I was reading through Proverbs 16 with the boys.  We were looking for one verse that was relevant to our lives at that moment.  Things were really going well.

Hudson was reading verse 24, “Pleasant words are a honeycomb…” but then  his eyes dropped to the second half of the next verse “but its end is the way of death.”

“Uh dad, this doesn’t sound right…OOOHHHHHH!”

We had a great laugh over that one.  It sure is fun to be reading the Bible with my kids and laughing.  And then talking through how they make sense for daily life.

If you are one who is working your way through a bible reading plan, by the time you come to Ezekiel 48 you may find yourself skimming at best, or if you are on short time, skipping at worst.  “At worst!”you might say  (well, you might say if you are like me and the thought of reading about tribal borders doesn’t fill your soul with joy or your mind.)

This would be one of those times that knowing God’s Word is full of hidden treasures would keep you going and striking new treasure.  For there is a gem hidden when you have finally dug down to verse 35 (really! the last verse) and read the last phrase. (or if you are like me some you may skip to the end quickly).

 ³⁵“The city shall be 18,000 cubits round about; and the name of the city from that day shall be, ‘The LORD is there.’”

Now to chew on this (or meditate, or marinate as a good friend says) is richly rewarding.  I want to be where the Lord is.  To be in His presence.  I want this to be true of my family.  I want this to be true of CU.

Spurgeon has a great sermon on this verse

I know that there is a company who can truly say that they feel only happy when they are conscious that God is with them. The place where they meet with the Lord is very dear and precious to them, because of his unveilings. The memory of holy convocations is sweet, because the Lord was among them. They would not care to go where God is not. If there were a place forsaken of God, however gay and full of merriment men might think it, they would not be found among its guests. Where we cannot enjoy God’s company we will not go. Our motto is: “With God, anywhere. Without God, nowhere.”

You can read the whole thing (which is long and is like digging again, but really great; even the letter at the end) here.

Just jotted down some notes from a quiet time.  I understand this is a major theological area of debate and volumes have been written concerning these things.  I wanted to see what comments anyone may have.

1 Chron. 10¹³ Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance, ¹⁴ and did not inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.

We just read about how the Philistine archers wounded Saul and he, out of fear that they would find him and harm him more, killed himself.  Yet this tells us that the Lord put him to death for being unfaithful and looking for guidance from spiritists instead of Him.  So is it Saul or the Lord.  Yes!?! 

God is eminently sovereign. Conspicuously and prominently.  Transcendently.  The choices of people fit with what He desires.  Saul decided to kill himself of his own will.  Yet this was in the middle of God’s will as well.

Would Saul have died if he had been faithful and sought God’s guidance?  Hard to say.  It seems it was David’s time to rise to the throne, so God’s will was being done in this as well.  Did Saul really have a choice in the matter?  Yes he did.  Or was he just a unwitting pawn in God’s grand chess match?  No.  Was he robotically moving to the divine decrees made before time began?   No

Being image bearers of God necessitates that we have choice in matters of our life.  We can decide to be faithful to God, to inquire of Him, to love Him, to obey Him, to honor Him, to disobey Him, to choose another way opposed to Him, to enjoy Him.  Much of the Bible wouldn’t even make sense if this were not true. (John 3:18-20, 36; Ex. 19:5; Lev. 18:4-5; Deut. 6:1-9, 32:46-47; and so on).  For the Bible to command us and use verbs that are our responsibility and yet really mean that God is controlling us and that we have no choice to believe in Him or not is an evil idea. 

Yet at the same time God is directing things as He purposes.  So we must live with two seemingly contradictory truths and not worry about trying to reconcile them.   That would be God’s domain.  Or as Spurgeon said like trying to reconcile friends.  We must choose to strive to obey, to be willing participants in Christ’s transforming work, to yield to the Spirit, to proclaim Him, to deny self and use our freedom to serve one another in love, to pray, to take delight in the Lord, to resist temptation, to resist the devil, to submit to God, to not slander, to make the most of our time, to be faithful, to inquire of the Lord.

Let me know where your thinking goes.