Aug 17
16
By The Prophets
Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets . . .
The word prophet in the OT means, “spokesman,” and is from a root word which means “to speak under divine influence.” Interesting that this root word would come to be used for God’s spokesmen and it is because if a sinner is going to speak for God, God must bless that sinner and specially enable him to do so. 2Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake [as they were] moved by the Holy Ghost. In Hebrews 1:1 the prophets are mentioned, but it is God Who spoke. We see this same wording in Luke 1:68 Blessed [be] the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, 69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; 70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began.
No man has ever truly spoken for God, then or now, that has not had a message directly from God, and it has always been the same message. Everyone who is not preaching Christ and Him crucified is just pretending to speak for God. If the Holy Ghost has anything to do with it, it will be Christ alone. Let religious zealots speak of “a message for our day,” all they want. There has never been but one message for any day, and that is Christ Jesus, the sovereign, effectual Redeemer of sinners. While others are “sharing” sensationalism under the misnomer of “end time prophecy,” and rambling about what sinners need to do for God, His spokesmen will be doing what our Lord Himself did while He was here: Luke 24:27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
Chris Cunningham
The Prophets-all fulfilled
The prophets include the psalms. The Lord Jesus said, “all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.”
Isaiah (7: 14) the prophet proclaimed Christ would be born of a virgin. Micah (5: 2) the prophet proclaimed the Savior would be born in Bethlehem. Daniel (9: 25) the prophet proclaimed the exact time the Savior would be born. Jeremiah (31:15) the prophet proclaimed that children would be massacred at the time of his birth (Mt 2: 17, 18). Isaiah (9: 1, 2) the prophet proclaimed those who sat in darkness in Galilee would see great light (Mt 4: 14-16). Zechariah (9: 9) the prophet proclaimed Christ would enter Jerusalem riding on an ass’s colt (John 12: 12-14). In Psalm (41: 9) the prophet David declared he would be betrayed by his friend (Mk 14: 10). Zechariah (11: 12-13) the prophet proclaimed the Christ would be sold for thirty pieces of silver (Mt 26: 15). In Psalm (27: 12) the prophet David proclaims false witnesses would be set up against him (Mt 26: 60-61).
From our Lord’s silence when accused, his being smitten and spat upon, his being hated without a cause, men gambling for his coat, his sufferings in place of his people, his being crucified with sinners, his hands and feet being pierced, his being mocked of men, being given gall and vinegar to drink, his intercession for his enemies, to his pierced side, all was proclaimed by the prophets and all fulfilled by him.
Christ Jesus is the one of whom the law and the prophets bear witness. He did not come to destroy his law or the prophets but he fulfilled all that was written of him. Either sinners have to be willfully ignorant in turning a blind eye in rebellious unbelief or confess that it is so.
Seeing the exact fulfillment of the word of God by Christ, we can be sure that all the promises of God’s salvation, toward us who trust him, are yea and amen in Christ Jesus.
Clay Curtis
He being dead yet speaketh
“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and by it, (God’s testimony of his gifts), he being dead yet speaketh (Hebrews 11:4).”
The first two people to hear the gospel proclaimed by a man were Cain and Abel. They heard the testimony of their father concerning what happened in the garden. How God came and reconciled them and the substitution sacrifice of a lamb slain. By the death of this substitute they were restored into fellowship with God and a covering was provided to hide their nakedness. They were to view this sacrifice and covering in the light of the promised seed; the seed of woman who was yet to come. They heard the gospel of God’s redeeming grace in the promised redeemer. They both heard the same gospel from the same man who received it himself from the mouth and hand of God.
Cain heard this gospel and mixed what he heard with his own fallen depraved reasoning and logic. He took what appealed to him and what seemed right and changed what he didn’t like. He brought the works of his labor. He brought the very best he could do and with his eyes pointed up to heaven and his heart lifted up with pride he presented his gifts to the Lord expecting a full reward for his efforts.
