July 4, 2012

  • So shall He sprinkle MANY nations (Isaiah 52:13)

    As we reread familiar portions of Scripture, it's a real danger for us to pass over words quickly and not to meditate on them as we ought, not to sink our roots down into them (Psalm 1) and not to gnaw on them. At the 2009 Gospel Coalition Conference, Don Carson explained that John Piper took Scripture and gnawed on it like a bone. A couple years ago, based on that, I exhorted my readers to Get gnawing, put your nose down in the Book to feed the white-hot flame of God's gift. Here's a little excerpt from that post:

    Do we ever take the Scripture like a bone and chew on it and gnaw at it? ...


    During an evening panel discussion Piper himself later exhorted us:

    Put your nose down in the Book!... every precious word...
    We need to linger over words, like lozenges...wait on God...
    it's not quick...linger, stay there...
    stay close until the meaning is on fire...

    I had recently read through Isaiah 50 and 51, and part of Isaiah 52. The fourth Servant Song, that portion of Isaiah 52 beginning in verse 13 and continuing through all of chapter 53, is all too familiar to many of us, myself included. As I sat in the library, and began reading, the Holy Spirit impressed upon me the word MANY in verse 15:

    So shall he sprinkle many nations...

    According to Strong's Concordance, the word many is the Greek word rab rab – abundant (in quantity, size, age, number, rank, quality):--(in) abound(-undance, -ant, -antly), captain, elder, enough, exceedingly, full, great(-ly, man, one), increase, long (enough, (time)), (do, have) many(-ifold, things, a time), ((ship-))master, mighty, more, (too, very) much, multiply(-tude), officer, often(-times), plenteous, populous, prince, process (of time), suffice(-lent).

    Solomon expresses it this way:

    Psalm 72:17  His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. 18  Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. 19  And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. 20  The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

    And Isaac Watts like this:

    Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
    Does his successive journeys run;
    His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
    Till moons shall wax and wane no more...

    People and realms of every tongue
    Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
    And infant voices shall proclaim
    Their early blessings on His Name.

    At the time, I wrote the verse in my journal, capitalizing, circling, and double underlining the word many. (I can't do exactly the same here, but I think you get the idea.)

    So shall he sprinkle MANY nations...

    And then I wrote beneath the verse:

    Can we say, "God bless America" to the exclusion of others?

    Can we say, "God shed His grace on thee" without praying He would shed His grace on many nations?

    My dear Christian brothers and sisters who live along with me in the United States, as we celebrate our country's 236th birthday today, let us beware of becoming hard-hearted and spiritually blinded, so we succumb to the sin of spiritual pride, much as what happened to the Old Testament nation of Israel. God's plan is not first and foremost for our political nation, the United States of America, but rather, His plan is and has always been to gather a holy nation out of all the nations (ethnic groups) scattered throughout all the earth.



    For example...

    On several occasions, the LORD Himself declared to Abraham that he was being blessed to be a blessing to many nations, including these words in Genesis 22:17-18:

    That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;  And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

    And again to Isaac in Genesis 26:4:

    And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed...

    Throughout the Old Testament, we see that truth that the Gentiles (all the nations) were going to be brought in to God's Kingdom, yet until the coming of Christ, it was a hidden mystery (Eph. 3:7-11). I'd encourage you to do a search for the word "nations" in the book of Isaiah (as well as throughout the whole of the Old Testament); you'll find a treasure trove there. For example:

    Isaiah 2:2  And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. (You'll find a similar passage in Micah 4:1ff).

    Isaiah 25:6  And in this mountain shall the LORD of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined.

    And, please indulge me, a little plug for the wonderfully rich and full, but often-overlooked book of Zechariah:

    2:10  Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for, lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the LORD. 11  And many nations shall be joined to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people: and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the LORD of hosts hath sent me unto thee. 12  And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again. 13  Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for he is raised up out of his holy habitation.

    8:20  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of many cities: 21  And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also. 22  Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD. 23  Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.

    If this doesn't thrill you, if it doesn't humble you that we are involved in God's grand scheme Gospel proclamation to bring dead souls to life, to pluck firebrands from the fire, and to bring glory to His holy name, if it doesn't make you long for the day that all the ransomed will be gathered around the throne in worship to the Lamb to the glory of God the Father – then pray that God's Spirit might baptize you afresh with His reviving fire, so it might exhilarate you! (I am saddened to say I had very little passion for missions for many years, and only in the past few years, but all praise, glory and thanksgiving to God, God Himself has begun growing that in me.)

