In Defense

In Defense

4/12/20

Is there a difference in how we defend things depending upon how we value their presence in our lives?  I believe that all of us come to grips with such decisions from time to time and how we conduct ourselves in such defensive mode is reflected outwardly.  Most of us in the West have had no problems with provisions of the Word being poured over us, but how do we respond when those provisions fade or dry up?  Do we defend God’s Word or do we allow this Source to dry up as well?  How we respond is the definition of defending the Word of God and it is this message that God wants us to think about and place within our hearts because God never promised us easy times every day, but in defending our Source is vital for us to live faithfully and to proclaim the Truth to those who do not know God.

Most of us have siblings that we “dealt” with while growing up and these “dealings with” them sometimes were hilarious to the parents but frustrating to the kids at the same time.  I remember hearing ferocious arguments between my girls even when things seemed calm just a few minutes before and when confronted about the newly kindled raised voices and tensions, most of the time it was over a toy, an idea about playing, or any of other countless minored detailed annoyances that one would expect to find coming into play between sisters.  The only thing that worried Bonnie and I for quite some time is how they would act with each other when the dating scene began.  These little spats would continue on a continual pace over their growing up years and while the majority of the time they would correct themselves before any harshness came into motion, but occasionally we would have to separate them for a while. Not to mention, that their oldest sister would join in the fray sometimes to antagonize them and aggravate the situation just because she thought it was funny to hear.  This type of sibling rivalry continued all throughout their school years and kind of slowed a bit when high school rolled around, but not all rivalries ended during this time, only deeper ones came into sight which once again proved a difficult task to tackle.

However, a pattern soon emerged when all of the teenage pressures presented themselves to those two and, to be honest, it eased Bonnie and my fears about their relationship between them.  Of course, being American teenagers in a small American town they would soon encounter people that did not like something about them, or told lies about them or did something to one of them that tried to hurt them.  Without any hesitation, the other sister would come to the defense of the other one and fight for her fiercely without hesitation.  It did not matter if the allegations were true or not, or if the threats were real or not, it was quickly noted that the other sister who was not involved would aid the other who had been targeted.  No, they did not agree on all subjects in life they still do not but even today the one will defend the other even before understanding the entire situation.  ALL of my girls fit into this category as well and while they had their normal disagreements with each other all of their lives, they have stuck together and defended in what they believed.  It is this key initiative and fact that we have toward the Bible as well, no matter if we do not understand all of its content yet.  God’s Word is complete and it is true for all life, for it births and represents life itself.  God’s Word is not sneaky nor does it hide the Truth in its content, but is open and informative about all concerns of your life.

This example from my kids gives us a beautiful reminder of exactly how important people should be in our lives and how we should never forsake those who we come in contact with for one day we may need defending as well.  I wish that I could say that every human being follows this pattern of defense but as we all know or have experienced there are those in this nation and in the world that would rather see people suffer and die without anyone standing up for them or their cause.  So goes the Word of God for even though it is the most published and printed book ever, there are countless people who refuse to stand up for its content for eternity.  Furthermore, this defenseless covering often comes from those who consider themselves and at once a point and time in their lives proclaimed the defense of God’s Word that was present in their hearts.  The Bible tells us of these types of times and while it is easy to defend God and His Word in our lives when the seasons are good, the real test occurs when those seasons are not the best.  This begs the question of how do you defend the Word of God, or do you even defend it or know how to defend it correctly?

Ecclesiastes 3:4

“A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;”

Hebrew

“a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,”

It is difficult to bring up this condition but it is a perfect setting in which God wants His children and every Created being of His to understand exactly what is at stake and to present the ONLY way for us to present ourselves a true defense to combat the ugliness and darkness of the world and its ruler.  Yes, if you study the words of scholars, professors, ministers, lay-people and regular people that make up the Church body you will probably find many different answers to the questions posed in the previous paragraph.  Sadly, it is obvious that we no longer have the desire to defend the Word of God when times are neither good nor bad, how can this be stated?  Look at how we present the Bible to others today, we have no justification and knowledge of what the Bible means to our lives for many of us refuse to acknowledge that Jesus was presented early in the Old Testament as the only eternal Sacrifice and since we cannot acknowledge this we do not have the defensive foundation of the entire Word of God; every defensive measure used with this incomplete footing is weak at best and destined to fail.  This passage of Scripture proves this point that God wants us to know and while we like to focus on the good portions of this entire chapter, even hand out the “bad” portions to those in need but when the time arrives to defend such words to others we cannot.

