Mercy, Judgment and Wait on Him Continually



For a moment they stood looking at each
other the barefoot beggar girl in her rags
and the King in his jewelled crown

Hosea 12:6 "Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment and wait on thy God continually"

The Lord speaking to backsliden Israel gives them specific advice on how to find grace and mercy in their current state. He says it is now your turn to seek the Lord for a mighty transformation as did your father Jacob; you have character flaws and sins that can be removed. Here He gives them very specific advice; I have always found Gods specific advice is relevant to the ones standing before Him, It is not just a general piece of information for us to consider, it is the very advice we need. So what does God tell them to do in order to impress God of their seriousness with Him?

Keep mercy - this is pointing directly towards their fellow man; we never show mercy to God because He is not in need of it. You show mercy to someone who has offended and God is not beholden to anyone for doing anything worthy of being called and an offense. Men do offend, either intentionally or unintentionally but offenses come from our fellow man not from God. When an offense comes we are left with a choice, will I hold them to the technicality of the law and make them pay the uttermost farthing or will I show mercy and let them go free. God is saying where it is in your power to do so then consider letting them go free, especially if the offense was unintentional. There are instances where the merciful thing to do is to allow justice to run its course (for instance, if parties have been intentionally harmed and it is in your power to do something about it to make sure things are put right, Consider Job 29 where Job saved the oppressed) but it all boils down to the heart attitude, if it is your power to how mercy then consider it.

Keep judgment - this is not the sense of passing judgment on your fellow man but rather the thought of doing what is right, judging righteousness judgment (without regard for your own selfish interests). We again bring in Job 29 which is a beautiful summation of how God desires us to be. Lets look at a portion for example: Job 29:11-17 KJV "When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me: Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out. And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth." This is the kingdom God is looking for, it is a kingdom where people are engaged in righteous activities not in self serving self centered judgment.

Wait on God continually - this is not the sense of a servant waiting on His Master (although that is appropriate) but rather the expectation of a beggar waiting at a gate looking expectantly at passers by for some kindness or offering.Wwaiting for Him, look to Him expectantly for His benevolence, for His look into your direction. In order to illustrate this we might refer to blind Bartimaeus, let's read the account because it implies the need, the humility in waiting realizing you are at the mercy of another: Mar 10:46-49 KJV "And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee."

Therefore, this is the advice of God to the backslidden Israel and it is very telling, firstly because it highlights their breakdown (which was not just idolatry against the One True God but also a breakdown of their treatment of their fellow man). God gives them specific advice that will bring them back into His good graces, They, of course, dismiss this advice and will continue on their wilful sinful ways; never the less God would be true to His promises if they would only accept His counsels...sadly history betrays the ending, they did not heed His counsel.

What about us, will we consider the things He has said in this verse? The secret to finding His grace and favor are in these verses, can we see clearly enough to benefit from this advice? Why not come before the Lord and ask Him to work these characteristics out in our own lives so we might enjoy unbroken fellowship with Him and with His people.

Seeking, Waiting and Staying equals Strength

Isa 40:29-31 KJV "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

To whom does He give power to? Is to a man or woman who is building their own empire or is it to those who are going their own way, no, it is to those who fear the Lord and seek to go the right way; to do those things approved of God. Yet by reason of a hindrance (weakness) of their own flesh or from molestation of the enemy they are short on strength. The Lord can strengthen this weary man or woman, the ones who are hungering to do what is right and yet find themselves in a struggle. God is not giving this strength spoken of to those who turn back to Egypt or a running from Him, He is strengthening the upright who lack the power by reason of the enemy or a weakness in themselves even though they desire the right way. The days we are coming into the spiritual pressure will be immense and the spirit of the age will war against the saints, we want to be free from unholy attachments and loves. And so to them that have no might He increaseth strength. I suggest this is one who is aware that he does not have the power to overcome and yet somehow his strength is increased. Somehow, although he is weak in some area, he finds the power to overcome because the Lord blessed him with strength renewed.

How did this strength come? I want to suggest three verses to the weary saint that will direct them on the right course once they become aware they desperately need strengthened from the Almighty (as the saint in this portion of scripture did).

1) They seek the Lord with all their heart - Jer 29:12-13 KJV "Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." Then ye shall find me when you seek for me with all your heart. I have experienced this and this is not simply "O' Lord I take a few minutes to call upon your name"; this is a man or woman who is desperate to meet with Him, they seek Him with an urgency and a focus in prayer that pushes out distraction and takes hold of God. This is one of the conditions I have observed to those who receive strength...

