THE DAY THAT DAVID COULD NO LONGER KILL GIANTS

¶ There was war again between the Philistines and Israel, and David went down together with his servants, and they fought against the Philistines. And David grew weary.
Second Samuel 21:15

Years earlier on the day that the Philistine's champion, Goliath, challenged the army Israel (under the leadership of King Saul) to come out and face him man-to-man in one-on-one combat — not one man dared accept his challenge! When the sixteen-year-old shepherd boy, David of Bethlehem, arrived with supplies from his father for David's seven brothers, David did what none before him had dared do. He accepted the challenge of the 12-fingered giant and with God's help defeated him.

AND DAVID GREW WEARY

Years later, David is now much older - probably close to 60 years of age. He no longer has the youthful vigour that he once had. “And David grew weary” the unnamed prophet writes. And what nearly happened next nearly changed the course of human history!

And Ishbi-benob, one of the descendants of the giants, whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of bronze, and who was armed with a new sword, thought to kill David. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.”

  Second Samuel 21:16-17

WHAT DAVID COULD NO LONGER DO, COULD STILL BE DONE - EVEN MORE EFFECTIVELY!

After this episode, the unnamed narrator includes a remarkable series of giant-killing tales that actually greatly honoured David (2Sam. 21:22). Four young men, Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Sebbecai the Hushathite, Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, and Jonathan the son of Shimei (David’s brother) each slew giants as big as—if not bigger than—the original Goliath that the young David had slain!

But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid and attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, “You shall no longer go out with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel.”  ¶ After this there was again war with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Saph, who was one of the descendants of the giants. And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim, the Bethlehemite, struck down Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended from the giants. And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimei, David’s brother, struck him down. These four were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.

Second Samuel 21:17-22

David had been fighting battles, that no-one thought could be fought - let alone won, for many years. He was not just weary. He was battle-weary. But in the process of being present, courageous, faithful, and fearless, he inspired a generation of young warriors to step up and enter into the fray. What their parents and grand-parents thought could not be done, and what they had never witnessed anyone even brave enough to try, these four young men dared to believe was also possible with God’s help just as David had once done. While the day came that David could no longer kill giants, it came on the same day that four young men were inspired to believe that they could!

It would be a nice way to conclude the Biblical story of David's life with this honourable tribute of his inspiration of the next generation, but sadly, this is not where it ends - and even sadder for the memory of King David is the narration that the shepherd-turned-warrior King did not handle his lack of military-identity with the required humility needed for such a high royal office. The Scriptures reveal that there are certain life-changes which require a good deal of humility to be able to enter well, and even though David, the once humble shepherd boy, had been selected by God precisely because of his humility, toward the end of his life he did not maintain it as well as he had when he started. There are some great and difficult lessons for us who are ageing to learn from this.

Pastor Andrew Corbett

THEY SAID IT COULDN'T BE DONE

 

But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Matthew 19:26

Christianity is a religion of impossibilities! Consider the following impossibilities. God did the impossible when He –

◊ created the universe from nothing (Gen. 1:1; Psalm 33:6; Jn. 1:3);

◊ created life from none-life (Gen. 2:7; Job 33:4; Jn. 1:4);

◊ enabled an elderly barren woman to conceive and bear a son (Gen. 18:14; 21:1-2);

◊ revealed the future in verifiable and specific detail through His prophets (Jer. 25:13; 29:19; Amos 3:7; Acts 3:18);

◊ sent His eternal Son into the world by being born of a young virgin girl (Isa. 7:14; Mtt. 1:23; Lk. 1:23; Rev. 12:5);

◊ empowered the Christ to perform miracles of healing (Mtt. 4:23), resurrections (Mtt. 9:25; 11:5), food-provision (Mtt. 15:36);

◊ raised the Christ from the dead (Mtt. 28:7; 1Cor. 15:4);

◊ translated (ascended) the resurrected Christ back into the dimension of eternity (“Heaven”) (Jn. 20:17; Acts 1:9)

◊ sent the Holy Spirit into the earth to spiritually regenerate, gift, and empower those who surrender/ed to the Christ (Acts 1:8; 2:4; Eph. 5:18; 1Cor. 12:7);

◊ enabled the apostles of Christ to perform miracles similar to the Christ (Acts 6:3; 19:11);

◊ despite virulent and brutal attempts to destroy both the Church and the Scriptures, He has miraculously preserved both (Acts 6:7; Psalm 119:89).

