Tag: youasked

Now that I am saved, what should I do?

By H. Kempton Smalling

QUESTION:Now that I am saved, what should I do?

ANSWER: Your recent confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior has brought joy to our hearts and to the angels in heaven (Lk. 15:7). The Bible refers to conversion as “new birth.” You are therefore now an infant in Christ. The Lord wants you to grow into a mature Christian, and to assist in that process He has provided “the sincere milk of the word,” which is the Bible (1 Pet. 2:2).

While your conversion might not have been as dramatic as that of Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9), it was just as effective. As a work of the Spirit it may be likened to the activity of the wind (Jn. 3:8), which sometimes comes in the form of a hurricane and sometimes as a gentle breeze.

Let’s look at some of the things that followed the conversion of Saul, who was later called Paul.

  • He was no longer able to act in his own power. Someone had to lead him (Acts 9:8).
  • He prayed (v.11). This activity is going to be as important to you as it was to Paul. Be a praying Christian. While Paul was praying the Lord directed Ananias to him (v.12). You will find that the blessings and effectiveness of a life of prayer are amazing and wonderful! For some examples, read Acts 4:31, 12:5-11 and 16:25-29.
  • Paul needed spiritual help from one who was more mature in the faith. God provided this through Ananias. Perhaps you too will have questions concerning the Bible and the Christian life. Do not hesitate to ask someone wise in the faith.
  • Because of Paul’s past conduct, others doubted the reality of his conversion (v.13). This could also be your experience. If this happens do not become discouraged and give up. Paul did not. In fact, like him you are a chosen vessel (Eph. 1:4). All you need to do now is to show by the way you live that you are a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17).
  • Notice that the Christian experience is not without suffering (Acts 9:16).
  • Paul’s baptism is mentioned in Acts 9:18. You too should get baptized. It is both a testimony and act of obedience.
  • He needed Christian fellowship. That is why he found himself in the company of other believers (v.19). It is very important that you find others with whom you can enjoy times of fellowship. This will help to strengthen you spiritually.
  • Later, when he returned to Jerusalem, he did not seek the company of religious leaders or the high priest but of the true followers of Jesus Christ, His disciples (v.26). Always make an effort to seek the fellowship of other believers.
  • Acts 9:20 tells of Saul’s preaching the Word of God at Damascus. This was quite a change for a man who had set out for Damascus to persecute any who followed Christ. You too are encouraged to share with others the fact that you have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. It could mean hardships, but the Lord will help you (v.25).
  • Paul returned to his home at Tarsus (v.30). This is sometimes a big challenge: to return to your own home and family and to witness to them (Mk. 5:18-19). It takes a lot of courage since we are often fearful of the reactions from those who know us best. It is true that some will ridicule and maybe ostracize you, but make a start. These difficulties will soon disappear or be reduced to a point where you can handle them. This is a part of the growth process.

The Lord bless you. “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18).

Why did Jesus tell Mary not to touch Him?

Answered by Eugene P. Vedder, Jr.

QUESTION:Why did Jesus tell Mary not to touch Him?

“Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to Me [Touch Me not – KJV], for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.”’”—John 20:17NKJV

ANSWER: Mary Magdalene had lingered near the tomb of the Lord Jesus that resurrection morning, weeping after the other women and Peter and John had left. She loved the Lord Jesus. He had previously cast out seven demons from her. Deeply grateful, she was one of the women who had ministered to Him of their substance during the time of His ministry on earth (Lk. 8:1-3). When she recognized that the One she had through her tears mistaken for the gardener was Jesus, according to John 20:16, “she turned and said to Him, ‘Rabboni!’ (which is to say, Teacher).” In her joy she would gladly have resumed the relationship which she had had with Him before His crucifixion.

But this could not be. Although Jesus was standing there alive, He would not again be walking about from place to place doing good, teaching, healing and feeding crowds that would throng around Him. That work He had finished. He was soon going to ascend to the Father, to the One who had sent Him into this world and whose will He had done at all times while here on earth.

