What God Has in Store for You
Introduction
Sam, aged twenty-three, was a militant atheist. He associated himself with the teachings of fervent opponents of faith and religion. One evening, he went online and discovered that Alpha was about to start within easy access of his home. He turned up to our church thinking, ‘I’m going to take down a few irrational Christians here.’
But his encounter with the teachings and person of Jesus Christ was not what he expected.
On his questionnaire at the end of the course, he wrote, ‘I found the draw of Jesus irresistible and have gone from [being] someone with no faith to someone with an immense hope. To live in a state of non-truth to living in truth is, to me, the difference between being bound to complete freedom.’
Three months later, he was baptised. He told me, ‘I’m free of my previous life. I was a slave to a lot of things. I was a slave to society, a slave to my peers... But now I’m free to live my life. I’m excited to see what God’s got in store for me.’ Salvation means freedom. Sam had an experience of how Jesus Christ sets us free.
Psalm 34:11–22
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 but the face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The LORD is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the LORD delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The LORD will rescue his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
Commentary
Live a life of freedom
Are you facing major challenges in your life – perhaps to do with your finances, relationships, health, family or some other difficult situation? This psalm is full of guidance and wonderful promises to those who face ‘many troubles’ (v.19).
The apostle Peter quotes this psalm in one of his letters as evidence of the kind of life we should lead – a life that reflects our new freedom as children of God.
Peter introduces David’s call to righteous living with the explanation that it is ‘to this you were called’ (1 Peter 3:9): ‘Whoever among you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears attentive to their cry; the face of the Lord is against those who do evil’ (Psalm 34:12–16a; 1 Peter 3:10–12).
‘The Lord… saves’ (Psalm 34:18). You cannot save yourself. It is the Lord who sets you free.
Our God rescues us. He watches over you, waiting to hear your prayer: ‘His ears are attentive to [your] cry’ (v.15b). When we do cry out, ‘the Lord hears’ (v.17a), and delivers us from all our ‘troubles’ (v.17b). I find it so helpful to look back over the years at various ‘troubles’ I have written in the margins of my Bible and to see how God has delivered me. It encourages me to cry out again.
God does not say that there won’t be any troubles (v.19a), but he does promise to deliver you from them all (v.19b). He is especially close in the tough times, ‘The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit’ (v.18). When you are going through a difficult time, you may not necessarily feel God is close, but he is: ‘God is there every time’ (v.19, MSG).
‘God pays for each slave’s freedom’ (v.22a, MSG). He promises that there is no condemnation for those who take ‘refuge in him’ (v.22b, see Romans 8:1). You have a righteousness from God through Christ, hence, you can include yourself in the category of ‘the righteous’ (Psalm 34:17,19,21).
Prayer
Luke 1:57–80
The Birth of John the Baptist
57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, 60 but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”
61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.” 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 All the neighbours were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. 66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.
Zechariah’s Song
67 His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:
68 “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David
70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
71 salvation from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us—
72 to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him without fear
75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
76 And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
78 because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
79 to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.
Commentary
Think about the greatness of your freedom
God’s people at this time were suffering from the oppression of Roman rule. They felt surrounded by darkness and death. They longed for a liberator to set them free from the pain and the sorrow of their situation. They were looking for someone who would come and put things right. They had waited for a long time.
Zechariah was John the Baptist’s father. His nine months of silence may be symbolic of the longer period of prophetic silence that was about to come to an end. As Zechariah’s ‘mouth was opened and his tongue set free’ (v.64), he ‘was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied’ (v.67).
The birth of John the Baptist was an occasion of great celebration, joy and expectation (vv.57–66). When Zechariah (unable to speak) wrote, ‘“His name is to be John” ... it took everybody by surprise. Surprise followed surprise – Zechariah’s mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising God!’ (vv.63–64, MSG).
Even John’s name was an expression of God’s blessings – it means ‘the Lord is a gracious giver’.
It was said of John the Baptist, ‘The Lord’s hand was with him’ (v.66). That is a good prayer to pray for yourself, your family and your community: that the Lord’s hand will be with you.
