Sayre Woods Bible Church

The LORD:
For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, like a great lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces and go away; I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them. Then I will go back to my place until they admit their guilt. And they will seek my face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek me. (Hosea 5:14-15)

Israel’s response:
Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. (Hosea 6:1-3a)  

The picture of God as a lion caught my attention this morning. I have heard the analogy before–Jesus is called the Lion of Judah in Revelation 5–but I have never thought through the implication of that analogy. God is a lion who tears us to pieces! In Hosea 6:5, we see how God tears us to pieces–I cut you to pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth, my judgments flashed like lightning upon you.

God speaks harshly at times, directly at our sin. He also at times brings difficulty and suffering into our lives. Then, He steps back and waits. He waits for us to see our sin and seek His face. It is in our affliction, and often only in our affliction, that we “earnestly seek Him.”

I wish it were not true. My desire is that I would earnestly seek the Lord at all times, that I would be humble before Him at all times. But in my comfort and prosperity it is too easy to drift away from the Lord, to grow lax in my devotion, to become a spiritual couch potato. Affliction and struggle draws me back. The lion’s roar awakens my spiritual senses and gets me back on track.

I remember reading C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series in which Christ is pictured as Aslan, the great Lion. In the Horse and His Boy (one of the best in the series), one of the characters is chased by a lion. She is terrified and thinks the lion is out to destroy her. The lion in fact almost catches her as she races away and he leaves claw marks on her back. Later she meets Aslan and realizes that he was the one chasing her, the one who wounded her. She is confused until Aslan relates the whole picture to her. He chased her to prevent a further tragedy had she lingered behind where she was. And he wounded her to remind her of her own sins in wounding others. The wounds, though they hurt physically, were ultimately meant to heal her spiritually.

I wonder if Lewis read Hosea when he wrote those words. Come, let us return to the LORD, He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us; He has injured us but He will bind up our wounds. God wounds us physically (temporary) to heal us spiritually (eternal). And God chases us as a lion so that we will wake up to life and press on to know Him. …Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge Him.

Lord, let me never forget that You are a lion. You are not a “tame God.” Rather You pursue me and often wound me so that I will seek Your face and find Your healing.

Hosea was a prophet to the northern kingdom of Israel around 750 BC — approximately 25 years before Israel would be destroyed by the Assyrians as a divine consequence for their immorality and disobedience to God. What makes Hosea particularly interesting is the fact that Hosea’s own marriage to Gomer (lovely female name, isn’t it?) was an illustration of Israel’s relationship to God. Just as Gomer was not faithful to Hosea and “played the harlot” so did Israel play the harlot with God. Hosea’s emotional turmoil with his wife was meant to serve as a glimpse into the heart of God. When we forsake God to pursue “other lovers” (materialism, pride, power, sexual immorality, etc.), we break the heart of God.

Hosea 4 gives God’s indictment of the land of Israel. These verses caught my attention.

There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Because of this the land mourns, and all who live in it waste away; the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying. But let no man bring a charge, let no man accuse another… (4:1-4).

Sin comes in a bundle. Where there is no acknowledgement of God, there is no love and faithfulness. Where there is no love and faithfulness, there is “only cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and adultery.” There are no boundaries. Anything goes. And violence begats more violence.

When people live like this, “the land mourns.” Our sins actually affect the environment! “The beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the fist of the sea are dying.” I don’t consider myself an “environmentalist” (in the political sense of the world), but I couldn’t help but notice that there is a relationship between the sinfulness of a people and the impact on the land. A people out of control will inevitably wreck havoc on the land.  

But lest we start pointing the fingers at others, God warns, “But let no man bring a charge, let no man accuse another…” Our tendency is to see the sinfulness of the nation and immediately start picking out who is to blame. Usually last on the list is ourselves. God says, “Stop pointing your finger at others. You share in the blame.”

Hosea 5 continues the charge. Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God, a spirit of prostitution is in their heart; they do not acknowledge the LORD. Israel’s arrogance testifies against them…” (5:4-5).

The implication is that often a part of us wants to serve God and wants to return to Him, but our sinful deeds “do not permit” it. In other words, a part of us wants God but a bigger part of us can’t bear the thought of leaving behind our sin. Though sin leaves us dissatisfied, empty, and in bondage, we still love it. We love our materialism, our sexual immorality, our greed, our lust, our envy, our lying, etc. These things are our “other lovers.” We play the harlot with God, saying we are faithful to Him while pursuing our ultimate happiness and satisfaction in other things. That is why God says, “A spirit of prostitution is in their heart.” With our lips we praise God, but our hearts are far from Him.

