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Joel 1:8-9

When Will We Learn?

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
September 7, 2023

The Israelites are told to prepare for the devastating invasion of the Assyrian armies. Their children will be taken as slaves, the temple will be destroyed, and the civilization that they had built under Solomon will be destroyed. Joel 1:8-9 says, “Lament like a virgin wearing sackcloth for the bridegroom of her youth.  The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the Lord. The priests mourn, the ministers of the Lord.” During the invasion, the young men of Israel will be killed in the battle or taken away as prisoners into a foreign land. Pete Seger wrote a song back in the early 60s that was covered by many during that era. He asks, “Where have all the flowers gone?” He answers his own question, “The girls have picked everyone.” He then asks, “Where have all the young girls gone?” He answers that “They’ve taken husbands, everyone” The next question is, “Where have all the young men gone?” His answer: “Gone to Soldiers, everyone.” The frequent refrain in the song is “When will they ever learn.”

The grain offerings and drink offerings were the symbols of great celebrations for the Jewish people. They were offered at their communal gatherings. Part of their offerings were given to the priests and Levites. The rest was consumed by the family in a banquet-type setting. This served as one of the main livelihood sources for the religious leaders in Israel. Just a few verses earlier, Joel condemned the priests for their gluttony and drunkenness. They now will mourn because there will be no more offerings for them to abuse. The offerings were a picture of prosperity, celebration, and happiness in the land. That would all come to an end. Israel’s defeat by Assyria brought the good times to an end for Israel. But the grievous part of their destruction was the people themselves.

You would think that such events would teach us something, and we would learn how to live on the planet in peace. But that has never been the case. We can’t even get along with each other. One source reports that “The American Civil War created an unprecedented number of young white widows, many married for a short amount of time, like Hetty Cary. Between 1861 and 1865, approximately three million husbands, fathers, sons, uncles, and brothers left for war. Approximately 750,000 American families would never see their loved one’s faces again as the men died, often far from home. As a result, some 200,000 white women became widows within these four years.”[1] The women are all in mourning for their lost mates. Busenitz says, “The young woman has exchanged the silky fabric of a wedding dress for the scratchy, coarse clothing of goat’s hair! She has traded the music and gaiety of the wedding feast for the reverberating cry of the funeral dirge! In the ancient world, the donning of sackcloth was a customary rite used to visibly express one’s state of mourning.”[2]

The moral foundation of the nation had collapsed. They had turned to the habits and practices of the people around them and had rejected the morals and values instituted by God for people to live healthy, happy, and purposeful lives. The deterioration of moral values signals the end of any society, as history has taught us. Like Israel, America has had its dramatic origin. It was called from the slavery of an unjust rule to make a long journey to an unknown land to start again. Being one nation under God, we have established the greatest nation on earth. I hope we know enough to learn from the history of Israel. But, I’m afraid we’ve lost our bearing. The question Peter Seger asked, “When will we ever learn?” pointed at the uselessness of war and was a protest song primarily against the Vietnam War. I would say that the real question we need to ask is when we will learn that without God and the moral foundation the Judeo-Christian ethic provides, we are doomed to the same fate as Israel.

[1] Civil War Widows – Essential Civil War Curriculum

[2] Busenitz, Irvin A. 2003. Commentary on Joel and Obadiah. Mentor Commentaries. Geanies House, Fearn, Ross-shire, Great Britain: Mentor.

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Hosea 1:7

God Does Not Need Me

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
September 6, 2023

Hosea promises complete forgiveness for Israel’s betrayal of their Lord. Even though forgiveness was promised, the consequences of their disobedience will still be carried out. Their enemies will defeat them. They will be taken off as prisoners into a foreign land, and the land they inhabit will be given over to their enemies. There will be forgiveness, and God will restore the Israelites as promised, but the blessings of obedience have been forfeited. There will be no mercy. That is, what has been promised as a consequence of their sin will be carried out. As we know, Israel was taken captive, and the ten northern tribes that occupied Israel with their capital at Samaria were either scattered or taken captive. This happened in 721 BC. Yet, the southern Kingdom, the line from the house of David, was shown mercy. Hosea 1:7 speaks directly to this. It says, “But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”

It is well known that the Northern Kingdom of Israel had 20 kings after Solomon. None of these kings were considered “good.” I did hear a teacher who did his doctoral dissertation on Jehu argue that Jehu was the least bad of the Northern Kings, but even he could not be called a “good” team by biblical standards. If you ask the question, “How many good kings did Judah have?” The internet will tell you, “From the end of King Solomon’s rule, there were thirty-nine good and evil Kings that reigned over Judah and Israel combined. Of the thirty-nine, there were only eight good Kings, and they all reigned in Judah.” Hezekiah was the last of the good kings of Judah, and most scholars attribute the southern kingdom’s longevity to him. 2 Kings 18:3-6 tell us that Hezekiah “Did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done. He removed the high places and broke the pillars, and cut down the Asherah. He trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. For he held fast to the Lord.” It took another 150 years before God withdrew his protective mercy on the house of Judah.

