Ancient Words – Hebrews 3 and Psalm 105
1 Give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make his deeds known to all people!
2 Sing to God; sing praises to the Lord; dwell on all his wondrous works!
3 Give praise to God’s holy name! Let the hearts rejoice of all those seeking the Lord!
4 Pursue the Lord and his strength; seek his face always!
5 Remember the wondrous works he has done, all his marvelous works, and the justice he declared
6 you who are the offspring of Abraham, his servant, and the children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 The Lord he is our God. His justice is everywhere throughout the whole world.
8 God remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded to a thousand generations,
9 which he made with Abraham, the solemn pledge he swore to Isaac.
10 God set it up as binding law for Jacob, as an eternal covenant for Israel,
11 promising, “I hereby give you the land of Canaan as your allotted inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number — insignificant, just immigrant
13 wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to the next,
14 God didn’t let anyone oppress them. God punished kings for their sake:
15 “Don’t touch my anointed ones; don’t harm my prophets!”
16 When God called for a famine in the land, destroying every source of food,
17 he sent a man ahead of them, who was sold as a slave: it was Joseph.
18 Joseph’s feet hurt in his shackles; his neck was in an iron collar,
19 until what he predicted actually happened, until what the Lord had said proved him true.
20 The king sent for Joseph and set him free; the ruler of many people released him.
21 The king made Joseph master of his house and ruler over everything he owned,
22 to make sure his princes acted according to his will, and to teach wisdom to his advisors.
23 That’s how Israel came to Egypt, how Jacob became an immigrant in the land of Ham.
24 God made his people very fruitful, more powerful than their enemies,
25 whose hearts God changed so they hated his people and dealt shrewdly with his servants.
26 God sent Moses his servant and the one he chose, Aaron.
27 They put God’s signs on Egypt his marvelous works on the land of Ham.
28 God sent darkness, and it became dark, but the Egyptians rejected his word.
29 God turned their waters into blood and killed their fish.
30 God made their land swarm with frogs — even in the bedrooms of their king!
31 God spoke, and the insects came — gnats throughout their whole country!
32 God turned their rain into hail along with lightning flashes throughout their land.
33 God destroyed their vines and their fig trees; shattered the trees of their countryside.
34 God spoke, and the locusts came — countless grasshoppers came!
35 They devoured all the plants in their land; they devoured the fruit of their soil.
36 God struck down all the oldest sons throughout their land; struck down their very pride and joy.
37 Then God brought Israel out, filled with silver and gold; not one of its tribes stumbled.
38 Egypt celebrated when they left, because the dread of Israel had come upon them.
39 God spread out clouds as a covering; gave lightning to provide light at night.
40 The people asked, and God brought quail; God filled them full with food from heaven.
41 God opened the rock and out gushed water — flowing like a river through the desert!
42 Because God remembered his holy promise to Abraham his servant,
43 God brought his people out with rejoicing, his chosen ones with songs of joy.
44 God gave them the lands of other nations; they inherited the wealth of many peoples —
45 all so that they would keep his laws and observe his instructions.
Praise the Lord!
Heb. 3:3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. The Ancient Words have spoken!
(Scott Johnson is pastor at East Faulkner Church of Christ and author of the BRG Bible).
Sparks From The Gospel Anvil
Ezekiel 37:1-10
Prophetically, this scripture refers to the “whole house of Israel” and to a time when God will “regather them” unto “the land of Israel.” This is made clear in verses 11-14. However, the language of these scriptures certainly lends itself to revival.
Here we have the ultimate revival – a revival in a graveyard and this is the ultimate challenge to Ezekiel’s faith. When asked, “Can these bones live?” he replied, “O Lord God, Thou knowest.”
I like what Dr. Harry Ironside, the former pastor of the Moody Bible Church in Chicago said, “Bones are no problem to the Bonemaker.” Someone has said, man’s extremity is God’s opportunity, which means that man has no need that reaches beyond the power of God.
Revival in the valley of dry bones – what a demonstration of the power of God! What a source of encouragement and challenge for the church that longs for a spiritual awakening in her midst. The three main thoughts come from the pen of Ian MacPherson, who was one of the greatest preachers of the Apostolic Church in his day. First we need to see the bones, what a setting for a revival – bones, bones and more bones.
Not much to start with, but bones are still no problem to the Bonemaker. The bones were very many, everywhere that Ezekiel looked he saw a great need. Like Israel, every part of our natural life is starved for influence of revival. Economically, politically, morally and spiritually we are in ruins. But revival begins with the church and if the church does not have revival, we are doomed as a nation.
The bones were in an open valley, which suggests that the bones were at the mercy of the elements – the rain, wind and sun. By the same token, without revival the church is powerless to resist her enemies and is easy prey for the world, flesh and the devil. The bones were also out of place. The fact that the bones came together suggest they were out of place. This is one of the biggest problems in our churches – too many people are out of place spiritually (ref. Judges 7:21).
When Christians fail to fill their place of service, the work of God always suffers. The bones were very dry, that is, they were in the final stages of decay and deterioration. For many churches it is now or never! But the case is not hopeless as long as people are willing to seek the Lord. Not only should we look at the bones, but also the breath.
Note verse 8, and the phrase, “there was no breath in them.” They had bones, sinews, flesh, skin and were able to move and even make a noise, but they were still dead. It is possible to project the image of the church and still be spiritually lifeless (ref. Revelation 3:1-5).
The spiritual life and vitality of a church rests in the power of the indwelling Christ in the Person of The Holy Spirit. Truly, “all is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down.” Would to God the “wind of heaven” would breathe on us afresh and anew and revive us again.
Lastly, look at the battalion. Verse 10 gives us the perfect image of a revived church. Notice the new identity the nation takes on as a result of the breath breathed into them. It is described, of all things, as an “exceeding great army.” Now we have a force to be reckoned with. So is the church when she has a real revival. Real revival produces as radical a change in Christians as salvation does in sinners. If salvation will change a sinner, then revival will also change a saint. It has been said, “Man usually begins with an army and ends up with bones, but here God begins with bones and ends up with an army!”
(Lieutenant Charles Smith is commanding officer of the Salvation Army of El Dorado).