Alas, and Did My Savior Bleed

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1 Alas! and did my Savior bleed,
and did my Sovereign die!
Would he devote that sacred head
for sinners such as I?

2 Was it for crimes that I have done,
he groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

3 Well might the sun in darkness hide,
and shut its glories in,
when God, the mighty maker, died
for his own creature’s sin.

4 Thus might I hide my blushing face
while his dear cross appears;
dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
and melt mine eyes to tears.

5 But drops of tears can ne’er repay
the debt of love I owe.
Here, Lord, I give myself away;
’tis all that I can do.

Isaac Watts was an English Congregational minister, hymn writer, theologian, and logician. He was a prolific and popular hymn writer and is credited with some 750 hymns.

Born: July 17, 1674, Southampton, United Kingdom

Died: November 25, 1748 (age 74 years), Stoke Newington, London, United Kingdom

Daniel and the Lions

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This is a story about Daniel.  He actually came to Babylon with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and each king that came and went liked these men because they were honest and hard workers.  They were always given the most  important jobs which made the other workers of the king jealous.

This time the king’s name was Darius and he also liked Daniel.  He knew that Daniel was a good worker so he decided to put Daniel in charge of the whole country.  The other servants of the king were very jealous of Daniel and they tried to find something that would get Daniel in trouble.  They were trying to get him fired, but Daniel obeyed God so they couldn’t find anything.

Finally these men said to each other, “We can’t find any reason for the king to fire Daniel.  The only way we could get him to disobey the king is if we made a law against his god.”  So they went to king Darius and said, “O great king, you are so wonderful that no one should pray to anyone but you.”

The king said, “That sounds like a great idea!”  Then the men continued, “All of your workers have agreed that this should be done and that anyone that prays to any other god should be thrown into the lions den.” 

The workers lied and said that everyone who worked for the king agreed, but of course they never talked to Daniel because they knew he wouldn’t agree.  The king didn’t know this, so he made the law and it couldn’t be changed.

When Daniel heard about the new law he did what he always did.  He went home to a room upstairs and opened the windows that looked out over the city.  Three times that day he went down on his knees and prayed to God just like he always had.

These men went as a group to Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking God for help.  So they ran straight to the king and told him, “Your worker Daniel is ignoring your command.  We have seen him praying to his God three times today.”

When the king heard this he was very sad.  He really liked Daniel and he didn’t want him to die.  He tried everything to get the law changed to stop Daniel from being thrown in the lions’ den, but the men came to him and reminded him that the law could not be changed and Daniel would have to be punished.

So at the end of the day the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den.  The king said to Daniel, “I hope your God who you serve and pray to will rescue you!”

A large, heavy stone was rolled in front of the den and the king went back to his palace with tears in his eyes.  That night King Darius couldn’t eat or sleep he was so worried for Daniel.

The next day, as soon as the sun came up the king got up and ran to the lions’ den.  As he got closer he shouted, “Daniel, has your God who you serve and pray to rescued you from the lions?”  The king waited quietly for a response.

Then all of a sudden Daniel said, “O king, live forever!  My God sent an angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions.  They have not hurt me because I have done nothing wrong.”

The king jumped with joy and immediately ordered that Daniel be removed from the den.  And when Daniel was lifted from the den, there wasn’t even a scratch on him because he trusted in God.

The king knew that the men had tricked him into punishing Daniel so he punished them.

After that the king made a new law and he said, “Daniel’s God is great, and I order that everyone in my kingdom must respect the Lord God, who rescued Daniel from the hungry lions.”

Friday Quote

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Romans 8:38-39 – For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Hand of the Lord was upon Him

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It was my experience while assessing the Babylon exile story, Ezekiel entered this at the very beginning of the story. Ezekiel was among the first wave of captives (Much of the Hebrew nation was still in their own land). Jeremiah spoke of this first wave of exiles as the ‘good figs’ who had been initially sent to Babylon (Jeremiah 24:5). For this group of figs, God provided a prophet to bring them back to the Law. We read in Psalms 94:12 — “Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord, the one you teach from your law. From this context, we could say, this first group was being pursued by God.

Ezekiel 1:1-3 paraphrased says — In my thirtieth year … the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest … in the land of the Babylonians. There the hand of the Lord was on him [NIV].

I think we can agree that it is an act of mercy for God to bring a message of hope to them even when they were experiencing self-inflicted trouble. Those chosen to deliver God’s message and mercy are blessed for their actions. I would be remiss if I did not make clear; it was 5 years into the exile before God provided Ezekiel (see Ezekiel 1:2). He gave the Hebrews in Babylon time to realize their need. However, at the same time, God provided Jeremiah to the Hebrews still in Jerusalem to guide them. Even in distress, God did not leave the Hebrew nation unguided, no matter how obstinate they were.