He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 17:20

 

FOR THOSE WHO DARE TO DREAM

One of the first mobile phones in the 1990s was soon likened to carrying ‘a brick’ around!

What was once thought of as impossible by one generation has frequently become common-place to the next generation because someone dared to dream and ask, “Why not?” In the mid-1990s, a young Bill Gates wrote a book entitled, The Road Ahead at a time when powerful computers filled entire rooms and personal computers were a novelty used for playing Space Invaders by those who didn’t have a book to read. In his book, Gates predicted that computing would soon be able to be done on a small hand-held device that could easily fit into your pocket and would be connected wirelessly to an invisible storage-“cloud” enabling users to access and retrieve enormous amounts of information instantly. He predicted that these hand-held computers would be integrated into mobile phones and would also enable identification (even national passports) and financial transactions to buy things without the need to carry credit-cards or cash. “Impossible!” Computer experts of the day scoffed at his brash and daring predictions. While Gates leveraged the resources of Microsoft to try and make it happen, and eventually developed a disappointing prototype, he was never able to achieve what he had forecasted in his book –

but that didn’t mean it was “impossible”! While Gates himself failed to fulfil his vision of what would later become known as a ‘smart phone’, another brash young computer engineer (Steve Jobs) took Gates’ vision and began to dream of a totally different way to merge the internet, a mobile phone, a music-player (“iPod”) and a computer, and thus, in 2007, the iPhone was introduced to the world — and what was once thought impossible has now become common-place. 

 

‘THE PASSING OF THE IMPOSSIBLE’ BY F.W. BOREHAM

In 1914 F.W. Boreham marvelled at what was once thought impossible was now considered common-place. In writing in his weekly Hobart Mercury column (and later published by Epworth Press in a collection of essays called, Mountains In The Mist) he declared to his secular readers the position that Christians held about what constitutes the impossible – 

Of course we know, being the Christians that we are, that there is no such thing as an impossibility in the world or out of it. An impossibility is an impossibility. Impossibilities belong to the realm of mythology. They inhabit the same weird world as the brownies and the elves, the fairies and the ghouls. As serious and scientific and practical and believing men, we must frankly confess to ourselves that the very notion of an impossibility is, on the face of it, a ludicrous absurdity.
F.W. Boreham, The Passing of The Impossible, ‘Mountains In The Mist’, 1914, p. 38

When we consider the pace of change over the past one hundred years, it becomes apparent that what was considered impossible soon became common-place to the next generation. This applies not just to innovations such as the recent emergence of the iPhone, but also to previously ‘impossible’ human achievements including – the scaling of Mount Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, breaking the four-minute mile by Roger Bannister, sending a manned spacecraft to the moon where Neil Armstrong and Buz Aldrin were able walk on the lunar surface, and while in 1910 the Men’s 50m freestyle world record was 86 seconds – in 2009, Brazilian, Caesar Cielo swam it in 20.91 seconds! And after Bjorn Borg had won 6 Roland Garros crowns (1974-1981), everyone thought it would be impossible for anyone to match that record, but last year (2020), Rafael Nadal won his 13th Roland Garros crown making him GOAT of clay court tennis after completing what most thought could never be done!

 

IMPOSSIBLE CHRISTIANITY!