Zechariah was filled with the Spirit and prophesied that salvation was coming. He said, ‘He set the power of salvation in the centre of our lives’ (v.69, MSG). John the Baptist was to ‘present the offer of salvation to his people, the forgiveness of their sins’ (v.77, MSG).
Zechariah sees that God is coming to bring salvation to his people. But his prophecy goes well beyond political salvation. Something far deeper and wider is about to happen, fulfilling the great promises of the Old Testament. It will involve ‘redemption’ (v.68b), rescue from enemies (v.74a) and forgiveness of sins (v.77b). Salvation is the ‘path of peace’ (v.79). Zechariah, in this description of salvation, summed up so many of the freedoms that Jesus would bring to us:
- Freedom from fear (v.74b)
- Freedom to serve God (v.74b)
- Freedom to be holy (v.75)
- Freedom to be righteous (v.75)
- Freedom from death (v.79b)
Prayer
Numbers 4:1–5:10
The Kohathites
4 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron: 2 “Take a census of the Kohathite branch of the Levites by their clans and families. 3 Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting.
4 “This is the work of the Kohathites at the tent of meeting: the care of the most holy things. 5 When the camp is to move, Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain and put it over the ark of the covenant law. 6 Then they are to cover the curtain with a durable leather, spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the poles in place.
7 “Over the table of the Presence they are to spread a blue cloth and put on it the plates, dishes and bowls, and the jars for drink offerings; the bread that is continually there is to remain on it. 8 They are to spread a scarlet cloth over them, cover that with the durable leather and put the poles in place.
9 “They are to take a blue cloth and cover the lampstand that is for light, together with its lamps, its wick trimmers and trays, and all its jars for the olive oil used to supply it. 10 Then they are to wrap it and all its accessories in a covering of the durable leather and put it on a carrying frame.
11 “Over the gold altar they are to spread a blue cloth and cover that with the durable leather and put the poles in place.
12 “They are to take all the articles used for ministering in the sanctuary, wrap them in a blue cloth, cover that with the durable leather and put them on a carrying frame.
13 “They are to remove the ashes from the bronze altar and spread a purple cloth over it. 14 Then they are to place on it all the utensils used for ministering at the altar, including the firepans, meat forks, shovels and sprinkling bowls. Over it they are to spread a covering of the durable leather and put the poles in place.
15 “After Aaron and his sons have finished covering the holy furnishings and all the holy articles, and when the camp is ready to move, only then are the Kohathites to come and do the carrying. But they must not touch the holy things or they will die. The Kohathites are to carry those things that are in the tent of meeting.
16 “Eleazar son of Aaron, the priest, is to have charge of the oil for the light, the fragrant incense, the regular grain offering and the anointing oil. He is to be in charge of the entire tabernacle and everything in it, including its holy furnishings and articles.”
17 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 18 “See that the Kohathite tribal clans are not destroyed from among the Levites. 19 So that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go into the sanctuary and assign to each man his work and what he is to carry. 20 But the Kohathites must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die.”
The Gershonites
21 The LORD said to Moses, 22 “Take a census also of the Gershonites by their families and clans. 23 Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting.
24 “This is the service of the Gershonite clans in their carrying and their other work: 25 They are to carry the curtains of the tabernacle, that is, the tent of meeting, its covering and its outer covering of durable leather, the curtains for the entrance to the tent of meeting, 26 the curtains of the courtyard surrounding the tabernacle and altar, the curtain for the entrance to the courtyard, the ropes and all the equipment used in the service of the tent. The Gershonites are to do all that needs to be done with these things. 27 All their service, whether carrying or doing other work, is to be done under the direction of Aaron and his sons. You shall assign to them as their responsibility all they are to carry. 28 This is the service of the Gershonite clans at the tent of meeting. Their duties are to be under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.
The Merarites
29 “Count the Merarites by their clans and families. 30 Count all the men from thirty to fifty years of age who come to serve in the work at the tent of meeting. 31 As part of all their service at the tent, they are to carry the frames of the tabernacle, its crossbars, posts and bases, 32 as well as the posts of the surrounding courtyard with their bases, tent pegs, ropes, all their equipment and everything related to their use. Assign to each man the specific things he is to carry. 33 This is the service of the Merarite clans as they work at the tent of meeting under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron, the priest.”