How do we know that we have reached this state? “Israel’s arrogance testifies against them.” Arrogance is the tell tale sign that we have abandoned God for other lovers. When we reach the stage that we see nothing wrong with our actions, when we see other people as the real problem, when we excuse our sin while accusing others of sin, or when we simply do not care any more, we have given ourselves over to spiritual prostitution.  

Lord, I fear that my heart is tied to other lovers. Forgive me for seeing the sins of others more quickly than I see it in myself. Break the bonds in my life that pull my attention away from You. May I be a faithful lover to You, and to You alone.

Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.” (Daniel 10:12-14)

Whoa. These verses give you a glimpse of what is going on in the spiritual realm every time we pray. Frank Peretti’s book, This Present Darkness, was the first book I read that helped me to understand the spiritual warfare that we are often engaged in. Peretti’s book probably borrowed alot from Daniel 10.

Daniel humbles himself, mourns, fasts, and prays for three weeks. It seems like the heavens are silent yet he keeps praying. After three weeks an answer comes. Why the delay? Because the angel sent to answer Daniel’s request is “resisted” and “detained” by the king of Persia. This is not the earthly king of Persia but the demonic king of Persia, the one who is attempting to orchestrate things behind the scenes. It is wild to think of two angels battling each other for three weeks–one trying to get to Daniel to answer his prayer and the other trying to resist God’s plan and detain God’s messenger.

It is a reminder of two things:

1. Our prayers impact the spiritual realm. In some mysterious way, God chooses to act and direct His angels based on our prayers. God is sovereign and in control yet He also allows for freedom within His will based on our prayers. God will accomplish His purposes but there seem to be different ways/paths that this can happen. These paths are largely contingent on our prayers. May we never become passive and “que sera sera” about our prayers. There is power in prayer….if we approach God as Daniel did in humbleness, thanksgiving, passion and expectancy.
2. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers. It is wild to think that behind the earthly king of Persia is the demonic king of Persia. Satan has apparently assigned certain demons to certain political spheres. His goal is to influence and move the “powers that be” toward a God-resistant, God-ignoring agenda. We so often forget this and focus our attention on earthly powers and earthly weapons. It is good to be a good citizen of an earthly nation but, as citizens of heaven, our ultimate focus and battle is in the spiritual realm. Prayer is an essential part of this battle–not prayer as a passive substitute for godly living and action but prayer as the power behind all godly living and action. As Paul said, Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God… (Ephesians 6:12-13a). Because our battle is spiritual; our ultimate defense and offense must be spiritual. If we are not active in prayer and in renewing our mind through Scripture, then we are not in the battle no matter how many political causes and campaigns we attach ourselves to.

Lord, forgive me for forsaking the spiritual battle. May I engage the battle through my prayers this week.

BTW…All of this is great preparation for our Spiritual Life Conference next week (October 26-28)! I hope you can join us on Friday (7pm), Saturday (7pm), and Sunday (9:15am, 11am, 6pm) to hear Dr. Peter Held speak on angels, demons, and spiritual warfare.

…In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with Him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. (Daniel 9:2-3)

Daniel is a model of godliness in so many areas of life. One area that shines out is his prayer life. In Daniel 2, in the midst of a crisis, Daniel immediately turns to prayer. In Daniel 6, after prayer is basically made illegal in the empire, we read:

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before (6:10).

Daniel 6:10 gives us a glimpse of a godly man’s prayer life. It is disciplined without being ritualistic. It is passionate and persistent. Daniel went to his upstairs room, faced Jerusalem (his homeland and the focus of many of his prayers), got down on his knees, prayed to God and gave Him thanks. Daniel made a habit of doing this three times a day. Again, it is was not empty ritual or begrudging duty. Rather Daniel disciplined his life to seek God daily, to enjoy His company, to petition Him for the desires of his heart.

In Daniel 9, we again see Daniel’s prayer life up close and personal. Daniel is reading Scripture, the prophecies of Jeremiah (which tells us how quickly Jeremiah’s words were recognized as God’s words), when he suddenly understands that God’s judgment on Jerusalem would last seventy years. At this time, Daniel had been in Babylon approximately 66 years. His heart is immediately stirred. He realizes that the 70 years is almost up so he drops to his knees and pleads for God to keep His promise, to not forsake His people, to forgive their sin, and to restore Judah back into the land. So many things struck me about Daniel’s prayer:

• It is motivated by his reading of Scripture and the promises of God.
• It is passionate–Daniel pleads with God in prayer and petition.
• It is accompanied with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. The humble attitude of Daniel’s heart was reflected in his actions.
• It is the fruition of many years of faithful prayer.
• It is answered in a miraculous and powerful way.

