MARCH 14, 2023 

 “Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.” (Ezekiel 36:25)

“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:7)

These texts are quite glorious for they both speak of the same thing but they proceed from two different mouths. The first is from the mouth of the Lord and it is a gospel promise. The second proceeds from the mouth of David who had transgressed against the Lord. The first is God’s promise; the second is a sinner’s plea. Both speak of the work of God and the absolute effect. Pertaining to the work, the Lord declares, “I will sprinkle clean water on you;” and David asks the Lord, “Purge me with hyssop.” The work is that of cleansing! It is the Lord, alone, Who accomplishes this work. From the mouth of God, He promises He will do it. From the mouth of David, he asks God to do it because he knows that only God can do it. It is the work ascribed to God alone.

The absolute effect is that the individual shall be clean and clean altogether. God declares that His cleansing work will cleanse the individual from ALL uncleanness, from all idols. David declares that he shall be whiter than snow. The effect is not a partial cleansing, but clean altogether.

But what is this “cleansing” that is absolute? This “cleansing” speaks of the removal of our sins before the eyes of God. It is the washing away of our iniquities. Jesus Christ had much to say about this as well. We remember His words to Peter when He had washed their feet. Jesus had told Him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” (John 13:10) The one who has bathed is “completely clean.” His word is the same as that which is spoken of old. The Lord spoke of old, “You shall be clean from all of your uncleanness,” and the Lord Jesus spoke during His incarnation of complete cleansing. Jesus declares this again to His disciples in John chapter 15 when discussing the matter of bearing fruit. While the disciples of Christ are to bear fruit, He informs them that they are already clean: “Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.” (John 15:3) They are not clean because they bear fruit; they bear fruit because they are clean. This matter of “being cleansed” is speaking about God’s work of sanctification that took place on the cross. It was God putting away our sins by the death of His Son and washing us with His precious blood. For those who are washed in the precious blood of Christ, they have been completely cleansed. It is written, “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:10)

Notice that we are not cleansed by our works but we are cleansed solely by the work of God. Notice that He does not cleanse us partially but cleanses us completely. If we do not comprehend this complete cleansing by the blood of the Lamb, then our Christian life will be one of great conflict. God has put away our sins; He has imputed unto those who believe in Jesus Christ a perfect righteousness, and forever beholds us in Christ. For those who are in Christ, we are the aroma of Christ unto the Lord. There is a work of sanctification that the Holy Spirit works out in the life of the saint, but there is a complete work of sanctification which Christ has accomplished on the cross. While the saints are being sanctified, they are wholly sanctified in the eyes of the Lord.

MARCH 9, 2023 

 “Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” (Jonah 1:17)

The book of Jonah opens with a call from the Lord to Jonah telling him to go to Nineveh and cry against the wickedness in the city. Jonah was terrified at the prospect of going to Nineveh and did what he could to reject this call. Why was he so hesitant? It would make sense for his hesitancy to be based on fear because we hear that Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire, an Empire notorious for its cruelty and idolatry. However, that wasn’t it at all. As Jonah reveals in the final chapter (Jonah 4:2), he didn’t want to go because he knew God would show them mercy which he didn’t think they deserved.

At the end of the book, the Ninevites do indeed forsake their sins and accept the Lord’s words, and Jonah is beyond upset about this. He had heard for years how terrible this city was and knew they would be shown undeserved mercy.

So, what does he do? He flees. He goes down to the docks and finds a boat that’s going to a city that is in the exact opposite direction of where he was told to go, Tarshish. He assumed that the city would be shown goodness if he went, so he attempted to flee from the presence of the Lord. But that was impossible to do.

While Jonah was sleeping below deck, God threw a big storm at the ship which caused much panic on board. The men then find out about Jonah’s disobedience, and they cast Jonah into the sea, which immediately calms the storm.

After being thrown overboard, Jonah is swallowed by a big fish, where he stays three days and three nights as our verse says.

So, what is going on here? Jonah rejected the Lord’s call and was punished for it. God’s swift hammer of justice was dropped on the head of Jonah. However, along with God’s justice, this story also shows God’s mercy. He was thrown overboard, but the storm stopped immediately. He was alone in open water, but he was immediately swallowed by a fish. He was swallowed by a fish, but it was a special fish, one that he could live in while it traveled to Nineveh. All over this story, we see the just mercy of the Lord.

The ultimate irony was that Jonah’s story was a microscopic version of what would happen in Nineveh. At every turn, Jonah rejected the word of the Lord and was shown mercy anyway, whether that be with the storm or with the fish that swallowed him. In the same way, the city of Nineveh, which was notorious for rejecting the word of the Lord at every turn, was shown mercy. Zooming out further, we are shown mercy in the same way, a mercy that is completely undeserved.

MARCH 7, 2023 

 “Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.” (Proverbs 4:13)

There is a world of advice freely available to anybody who will listen, but one must carefully weigh all human counsel. While it may be that “in the multitude of counsellors there is safety,” (Prov. 11:14) there is but one standard by which words of counsel can be properly evaluated. Wisdom says, “Take fast hold of instruction…” Clearly, this cannot mean all instruction, but rather Divine instruction.