He then gave Mary a wonderful task. “Go to My brethren!” Never before had he called His disciples “My brethren.” A few nights earlier He had called them “My friends,” but now He was referring to them in this even more intimate way. She was to be His messenger to bring them a very special message. “I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.” His brethren would now enjoy a blessed personal relationship with God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Notice He did not say, “I am ascending to our Father and our God.” While He was elevating the disciples, and us who are their successors, to this wonderful relationship with God, a relationship of sons to a Father, it is only He who has ever enjoyed that relationship in a unique way. He alone is the Only-begotten Son. He is the only One of His kind. He is matchless. He is God the Son! We are creatures. But He has most highly privileged us by bringing us into a place of sonship where we can cry, “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:6). While we can call God “Father,” Scripture never gives us liberty to call Jesus, “Brother,” or “Elder Brother.” He has lifted us up to a position corresponding to His position. Let us never lower Him to our level from His unique position. That would be a lack of proper respect altogether.

“Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her” (Jn. 20:18). She was privileged thus to serve the Lord, a privilege greater than touching or clinging to Him now that He was risen from the dead. A new era was beginning in the ways of God with man.

Jesus met Mary Magdalene in her sorrow, dried her tears, and sent her to the disciples with a message of His resurrection. But He did not permit her to touch Him. In Matthew 28:9 the other women held Him by the feet. Why the difference? The reason appears to be that in the earlier gospel it is the pledge of a bodily presence for the Jews in the latter day; for whatever the consequences of Jewish unbelief now, God is faithful. The gospel of John has no purpose here of showing God’s promises for the Jew. On the contrary, it diligently detaches the disciples from Jewish thoughts. Mary Magdalene is a sample or type of this. The heart must be taken off His bodily presence. “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father” (Jn. 20:17 KJV). The Christian owns Christ in heaven. As the apostle says, even if we had known Christ after the flesh, “henceforth know we him no more” (2 Cor. 5:16). The cross, as we know it, closes all connection with even Him in this world,although it is the same Christ. John shows us, in Mary Magdalene contrasted with the women of Galilee, the difference between the Christian and the Jew. It is not outward presence on earth, but a greater nearness because of the power of the Holy Spirit.


— William Kelly, The Gospel Of John

Responses

By Eugene P. Vedder, Jr.

The Grace & Truth Magazine has been a great blessing for us. I’m also delighted to say that we translate some of your articles into our mother tongue, Telugu, for our magazine. – India

I want to take a chance to tell you how much I appreciate the free/donated subscription you have given me. Our ladies devotional club has truly enjoyed it. Our most favorite article recently was on “prayer,” as we learned how much we have held onto from our past – even back to childhood. We thank you for your time, consideration, generosity and most of all – service to the Lord. – USA

Thank you so much for your magazine. The article, “Get My Mother In” (May ’16) is most challenging, preaching straightforward to bring unsaved souls to the feet of our Lord. May God bless you for your untiring work for the glory of His kingdom. – India

I thank the Lord for your excellent articles in the Grace & Truth Magazine. Every lesson has touched my heart. They give us power to proceed in Jesus by working and in practice – Myanmar

How do we keep ourselves in the love of God (Jude 21)?

By Eugene P. Vedder, Jr.

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh.” –Jude 20-23 NKJV

ANSWER: Jude wrote his brief epistle to fellow-Christians – persons who have individually trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord. Every believer can speak of Him as “the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). The Son assures us, “the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God” (Jn. 16:27). Many other Bible verses also show that God loves us.

The exhortation, or encouragement, to keep ourselves in the love of God is more than a statement of assurance; it is an exhortation to pursue – a command to follow. It is the core of the sentence in which it occurs, for technically the other three clauses in that sentence describe ways by which we can keep ourselves in the love of God. These ways, along with two others in the passage, are:

1. “Building yourselves up on your most holy faith” 
We are in an ungodly world – a world of self-seekers in rebellion and at enmity against God. It is needful to occupy ourselves with the Word, meditate upon it and give time to studying it. By this we see what God in His grace has for His own. We learn the riches of His grace and are drawn closer to His loving heart.

