believing

Overcoming unbelief

One of the primary obstacles that Jesus faced in his mission to save the world was the unbelief of the people of Israel. Mark’s gospel tells us when Jesus came to his hometown, they “took offense at him” (Mark 6:3). The Greek word that is translated offense, skandalizo (skan-dal-idˊ-zo) means to “scandalize.” In a moral sense, skandalizo means “to be a stumbling block to someone, to cause to stumble at or in something, to give a cause of offence to someone. It says in Mark 6:1-6:

He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief.

Jesus’ family, friends, and neighbors saw him as an ordinary man. Rather than accepting him as their Messiah, the Son of God, the people in his hometown associated Jesus with his occupation, and referred to him as “the carpenter” (Mark 6:3). Mark said that Jesus could do no mighty work or miracles there because of their unbelief.

Unbelief is the state a person is in before embracing the gospel, but it can also be a violation of faith or apostasy (G570). The writer of Hebrews admonished the people of Israel because of their unbelief. Hebrews 3:12-19 states:

Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

The writer of Hebrews associated unbelief with the heart, and also indicated that a person could become hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

In his parable of the sower, Jesus identified different locations that the seed could end up after it was sown and explained to his disciples that the seed represented the word of the kingdom or the gospel. Jesus said, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart” (Matthew 13:19). According to Jesus the intended destination for the gospel is the heart, but Satan tries to keep us from understanding God’s word so that it doesn’t have any effect on us. Jesus went on to explain that the seeds that fell on rocky ground are, “the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away” (Mark 4:16-17). The seeds that fell on rocky ground may have been a direct reference to Jesus’ twelve disciples, who were noted by Mark as abandoning Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. Mark said, “They all left him and fled” (Mark 14:50). After Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish, he came to his disciples in the middle of the night walking on the sea. Mark tells us, “And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened” (Mark 6:51-52).

The reason why Jesus’ disciples were utterly astounded when he walked across the water and got into the boat with them was because there was no logical explanation for what had just happened, they may have even thought they were losing their minds or were hallucinating. Mark says, “When they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost” (Mark 6:49). Mark’s assessment of the situation was linked to what had happened the day before. Mark said, “They did not understand about the loaves” (Mark 6:52). The Greek word that is translated understand, suniemi (soon-eeˊ-ay-mee) means “to bring together in the mind, to grasp concepts and see the proper relation between them. Hence, to comprehend, understand, perceive” (G4920). At this point in the disciples’ relationship with Jesus, it is likely that they were grappling with the fact that God had become a man, that the man they knew as Jesus, was actually God. In one of Jesus’ final conversations with his disciples, John lets us know that his disciples still couldn’t completely comprehend how Jesus, a man, could also be God. John writes:

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. John 14:8-11)

Jesus told Philip that the Father dwelt in him, that he was in the Father and the Father was in him. Jesus was speaking “of the relation in which one person or thing stands with another…thus to remain in or with someone, i.e. to be and remain united with him, one with him in heart, mind, and will” (G3306). Jesus concluded his conversation with Philip with the statement, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works” (John 14:11). Believing means that you have faith in someone or something. “Particularly, to be firmly persuaded as to something…with the idea of hope and certain expectation (Acts 18:8)” (G4100). The Greek word pisteuo (pist-yooˊ-o), which is translated believe, is derived from the word pistis (pisˊ-tis), which speaks “(of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or the religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation” (G4102).

Jesus’ miracle of feeding five thousand people with five loaves and two fish was motivated by compassion. Mark tells us about Jesus, “When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things” (Mark 6:34). The Greek word that Mark used that is translated shepherd, poimen (poy-maneˊ) is translated pastors in the King James Version of Ephesians 4:11 where Paul talks about the various manifestations of grace in the context of unity in the body of Christ. Paul said, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, but craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way unto him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love” (Ephesians 4:11-16). Paul identified the goal of Christianity to be attaining the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God. The role of the pastor or shepherd in this endeavor is to act as a spiritual guide for believers whose faith is being developed as they grow in their knowledge of the Son of God.

Paul said in his letter to the Romans that the Israelites were like branches that had been broken off because of their unbelief, and then added, “But you stand fast through faith (pistis)” (Romans 11:20). Standing fast implies that there is a force that is trying to move you or perhaps, knock you down. The Greek word histemi (hisˊ-tay-mee), which is translated stand fast, is used metaphorically in Acts 7:60 as “to impute, e.g. sin unto someone” (G2476). Histemi is used three times in Ephesians 6:11-14 where Paul talks about putting on “the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). Paul concluded his discussion of spiritual warfare with the statement, “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication” (Ephesians 6:16-18). Paul indicated that we must take up the shield of faith, suggesting that faith involves an intentional effort on our part to protect ourselves from spiritual attacks. Paul said that we can not only use our faith to protect ourselves from the enemy’s attacks, but we can also use our faith to launch a counter attack by praying in the Spirit at all times. From that standpoint, it could be said that prayer is a weapon that believers have at their disposal to overcome their unbelief.

Preaching the gospel

Mark’s gospel opens with a statement that sets the context for the rest of his message. Mark informs his readers that his message is about, “The beginning of the gospel Jesus Christ, the Son of God” (Mark 1:1). In other words, Mark was saying, this is how it all got started, we were told that the Son of God is here. Mark went on to talk about John the Baptist’s preparation for Jesus’ arrival (Mark 1:2-8), and then, recounted how John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. Mark said:

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:9-11)

Mark indicated that it wasn’t Jesus who informed the people of Israel about his identity, but God himself who said, “You are my beloved Son” (Mark 1:11). Mark also clarified that it wasn’t Jesus’ story that was being told, but “the gospel of God” (Mark 1:14). Mark stated, “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14-15).

Mark used the Greek word kerusso (kay-roosˊ-so) to describe what Jesus was doing. Kerusso means “to herald (as a public crier), especially divine truth (the gospel)…Especially to preach, publish, or announce religious truth, the gospel with its attendant privileges and obligations, the gospel of dispensation…’To preach Christ’ means to announce him as the Messiah and urge the reception of His gospel” (G2784). Kerusso is translated as both preached and proclaiming in Mark chapter one. Jesus’ brief message, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15), suggests that there was a simple formula for accepting Christ as one’s Savior, “repent and believe in the gospel.” Mark’s gospel is the most simple and direct of the four gospels. Mark seems to cut to the chase and doesn’t waste any time trying to convince people of the truth. Mark just states the facts and then, lets people draw their own conclusions.

Mark briefly described what a typical day for Jesus and his disciples probably looked like in Mark 1:35-39. Mark stated:

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.

Jesus indicated that he came out in order to preach the gospel. The Greek word that is translated came out, exerchomai (ex-erˊ-khom-ahee) is derived from the words ex “denoting origin (the point whence motion or action proceeds)…primarily meaning out of, from, of, as spoken of such objects which before were in another, but are not separated from it, either in respect of place, time, source, or origin” (G1537), and erchomai “in the sense of to come forth before the public” (G2064). This seems to suggest that it was necessary for people to see Jesus, who was described by Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:4 as “the image of God,” in order for the gospel to be preached.

Paul explained in his second letter to the Corinthians that the gospel is veiled or hidden from those who are perishing. Paul stated:

We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:2-6)

Paul referred to the devil as the god of this world and said that he has blinded the minds of unbelievers (2 Corinthians 4:4). The mind is where perception comes from and is what makes it possible for us to think and plan our activities. Without our minds, we wouldn’t have the ability to understand the world or people around us. When Paul said that the devil has blinded the minds of unbelievers, he meant that the devil could skew their perception by making them conceited, proud, arrogant; unaware of their need for a Savior.

Matthew’s gospel tells us:

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:25-30)

Jesus said no one knows the Father except the Son, “and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matthew 11:27). The Greek word that is translated chooses is boulomai (booˊ-lom-ahee). Boulomai has to do with exercising the will, being willing to do something (G1014). The Apostle Peter indicated that the Lord is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9, KJV). Therefore, it can be assumed that the rest of Jesus’ statement is an explanation of how people get to the point of repentance. Jesus said that we must 1) come to him, and that we must 2) take his yoke upon us, and 3) learn from him; and then, Jesus added as a word of encouragement, “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30).

The wisdom of God

According to the Bible, wisdom “is the knowledge and the ability to make right choices at the opportune time. The consistency of making the right choice is an indication of maturity and development” (H2451). It says of Jesus in Luke 2:40, “the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.” Before Jesus, the only person in the Bible described as being filled with wisdom was King Solomon, the son of King David. It says in 1 Kings 3:5 that the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night and said, “Ask what I shall give you.” Solomon’s request to be given an understanding mind (1 Kings 3:9) resulted in him becoming the wisest man on earth (1 Kings 4:31). First Kings 3:10-12 tells us:

It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.

Solomon’s subsequent decision in a case where two prostitutes were contending for the custody of a child (1 Kings 3:16-27) was thought to be brilliant. It says in 1 Kings 3:28, “And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.”

First Kings 4:29-34 tells us that “God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. For he was wiser that all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations…And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.” One of the people who came to hear the wisdom of Solomon was the queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:1-13). At the conclusion of her visit, she told Solomon, “The report was true that I heard in my own land of your words and wisdom, but I did not believe the reports until I came and my own eyes had seen it. And behold, the half was not told me. Your wisdom and prosperity surpass the report that I heard. Happy are your men! Happy are your servants, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom!” (1 Kings 10:6-8). Jesus mentioned the queen of Sheba’s visit to King Solomon when he rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for their unbelief. Jesus said, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. The queen of Sheba will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:39-42).

Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees that something greater than Jonah and something greater than Solomon was there (Matthew 12:42). Jesus wasn’t referring to himself, but the wisdom of God that was within him. Jesus explained to one of the lawyers, who was insulted by his condemnation of the Pharisees legalism, that the Wisdom of God had been manifested in God’s messages to unbelievers throughout history. Jesus said:

“Woe to you lawyers also! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” (Luke 11:46-52)

Jesus said that the lawyers had taken away the key of knowledge. Jesus was talking about the “knowledge of the revealed will of God, by which men entered into the life that pleases God” (G2807). Jesus may have been referring to the misguided efforts of the people of Israel to be witnesses to the nations around them of God’s love and faithfulness. The Jews thought that they were supposed to distinguish themselves by rigorously following the Mosaic Law, but God’s intention was for them to reflect his grace and his forgiveness of sinners.

