Beyond What Is Written - 1 Samuel Part 14

1 Samuel 6:10–21; 7:1-2 (ESV)

My comments on this story of the milk cows are found HERE and HERE.   I wrote “The point of this story can be summarized by a question?  When you view current events in the world and indeed in your life, is it “chance” or is it “God””?     Clearly the Philistines interpreted this event as God.   The cows, pulling the Ark went straight for Beth-shemesh.  “Beth-shemesh was partway up the Sorek Valley, a valley connecting Israel and Philistia, the scene of many of Samson’s exploits.”^[1] “A city of the Levites, who were tasked with taking care of the ark (Num 3:31; Deut 10:8; Josh 21:16).”^[2]

Although busy at harvest the people rejoiced to see the Ark.  The cows stopped in the field of Joshua.  Because these cows and the cart performed the sacred duty of carrying the Ark, they could not be used for normal everyday purposes.  Therefore, they were sacrificed to the Lord.  The Philistines observed this, and we have recorded, “And when the five lords of the Philistines saw it, they returned that day to Ekron.” (1 Samuel 6:16, ESV).  The author records that the guilt offering[3] sent by the Philistines was noted and then we read these words: “And he struck some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they looked upon the ark of the Lord. He struck seventy men of them, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great blow.” (1 Samuel 6:19, ESV)

Why would God strike down these men for looking upon the Ark?  The Hebrew indicates the idea of irreverence.  Normally in Israel the Ark was viewed annually and only by a prescribed individual.  It was viewed through a cloud of incense.  Looking into what symbolized the Presence of God for mere curiosity is prohibited.  Matthew Henry provides a helpful application:

“It is a great affront to God for vain men to pry into and meddle with the secret things which belong not to them, Deu. 29:29; Col. 2:18. We were all ruined by an ambition of forbidden knowledge. That which made this looking into the ark a great sin was that it proceeded from a very low and mean opinion of the ark. The familiarity they had with it upon this occasion bred contempt and irreverence.”^[4]

Indeed, God is holy.  “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God? And to whom shall he go up away from us?”^[5]  Such fear was invoked that these priests of Beth-shemesh sent the Ark away to Kirjath Jearim[6].

“And the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it to the house of Abinadab on the hill. And they consecrated his son Eleazar to have charge of the ark of the Lord. From the day that the ark was lodged at Kiriath-jearim, a long time passed, some twenty years, and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.” (1 Samuel 7:1–2, ESV).

Again, I lean on the helpful comments of Henry: “Thus do foolish men run from one extreme to the other, from presumptuous boldness to slavish shyness.”^[7]  To put this another way, God’s people can often be of two extremes:

1.  There is an audacious arrogance that seeks to enter the inexplicable and sovereign ways of God in a way whereby “angels fear to tread”; and contrarily,

2.  There is another arrogance – a subtle form of pride, that avoids what God has determined for us to know and yet slothfully fails to deal with it.

An illustration might be useful.  Let’s pick a topic like eschatology.  There is so much about the future that is unknown to us.  There are things that can be said to be “the secret things belong to the Lord our God.”^[8]   Having said that, there are those who take an opposite approach, using this as an excuse, and pleading ignorance – happily pleading ignorance.  It’s a plea that is tantamount to a fear of being accountable to know something.  It’s a plea that is tantamount to laziness.  Like a friend once told me: “I’m a pan-millennial.” “I just believe things will pan out in the end.”  This was his excuse not to study.

You will notice that I accuse both extremes with the sin of pride.  What should we have no fear in understanding and applying?  The answer is “that which is revealed included the law with its promises and threats”^[9] or stated otherwise, “the things that are revealed . . . that we may do all the words of this law.”^[10]   Paul states a similar point in 1 Corinthians 4:6 (ESV),

“⁶ I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.” [emphasis mine]

The priests of Beth-shemesh, simply had to obey what was clearly revealed in the Law.  This would keep them from the sin of idolatrous curiosity and from the sin of passivity.  Paul’s counsel is incredibly practical.  Do not go beyond what is written.  To fall on either side of this is prideful. Israel was not to inspect such holy things (Numbers 4:15, 20); but they were to take care of it (Numbers 3:31; Deuteronomy 10:8).  We as Christians will do well to heed the advice of Paul: don’t go beyond what is written.  Sometimes that will mean saying, “I don’t know”; and sometimes that will mean doing the hard work of study – not with a curious, self-promoting pride – but with humble reverence.