This text is an exhortation in faith. As much as when Jesus said, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear,” faith is here described as taking hold on instruction – Divine instruction. God’s Word is always intended for instruction. God’s method of evangelism is to teach His Word to all nations. Preaching, that ordinance by which God will save them that believe is to be filled with instruction. (Mark 16:15; I Cor. 1:21) We must be careful how we hear and take heed to instruction.

To take hold of instruction is to hear wisdom. Solomon consistently, when referring to wisdom, used feminine pronouns. He does so in this verse with reference to “instruction.” “Let her not go: keep herfor she is thy life.” He does this even in the eighth chapter, where wisdom is clearly a person, even the eternal Son of God. The best instructions and the truest wisdom is the revelation of God in Christ, “In whom is hid all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” To take hold of Him by faith is to “lay hold on eternal life.” (I Tim. 6:12)

This is the wisdom indeed! “Take fast hold of instruction.” This text not only tells us what to do, but it describes how we are to do it. “Take FAST hold of instruction.” Take fast hold of wisdom. In another of these proverbs, we are told to “Buy the truth,” which is essentially saying the same thing. Then he adds “Sell it not.” These two texts describe the eagerness with which we are to lay hold of God’s instruction; and also the intensity with which we are to hold it. ‘Take FAST hold,” “Sell it not.” Make it yours at whatever the cost, and do not part with it under any circumstances.

We are to take hold of Divine truth as a precious possession that must never be relinquished. People hold loosely those things that they consider to be of little value; things which they are not really excited about or committed to. They consider such things disposable and are willing to surrender or exchange them. But Solomon here, speaking of the Word of God, says, when you hear it, take fast hold of it. This means to embrace it eagerly as something most desirable and valuable. It also means to embrace itheartily as a cherished possession; to clutch it tenaciously, as Eleazar’s hand clave to the sword. (II Sam. 23:9, 10) It means to hold it confidently, as one holds to that which he knows to be true. “Hold fast the form of sound words…” (II Tim. 1:13)

Divine truth cannot be properly held with the mind alone. It must be held with the heart. “Hold her…let her not go.” We must first take hold with our minds, and then take fast hold with our hearts. Many have seemingly gotten hold of sound doctrine with the mind, who have under pressure, relinquished it. But when it is written in our hearts, no enemy will be able to wrest it from us. Truth cannot be for sale – not for popularity, for acceptance, or for sake of “keeping the peace.” “Take fast hold on instruction; let her not go: keep her…”

We take hold of God’s instruction as the very Word of life. “Keep her; for she is thy life.” Jesus said, “…the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

MARCH 2, 2023 

 “And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?” (Luke 7:19)

The message which John sent to our Lord in this passage is most instructive when we consider the circumstances under which it was sent. John the Baptist was now a prisoner in the hands of Herod. “He heard in the prison the works of Christ.” (Matt. 11:2) His life was drawing to a close. His opportunities for active ministry were ended. The great forerunner was soon to be executed. Many believe that it is for this very reason that he sends two of his disciples to Jesus to ask Him if He is indeed the Christ. John had certainly declared that He was the Messiah. He had boldly introduced Him to his own followers as“The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the word.” Was John now having second thoughts? Was he now, because of his imprisonment, and the fact that he would be so soon cut off, actually thinking he might have been deceived? I think we can safely dismiss that notion as to why he sent his disciples to Jesus to make this enquiry. John knew and was at perfect peace with the reality that the“friend of the Bridegroom” must decrease so that the Bridegroom Himself should increase.

What we see here is that even in those dark days, with either long imprisonment or a violent death as the only prospects before him, this great and holy man of God maintained his unwavering stand as a witness to Jesus Christ. This is what he did while he was a preacher at liberty and sending men to Christ was one of his last works as a prisoner in bonds.

We need to mark the wise forethought which John exhibited concerning his disciples before leaving this world. The next day after John saw Jesus coming to him and declared Him to be the Lamb of God; he instructed two of his disciples to follow Jesus. The Jews were “barking up the wrong tree” when they tried to stir up jealousy in John’s heart. It was his great honor to see his disciples follow Jesus, and what he intends in sending two of them to Jesus with this question is that they should be thoroughly convinced that Jesus is the Christ. He, doubtless, calculated that they would receive from Him such an answer as would make an indelible impression on their minds. And he was right. They got an answer in deeds as well as words; an answer which, no doubt, produced a deeper effect than any arguments which they could have received from their master.

What was this all about? We can easily imagine that John the Baptist must have felt somewhat anxious about the future course of his disciples. He knew the weakness of their faith. This he saw when they were manipulated into feelings of jealousy and envy toward Jesus’ disciples. He knew how likely it was that a petty party-spirit might creep in and cause them to keep aloof from Christ after their teacher was dead and gone. Against this unwise and unhappy state of things, he makes provision as far as possible while he is yet alive. How confident John is, as he sends these men to Jesus, that they shall see for themselves what kind of teacher He is. He takes care to provide them with the strongest possible evidence that Jesus is indeed the Messiah. “Never man spake as this man,” and John, now perceiving that he must soon leave them, strives to leave them with the greatest hope, which, becoming personally acquainted with Jesus would surely secure.

In answer to their question, “Art thou he that should come? or look we for another?” Jesus did not simply say, “I am He.” He instead spoke of his mighty works, such as John had heard about in prison. He said, “Tell John…how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the gospel is preached.” This is indeed the Christ. Come unto Him and see for yourself! (John 1:39)