Paul touched on the topic of believers using God’s wisdom verses legal disputes to resolve their differences with each other in his first letter to the Corinthians. Paul argued:

When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers! (1 Corinthians 6:1-8).

The Greek word that is translated wise in 1 Corinthians 6:5, sophos (sof-osˊ) is “spoken of God as surpassing all others in wisdom, being infinite in skill, insight, knowledge, purity (Romans 16:27; 1 Timothy 1:17; Jude 1:25)” (G4680). Paul’s reference to believers being wise enough to settle a dispute had to do with their reliance upon the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to discern God’s will in specific matters. Paul said that “to have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you” and he asked, “Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?”

The point that Paul wanted to make with his statement about lawsuits being a defeat for believers was that it was evidence that they didn’t have spiritual discernment. The Greek word sophia (sof-eeˊ-ah), which is derived from sophos, “stands for divine wisdom, the ability to regulate one’s relationship with God (Luke 2:40; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:6, 7; 12:8; Ephesians 1:17; Colossians 1:9; James 1:5; 3:13, 15, 17; 2 Peter 3:15). The wisdom of God means the divine wisdom, including the ideas of infinite skill, insight, knowledge, purity” (G4678). Sophia is used in Luke 2:40 in reference to Jesus being filled with wisdom and in 1 Corinthians 1:30 where Paul said, “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God.”

Paul went on to talk about wisdom from the Spirit in the context of God’s thoughts being revealed to us. Paul said:

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
    nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”—

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. (1 Corinthians 2:6-13)

Paul said that no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God in order to make it clear that the indwelling of the Holy Spirit was the only means a believer had of discerning the will of God.

Paul shared in his letter to the Ephesians that he had been praying for believers, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened” (Ephesians 1:17-18). Paul’s use of the phrase having the eyes of your hearts enlightened was meant to convey the fact that spiritual darkness was not immediately dispelled when a person accepted Christ as his or her Savior. James indicated that believes should ask God for wisdom, but said that faith was necessary for it to be received. James said, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways” (James 1:5-8). James compared a person who doubts the wisdom of God to a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. This illustration suggests that the doubter is being led by the Holy Spirit, but he has decided to do things his own way. James indicated that this will result in the person being tempted by sin. James said, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it is conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:14-15).

Spiritual Work

Many of the parables that Jesus used to teach his disciples were focused on work or labor of some sort. Jesus used the example of wise and foolish builders to teach his disciples the importance of using their minds in a skillful manner (Matthew 7:24-27). In the parable of the sower, Jesus emphasized the importance of being open to the influence of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23). Jesus used the example of the unmerciful servant to teach his disciples about forgiveness (Matthew 18:23-34) and laborers in a vineyard about the goodness of God (Matthew 20:1-16). The emphasis that Jesus placed on work and productivity indicate that the spiritual realm has some of the same characteristics as the material world that we live in. Jesus told his followers:

“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.” (John 4:34-38)

The Greek word that is translated work, ergon (erˊ-gon) means to “toil (as an effort or occupation)” (G2041). The Greek word kopiao (kop-ee-ahˊ-o), which is translated labor, means “to feel fatigue; by implication to work hard” (G2872). Jesus told his disciples, “I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor” (John 4:38). The others that Jesus was referring to in this statement is not clear, but he may have been talking about the work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ final instruction to his disciples had to do with their dependence upon the Holy Spirit to accomplish the mission that he gave them before he ascended to heaven (Matthew 28:16-20). Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

The Apostle Paul elaborated on Jesus teaching about spiritual work in his first letter to the Corinthians. Paul said:

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building. (1 Corinthians 3:5-9)

Paul referred to the Corinthian believers as both God’s field and God’s building, linking Jesus’ parables to his work of preaching the gospel. Paul said that “each will receive his wages according to his labor” (1 Corinthians 3:8). Jesus talked about wages in his parable about laborers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:8). In this parable, Jesus said the laborers were hired at different times of the day, but they all received the same wages. When the ones who were hired first grumbled about it, Jesus said, “Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal with us who have borne the burden of the day, and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go, I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:10-16).

The idea that God treats all of his spiritual workers the same and rewards them equally was acknowledged by Paul (1 Corinthians 3:7), but Paul also indicated that the result or output of our work is what really matters. Paul said, “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:12-17). Paul clarified which Day he was referring to when he said, “Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God” (1 Corinthians 4:5). The purposes of the heart are the decisions believers make that identify them as being either for or against Christ (G1012). Paul pointed out that the purposes of the heart would be disclosed and implied that it had something to do with the evidence of one’s spiritual intake. The Greek word phaneroo (fan-er-oˊ-o) means “to render apparent” (G5319). The English Standard Version of the Bible uses the word phagos (fagˊ-os), which means “a glutton” (G5314), instead of phaneroo in 1 Corinthians 4:5, and translates it as discloses. This seems to suggest that Paul was talking about a believer’s spiritual weight being the output or perhaps the gauge of how successful his spiritual work was.

The Old Testament of the Bible links weight with God’s glory. The Hebrew word kabowd (kaw-bodeˊ) is properly translated as weight, but as a masculine singular noun, its meaning is “honour, glory, majesty, wealth” (H3519). Kabowd is derived from the word kabad (kaw-bad), which means “to be heavy…The hands of both humans and God were described metaphorically as heavy, that is, powerful” (H3513). The effectiveness of one’s spiritual work may be gauged in terms of weight in the Bible because of the fact that wealth was associated with gold and silver which is measured in weight. A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms. When the Temple of God was constructed, many of the temple furnishings were made from gold and silver. It says in Exodus 25:39 that the golden lampstand was made “out of a talent of pure gold.” In today’s prices, the golden lampstand itself would be worth about 2.3 million dollars. Paul said of his work in the ministry, “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—each one’s work will become manifest” (1 Corinthians 3:12). The Greek word that is translated builds on, epoikodomeo (ep-oy-kod-om-ehˊ) is only used figuratively. To build upon is “spoken of the Christian faith and Christian life, both the whole church and its individual members as built upon the only foundation, Christ, and implying the constant internal development of the kingdom of God and the visible church, like a holy temple progressively and increasingly built up from the foundation (1 Corinthians 3:10, 12, 14; Ephesians 2:20; Colossians 2:7).

Peter’s first letter looked at spiritual work from the standpoint of intense persecution. Peter said, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:6-9). Peter indicated that faith is more precious than gold and said that it is what will be tested when Jesus judges the world (1 Corinthians 3:13). Peter’s viewpoint was that believing in Jesus was the outcome or product of faith and said that it would result in the salvation of your souls. When Jesus was asked, ‘What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’ Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent’” (John 6:28-29). The reason why Jesus identified believing as work was probably because it took a great deal of effort from a human standpoint. Jesus told his disciples, “if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20-21). The fact that faith can move a mountain makes it a very effective instrument for spiritual work. Jesus said that nothing is impossible, if you use faith to accomplish it.

Jesus’ parable of the persistent widow was intended to convey the point that it was not God’s unwillingness to answer prayers that was the problem with regard to accomplishing spiritual work. Luke opened the story with the comment, “And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not to lose heart” (Luke 18:1). And then stated:

He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 2:2-8)

Jesus’ question, “will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 2:8) was a rebuke to those who prayed constantly, but got no results.

Hebrews 11, which highlights the accomplishments of Old Testaments believers, begins with the statement, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation” (Hebrews 11:1). The Greek word that is translated conviction, elegchos (elˊ-eng-khos) means to have a certain persuasion, “in the sense of refutation of adversaries” (G1650). In other words, faith presupposes that there is a contradicting opinion about the things that we believe. Paul went on to say, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). Paul identified two requirements for drawing near or worshipping God. First, a person must believe that God exists. There needs to be an awareness of his presence in the world. In addition to that, a person must believe that God rewards those who worship him. The Greek word misthapodotes (mis-thap-od-otˊ-ace), which is translated reward, is derived from the words misthoo (mis-thoˊ-o) which means “to let out for wages, i.e. (middle) to hire” (G3409) and apodidomi (ap-od-eedˊ-o-mee), which means “to give away” or pay (-ment) (591). In that sense, a worshipper of God has to believe that not only does he exist; but also, that seeking God is a form of work, and God pays those who do it.

Being saved

The Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians began with a detailed description of the people he was writing to. Paul said, “To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those in every place who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours” (1 Corinthians 1:2). Paul addressed his audience as the church of God and indicated that they were sanctified in Christ Jesus. Paul was clearly referring to people who had already accepted Jesus as their Savior. The Greek word that is translated sanctified, hagiazo (hag-ee-ad’-zo) means “to make holy” (G37). Hagiazo is spoken of persons who are consecrated “as being set apart of God and sent by Him for the performance of His will (John 10:36).” The resultant state of Hagiazo is hagiasmos (hag-ee-as-mos’). Hagiasmos refers not only to the activity of the Holy Spirit in setting man apart unto salvation and transferring him into the ranks of the redeemed, but also to enabling him to be holy even as God is holy (2 Thessalonians 2:13)” (G38).

Paul went on to say that his audience was not lacking in any gift as they waited for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who would sustain them to the end, “guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:7-8). The term guiltless has to do with being accountable for a debt. Jesus told a parable about an unforgiving servant in order to explain each person’s accountability to God for the sins they commit (Matthew 18:21-35). Jesus began by stating that the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. At first, a servant was forgiven a debt of ten thousand talents. A talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years’ wages for a laborer, so there was no way the servant could pay the debt he owed. After the servant was forgiven, he demanded payment from someone who owed him a hundred denarii. A denarius was a day’s wages for a laborer, a very small amount compared to the ten thousand talents that the servant had been forgiven. When it was reported to the master what had taken place, Jesus said, “Then the master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you? And in anger, his master delivered him to the jailors, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart” (Matthew 18:32-35).