It was by the rivers of Babylon the Psalmist spoke of musicians setting down and singing songs of lamentation (see Psalm 137:1-3). What was the topic of their songs? The people who were in this area Babylon were experiencing the harshness of captivity, more important, they were feeling the national and personal judgement inflicted upon them for sin against God’s law. Yet, they were not very repentant – they continued to claim entitlement as God’s people. This accounts for Ezekiel’s assessment of their resistant heart as the cause of their woes. This theme recurs often in Ezekiel’s message

His message was a combination of condemnation, aggressive counsel to repent, and restoration (the exile would not last forever). I think God knew the message would be easier to hear if the message came from a fellow exile. For, even though God’s messenger is bound in chains, the message from God is not bound (see 2 Timothy 2:9). John the Revelator was banished to an island and yet the message from Jesus to John left the island and traveled around the globe. Paul tells us — For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:5)

Ezekiel was clearly being guided by the Holy Spirit, he tells us what he saw, what he heard, and what he felt; all of it centered on connectivity with the Spirit of God. In the first chapter, Ezekiel saw a profound vision of God, even when scripture says no man can see God and live, Ezekiel has a vision (the next best thing). This was not the first time this happened. We are reminded of visions in Isaiah Chapter 6 and Jeremiah Chapter 1. Furthermore, let us not lose sight of Moses (Exodus 34:5-7), Abraham (see Acts 7:2), and Paul (Acts 9:1-19) to name a few. They all saw, they all heard the voice of God.

It is wise for all of us to be well acquainted with God and willing to be influenced by his message. Especially if we want to be engaged in the business of bringing others to the knowledge and love for Jesus. In this context, we find the hand of God upon Ezekiel, as it was on Moses, Abraham, and the others. This kept them focused, safe, and able to press forward not crushed by resistance to the message. God’s grace was sufficient for them. Furthermore, it is sufficient for us as we press on towards that higher calling. His hand is certainly upon us. His grace will abound. I choose Jesus.

Operating Outside the Box

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It has been my observation while reading Ezekiel that the initial vision in chapter 1 has many implications for how God interacts with us during ‘real life’. Even something as obscure as the wheels that the angels ride provides us with a subtle backstory on how God gets things done.

Ezekiel 1:19-21 says — When the living creatures [the four angels] moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the living creatures [four angels] rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. Wherever the spirit [Spirit of God] would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures [Spirit of God] was in the wheels. When the creatures [four angels] moved, they also moved; when the creatures [four angels] stood still, they also stood still; and when the creatures [four angels] rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures [Spirit of God] was in the wheels [NIV].

In general, the wheels appear to move in a steady stable motion, consistent with the nature of God. However, there may be times when the wheel appears to be out of synch with God’s power (recall the time when Jesus wondered who touched him in Luke 8:45). During these times of ‘out of sync’ power, I suspect the angels were engaged in service that was outside the normal course of nature’s laws and of human interaction. What appears to be a disconnect, an ‘out of sync’ event, is simple normal operations from God’s perspective. One might think the occasions where the gifts of the Spirit as supported by angelic operations could fall into this model of thought.

One could say that when the angels are lifted up by the rims, they have been elevated to service outside the normal course of natural law and human interaction. This type of lifting was mentioned twice, see Ezekiel 1:19 and Ezekiel 1:21. I think it is safe to say that we humans move and act as we are directed or influenced by God. I recall God telling us he uses all people, their faith status is not the deciding factor, his decision to use somebody is the deciding factor (see Ezra 1 concerning Cyrus).

Furthermore, the things we see and hear are governed by things we cannot see or hear. The Spirit of the living God is the Spirit driving the living creatures in Ezekiel’s vision. They are tapping directly into the wisdom, power, and holiness of God. They are getting the plan direct from the source, ungarbled truth so they know exactly how to proceed.

God is on his throne and driving the wheels of the throne room. He controls the whole so the components move in perfect unison. Just as our body moves in unison, so do the wheels, angels, platform, throne, and all the visuals surrounding the angels and hardscape. It all moves as a unit in accordance with God’s will as he purposes things to be accomplished. These angels move exactly in accordance with his plan, not one thing is done incorrectly. No errors. The angels are persuasive. As needed, they move us to serve the intention of God. Even Cyrus was moved as directed (see Ezra 1).

Pondering on this thing with the eyes on the rim and God using anyone to achieve his objectives takes us to a new place. The eyes of the rim are on all things in his creation. They see it all. They are part of the inner sanctum; they are one small step away from the God of this universe. One of the eyes is looking at you right now even as you read this. God can use anyone. He is looking for a few people who are willing to serve God. The big wheels are turning (yes, I smiled with this phrase, a glib reference to the song Proud Mary). The Holy Spirit will speak the will of the God who is there. Angels are moving. It is time to get in step, to find the river (opps, I still have that song in my head).  I choose Jesus.