---

^[1] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 501). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

^[2] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (1 Sa 6:13). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

[3] The images were symbolic of the plague; the idea was that God would know exactly what the ransom money was for and would then heal them of the plague.

^[4] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 393). Peabody: Hendrickson.

^[5] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Sa 6:20). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[6] “The ancient name of the town was Baale of Judah (2 Sam 6:2); it was located ten miles west of Jerusalem on the road to Lydda, according to Eusebius. The site is near the modern village of Abu Ghosh.” - Hindson, E. E., & Kroll, W. M. (Eds.). (1994). KJV Bible Commentary (p. 544). Nashville: Thomas Nelson. 

^[7] Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 393). Peabody: Hendrickson.

^[8] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Dt 29:29). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

^[9] MacArthur, J., Jr. (Ed.). (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed., p. 293). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.

^[10] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Dt 29:29). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Does the Father Draw All Men Individually to the Savior?

The spiritual inability of fallen man is so severe that “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44, ESV).  Summarily, this verse teaches the necessity of the Father’s initiative within the inclinations and abilities of sinners to come to Christ.  The verse also makes it very clear that those whom the Father draws will be raised up on the last day.  This clearly implies “raised up to eternal life” as it is used in verse 39.[1]

Having said that, we know that John records the words of Jesus in Chapter 12 saying, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”” (John 12:32, ESV)

If we apply the same interpretation to John 12:32 as we do to John 6:44 the result is universalism – all people will be saved to eternal life.  This would be true because the text says, “will draw ALL people to myself” [emphasis mine]

It’s not my intent to refute universalism[2] for any orthodox view of salvation would immediately discount such a notion.  However, it is a legitimate argument that verse 32 of chapter 12 at least implies that God grants inclining grace to all people.  But a careful examination of that will show otherwise.  My reasons are as follows:

1. If John meant in the 6^th chapter that all men are drawn, meaning every individual, it makes the teaching of our Lord nonsensical.  John 6:37 and 6:44 are complimentary verses. “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37, ESV); and “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day” (John 6:44, ESV). They are meaningless if the intent of the Spirit is to suggest all people are given to the Son and all people are drawn.   Whatever else this means; it means that there is a determined group of people given to the Son by the Father and that determined number come by means of the Father’s drawing.

2. In John 12:32, the Greek text reads: “κἀγὼ ^⸀ἐὰν ὑψωθῶ ἐκ τῆς γῆς, πάντας ἑλκύσω πρὸς ἐμαυτόν.”  Literally that reads in English:  And I if I be lifted up from the earth, all will draw to myself.  English Bibles insert “all people” or “all men”.  That is a valid implication, but it can be confusing. Does it mean “all people”, i.e., every human, every individual?  Not necessarily.  Firstly, we need to recognize as Biblical students do that “all” doesn’t always mean “every individual”.[3] Of course it can, but not necessarily.  “All” can also mean “all who believe” as it does in Romans 5:18.[4]  All can also mean “all types of people” implying rich, poor; Jew, Gentile; high class, lower class; etc.  Most commentators see this meaning in John 12.  For example:

a. “Jesus there claims he will draw ‘all men’ to himself. The context[5] shows rather clearly, however, that 12:32 refers to ‘all men without distinction’ (i.e. not just Jews) rather than to ‘all men without exception’”^[6];

b. “All people, in context, means “all kinds of people,” that is, both Jews and Gentiles (John 10:16; 11:52; cf. 12:20–21)”^[7];