Paul wanted his readers to understand that their moral debt was cleared from God’s accounting system when they accepted Christ as their Savior, but that didn’t absolve them of their responsibility to deal with their fellow believers in a manner similar to the way God had dealt with them. Paul said, “I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind, and the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10). The divisions in the church were hindering the believers’ spiritual growth and what Paul later referred to as their edification (1 Corinthians 14:3). Paul used the Greek word katartizo (kar-ar-tid’-zo), which is translated united, to describe the purpose of edification, that the members of Christ’s body would be “perfectly joined” together. Katartizo indicates the close relationship between character and destiny in that the right ordering and arrangement of the members of Christ’s body results in every member being “fitly framed together” into a holy temple in the Lord (Ephesians 2:21, KJV).

Paul went on to explain that the power of God was linked to the cross of Christ and that it had to be working in the believers’ lives until the day of our Lord Jesus Christ in order for them to be guiltless in the end. Paul said, “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:17-18). Paul indicated that the cross could be emptied of its power. In other words, Christ’s sacrifice for our sins could be neutralized or made ineffective in what it was intended to do in a person’s life. Paul brought up this problem in the context of a person being saved. “The participle is used substantively to refer to those being saved, those who have obtained salvation through Christ and are kept by him” (G4982). Paul clarified his statement about being saved in 1 Corinthians 15:2, when he said, “Now I remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you — unless you believed in vain.” According to Paul, being saved meant that you continued to believe what you did when you first received salvation through the gospel. Paul likely contrasted being saved with perishing in order to make it clear that  a person’s state does not change. A saved person can not become unsaved, but he can lose the reward God intended for him (Matthew 25:26-30).

Paul indicated that Jesus is the one who sustains believers as they go through the process of being saved. He said, “I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge—even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:4-8). Jesus’ ability to sustain believers to the end is based on a personal relationship with the Lord that involves walking together by faith (G950). Paul indicated that Christ sustaining believers results in them being guiltless or being freed from their eternal moral debt to God. The way that it happens is by miraculous power being activated through the preaching of the gospel. Paul said, “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:21-24).

Paul went on to say that the effect of being saved is that the mind of Christ is formed in the believer. Paul said, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). Paul also talked about the renewing of the mind in his letter to the Romans. Paul admonished them, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2). The Greek word that is translated transformed, metamorphoo (met-am-or-fo’-o), is where the English word metamorphosis comes from. Metamorphosis refers to the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct phases. Paul indicated that transformation takes place as a result of the renewal of the mind. Renewal is intended to make a person different than in the past. The Greek word that Paul used, anakainosis (an-ak-ah’-ee-no-sis), stresses the process of sanctification (G342). Anakainosis “is the gradual conforming of the person to the new spiritual world in which he now lives, the restoration of the divine image. In this process the person is not passive but is a fellow worker with God” (G3824).

Paul linked together different aspects of being saved in his letter to Titus. Paul referred to these two aspects of salvation as the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit. Paul said, “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration, and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7). Justification by grace means that God’s divine influence upon our hearts and its reflection in our lives will cause us to be declared innocent in the end, when God actively intervenes to punish sin. God’s day of judgment is referred to as the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord holds an important place in prophecy (note on 1 Thessalonians 5:2). Paul wrote about the day of the Lord in his first letter to the Thessalonians. Paul said, “Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11).

Jesus emphasized the importance of remaining under the influence of the Holy Spirit in his message about the signs of the end of the age. After his disciples asked him when the end would occur, and the sign of his second coming, Jesus said, “Many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:10-13). The Greek word that is translated endures, hupomeno (hoop-om-en’-o), means “to remain under the approach or presence of any person or thing, in the sense of to await” (G5278). What Jesus meant by the one who endures to the end will be saved was that endurance will be a distinguishing characteristic of believers that are in the process of being saved at the end of the age. Constant communion with the Holy Spirit will be more and more important for believers as Christ’s return draws near. Jesus concluded his Olivet Discourse with several parables about faithful and wicked servants and then, talked about the final judgment. Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all his angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31-32). The sheep and the goats represent two spiritual categories that all people fall into, saved and unsaved. Jesus said of the sheep, who represented the group of saved people, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). Jesus commended the sheep because they had taken care of him when he was in need of help (Matthew 25:35-37), but they were unaware that they had done anything to merit his favor (Matthew 25:37-39). When Jesus confronted the unsaved, the opposite happened. They argued that they had done everything that was expected of them. Matthew 25:41-46 states:

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

The key differentiation that Jesus made between the sheep and the goats was that one group ministered to his needs and the other did not. The sheep had done what Jesus expected of them, but were most likely unaware of it because it had not been an intentional effort on their part, but rather the divine influence of the Holy Spirit on their hearts that caused them to act the way they did.

Paul summarized all of his doctrine related to salvation in his letter to the Romans. In this letter, Paul emphasized the importance of faith (Romans 4:1-5:11), but he also made it clear that it takes an act of the will to overcome the effects of sin in our lives (Romans 6:13). In order to clarify the difference between works of the flesh, the things we choose to do based on our own desires and preferences, and acts of faith, Paul said:

Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
    and whose sins are covered;
blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” (Romans 4:4-8)

The main point that Paul made in this passage was that God counts righteousness apart from works. Therefore, it isn’t necessary for us to do anything to be saved. But, Paul went on to explain that life in the Spirit involves being mentally disposed toward doing the things that God wants us to (Romans 8:5-6). In his conclusion, Paul identified the uniting principle associated with being saved and the final judgment that Jesus described in Matthew 25:31-46. Paul said, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:8-10).

The kingdom of heaven

Israel’s demand for a king (1 Samuel 8:5) was a sign of their rejection of God and their desire to be like other nations. “God knew that the Israelites would someday desire a king. He had previously given guidelines that were to be followed by the people and by the kings that would reign over them (Deuteronomy 17:14-20)…The people were no longer satisfied with the system of judges that had been established. They improperly attributed the failures during that time to the system itself, not to their sin. They rejected God because they wanted to be like the other nations, not a peculiar people, set apart as the chosen ones of God. They wanted a visible deliverer in whom they could place their trust (cf. Judges 8:22). They wanted to walk by sight, not by faith” (note on 1 Samuel 8:5-7). Initially, God gave the Israelites the kind of king they were looking for. “From a human perspective, Saul fully satisfied the desires of the people. He was a man of great stature from the most military-minded tribe in all Israel and was considered capable of leading the people in battle against their enemies. Saul was also a man whose own spiritual life mirrored that of the majority of the Israelites; it was not long until he disobeyed the Lord (1 Samuel 13:8, 14)” (note on 1 Samuel 10:20-24). After Saul offered an unlawful sacrifice to the LORD, Samuel told Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the command of the LORD your God, with which he commanded you. For then the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought a man after his own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you” (1 Samuel 13:13-14).

Samuel anointed David king approximately twenty years before he began his thirty-three year reign over all Israel and Judah (2 Samuel 5:4-5). During Jesus’ ministry, “The Jews recognized that the Messiah would come from David’s descendants (cf. John 7:42). One of the titles applied to Jesus during his earthly ministry was ‘Son of David’ (Matthew 9:27; 12:23; 15:22), emphasizing his heirship of all David’s royal prerogatives as well as his fulfillment of the messianic promises to David (2 Samuel 7:8-16, cf. Matthew 22:41-45; Luke 1:32, 33, 69)” (note on 1 Samuel 16:13). The LORD’s covenant with David is recorded in 2 Samuel 7:8-16. Speaking through the prophet Nathan, God said:

“I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” (2 Samuel 7:12-16)

The statement God made about David’s son building a house for his name referred initially to Solomon but was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the ‘Son of David’ (Luke 1:31-33; Acts 2:25-35). Jesus told his disciples, “In my Father’s house are many rooms: if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:2-3).

Jesus’ departure from the earth is recorded in the gospels of both Mark and Luke. Mark tells us, “So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God” (Mark 16:19). In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul elaborated on Mark’s statement and indicated that Jesus received God’s authority when he sat down at his right hand (Ephesians 1:20-23), but we know that his reign hasn’t yet started because he told his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matthew 19:28). Jesus referred to the future kingdom that he would reign over as the kingdom of heaven and used numerous parables to describe it to his followers. Based on Jesus’ parables, the kingdom of heaven appears to be a place that is hidden from our view (Luke 17:21), but is a part of our current earthly existence (Matthew 6:33) and will be inhabited by both Old and New Testament believers at some point in the future (Matthew 8:11). Jesus indicated in his conversation with a ruler of the Jews named Nicodemus that “unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3) and then, explained, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:6-8).

Jesus’ mother, Mary, was visited by the angel Gabriel and was informed about her son’s future kingdom. Gabriel said:

“Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:28-33)

The unique thing about the throne of David was that God promised him it would be “established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16). David’s royal dynasty was intended to be built up or made sure by the eternal life that only Jesus could provide through his substitutionary death on the cross. The Hebrew word that is translated made sure in 2 Samuel 7:16 is ʾaman (aw-manˊ), which means “have belief” (H539). ʾAman is used in Genesis 15:6 where it says that Abraham “believed the LORD and he counted it to him as righteousness.” “This is one of the key verses of the entire Old Testament. It is an important witness to the doctrine of justification by faith and to the doctrine of the unity of believers in both Old and New Testaments. Abraham’s faith was credited to him for righteousness before he was circumcised and more than 400 years before the law was given to his descendants. Therefore neither circumcision nor the law had a part in Abraham’s righteousness. Abraham’s faith was not merely a general confidence in God nor simple obedience to God’s command; Paul stressed that it was indeed faith in the promise of redemption through Christ (Romans 3:21, 22; 4:18-25; Galatians 3:14-18)” (note on Genesis 15:6).