It is assumed by many that modern Australia was first settled by the irreligious riff-raff of Britain’s over-crowded prisons. This is often the explanation given for how unChristian and unChurched Australians are why it would be impossible for Christianity to gain any traction in Australia. Added to this is the perception that the early Christian missionaries oppressed Aboriginal Australians who have then largely rejected Christianity. But consider the following challenges to these perceptions. In 1959, a young evangelist from the backwaters of North Carolina came to Australia to preach the gospel. When he arrived in Sydney, ten thousand people came out to hear him!

Aerial view of the Sydney Showgrounds on April 12th 1959 where 10,000 people came out to hear Billy Graham

Even at night thousands of Sydney-siders braved the chill to come out to hear Billy Graham preach in the Sydney show-grounds on April 13th 1959

But it was when he came to Melbourne that something truly impossible happened! One hundred and thirty thousand people came to hear Billy Graham preach at the MCG!

Geoff Gawler was 10 when he saw Billy Graham at the MCG and says it changed his life.(ABC News: Jess Longbottom)

If Australians consider themselves irreligious, Tasmanians are a whole other level of irreligious. Take a tour of the Port Arthur historical site and you’ll gain an understanding why. But when Billy Graham came in York Park in April 1959, impossible as it was thought to be,17,000 people filled the stadium to hear the evangelist and, per-capita, more people than anywhere else in the world made a first-time commitment to Christ! 

“But that was then!” I hear you say? Consider then, that from this point churches around Australia began to experience extraordinary growth. A young returning missionary and his wife to Australia, Andrew and Lorraine Evans, took on a small church in Klemzig, Adelaide. Pastor Evans dared to believe that impossible is impossible and began praying for his church to grow extraordinarily. The church changed its name to Paradise Community Church (and is now called Influencers Church) and grew to be one of the first churches have a regular attendance of 2,000 people! But it kept growing and had a regular attendance of 6,000 before it established extra campuses around Adelaide to accommodate its growth. Meanwhile, around the same time, a young evangelist and his family moved to the pastorate of a church in Richmond, Victoria. This modest sized church of 150 attenders quickly grew to be a church of over 2,000 under the leadership of Pastor Phil Hills and planted around 200 churches around the perimeter of Melbourne! Today, “Richmond Temple” as it was known and today is known as Neuma Church has over 6,000 weekly attendees! Meanwhile, in Sydney, a young Brian Houston, planted a church in the Hills district of suburban Sydney and today that Sydney church has — what many people had always considered to be impossible — over 25,000 regular weekly attendees! In fact, I could mention churches in nearly each Australian capital city that now have attendances of over 10,000 people per week! Christianity impossible in Australia?  Think again. And time prevents me from documenting the many revivals and outpourings of the Holy Spirit on the Aboriginal communities of Australia resulting in an incredibly vibrant Christian Church among our First Nations peoples!

Now, there is one text among the great sayings of Jesus that I confess I never understood until very lately: ‘Verily, I say unto you, if ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove ; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.’ Now, I was so incredulous about the possibility of removing mountains that I had to see it done before I really and truly believed. I am writing in Tasmania. And here in Tasmania we have a mountain — Mount Lyell. And gradually a strange faith stole into the hearts of men. They believed that underneath Mount Lyell there was an abundance of copper. They suspected it. They investigated it. They believed it ! And when they really believed it, they actually said unto the mountain, ‘Remove hence into yonder place!’ They believed; they moved the mountain; and nothing was impossible to them. The men who drove the spectral impossibilities from the shadows of our civilization were great believers, all of them. Columbus did not believe in the new world because he discovered it; he discovered it because he first of all believed it…[And] The history of missions is one continuous story of the invasion of the impossible.
F.W. Boreham, The Passing of The Impossible, ‘Mountains In The Mist’, 1914, p. 44-45

 

THE GOD OF THE IMPOSSIBLE!