The Numbering of the Levite Clans
34 Moses, Aaron and the leaders of the community counted the Kohathites by their clans and families. 35 All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, 36 counted by clans, were 2,750. 37 This was the total of all those in the Kohathite clans who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the LORD’s command through Moses.
38 The Gershonites were counted by their clans and families. 39 All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, 40 counted by their clans and families, were 2,630. 41 This was the total of those in the Gershonite clans who served at the tent of meeting. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the LORD’s command.
42 The Merarites were counted by their clans and families. 43 All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to serve in the work at the tent of meeting, 44 counted by their clans, were 3,200. 45 This was the total of those in the Merarite clans. Moses and Aaron counted them according to the LORD’s command through Moses.
46 So Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites by their clans and families. 47 All the men from thirty to fifty years of age who came to do the work of serving and carrying the tent of meeting 48 numbered 8,580. 49 At the LORD’s command through Moses, each was assigned his work and told what to carry.
Thus they were counted, as the LORD commanded Moses.
The Purity of the Camp
5 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has a defiling skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body. 3 Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them. ” 4 The Israelites did so; they sent them outside the camp. They did just as the LORD had instructed Moses.
Restitution for Wrongs
5 The LORD said to Moses, 6 “Say to the Israelites: ‘Any man or woman who wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the LORD is guilty 7 and must confess the sin they have committed. They must make full restitution for the wrong they have done, add a fifth of the value to it and give it all to the person they have wronged. 8 But if that person has no close relative to whom restitution can be made for the wrong, the restitution belongs to the LORD and must be given to the priest, along with the ram with which atonement is made for the wrongdoer. 9 All. the sacred contributions the Israelites bring to a priest will belong to him. 10 Sacred things belong to their owners, but what they give to the priest will belong to the priest. ’”
Commentary
Never take your freedom for granted
Are you serving in some way in your local church? Are you a contributor or merely a consumer? God has a role and responsibility for you.
We see in this Old Testament passage an anticipation and foreshadowing of the church, with each member having a different part to play (Ephesians 4:7,11–13). As we read of the Kohathites, Gershonites and Merarites, aged between thirty and fifty years old, who came ‘to serve’, we see that God assigned each individual specific tasks (Numbers 4:3–4,24–25,31–32), just as today God has assigned to you specific work to do in the church.
For the Israelites, ministry was centred on the Tent of Meeting – the place of God’s presence. Now, God’s presence is among his people in the body of Christ. The work and ministry to which you are called is to build up the body of Christ. This is one of the ways that you will experience the presence of God today. God’s presence is not confined to a particular place, but rather is experienced wherever his people are.
In this passage, we see that we cannot take our freedom for granted. We are reminded of the holiness of God and the fact that it required something amazing to allow you to have the kind of relationship with God that you are now able to enjoy.
God reminds Moses that any kind of sin is actually an act of unfaithfulness to God: ‘Any man or woman who wrongs another in any way and so is unfaithful to the Lord is guilty’ (5:6). The guilty person is required to confess their sin, make restitution for it and offer a sacrifice of atonement (vv.6–8).
We cannot make atonement for ourselves. Atonement had to be made for us. That is what Jesus did on the cross. A simplified definition of atonement is ‘at-one-ment’ – in other words, God enabled you to be at one with him. The barrier of sin was removed through Jesus so that you and I can say, ‘I was a slave. Now I’m free’.
Prayer
Pippa adds
Psalm 34:18 says, ‘The Lord is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.’
I have seen, many times, the Lord’s love sustaining those going through great difficulties, in remarkable ways.
In Psalm 34:19 it says, ‘The righteous may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers them from them all’.
I would rather it said that the righteous won’t have many troubles, but it does say ‘may’ have many troubles. I think if we didn’t go through the difficult times then we wouldn’t know that God is a deliverer and that we can trust him in those times.
Verse of the Day
Psalm 34:18
‘The Lord is close to the broken-hearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit’
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References
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
Scripture marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.