Shoulder To Shoulder #1320 -- 12-5-22 ---- "Ancient Paths -- The Pathway of Peace" (part 28)
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER is a weekly letter of encouragement Bob has written since 1997, covering many topics selected to
motivate people to be strong students of the Word and courageous witnesses of Jesus Christ. It is a personal letter of
encouragement to you, written solely to help "lift up hands that hang down".
"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything." -- Albert Einstein
“There is a common, worldly kind of Christianity in this day, which many have, and think they have -- a cheap Christianity which offends nobody,
and requires no sacrifice, which costs nothing, -- and is worth nothing.” – J. C. Ryle
Shoulder To Shoulder #1320 -- 12-5-22
Title: "Ancient Paths -- The Pathway of Peace" (part 28)
My Dear Friend and Fellow Pilgrim Partner:
Here we are now into a new month and near the end of another year. To say 2022 has been a tumultuous year would certainly be an understatement -- if not personally for many, at least nationally and globally for most. Jo Ann and I have had our share of little "topsy-turvy" episodes this past year, particularly since our return to Yuma after our ministry up in Greer. Numerous medical appointments (most of them routine), cataract surgeries, chapel praise team uncertainties, media equipment malfunctions, and prolonged episodes of allergies and bronchitis all left us "weary and worn".
But, now that it appears the bronchitis is nearing the exit ramp, we feel we're on the rebound -- especially since chapel services have been such a blessing (in spite of media equipment failures) and we've been blessed with new families every week along with the return of pre-pandemic regulars. People are excited about being back together again -- and about welcoming new faces.
Clearly two things that have weighed heavily on us for quite some time are the increasing moral and spiritual downward skid our nation is experiencing, and the heinous war on Ukraine. Not a day goes by but what we are aware of the presence and impact of both. It has certainly affected my own ability to concentrate without distractions on specific tasks at hand. I have noticed it particularly when it comes to writing these letters, sermon preparation, and specific projects needing to be completed around the house.
So, it seems to me that today's look at the final "ancient path" we will consider is appropriate -- at least in my current state of affairs. Hopefully you will also gain some spiritual and emotional "fresh air" from our look at "The Pathway of Rest". I find great consolation and encouragement in knowing that there is "rest" both here and now, and in the future as well. So, we'll try to dissect the subject today. But, before we do, please consider . . . .
THIS 'N' THAT:
+ Dolly Parton Says Satan is Real: https://www.charismanews.com/culture/90865-dolly-parton-warns-believers-and-non-believers-alike-satan-is-real
QUOTES FOR THE WEEK:
> "No soul can be really at rest until it has given up all dependence on everything else and has been forced to depend on the Lord alone. As long as our expectation is from other things, nothing but disappointment awaits us." -- Hannah Whitall Smith
> "In place of our exhaustion and spiritual fatigue, God will give us rest. All He asks is that we come to Him...that we spend a while thinking about Him, meditating on Him, talking to Him, listening in silence, occupying ourselves with Him - totally and thoroughly lost in the hiding place of His presence." -- Chuck Swindol
> "He who cannot rest, cannot work; he who cannot let go, cannot hold on; he who cannot find footing, cannot go forward." -- Harry Emerson Fosdick
> "Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength... It is wisdom to take occasional furlough. In the long run, we shall do more by sometimes doing less." -- Charles Spurgeon
> "Once I knew what it was to rest upon the rock of God's promises, and it was indeed a precious resting place, but now I rest in His grace. He is teaching me that the bosom of His love is a far sweeter resting-place than even the rock of His promises." -- Hannah Whitall Smith
> "Thou hast created us for Thyself, and our heart is not quiet until it rests in Thee." -- St. Augustine
> "A believer longs after God: to come into His presence, to feel His love, to feel near to Him in secret, to feel in the crowd that he is nearer than all the creatures. . . . There is greater rest and solace to be found in the presence of God for one hour, than in an eternity of the presence of man." -- Robert Murray McCheyne
> "Carnal Christians crave works; yet amid many labors they are unable to maintain calm in their spirit. They cannot fulfill God's orders quietly as can the spiritual believers... their hearts are governed by outward matters. Being 'distracted with much serving' (Luke 10:40) is the characteristic of the work of any soulish believer. They have not yet entered the rest of God." -- Watchman Nee
>
INTRODUCTORY THOUGHTS:
Throughout this series my passion has been to encourage you, lift you up, strengthen your hope and confidence, and spur you on to faithfully follow Christ in coming days and as long as you live – with no lagging behind or turning back. Today we conclude our study on “Seeking the Ancient Paths”, though there remain numerous such paths yet to be discovered and we find ourselves pressed to address other matters. I simply must bring this series to a conclusion, though certainly not a completion.