What often looks impossible today in the realms of technology, travel, power generation, medicine, and even church, often becomes common-place tomorrow. But it takes those who are prepared to dream and dare — despite their critics. I’m looking for people who are prepared to dream and dare with me. Our city of Launceston has many fine churches but it is yet to see what the God of the Impossible can do with a church that is prepared to dream and dare. When I read the closing book of the Bible I am captivated by the ‘dream’ of God to see people redeemed from every tribe, nation, and tongue that will eventually comprise a number so vast that no-one could possibly count them! (Rev. 7:9). This is God’s grand dare for the Church and I’m in on the dare! Perhaps we too could dream of a church made up of people from an many nations, tribes, and languages as possible! Perhaps we could dare to dream of a church so significant that hundreds come each Sunday just to find out for themselves what God is doing! And when the day comes — and the day will come — that such a church exists in our city of Launceston, Tasmania, we will remember that there many who said “It couldn’t be done!”

Your pastor,

Andrew

Let me know what you think below in the comment section and feel free to share this someone who might benefit from this Pastor’s Desk.

Some Problems Need Triaging Rather Than Solving

TRIAGING YOUR PROBLEMS

I was struck the other day when reading F.W. Boreham’s, WHEN SWANS FLY HIGH, as he discussed an apparently unsolvable problem he was facing, by his observation about many of life’s problems: “But the problem soon solved itself.” (p. 112) Shortly after reading this I was doing my morning devotions and had come to the story of Jehoshaphat in Second Chronicles where he too was faced with an overwhelming problem. But the gravity of his crisis and the urgency and enormity of its dire consequences if left unattended meant that this problem would never solve itself. If it is granted that some problems certainly do solve themselves, and it is similarly true that some other problems are solved by our diligence, there is surely yet another category of problems and King Jehoshaphat’s problem was definitely in this category.

Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that is, Engedi). Then Jehoshaphat was afraid…

Second Chronicles 20:2-3a

It is of course one of life’s guarantees: problems will happen. The late David Cartledge once said to me that the capacity of a person’s leadership was measured by the size of the problems they deal with. The bigger the problem, the bigger the leader needs to be to deal with it. If this be the case, as I think we can agree it probably is, then I shamefully confess that I have not always been a very big leader. Too often I have let relatively small problems fluster me. And because practice makes perfect I can testify on behalf of Dr. Boreham that many of life’s problems do indeed seem to solve themselves.

And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

Matthew 6:27

But Jehoshaphat’s problem was never going to solve itself and, quite frankly, there will be a few problems you are confronted with that will never solve themselves and like King Jehoshaphat’s problem they will never be solved by our diligent efforts either.

Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.  And Judah assembled to seek help from the LORD; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.

Second Chronicles 20:3-4

Some problems get worse if they are incorrectly assumed to be the type of problem that will solve themselves. The ancient masters of problem-solving all started by categorising problems into either of three categories (“triage”) :

(i) Problems that solve themselves,

(ii) Problems that are solved by diligent attention and efforts,

(iii) All other problems.

Distinguishing our problems into on of these categories is like triaging our problems. Jehoshaphat was quick to triage his problem into the third category. But how does anyone deal with a problem so big, so overwhelming, so grave that no amount of personal effort could ever resolve it? People we work, study, live with, face these type of problems and despair. The doctor tells a nervous mother the news that her young child will not be coming home today as they have found something concerning in the blood tests. A teenager has a moment of consciousness and feels a jolt of pain. The only thing they can recall about this day was driving off and looking at their phone after receiving a message. They then notice they can’t move their arms or legs and the shock takes over. A man drives home to his double-mortgaged house and wonders how he’s going to tell his wife that his business partner has fled after cleaning out their life-savings from all of their joint bank accounts. Yes, some of life’s problems are category (iii) problems! And Jehoshaphat gives anyone overwhelmed with Category (iii) problems a strategy for how they can be dealt with.

¶ And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, and said, “O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you.

Second Chronicles 20:5-6

I currently have problems in all three categories. My category (iii) problems at times overwhelm me. I take great heart from the way Jehoshaphat responded to his category (iii) problem. There is a lot to learn about leadership from this chapter of his life. As I consider how we as a church have to raise an additional $300,000 over the next six to nine months to fund our building extensions, I look to the principles this beleaguered King of Judah used for his overwhelming problem.