I realized this morning that one reason my prayer life is so weak is because my heart is so distracted by worthless things. I lack passion because I lack focus. Daniel’s focus was on the restoration of Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day facing Jerusalem. His heart beat for his nation and for his God. His heart was broken over his own sin and the sin of his people. And more than anything, I think Daniel knew that, even though he had political position and power in Persia, any restoration of his nation would have to come from God.

I think of our own country. We are in desperate times. I wonder where we are heading, what this nation will look like in 10, 20, 30, 40 years (my lifetime and my children’s lifetimes). It seems like there are an endless number of fronts to defend against the world’s assaults. It is overwhelming. Yet instead of turning to prayer, I often turn to worry or fear or put my hope in political candidates or campaigns. I would be wiser to turn my attention to the Lord, to develop a regular habit of praying for my family and for our nation three times a day–getting on my knees, thanking God for His provision and power, and pleading with Him to bring revival to our land, to our church, to my own heart.

Passion emerges out of focus. Power in prayer emerges out of faithfulness in prayer. 

O Lord, teach me to be a Daniel!

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14)

Daniel 7 begins the second section of Daniel’s book which deals more with his prophecies and visions. In Daniel 7, Daniel sees four creatures which represent four empires that will dominate the world. The lion represents Babylon. The bear represents Medo-Persia. The leopard represents Greece. And the “dreadful beast” represents Rome. These four kingdoms will eventually pass away and the kingdom of God will reign supreme and eternally.

Verses 13-14 stood out to me this morning. Who will reign over God’s kingdom? It will be “one like the Son of Man.” He will be a man but also One who will rule forever. He will come in the clouds and be given dominion and power over all the peoples of the earth. And His kingdom will never end. Who is this Son of Man?

Matthew 26:63-64 tells us. During Jesus’ trial, He is silent before His accusers until finally the high priest asks, “I adjure You by the living God that You tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God?” Jesus said to them, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

The high priest asked if He was the “Son of God,” the Messiah. Jesus responded by saying that He was the Son of God and the Son of Man, echoing back to Daniel’s prophecy. He would be the One who would come in the clouds and rule forever and ever over the kingdoms of the world. Quite a claim. That is why the high priest responds by ripping his clothes and shouting, “He has spoken blasphemy!”

Jesus is the Son of God and the Son of Man–the God-Man–born of a virgin in a stable 2000 years ago yet destined to rule over the kingdoms of the world forever and ever.

When will this happen? The Bible says that no one knows the day or hour. But Daniel’s prophecy tells us that it will happen after a “pompous king” arises out of the Roman Empire, persecutes the saints, and tries to change “times and law.” Of course, there are a multitude of interpretations for this but the one that makes the most sense to me is that a future “anti-Christ” is coming who will rule over a revived Roman empire (European nations) and attempt to exercise world control, persecuting Christians, and even trying to change times and law (could it be that a future leader tries to change our yearly calendar since it is based on Christ’s birth?).

Whatever the case, we have confidence that no world leader or no world kingdom will last. Only Christ will rule forever. And in this we have hope, confidence, and joy!

“But you his son, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.” (Daniel 5:22-23)

Belshazzar knew what happened to Nebuchadnezzar. He knew that God humbled Nebuchadnezzar and that he went about like an animal until he recognized God’s sovereignty (see Daniel 4). Yet Belshazzar did not humble himself. He followed the same path of pride…and God held him responsible. History says that the “unconquerable Babylon” was conquered by the Persians on October 12, 539 BC. [Whoa! That was yesterday...the very day of this reading! I honestly did not plan that or realize that until today.] The Persians dammed up the Euphrates River, which ran through the city of Babylon, and then entered the city through the dried up river bed. They found a people drunken and unable/unwilling to fight. The great empire of Babylon fell with barely a fight.

The thought that hit me today was the last part of verse 23 — “the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.” Wow, what a concept! God holds our breath in His hands. It reminds me of Acts 17:28 — “In Him we live and move and have our very being.” Think about it. What do you consciously do to breathe? Nothing. Your body breathes on its own. It is outside our control. Our heart beats. Our lungs breathe. Our blood courses through our veins all without our direct control or power. God is the one who holds our breath in His hands. He gave it and He can take it away. We are so powerless and puny yet we pump ourselves up with pride and at times even shake our fist at God in defiance. How foolish! God holds our very breath. He is the giver of life. If for no other reason than that, we should bow before Him in obedience and submission. How much more should we bow knowing that He loves us and desires our best!