God took care of Judah’s enemy. What did God require? Just what Micah said, “Love Justice, do mercy, and walk humbly with God.” Guenther puts it this way, “Judah’s deliverance will occur through an act of God (Hos. 1:7). No human or military might will serve as God’s weapon to defeat the foe. God will not even draw on the cavalry or chariot corps. There will be no misinterpreting the hand of God in Judah’s rescue. Hosea is probably predicting the miraculous deliverance which Jerusalem (Judah) experienced from the army of Sennacherib (2 Kings 18–19). The Lord sent his angel to decimate the Assyrian army besieging the city and occupying the land. That act was a tangible expression of the Lord’s restorative love.”[1] God does not need me! I’ve always balked at preachers that try to put the responsibility for evangelism, world missions, or any other valuable Christian endeavor upon the backs of their members. God is holy, eternal, almighty, and totally self-sufficient. He does not need any created being. All of creation is dependent on the life that God alone sustains. God, on the other hand, is not dependent on anything or anyone. He suffers no lack, knows no limitation, and experiences no deficiency with no qualification or exception. If He needed anything to stay alive or to feel complete, then He would not be God. No, God does not need you or me. But amazingly, He “wants” and “Loves” us! Love God, and He will take care of the rest.

[1] Guenther, Allen R. 1998. Hosea, Amos. Believers Church Bible Commentary. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press.

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Daniel 1:17-21

Saying Grace

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
September 5, 2023

Daniel and his friends refused the pleasures of Babylon. They preferred to live by the customs of the Jews. They wouldn’t eat the goodies from Babylon or drink their wine. Instead, they ate vegetables and drank water. This worked well for them, and God blessed them in many ways. Daniel 1:17-21 explains, “As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them, none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore, they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus.”

The superiority of these young men over the other men who did not follow Jewish customs was not solely the result of their diet. I’m sure a healthy diet will affect one’s mental acuity, but I doubt very much if there was a diet that would enable one to understand all visions and dreams. Like Joseph in Egypt, it was a divine enablement that Daniel received. The text begins with “God gave them….” I’m not sure it matters a whole lot what one eats if it is blessed by God. Ferguson says, “He (Daniel) recognized that the Lord alone blesses our food in order to nourish our bodies. Unless He does so, we may eat the fat of the land and be no stronger or healthier. That is why, even in the affluent West, there is still reason to pray that God will give us the food we need and bless it to us. In giving thanks for our meals, we acknowledge that we are constantly dependent on the Lord’s strengthening and keeping of our lives. Recognizing this, Daniel and his companions knew that the Lord could easily strengthen them through their vegetarian diet and also easily withdraw His blessing from the diet set by Nebuchadnezzar. That is a principle that has application to home and marriage, to children and family life, to work and play.”[1]

When my three grandsons come to dinner, I give thanks for our food. I have a prayer I like to repeat for them. I really want them to remember that Grampa believes in God, Attributes all the good things we have in life to God, and asks God’s blessing on his food. I pray, “Father in Heaven, you have filled the world with color and gave us eyes. You filled the world with sounds and music and gave us ears. You fill the world with good things to eat that will sustain us and then give us the ability to enjoy them. So, bless us, our Lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive through Jesus Christ our Lord. We pray in His name.”

[1] Ferguson, Sinclair B., and Lloyd J. Ogilvie. 1988. Daniel. Vol. 21. The Preacher’s Commentary Series. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

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Ezekiel 1:5-9, Psalm 104:3-4

Just Trust God

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
September 4, 2023

The living creatures that Ezekiel sees in his vision look like the idolatrous depiction of the Assyrian and Babylonian deities with a human appearance, the wings of an eagle, and the head of a bull or lion.  The arrival of these beasts was very dramatic. A stormy wind came blowing out of the north. It brought a bright cloud with it that had what appeared to be a fire burning in the middle of it. Then he continues his description in Ezekiel 1:5-9, “And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot. And they sparkled like burnished bronze. Under their wings on their four sides, they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: their wings touched one another. Each one of them went straight forward, without turning as they went.”

 I’ve seen some time travel shows at the movies and on TV. The “Terminator” series, the Matrix, and some others all have a dramatic atmosphere wherein the time traveler, or the one who moves from one dimension to another, arrives at his destination with lightning and smoke and loud sounds. It purports something significant. There seems to be a lot of pomp and circumstance with the traveler’s arrival—the more important the person, the more dramatic the appearance. Ezekiel seems to be picturing for us something like that. When angels appear to humans, there is some exciting fanfare but nothing like what Ezekiel describes here. Humans are almost always afraid when they receive a visit from an angel. The first thing we hear the angels say is, “Don’t be afraid.” The arrival of these “living creatures” is not a usual appearance. It’s a vision. It reminds me of the vision Jacob had at Bethel. He saw a dimension opening up with a ladder or a doorway breaching this world with the spiritual realm. Angels moved up and down (or in and out) of the access from one realm to another. In Abraham’s vision in Genesis 15, God produced a scene of sacrifice to reveal to Abraham that God will keep his promise no matter what. His promise is unconditional. This promise was passed on from Abraham to Isaac and then to Jacob. God was confirming this promise to Jacob at Bethel. The Angels ascending and descending in the vision was the promise that God would carry out his unconditional guarantee to Abraham that Jacob inherited. God was sitting at the top of Jacob’s ladder, sending his ministers to accomplish his will on earth. Jacob continued his journey to Haran, assured of God’s promises.