    Revelation 5:6  And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 7  And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 8  And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9  And they sung a new song, saying,

    Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10  And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

    11  And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12  Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13  And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14  And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

    In stark contrast to that gathering described in the book of Revelation, according to the Joshua Project, at the current time, there remain billions of souls who have not yet been reached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ:

    Total People Groups: 16,652
    Unreached People Groups: 7,009
    % People Groups Unreached: 42.1 %

    World Population: 6.90 Billion
    Population in Unreached Groups: 2.83 Billion
    % Population in Unreached: 41.0 %

    As John Piper has said, "Missions exists because worship doesn't."

    God is all about Himself being worshiped and adored! That's our chief purpose as Christians.

    Isaiah 43:7  Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him...  21  This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.

    I Peter 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 10  Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

    For the Christian, our true citizenship is in heaven. Yes, we are all citizens in nations on the earth; however, we have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and we have been born again of incorruptible seed by the Holy Spirit into a holy nation, the family of God. Our primary prayer ought to be that our Father's Kingdom might come, that the glory of the LORD would cover the earth as the waters cover the sea – not that our form of democratic government might cover the earth. We have been entrusted with the everlasting gospel, the power of God unto salvation to all nations; therefore our commission is to export the Good News of great joy to all the nations, so they might join us in worshiping our God, to the glory of God.

    In John 10, Jesus Himself declared:

    14  I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15  As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16  And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

    That phrase "I must" is known as the divine imperative, meaning Jesus had a holy compulsion to bring others to Himself who were not of this fold. By "this fold," Jesus meant the Jews. So, Jesus was emphatically saying, "I must bring sheep from all the nations because I am the Good Shepherd not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles."

    Do you have such a holy zeal, compulsion, and jealousy for all the nations to be brought into Christ's fold? If you have the Spirit of Christ indwelling you, if you are being conformed into the image of Christ, you ought to.

    Question:  How then does Jesus fulfill that divine imperative, how does He gather and bring sheep from all the nations since He has ascended and now dwells in heaven at the right hand of His Father?

    Answer:  Jesus commissions His disciples, and He equips them with His Holy Spirit to do that work.

    Luke 24:46  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48  And ye are witnesses of these things. 49  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

    Acts 1:4  And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5  For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 6  When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7  And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8  But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

    Earlier in Isaiah 52, we read this commendation of those who take the good news to the ends of the earth:

    7  How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

    And the apostle Paul references that verse in Romans 10:

    6  But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7  or “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8  But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9  because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11  For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13  For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

    14  But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

    Are your feet beautiful?


    We have three options...

    In his message, Pursuing the Glory of God in the Gladness of the Nations in God (which I blogged on here), John Piper tells us we have three options regarding missions:

    "God's purpose for your life is that you engage in His being known and praised and enjoyed and feared among peoples where He is scarcely, if at all, known at all. He wants you to be engaged. You've got three options: Go, Send, or Disobey. That's all. Are you an engaged sender?"

    God forbid we put ourselves in the position of Jonah, and balk at going to our "Ninevehs," and instead we get on our boats to go to "Tarshish."

    God forbid we stay at home and waste our lives and our energy and our resources day after day after, year after year after year, on matters that have no impact on eternity.

    God's commandments are not burdensome. He has promised to give us all we need to serve Him. As we ask our Father in heaven, will He not give us His Holy Spirit? (Luke 11:13). As we ask, we will be given a zeal for the glory of God; a desire to embrace the cause of Christ in the world; God's compassionate heart of mercy to love and long for souls from all nations, including our enemies – so we might pray for all the nations, and go and preach to them, or else to be engaged in sending others to preach to them – with an eye to the glorious day that we will be gathered around the throne with all the saints from all the nations whom the Lord Jesus Christ has sprinkled!

    Revelation 7:9  After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10  And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11  And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12  Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
    Related posts:

    Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.

    Work found at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ede_ethnic_groups.jpg  / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Public Domain

Comments (5)

  • I have to say, I am DEEPLY worried about our country...much prayer going on for 'her'.

  • Some of the Wycliffe translators here in Waxhaw (JAARS people) tell us that there are still over 2,000 language groups that have never even so much as heard John 3:16 in their language.   ALL nations would have to include representatives from those groups as well?

    In response to your exhortation to gnaw on the Word,  I am discovering how superficially I have read many passages in the past.