2. “Praying in the Holy Spirit” 
Our hearts respond to Him in prayer. Not just a “give me” kind of prayer, but worship and praise and thanksgiving for who He is and for what He has done. We think of His interests and purposes in this wicked world and of the needs of others, bringing these matters to God in intercession. We enjoy fellowship with our Savior and with God our Father.

3. “Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” 
As we contemplate this world in which we live – its rebellion against God and its self-seeking – our hearts long to be with the Lord. We think of His promise and long for its fulfillment, for His coming to take us to Himself. What a mercy it will be to be taken out of this world to be with Him forever! But there’s still more.

4. “On some have compassion, making a distinction” 
As we appreciate and enjoy the love of God and the riches of His grace, we will want others in this poor world – loved ones, friends and neighbors – to share in these things too. We’ll feel their emptiness and need, and we long to see them saved and blessed as we are. We will seek to reach out and share what we have with them.

5. “But others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh” 
There are many round about us whose wickedness and corruption are obvious. We avoid them for we don’t feel comfortable among them, instinctively shying away from them. There’s no fellowship between the light we have been given and the deep darkness they are in. But they also need the Savior, and the Lord has died for them too. While fearful and afraid of being defiled by contact with them, we feel their tremendous need and want to draw them to our Savior whom they so desperately need.

All these are essential if we want to keep ourselves in the love of God. We especially need the first three for our own personal, spiritual gain. The final two are the outflow toward others in need. May God help us in all these ways to keep ourselves basking in the enjoyment of His love!

Is the Lord saying that Christians should not own anything?

Answered by Eugene P. Vedder, Jr.

QUESTION:In Mark 10:21, is the Lord saying that Christians should not own anything??

ANSWER: The answer is “No” – but let’s look at this a bit.

God’s Word, the Bible, is one cohesive unit. No passage ever contradicts another, and Scripture must always be read in context. Peter pointed this out in 2 Peter 1:20-21: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (NKJV). Enemies of God’s Word often try to call attention to what they call contradictions in the Bible, but in so doing they are exposing their ignorance of Scripture and its principles.

Mark 10:21 is part of the account of a man who came to Jesus asking what he should do to inherit eternal life (vv.17-22). From parallel accounts in Matthew 19:16-30 and Luke 18:18-30 we learn that he was a young ruler. He addressed Jesus as “Good Teacher,” and Jesus immediately responded that only God is good. He went on to refer him to the commandments, mentioning some that referred to man’s relationship with his fellow man. The young man replied that he had kept all of these from his youth. From a purely human standpoint he was an admirable person, and we read that “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.”

Romans 6:23 tells us that “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It is not obtained by inheritance, nor can it be secured by our works, lest we boast (Eph. 2:8-9). Jesus told this young ruler that there was one thing he was lacking. What was that one thing? The very first commandment was: “You shall have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:3). Here was the heart of the man’s problem. He loved his riches more than he loved God. Jesus is God. He went on to tell this man, “Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

The young man “was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” Things – these possessions – meant more to him than God did, and he chose his possessions rather than Jesus. He was unwilling to get rid of them and give the proceeds to the poor, unwilling to take up the cross – the instrument of the lowest kind of death in those days – and simply follow Jesus, committing himself to Him. The Lord put His finger on the sore spot, or the heart of the matter, as He told His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!”

This account is not given to teach that a Christian should not own anything. Rather, it stresses the impossibility of becoming a Christian if we let anything stand between us and God, or us and the Lord Jesus.

We must bear in mind that this rich young ruler was a Jew. God had promised the people of Israel many earthly blessings “if you diligently obey the voice of the LORDyour God to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you” (Dt. 28:1). Note, “all His commandments.” Scripture shows plainly that no mere human being has ever kept all God’s commandments; and nowhere does God promise eternal life as a reward for good works or for keeping His commandments.

