worship”? Why the two-fold exhortation to bow before the Lord?
We do many things that are good and honorable in the sight of the Lord. For example, we read His Word. That is certainly pleasing to the Lord (provided we do it in the right spirit). Jesus said, “If you continue in my word, then are you my disciples indeed” (Jn. 8:31). We could quote dozens of passages that commend the reading of the Word. We can serve Him by being a servant to those around us in His name. As a matter of fact, we are told in II Tim. 3:16-17 that it is the ministry of the Word that prepares us for service. We can do these things in obedience to our Lord.
Nevertheless, there is something a bit different about worship. To worship the Lord we must give up control, dignity, respectability. We see that in the concept of bowing down, of kneeling before the Lord. This kneeling speaks of a deep submission to Him. Yes, I know that we can kneel outwardly and not be submitted, but I’m talking about a submission that begins on the inside and works itself out in the body.
For some of us, in order for us to bow down before the Lord, He would have to do a work within us, because there is pride within us. Kneeling is not natural. That is not something we normally do. If I did that, there would only be one reason, and that is because I am submitted to Him. But now some of you are already protesting. You say the reason you don’t kneel before the Lord is that you don’t want to call attention to yourself. You don’t want to make a big show like the Pharisees did. May the Lord open our eyes to the deception of the enemy. Do you see it? Instead of our eyes being upon the Lord who is worthy of all our worship, we are consumed with concerns about what others will think. The bottom line is that we are not able to focus upon the Lord Himself. We are people-centered instead of God-centered. I’m not saying we are like that in every aspect of life, but as a people we are like that when we come together to worship the Lord. For the most part, we are too dignified to heed the invitation of Psalm 95.
Don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that if we all got on our knees this morning, we would suddenly be worshipping the Lord in spirit and in truth. What I am saying is that the Lord wants to use this passage to expose our self-centeredness and human focus. When we learn to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth, we won’t be able to carefully control everything that happens. And there are some of us that greatly fear losing control.
I remember a dear lady that was dominated by the fear that she would shed tears. She was never able to share herself with others because she was afraid that she would cry. I am not condemning her; I hurt with her. What a tragedy that pride and respectability ruled her life. Brothers and sisters, she is not alone.
Let me remind you of a story you might not have thought about in a while. David had become established in Jerusalem, but the ark of God had not yet been brought into the city. So David prepared to bring the ark up from the house of Abinadab, where it had been taken during the reign of Saul (I Sam. 7:1-2; II Sam. 6:3). The ark of God should be in the holy city, where the Lord’s anointed reigned. So they put the ark on a new cart and two of Abinadab’s sons drove the cart. As they were in route to Jerusalem, Uzzah, one of Abinadab’s sons which drove the cart, reached out to steady the cart. Apparently, they hit a rough spot in the road and the ark was in danger of falling off the cart. When Uzzah touched the ark, God was angry and killed him on the spot. We read that David was displeased because of what the Lord had done (II Sam. 6:8), but he wasn’t nearly as displeased as God was. And why was God angry? Why did He kill Uzzah? It was because they had not obeyed the law of the Lord. Later (I Chron. 15:1ff), after the ark spent three months in the house of Obededom, David decided to try again. But this time we read that David told them how to transport the ark. The Levites carried the ark on their shoulders, using staves, as Moses had commanded them in the law (Ex. 25:14; see I Chron. 15:14-15). David acknowledged that they had not properly sought the Lord the first time, and that’s why Uzzah died.
Now as they were bringing the ark up to Jerusalem the second time, it was quite an occasion. David made a really big deal out of the whole procession. Why? Because this was the ark of the Lord, where the Lord dwelt between the cherubim. Above the mercy seat, which was the lid of the ark, the Lord’s presence dwelt in a very special way. Therefore David had arranged for sacrifices and for singers and for great celebration at the bringing of the ark to Jerusalem. It is this context that we read these words… (II Sam. 6:13-23)
And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the LORD had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. 14. And David danced before the LORD with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. 15. So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. 16. And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart. 17. And they brought in the ark of the LORD, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. 18. And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD of hosts. 19. And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house. 20. Then David returned to bless his household. And Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David, and said, How glorious was the king of Israel to day, who uncovered himself to day in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants, as one of the vain fellows shamelessly uncovereth himself! 21. And David said unto Michal, It was before the LORD, which chose me before thy father, and before all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel: therefore will I play before the LORD. 22. And I will yet be more vile than thus, and will be base in mine own sight: and of the maidservants which thou hast spoken of, of them shall I be had in honour. 23. Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.
Don’t misunderstand. Some people have gotten the idea that David was naked when he danced before the Lord. No, not at all. We read here that he had on an ephod. Let’s read the parallel account in 1 Chron. 15:27, "And David was clothed with a robe of fine linen, and all the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers: David also had upon him an ephod of linen." So we see that he also had on a robe of fine linen. The ephod was originally a garment worn by the high priest. It covered the upper part of the body, as a coat would, but it had special features. You can read about it in Ex. 28.
So what did David’s wife Michal mean when she spoke to David about “shamelessly uncovering himself”? There is no indication of this, other than the words of his wife. Remember that when she saw David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. We could wish to know more of the details, but this is all we are told. Though we don’t know the details, the key seems to be the hardness of her heart. She complained about him uncovering himself in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants. Why wasn’t Michal out there among the handmaids? I suspect she was too dignified for such a thing. David threw away all his dignity as he worshiped the Lord that day. He was consumed by the glory of the Lord, as they brought in the ark. That is what bothered Michal. Her husband was supposed to be the king, and now he was acting no differently than the lowest servant. Instead of wearing his royal clothing, he wore a linen robe and an ephod. I suspect that he was leaping and dancing with such vigor that the proper position of the ephod was disturbed. Perhaps it came unfastened and hung in a rather undignified manner. This has nothing to do with immodesty, but everything to do with dignity, refinement, and sophistication. David threw it all away in his desire to worship the Lord. And when rebuked by his wife, he made it clear that he would not change a thing, but would become even more “vile,” if that’s what it meant to rejoice in the Lord. A close New Testament parallel is found in Mary, as she anointed our Lord and wiped His feet with her hair. She was so consumed with the glory of her Lord that nothing else mattered. Oh that we might be able to worship the Lord like that.
But Psalm 95 does not end at the middle of verse 7. There is another whole section. It is striking that these two sections are put together in one Psalm. We almost wonder if there is a mistake, because the second half seems to bear absolutely no resemblance to the first. The invitation to worship is followed closely by a very stern warning. “Today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your heart.” May we hear the warning, and may we proclaim the warning. We worship the King who is above all gods, but we also warn of the danger of rejecting this Almighty King.
And if you move into the next Psalm (and don’t ever think that there is no reason for the arrangement of the Psalms, especially in this section), we find that it is one of those missionary Psalms, emphasizing the fact that His glory is to be proclaimed to all nations. Just read the first 9 verses… (Ps. 96:1-9)
O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth. 2. Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; show forth his salvation from day to day. 3. Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. 4. For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. 5. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens. 6. Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. 7. Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the people, give unto the LORD glory and strength. 8. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name: bring an offering, and come into his courts. 9. O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
So even here we see that there is a connection between our worship and our witness. Oh that we might lose ourselves in the glory of our God, but when we do, how can we not rise to proclaim Him to one and all?
Conclusion
We could look at many other passages, but let’s close with this question: Worship and witness are linked closely together, but does one come before the other? Is either one of these primary? The answer is, “Yes.” Our witness grows out of our worship. That is not denying for a minute the importance of our testimony for the Lord. Nevertheless, worship comes first.
Many of you have probably already throught of Mary and Martha. Let’s read it again in Luke 10:38-42…
Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 40. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42. But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Was the service of Martha unimportant? That is not what Jesus is saying. There is a time for service, but Martha’s timing wasn’t as good as Mary’s. Mary saw the importance of sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening intently to Him. As a result, she would later perform an act of service that neither Martha, the apostles, or anyone else was able to perform. How did she know that it was right and proper to go and anoint Jesus with the expensive perfume? Was it not because her service, her testimony, rose out of her worship of her Lord?
Consider a parallel. What about faith and works? They are very, very closely connected, as we see in James 2. Faith without works is dead. If there are no works, rest assured that the so-called faith is not genuine. But if there is no faith, there can be no works. But does one come before the other? Is one of the two primary? Yes. Faith comes first; works rises out of faith. We see this clearly in Eph. 2:8-10…
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
We are save by grace through faith, and not by works. But when that faith is genuine, works will be produced as a result.
I was reminded the other day of some words that I have read in the past. It was good to be reminded. I want to read you the opening paragraph of a book entitled Let the Nations Be Glad, by John Piper. In this paragraph he speaks about worship and missions. I don’t believe we will do it any violence to substitute the word “witness” for missions. So when I read the word “missions,” make the application to our witness. I will try to read it rather slowly, so that we can grasp what he is saying.
Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. it is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever… Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal in missions.
Brothers and sisters, the day is coming when bearing witness for Christ will not be necessary. All those in His presence will be worshipping Him along with us. We bear witness in order to effectively invite as many as possible to join in this eternity-long worship of Him who is worthy.