In the first portion of this verse, we find the Hebrew word “libkowt” which means to weep bitterly, to weep, bewail, to weep upon, lamenting.  This is not the type of crying we find when we fall off of our bicycles and scratch up our knees and legs, nor is it even when we get into car accidents or any other serious accidents that maim our bodies but one that reveals a deep-voiced wail that comes from the inner portions of a human being’s heart.  There are a few settings in which my ears have heard such inner turmoil and each one of these instances came when a mother lost her child.  It did not matter how the child passed away but when a mother cries for her dead child, she releases an utterance that is difficult to describe and fathom.  It is this type of pain and agony that this word identifies with and a projection like no other level can.  The second word that we are going to focus on is the word “lishowq” which means to laugh, play, to make sport, in the essence of singing and dancing.  This is the opposite of the previous word we discussed but it still defines how a season is established and how it can last for a short period of time or a long one that seems like it is enduring forever.  In this sense, it would be easier to accept such a season but we all know that while we wish for sunshine and warm weather on a continual basis, winter winds are not too far away.

Is telling a person who has just lost a child or some other close family member “it will be okay” or “just lean on Jesus” good enough for their comfort and understanding?  While the majority of people have well-meant feelings when they offer such phrases, they are usually invalid when it comes to true and real comfort.  A painful season is something that is never pleasant to walk through but if we do not understand how God’s Love for our lives is, there is no way possible that we can defend God’s Word after the trials begin.  When we read the Psalms, we want to believe that those times when David was writing, singing, and dancing were times of happiness and cheer, but they were not.  In most cases, those words of happiness and encouragement were penned when Israel was going through troubled times or when David personally was being tormented by some act of an enemy.  Many of us can quickly count on Job to provide us with another example of prosperity but the majority of what we know about Job and his life is one of utter devastation, to the point where his own wife tells him to curse God and die.  These two people provide us with an inner understanding of defending the Word of God and God Himself and it is on this level that we must know God in order to defend God and His Word when times of trouble arise.

Some may think that these stories of David and Job are exaggerations, fabricated to embellish what really transpired in these men’s lives.  But what is written about these two men actually occurred and they really did go through what those words say.  How do we know this?  Look at human history, and what do you find?  Most of the time history is remembered by those who have won the battle or the war, then you have references to cities being destroyed by natural disasters and many other articles of buildings and advancements to procure a national standard all of which took immense pressures in order to complete.  Then, take a look at those references and telling of who kept God first and studied His Ways and notice the difference of how these two groups of instances were handled.  Sometimes the season that this passage refers to comes on an individual level, but we also must include that sometimes these types of seasons come over nations and even the world itself.  David and Job had the guts enough to stand up and proclaim their trust, hope, and faith in God, do we have enough guts to do the same today?  What will our hearts project to the world during this current event, is the question at hand.

So, Church, how are you handling in the defense of God and His Word?  Are we standing up for what God says in His Word or are we taking our own personal version to heart?  How are we responding to the issues that are occurring today?  Are we representing what Go says about this season that we are facing?  Of course, we need to comply with the ways of sense and of reason but at the same time as we are giving to Caesar, we cannot forget the second part of that verse where Jesus says to give to God what is God’s.  My father died last October, it was a very tough and emotional time for our family, but even with all of the family grief we danced and sang because we know that God has pop in His presence doing the exact same thing.  THAT is the true hope we need to be presenting to those who do not know God and Jesus as their eternal Savior.  The way we are conducting the Church during this current lockdown is horrific and it is a disgrace to our Creation.  We are not projecting God in any way nor are we telling folks that the way to end this “plague” is to repent and to turn our hearts back to God.  We are silent in this measure of Truth and if we do not change quickly, the next “plague” shall arrive and it shall be worse than this one.

When we read this passage and the other verses that precede and follow it, we can elaborate on almost every type of season known to mankind, but there is one season that is not represented here or in any other portion of Scripture and it deals with sin.  Nowhere in Scripture does God accept or approve of us having a season of sin.  We expect the world to have this season as its foundation but why has it been allowed to enter into Christians’ hearts?  These actions defend a defeated kingdom and produce nothing but death to our existence; we are not talking about physical death either but eternal death one that can never be changed once arrived.  Steve Taylor wrote a song called “Sin For A Season” back in the 80s, it drives home all of the problems and agony that people have when they accept a season of sin in their lives, why have we done this Church?  It is time we get rid of it and turn the heart of the Church back to God.  We can only be in defense of God and His Word if we live completely for Him and live under His Ways AND tell others of this necessity of Life.  He has Risen!!  Let us live like He is and that we 100% believe it.

DLB