c. "All men" does not imply that all men will ultimately be saved; instead, it means that Christ draws men to himself indiscriminately, without regard to nationality, race, or status. Jesus' utterance was prompted by the presence of the Greek Gentiles and should be evaluated by the setting of the occasion. There is, however, a clear differentiation between believers and unbelievers, between the saved and the lost, in all the Johannine writings (John 1:11; 3:18, 36; 5:29; 6:40, 53, 64; 8:44; 1 John 3:10, 15; 5:12)”[8];  and even Grant Osborne, an Arminian (albeit with inconsistent and confusing theology) admits;

d. “Jesus claims to “draw all people” to himself, and he is hardly teaching universalism. I believe that 6:44 refers to God’s control of salvation and to the security of the believer.”^[9]

Summary

So how are we to understand that the lifting up of Christ will draw all [men] in relation to the assertion that no one can come to Christ unless the Father draws?   I think there are 2 reasonable choices that do not violate the text:

Choice One:  As noted above and seemingly fitting the context the best, Jesus said in John 12:32, when He dies and rises again, he will draw all kinds of people to Himself.  This is likely the best interpretation. It fits squarely with Genesis 49:10[10].

Choice Two:  Because John records the “lifting up” passage after the “drawing” of the 6^th chapter, I think it is likely that the reader will already know that 6:44 is a controlling, defining, interpreting verse over 12:32.  In other words, the reader ought to know what “drawing” is because John already defined it.  In that case 12:32 may mean “when I am lifted up, I will draw those whom the Father has given me, to me.” 

Conclusion

MacArthur’s comments form a fitting conclusion:

“The combination of v. 37a and v. 44 indicate that the divine drawing activity which Jesus referred to cannot be reduced to what theologians call “prevenient grace,” i.e., that somehow the power to come to Christ is allegedly dispensed to all of mankind, thus enabling everyone to accept or reject the gospel according to their own will alone. Scripture indicates that no “free will” exists in man’s nature, for man is enslaved to sin (total depravity) and unable to believe apart from God’s empowerment (Rom. 3:1–19; Eph. 2:1–3; 2 Cor. 4:4; 2 Tim. 1:9). While “whosoever will” may come to the Father, only those whom the Father gives the ability to will toward Him will actually come to Him. The drawing here is selective and efficacious (producing the desired effect) upon those whom God has sovereignly chosen for salvation, i.e., those whom God has chosen will believe because God has sovereignly determined that result from eternity past (Eph. 1:9–11).”^[11]

To God be the Glory

---

[1] “And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.” (John 6:39, ESV)

[2] https://www.gotquestions.org/universalism.html

^⸀ 32 ἐὰν Treg NA28 RP ] ἂν WH

[3] https://yuriystasyuk.com/relearn-the-bible-10-verses-where-all-does-not-mean-all/

[4] “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.” (Romans 5:18, ESV) 

[5] “Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks.” (John 12:20, ESV)  The context, and the occasion of the words, which was the desire of the Greeks, that were come to the feast, to see Jesus.

^[6] Carson, D. A. (1991). The Gospel according to John (p. 293). Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, MI: Inter-Varsity Press; W.B. Eerdmans.

^[7] Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2049). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

[8] Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:John/Exposition of John/II. The Public Ministry of the Word (1:19-12:50)/F. The Crisis of the Ministry (12:1-50)/3. The response to the Greeks (12:20-36), Book Version: 4.0.2

^[9] Osborne, G. R. (2018). John: Verse by Verse. (J. Reimer, E. Ritzema, D. Thevenaz, & R. Brant, Eds.) (p. 165). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

[10] “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.” (Genesis 49:10, ESV) 

^[11] MacArthur, J., Jr. (Ed.). (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed., p. 1592). Nashville, TN: Word Pub.

God or Chance? - 1 Samuel, Part 13b

The pagan Philistines had captured the Ark of the Lord.  It’s presence not only seemed to cause disparaging actions to their god, Dagon, but there was an outbreak of boils.  Was God really doing this? Or was this chance? 

“Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. And take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”” (1 Samuel 6:7–9, ESV)

So they conceived of a test. The sent the Ark on a cart pulled by two cows, separated from their calves. These cows had never been yoked. They knew this: if God was truly behind all this those cows would leave and go to Beth-shemesh.  This was their thinking: if the cows came back to their calves and refused to pull the cart, this all happened by chance!  The point is that it was either God or chance!  

My first blog covered that story.  You can read it HERE.  The point that these people were making was that this was either God or chance.  Many today would add other causes: Mother Nature, man’s free will, etc.  Although they were pagans, they were profoundly correct.  Why?

Why is it logical and defendable to conclude that ultimately all events occur either by God or by chance?   The answer to that possible objection is answered by one question: is God “supernatural”?  One dictionary^[1] defines supernatural as something "attributed to a power that seems to violate or go beyond natural forces, or miraculous. Because God is supernatural then He must exist above and in control of nature; and He is the primary cause of all things.  That is simple and plain logic.  The devotional book, Our Daily Bread^[2], accurately noted:

A miracle is generally thought of as something that contradicts nature. But a true miracle is the introduction of God’s supernatural power into our world in a way that suspends the laws of physics as we understand them.

There are secondary causes to the events of our world. These include such things as the laws of nature, the will of man and even the demonic initiatives of the Devil and his legions.  But one must never believe for a moment that these secondary causes are sovereign and capable of doing what they want, when they want.  It really ultimately boils down to either things happen by chance or by God (that is, if God is supernatural!).  Charles Spurgeon^[3] summarizes this problem well”

I see, in one place, God in providence presiding over all, and yet I see, and I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions, in a great measure, to his own free-will. Now, if I were to declare that man was so free to act that there was no control of God over his actions, I should be driven very near to atheism; and if, on the other hand, I should declare that God so over-rules all things that man is not free enough to be responsible, I should be driven at once into Antinomianism or fatalism.

If God is not in control, as the Scriptures teach, we are either driven to atheism or fatalism (God or chance)!  The Bible teaches that the weather is in fact, ultimately controlled by God (e.g. Job 37:6-13).  Even animals are under His control (e.g. Matthew 6:26; 10:29 [plus our story in this chapter!). We think in terms of random events and we are brought to the conclusion that God even controls the outcome of them (e.g. Proverbs 16:33). The rise and fall of nations, including the affairs of political states are proscribed by God (e.g. Job 12:23; Psalm 22:28). The events of our personal lives are also ordained by God.  Everything is under His sovereign control, even evil. (e.g. Genesis 50:20).

When we view life we know there are secondary causes including the laws of science, the will of mankind and even the Devil himself.  But if created order is beyond God’s free and sovereign control, we are left without hope and without a god to worship. In dealing with ultimate issues, a truly rational person must either conclude a sovereign, free, omnipotent God is in control, or things just happen by chance.  It’s either sovereign design or natural selection. There are no other rational, intelligent conclusions.

There is not a random dandelion seed in the Universe.  God controls everything.  If he doesn’t the only other options is chance – coincidence. The Philistines were profoundly correct and they learned the answer: God!

---

[1] http://www.answers.com/topic/supernatural

[2] http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/our-daily-bread/2008/12/22/devotion.aspx

[3] http://www.spurgeon.org/calvinis.htm

God or Chance? - 1 Samuel, Part 13a

1 Samuel 6:1–9 (ESV)

God told Samuel that because of Eli’s sin and the sin of his sons, God would bring judgment on Israel and Eli’s family forever.  Soon after this the Israelites were in a losing battle with the Philistines that took the lives of 4,000 men.  The elders of Israel conceived of a plan – take the Ark of the Covenant – the Presence of God into battle.   Israel lost in the ensuing battle, the Ark of the Lord – the very Presence of God was captured, and “the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.” (1 Samuel 4:11, ESV)

When Eli heard the news of his sons, he was grief stricken.  When he heard of the news of the Ark, he fell over dead.  The Philistines had the Ark, but the Philistines had a problem, we see that in Chapter 5.  Their god, “Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place.” (1 Samuel 5:3, ESV). Eventually their response was “The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for his hand is hard against us and against Dagon our god.” (1 Samuel 5:7, ESV).