There is no better preparation for heaven than our worship and witness. As we worship, we are preparing for what we will do forever and ever. As we witness, we are urging others to join us in worshipping Him. We know that the day is coming when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord. Our desire is that those around us will bow the knee now, so that the bowing and confessing in the end will be with joy rather than regret, shame, and despair. But make no mistake about it, the effectiveness of our witness depends upon the reality of our worship.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
"The Curse on the Man" -- 8/10/08
Sunday, August 10, 2008
THE CURSE ON THE MAN
Gen. 3:17-19
If you are six years old or younger, please answer this question for me. Who was the first man on the earth? That’s right, it was Adam. Now you that are a bit older, what do you think of Adam? I’m not sure I like the man. When I was a boy, Adam made life hard for me. If you will recall, because of Adam’s sin, God told him that the ground would bring forth thorns and thistles for him. The bad thing is that the thorns and thistles didn’t stop with Adam. All variety of weeds were still growing where I lived. And because they kept growing, my dad assigned me to keep cutting them down. Even as an eight and nine-year-old boy, my dad would give me the hoeing assignment before he left for work. Don’t you feel sorry for me? I’m not sure who to blame – my dad or Adam.
We have dealt with the curse on the serpent and Satan, the curse upon the woman, and now we come to the curse upon Adam. Remember that the entire human race was plunged into sin and death because of the disobedience that took place in the garden. That in itself is bad enough, but now in verses 14-19 we find that there were additional curses directed specifically at the serpent and Satan, the woman, and the man. So today we will look at Gen. 3:17-19 to see what God had to say to Adam, as a result of his disobedience. Read Gen. 3:17-19…
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
This passage breaks down very easily into the cause of the curse, the curse itself, and the consequences of the curse.
I. The Cause of the Curse
So why did this curse come on Adam? After all, it was Eve who first ate of the fruit. She was the one who gave it to Adam. He only did what she did. Now if you will recall, this was precisely the argument Adam put before God. Let’s go back and read again Gen. 3:6-12…
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10. And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12. And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
When God confronted Adam, he blamed the woman which God gave to him. Surely Adam didn’t bear any of the responsibility. God shouldn’t have given him that woman in the first place. She is the one who convinced him to eat the fruit.
The Lord did not ignore the fact that Adam brought the woman into the picture, as he tried to shift the blame from himself. Instead of ignoring Adam’s excuse, the Lord began at that very point. He said, “Because you have harkened unto the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree…” Recently someone asked about this. Is this just an incidental statement about Adam listening to his wife? In other words, the big deal is that he ate from the tree from which the Lord commanded him not to eat, but we can’t put any emphasis upon the part about him listening to his wife.
I must say that the Lord doesn’t waste many words in the scriptures. Isn’t it interesting that the fact that Adam listened and obeyed Eve is placed right at the first. Remember that Eve basically committed two sins – she didn’t submit to her husband but went out on her own, and she ate of the forbidden fruit. In the same way, Adam committed two sins – he followed his wife and he ate the forbidden fruit. With Adam, this is spelled out very clearly. Adam and Eve turned God’s order upside down. Eve led and Adam followed.
I am well aware that just two weeks ago Norman spoke to the deacons and strongly encouraged them to listen to their wives. He was not only speaking to the deacons, but to all of us men. And what he said was entirely appropriate, especially in the culture in which we live. A man who wants to follow the Lord needs to be sensitive to his wife, for she often has wise counsel. I wish I had learned that a long time ago. On the other hand, we desperately need this warning. Men, there will very likely be times when your wife will lead in the wrong direction, and you must not follow her.
We must put this in context. Adam and Eve were not in a situation where they needed to seek God’s wisdom concerning what they should do. They knew full well what needed to be done, because God had told Adam clearly that they were not to eat of the fruit from the tree that was in the middle of the garden. Eve stepped out on her own and was deceived by the serpent. Remember, as we read a couple of weeks ago from I Tim. 2, Adam was not deceived. He had personally received the command from God Himself. He was not in need of any counsel at all, because God had clearly spoken. But now his wife is telling him to do the opposite of what God said. At this point, Eve actually became a messenger of Satan, tempting Adam to disobey Almighty God. That is why the Lord rebuked Adam for listening to his wife.
Men, there are times when we are weak. It’s at those times that we are prone to listen to any counsel that will support what we want to do. That is not the counsel we need, whether given by an unbeliever or even a precious wife. We must test all counsel by the Word of God. Had Adam done that, he would have refused to listen to Eve. God gave the man the responsibility to lead his wife and family in the way of righteousness. But how can he do it? By listening and heeding the Word of God above all else. May the Lord give us grace to do that. May the Lord give us wisdom to know when to seek counsel from our wife and when to simply act upon the Word of God. Remember the wife of Job, who said to her husband, “Curse God and die” (Job 2:9).
Ultimately, the curse came because Adam did what God told him not to do. It is a serious thing to disobey God. No matter what excuse we may give for disobedience, it is still serious. If we want to be obedient, there is no better place to start than Psalm 1:1-3…
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
II. The Curse Itself
So the curse came upon Adam because of his disobedience, but what exactly is the curse? Let’s read it again in Gen. 3:17b-18… “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.” God said the ground was cursed for Adam’s sake. In other words, “The ground is cursed because of you.” Now understand that this did not hurt the ground in any way. Ground is ground; it has no feelings. It was cursed because of Adam. In cursing the ground, the Lord brought much pain upon Adam.
Notice the words, “In sorrow you shall eat of it all the days of your life.” God had said to Eve, “In sorrow you shall bring forth children.” Now he speaks those same words “in sorrow” to Adam. Yes, Adam will eat from the produce of the earth, but it will be in sorrow.
Where do we get our food? From the ground. Out of the ground grows every kind of fruit and vegetable imaginable. But what about animals. While the ground doesn’t produce the animals, those animals are sustained by the food that comes from the ground. So it is right to say that the ground produces all of our food. That’s why the Lord speaks of Adam eating from the ground.
In verse 18 we read that the Lord tells Adam that the earth will bring forth thorns and thistles. Most of us would refer to them simply as weeds. The amazing thing about thorns and thistles is that they seem to just grow by themselves. If we want a garden, we have to go out and work hard. But what will happen if we just plow the land and leave it alone? It will produce a crop, but the crop will consist of all kinds of undesirable weeds. And these thorns and thistles are often very prolific and hard to get rid of. One commentator tells of the acanthum vulgare, a thistle which produces up to 100 heads with up to 400 seeds in every head. So if we suppose that one such plant has just 80 heads with 300 seeds in each, the first crop will produce 24,000 more plants. The second generation will total 576 million, and the third will produce a staggering 13.8 trillion.
How many of you are familiar with the kudzu plant. It is a beautiful woody vine that was transplanted from Japan to the southeastern United States from 1935 to the early 50’s. If you have ever seen it, you know that it is beautiful. It covers things and gives the effect of a lush green carpet. The problem is in the fact that it does indeed cover things. Those who transplanted it did not fully realize that the climate of the southeastern U.S., with its heavy rainfall and warm temperatures, would be perfect for the supergrowth of kudzu, but everybody realizes it now. A single kudzu vine can reach heights of over 95 feet, as it climbs tall trees. Its stems can reach four inches in diameter and its tap root can be 8 inches in diameter and extend 12 feet into the ground. The most amazing thing is how fast they can grow. Once a vine is well established, it can grow a foot in one day and up to 60 feet in a single season. No wonder it has earned the nicknames “foot a night vine,” “mile a minute vine,” and (my favorite) “The vine that ate the South.” And what did man do to make it grow? Nothing. In 1953 it was officially a pest weed. In spite of all the efforts of the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the last 55 years, it is still a pest weed and costs us a half billion dollars a year in lost croplands and control costs.
Now let’s ask a question: Were there thorns and thistles in the garden of Eden? After all, God did put Adam in the garden and tell him to “dress it and to keep it” (2:15). It seems clear from the text of scripture that the thorns and thistles were a new thing with the curse. God didn’t say He would multiply thorns and thistles; He said that the earth would bring forth thorns and thistles. It sounds like a new thing. So what did Adam do in the garden to dress and keep it? In our understanding it seems that tending a garden is synonymous with keeping the weeds out, but that is not necessarily so. Perhaps all that was necessary was the picking of the fruit. The Lord said nothing about him working or toiling in the garden. Such toil was the consequence of the curse, as we will see.
So the ground is cursed, but it is in relation to Adam. Why was it specifically a curse on Adam for the ground to bring forth thorns and thistles? Why wouldn’t that be just as much a curse on Eve? Go back again to the curse on the woman. The curse brought sorrow into her domain of life – her relationship with her children and her relationship with her husband. In the same way, the curse upon the man brought sorrow into his domain, which was the field. It was the man’s responsibility to provide for his family, and that provision ultimately came from the ground. It was Adam who was vitally related to the soil, not Eve. So we see that this curse was specifically tailored for the man.
III. The Consequence of the Curse
The curse came as a result of Adam listening to his wife and disobeying the direct command of God. The curse itself was upon the ground. God said that the ground was cursed and would produce thorns and thistles. Whereas Adam had been familiar with the fruit of the garden, now he would become familiar with the abundance of pesky thorns and poisonous weeds.
Now the Lord didn’t leave the consequence of this curse to the imagination. He spelled out what it would mean for Adam and for those men who would follow him. First, He said that in sorrow Adam would eat from the produce of the earth all his life. God did not say that the earth would cease to produce food for man and animals, but there would be a change. Now the man would have to contend with the thorns and thistles. The consequence of the curse is spelled out most clearly in verse 19, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground…” The sweat of the face speaks of toil. The perspiration is formed as a kind of cooling system for the body; it is the evaporative cooling principle. Adam would be able to make a living, but there would be plenty of toil involved.