1. He led his people in worship of God in truth and didn’t try to solve his problem on his own. (2Chron. 20:4-6)
2. He reminded everyone of how God had provided what they needed in times past. (2Chron. 20:7)
3. He reminded God of His promises to them and prayed the Scriptures to God. (2Chron. 20:9)
4. He presented their precise need to God in prayer. (2Chron. 20:10-12)
5. He opened his heart and mind to God by heeding the voice of God. (2Chron. 20:14-17)
6. He led Judah in worship of God. (2Chron. 20:18)
7. He made the House of God and the worship of God a top priority by having the Levitical singers and musicians set the tone of each day. (2Chron. 20:19-21)
8. He then acted on what God’s Word said and waited for God to do what He promised. (2Chron. 20:22-30)

And the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly.

Second Chronicles 20:14

No matter what number your problems can be categorised as, (i) (ii) or (iii), there is a God in heaven who longs for us to turn to Him in dependency with whatever need is overwhelming us. Your problems don’t need to be level (iii) before you can look to God to meet them. In fact, a great strategy for dealing with any problem is to ask for God’s help and do all we can within our resources, expertise and power to solve them. But there will be times when you have to tackle a category (iii) problem. When that time comes, remember King Jehoshaphat and what he did.

Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies. They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets, to the house of the LORD. And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the LORD had fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.

Second Chronicles 20:27-31

Amen.

You Wouldn't Think THIS Would Be In The Bible! (Part 1)

For those who are novices to how life works, it nearly always comes as a moment of astonishment when they are confronted with the harsh reality that: even when you do what's right, things can still go wrong. And even though we all generally abide by the unspoken universal  agreement not to talk about this '800lb elephant in the room', the Bible breaks ranks and brazenly describes the elephant! Judges 19-21 is the most embarrassing example of this.

So I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel, for they have committed abomination and outrage in Israel. Judges 20:6

HOW DIVINELY INSPIRED CAN THIS BE?

I find the last few chapters of the Book of Judges infuriating, uncomfortable and embarrassing. It always makes me angry when I read of a people who profess to know and serve God yet they are practicing idolatry, abuse of women, sexual depravity, violence, kidnapping, and rash-vowing. And just when it seems to take a righteous turn, it gets worse still.

So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one man.
¶ And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, "What evil is this that has taken place among you? 
Judges 20:11-12

The reader is forgiven for their bewilderment when reading the last few chapters of the Book of Judges. Who hasn't read these uncomfortable chapters and wondered how these chapters could possibly be divinely inspired and find a home in the pages of the Sacred Writ? And this is one of the lesser appreciated facets of what Divine Inspiration of the Bible necessarily involves: God has ordained that certain events which He did not sanction are inerrantly recorded in Scripture. The last few chapters of Judges is perhaps the most graphic example of this. 

Now therefore give up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and purge evil from Israel." But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel.Judges 20:13

The believer's devotion to the God of the BIble is further tested when they are told in the New Testament that everything in the Old Testament was written for the follower of Christ's encouragement, instruction, and edification.

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:4

Instruction? What possible instruction could the believer draw from these ugly and gruesome chapters of the Bible? We notice that the downward spiral began when Israel neglected the Word of God. The men of Dan tolerated idolatry and this led to a chain events that resulted in the gross bloodshed of civil war. Wherever there is idolatry there is inevitably sexual perversion. We see that entire towns in Benjamin had sunk to giving into their basest desires. As the Epistle to the Romans describes the same downward spiral from idolatry to shameful misconduct-

because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
¶ For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
Romans 1:25-27 

JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT THINGS COULDN'T GET ANY WORSE