Abel heard this gospel and was brokenhearted. He saw his ruin and sin both in the sacrifice and in all that he did. He received the gospel as it is in truth; a gift of God’s mercy and grace. Trembling, with his eyes on the substitute, he cut its throat and watched its blood pour out on the ground and looked forward to the promised redeemer.
By these two men, and their offerings to God, is represented all the religions of the earth from that time to this. All the sons of Adam will come to God by the works and ways of the flesh or by the testimony of God through faith. Every man that comes the way of Cain will be judged by his works and found wanting. Everyone that comes the way of Abel will be judged in the substitute and found justified.
Darvin Pruitt
It is easy to understand Moses’ great burden. He was leading hundreds of thousands of sinners through the desert. But Moses’ words to God were full of sin and unbelief. He accused God of afflicting him and of not showing him favor, of laying the burden of this people upon him. Moses was so overcome he even went so far as to say, “if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.” (Nu 11: 15) Moses did the same thing as the unbelieving rebels in Israel did when they murmured against God. God poured out judgment on them destroying many of them.
Yet, in the Savior’s answer to Moses there is not a single mention of the sinful, unbelieving things Moses said. God’s Mediator answered Moses in a most kind and tender manner declaring he would give Moses the things he needed to relieve him of his burden. Even when Moses doubted God’s ability to give them flesh for a month, Christ simply asked him this question, “Is the LORD’S hand waxed short?”
God provided a blessing for Moses but judged the others. Why? It was not because Moses deserved better, far from it! The only difference between Moses and those unbelieving rebels is that God chose to be gracious to Moses before the foundation of the world therefore Christ stood as Moses Surety. While Moses was complaining to God, “Have I conceived all this people? have I begotten them, that thou shouldest say unto me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing father beareth the sucking child, unto the land which thou swarest unto their fathers?” Christ’s Mediation between Moses and God the Father was saying, “Father, I have conceived this child, I have begotten Moses. I am carrying him in my bosom, as a nursing father; this is my sucking child. I will bring him unto the land that you sware to his father Abraham.”
No, God’s hand is not waxed short! Brethren, praise Christ Jesus for God’s unchanging, indestructible grace! Despite our unbelief, despite the murmurings in our hearts against God, still God’s ear is not too heavy to hear Christ intercede for us and his arm is not too short to reserve mercy for his child of grace for Christ’s sake. “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.” (Lam 3: 22)
Clay Curtis.
“Can God use me?”
Greg Elmquist
“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me …” Acts 1:8
Why did God choose to use human instruments as His witnesses? Is it a denial of His power or His glory to say He always uses one man to communicate the gospel to another? Would He not be more glorified by using a more miraculous and unaided means to accomplish His purpose? Is God dependent on men to perform His will? Let me try to illustrate the answer to these questions. I am currently in the process of building a boathouse in my yard. I am no professional carpenter and possess no unusual skills. What I do have (borrowed mostly) is all the best tools money can buy. I have a skill saw, a saw zaw, a jig saw, a chain saw, an air compressor, nail guns, and more. If you came to my work site you would be impressed, not with my vast collection of high quality tools. There would be no way for me to accomplish my job without them. Oh yea, all the wood was given to me also. I can’t even take pride in how much money I spent on this project. Now, compare that to the way the Amish would construct a barn. No power tools. No modern technology. From the cutting down of the trees and hewing out the timbers, to boring the holes for perfectly fit wooden pegs, the entire job is done with archaic hand tools that would be worse than useless in my hands. If you visited that work site you would say, ‘wow, what craftsman, what skill, all that beauty and look what they used to build it’. The more backward and broken an instrument is, the more glory goes to the builder for being able to use it. If God ever in ever uses you or me in any way, it will be categorically in spite of us. The greatest miracle of all is that God can and does take an instrument that is nothing in itself but sinful defilement and uses it to produce a new creature that is perfectly holy. 1 Cor 1:27-29 “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.” Do you qualify?