In our society we have less appreciation for this reality than most people in the world. I read that Americans spend slightly less than 10% of their income on food. To people in third world countries, that would be absolutely unbelievable, because they spend most of their waking hours toiling to put food on the table. The problem isn’t that the ground will not bring forth food, for it certainly will, but it will not do so without great effort on man’s part. That is because God Himself cursed the ground and announced that man’s eating of bread would be accompanied by the sweat of his face.
Before Adam’s sin, food came easily. All Adam had to do was stroll through the garden and pick any fruit he chose. After his sin, things changed drastically. Notice the words at the end of verse 18, “and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.” There is no record that Adam ate the herb of the field before his sin. Let’s go back and read the summary of creation in Gen. 2:4-5…
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5. And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
No longer would Adam be able to casually pick any fruit he chose; now he would have to cultivate the field and grow what he would need to live on. And it would not be easy, because he would have to fight thorns and thistles. He would be at the mercy of droughts, floods, and every other so-called natural disaster that has the power to destroy the crops he would grow.
We men might look at this whole scenario and say, “This has absolutely no application to me, because I’m not a farmer.” Understand that the application is much wider than this. Those of us who don’t grow our own food are at the mercy of those who do. Ultimately, what we eat comes from the ground. We work to make money to purchase what others grow. This curse is all about man in the workplace. While women may also be in the workplace, it has always been God’s design that the man provide for his family. Yes, there are times where temporary exceptions may be made, but when a man doesn’t provide for his family, there are going to be problems. While a woman’s domain is the home, a man’s domain is the workplace.
Even in this country, where we know unprecedented material prosperity, God’s curse still lies in the workplace. While there are some people who enjoy their work, most men endure their jobs. Their job provides the money they need to live. For some, it provides the money they need to go on the next big vacation. While there may be a certain pleasure in work, it is almost always a mixed blessing. Why? Because of God’s curse upon the workplace. Men in our society may never see a thorn or thistle, but rest assured that their workplace has plenty of non-physical thorns and thistles. Maybe it’s an unreasonable boss. Perhaps it’s the monotony of the work itself. Maybe it is the relationship with other workers. A man’s work is not without problems that stem from this curse.
We don’t find a great deal of hope in verse 19. Let’s read it again: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." This curse will endure until a man returns to the ground. And every man will return to the ground, because he is made of the dust of the ground and he will return to the dust of the ground. Until he does, he will earn his living by the sweat of his brow. For Adam, that meant over 900 years of this labor and sweat. I find no evidence that Adam had a retirement plan.
It may seem that we don’t feel the weight of this curse in American society. After all, most people expect to retire by age 65 or before. And because we are so brainwashed with the individual mentality, we think that a 70-year-old man who is retired lives without any sweat-producing toil. The truth is that someone is laboring to provide food for that man. He may not be working himself, but someone is. The struggle for food continues. And down through history, the majority of the people in the world have battled to provide enough to simply survive. That is the consequence of this curse.
Conclusion
Is there any solution? We saw that the godly woman who continues in faith and love and holiness receives deliverance from God’s curse in her relationship with husband and children. But what about the man? Is there any reversal of the curse in his case? If a man truly loves the Lord, will the Lord provide all his needs without the man having to work? I don’t advise you to try it, especially in light of Paul’s admonition to the Thessalonian believers: “If any would not work, neither should he eat” (II Thes. 3:10). So what is the solution?
We all know that in the New Testament we read about servants, about bond-slaves. Paul gave instructions to slaves and to their masters as well. There is much I don’t understand about that whole situation, but we do need to understand that what we view as slavery in the New Testament must not be confused with slavery in the more modern world. It had nothing to do with people being kidnapped, taken to another continent, and treated as something less than human. That is not the picture of the New Testament, and certainly not among believers. There are many legitimate parallels to be drawn between the servant of the New Testament and the employee in today’s world.
With that in mind, let’s look at a couple of New Testament passages. Let me read to you from Titus 2:9-10. I am going to read it out of the New American Standard, as I think the language will be a bit easier to understand: “Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.” Understand that Paul is talking to Christian bond-slaves. These were people who had chosen, out of love and respect for their masters, to remain slaves and work for them. What might be considered meaningless work by some now takes on great meaning. As they worked hard and demonstrated Christian character, they were actually adorning the doctrine of God our Savior. In other words, they were being used as a testimony for the Lord. In Christ, the workplace becomes the source of Christian witness. It is no longer about just providing for the family, but it is about demonstrating Christ.
Our great example is Jesus Himself. Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Jesus didn’t come to earth in order that others might serve Him. Instead, He came to be a servant, to gladly serve others. In doing so, He ultimately humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. His willingness to submit Himself as a servant brought salvation to all those who trust Him. Yes, Jesus finished the work which the Father gave Him to do (Jn. 17:4).
Now come to that familiar verse in Colossians 3. Let’s read from Col. 3:23-24, "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24. Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." The person who is in Christ has a whole new perspective on work. The primary purpose of work is not to please other people, not the employer nor fellow-workers. Its primary purpose is not to build a personal reputation. It’s first purpose is not even to provide food for the family, as important as that is. The great purpose of work is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Ultimately, our reward is from Him, not from any man. If we work and never get any pay from man, we know that we are really working for the Lord, and He will reward us.
Notice that this applies to all work. “And whatever you do, do it unto the Lord.” It doesn’t matter whether the work is pleasant or distasteful, we do it as to the Lord, and not unto men. Rest assured that the work the Father sent Jesus to do was not pleasant. The Father sent Jesus to die. Though Jesus provided our salvation, ultimately He wasn’t working for us; He was doing the will of His Father. Remember what He said: “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish His work” (Jn. 4:34).
When we have the attitude of our Lord, we are delivered from the curse. Work becomes more than tolerable. It becomes a blessing from the Lord. Work becomes an opportunity for witness.
THE CURSE ON THE MAN
Gen. 3:17-19
If you are six years old or younger, please answer this question for me. Who was the first man on the earth? That’s right, it was Adam. Now you that are a bit older, what do you think of Adam? I’m not sure I like the man. When I was a boy, Adam made life hard for me. If you will recall, because of Adam’s sin, God told him that the ground would bring forth thorns and thistles for him. The bad thing is that the thorns and thistles didn’t stop with Adam. All variety of weeds were still growing where I lived. And because they kept growing, my dad assigned me to keep cutting them down. Even as an eight and nine-year-old boy, my dad would give me the hoeing assignment before he left for work. Don’t you feel sorry for me? I’m not sure who to blame – my dad or Adam.
We have dealt with the curse on the serpent and Satan, the curse upon the woman, and now we come to the curse upon Adam. Remember that the entire human race was plunged into sin and death because of the disobedience that took place in the garden. That in itself is bad enough, but now in verses 14-19 we find that there were additional curses directed specifically at the serpent and Satan, the woman, and the man. So today we will look at Gen. 3:17-19 to see what God had to say to Adam, as a result of his disobedience. Read Gen. 3:17-19…
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
This passage breaks down very easily into the cause of the curse, the curse itself, and the consequences of the curse.
I. The Cause of the Curse
So why did this curse come on Adam? After all, it was Eve who first ate of the fruit. She was the one who gave it to Adam. He only did what she did. Now if you will recall, this was precisely the argument Adam put before God. Let’s go back and read again Gen. 3:6-12…
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10. And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11. And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12. And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
When God confronted Adam, he blamed the woman which God gave to him. Surely Adam didn’t bear any of the responsibility. God shouldn’t have given him that woman in the first place. She is the one who convinced him to eat the fruit.
The Lord did not ignore the fact that Adam brought the woman into the picture, as he tried to shift the blame from himself. Instead of ignoring Adam’s excuse, the Lord began at that very point. He said, “Because you have harkened unto the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree…” Recently someone asked about this. Is this just an incidental statement about Adam listening to his wife? In other words, the big deal is that he ate from the tree from which the Lord commanded him not to eat, but we can’t put any emphasis upon the part about him listening to his wife.
I must say that the Lord doesn’t waste many words in the scriptures. Isn’t it interesting that the fact that Adam listened and obeyed Eve is placed right at the first. Remember that Eve basically committed two sins – she didn’t submit to her husband but went out on her own, and she ate of the forbidden fruit. In the same way, Adam committed two sins – he followed his wife and he ate the forbidden fruit. With Adam, this is spelled out very clearly. Adam and Eve turned God’s order upside down. Eve led and Adam followed.
I am well aware that just two weeks ago Norman spoke to the deacons and strongly encouraged them to listen to their wives. He was not only speaking to the deacons, but to all of us men. And what he said was entirely appropriate, especially in the culture in which we live. A man who wants to follow the Lord needs to be sensitive to his wife, for she often has wise counsel. I wish I had learned that a long time ago. On the other hand, we desperately need this warning. Men, there will very likely be times when your wife will lead in the wrong direction, and you must not follow her.
We must put this in context. Adam and Eve were not in a situation where they needed to seek God’s wisdom concerning what they should do. They knew full well what needed to be done, because God had told Adam clearly that they were not to eat of the fruit from the tree that was in the middle of the garden. Eve stepped out on her own and was deceived by the serpent. Remember, as we read a couple of weeks ago from I Tim. 2, Adam was not deceived. He had personally received the command from God Himself. He was not in need of any counsel at all, because God had clearly spoken. But now his wife is telling him to do the opposite of what God said. At this point, Eve actually became a messenger of Satan, tempting Adam to disobey Almighty God. That is why the Lord rebuked Adam for listening to his wife.