In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Judges 17:6 

Perhaps the believer can be instructed from this dramatic episode in the Scriptures by taking note that calamities often start with very small, seemingly inconsequential compromises. The act of kidnapping then appointing a Levite who was an idolatrous priest may have seemed benign but it soon beckoned barberous brutality when tens of thousands of people were slaughtered. The invitation to a Levite by Micah the Ephraimite to be the priest of his household idol should have met with immediate and swift rejection. But it didn't. This Levite compromised both his divinely appointed function (to help the Aaronic priests in the service of the Tabernacle) and the Law of God against idolatry. It seems that the Levite was enticed by the offer of full board and "ten pieces of silver" each year. He sold his soul for 10 pieces of silver (by the time of Christ incarnate it appears that inflation had driven the price up to 30 pieces of silver! Zech. 11:12; Matt. 26:15)

And Micah said to him, "Stay with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver a year and a suit of clothes and your living." And the Levite went in.  And the Levite was content to dwell with the man, and the young man became to him like one of his sons. And Micah ordained the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah. Then Micah said, "Now I know that the LORD will prosper me, because I have a Levite as priest."
Judges 17:10-13

Just when you think this story can't get any worse, a band of soldiers from the Tribe of Dan arrive and in a rather thuggish manner forcibly remove Micah's idol and take his Levite-Priest with them. From there they go marauding and slaughter an entire village of people - despite the Law of God instructing them to do otherwise (Deut. 20:10). 

Now the 600 men of the Danites, armed with their weapons of war, stood by the entrance of the gate. And the five men who had gone to scout out the land went up and entered and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, while the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the 600 men armed with weapons of war. And when these went into Micah's house and took the carved image, the ephod, the household gods, and the metal image, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?" And they said to him, "Keep quiet; put your hand on your mouth and come with us and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and clan in Israel?"
Judges 18:16-19

The book of Judges increasingly tells the reader that "there was no king in Israel during those days and everyone did what was right in their own eyes." The follower of Christ is aware from the New Testament that God has ordained three great institutions to curb human sinfulness: (i) The Family - founded by a husband and a wife in a God-honouring, loving marriage; (ii) The Family of God - in the Old Testament this was Israel and in the New Covenant this is the Church; (iii) The State - God has ordained the various levels of Governments (local, State, and Federal) to restrain evil, promote the good, and provide civil services. The breakdown of each of these three arms of Divinely ordained institutions is graphically portrayed in the closing chapters of Judges. This will become even more evident in Part 2 of this article when we will witness what is arguably the most depraved conduct described in the Bible. 

The saddest aspect of this tragic Biblical episode is that we are again witnessing the same seeds of civil destruction. Marriage was debased in Judges 19-21. Marriage is at risk of being debased today. The Family of God which was meant to be courageously led by those God had called into leadership had become corrupt, cold, ungodly, and idolatrous. Can you think of one uncompromising courageous church leader who speaks prophetically to the nation about the Word, ways and will of God who has withstood the tests of time, trial and testing and demonstrated proven integrity? And in the closing days of the Judges there were no civil leaders who served both God and their people selflessly. Today, it seems that everyday a new story breaks from either the Royal Commission into Corruption about how one of of national political leaders has broken, or at best- bent, the rules regarding use of Tax Payer Funds or political "donations". In Part 2 of this article I have some comments to make about the incredibly disturbing closing episode in Judges and the even more disturbing similarities that are facing today. What I hope to achieve is that we will have even greater confidence in the Divine inspiration of Scripture and its inerrancy - and that we will understand the urgency of the hour in which we live and why our commitment to God's Word now matters more than ever. 

Ps. Andrew

THAT WAS INSPIRED

It was Athanasius (who lived in the fourth century) who first pointed out that if there was God it would be reasonable to assume that He would reveal Himself by communicating with His creation. Christians believe that God has indeed communicated with people through the Bible. They consider the 66 books which make up the Bible are inspired by God and since they are inspired by God, they are without error ("inerrant"). Ask the average Christian and they'll probably confirm this, but ask them why they believe this and they may not be able to tell you. If that's you, you might want to read this.

