Is it Not Good if Peace and Truth be in my Days?...the Wayfarer 7/16/14

Is it Not Good if Peace and Truth be in my Days?
 7/16/14

“Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried unto Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the Lord.

And of thy sons that shall issue from thee, which thou shalt beget, shall they take away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.

Then said Hezekiah unto Isaiah, good is the word of the Lord which thou hast spoken,, and he said, is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?

(2 Kings 20:17-19)

After having been healed, and given more time despite the warning of his impending death, despite the sign requested that that time being added to him had been given, Hezekiah still placed trust in his “allies”, even bringing them into his home and showing them all he had, all that had been built by his father for him and his kingdom, having been flattered by letters and a gift sent him by those in Babylon who later would use this information to take all that had been given him, to include his sons and their manhood, denying him even his name being continued in Israel.

Hezekiah saw the enemies in Assyria, prayed adamantly and ardently for deliverance from them, and then requested help from the Lord only after having been told to set his house in order.

His prayer, heartfelt and sincere, given in contrition and tears, was answered… He was given an additional fifteen years, was healed of the affliction, asked for and received a sign that God had changed his mind about his fate that was impossible not to recognize when it was given.

Still, he let flattery and deception from yet another enemy set up his, and his lineage for complete and total destruction, seeing only the gifts they brought, the words that were written in letters by them to impress him, without taking thought of what the reason behind the flattery might be.

Like most, he let the distractions of the physical gifts of presents and flattering words come into play without the regard for consequences.

His naivety extended to showing all the treasures of his people as well as his own, setting up the utter pillage of all that was shown to these “allies”.

Baubles and flowery words impressed him, and would then destroy him.

Yet once informed of this mistake, he chose to glorify God for what had been given, stating that the word of the Lord delivered to him was good, giving thanks for both the peace and the truth given by God even in the knowledge that both that peace and that truth would be taken when his days were over.

“Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped,

And said Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.

In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.”

(Job 1:20-22)

Job, too, was given great riches, and the blessings of a large family… a continuation of lineage, and he too could have easily stated that he had walked in the ways of God, bemoaned the fact that all had been taken from him while he yet lived, unlike Hezekiah but chose instead to worship and give praise to God for having been given what was given, acknowledging that it was God’s gift, not something earned that he had been given, and that it was God’s right to take it back  as well.

His statement, in the 21^st verse, is echoed throughout the words of Solomon in both his proverbs, and in Ecclesiastes.

Job did not focus on the physical things lost, nor did Hezekiah focus on the physical things yet to be taken, both choosing to focus on the goodness and mercies already shown by God.

The focus on the physical, today, for far too many is apparent as the decline of all that is worthwhile; all that truly means anything is ignored.

Jesus, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, possessor of all the wealth of the world as the Son of God chose poverty and piety, could not be impressed with the offerings of Satan in the temptations given to keep him from his purpose in having been sent, quoting scripture to that old deceiver in return for all the false promises of wealth fame and power: wealth that was meaningless, fame that held no meaning either as it was but a pale reflection of His glory already held, and power that was only in this world, not the power already held in heaven and in earth given him by his Father, far greater than any that could ever be offered him by either Satan or mankind.

“And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

Being forty days tempted of the devil. And in those days he did eat nothing: and when they were ended, he afterward hungered.

And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.

And Jesus answered him saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me: and to whomsoever I will I give it.

If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

And Jesus answered and said unto him, get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

(Luke 4:1-8)

Having failed to tempt Jesus into worshipping, him instead of God, he then attempted to get him to sin by using his protection given by God as proof of who he was through what would be suicide for any mere man.

Jesus simply answered that tempting God is forbidden!

Later in His ministry, as some attempted to follow him, they refused to submit to the poverty chosen by him, prompting several passages that continually tell us that the riches of this world are not the riches that are to be pursued, that those things blind you to the true riches being offered in their place, and offering a reminder of just what the cost of discipleship was in the 8^th chapter of Matthew reminding us once again of the choice He Himself made regarding physical wealth:

“And Jesus saith unto him, the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.”

(Matthew 8:20)

This statement was not made in complaint about any lack of house, or mansion to be had that could just as easily been his, had he chosen them, but in admonition to one that said he wished to follow Him, without having realized the price of that discipleship, or the willingness to forego the things that distract from that very discipleship.

Far too many preach the rewards of this world to be had and how to attain them, giving advice, writing books, doing tours, promoting wealth above what is required for any true reward to be had.

Far too many listen to them, making those who preach such things all the more rich, while the true requirements are ignored and the true rewards are rejected as they fail to comprehend just what those rewards are and where they are to be found.

The admonitions, given by Jesus are rejected to place priority where it should be placed as was given in the same book just quoted, particularly:

“Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? or, what shall we drink/ or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek :) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take though for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

(Matthew 6:31-34)

Neglected also are the words given in that same chapter of that same book in admonition to assure just where your heart and, its treasures lie:

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

 For where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”

(Matthew 6: 19-21)

Particularly forgotten are the words I have so often quoted from the 24^th verse of this same chapter and book:

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other, Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

(Matthew 6:24)

“OK preacher, get to your point and shut up!”

My point is simple; there is a need to assure that what is sought is what is truly needed, that what is given is seen for what it is, both by the giver and the receiver.

The source of all gifts is God, as was acknowledged by Job, who sought none of the gifts once they were removed, but gave praise for their having been given, even if only for a while.

In Hezekiah’s case those gifts turned to poison and a curse instead of a blessing as he allowed their worldly value to impress him. Then and only then did he look for the true gifts and treasures he mentioned, of peace, and truth.

Neither of these two precious gifts is in any store to be bought from a shelf, neither may be given by any man. Both are far more valuable than any bauble that shines for a while until the decay and dust set in.

Yet there is one gift that is far more precious than this.

It too may not be found in any store, nor bought with money, but must come from the only source that provides it…God himself.

That gift is so simple and unadorned that it goes neglected and ignored because of the distraction of all the glittering and glistening things that are purchased with money instead of the blood with which it was purchased.

That gift is Love.

What is more precious than that love, the love given to us and demanded of us by God?

Jesus single commandment to love one another as he loved us was as pure, as was that love given, had no strings attached, no hidden agenda, asked only for return in kind, not in the things of this physical world, but in the true rewards available only in that Love itself.

Yet it continues to be rejected in favor of all the “things” sought through what is taught by men to be valuable instead of what is valuable to God.

“Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given: and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.”

(Luke 8:18)  

Pay attention to what you truly have, and even more to what you truly seek to have.

In closing, I pray that what is sought is what is given by Christ, complete peace as Hezekiah sought, a WAY to that TRUTH he sought, and more than this LIFE eternal reaping rewards far greater than those glittering and glistening baubles.

I remain as have I and shall I always, a simple sinner saved by grace through faith in Christ, seeking no rewards, nor gifts except those given through Him and His love, in the knowledge of the value of the gifts given me BY HIM, wishing for others to see that value of those gifts and recognize it for its permanence, and that they recognize how freely given it is as it was paid for by His blood that no money could or can purchase.

I remain that same stubborn soldier, still standing on a battlefield full of spoils, spoils intended to distract from the battle and that could only make that battle all the more difficult when choosing to carry the spoils or the sword of that same truth sought by Hezekiah.

I choose the weight of the armor, and the sword, and refuse the distraction.

2 Timothy 1:12 King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Amen and Amen.
the Wayfarer