Men, there are times when we are weak. It’s at those times that we are prone to listen to any counsel that will support what we want to do. That is not the counsel we need, whether given by an unbeliever or even a precious wife. We must test all counsel by the Word of God. Had Adam done that, he would have refused to listen to Eve. God gave the man the responsibility to lead his wife and family in the way of righteousness. But how can he do it? By listening and heeding the Word of God above all else. May the Lord give us grace to do that. May the Lord give us wisdom to know when to seek counsel from our wife and when to simply act upon the Word of God. Remember the wife of Job, who said to her husband, “Curse God and die” (Job 2:9).
Ultimately, the curse came because Adam did what God told him not to do. It is a serious thing to disobey God. No matter what excuse we may give for disobedience, it is still serious. If we want to be obedient, there is no better place to start than Psalm 1:1-3…
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
II. The Curse Itself
So the curse came upon Adam because of his disobedience, but what exactly is the curse? Let’s read it again in Gen. 3:17b-18… “Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.” God said the ground was cursed for Adam’s sake. In other words, “The ground is cursed because of you.” Now understand that this did not hurt the ground in any way. Ground is ground; it has no feelings. It was cursed because of Adam. In cursing the ground, the Lord brought much pain upon Adam.
Notice the words, “In sorrow you shall eat of it all the days of your life.” God had said to Eve, “In sorrow you shall bring forth children.” Now he speaks those same words “in sorrow” to Adam. Yes, Adam will eat from the produce of the earth, but it will be in sorrow.
Where do we get our food? From the ground. Out of the ground grows every kind of fruit and vegetable imaginable. But what about animals. While the ground doesn’t produce the animals, those animals are sustained by the food that comes from the ground. So it is right to say that the ground produces all of our food. That’s why the Lord speaks of Adam eating from the ground.
In verse 18 we read that the Lord tells Adam that the earth will bring forth thorns and thistles. Most of us would refer to them simply as weeds. The amazing thing about thorns and thistles is that they seem to just grow by themselves. If we want a garden, we have to go out and work hard. But what will happen if we just plow the land and leave it alone? It will produce a crop, but the crop will consist of all kinds of undesirable weeds. And these thorns and thistles are often very prolific and hard to get rid of. One commentator tells of the acanthum vulgare, a thistle which produces up to 100 heads with up to 400 seeds in every head. So if we suppose that one such plant has just 80 heads with 300 seeds in each, the first crop will produce 24,000 more plants. The second generation will total 576 million, and the third will produce a staggering 13.8 trillion.
How many of you are familiar with the kudzu plant. It is a beautiful woody vine that was transplanted from Japan to the southeastern United States from 1935 to the early 50’s. If you have ever seen it, you know that it is beautiful. It covers things and gives the effect of a lush green carpet. The problem is in the fact that it does indeed cover things. Those who transplanted it did not fully realize that the climate of the southeastern U.S., with its heavy rainfall and warm temperatures, would be perfect for the supergrowth of kudzu, but everybody realizes it now. A single kudzu vine can reach heights of over 95 feet, as it climbs tall trees. Its stems can reach four inches in diameter and its tap root can be 8 inches in diameter and extend 12 feet into the ground. The most amazing thing is how fast they can grow. Once a vine is well established, it can grow a foot in one day and up to 60 feet in a single season. No wonder it has earned the nicknames “foot a night vine,” “mile a minute vine,” and (my favorite) “The vine that ate the South.” And what did man do to make it grow? Nothing. In 1953 it was officially a pest weed. In spite of all the efforts of the U.S. Department of Agriculture over the last 55 years, it is still a pest weed and costs us a half billion dollars a year in lost croplands and control costs.
Now let’s ask a question: Were there thorns and thistles in the garden of Eden? After all, God did put Adam in the garden and tell him to “dress it and to keep it” (2:15). It seems clear from the text of scripture that the thorns and thistles were a new thing with the curse. God didn’t say He would multiply thorns and thistles; He said that the earth would bring forth thorns and thistles. It sounds like a new thing. So what did Adam do in the garden to dress and keep it? In our understanding it seems that tending a garden is synonymous with keeping the weeds out, but that is not necessarily so. Perhaps all that was necessary was the picking of the fruit. The Lord said nothing about him working or toiling in the garden. Such toil was the consequence of the curse, as we will see.
So the ground is cursed, but it is in relation to Adam. Why was it specifically a curse on Adam for the ground to bring forth thorns and thistles? Why wouldn’t that be just as much a curse on Eve? Go back again to the curse on the woman. The curse brought sorrow into her domain of life – her relationship with her children and her relationship with her husband. In the same way, the curse upon the man brought sorrow into his domain, which was the field. It was the man’s responsibility to provide for his family, and that provision ultimately came from the ground. It was Adam who was vitally related to the soil, not Eve. So we see that this curse was specifically tailored for the man.
III. The Consequence of the Curse
The curse came as a result of Adam listening to his wife and disobeying the direct command of God. The curse itself was upon the ground. God said that the ground was cursed and would produce thorns and thistles. Whereas Adam had been familiar with the fruit of the garden, now he would become familiar with the abundance of pesky thorns and poisonous weeds.
Now the Lord didn’t leave the consequence of this curse to the imagination. He spelled out what it would mean for Adam and for those men who would follow him. First, He said that in sorrow Adam would eat from the produce of the earth all his life. God did not say that the earth would cease to produce food for man and animals, but there would be a change. Now the man would have to contend with the thorns and thistles. The consequence of the curse is spelled out most clearly in verse 19, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground…” The sweat of the face speaks of toil. The perspiration is formed as a kind of cooling system for the body; it is the evaporative cooling principle. Adam would be able to make a living, but there would be plenty of toil involved.
In our society we have less appreciation for this reality than most people in the world. I read that Americans spend slightly less than 10% of their income on food. To people in third world countries, that would be absolutely unbelievable, because they spend most of their waking hours toiling to put food on the table. The problem isn’t that the ground will not bring forth food, for it certainly will, but it will not do so without great effort on man’s part. That is because God Himself cursed the ground and announced that man’s eating of bread would be accompanied by the sweat of his face.
Before Adam’s sin, food came easily. All Adam had to do was stroll through the garden and pick any fruit he chose. After his sin, things changed drastically. Notice the words at the end of verse 18, “and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.” There is no record that Adam ate the herb of the field before his sin. Let’s go back and read the summary of creation in Gen. 2:4-5…
These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5. And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.
No longer would Adam be able to casually pick any fruit he chose; now he would have to cultivate the field and grow what he would need to live on. And it would not be easy, because he would have to fight thorns and thistles. He would be at the mercy of droughts, floods, and every other so-called natural disaster that has the power to destroy the crops he would grow.
We men might look at this whole scenario and say, “This has absolutely no application to me, because I’m not a farmer.” Understand that the application is much wider than this. Those of us who don’t grow our own food are at the mercy of those who do. Ultimately, what we eat comes from the ground. We work to make money to purchase what others grow. This curse is all about man in the workplace. While women may also be in the workplace, it has always been God’s design that the man provide for his family. Yes, there are times where temporary exceptions may be made, but when a man doesn’t provide for his family, there are going to be problems. While a woman’s domain is the home, a man’s domain is the workplace.
Even in this country, where we know unprecedented material prosperity, God’s curse still lies in the workplace. While there are some people who enjoy their work, most men endure their jobs. Their job provides the money they need to live. For some, it provides the money they need to go on the next big vacation. While there may be a certain pleasure in work, it is almost always a mixed blessing. Why? Because of God’s curse upon the workplace. Men in our society may never see a thorn or thistle, but rest assured that their workplace has plenty of non-physical thorns and thistles. Maybe it’s an unreasonable boss. Perhaps it’s the monotony of the work itself. Maybe it is the relationship with other workers. A man’s work is not without problems that stem from this curse.
We don’t find a great deal of hope in verse 19. Let’s read it again: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." This curse will endure until a man returns to the ground. And every man will return to the ground, because he is made of the dust of the ground and he will return to the dust of the ground. Until he does, he will earn his living by the sweat of his brow. For Adam, that meant over 900 years of this labor and sweat. I find no evidence that Adam had a retirement plan.
It may seem that we don’t feel the weight of this curse in American society. After all, most people expect to retire by age 65 or before. And because we are so brainwashed with the individual mentality, we think that a 70-year-old man who is retired lives without any sweat-producing toil. The truth is that someone is laboring to provide food for that man. He may not be working himself, but someone is. The struggle for food continues. And down through history, the majority of the people in the world have battled to provide enough to simply survive. That is the consequence of this curse.
Conclusion
Is there any solution? We saw that the godly woman who continues in faith and love and holiness receives deliverance from God’s curse in her relationship with husband and children. But what about the man? Is there any reversal of the curse in his case? If a man truly loves the Lord, will the Lord provide all his needs without the man having to work? I don’t advise you to try it, especially in light of Paul’s admonition to the Thessalonian believers: “If any would not work, neither should he eat” (II Thes. 3:10). So what is the solution?
We all know that in the New Testament we read about servants, about bond-slaves. Paul gave instructions to slaves and to their masters as well. There is much I don’t understand about that whole situation, but we do need to understand that what we view as slavery in the New Testament must not be confused with slavery in the more modern world. It had nothing to do with people being kidnapped, taken to another continent, and treated as something less than human. That is not the picture of the New Testament, and certainly not among believers. There are many legitimate parallels to be drawn between the servant of the New Testament and the employee in today’s world.
