Christianity is about the God who is there! Just believing in God will not save you, the demons believe and tremble! Faith is going beyond mere assent or agreement or intellectual head belief. King David was anointed with the Holy Spirit by Samuel and the Spirit never left him from then on, He dwelt in the house of the Lord all the days of his life and fulfilled all God's will and purpose for him as a man after God's own heart. Some people say they believe in God but are He the right one? One cabbie in Ireland came across an atheist and asked him: Is it the God of the Protestants or the God of the Catholics you don't believe in? Many will acknowledge or give lip service to a Deity but the mention of the name of Jesus is an offense to some and a sound barrier to be broken.
David wanted to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living; he didn't want a 'PIE IN THE SKY" religion but a practical one that proves it pays off to serve God and He blesses us in the here and now and we can enjoy God now, not just wait till glory. He felt secure in his salvation despite heinous sins. David longed to be in the house of the LORD,, where the glory of the LORD was, and he could meet with God, but we have the resident Holy Spirit inside us permanently who will never leave nor forsake us. We don't have to go out looking for God in that sense because God has found us and sealed us with the Spirit. David's psalms teach us to seek the face of God and to enjoy His presence and anointing in prayer and worship.
All Christians are now anointed and we have a greater advantage than David because of the complete Word of God and Holy Spirit, We are better off than he was though he was a prophet. In those days some presumed that God would never let anything bad happen to Israel or Jerusalem because of the temple but they did;t realize that God does not dwell in temples made of stone or manmade. This was false confidence that they found out was wrong when Babylon invaded and put Israel into exile and deported them.
The Jews actually had to search for God on their own and learn godliness not depending on externalism or religiosity for they had no temple to make sacrifices either. They ultimately leaned on God as their protector, provider, and fortress, and did not lean on their own understanding or wisdom, or resources. Necessity is really the mother of invention and the Jews were finally cured of their sin of idolatry.
They also must have learned to wrestle with God in prayer and to seek and find justice in this world even wondering if there is any in their complaints to God. They had a lot to learn only in exile and learned to practice personal piety and seek God's face as is basic spirituality. They must have also wondered where God's justice is because a wicked nation was punishing them. They grew homesick and even despondent longing for the good old days. I'll bet they vowed to be faithful and truly worship God when they returned to the homeland.
Isaiah 5:13 says that the Jews went into exile due to their ignorance of God and lack of knowledge of God. It is through much tribulation we enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). Ignorance was no excuse and God had some issues for them to work out corporately and personally (Hosea 4:1,4). It is evident they learned their lesson as idolatry was never an issue again and piety rose with the establishment of synagogue worship.
NOTE these points in closing: anyone can find God if they seek Him with all their heart in all sincerity. He is not far from any one of us, as close as the mention of His name. He is found even by those not looking for Him (Isaiah 65:1) and God seeks us and finds us more than we do Him: we are to seek Him while He may be found (Isaiah 55:6)! Seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened, ask and it shall be given (Matt. 7:1)! God's chief complaint is that man does not seek Him! Soli Deo Gloria!
No comments:
Post a Comment