The basic question in this account is “How does one obtain eternal life?” It is not whether a Christian should or should not own anything. In fact, throughout Scripture God recognizes what we call “property rights,” the right to have possessions. But when we read God’s Word carefully we find that we who are Christians are stewards or managers of all that God entrusts to us. One day we shall have to give an account of how we have carried out our stewardship to the One who has entrusted it to us.

QUESTION: In Galatians 2, Paul rebuked Peter for his double standard when he sided with the Jews that came from James by separating himself from the Gentiles. In Acts 16, Paul circumcised Timothy which is not necessary in the New Testament dispensation. Was his act not driven by the same fear of which he accused Peter?

Answered by Eugene P. Vedder, Jr.

ANSWER: We do well to remind ourselves that God alone knows our hearts and motivations (Acts 1:24; Heb. 4:12-13 NKJV). The conclusions we often draw as we watch one another not only may be wrong, but it is not even our business to attempt to discern the motivations of others (1 Cor. 4:5). We are to abstain from every form of evil (1 Th. 5:22). Therefore, we are right in judging whether something is good or evil, but God has reserved to Himself the matter of judging motives.

Peter, in the account mentioned in Galatians 2, had freely eaten with Gentile believers at Antioch. But when certain men came from Jerusalem, from James, he separated himself from these Gentile Christians. This appears to have happened after the events detailed in Acts 15 when the Holy Spirit made plain to the apostles and elders at Jerusalem that it was not necessary for Gentile believers to be circumcised. Circumcision would add nothing to their salvation. Moreover, Jewish believers did not have to eat separately from Gentiles. In fact, Ephesians 2:14 says plainly that God has broken down the middle wall of separation and united Jewish and Gentile believers into one body.

Peter confesses in Acts 10:28 that God had shown him not to call any man common or unclean. Therefore he had come to the home of the Roman centurion Cornelius, which was contrary to Jewish law. What he and other Jewish believers, including Barnabas, were doing in Galatians 2 was hypocritical and done out of fear of man. “The fear of man brings a snare,” we read in Proverbs 29:25. It was into this snare that Peter had fallen. Being a leader and having been entrusted by the Lord with shepherding His sheep, he merited the public rebuke Paul gave him, for by his conduct he was leading other believers astray.

Paul’s act of circumcising Timothy was quite a different matter. Timothy was the product of a mixed marriage. His mother was a godly Jewess (2 Tim 1:5) and his father is simply called a Greek, with the additional notation that all in the region in which Timothy lived knew of this abnormal situation (Acts 16:1-3). According to Jewish law a person is a Jew if his mother is a Jew. (This definition was even affirmed by the Israeli Supreme Court a few years ago.) What kind of Jew was a Jew who had never been circumcised? Such a situation was radically out of place!

Thus to take this godly young brother with him when he would enter into Jewish synagogues to present Christ would be highly offensive to the unsaved Jews Paul was trying to reach. Paul tells us his principle in seeking to reach out to the unsaved in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23: “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law … I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”

Timothy learned early in life and in his service for the Lord to “endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Tim. 2:3). What Paul did and what Timothy submitted to was to give them entrance to Jewish synagogues to bring the gospel to these people whom Paul was so anxious to reach for his Lord. It was quite different from what Peter did at Antioch among his fellow believers, being hypocritical and endangering other believers spiritually. May the Lord give us discernment to do His will as we seek to win others to Him and help us not to lead others astray by setting before them a bad example!

QUESTION: How did Moses get direction and help as he led the people of Israel through the wilderness?

Answered by Eugene P. Vedder, Jr.

ANSWER: Hebrews 3:5 presents Moses to us as a faithful servant over the house of God. This passage refers back to Numbers 12:6-8 where God says that unlike other prophets to whom He would speak in visions and dreams, He spoke plainly, face to face, with Moses. Yet Moses is pictured as a servant in contrast to Christ who is far, far greater, being Son over God’s house.

Whether in Egypt, on top of Mount Sinai, from the entrance to the tabernacle, or wherever it might have been, God spoke directly to Moses and through him to the people. This was God’s purpose, for Moses was to be a type of Christ through whom God has spoken to His people.