Jesus’ conversation with Pilate, the governor who gave the order for him to be crucified, ended with Jesus being asked the question, “What is truth?” John tells us:


So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” (John 18:33-38)

Jesus told Pilate that his kingdom was not of this world. The world that Jesus was talking about was not the physical planet that we live on, but the kosmos (kosˊ-mos), “the present order of things, as opposed to the kingdom of Christ; and hence, always with the  idea of transience, worthlessness, and evil both physical and moral, the seat of cares, temptations, irregular desires” (G2889). Jesus distinguished his kingdom from Pilate’s by pointing out to him that another world existed. The new world Jesus mentioned in Matthew 19:28 refers specifically to “Messianic restoration…In the sense of renovation, restoration, restitution to a former state; spoken of the complete eternal manifestation of the Messiah’s kingdom when all things are to be delivered from their present corruption and restored to spiritual purity and splendor” (G3824).

The reason why Jesus wanted Pilate to know that another world existed may have been so that he wouldn’t feel threatened by him being identified as the King of the Jews. When Pilate was told that Jesus had made himself “the Son of God” (John 19:7), “He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, ‘Where are you from?’” (John 19:9). It’s possible that at that point Pilate understood what Jesus was talking about when he said his kingdom was not of this world, but more than likely, Pilate assumed that Jesus was out of his mind. It says in John 19:10-11, “So Pilate said to him, ‘You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?’ Jesus answered him, ‘You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.’” The phrase from above is “spoken of whatever is heavenly or from heaven, and since God dwells in heaven, it signifies from God, in a divine manner” (G509). Jesus clearly wanted Pilate to know who he was dealing with and didn’t hide the fact that God was allowing him to crucify his own Son. Perhaps, in an attempt to bring the people to their senses, Pilate said to the Jews, “’Behold your King!’ They cried out, ‘Away with him, crucify him!’ Pilate said to them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar.’ So he delivered him over to them to be crucified” (John 19:14-16).

Jesus’ final conversation was with a man who was hanging on a cross next to his. Luke tells us, “When they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left” (Luke 23:33). Luke went on to say, “One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’ And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ And he said to him, ‘Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise’” (John 23:39-43). The second criminal realized the Jesus’ reign over the kingdom of heaven was not going to be prevented by his death or more specifically, by his crucifixion. The expression kingdom of heaven “often embraces both the internal and external kingdom and refers both to its commencement in this world and its completion in the world to come…In this latter view it denotes especially the bliss of heaven which it to be enjoyed in the Redeemer’s kingdom, i.e. eternal life” (G932).

Doubt and Fear

The story of King David’s life began with the prophet Samuel anointing him to be king over Israel. 1 Samuel 16:1 tells us that God sent Samuel to Jesse the Bethlehemite and said, “I have provided for myself a king among his sons.” At that time, Saul was the reigning king and Samuel feared that he would be killed if Saul found out that God had chosen someone to replace him (1 Samuel 16:2). 1 Samuel 16:6-13 states:

When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” And Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.” And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.” Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward.

David who was the youngest of eight sons was not considered to be a significant contributor to his family’s reputation. When Samuel arrived at his home, David’s father Jesse didn’t even think to include David in the family celebration, but instead, left him out in the field with the sheep, as if David was a hired servant. Samuel’s description of David was more appropriate for a woman than a man, he said David “was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome” (1 Samuel 16:12). “From a human perspective, Saul fully satisfied the desires of the people. He was a man of great stature from the most military-minded tribe of Israel and was considered capable of leading the people in battle against their enemies” (see note on 1 Samuel 10:20-24). God told Samuel not to look on the appearance of Jesse’s other sons, “on his appearance or on the height of his stature…For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).

Sometime later, when David was preparing to face the giant Goliath, Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth” (1 Samuel 17:33). The Hebrew word that is translated youth, naʿar (nahˊ-ar) means “a boy (as active), from the age of infancy to adolescence” (H5288). Therefore, it is safe to assume that David was less than 19 years of age when he fought Goliath and may have been as young as 17 or 18 when he experienced his first military victory. 1 Samuel 17:55-58 tells us, “As soon as Saul saw David go out against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the commander of the army, ‘Abner, whose son is this youth?’ And Abner said, ‘As your soul lives, O king, I do not know.’ And the king said, ‘Inquire whose son the boy is?’ And as soon as David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him, and brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistine in his hand.’ And Saul said to him, ‘Whose son are you, young man?’ And David answered, ‘I am the son of your servant Jesse the Bethlehemite.’” “It is intriguing that Saul seemingly did not recognize David here since David had previously been employed as a musician to soothe the king’s troubled spirit (1 Samuel 16:15-23). No one knows what length of time or how frequently David played his harp for Saul, however, and the slaying of Goliath probably happened several years after David’s service in the king’s court” (note on 1 Samuel 17:55-58). Based on this information, it seems likely that David was only 14 or 15 years old when he was anointed by Samuel to be the king of Israel. According to 2 Samuel 5:4-5, “David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years. At Hebron he reigned over Judah seven years and six months, and at Jerusalem he reigned over all Israel and Judah thirty three years,” suggesting that there was a gap of at least twelve to fifteen years between the times when David was anointed to when he became king of Judah at Hebron.

The last year and four months of David’s life before he became king of Judah at Hebron were spent in the country of the Philistines. 1 Samuel 27:1 tells us, “Then David said in his heart, ‘Now I shall perish one day by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of seeking me any longer within the borders of Israel, and I shall escape out of his hand.” The extreme faith that David had as youth, which enabled him to slay the giant Goliath, seemed to have completely disappeared shortly before he became king of Israel. It seems that David believed when he went to live in the country of the Philistines that it was the only way for him to survive. At the beginning of his flight from Saul, David had gone to Achish the king of Gath and pretended to be insane (1 Samuel 21:13) so that he wouldn’t be killed by his enemies. Afterward, David escaped to the cave of Adullam and gathered together an army of about 400 men (1 Samuel 22:1-2). While he was there, the prophet Gad came to David and said to him, “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart and go into the land of Judah” (1 Samuel 22:5). God didn’t want David to try and save his own life, but to put his trust completely in him and to remain under his divine protection. When David returned to Achish, 1 Samuel 27:5 tells us, “Then David said to Achish, ‘If I have found favor in your eyes, let a place be given me in one of the country towns, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?’” David referred to himself as Achish’s servant. The Hebrew word ʿebed (ehˊ-bed) refers to someone who reports to a king or is under the authority of a leader. “The ‘servant’ was not a free man. He was subject to the will and command of his master (H5650).

The Hebrew word ʿebed is translated bondage in the King James Version of the Bible with respect to the Israelites’ circumstances in Egypt. The English Standard Version of the Bible translates ʿebed as slavery. In Moses’ recitation of the Ten Commandments, he said, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me” (Deuteronomy 5:6-7). Moses went on to say:

“And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you—for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 6:10-15)

Moses indicated that the Israelites were to serve God. ʿAbad, which is translated serve in Deuteronomy 6:13, means “to work (in any sense)” (H5647). ʿEbed is derived from the Hebrew word ʿabad, along with the word ʿabowdah (ab-o-dawˊ), which refers to “work of any kind” (H5656). “The more limited meaning of the word is ‘service.’ Israel was in the ‘service’ of the Lord…Whenever God’s people were not fully dependent on Him, they had to choose to serve the Lord God or human kings with their requirements of forced ‘labor’ and tribute.”

Immediately after Jesus fed five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish (Matthew 14:13-21), he made his disciples get into a boat and go before him to the other side of the sea (Matthew 14:22). During the night, the boat was beaten by the waves because the wind was against them. Matthew tells us that in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to his disciples walking on the water (Matthew 14:25). Matthew went on to say:

But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.”

And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:26-31)

According to Matthew, when Peter saw the wind, “he was afraid” (Matthew 14:30). The word that Matthew used that is translated afraid, phobeo (fob-ehˊ-o) means “to show reverential fear” and is sometimes used to express “’reverence’ of God, e.g., Acts 10:2, 22; 13:16, 26; Colossians 3:22; 1 Peter 2:17; Revelation 14:7; 15:4; 19:5” (G5399). When Peter began to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me” (Matthew 14:30). The Greek word that is translated save, sozo (sodeˊ-zo) is the same word Jesus used when he said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved (sozo) through him” (John 3:16-17). Peter thought that the reason why he began to sink into the sea was because he wasn’t saved, but Jesus corrected him and identified doubt as the source of his problem.

Jesus said that Peter had little faith. One way of looking at little faith is that it is insufficient to get the job done. The Greek word oligopistis (ol-ig-opˊ-is-tos) indicates that Peter was “lacking confidence (in Christ),” and was used by Jesus as a gentle rebuke for Peter’s anxiety (G3640). Jesus indicated that the reason why Peter’s faith was shaken wasn’t because he lacked confidence in the Lord’s ability to walk on the water, but because Peter didn’t think that Jesus could make him walk on the water. Peter thought that the wind might be more powerful than Jesus. The Greek word that is translated doubt in Matthew 14:31, distazo (dis-tadˊ-zo) means to mentally waiver in opinion, “to stand in two ways implying uncertainty which way to take” (G1365). Peter wasn’t sure whether or not he could overcome the power of the wind by simply believing in Jesus. Matthew tells us, “And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshipped him, saying, ‘Truly you are the Son of God’” (Matthew 14:32).

David’s conclusion that he would one day perish by the hand of Saul (1 Samuel 27:1), showed that he doubted God’s ability to remove Saul from the throne. David may have thought that because Saul had been anointed king of Israel, his dominion over God’s kingdom safeguarded him from being discharged from his position. David’s statement, “There is nothing better for me than that I should escape to the land of the Philistines” (1 Samuel 27:1) was based on his lack of confidence in God’s ability to tear the kingdom from Saul and give it to him as was foretold by Samuel the prophet (1 Samuel 15:28). David’s plan to escape from Saul by going into the land of the Philistines was in essence, David taking matters into his own hands. While he was there, David deceived Achish into thinking that he was his loyal servant. In actuality, David was making raids against the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites and covering up his tracks so that Achish wouldn’t find out. 1 Samuel 27:9-11 tells us:


And David would strike the land and would leave neither man nor woman alive, but would take away the sheep, the oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the garments, and come back to Achish. When Achish asked, “Where have you made a raid today?” David would say, “Against the Negeb of Judah,” or, “Against the Negeb of the Jerahmeelites,” or, “Against the Negeb of the Kenites.” And David would leave neither man nor woman alive to bring news to Gath, thinking, “lest they should tell about us and say, ‘So David has done.’” Such was his custom all the while he lived in the country of the Philistines.