2) They that wait upon the Lord renew their strength - As mentioned above in Isaiah 40:29-31, waiting on Him cannot be overstated; very few things communicate to the Lord a love for Him more than a willingness to wait upon Him. It is, however, more than just physically waiting on Him, it more of a having a confidence in waiting that He will come. In other words, not becoming discouraged or accusatory but simply waiting til He is pleased to speak. Not becoming frustrated with Him but in confidence waiting. God has His own reasons for not speaking immediately and we must be patient. Consider the trouble that Saul caused himself when he could not wait for the prophet of God to come; he forced himself and sinned against the Lord. I have seen others do similar things, God does not speak and so they take up their own endeavors. No, in order to receive the touch from the Lord we need we must in patience wait for Him, yes it can be very painful but there must be a knowing in our spirits of the nature of God and how He is there for his children and hears their groaning and will come to their aid.

3) He stayed upon his God until the strength came - he did not turn back nor did he kindle his own sparks - Isa 50:10-11 KJV "Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God. Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow." This idea of staying upon his God means he did not turn back to Egypt or to the enemies of the Lord for help. He stayed upon his God, verse seven of the same chapter emphasizes this point. Isa 50:7 KJV "For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed." The point of staying upon our God is that though we are weak and weary we stay upon Him and we do not turn back to Egypt.

So to summarize the weak man sought the Lord then waited on God, they would not be deterred but stayed upon his God until He brought certain deliverance and strength. I have seen this pattern repeat itself over and over; sometimes God allows one to be tested and tried, they have a weakness that cannot be overcome or a trial that seems to have no end. God has ordained to help them but not until He has tried them to see if they, like the children of Israel, will turn back to their roots in Egypt. This is what I have observed, those who do not turn back but stay upon their God come forth with such strength that the weight and pressure of the trial is eventually melted away and forgotten but those who turn away to other things diminish more and more and eventaully they no longer take thought for Him at all. No matter what, let us be diligent seekers no matter what let us stay pointed in the right direction. My attitude is this, even if I leave this world never having touched Him as I supposed I should I want to die pointing in His direction with my hand extended to Him, waiting on Him because I know when I awake on the other side He will be holding my extended hand!

The Rich Young Ruler and the Royal Law

Let me start of this post by thanking everyone who prayed for us this last week in the Dominican Republic; the teachings were a success because of hungry hearts in the students and friends who cared to pray and we are very grateful!!

Pastor Frank & my youngest daughter Leah

Mat 19:17-24 KJV "And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."

1) Do not murder
2) Do not commit adultery
3) Do not steal
4) Do not bear false witness
5) Honor your mother and father
6) Love thy neighbor as thyself...this is the end result of the 5 previous commands

 

It is interesting that all the commandments Jesus recited to this man dealt with man to man relationships, not one was God to man. This man, therefore, had a problem with his fellow man (Jesus would not advise him like this if it were not so, He counsels according to our need). James Royal Law is as much about loving your neighbor as yourself as it is about loving God with all your heart. He replied, "All this have I done from my youth, what lack I yet?" Well, he may have done it from his youth from his own perspective but God saw two things,

• Pride - who else would be bold enough to approach Christ and say all this have I done already, what else?
• Covetousness (he obviously loved being rich more than he wanted to follow Jesus).
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And so Jesus, discerning his need, added two other commands which were meant to either expose him or liberate him:

 

 

7) Sell all you have and give to the poor - Interestingly enough, the one commandment this man needed the most (concenring coveteousness) was not recited in the list above but was broken out separately when the Lord counsels him to sell everything, it was as though the Lord knew what he would say (all this have I already done...and it probably was true, externally). In a sense he was being lured in, Jesus was going to deal with the one thing that would have set him free and would have fulfilled the New Covenant in him had he cried for grace to do it.

 

This begs that we ask the question...what part of the Royal Law do I need worked out in me? Certainly we are not deficient in all of it but what "addendum" would God speak into my life? Careful here, tread sincerely now, if He tells us will we do it or will we be grieved because it strikes at the very core issue of our lives? Perhaps God would call us to obscurity, to servitude, to penury, to suffering or to a thousand different things to try and get at some hindrance in our life. We may look disdainfully at this poor wretch but how are we going to fare when Jesus, in love and compassion, tries to point out what we need most? Well let's use this fellows misfortune to put us on the right track.

8) Come follow Me - I believe this bears out that Jesus loved this man; He was going to make him a disciple. The Lord offered him great treasure in heaven, to be a follower of the Lamb and to fulfill the Royal Law...but sadly, he declined. Let us give this serious consideration, what is our greatest hindrance in our walk? What is the one thing, that if it were broken, would make us feel so much better in our life? Is it anger, resentment, lust, covetousness, hatred, hardness...etc? Now take it one step further, what part of the Royal Law does it cause us to violate? Is it breaking the command to love Him alone (idols) or the command to love our fellow man as ourselves? Let's ask God for direct counsel and plead for the grace to receive it and to follow its mandate to us so we might rejoice the heart of God and reflect His wonderful image as the true sons and daughters of God.