But Moses felt himself insufficient for the task entrusted to him and in need of human help. In contrast to Christ, he had some helpers. The first one mentioned was Aaron, his brother, whom God appointed as his spokesman when he complained that he was not eloquent (Ex. 4:14-17).

In Exodus 17, Amalek attacked and Moses put Joshua in charge of the fighting men while he himself went up to the hilltop with the rod of God to pray. But Moses’ hands, unlike Christ’s, got heavy. Aaron and Hur put a stone under Moses to support him while he prayed and they supported his arms uplifted in prayer.

Joshua seems to have been with Moses practically from the exodus out of Egypt. He was one of the two men over 20 years old when Israel came out of Egypt who ultimately entered the land of Canaan. Joshua made a few mistakes that Scripture notes, but as Moses’ servant he doubtless learned much from him. God later chose Joshua to lead His people into the Promised Land.

To lead a people numbering more than 600,000 fighting men plus their wives and children, along with a mixed multitude of tag-alongs, was a tremendous undertaking for God’s servant Moses. Early on their wilderness journey, in Exodus 18, Moses’ father-in-law Jethro brought Moses’ wife and sons to him and stayed for a brief visit. Seeing Moses spend the day from morning till evening judging the people, Jethro suggested that Moses lighten his load by only intermediating between God and the people and teaching the people what God wanted them to do. He also suggested that Moses appoint faithful, able, God-fearing men over the people as rulers of thousands, hundred, fifties and tens to judge small matters. Only major matters would then be brought to Moses’ attention to bring before God. Moses welcomed this suggestion and sought to implement it.

We find this account in Exodus 18, and it is apparently this that Moses refers to and elaborates on in Deuteronomy 1 as he reviews the events of the wilderness journey with the people shortly before his death. It is interesting to see that while he and Israel had accepted his father-in-law’s counsel, good advice from the standpoint of human wisdom, we never find it referred to as coming from God nor do we ever find instances of its being successfully implemented. On the contrary, at least a year later when God had led Israel on from their long encampment at Sinai, where they had built the tabernacle and its furnishings, we find the people continuing to complain.

The second instance of complaints, in Numbers 11, caused Moses to complain bitterly to the Lord (vv.11-15). He told God, “I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me.” God then told him to gather seventy men of the people of Israel, elders and officers over them, to stand with him at the tabernacle of meeting. God said that He would talk with Moses there and that He would take of the Spirit that was upon Moses and put it upon these seventy, that they would bear the burden of the people with him. This was done, and these men prophesied. But in the final analysis we do not find them lightening Moses’ load or that, by God’s putting of the Spirit that was on Moses on these seventy, there was any multiplication of the Spirit of God. Indeed, we can well say there was now more machinery and greater complication, but no more of God’s Spirit!

God still spoke to Moses, giving him direction. God’s servants doing God’s work at God’s direction will always find God’s grace to be sufficient for them. He may well be pleased to give them help, for fellowship in His service is a sweet and encouraging grace. But help that His servants try to find or devise for themselves will never attain to God’s gracious provision for them. May we learn to lean hard on Him rather than depend on human wisdom or resources!

QUESTION: How did Moses get direction and help as he led the people of Israel through the wilderness?

QUESTION: How did Moses get direction and help as he led the people of Israel through the wilderness?

Answered by Eugene P. Vedder, Jr.

ANSWER:

Hebrews 3:5 presents Moses to us as a faithful servant over the house of God. This passage refers back to Numbers 12:6-8 where God says that unlike other prophets to whom He would speak in visions and dreams, He spoke plainly, face to face, with Moses. Yet Moses is pictured as a servant in contrast to Christ who is far, far greater, being Son over God’s house.

Hebrews 3:5 presents Moses to us as a faithful servant over the house of God. This passage refers back to Numbers 12:6-8 where God says that unlike other prophets to whom He would speak in visions and dreams, He spoke plainly, face to face, with Moses. Yet Moses is pictured as a servant in contrast to Christ who is far, far greater, being Son over God’s house.