It appears that David’s plan was to gain Achish’s trust so that he could fight alongside him against the Israelites and kill Saul in battle. While the Philistines were gathering their troops and preparing to launch an attack at Aphek, it was discovered that David and his men were among the Philistine army. 1 Samuel 29:2-9 states:

As the lords of the Philistines were passing on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were passing on in the rear with Achish, the commanders of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the commanders of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel, who has been with me now for days and years, and since he deserted to me I have found no fault in him to this day.” But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him. And the commanders of the Philistines said to him, “Send the man back, that he may return to the place to which you have assigned him. He shall not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For how could this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of the men here? Is not this David, of whom they sing to one another in dances,

‘Saul has struck down his thousands,
    and David his ten thousands’?”

Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the Lord lives, you have been honest, and to me it seems right that you should march out and in with me in the campaign. For I have found nothing wrong in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, the lords do not approve of you. So go back now; and go peaceably, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.” And David said to Achish, “But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” And Achish answered David and said, “I know that you are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God. Nevertheless, the commanders of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’”

David’s plea to Achich, “But what have I done? What have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” (1 Samuel 29:8), makes it clear that David wanted to fight against Saul’s army. The fact that he was stopped from doing so seems to confirm that God didn’t want David to kill Saul himself.

Saul’s state of mind at the time that the Philistines were mounting their attack against him could be described as anxious at the very least, but may have been closer to paranoia. 1 Samuel 28:5-8 tells us, “When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, ‘Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.’ And his servants said to him, ‘Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.’ So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments and went, he and two men with him. And they came to the woman by night.” Saul had put the mediums and the necromancers out of the land of Israel earlier in his reign (1 Samuel 28:3) because it was against the law for the Israelites to consult such persons. Leviticus 20:6 states, “If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people.” The medium that Saul went to see was aware of the danger of her profession. “The woman said to him, ‘Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the necromancers from the land. Why then are you laying a trap for my life to bring about my death?’” (1 Samuel 28:9). Even though Saul knew that it was wrong for him to inquire of a medium instead of the LORD, “Saul swore to her by the LORD, ‘As the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing’” (1 Samuel 28:10).

Saul’s encounter with the medium of En-dor resulted in Samuel’s spirit being brought up from Sheol (shehˊ-ole), the place of the dead (H7585). The conversation between Saul and Samuel is recorded in 1 Samuel 28:15-19. It states:

Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.” And Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has turned from you and become your enemy? The Lord has done to you as he spoke by me, for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David. Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover, the Lord will give Israel also with you into the hand of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me. 

Saul told Samuel that he was “in great distress” (1 Samuel 28:15). The Hebrew word that is translated distress, tsarar (tsaw-rarˊ) means “to cramp…to wrap, tie-up, be narrow, be in pangs of birth” (H6887). Saul was experiencing an extreme amount of mental and emotional pain and was hoping that Samuel would say something that would make him feel better. Instead, Samuel worsened Saul’s situation by telling him that tomorrow he was going to die (1 Samuel 28:19).

The Apostle Peter was brave enough to get out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus, “But when he saw the wind, he was afraid” (Matthew 14:29-30). Matthew tells us that when Peter began to sink, “he cried out, ‘Lord, save me’” (Matthew 14:30). Peter thought that the reason why he began to sink into the sea was because he wasn’t saved, but he actually was. In Saul’s case, he didn’t cry out for help when he realized that his situation was hopeless. Saul may have thought that he was saved, but it is very likely that he wasn’t. Jesus warned his disciples before he sent them out to minister to the people on their own that he was sending them out “as sheep in the midst of wolves” (Matthew 10:16) and then, concluded, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matthew 10:22). What I believe Jesus meant by this was that the outcome of a person’s situation would show whether or not he was actually saved. The person who is saved will endure to the end. Saul did not endure to the end. Saul was terrified of dying at the hands of the Philistines (1 Samuel 28:21) and was left alone without any means of overcoming his fear. Whereas, David doubted that he could survive Saul’s attempt to kill him, and yet, the LORD did tear the kingdom out of Saul’s hand and gave it to David, just as he said he would (1 Samuel 28:17).

Turmoil

David’s defeat of the giant Goliath was a high point in his leadership of the nation of Israel. 1 Samuel 17:50-51 tells us, “David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. There was no sword in the hand of David. Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of his sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.” Goliath was a powerful man, a warrior and a tyrant, who was considered to be the hero of the Philistines. When David killed Goliath, his stature rose above that of Goliath’s and he was celebrated among the people of Israel. Even though David was a youth and had only fought in a single battle, the women sang about him, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands” (1 Samuel 18:7). 1 Samuel 18:8-9 goes on to say, “And Saul was very angry, and this saying displeased him. He said, ‘They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed thousands, and what more can he have but the kingdom?’ And Saul eyed David from that day on.” Saul was aware that the kingdom of Israel had been taken from him and was told that it would be given to someone, “who is better than you” (1 Samuel 15:28). Saul may or may not have realized that David was going to be his successor, but it is clear from his reaction to the people’s celebration of David that Saul was jealous of him and afterward wanted to get rid of David.

David and Saul’s relationship started out on a positive note. David was selected to play music for Saul when he was tormented by an evil spirit (1 Samuel 16:14-18). 1 Samuel 16:21-22 states, “And David came to Saul and entered his service. And Saul loved him greatly, and he became his armor-bearer. And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, ‘Let David remain in my service, for he has found favor in my sight.’” The dramatic shift in Saul’s attitude toward David may have been a result of demon possession. 1 Samuel 18:10-11 tells us:

The next day a harmful spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand. And Saul hurled the spear, for he thought, “I will pin David to the wall.” But David evaded him twice.

The Hebrew word that is translated harmful in 1 Samuel 18:10, raʿ (rah) means “bad or (as noun) evil…The basic meaning of this word displays ten or more various shades of the meaning of evil according to its contextual usage. It means bad in a moral and ethical sense and is used to describe, along with good, the entire spectrum of good and evil; hence, it depicts evil in an absolute, negative sense, as when it describes the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9; 3:5, 22)” (H7451).

The effect of Saul’s attack on David is recorded in Psalm 55. In this psalm, David expresses his deep distress over the situation and cries out to God for deliverance. David begins his prayer by stating:

Give ear to my prayer, O God,
    and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
Attend to me, and answer me;
    I am restless in my complaint and I moan,
because of the noise of the enemy,
    because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they drop trouble upon me,
    and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

My heart is in anguish within me;
    the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
Fear and trembling come upon me,
    and horror overwhelms me.
And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
    I would fly away and be at rest;
yes, I would wander far away;
    I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
I would hurry to find a shelter
    from the raging wind and tempest.” (Psalm 55:1-8)

David likened Saul’s raving to a storm, a “raging wind and tempest” (Psalm 55:8) and admitted that the terrors of death had fallen upon him, fear and trembling had taken root in his soul (Psalm 55:4-5). The contrast between David’s response to the giant Goliath and King Saul was likely due to the fact that Saul had been anointed King of Israel and was operating under God’s authority. David identified Saul as “a man my equal” (Psalm 55:13) and understood that the evil forces behind Saul’s attack were ordained by God (1 Samuel 18:10). David said:

For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
    then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—
    then I could hide from him.
But it is you, a man, my equal,
    my companion, my familiar friend.
We used to take sweet counsel together;
    within God’s house we walked in the throng.
Let death steal over them;
    let them go down to Sheol alive;
    for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart. (Psalm 55:12-15)

David indicated that evil had made its home inside Saul. The Hebrew word that is translated heart in Psalm 55:15, qereb (kehˊ-reb) means “the nearest part, i.e. the centre…On many other occasions, however, the word is utilized abstractly to describe the inner being of a person. This place was regarded as the home of the heart from which the emotions spring (Psalm 39:3[4]; 55:4[5]; Lamentations 1:20). It was also viewed as the source of thoughts (Genesis 18:12; Psalm 62:4[5]; Jeremiah 9:8[7]), which are often deceitful, wicked, and full of cursing. Yet wisdom from God can reside there also (1 Kings 3:28). This inner being is also the seat of one’s moral disposition and thus one’s affections and desires…The Lord promised to place His law in the inner beings of His people Israel (Jeremiah 31:33; see also Ezekiel 11:19, 36:26, 27)” (H7130).

Jesus told many parables about the kingdom of heaven and at one point told the Pharisees who had asked him when the kingdom of God would come, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:20-21). The phrase in the midst is translated within in the King James Version of the Bible and refers to something “inside” (G1787). Jesus’ declaration that the kingdom of God is inside you was likely related to his repeated focus on the condition of one’s heart. Jesus used the example of a tree’s fruit to explain that the heart is where our spiritual conduct originates. Jesus said, “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give an account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:33-37). Jesus went on to explain through the parable of the sower that the heart is where God’s word is processed and utilized by our spirits. Jesus said, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart” (Matthew 13:18-19). The term sown was being used by Jesus metaphorically to represent the sowing of spiritual things in preaching and teaching (G4687). The fact that God’s word is sown or scattered around in the heart indicates that we are only responsible for what happens after it lands on us. We can decide to ignore what we’ve heard or contemplate and meditate on its meaning in our heart.

David’s attitude toward God is reflected in the psalms that he wrote and other psalms that were written during his reign. Psalm 42:1-4 states:

As a deer pants for flowing streams,
    so pants my soul for you, O God.
My soul thirsts for God,
    for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food
    day and night,
while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”
These things I remember,
    as I pour out my soul:
how I would go with the throng
    and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
    a multitude keeping festival.