So, we return to the final description God gave Jeremiah for Judah (and Israel) as they stood at a historic crossroads with a plea to return to the ancient paths God had given them, but which they had long abandoned centuries earlier.
16. Thus says the LORD, "Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.' 17. "And I set watchmen over you, saying, 'Listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not listen’.” (Jer 6:16-17)
When God pleaded for His people to return to the ancient paths, He described those paths as “good” paths, and promised that in following them His people would find “Rest” in their lives -- both along the journey and at its final destination. As we conclude the series, this is where we want to land – in a state of rest. Not just physical rest, but spiritual, emotional, physical, and soul rest while we look forward to the ultimate rest still to come.
In order to more fully appreciate the significance of what God promised Judah if they obeyed (". . . Where the good way is, and walk in it; And you will find rest for your souls . . ."), it will be helpful to take the time for a little scriptural background, namely these scriptures: . . .
+ Exod 31:12-33:23; ---- Following the giving of the commandments, the Children of Israel's disobedience and worship of the golden calf, and the creation of the "tent of meeting" where Moses would meet with God to intercede for them, a renewed commitment to faith and obedience is made by the people. In response, God promised to bless them in every way possible, dependent on their obedience.
+ Ps 95:1-11; ---- Beginning with celebration and praise, the psalmist reviews how God blessed Israel's obedience, but also harshly punished them for disobedience. His punishment was that, if they did not obey Him fully, as they had repeatedly failed to do, they would never enter His rest that He had planned and provided for them. The principle was simple -- walking the "ancient paths" of His commandments was assurance of entering into His rest, but obstinately refusing to do so would instead lead them far away from a life of rest that He had offered.
+ Lam 1:1-3; ---- Almost certainly written by Jeremiah, the Book of Lamentations begins with a haunting remorse and lament over how Judah brought upon itself precisely what they were going through. It is as if what Jeremiah had pointed out in the sixth chapter of his prophecy he now describes in greater detail. It seems to make the point in verse three; as a result of Judah's obstinate refusal to take a look "at the crossroads" and return to the ancient paths. Instead, . . .
"Judah has gone into exile under affliction And under harsh servitude; She dwells among the nations, But she has found no rest; all her pursuers have overtaken her in the midst of distress."
+ Heb 3:7-4:11. ---- The writer of Hebrews, in reviewing Israel's centuries-long pattern of abandoning their God, straying from His paths of righteousness, and refusing to repent, explains the consequences -- especially pointing out the cause of their centuries of misery and suffering -- unbelief and disobedience. . . .
"And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. . . . Since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, . . . So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His. Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience." (Heb 3:18-19; 4:6,9-11).
Other Meaningful Scriptures that you might want to take time to meditate on are, -- Ps 37:7; 55:6; 116:1-7; -- Ex 33:14; -- Isa 30:15; -- Mt 11:28-30; -- Ps 55:6; -- Ps 116:7; -- Isa 40:28-31; -- I Pet 5:7; -- Ps 91:1-2; -- Jn 16:33; -- Ps 23:1-6; -- Isa 26:3; -- Ps 34:8; -- Rom 15:3; -- etc.
In our foundational text for this series, there are two sets of key words each: First is God's offer (Jer 6:16) -- "Good" and "Rest". The ancient pathways are good ones, and in obeying them, there will be rest.
+ Good: -- The Hebrew word for “Good” is like looking at a multi-faceted diamond. Each facet reveals a picture of what "good" actually means. The ancient pathways are beautiful. They are bountiful (abundantly fruitful). They are beneficial to those who choose to walk them. They are not hard, but are, rather, comfortable. For that reason they are also pleasurable and also prosperous (successful and sufficient). They are joyful to journey, and are constantly refreshing along the way. These are some of the words that are cradled in the one single Hebrew word for "good". It is the same idea David had in mind when he talked about how glad he was and knew it was good when someone said, "Let us go unto the house of the Lord." (Ps 122:1).
+ Rest: -- It seems like, at my age, I am always in need of rest -- repeated rest and all kinds of rest. The rest that God offered Judah is also like a multi-faceted diamond. By the very definition itself -- "a position of relaxed repose", actually describes the principle of freedom. When you are "at rest" it is much more than taking a break from physical activity. It is a matter of being free -- intellectual, emotionally and/or physically free. In this setting you are free from guilt, from shame, from anger, from distraction, from destruction, from expectations, from demands, from pressure, from disappointments, from discouragement, and hundreds of other pressure issues.
After all, when one chooses to obey God and walk the "ancient paths", what else would you expect except to live a life that is free from life's pressures and God's expectations! The “Ancient Paths” are good paths – always good paths – that lead to a life of rest – always a life of rest.
In contrast, you have those damning declarations made by Judah against their God -- '
+ 'We will not walk in it!' . . . .
+ 'We will not listen!'