Whether in Egypt, on top of Mount Sinai, from the entrance to the tabernacle, or wherever it might have been, God spoke directly to Moses and through him to the people. This was God’s purpose, for Moses was to be a type of Christ through whom God has spoken to His people.

But Moses felt himself insufficient for the task entrusted to him and in need of human help. In contrast to Christ, he had some helpers. The first one mentioned was Aaron, his brother, whom God appointed as his spokesman when he complained that he was not eloquent (Ex. 4:14-17).

In Exodus 17, Amalek attacked and Moses put Joshua in charge of the fighting men while he himself went up to the hilltop with the rod of God to pray. But Moses’ hands, unlike Christ’s, got heavy. Aaron and Hur put a stone under Moses to support him while he prayed and they supported his arms uplifted in prayer.

Joshua seems to have been with Moses practically from the exodus out of Egypt. He was one of the two men over 20 years old when Israel came out of Egypt who ultimately entered the land of Canaan. Joshua made a few mistakes that Scripture notes, but as Moses’ servant he doubtless learned much from him. God later chose Joshua to lead His people into the Promised Land.

To lead a people numbering more than 600,000 fighting men plus their wives and children, along with a mixed multitude of tag-alongs, was a tremendous undertaking for God’s servant Moses. Early on their wilderness journey, in Exodus 18, Moses’ father-in-law Jethro brought Moses’ wife and sons to him and stayed for a brief visit. Seeing Moses spend the day from morning till evening judging the people, Jethro suggested that Moses lighten his load by only intermediating between God and the people and teaching the people what God wanted them to do. He also suggested that Moses appoint faithful, able, God-fearing men over the people as rulers of thousands, hundred, fifties and tens to judge small matters. Only major matters would then be brought to Moses’ attention to bring before God. Moses welcomed this suggestion and sought to implement it.

We find this account in Exodus 18, and it is apparently this that Moses refers to and elaborates on in Deuteronomy 1 as he reviews the events of the wilderness journey with the people shortly before his death. It is interesting to see that while he and Israel had accepted his father-in-law’s counsel, good advice from the standpoint of human wisdom, we never find it referred to as coming from God nor do we ever find instances of its being successfully implemented. On the contrary, at least a year later when God had led Israel on from their long encampment at Sinai, where they had built the tabernacle and its furnishings, we find the people continuing to complain.

The second instance of complaints, in Numbers 11, caused Moses to complain bitterly to the Lord (vv.11-15). He told God, “I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me.” God then told him to gather seventy men of the people of Israel, elders and officers over them, to stand with him at the tabernacle of meeting. God said that He would talk with Moses there and that He would take of the Spirit that was upon Moses and put it upon these seventy, that they would bear the burden of the people with him. This was done, and these men prophesied. But in the final analysis we do not find them lightening Moses’ load or that, by God’s putting of the Spirit that was on Moses on these seventy, there was any multiplication of the Spirit of God. Indeed, we can well say there was now more machinery and greater complication, but no more of God’s Spirit!

God still spoke to Moses, giving him direction. God’s servants doing God’s work at God’s direction will always find God’s grace to be sufficient for them. He may well be pleased to give them help, for fellowship in His service is a sweet and encouraging grace. But help that His servants try to find or devise for themselves will never attain to God’s gracious provision for them. May we learn to lean hard on Him rather than depend on human wisdom or resources!

QUESTION: How did Moses get direction and help as he led the people of Israel through the wilderness?

Answered by Eugene P. Vedder, Jr.

ANSWER:

Hebrews 3:5 presents Moses to us as a faithful servant over the house of God. This passage refers back to Numbers 12:6-8 where God says that unlike other prophets to whom He would speak in visions and dreams, He spoke plainly, face to face, with Moses. Yet Moses is pictured as a servant in contrast to Christ who is far, far greater, being Son over God’s house.

Whether in Egypt, on top of Mount Sinai, from the entrance to the tabernacle, or wherever it might have been, God spoke directly to Moses and through him to the people. This was God’s purpose, for Moses was to be a type of Christ through whom God has spoken to His people.