With that in mind, let’s look at a couple of New Testament passages. Let me read to you from Titus 2:9-10. I am going to read it out of the New American Standard, as I think the language will be a bit easier to understand: “Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect.” Understand that Paul is talking to Christian bond-slaves. These were people who had chosen, out of love and respect for their masters, to remain slaves and work for them. What might be considered meaningless work by some now takes on great meaning. As they worked hard and demonstrated Christian character, they were actually adorning the doctrine of God our Savior. In other words, they were being used as a testimony for the Lord. In Christ, the workplace becomes the source of Christian witness. It is no longer about just providing for the family, but it is about demonstrating Christ.
Our great example is Jesus Himself. Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Jesus didn’t come to earth in order that others might serve Him. Instead, He came to be a servant, to gladly serve others. In doing so, He ultimately humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. His willingness to submit Himself as a servant brought salvation to all those who trust Him. Yes, Jesus finished the work which the Father gave Him to do (Jn. 17:4).
Now come to that familiar verse in Colossians 3. Let’s read from Col. 3:23-24, "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24. Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ." The person who is in Christ has a whole new perspective on work. The primary purpose of work is not to please other people, not the employer nor fellow-workers. Its primary purpose is not to build a personal reputation. It’s first purpose is not even to provide food for the family, as important as that is. The great purpose of work is to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Ultimately, our reward is from Him, not from any man. If we work and never get any pay from man, we know that we are really working for the Lord, and He will reward us.
Notice that this applies to all work. “And whatever you do, do it unto the Lord.” It doesn’t matter whether the work is pleasant or distasteful, we do it as to the Lord, and not unto men. Rest assured that the work the Father sent Jesus to do was not pleasant. The Father sent Jesus to die. Though Jesus provided our salvation, ultimately He wasn’t working for us; He was doing the will of His Father. Remember what He said: “My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish His work” (Jn. 4:34).
When we have the attitude of our Lord, we are delivered from the curse. Work becomes more than tolerable. It becomes a blessing from the Lord. Work becomes an opportunity for witness.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Are You Thirsty? -- 8/03/08
Sunday, August 3, 2008
ARE YOU THIRSTY?
John 7:37-39
During the month of July our Bible passage for memory and meditation has been John 7:37-39. If you know it, say it together with me…
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying: If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
Now let me go back and read it out of the New King James. I am aware that we don’t use the word “belly” as they did in that day. It may also help clarify verse 39…
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." 39. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Let me set the stage for you this morning. We learn from verse 2 of chapter 7 that all of this took place at the Feast of Tabernacles. Among the Jews, there were three major feasts which the adult males were required to attend – the Passover, the Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles (also called Feast of Booths and Feast of Ingathering). And where did these feasts take place? In Jerusalem. Why? Because that is where the temple was. There was only one temple and all these feasts took place at the temple in Jerusalem.
So what was the purpose of the Feast of Tabernacles? It was a time of thanksgiving for the just-completed harvest. It was also a commemoration of how God had taken care of His people during the wandering in the wilderness. It was called the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Booths, because the people of Israel had lived in simple booths while they were traveling through the desert during those 40 years. During the Feast of Tabernacles the people constructed temporary huts from branches and lived in them during the seven days of the feast. This is exactly what the Lord had told them to do.
The Feast of Tabernacles was the best attended of all the feasts. There were more foreigners at this feast, as many Jewish people came from foreign nations to celebrate this special time. More sacrifices were offered at this feast than at any other. It could be argued that this was the greatest of all the feasts. It was the last of the three feasts and marked the climax of the Jewish year.
So we see that this was a great time of celebration and rejoicing, moreso than any of the other feasts. The height of the celebration was when the priest led the people in a great procession from the altar in the temple down to the pool of Siloam. He carried a golden pitcher. When they came to the pool, he would fill that golden pitcher with water. Then the entire procession would begin to make its way back to the altar of the temple. When they reached the altar, the priest was joined by another priest, who held the wine, which was the drink offering for the morning service. Then one priest poured out the wine into a funnel that led to the base of the altar, and the other priest poured the water from the golden pitcher into another funnel, which also led to the base of the altar.
Immediately after the pouring of the water, the great “Hallel” was recited. “Hallel” is the Hebrew word for “praise.” It consisted of Psalms 113-118. They sang and chanted these Psalms, accompanied by a flute or other instrument. The Levites would read a portion, and then all the people would respond. As they lifted their praise to the Lord, they shook branches called “lulabs,” as if to emphasize what they were saying. When they had recited the last verse of Psalm 118, the music suddenly stopped and there was silence.
Jewish historians tell us that this was a very unusual moment of worship. The whole crowd was caught up in the spirit of worship and praise and wonder. It was the high point of the Jewish year. It was the climax. There was nothing greater in all of Jewish life. It was not only the high point of that days’ worship and the Feast of Tabernacles, but also the climax of the entire Jewish religious year.
Now come back to John 7:37, “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying…” We are told that this event occurred on the last day of the feast, which was also the greatest day. Notice that Jesus stood and cried out. That is, He spoke loudly so that everyone could hear. Surely it was at this climactic moment that Jesus spoke. If He had spoken during all the singing and the marching of the procession, no one would have heard Him. But now that the Psalms had been recited, the water and wine had been poured, there was that moment of silence. When all was quiet, Jesus stood and spoke in a way that He could be clearly heard by all who were in attendance.
What would Jesus say at such a moment? John tells us what Jesus said: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” Those words would have great meaning regardless of when Jesus spoke them, but because it was on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, they took on far more meaning. Think with me for a moment.
Many of the people had traveled for days to be at this special feast. While they were there, they spent seven days celebrating God’s provision for them. The water of the ceremony had a very important meaning. The water they poured out at the altar had rich symbolism. It was a powerful reminder of how God had provided water for their forefathers, who were wandering through the desert for 40 years. Many of you remember how the people were griping and grumbling because they were so thirsty. They thought they were going to die. But God produced water from a rock, enough water for a couple million people and their livestock. But that isn’t the end of the story. The people at the Feast of Tabernacles understood that the water symbolized more than the preservation of physical life. They knew well that it spoke of the real spiritual life that God gives. These people were more than familiar with the words of the prophet Isaiah. Let’s take a moment to read Isaiah 12…
And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. 2. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. 3. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. 4. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. 5. Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. 6. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
They even saw the pouring out of the water as a picture of the coming of the Spirit.
Now in that context Jesus says: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to this altar and pray to God.” No, that isn’t what he said. Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty for real life, let him go to the priest.” No, He didn’t say that either. Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him read an important part of the Bible and think carefully about it.” No, that is not what Jesus said. Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME and drink.” Imagine that. All the religious leaders were there. The most respected religious leaders of the land were all there to celebrate this great Feast of the Lord, but Jesus says, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME.” In that climactic and reverent moment of the feast, Jesus invited people to come to Him. Right in the middle of the celebration of spiritual life, Jesus had the audacity to say, “If anyone is thirsty, then come to ME and drink. I am offering what you really need. You haven’t found it in all this religious celebration, but you can find it in ME.” Surely they didn’t expect that.
I must ask you a simple question this morning. Are you thirsty? You know that I’m not talking about physical thirst. I’m speaking of a spiritual thirst. Do you long to know what life is really all about? Perhaps you have gone to church, you’ve read the Bible, you’ve tried to pray, but you still have a longing that nothing has satisfied. Perhaps you are here and you are fed up with religion, because you haven’t found any reality. Are you thirsty?
Maybe you’re here and you can say, “I’ve been to church most of my life. I’ve been baptized. I’ve done things in the church.” But that’s not what I am asking you; I ask you, “Are you thirsty?” Do you have deep within you a longing that goes beyond the desire for wealth, fame, attention, comfort, and all those things? Is there within you a desire for more than going through the outward forms of religion? Do you long for more than a respectable life, with a little Bible reading, and getting along okay with others? Are you thristy?
Come back to that Feast of Tabernacles. The priests were experts at celebrating the feast. They did it with precision. No doubt, the Levites led the reciting of the Hallel with great enthusiasm. The people came and did their part. From the outside it all looked great. But in the middle of it all, Jesus said: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME and drink.” Jesus knew that in spite of all their celebration, they were empty.
In the back of the crowd, I think I see a woman who is 50 or 60 years old. She is a nice lady, respected by all who know her. Being a woman, she didn’t have to come to this feast, but she came willingly with her husband. She is knowledgeable about God and what He has done for His people. No one would ever know it, but inside she feels lonely and empty. Most of the time she is able to crowd out these doubts and misgivings. But now she has come to the climax of the feast. This should be the height of her year, but it’s only an outward form. She can remember a time when she was seeking the Lord with all her heart, when she was ablaze with desire for the living God, when she was described by the words of David: “One thing have I desired; that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple” (Ps. 27:4). How she would like to go back to those days, but it seems hopeless. She’s too tired. She doesn’t feel like she can make a new start. She has resigned herself to just drift along and hope everything will be okay. Is there a woman (or a man) who can identify with her. Hear what she heard: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME and drink.”
What was a woman like that supposed to do? She had more knowledge than most Jewish women she knew. She was already a vital part of the religious system of her day. She could try to go to one of the religious leaders for counsel, but she sensed that most of them were more interested in making a name for themselves than anything else. She might be willing to try harder, but try to do what? But there He was, speaking with such passion and clarity: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME and drink.”