The comparison of the soul’s thirst for God to a deer that pants for flowing streams is a fitting illustration of every person’s need for spiritual refreshment. In this passage, the psalmist expresses his need for an intimate connection with God. He uses the phrase pour out my soul to convey the idea of holding nothing back, being completely transparent about what is going on inside him. Conversing with his own inner being, the psalmist states:

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God. (Psalm 42:5-6)

The term cast down signifies depression (H7817) and suggests that the psalmist has reached a low point in his struggle against despair. His question, “Why are you in turmoil within me?” (Psalm 42:5) indicates that the psalmist was experiencing a great deal of intrapersonal conflict. The Hebrew word that is translated turmoil, hamah (haw-mawˊ) means “to make a loud sound; by implication to be in great commotion or tumult” (H1993), conveying the notion of disturbing the peace. The psalmist continued:

I say to God, my rock:
    “Why have you forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?”
As with a deadly wound in my bones,
    my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?” (Psalm 42:9-10)

The psalmist refers to God as his rock and yet, asks the question, “Why have you forgotten me?” (Psalm 42:9), suggesting that God had stopped paying attention to what was going on in his life. The rhetorical question, “Where is your God?” (Psalm 42:10) implies that the psalmist was being taunted because of his faith. As the conflict between David and Saul heated up, it seemed that God’s protection of David had been removed and that he was being left at the mercy of a ruthless killer. 1 Samuel 19:1-12 states:

And Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David. But Jonathan, Saul’s son, delighted much in David. And Jonathan told David, “Saul my father seeks to kill you. Therefore be on your guard in the morning. Stay in a secret place and hide yourself. And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you. And if I learn anything I will tell you.” And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, “Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. For he took his life in his hand and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it, and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?” And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan. Saul swore, “As the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death.” And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things. And Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.

And there was war again. And David went out and fought with the Philistines and struck them with a great blow, so that they fled before him. Then a harmful spirit from the Lord came upon Saul, as he sat in his house with his spear in his hand. And David was playing the lyre. And Saul sought to pin David to the wall with the spear, but he eluded Saul, so that he struck the spear into the wall. And David fled and escaped that night.

Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him, that he might kill him in the morning. But Michal, David’s wife, told him, “If you do not escape with your life tonight, tomorrow you will be killed.” So Michal let David down through the window, and he fled away and escaped.

David’s sudden bolt through the window was likely the result of a fight or flight response to Saul’s repeated attempts to kill him. There is no indication that the LORD ever told David that he needed to run for his life. It appears that David was reacting to the situation rather than trusting God for his safety.

David’s soul was affected by what was happening to him and it caused him to react in a way that seemed to be contrary to his personality. David was known as a man of valor (1 Samuel 16:18), and he had conquered the 9 foot giant Goliath with seemingly little effort on his part, but Saul’s raving and his repeated attempts to pin David to the wall brought the terrors of death upon him (Psalm 55:4). David exclaimed:

But I call to God,
    and the Lord will save me.
Evening and morning and at noon
    I utter my complaint and moan,
    and he hears my voice. (Psalm 55:16-17)

David used the Hebrew word hamah, which is translated moan in this verse, to describe his communication with God. David didn’t try to hide the turmoil that was going on inside of him, but instead, he expressed the agony that his soul was experiencing in an open and honest way.

Jesus understood the agony of the human soul. It says in Mark’s gospel that when Jesus took his disciples to the garden of Gethsemane to pray the night before his crucifixion, he “began to be greatly distressed and troubled. And he said to them, ‘My soul is very sorrowful, even to death’” (Mark 14:32-34). The soul is “that immaterial part of man held in common with animals. One’s understanding of this word’s relationship to related terms is contingent upon his position regarding biblical anthropology. Dichotomists view man as consisting of two parts (or substances), material and immaterial, with spirit and soul denoting the immaterial and bearing only a functional and not a metaphysical difference. Trichotomists also view man as consisting of two parts (or substances), but with spirit and soul representing in some contexts a real subdivision of the immaterial. This latter view is here adopted.” The soul “belongs to the lower region of man’s being…However, animals are not said to possess a spirit; this is only in man, giving him the ability to communicate with God” (H5590). In his distress, Mark tells us, Jesus “fell on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, ‘Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will” (Mark 14:35-36). The issue that was troubling Jesus was his betrayal into the hands of sinners (Mark 14:41). Jesus referred to Judas Iscariot, one of his twelve apostles, as “the betrayer” (Mark 14:44). The Greek word that is translated betrayer, paradidomi (par-ad-idˊ-o-mee) is derived from the words para (par-ahˊ) which means near or “at (or in) the vicinity of” and didomi (didˊ-o-mee) which means “to give.” The idea that these words convey is that of a convenient transfer of custody. Judas, a member of Jesus’ inner circle, made it easy for the Jewish religious leaders to arrest him in private.

David’s conflict with Saul didn’t involve hand to hand combat, as was the case with the giant Goliath; and yet, David described his conflict as a battle. David said of God, “He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me” (Psalm 55:18). The many that David was referring to may have been Saul’s army, but it is more than likely that David was being attacked in his inner being by the turmoil of his own thoughts. David eventually came to the conclusion that God would stand by him because Saul had violated his covenant. David said:

My companion stretched out his hand against his friends;
    he violated his covenant.
His speech was smooth as butter,
    yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
    yet they were drawn swords.

Cast your burden on the Lord,
    and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
    the righteous to be moved.

But you, O God, will cast them down
    into the pit of destruction;
men of blood and treachery
    shall not live out half their days.
But I will trust in you. (Psalm 55:20-23)

Trust, the safety and security that is felt when one can rely on someone or something else, was an important part of Jesus’ ministry on earth. In the Greek language, the words trust and hope are sometimes used interchangeably (G1679). Jesus told his disciples that they should believe in him (John 14:1). The Greek word that Jesus used, pisteuo (pist-yooˊ-o) “means not just to believe, but also to be persuaded of; and hence, to place confidence in, to trust, and signifies, in this sense of the word, reliance upon” (G4100). Pisteuo appears in John’s gospel more than 100 times and is used by Jesus eight times in John 3:10-21 to explain to Nicodemus the meaning of being born again or born of the Spirit. Jesus said, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:14-18).

The psalmist’s statement, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God” (Psalm 42:5) was repeated at the end of Psalm 42 for emphasis and appears again at the end of Psalm 43. The purpose of this repetition was likely to drive home the point that turmoil can be a recurring problem that needs to be dealt with in a consistent manner whenever it crops up in our souls. The psalmist’s answer to the problem of turmoil was to “Hope in God” (Psalm 42:5, 11; Psalm 43:5). The Hebrew word that is translated hope, yachal (yaw-chalˊ) means “to wait; by implication to be patient” (H3176). The transition of leadership from Saul to David has been estimated to have taken as long as thirteen years. It is likely that David spent as much as a decade running from Saul before he was finally relieved of the constant threat on his life. This period of time, though marked with inner turmoil, was a time of great spiritual growth in David’s life. Shortly after he took the throne, David was able to conquer the city of Jerusalem. “The fortress Zion (2 Samuel 5:6, 7) was almost invulnerable, located as it was in the mountains of Judah. It was a strategic military site, centrally located between Judah in the south and the rest of Israel in the north. It also dominated the main trade routes in the area…Members of the nation of Israel had been living in the area, but the central fortress remained in the hands of a group of Amorite people called ‘Jebusites.’ After David captured the fortress, he began to rebuild and expand the city, making it the seat of his kingdom” (note on 2 Samuel 5:6-10).

Deliverance

God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt was accomplished by means of signs and wonders that were intended to establish the LORD’s supremacy over human kings and kingdoms. God told Moses, “The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them” (Exodus 7:5). One of the primary uses of the Hebrew word yadaʿ (yaw-dahˊ), which is translated know in this verse, “means to know relationally and experientially: it refers to knowing or not knowing persons” (H3045). God’s desire to make himself known to the Egyptians was based on his pronouncement of judgment on them (Exodus 7:4) and his determination that Pharaoh would harden his heart against him (Exodus 7:3). “The natural inclination of man is to oppose God (Romans 3:9-23), and God sometimes allows men to follow the evil desires of their own hearts and experience the subsequent consequences (Romans 1:24-32). God allowed Pharaoh, in his pride and sinfulness, to do as he desired” (note on Exodus 7:3) because it served the purpose of his will, which was to save the Israelites from their bondage (Exodus 6:5).

After the Israelites crossed the Red Sea on dry ground (Exodus 14:29), Moses declared, “Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the LORD used against the Egyptians, so the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in his servant Moses” (Exodus 14:30-31). Moses indicated that the LORD saved Israel from the hand of the Egyptians. The Hebrew word that is translated saved is yashaʿ (yaw-shahˊ). “The underlying idea of this verb is bringing to a place of safety or broad pasture as opposed to narrow strait, symbolic of distress and danger.” Yashaʿ refers to “the salvation that only comes from God (Isaiah 33:32; Zephaniah 3:17)” (H3467). As a result of being saved, the people of Israel feared the LORD and believed in the LORD, which meant that they recognized God’s power and position and rendered him proper respect (H3372), as well as, experiencing a personal relationship to him (H539). Hebrews 11:29 tells us that the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea as on dry land by faith. The Greek word that is translated faith, pistis (pisˊ-tis) is “spoken by analogy of the faith of the patriarchs and pious men from the Old Testament who looked forward in faith and hope to the blessing of the gospel” (G4102). “It is related to God with the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ.”

The Song of Moses expressed the Israelites’ attitude toward God after he delivered them from slavery in Egypt. It states:

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;
    the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song,
    and he has become my salvation;
this is my God, and I will praise him,
    my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a man of war;
    the Lord is his name.

Pharaoh’s chariots and his host he cast into the sea,
    and his chosen officers were sunk in the Red Sea.
The floods covered them;
    they went down into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power,
    your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.
In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries;
    you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.
At the blast of your nostrils the waters piled up;
    the floods stood up in a heap;
    the deeps congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake,
    I will divide the spoil, my desire shall have its fill of them.
    I will draw my sword; my hand shall destroy them.’
You blew with your wind; the sea covered them;
    they sank like lead in the mighty waters.

Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods?
    Who is like you, majestic in holiness,
    awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
You stretched out your right hand;
    the earth swallowed them.

You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed;
    you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode.
The peoples have heard; they tremble;
    pangs have seized the inhabitants of Philistia.
Now are the chiefs of Edom dismayed;
    trembling seizes the leaders of Moab;
    all the inhabitants of Canaan have melted away.
Terror and dread fall upon them;
    because of the greatness of your arm, they are still as a stone,
till your people, O Lord, pass by,
    till the people pass by whom you have purchased.
You will bring them in and plant them on your own mountain,
    the place, O Lord, which you have made for your abode,
    the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have established.
The Lord will reign forever and ever.” (Exodus 15:1-18)

In Exodus 15:2, it says, “The LORD is my strength and my song and he has become my salvation.” This verse implies that something had happened that changed the Israelites’ status from unsaved to saved. The Hebrew word that is translated salvation, yᵉshuwʿah (yesh-ooˊ-aw) means “something saved, i.e. (abstractly) deliverance.” The name Jesus is a Greek form of yeshu’ah and it might be said that when the Israelites experienced salvation, they experienced what Jesus’ death on the cross intended to make possible for them; but at that point, it was not understood as a salvation from sin, since the word denoted broadly anything from which “deliverance” must be sought (H3444).

Jesus used the Greek word soteria (so-tay-reeˊ-ah) when he told a man named Zacchaeus, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham” (Luke 19:9). “Soteria denotes ‘deliverance, preservation, salvation.’ ‘Salvation’ is used in the New Testament of material and temporal deliverance from danger and apprehension,” as well as, “of the spiritual and eternal deliverance granted immediately by God to those who accept his conditions of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus, in whom alone it is to be obtained, Acts 4:12” (G4991). Soteria is derived from the word soter (so-tareˊ) which means “a deliverer, i.e. God or Christ” (G4990). Jesus went on to tell Zacchaeus, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). Jesus used the word sozo (sodeˊ-zo) to describe the act of being saved and made it clear to Zacchaeus that it was his mission to save people who were identified as the lost. The Greek word that is translated lost, apollumi (ap-olˊ-loo-mee) “signifies ‘to destroy utterly’; in the middle voice, ‘to perish.’ The idea is not extinction but ruin, loss, not of being, but of well-being” (G622). Apollumi is used in Matthew 10:28, where it says, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy (apollumi) both soul and body in hell.”

Jesus used the parable of the lost sheep to illustrate his point that it is not God’s will for believers to experience apollumi. Jesus said:

“Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven. For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.”

“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish (apollumi).” (Matthew 18:10-14, NKJV)

Jesus associated being lost with going astray. The Greek word that is translated goes astray and straying, planao (plan-ahˊ-o) is derived from the word plane (planˊ-ay). “Literally, plane means a wandering whereby those who are led astray roam hither and thither and is always used of mental straying, wrong opinion, error in morals or religion, 2 Thessalonians 2:11, ‘delusion.’ It is akin to planao, ‘a wandering, a forsaking of the right path’” (G4106). James used planao and plane in the concluding paragraph of his letter that was addressed to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion. James said:

My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20).

The phrase brings back has to do with a reversal in thinking or you might say, unlearning something that is incorrect. When Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matthew 18:1). It says in Matthew 18:2-3, “And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” In order to become like children, Jesus may have been expecting his disciples to unlearn some of the traditions of the elders that the prophet Isaiah referred to as the commandments of men (Matthew 15:1-6). Isaiah’s prophecy dealt with the upside down religion that had permeated Israel’s culture before they were sent into exile. Isaiah 29:13-16 states:

And the Lord said:
“Because this people draw near with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips,
    while their hearts are far from me,
and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,
therefore, behold, I will again
    do wonderful things with this people,
    with wonder upon wonder;
and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,
    and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.”

Ah, you who hide deep from the Lord your counsel,
    whose deeds are in the dark,
    and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”
You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,
that the thing made should say of its maker,
    “He did not make me”;
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
    “He has no understanding”?

The Hebrew word that is translated turn things upside down is similar to the Greek word that is translated brings back in James 5:20, both are associated with the process of conversion and suggest that there are two sides, or if you will, states of salvation. A person may be saved and sanctified, that is an active adjustment of the moral and spiritual vision and thinking to the mind of God is taking place (G342); or one may be saved and unsanctified, meaning that the sinner has been removed from the kingdom of darkness, but is not living according to the truth of God’s word (James 5:19-20).

The Israelites’ experience after they entered the Promised Land is an example of what it looks like to be saved, but not living according to the truth of God’s word. It says in Joshua 2:11-13, “And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and Ashtaroth.” “Canaanite deities, such as the Baals and the Ashtoreths, remained a problem for Judah until the Babylonian exile…It took seventy years in captivity to finally cure the Israelites of their idolatrous ways” (note on Judges 2:13). The LORD warned the people of Israel about disobedience before they entered the Promised Land and told them that curses would come upon them and overtake them (Deuteronomy 28:15). Moses said, “The LORD will send on you curses, confusion, and frustration in all that you undertake to do, until you are destroyed and perish quickly on account of the evil of your deeds, because you have forsaken me” (Deuteronomy 28:20). Judges 2:15 tells us, “Whenever they marched out, the hand of the LORD was against them for harm, as the LORD had warned, and as the LORD had sworn to them. And they were in terrible distress.”

The terrible distress that the Israelites felt was indicative of them being out of the will of God, but it didn’t mean that the LORD had abandoned them. On the contrary, God was using their circumstances to develop their faith. Judges 2:16-19 states:

Then the Lord raised up judges, who saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they did not listen to their judges, for they whored after other gods and bowed down to them. They soon turned aside from the way in which their fathers had walked, who had obeyed the commandments of the Lord, and they did not do so. Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who afflicted and oppressed them. But whenever the judge died, they turned back and were more corrupt than their fathers, going after other gods, serving them and bowing down to them. They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways.

The Israelites’ salvation wasn’t dependent on their behavior, but their behavior did determine the measure to which they experienced the positive effects of being saved. When it says that the judges saved them out of the hand of those who plundered them, it means that the Israelites experienced a military victory that bolstered their faith and gave them the confidence they needed to put their trust in God. The problem was that the judges were only providing temporary fixes because when that person died, the Israelites turned back to their idolatry (Judges 2:19).

Judges 3:1-2 tells us that the foreign nations that were left in the Promised Land were left, “to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before.” Warfare played an important part in the development of the Israelites faith because their dependence upon God for victory was evident to them. James opened his letter to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion with the statement, “Count it all joy my brothers when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2-4). The key words James used: trials, testing, faith, steadfastness, and complete; all reflect aspects of the process of sanctification that believers must go through in order to be delivered from their practices or their stubborn ways, what we might refer to today as business as usual. James went on to say:

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

James encouraged believers to receive with meekness “the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). James’ reference to the implanted word was likely related to Jesus’ Parable of the Sower (Luke 8:5-8). Jesus likened the word of God to seed that is sown in a person’s heart. Jesus said, “The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience” (Luke 8:12-15). Jesus indicated that the word of God must take root in our hearts and not be choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life in order to bear fruit. The Greek word that is translated hold fast, katecho (kat-ekhˊ-o) “stresses holding fast in order to hinder the course or progress of something or someone” (2722). In the instance of the Israelites, they were expected to hold fast to the commandments of the LORD in order to hinder the course or progress of the nations around them that were practicing idolatry. Instead of doing that, the people of Israel “abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth” (Judges 2:13).

It says in Judges 3:9, “But when the people of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the people of Israel, who saved them.” The Hebrew word that is translated cried out, zaʿaq (zaw-akˊ) means “to shriek (from anguish or danger). Zaʿaq is perhaps most frequently used to indicate the ‘crying out’ for aid in time of emergency, especially ‘crying out’ for divine aid. God often heard this ‘cry’ for help in the times of the judges, as Israel found itself in trouble because of its backsliding (Judges 3:9, 15; 6:7; 10:10)” (H2199). The deliverance that the LORD gave the Israelites was based on their anguished cries for help. It was similar during Jesus’ ministry in that many of the people that Jesus healed cried out to him for help (Matthew 15:23; 20:30; Mark 10:47; Luke 18:39). On one occasion, when Jesus came to his disciples walking on the sea, Matthew’s gospel tells us, “Jesus spoke to them, saying, ’Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.’ And Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” (Matthew 14:27-31). The fact that Peter cried out, “Lord, save me” indicates that he still viewed salvation as temporal deliverance from danger, but in his first letter, Peter used the same Greek word, sozo to refer to “the present experiences of God’s power to deliver from the bondage of sin (1 Peter 3:21)” and “the future deliverance of believers at the second coming of Christ for His saints, being deliverance from the wrath of God to be executed upon the ungodly at the close of this age and from eternal doom” (1 Peter 4:18-19). It is clear from Peter’s statement that he considered Jesus to be the source of his deliverance, the person who could save him. Later, when Jesus asked his disciples, “who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “’You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven’” (Matthew 16:15-17).

Escalation

The Israelites crossing of the Jordan River initiated a series of military conflicts that escalated over time. At first, the people of Canaan hunkered down and waited for the Israelites to attack them (Joshua 6:1), but as time went on, the kings of the nations joined forces and waged war against Israel (Joshua 9:1-2). Joshua 11:1-5 tells us:

When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard of this, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and in Naphoth-dor on the west, to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpah. And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

Joshua described the armies that were coming together to fight against Israel as “a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore” (Joshua 11:4). We know that Joshua was afraid because the LORD said to him, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel” (Joshua 11:6).