But Moses felt himself insufficient for the task entrusted to him and in need of human help. In contrast to Christ, he had some helpers. The first one mentioned was Aaron, his brother, whom God appointed as his spokesman when he complained that he was not eloquent (Ex. 4:14-17).

In Exodus 17, Amalek attacked and Moses put Joshua in charge of the fighting men while he himself went up to the hilltop with the rod of God to pray. But Moses’ hands, unlike Christ’s, got heavy. Aaron and Hur put a stone under Moses to support him while he prayed and they supported his arms uplifted in prayer.

Joshua seems to have been with Moses practically from the exodus out of Egypt. He was one of the two men over 20 years old when Israel came out of Egypt who ultimately entered the land of Canaan. Joshua made a few mistakes that Scripture notes, but as Moses’ servant he doubtless learned much from him. God later chose Joshua to lead His people into the Promised Land.

To lead a people numbering more than 600,000 fighting men plus their wives and children, along with a mixed multitude of tag-alongs, was a tremendous undertaking for God’s servant Moses. Early on their wilderness journey, in Exodus 18, Moses’ father-in-law Jethro brought Moses’ wife and sons to him and stayed for a brief visit. Seeing Moses spend the day from morning till evening judging the people, Jethro suggested that Moses lighten his load by only intermediating between God and the people and teaching the people what God wanted them to do. He also suggested that Moses appoint faithful, able, God-fearing men over the people as rulers of thousands, hundred, fifties and tens to judge small matters. Only major matters would then be brought to Moses’ attention to bring before God. Moses welcomed this suggestion and sought to implement it.

We find this account in Exodus 18, and it is apparently this that Moses refers to and elaborates on in Deuteronomy 1 as he reviews the events of the wilderness journey with the people shortly before his death. It is interesting to see that while he and Israel had accepted his father-in-law’s counsel, good advice from the standpoint of human wisdom, we never find it referred to as coming from God nor do we ever find instances of its being successfully implemented. On the contrary, at least a year later when God had led Israel on from their long encampment at Sinai, where they had built the tabernacle and its furnishings, we find the people continuing to complain.

The second instance of complaints, in Numbers 11, caused Moses to complain bitterly to the Lord (vv.11-15). He told God, “I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me.” God then told him to gather seventy men of the people of Israel, elders and officers over them, to stand with him at the tabernacle of meeting. God said that He would talk with Moses there and that He would take of the Spirit that was upon Moses and put it upon these seventy, that they would bear the burden of the people with him. This was done, and these men prophesied. But in the final analysis we do not find them lightening Moses’ load or that, by God’s putting of the Spirit that was on Moses on these seventy, there was any multiplication of the Spirit of God. Indeed, we can well say there was now more machinery and greater complication, but no more of God’s Spirit!

God still spoke to Moses, giving him direction. God’s servants doing God’s work at God’s direction will always find God’s grace to be sufficient for them. He may well be pleased to give them help, for fellowship in His service is a sweet and encouraging grace. But help that His servants try to find or devise for themselves will never attain to God’s gracious provision for them. May we learn to lean hard on Him rather than depend on human wisdom or resources!

Where is hope found?

Hope is found in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is “our hope” (1 Tim. 1:1 NKJV). Without Him we have no hope (Eph. 2:12), no help (Rom. 5:6) and no home (Jn. 14:1-6). But with and through Him we have a hope that does not disappoint and we have power within us to enjoy the hope we have (Rom. 5:5).

Believers, even in a time of darkness and despair, are connected to the God of Hope who is able to fill us with all joy and peace that we might abound in hope (Rom. 15:13)! He wants to remind His own: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11). Psalm 62:5-8 reminds us, “My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.”

In those difficult times we need to be encouraged to “lift up my eyes to the hills – from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber” (Ps. 121:1-3). When we do that, the question we ask ourselves is “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God” (Ps. 42:11).

If you are hurting today, know that there is hope for the hurting and help for the helpless in the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn it all, and your whole life, over to Him today!

Answered by Timothy P. Hadley