Who is that man in the middle of the crowd? He loves the Lord. At least, he thinks he does. On the other hand, he has to admit that life has just kind of become routine. He is not aware of any great sins in his life, but neither is he conscious of a burning desire to know and love God. But after all, he came to this feast in obedience to the law of God. And he loves it. It is one of the highlights of his year. But he wonders when it is all over, if his life will be changed at all. Is it just a game? In the midst of his thoughts, he watches a man rise and speak these simple words: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME and drink.”
Are you thirsty this morning? The words of Jesus are just as real today as they were 2,000 years ago. Those words are just as true and applicable now as then. He is still saying this morning, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME and drink.” Jesus is not offering you more religion. He is not promising to make you a better person. He is not asking you if you are willing to shape up your life. Jesus is inviting you to come to Him and drink.
But perhaps you say, “I did that. I came to Jesus years ago. I believed in Jesus and got saved.” I want you to notice that Jesus isn’t interested in what you did years ago. Notice that He isn’t talking about the past; His invitation is for the present. Many of us come out of a religious background that is big on believing in Jesus in the past, but that is not the focus of the New Testament. As Jesus speaks here, He doesn’t promise anything to the person who believed in the past. Listen to Him: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME and drink. He who believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” It’s not “he who believed on me,” but he who is believing on me.” It is a present tense and it speaks of continuing action. You could read it literally, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him keep on coming to me and keep on drinking from me. The one who keeps on believing on me, as the scripture has said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” Jesus is speaking in the present tense. Are you thirsty today? Are you drinking from Jesus now? Are you trusting Him in the present?
Isn’t the simplicity of Jesus amazing? He speaks so that even a child can understand. If you’re thirsty, then come over here and get a drink. He doesn’t say that you need to go buy a special cup. No, you don’t need to borrow the golden pitcher from the priest. There is only one requirement, and that requirement is thirst. Nothing else.
In our society, most of us don’t know much about thirst. Even in dry New Mexico we can get a drink any time we want to. But it hasn’t always been that way. We could give lots of examples, but come with me again out into the desert where approximately two million Israelites were traveling together. If they don’t have an adequate water supply, thousands and probably hundreds of thousands of people are going to die. Water was not plentiful in that desert. Where water was available, that’s where they camped. You can understand how the people might get just a bit anxious about finding water, and they certainly did. There were times when they were in a panic. On one occasion, there was no water to be found anywhere. The people turned to their leader and gave him a piece of their mind. “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” Moses cried out to God, “Lord, what am I going to do with these people? They’re ready to stone me.” This happened not just once, but twice. Years later there was a repeat of the same situation. These people were thirsty. It was a life-and-death matter. Moses couldn’t do anything for them. Was God able to direct them to water? No, He brought the water to them. He told Moses to take his rod and hit a certain rock. When he did, out came the water, literally a river of water – enough to satisfy all the people and their animals (see Ex. 17 and Num. 20).
When Jesus spoke of thirst, He was speaking of this deep kind of thirsting. Think of a couple that has been married for ten years. They desperately want to have a child, but they haven’t been so blessed. They have a great thirst to be parents. That desire dominates them. Not a day goes by that they don’t think about having a child. That’s the kind of thirst Jesus is speaking of. It’s the thirst we read about in Ps. 42:1-2, "As the hart [deer] panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?" It is the spiritual thirst we see in David, as he wrote Ps. 63:1, "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is." In that same Psalm, he went on to speak of waking up and meditating on God in the middle of the night. Finally, he said, “My soul followeth hard after thee; thy right hand upholdeth me.”
Jesus isn’t talking about this scene: “Would you like a drink of water?” “No, I don’t think so. Yea, on second thought, maybe I will have a drink.” The Lord is talking about a deep thirst that leads a person to a certain desperation. The Psalmist cried out, “With my whole hearth have I sought thee…” (Ps. 119:10). We encounter this same attitude when we read that familiar promise in Jer. 29:13, “And ye shall seek me and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart.” The key is in the words “with all your heart.” This is the spiritual thirst that Jesus has in mind. Friend, if you are experiencing that thirst, I have good news for you. Jesus says, “Keep on coming to me and keep on drinking from me. Keep on trusting me, and rivers of living water will flow out of your innermost being.” If you aren’t thirsty like that, then cry out to God, “Lord, you made the heavens and the earth; surely you can give me this thirst.”
Here in John 7:38 we see that Jesus speaks of believing on Him. Please hear me. There are many people who speak about believing in Jesus, but what they have is not the belief that Jesus speaks about here. How do we know? Because Jesus defines this belief. Notice that the believing of verse 38 is another way of saying what He has just said in verse 37. To believe in Jesus is to keep on coming to Him and keep on drinking from Him. to put it in negative terms, if you aren’t thirsting for Jesus, continually coming to Him and drinking from Him, then you don’t believe in Jesus. And that continual drinking comes from a deep thirst. This is life in Jesus. It isn’t some stale religious system to which a person submits. It isn’t a bunch of laws that we follow. This is life that invades us and works from the inside out.
But sooner or later we have to come to the crucial question: “How is it that Jesus can give this life?” John, the man who wrote this book, tells us in verse 39. Jesus’ words end after verse 38, but John, who was inspired by the Spirit of God, gives us the explanation. “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (NKJV). Yes, I understand I need to come to Jesus and drink from Him, but how is that going to produce rivers of living water coming out of me? John makes it clear that this is not something we can do; this is the work of the Holy Spirit. And who is the Holy Spirit? He is the one that Jesus will send to the person who believes on Him, who keeps on coming to Him and drinking from Him. Jesus would later say to His disciples concerning this same Spirit… (Jn. 14:16-17)
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Jesus promised to live in them through His Spirit!
But why does Jesus speak in the future tense about the coming of the Spirit (both here and in John 14)? Again, John tells us. The Holy Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. The coming of the Spirit and the flowing of these rivers of living water were waiting for Jesus to be glorified. But what does that mean?
Now we have come to the great story of the ages, to the gospel of truth, to the good news for all who will listen and heed. When Jesus spoke these words at the Feast of Tabernacles, His being glorified was only about six months away. This is the first reference in the book of John to Jesus being glorified, but it isn’t the last. When we think of being glorified, we think of a person being given great honor and praise and respect, and that is exactly right. That is what would happen to Jesus, but it would come through great pain and agony, even death itself.
Listen to what Jesus has to say about six months later, only days before His crucifixion. “The hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified” (Jn. 12:23). Surely this is it. Surely God the Father is about to send His angels down to gather the people for a great worship service in honor of the Son. No, that’s not the way it would happen. Jesus immediately followed up this reference to being glorified with these words: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain” (vs. 24). Jesus didn’t talk about a time of great praise and honor. Instead, He begins to talk about death. But what does that have to do with anything? We find out, as we read further in verses 27-28a (NKJV), “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” Jesus is talking about His own death.
But how can dying mean glory for Jesus? There are two answers to that question. A few days later, the very night He would be arrested, Jesus was gathered with His eleven apostles. In their presence, He poured out His heart to God His Father. He began with these words: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You” (Jn. 17:1 NKJV). Jesus knew that He was about to die. There can be no question that He is saying He will glorify the Father by dying on the cross. But how will that bring glory? Verse 4, “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given me to do.” Jesus brought glory to God by doing what God sent Him to do. That is where Jesus found His greatest glory. How it pleased Him to do the will of His Father. Earlier He had said, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work” (Jn. 4:34).
But what was it that the Father sent Him to do? We could answer that by simply listing everything Jesus did while He was in the world, because Jesus always did the will of the Father. However, all of the things He did served a greater purpose. Remember His words from chapter 12: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” Jesus didn’t come simply to share great truth and dazzle us with great miracles. Jesus said, “The Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:10). The “much grain” that Jesus spoke of was a multiplication of His own life. Jesus also said, “…I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (Jn. 10:10). But that life could not come, unless Jesus died on the cross.
Again, we ask the question, “Why?” Why should the Son of God have to die in order to bring life to us? Because we were dead, as were those people to whom Jesus spoke at the Feast of Tabernacles. We all come into this world spiritually dead. When our forefather Adam disobeyed God and ate the fruit of the tree in the garden, he died in his relationship to God, and we participate in his sin and his death. According to Eph. 2:1, we come into this world dead in our trespasses and sins. That seems harsh, but isn’t it fitting that we who rebelled against God should experience this death? To put it another way, man is under the wrath of God. That is, we deserve the fullest punishment of God because we have hated Him who created us. We are corrupt through and through. The Lord looked down from heaven to see if there were any that did understand and seek God, but He didn’t find any. They have all turned aside and become corrupt. There was none that did good (see Ps. 14:2-3; quoted in Rom. 3:10-12). Man deserves the full punishment due him for breaking God’s law.
Now hear and hear well. 1 John 4:9-10 (NKJV), "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." “Propitiation” simply means that Jesus took our place in order to turn away God’s wrath from us. We deserved God’s wrath, but Jesus took that wrath when He died on the cross. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:6). Yes, God Himself sent His own Son to the cross as our substitute. He took the punishment that we earned. In order for God to be just, sin had to be punished, and Jesus took that punishment.