The entire case for Christianity stands or falls on one of its central claims - that the Bible is uniquely and divine inspired and is without error. Christians have three main reasons for believing this. This may surprise those who have accepted the non-Christian mantra that faith is what you need to believe something when there is no evidence to believe it. But this is not what the Christian means by 'faith'. Rather, 'faith' is akin to 'trust', for the Christian. Trust is only ever trust when it is grounded in good reasons. Therefore, 'blind-faith' bears no resemblance to the kind of faith the Bible prescribes.

¶ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 20:30-31

1. JESUS ATTRIBUTED THE SCRIPTURES TO DIVINE AUTHORSHIP

Jesus of Nazareth asserted that the Scriptures were uniquely authoritative and divinely inspired (Jn. 10:35; 13:18). It's not that the Bible contains the Word of God - it is the Word of God. Jesus claimed that He and the Father were "one" (John 10:30). Thus, Jesus is the Inspirer of the entire Bible - including all of the Old Testament. He shocked His original audience claiming that everything in the Old Testament pointed to Him -

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Luke 24:27
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,
John 5:39

Someone may accuse me of 'circular reasoning' by citing Jesus as proof of the divine inspiration of the Scriptures. But I am not at this stage claiming that the source of what Jesus said is divinely inspired. I am only (at this stage) treating the statements by Christ to be historically valid and verifiable. The character and integrity of Jesus The Christ is wedded to His repeated claim that the Scriptures were the 'word of God' which 'could not be broken' (Jn. 10:35) 'must be fulfilled' (Jn. 13:18) and 'spoke of Himself' (Lk. 24:27).

To claim that Jesus was a great moral teacher and then attempt to assert that what He taught was misguided or wrong is to deny the actual claim and make a contradictory claim: that Jesus was misguided and wrong. Because the historical account weighs so heavily and is so universally acknowledged, that He was a great moral teacher with impeccable character, it stands to reason that what He said was correct.

2. JESUS PREDICTED THAT THERE WOULD BE NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES

Jesus told His disciples that He would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who would bring all (these) things to their remembrance. Why? So that they could be accurately recorded. John the Apostle, aware of this, concluded his account of the life of Jesus by saying that these things have been written so that you might believe and by believing you might receive eternal life (Jn. 20:31). Jesus assured His apostles that the Holy Spirit would be sent to lead and guide them into all truth (Jn. 16:23) so that an accurate and inspired account of the New Testament could be recorded and transmitted. The subsequent records of Christ's life were in circulation in the first century far earlier than we used to believe. Up until fairly recently it was commonly held tha the New Testament books were completed by 95AD, compiled early in the Second Century then recognised as "Canon" by the Fourth Century. But we now know that this is not the case. Rather, the Gospels were written and in circulation by 45-50AD and that the last book of the Bible, Revelation, was written and in circulation by 65AD. The Gospels and The Revelation both record the prophecy of Christ that the Temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed within 'a generation. If the Gospels or The Revelation had been either written or compiled after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, it is utterly inconceivable that this wouldn't have been included in the accounts.

Added to this, if the accounts in the Gospels (the record of the teaching, life and work of Jesus) had been either fabricated or embellished and were in circulation within the living memory of the eye witnesses to the events - these eye-witnesses would have protested, published rebuttals, and discredited these accounts. But no such accounts exist. None. Not one.

There is mounting evidence that the New Testament books were published, distributed and circulated widely by 80AD. The work of Dr Daniel B. Wallace from The Center For The Study of New Testament Manuscripts has recently announced the discovery of a fragment of the Gospel of Mark dated at 80AD. That is, this fragment demonstrates that this Gospel was widely in circulation by at least 80AD, which adds weight to the historical evidence for it being in circulation by as early as 50AD. Professor Wallace also points out that we have over 5600 Manuscript copies of the New Testament documents which date from the Second Century. This enables those specialising to textual science to very accurately determine what the earliest New Testament manuscripts recorded and that the New Testament translations that we have today are consistent with these original manuscripts and reliable.