Yet Belshazzar refused to bow. His heart was hard. His pride was high. He believed the delusion that he was in control, that his governmental power somehow equaled divine power. In a single night it was all taken away. Belshazzar learned the hard way that God holds our very life in His hands.

May we learn instead to glorify God and give thanks to the One gives us life–both physically and spiritually!

Lord, thank You for My life. Though I do not always understand Your ways, I praise You for giving me breath and for holding me in Your hands.

This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon…When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him. (Daniel 2:12, 14-16)

Daniel is one of the most godly men in the Old Testament. As far as I can remember, he and Joseph are the only two major OT characters who do not have a critical fall or fault mentioned in their lives (and if you include Joseph’s “bratty” childhood then Daniel would stand alone). And in Ezekiel 14:14, when God is looking for the highest examples of godliness, He includes Daniel: “Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it [Judah], they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,” says the Lord GOD.”

Considering these facts makes me want to examine Daniel’s life as closely as possible. What set him apart? How did he live? In chapter one, the first thing that stands out is Daniel’s conscious choice to serve the Lord and depart from evil. He purposes in his heart not to defile himself even while living in a degenerate society and given ample opportunity to sin and forsake the Lord (1:8). In this chapter, you see more of David’s character and attitude.

When the order comes to have Daniel and his friends executed, it says that Daniel spoke with “wisdom and tact.” When Daniel goes before the king, he also speaks with this same wisdom and tact. The OT highlights Daniel’s speech for a reason. His speech shows the character and attitude of his heart. James says, We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check (James 3:2). It’s our mouth that so often gets us in trouble. Why? Because our mouth reveals our heart. Jesus highlighted this in Matthew 12:34-37.

You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.
Whoa. It is the things we say, the way we talk to people, the way we talk about people, the tone we use, the attitude behind our voice, the carelessness of our words, that reveals the selfishness and sinfulness of our hearts.

But Daniel speaks with “wisdom and tact.” He chooses his words wisely. He keeps his tongue in check. And he speaks with respect to others, even to pagan kings and army officers who are ready to kill him!

Not only does Daniel speak with wisdom and tact to others but he speaks with humility and praise to God. Daniel pleads with God to reveal the mystery of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. And when God reveals the dream, Daniel immediately turns to praise. Praise be the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his! (2:20)

Wisdom and tact toward others–humility and praise toward God. It is the way that Daniel speaks that reveals the way that he lives before the Lord.

Lord, guard the door of my mouth. Keep me from slander, gossip, and careless words. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in Your sight today!

Today begins our new reading schedule. We start with the book of Daniel. Daniel covers events that are roughly parallel to the book of Jeremiah (which we read a month ago). While Jeremiah was in Jerusalem watching the spiritual and political decline of Judah, Daniel was in Babylon, having been taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar in 605 BC. There is much that we can learn from the life of Daniel, particularly on how to live for God in the midst of a pagan society.

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. (Daniel 1:8)

Daniel is in a unique position. He is probably around 14-15 years old when his country is invaded and he and a few of his friends are carted away to Babylon. Babylon has one purpose in mind for its new captives–to retrain them in Babylonian ways so that they can eventually serve as leaders in Babylon. Instead of being put in prison, Daniel is given the “royal treatment.” He is wined and dined so as to break any allegiance to his former way of life. It is sort of like the world today which continually entices young people (and us) with the “pleasures” of sin.

How did Daniel respond? He purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself… It is the only way to remain pure in a degenerate society. We must make a conscious choice to resist the pull of sin, to avoid being conformed to the world. Apart from this conscious choice, we will inevitably be drawn away from God and into sin. The enticements and temptations are all around. The pull is too strong. Our own human nature is too weak. If we do not choose to resist, if we do not consecrate ourselves to the Lord, we will lose our purity. We will defile our conscience. We will enslave ourselves to sin.

I am reminded of Peter’s words in 1 Peter 2:11, Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. I must remember that this world is not my home. I am a sojourner, a pilgrim, a citizen of heaven. I am not a Babylonian; I am a child of God. And I must choose righteousness, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute.

Lord, help me to choose You over the temptations of this world.