When we asked how dying could mean glory for Jesus, I said there were two answers. The first is that He glorified the Father and was glorified by the Father in His death, because He had done what the Father sent Him to do. Yes, God the Father sent His Son into this world to die. But that isn’t the end of the story. Come back to John 17, where we have the record of Jesus’ prayer that last night. Let’s read 17:4-5 (NKJV), “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which you have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” There was glory in dying according to the will of God, but death itself was the entrance into even greater glory, for after Jesus had died according to the will of His Father, He would then be restored to His former position with the Father. Paul gives us a beautiful account of the whole story in Phil. 2:5-11 (NKJV)…
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Conclusion
Now I come back to my question: “Are you thirsty?” Are you thirsty for that Jesus, for the Jesus who came into this world to lay down His life for all those who would believe in Him? Are you thirsty for the Jesus who humbled Himself even to the point of death but who has now been raised to the right hand of the Father for all eternity? Would you like to drink continually from Him?
Good news! You can drink from Him. Don’t wait until you think you are good enough to come to Him and drink. You will never be good enough. Admit that you are unworthy, that you are full of nothing but dirty water. The Bible says that even your best deeds are like filthy rags. Confess your own corruption and desire to be done with it. Jesus Christ will do the rest.
ARE YOU THIRSTY?
John 7:37-39
During the month of July our Bible passage for memory and meditation has been John 7:37-39. If you know it, say it together with me…
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying: If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
Now let me go back and read it out of the New King James. I am aware that we don’t use the word “belly” as they did in that day. It may also help clarify verse 39…
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." 39. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Let me set the stage for you this morning. We learn from verse 2 of chapter 7 that all of this took place at the Feast of Tabernacles. Among the Jews, there were three major feasts which the adult males were required to attend – the Passover, the Feast of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles (also called Feast of Booths and Feast of Ingathering). And where did these feasts take place? In Jerusalem. Why? Because that is where the temple was. There was only one temple and all these feasts took place at the temple in Jerusalem.
So what was the purpose of the Feast of Tabernacles? It was a time of thanksgiving for the just-completed harvest. It was also a commemoration of how God had taken care of His people during the wandering in the wilderness. It was called the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Booths, because the people of Israel had lived in simple booths while they were traveling through the desert during those 40 years. During the Feast of Tabernacles the people constructed temporary huts from branches and lived in them during the seven days of the feast. This is exactly what the Lord had told them to do.
The Feast of Tabernacles was the best attended of all the feasts. There were more foreigners at this feast, as many Jewish people came from foreign nations to celebrate this special time. More sacrifices were offered at this feast than at any other. It could be argued that this was the greatest of all the feasts. It was the last of the three feasts and marked the climax of the Jewish year.
So we see that this was a great time of celebration and rejoicing, moreso than any of the other feasts. The height of the celebration was when the priest led the people in a great procession from the altar in the temple down to the pool of Siloam. He carried a golden pitcher. When they came to the pool, he would fill that golden pitcher with water. Then the entire procession would begin to make its way back to the altar of the temple. When they reached the altar, the priest was joined by another priest, who held the wine, which was the drink offering for the morning service. Then one priest poured out the wine into a funnel that led to the base of the altar, and the other priest poured the water from the golden pitcher into another funnel, which also led to the base of the altar.
Immediately after the pouring of the water, the great “Hallel” was recited. “Hallel” is the Hebrew word for “praise.” It consisted of Psalms 113-118. They sang and chanted these Psalms, accompanied by a flute or other instrument. The Levites would read a portion, and then all the people would respond. As they lifted their praise to the Lord, they shook branches called “lulabs,” as if to emphasize what they were saying. When they had recited the last verse of Psalm 118, the music suddenly stopped and there was silence.
Jewish historians tell us that this was a very unusual moment of worship. The whole crowd was caught up in the spirit of worship and praise and wonder. It was the high point of the Jewish year. It was the climax. There was nothing greater in all of Jewish life. It was not only the high point of that days’ worship and the Feast of Tabernacles, but also the climax of the entire Jewish religious year.
Now come back to John 7:37, “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying…” We are told that this event occurred on the last day of the feast, which was also the greatest day. Notice that Jesus stood and cried out. That is, He spoke loudly so that everyone could hear. Surely it was at this climactic moment that Jesus spoke. If He had spoken during all the singing and the marching of the procession, no one would have heard Him. But now that the Psalms had been recited, the water and wine had been poured, there was that moment of silence. When all was quiet, Jesus stood and spoke in a way that He could be clearly heard by all who were in attendance.
What would Jesus say at such a moment? John tells us what Jesus said: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.” Those words would have great meaning regardless of when Jesus spoke them, but because it was on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, they took on far more meaning. Think with me for a moment.
Many of the people had traveled for days to be at this special feast. While they were there, they spent seven days celebrating God’s provision for them. The water of the ceremony had a very important meaning. The water they poured out at the altar had rich symbolism. It was a powerful reminder of how God had provided water for their forefathers, who were wandering through the desert for 40 years. Many of you remember how the people were griping and grumbling because they were so thirsty. They thought they were going to die. But God produced water from a rock, enough water for a couple million people and their livestock. But that isn’t the end of the story. The people at the Feast of Tabernacles understood that the water symbolized more than the preservation of physical life. They knew well that it spoke of the real spiritual life that God gives. These people were more than familiar with the words of the prophet Isaiah. Let’s take a moment to read Isaiah 12…
And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. 2. Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. 3. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. 4. And in that day shall ye say, Praise the LORD, call upon his name, declare his doings among the people, make mention that his name is exalted. 5. Sing unto the LORD; for he hath done excellent things: this is known in all the earth. 6. Cry out and shout, thou inhabitant of Zion: for great is the Holy One of Israel in the midst of thee.
They even saw the pouring out of the water as a picture of the coming of the Spirit.
Now in that context Jesus says: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to this altar and pray to God.” No, that isn’t what he said. Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty for real life, let him go to the priest.” No, He didn’t say that either. Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him read an important part of the Bible and think carefully about it.” No, that is not what Jesus said. Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME and drink.” Imagine that. All the religious leaders were there. The most respected religious leaders of the land were all there to celebrate this great Feast of the Lord, but Jesus says, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME.” In that climactic and reverent moment of the feast, Jesus invited people to come to Him. Right in the middle of the celebration of spiritual life, Jesus had the audacity to say, “If anyone is thirsty, then come to ME and drink. I am offering what you really need. You haven’t found it in all this religious celebration, but you can find it in ME.” Surely they didn’t expect that.
I must ask you a simple question this morning. Are you thirsty? You know that I’m not talking about physical thirst. I’m speaking of a spiritual thirst. Do you long to know what life is really all about? Perhaps you have gone to church, you’ve read the Bible, you’ve tried to pray, but you still have a longing that nothing has satisfied. Perhaps you are here and you are fed up with religion, because you haven’t found any reality. Are you thirsty?
Maybe you’re here and you can say, “I’ve been to church most of my life. I’ve been baptized. I’ve done things in the church.” But that’s not what I am asking you; I ask you, “Are you thirsty?” Do you have deep within you a longing that goes beyond the desire for wealth, fame, attention, comfort, and all those things? Is there within you a desire for more than going through the outward forms of religion? Do you long for more than a respectable life, with a little Bible reading, and getting along okay with others? Are you thristy?
Come back to that Feast of Tabernacles. The priests were experts at celebrating the feast. They did it with precision. No doubt, the Levites led the reciting of the Hallel with great enthusiasm. The people came and did their part. From the outside it all looked great. But in the middle of it all, Jesus said: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME and drink.” Jesus knew that in spite of all their celebration, they were empty.
In the back of the crowd, I think I see a woman who is 50 or 60 years old. She is a nice lady, respected by all who know her. Being a woman, she didn’t have to come to this feast, but she came willingly with her husband. She is knowledgeable about God and what He has done for His people. No one would ever know it, but inside she feels lonely and empty. Most of the time she is able to crowd out these doubts and misgivings. But now she has come to the climax of the feast. This should be the height of her year, but it’s only an outward form. She can remember a time when she was seeking the Lord with all her heart, when she was ablaze with desire for the living God, when she was described by the words of David: “One thing have I desired; that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple” (Ps. 27:4). How she would like to go back to those days, but it seems hopeless. She’s too tired. She doesn’t feel like she can make a new start. She has resigned herself to just drift along and hope everything will be okay. Is there a woman (or a man) who can identify with her. Hear what she heard: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME and drink.”
What was a woman like that supposed to do? She had more knowledge than most Jewish women she knew. She was already a vital part of the religious system of her day. She could try to go to one of the religious leaders for counsel, but she sensed that most of them were more interested in making a name for themselves than anything else. She might be willing to try harder, but try to do what? But there He was, speaking with such passion and clarity: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME and drink.”
Who is that man in the middle of the crowd? He loves the Lord. At least, he thinks he does. On the other hand, he has to admit that life has just kind of become routine. He is not aware of any great sins in his life, but neither is he conscious of a burning desire to know and love God. But after all, he came to this feast in obedience to the law of God. And he loves it. It is one of the highlights of his year. But he wonders when it is all over, if his life will be changed at all. Is it just a game? In the midst of his thoughts, he watches a man rise and speak these simple words: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME and drink.”
Are you thirsty this morning? The words of Jesus are just as real today as they were 2,000 years ago. Those words are just as true and applicable now as then. He is still saying this morning, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME and drink.” Jesus is not offering you more religion. He is not promising to make you a better person. He is not asking you if you are willing to shape up your life. Jesus is inviting you to come to Him and drink.