Joshua and all his warriors came against the great horde that was encamped against them suddenly and fell upon them (Joshua 11:7). The way that Joshua dealt with the situation was to launch an immediate attack with the intention of overthrowing his enemies as quickly as possible. His strategy was consistent with the message he received from the LORD, indicating that Joshua believed what the LORD had told him. “And the LORD gave them into the hand of Israel, who struck them and chased them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. And they struck them until he left none remaining. And Joshua did to them just as the LORD said to him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire. And Joshua turned back at that time and captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword, for Hazor formerly was the head of all those kingdoms” (Joshua 8-10). Unlike the battle of Jericho, the Israelites had to engage in hand to hand combat when they attacked the great horde that came up against them in order to overthrow their enemies. The key thing to note was that even though their opponents’ army was “in number like the sand that is on the seashore” (Joshua 11:4), “they struck them until he left none remaining” (Joshua 11:8). Afterward, there was no one left in the enemy’s army.

The relief that the Israelites felt as a result of the great horde of soldiers being completely wiped out is captured in Psalm 149. It states:

Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
    his praise in the assembly of the godly!
Let Israel be glad in his Maker;
    let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!
Let them praise his name with dancing,
    making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!
For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;
    he adorns the humble with salvation.
Let the godly exult in glory;
    let them sing for joy on their beds.
Let the high praises of God be in their throats
    and two-edged swords in their hands,
to execute vengeance on the nations
    and punishments on the peoples,
to bind their kings with chains
    and their nobles with fetters of iron,
to execute on them the judgment written!
    This is honor for all his godly ones.
Praise the Lord!

The Israelites’ excitement caused them to want to spontaneously praise the LORD, sing to the LORD, be glad, dance, and make melodies to him with their musical instruments. The people of Israel were literally overjoyed because of the great victory they had gained over their enemies.

A statement that is made in the middle of Psalm 149 emphasizes the connection between warfare and worship of God. Psalms 149:6 states, “Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands.” The word of God is likened to a two-edged sword in Hebrews 4:12, which states, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The writer of Hebrews went on to connect God’s word with judgment by stating, “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account” (Hebrews 4:13). The two-edged sword is also used symbolically in the book of Revelation to depict Christ’s gospel (Revelation 1:16). It says in Revelation 19:15 that Christ’s sword will be used to “strike down the nations.” With this in mind, it seems that Psalm 149:6 might by referring to spiritual warfare rather than physical warfare, but it is more than likely both. The psalmist continued, “Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples, to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute on them the judgment written! This is honor for all his godly ones. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 149:6-9). These verses correlate with God’s stated purpose for the Israelites entering the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 9:4-6) and the outcome of the Israelites’ battles with the armies of the northern kingdoms (11:16-20). The final statement, “This is honor for all his godly ones. Praise the LORD!” (Psalm 149:9) indicates that our desire to praise God is linked to the effect that a victory over our enemies has on us personally.

God’s use of his saints to execute judgment on the people of the world that had rejected him is said to have resulted in “honor for all his godly ones” (Psalm 149:9). The Hebrew word that is translated honor in Psalm 149:9, hadar (haw-dawrˊ) means “magnificence” and is a counterpart to Hebrew words for “glory” and “dignity.” “Thus hadar means not so much overwhelming beauty as a combination of physical attractiveness and social position” (H1926). One of the things that honor is associated with in the Bible is weight. The Hebrew word kabed (kaw-badeˊ) means “to be heavy” (H3513) and is translated honor in the Fifth Commandment which states, “Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12). The idea behind the Bible’s concept of honor was likely precious metals which were valued by their weight and were an indicator of wealth. Therefore, the more honor a person received, the heavier he was considered to be from a measurement perspective.

Psalm 149:4 explains that the way God bestows honor on his people is through salvation. It states, “For the LORD takes pleasure in his people: he adorns the humble with salvation.” The Hebrew word that is translated adorns, paʾar (pawˊ-ar) means to beautify or to embellish. In a figurative sense paʾar can mean “to boast” (H6286). Salvation was initially a way for God to differentiate between the Israelites, his chosen people, and everyone else. God’s deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt was considered to be salvation in a similar way to what we think of it because it kept the descendants of Jacob from becoming extinct as a people group. “’Salvation’ in the Old Testament is not understood as a salvation from sin, since the word denotes broadly anything from which ‘deliverance’ must be sought: distress, war, servitude, or enemies…The worst reproach that could be made against a person was that God did not come to his rescue” (H3444). The fact that God adorns only the humble with salvation has to do with the way that he works in people’s lives. The primary root of the Hebrew word that is translated humble is ʿanah (aw-nawˊ) which means “to be afflicted, be bowed down, be humbled, be meek…Frequently the verb expresses the idea that God sends affliction for disciplinary purposes” (H6031). ʿAnah is identical with ʿanah (aw-nawˊ) which is properly translated as “to eye or (generally) to heed, i.e. pay attention; by implication to respond; by extension to begin to speak; specifically to sing, shout, testify, announce” (H6030).

God often escalates the conflict or affliction in our lives in order to draw us closer to him. Paul said in his second letter to the Corinthians, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory, beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Paul spoke of an eternal weight of glory that is beyond all comparison that believers are being prepared for through affliction. The Greek word that Paul used that is translated glory, doxa (doxˊ-ah) is where the English word doxology comes from. “Doxa, ‘glory’ primarily signifies an opinion, estimate, and hence, the honor resulting from a good opinion” (G1391). An example of this expression is the saying, “He’s worth his weight in gold.” “This refers to a person’s subjective mental estimate or opinion about something. A person’s doxa (G1391) may be right or wrong since it always involves the possibility of error [except when used of Jesus]. It always signifies a subjective estimate of a thing, not the objective appearance and qualities the thing actually possesses” (G1380). The point that Paul was likely trying to make when he said that our eternal weight of glory would be beyond all comparison was that our reputation in heaven would be blown way out of proportion, extremely overstated, compared to our actual accomplishments on earth, because of God’s grace and mercy in our lives (2 Corinthians 4:15).

Joshua 11:21-23 tells us:

And Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities. There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain. So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.

Joshua was credited with cutting off the Anakim from the hill country and taking the whole land even though he likely had little to no direct involvement in determining these outcomes. When the situation escalated and a great horde of troops encamped to fight against Israel (Joshua 11:4-5), the LORD told Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel” (Joshua 11:6). The LORD indicated that he would give over all of them, slain, to Israel. In other words, the LORD was going to kill everyone and then, transfer possession of the dead bodies from his army to Joshua’s, so that, essentially, Joshua didn’t have to do anything except show up for the battle. Afterward, Joshua recorded, “And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the people of Israel defeated on the west side of the Jordan…in all, thirty-one kings” (Joshua 12:7-24). The reason why Joshua was able to take credit for the defeat of the thirty-one kings on the west side of the Jordan was because his army was present when the LORD’s spiritual battles were taking place.

The book of Revelation gives us a glimpse into what will take place when the world’s rebellion against God escalates into a final conflict referred to as the battle of Armageddon. Similar to the war between Israel’s army and the kingdoms of the north, the kings of the earth and their armies will gather together to fight against the LORD. The scene begins with the entrance of a rider on a white horse. John says:

Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.” And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh. (Revelation 19:11-21)

We know the rider on the white horse is Jesus because he is called “The Word of God” and “He is clothed in a robe dipped inblood” (Revelation 19:13). At this point, Jesus has returned to earth in his resurrected body and brings with him the armies of heaven who are “arrayed in fine linen, white and pure” (Revelation 19:14). “Their robes of white indicate this to be the redeemed church—bride of Christ—returning in triumph with her heavenly Bridegroom (cf. 19:8; 17:14)” (note on Revelation 19:14, KJSB), who are prepared to fight with the Lord.

The most interesting thing about the battle of Armageddon is that no fighting actually takes place. John’s account of the battle indicates that the beast and the false prophet “were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse” (Revelation 19:20-21). The Word of God, Jesus was able to kill outright those who were gathered to make war against him. Zechariah’s prophecy provides more detail about what happens to the people that are slain. Zechariah states, “And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh shall rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths” (Zechariah 14:12). Zechariah describes what happens as a plague and says that their flesh, eyes, and tongue will rot away. The Hebrew word that is translated rot, maqaq (maw-kakˊ) means “to melt; figuratively to flow, dwindle, vanish” (H4743). The power that is displayed by the Word of God (Jesus) is His ability to dissolve that which exists in the material world.

The LORD’s instruction to Joshua when he was confronted by a great horde of troops that was “in number like the sand that is on the seashore” (Joshua 11:4) was “Do not be afraid of them” (Joshua 11:6). “This is not simple fear, but reverence, whereby an individual recognizes the power and position of the individual revered and renders him proper respect” (H3372). Proverbs 23:17-18 provides an explanation of why Joshua’s trust needed to remain in the LORD when the situation he was dealing with escalated to the point that he was willing to accept defeat. It states:

Let not your heart envy sinners,
    but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day.
Surely there is a future,
    and your hope will not be cut off.

In this instance, the phrase all the day has to do with a period of time of unspecified duration (H3117). It could be an entire lifetime or a season of testing or the length of a specific trial you are going through. The Hebrew word that is translated future, ʾachariyth (akh-ar-eethˊ) means “the last or end” and may refer to the outcome of something (H319). The statement “your hope will not be cut off” (Proverbs 23:18) is intended to reflect God’s involvement in the lives of believers. Hope is an important aspect of faith or believing in Christ. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that “faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (KJV). The Hebrew word that is translated hope in Proverbs 23:18, tiqvâh (tik-vawˊ) literally means “a cord (as an attachment)” (H8615) and is comparable to the word qaveh (kaw-vehˊ) which refers to “a (measuring) cord (as if for binding)” (H6961). Figuratively, tiqvâh is used to refer to expectancy in the sense that you are attached to an outcome and you believe that it is only a matter of time until you achieve it. In Jacob’s case, God told him “tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel.” Joshua had to adjust his thinking and do his part in order for this to happen. Joshua 11:7-8 tells us, “So Joshua and all his warriors came suddenly against them by the waters of Merom and fell upon them. And the LORD gave them into the hand of Israel who struck them and chased them as far as Great Sidon and Misrephoth-maim, and eastward as far as the Valley of Mizpeh. And they struck them until he left none remaining.”