Now all along, even these pagan people, had good reason to suspect that it was the God of Israel that was doing all this to them.  But they needed to cover their bases.  So the conceived of an idea.

“Now then, take and prepare a new cart and two milk cows on which there has never come a yoke, and yoke the cows to the cart, but take their calves home, away from them. And take the ark of the Lord and place it on the cart and put in a box at its side the figures of gold, which you are returning to him as a guilt offering. Then send it off and let it go its way and watch. If it goes up on the way to its own land, to Beth-shemesh, then it is he who has done us this great harm, but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it happened to us by coincidence.”” (1 Samuel 6:7–9, ESV)

Anyone who knows milk cows would know that natural instincts would make certain that the cows would not leave their calves and would stay near them.  Not only that, just to make sure that this experiment worked, the Philistines took two cows that have never been yoked and set them on the cart.  This was a great experiment because nothing in nature would permit it to exceed.  Nothing!  But they knew this: if God was truly behind all this those cows would leave and go to Beth-shemesh.  This was their thinking: if the cows came back to their calves and refused to pull the cart, this all happened by chance!  The point is that it was either God or chance! That is an amazing choice.  Again don’t miss the point of the experiment.  They concluded there were only two options: God or chance. 

So what happened?  “And the cows went straight in the direction of Beth-shemesh along one highway, lowing as they went. They turned neither to the right nor to the left, and the lords of the Philistines went after them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh.” (1 Samuel 6:12, ESV). Since all the odds were stacked against this succeeding, the God of Israel made sure the experiment was conclusive and without doubt.  Those milk cows went straight to their destination, didn’t turn left or right and to add confirmation – they went “lowing as they went”.      

The point of this story can be summarized by a question?  When you view current events in the world and indeed in your life, is it “chance” or is it “God”?  

Someone might raise an objection to such a narrow question.  Surely there are other players in the universe than the two options: Chance or God?   Some would like to add other elements into the equation, like, 'Mother Nature' did that; or this was due to man's free will; or even Satan caused that.  These pagans brought the discussion down to 2 options: God or chance.

In my next installment, I’ll attempt to answer the question, “Why is it only, ultimately, God or chance?”

Sanctification - Be Who You Are!

". . . “but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:7–8, ESV).

I serve a congregation that would normally be considered spiritually mature.  Having said that I am often astounded by the lack of understanding regarding sanctification. The word sanctification is related to the word saint; both words have to do with holiness. To “sanctify” something is to set it apart for special use; to “sanctify” a person is to make him holy. Normally we consider sanctification as the process of becoming more like Christ.  This process begins at justification and will find its culmination in glorification.

The dilemma is found in the dynamics as to how this happens.  There are usually two extremes:

1. I am sanctified by decisive, deterministic effort through the choices I make; and

2. I am sanctified by God's sovereign grace -- I need to let go, and let God!

Recently I listened to a 3-part instruction by John Piper that is extremely important in clarifying these extremes. You can listen to them online through YouTube:

#1.  Become in Experience What You are In Christ.

#2.  The Effort Needed to Fight Sin // Living Out Identity in Christ

#3. Evidence of the New Birth // Living Out Identity in Christ

"The already/not yet distinction (referring to things that are already true but not yet fully realized) aids our understanding of how to make sense of the Bible, especially as it depicts the Christian life. The Spirit made us new (2 Corinthians 5:17), and yet we still need to be renewed in our minds (Romans 12:1–2). Jesus freed us decisively from sin (Romans 6:6; John 8:36), and yet we still need to put the old man to death (Romans 8:13)." - John Piper

I hope you listen and be refreshed in the truth of Scripture.