But perhaps you say, “I did that. I came to Jesus years ago. I believed in Jesus and got saved.” I want you to notice that Jesus isn’t interested in what you did years ago. Notice that He isn’t talking about the past; His invitation is for the present. Many of us come out of a religious background that is big on believing in Jesus in the past, but that is not the focus of the New Testament. As Jesus speaks here, He doesn’t promise anything to the person who believed in the past. Listen to Him: “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to ME and drink. He who believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” It’s not “he who believed on me,” but he who is believing on me.” It is a present tense and it speaks of continuing action. You could read it literally, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him keep on coming to me and keep on drinking from me. The one who keeps on believing on me, as the scripture has said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” Jesus is speaking in the present tense. Are you thirsty today? Are you drinking from Jesus now? Are you trusting Him in the present?
Isn’t the simplicity of Jesus amazing? He speaks so that even a child can understand. If you’re thirsty, then come over here and get a drink. He doesn’t say that you need to go buy a special cup. No, you don’t need to borrow the golden pitcher from the priest. There is only one requirement, and that requirement is thirst. Nothing else.
In our society, most of us don’t know much about thirst. Even in dry New Mexico we can get a drink any time we want to. But it hasn’t always been that way. We could give lots of examples, but come with me again out into the desert where approximately two million Israelites were traveling together. If they don’t have an adequate water supply, thousands and probably hundreds of thousands of people are going to die. Water was not plentiful in that desert. Where water was available, that’s where they camped. You can understand how the people might get just a bit anxious about finding water, and they certainly did. There were times when they were in a panic. On one occasion, there was no water to be found anywhere. The people turned to their leader and gave him a piece of their mind. “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?” Moses cried out to God, “Lord, what am I going to do with these people? They’re ready to stone me.” This happened not just once, but twice. Years later there was a repeat of the same situation. These people were thirsty. It was a life-and-death matter. Moses couldn’t do anything for them. Was God able to direct them to water? No, He brought the water to them. He told Moses to take his rod and hit a certain rock. When he did, out came the water, literally a river of water – enough to satisfy all the people and their animals (see Ex. 17 and Num. 20).
When Jesus spoke of thirst, He was speaking of this deep kind of thirsting. Think of a couple that has been married for ten years. They desperately want to have a child, but they haven’t been so blessed. They have a great thirst to be parents. That desire dominates them. Not a day goes by that they don’t think about having a child. That’s the kind of thirst Jesus is speaking of. It’s the thirst we read about in Ps. 42:1-2, "As the hart [deer] panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. 2. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?" It is the spiritual thirst we see in David, as he wrote Ps. 63:1, "O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is." In that same Psalm, he went on to speak of waking up and meditating on God in the middle of the night. Finally, he said, “My soul followeth hard after thee; thy right hand upholdeth me.”
Jesus isn’t talking about this scene: “Would you like a drink of water?” “No, I don’t think so. Yea, on second thought, maybe I will have a drink.” The Lord is talking about a deep thirst that leads a person to a certain desperation. The Psalmist cried out, “With my whole hearth have I sought thee…” (Ps. 119:10). We encounter this same attitude when we read that familiar promise in Jer. 29:13, “And ye shall seek me and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart.” The key is in the words “with all your heart.” This is the spiritual thirst that Jesus has in mind. Friend, if you are experiencing that thirst, I have good news for you. Jesus says, “Keep on coming to me and keep on drinking from me. Keep on trusting me, and rivers of living water will flow out of your innermost being.” If you aren’t thirsty like that, then cry out to God, “Lord, you made the heavens and the earth; surely you can give me this thirst.”
Here in John 7:38 we see that Jesus speaks of believing on Him. Please hear me. There are many people who speak about believing in Jesus, but what they have is not the belief that Jesus speaks about here. How do we know? Because Jesus defines this belief. Notice that the believing of verse 38 is another way of saying what He has just said in verse 37. To believe in Jesus is to keep on coming to Him and keep on drinking from Him. to put it in negative terms, if you aren’t thirsting for Jesus, continually coming to Him and drinking from Him, then you don’t believe in Jesus. And that continual drinking comes from a deep thirst. This is life in Jesus. It isn’t some stale religious system to which a person submits. It isn’t a bunch of laws that we follow. This is life that invades us and works from the inside out.
But sooner or later we have to come to the crucial question: “How is it that Jesus can give this life?” John, the man who wrote this book, tells us in verse 39. Jesus’ words end after verse 38, but John, who was inspired by the Spirit of God, gives us the explanation. “But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified” (NKJV). Yes, I understand I need to come to Jesus and drink from Him, but how is that going to produce rivers of living water coming out of me? John makes it clear that this is not something we can do; this is the work of the Holy Spirit. And who is the Holy Spirit? He is the one that Jesus will send to the person who believes on Him, who keeps on coming to Him and drinking from Him. Jesus would later say to His disciples concerning this same Spirit… (Jn. 14:16-17)
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another
Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Jesus promised to live in them through His Spirit!
But why does Jesus speak in the future tense about the coming of the Spirit (both here and in John 14)? Again, John tells us. The Holy Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. The coming of the Spirit and the flowing of these rivers of living water were waiting for Jesus to be glorified. But what does that mean?
Now we have come to the great story of the ages, to the gospel of truth, to the good news for all who will listen and heed. When Jesus spoke these words at the Feast of Tabernacles, His being glorified was only about six months away. This is the first reference in the book of John to Jesus being glorified, but it isn’t the last. When we think of being glorified, we think of a person being given great honor and praise and respect, and that is exactly right. That is what would happen to Jesus, but it would come through great pain and agony, even death itself.
Listen to what Jesus has to say about six months later, only days before His crucifixion. “The hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified” (Jn. 12:23). Surely this is it. Surely God the Father is about to send His angels down to gather the people for a great worship service in honor of the Son. No, that’s not the way it would happen. Jesus immediately followed up this reference to being glorified with these words: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain” (vs. 24). Jesus didn’t talk about a time of great praise and honor. Instead, He begins to talk about death. But what does that have to do with anything? We find out, as we read further in verses 27-28a (NKJV), “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” Jesus is talking about His own death.
But how can dying mean glory for Jesus? There are two answers to that question. A few days later, the very night He would be arrested, Jesus was gathered with His eleven apostles. In their presence, He poured out His heart to God His Father. He began with these words: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You” (Jn. 17:1 NKJV). Jesus knew that He was about to die. There can be no question that He is saying He will glorify the Father by dying on the cross. But how will that bring glory? Verse 4, “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given me to do.” Jesus brought glory to God by doing what God sent Him to do. That is where Jesus found His greatest glory. How it pleased Him to do the will of His Father. Earlier He had said, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work” (Jn. 4:34).
But what was it that the Father sent Him to do? We could answer that by simply listing everything Jesus did while He was in the world, because Jesus always did the will of the Father. However, all of the things He did served a greater purpose. Remember His words from chapter 12: “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” Jesus didn’t come simply to share great truth and dazzle us with great miracles. Jesus said, “The Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:10). The “much grain” that Jesus spoke of was a multiplication of His own life. Jesus also said, “…I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (Jn. 10:10). But that life could not come, unless Jesus died on the cross.
Again, we ask the question, “Why?” Why should the Son of God have to die in order to bring life to us? Because we were dead, as were those people to whom Jesus spoke at the Feast of Tabernacles. We all come into this world spiritually dead. When our forefather Adam disobeyed God and ate the fruit of the tree in the garden, he died in his relationship to God, and we participate in his sin and his death. According to Eph. 2:1, we come into this world dead in our trespasses and sins. That seems harsh, but isn’t it fitting that we who rebelled against God should experience this death? To put it another way, man is under the wrath of God. That is, we deserve the fullest punishment of God because we have hated Him who created us. We are corrupt through and through. The Lord looked down from heaven to see if there were any that did understand and seek God, but He didn’t find any. They have all turned aside and become corrupt. There was none that did good (see Ps. 14:2-3; quoted in Rom. 3:10-12). Man deserves the full punishment due him for breaking God’s law.
Now hear and hear well. 1 John 4:9-10 (NKJV), "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." “Propitiation” simply means that Jesus took our place in order to turn away God’s wrath from us. We deserved God’s wrath, but Jesus took that wrath when He died on the cross. “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:6). Yes, God Himself sent His own Son to the cross as our substitute. He took the punishment that we earned. In order for God to be just, sin had to be punished, and Jesus took that punishment.
When we asked how dying could mean glory for Jesus, I said there were two answers. The first is that He glorified the Father and was glorified by the Father in His death, because He had done what the Father sent Him to do. Yes, God the Father sent His Son into this world to die. But that isn’t the end of the story. Come back to John 17, where we have the record of Jesus’ prayer that last night. Let’s read 17:4-5 (NKJV), “I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which you have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” There was glory in dying according to the will of God, but death itself was the entrance into even greater glory, for after Jesus had died according to the will of His Father, He would then be restored to His former position with the Father. Paul gives us a beautiful account of the whole story in Phil. 2:5-11 (NKJV)…
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Conclusion
Now I come back to my question: “Are you thirsty?” Are you thirsty for that Jesus, for the Jesus who came into this world to lay down His life for all those who would believe in Him? Are you thirsty for the Jesus who humbled Himself even to the point of death but who has now been raised to the right hand of the Father for all eternity? Would you like to drink continually from Him?
Good news! You can drink from Him. Don’t wait until you think you are good enough to come to Him and drink. You will never be good enough. Admit that you are unworthy, that you are full of nothing but dirty water. The Bible says that even your best deeds are like filthy rags. Confess your own corruption and desire to be done with it. Jesus Christ will do the rest.
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