I contend that the best path you will ever travel, and the most relaxing and restful journey you will ever . . . ever . . . ever take will be to walk the "ancient paths" mapped out for Israel at Sinai by the God of all creation. When we choose to walk in them, we are not doing so in order to make God happy, but we walk in them in order to express our love to Him and in order to enjoy a quiet and peaceable life of happiness and fruitfulness. It's wonderful to be free from guilt, shame -- and ulcers, headaches, and high blood pressure.
One of the smartest things you'll ever do is to reject the lie that keeping the Ten Commandments is legalism or performance-based religion, and is unnecessary for people who are "under grace". Instead, recognize them as God's roadmap to a fruitful and joyous life. After all, they are . . .
THE ORIGINAL PATHS: ---- THE SINAI COMMANDMENTS:
In order to understand the significance of the Ten Commandments, we must understand several things:
First, after Israel's descendants spent over 400 years in Egypt, -- at least the last part of it as alien slaves, -- not every Israelite coming out of Egypt believed in the God of Israel. You must remember that the Egyptian culture had greatly eroded the spiritual and moral state of the growing Hebrew populace. Many of them had become very comfortable, at least up to the time a Pharaoh came on the scene "who did not know Joseph." (Exod 1:8). So, to think that all Hebrew people practiced the worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is to be careless with one's assumptions. This is evidenced throughout the Books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
Next, the Ten Commandments were both a review and further development of the commands God had given Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden. Once they took of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they abandoned the original Ancient Path of innocence and perfection, leading them out of the Garden and away from God – on their own. Generations later and thousands of miles away, and having been born and raised in a culture that worshiped hundred of false gods with Pharaoh as the one man responsible to represent them all and hold things in order, the Hebrews were in desperate need of a spiritual and moral road map that would lead them back to the God of their fathers.
When God delivered the Hebrews from such a polytheistic pagan totalitarian culture, God presented His order -- His "road map" -- for the human race to the Children of Israel. While in its developed form covered ten major principles, those ten principles covered two parts of life:
The first part related to what we could call Four Paths Relating to God and their relationship to Him (Ex 20:2-11). This was in start contrast to the 400+ years of polytheism in which they had been immersed for so many centuries.
1) There is only One God, not many. And the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is the One.
2) Unlike the Egyptian culture, there are to be No idols or graven images to be found or worshiped.
3) God's Name is Holy, and must never be taken in vain or used by which to swear.
4) There is to be a Special Day each week, the Sabbath (the 7th day) to be used as a day of rest and a day in which to focus on and honor God.
Based on the first four commandments (or "paths"), the remaining Six Paths Related to mankind -- man's relationship to fellow man: (Ex 20:12-17). Beginning with the family unit, it then expanded to the greater family and then to the community as a whole. They were . . .
5) Parental respect meant that children were to respect, honor, and obey their parents. Doing so would guarantee them blessings and long life.
6) Murder was not allowed, contrary to the Egyptian culture that was known for child sacrifice and other forms of disregard for human life.
7) The marriage vows were sacred, were between a man and a woman, and thus, adultery and fornication were prohibited. Marriage was so valued that to commit either of those two sins was punishable by both guilty parties being stoned to death.
8) Personal property rights were highly valued, unlike the materialistic Egyptian culture where people could covet and steal someone else's property. Stealing gave evidence of selfishness, disrespect, lack of honesty, and a host of other sins.
9) Accusing other people -- in court or otherwise -- was to be a False Witness, and was absolutely prohibited.
10) Covetousness was also to be avoided, including lusting after another person's spouse, wanting his livestock, stealing his possessions, or any other form of greed or covetousness.
Third, these Ten Commandments were actually the fundamental paths God laid out, reinforced with a network of religious, hygienic, civil, legal, agricultural, and social laws that, when obeyed, led to health, prosperity, peaceful social order, and a life free from stress, characterized by a quiet and restful demeanor. (See Exod 20:1-40:38; Lev 1:1-27:34)
Fourth, God went so far as to promise blessings when people obeyed, and curses and consequences if they didn’t. Blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience was a fundamental principle of God's roadmap for His people. The same is true still today -- blessed when obeyed, consequences when God's parameters are violated. Here are but a few examples of many:
1) Ex 23:22 – If you will obey God, “I will be an enemy to your enemies”.
2) Lev 26:14-43 – dozens of consequences for disobedience listed. Take time to read it.
3) Deut 28:1-68 -- blessings for obedience, curses for disobedience. Take time to read it. Deuteronomy 29 was actually Moses’ review of God’s dealing with them according to their obedience and disobedience.
4) Deut 30:1-24 – If curses caused by disobedience were to be broken and blessings restored, repentance was absolutely necessary. Joshua admonished Israel that they would have to choose either life or death. Take time to read it.
5) Exod 15:26 – Obedience to God's order of life even affected physical, emotional, and mental health. He promised them that He would visit “none of these diseases” upon them that were so common to the Egyptian culture..