  • @stephensmustang - Yes, we definitely should be praying for our own nation (it's commanded in the Scripture), but it's all too easy for any of us to become focused on our own nation (or our own family, etc.) to the exclusion of others. One reason why our nation is where we are today is that the Church herself has strayed from her Biblical moorings, which is why I'm praying for reformation/revival within the Church. As the Church is reformed/revived, the effects will be felt throughout all of society.

    @quest4god@revelife - It would include those language groups. There are different ways of tabulating these things, but the point is that there are multitudes of souls heading for hell without having heard the Gospel. Jesus Himself spoke about leaving the 99 to go after the one lost sheep. When you consider the billions of sheep who are bound up in gloom and darkness, that over 40% of the world's population is unreached, that's nothing less than criminal. We need to consider our ways (Haggai 1).

    I can definitely relate to the experience you shared here: I am discovering how superficially I have read many passages in the past.  And we can each lapse into that superficial reading at any time. The devil especially delights in Christians reading the Word, but never having it go to the heart, so you get that cold, dry orthodoxy, a form of godliness but denying the power.

  • Good Morning, Karen.  You do challenge my propensity for avoiding long, difficult to read dissertations regardless of how worthy.

    A couple of things come to my aging brain. The first church I attended after being born again was a Conservative Baptist Church. The had a major emphasis on world wide evangelism. You know our Baptist ways pretty well--I am sure. They had mission conferences and missionaries came from all over the world.

    They also emphasized one on one witnessing. I spent 18 months in Grand Rapids. The was  a Calvin and Baptist college in town. The professors at the Calvin college were concerned because their students did not do much witnessing because God was going to save who He chose no matter what they did. And the Baptist were pushing for a decision. I am to dumb to know what to make of that.

    Next, Romans 13 and Acts 17 says that God is in charge of nations rising and declining. So to me, I felt to pick out the USA as the prime example of how a country should be run, was flawed.  I think some people groups just need harsh dictatorships. I could be wrong, but when the Communist ran Russian, we had no trouble with those nations south of them. lol

    You are right. We should chew on God's Word. I agree with that, but never do that. i race through the Bible looking for the main points and the general principles for living the Christian life which I do poorly at, as you know.

    My wife loves to chew on the word and studies the Bible deeply all of the time.

    You are also right that the reason for doing all of this evangelism is so God will be praised and worshiped by all people groups in the world. Our motivation should be correct.

    Anyway, Karen, another Seminary level post here, but I did manage and read it. 

    How about a short one next time---I am asking equal treatment for old men near death. lol

    frank

  • @ANVRSADDAY - Hi Frank, Thanks for taking the time and energy to read the whole post! ;)

    Calvinism that doesn't witness is known as Hypercalvinism, and it isn't Biblical. We're to offer Christ to all peoples, but not to push or manipulate people, but allow the Holy Spirit to bring conviction ~ John 16:8. If people are pushed into a decision, the danger is that it's their will, rather than the Spirit of God birthing them into the Kingdom of God, and as a result, they will end up with a false assurance. Jesus Himself said that we must be born again.

    The reminder that God is sovereign over all the nations is a great comfort. His purposes are not going to be thwarted. He uses the best and the worst of nations to accomplish His will.

    I think you chew on the Word more than you think, but I'll be praying God might give you an increasing desire to do so. We're shown in the Bible what a benefit such meditation is, so we can't say it's only meant for certain personality types. But as with all spiritual disciplines, it does require effort on our part.

    I think many well-meaning Christians miss the primary motivation for evangelism and missions. Though it's often tied into other motivations, in the end, God's glory trumps all other motivations.

    You wrote:

    How about a short one next time---I am asking equal treatment for old men near death. lol

    lol - I'm sure how long my next post will be. I've got a couple things I've been deliberating, but haven't really started any writing yet.

    Thanks again for reading and for your comment.

    ~ Karen

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naphtali_deer

About me...

Christian hedonist in training. Pressing on to know more and more of the joy of the LORD. Pleading with God to rend the heavens and revive and refresh my own soul, as well as His Church, to His praise, honor and glory.

Thank God. He can make men and women in middle life sing again with a joy that has been chastened by a memory of their past failures. ~ Alan Redpath

My other websites

tent of meeting: Prayer for reformation & revival

(See also Zechariah821. Zechariah821 is a mirror site of tent of meeting, found on WordPress)

deerlifetrumpet: Encouragement for those seeking reformation & revival in the Church

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