The twenty seven books of the New Testament were recognised very early as being unique from other documents and began appearing in lists as early as the Second Century. This list of the 27 New Testament books was confimed or assumed by numerous Ecumenical Church Councils from Nicea. The books accepted as the Canon of the New Testament became the basis for the Church, its role, its mission and its officers. This historical fact should instantly dismiss the false claim that it was the Roman Catholic Church which instituted the Canon of Scripture at the Council of Trent (1545) and buttress the position of the Reformers who taught "Sola Scriptura" (the Scriptures alone - the Bible has the highest authority on earth to reveal the Word, ways and will of God).

3. THE NEW TESTAMENT AUTHORS WERE AWARE OF THEIR DIVINE INSPIRATION

The New Testament writers were aware that what became the 27 books of the New Testament was divinely inspired and uniquely authoritative. Thus, although the Apostle Paul wrote many epistles which do not appear in the NT Canon (since he refers to them in his Canonical epistles) they are not included in the list of divinely inspired books - because they were not divinely inspired. But Paul could say -

¶ To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord)...
First Corinthians 7:10
If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord.
First Corinthians 14:37

Paul wrote -

All Scripture is breathed out by God
Second Timothy 3:16

The Apostle Peter reveals how the earliest Church regarded Paul's writings included in the 27 New Testament books-

our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him,
as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.
Second Peter 3:16

The Scriptures' divine inspiration is confirmed by extraordinary fulfilment of its prophecies. The Old Testament 'types' (animal sacrifices, ceremonies, rituals, Laws) all prophetically foreshadowed Jesus and His redemptive work. The prophet Isaiah gave an extraordinary set of predictions about the coming of Jesus in Isaiah 52-53. There are over 40 predictions about the birth, life, work, death, and the resurrection of Jesus in this section. Each of them were fulfilled by Jesus. For a long time this fact was dismissed by critics of the Bible by claiming that "Isaiah" was actually written after the life of Jesus - which is how the author was able to predict His life with such uncanny accuracy. But then in the 1940s, scrolls of the prophet Isaiah (with these particular prophecies) were discovered in sealed earthenware containers and were dated to hundreds of years BC! Thus, the prophecies of Christ found in Isaiah 52-53 can be irrefutably shown to historically pre-date their fulfilment. Of course, Isaiah's prophecies are just one of hundreds of such prophecies which have been fulfilled.

The Scriptures are also verified by history. The major events of the Exodus, King David, the Babylonian seige, were all once dismissed as either myth (never happened) or legend (embellished accounts of what actually happened). But over time archaeological evidence has lent support to each of these major historical Biblical events.

And perhaps, for some, the most persuasive corroborating proof of the Bible's divine inspiration is that its experience claims can be put to the test. When the Bible describes the world and the human condition, it does so accurately and every human heart can attest to it. The Bible shows us not only that there is something with the world, but whythere is something wrong with the world. But it then goes beyond this and addresses the unscratched itch, the deepest ache, and the greatest longing of every human heart by revealing God's gracious provision of the answer to every man, woman, boy and girl who has ever lived. This solution is utterly testable. The Bible points us back to God in prayer and guides us to confess our sin, ask for forgiveness, and receive the gracious offer of God's forgiveness wrought by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It then goes on to explain how we can find true happiness, ultimate peace, and the significance and fulfilment we are all looking for.

It should no surprise then, just how highly all Christians regard the Bible. It takes the central place in our worship, our Church service, and in guiding our lives. When it is read, it is not merely arresting our minds, it is arresting our souls and progressively transforming us. Recent research by Arnie Cole and Michael Ross, has revealed a dramatic difference in the lives of people who read their Bibles at least 3 times a week compared with those who don't.

It's one thing to claim that the Bible is divinely inspired, but it's another thing altogether to be inspired to read it and apply it!

Ps. Andrew