Next, The commandments were actually structured so as to be the foundation of all good government, and the foundation upon which our own democratic Constitutional Republic was erected.
Sixth, while these "ancient paths" were conditions God specifically laid out for the Hebrews, His chosen people, they have also applied to all mankind and especially to followers of Christ. He Himself declared He didn’t come to do away with the Law, but to fulfill it (Mt 5:17). In the “Sermon on the Mount”, Jesus introduced the “nut and bolts” of the Mosaic Law addressing both the Ten Commandments and many of the other laws God had given.
Finally, we have the bottom line: -- peace, health, prosperity, agricultural success, & rest by our obedience on one hand; or sickness, oppression, hostility, poverty, etc. if disregarded or ignored. So, then, to summarize: -- Obedience means living according to proven divine laws that produce blessings. Disobedience will result in hardship, curses, pain, and suffering. The law of planting and harvesting is non-negotiable -- “Whatever a man sows, he reaps.” (Gal 6:7).
So, . . .
THE OPTIONS ARE SIMPLE AND FEW:
For the believer today, the options are no more complicated nor more in number than when God first gave them to Moses ---- obedience brings a good and rest-filled life, and disobedience brings God's judgment and a life of stress in its many forms.
Each day you and I make choices. Unbeknownst to us, most of those choices deal directly with our response to the issue Jeremiah penned to Judah nearly 2,700 years ago -- Obedience or Obstinance.
You may say, "But, Bob, I'm not obstinate! I just want to make my own decisions!" Well, . . . that's called being obstinate toward God. It isn't difficult to spot the difference between obedience and obstinance. Just check your "stress/rest" factor. Stress is a sign that something isn’t right. Rest is a sign that everything is resolved.
Which pathway do you want? -- “Not OK” or “OK”? The Apostle Paul reminded Timothy of this very important principle -- “The servant of the Lord must not strive.” (II Tim 2:24)
THE "GOOD PATHS" ARE NEVER STRESSFUL:
When we choose the "ancient paths" described as "good" and "restful", we will experience so many desirable dispositions. We will enjoy a sense of Contentment – the feeling of being thoroughly satisfied. We will enjoy a sense of Peace – a calm and quiet spirit.
Our lives will be expressed with Joy – a happy and joyful heart. And our capacity to Love will be enlarged – an unconditional, all encompassing love.
One of the major expressions of a restful spirit is Quietude – a sense of serenity, free of anxious thoughts, worry, or fear. At the same time there will also be a heightened sensitivity -- an Alertness to what is good, what is evil, to conditions around you, and to needs -- especially the needs of others.
Finally, because you have chosen toe "good path" and have experienced a life of spiritual, mental, emotional, and moral "rest", your desire for Service will be intensified. You will find an almost immediate willingness to help others -- to make things better for them. Maybe this is one of the main reasons to choose the "ancient path" of rest.
FINALLY:
So, -- what do you think? Is this a pathway for you? Are you weary of stress? Are you, as some have said, "sick and tired of being sick and tired"? In a culture such as you and I currently see all around us, I know of nothing more desirable for Christians today than the "good" way that results in rest -- life rest, soul rest, and ultimately eternal rest.
f you take time to dig into those basic scriptures I listed earlier, you will detect two absolutes that are repeated -- in thought if not in word. You could, I suppose, call them "Essentials to Rest". They are "faith" and "obedience". You notice this particularly in the third and fourth chapters of Hebrews:
"And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief. . . . Since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, . . . So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
At first glance, it seems as if the writer can't make up his mind -- is it an issue of faith, or an issue of obedience? Did the Hebrews fail to enter into their rest because they simply didn't believe God? Or was it because of disobedience?
Obviously it pertained to both, because you'll never obey God unless you truly trust Him, and you'll never fully trust Him without expressing it in trust. So this leaves us with two questions:
Can you trust Him enough to obey? -- That's real faith.
Can you obey from a position of trust? -- That's true obedience.
As we conclude this series on Seeking the Ancient Paths God set out for the Hebrew people, it's my prayer that you've somehow been blessed, and you have, in the process, entered into a spiritual disposition of rest.
In His Bond, By His Grace, and For His Kingdom,
Bob Tolliver -- Romans 1:11
"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness,
examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." -- Dr. Luke (Acts 17:11)
"A fire kept burning on the hearthstone of my heart, and I took up the burden of the day with fresh courage and hope." -- Charles F. McKoy
Life Unlimited Ministries
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lifeunlimited@pobox.com
Copyright December, 2022
"If Jesus had preached the same message that many ministers preach today, He would never have been crucified." -- Leonard Ravenhill
"The time will come when instead of shepherds feeding the sheep, the Church will have clowns entertaining the goats." -- Charles H. Spurgeon
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