Ezekiel was an enslaved person in Babylon! The Assyrians had conquered his people in the North and the Babylonians in the South. But God sent Ezekiel a vision to assure him that He was not through with the nation of Israel and that God would make his appearance in a form mysteriously capable of delivering his people from captivity just as he had promised Jeremiah. Psalm 104:3-4 uses interesting language regarding God’s means of appearing to man. The Psalmist tells us that God “Makes the clouds his chariot; he rides on the wings of the wind; he makes his messengers winds, his ministers a flaming fire.” We can see the images from this Psalm in Ezekiel’s description of the Lord coming from the midst of the storm. Ezekiel sees four living creatures coming from the storm. He tells us about their wings, their legs, their feet, their hands, and their unrestricted movement. Unlike the gods of Babylon, Ezekiel’s God was not impotent. He was a God with incredible ability and mobility. He just didn’t deliver His people from their struggles in Israel. He could move throughout the earth to carry out his plan for his people no matter where they were and what they were going through. It doesn’t matter where you are or what your circumstances are. God has a good plan for your deliverance, and He will work it out in His good time. Just trust Him.

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Lamentations 1:5

The Need For Repentance

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
September 3, 2023

Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, laments the fall of Jerusalem with the destruction of its place of worship and the enslavement of its people. God had promised Israel many blessings if they would follow His instructions for righteous living. Just as Adam and Eve had the bounty and the beauty of the Garden of Eden, Israel prospered under King David and even more so under King Solomon. But again, like Adam and Eve, they failed to follow the Lord’s instructions and suffered the consequences. One of God’s great promises to Israel was the victory over their enemies. They would inherit fields they did not plant and houses that they did not build. Davis comments, “Having been lavished with an astonishing array of blessings from God historically—the promises to Abraham, the exodus under Moses, the manna in the desert, the conquest of the promised land under Joshua, the joy of eating harvests they did not plant and living in houses they did not build, the patience of God through the rebellions in the time of the Judges, the gift of leadership by David, the repeated warnings and encouragements from many prophets—Israel responded with a shameful array of sins for generations.”[1] But by Jeremiah’s time, God’s patience had expired. God turned Israel over to its enemies. Lamentation 1:5 says, “Her foes have become the head; her enemies prosper because the Lord has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe.”

 It’s not uncommon to see God’s judgment falling upon the Israelites because of their rebellion against God. Yes, she was afflicted for the multitude of her transgressions, but the affliction did not come from her rebellion. It resulted from her refusal to repent of her transgressions and rebellion. That’s why God sent the prophets. He gives sinners a chance to repent of their rebellion against God as well as their many transgressions. Even the sacrificial system provided in the book of Exodus and Leviticus teaches us that man sins, but God forgives when we repent. Everyone has “transgressed” God’s commandments. Isaiah tells us that there is no one who seeks after God. Each of us has gone our own ways to get what we want in contrast to what God wants for us. Paul echoes Isaiah when he says there is not one righteous man. We have all fallen short of God’s standards. The key to a successful life is not trying harder! We just fail when we do that. It’s to repent and acknowledge our sinfulness before God. When the residents repented at Jonah’s preaching, they escaped God’s plans to destroy the city. Repentance is something for both believers and non-believers. The word in the Greek for “repentance” is literally to change one’s mind. It’s to stop rebellion against the truth of God’s instructions for a healthy and happy life. It’s to see that there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is destruction. In our country, that’s the way of moral decline, lawlessness in the cities, and weaponizing the institutions of America for political gain. This will result in the death of our country, just as Jeremiah says about Israel, “Her foes have become the head; her enemies prosper because the Lord has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions; her children have gone away, captives before the foe.”

It’s not sin. It’s the failure to repent of sin that brings judgment. It’s not the same thing as saving faith. Both believers and non-believers are called to repent in the Bible. Swindoll has it right when he says, “Repentance and faith are two distinct terms that should not be identified with each other. Repentance is for all people, unbelievers as well as believers. Repentance is not necessary (though it may often occur) for entering into an eternal saving relationship with Jesus Christ. But repentance on the part of believers is necessary for maintaining fellowship with the Savior. For unbelievers, repentance from sin and toward God (that is, changing one’s mind or perspective about sin and God) prepares the individual for saving faith.”[2] Repentance for both believers and non-believers also leads to a healthy and happy life in our temporal world. A thief who repents of his stealing will find that life outside of jail is preferable to life behind bars. Sometimes, salvation in the bible refers to deliverance from temporal consequences that we face in the world today. So, Jeremiah, as well as all the other prophets, calls God’s people to repent. When they fail to do so, they face the consequences.

[1] Davis, Andrew M. 2017. Exalting Jesus in Isaiah. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference.

[2] Swindoll, Charles R., and Roy B. Zuck. 2003. Understanding Christian Theology. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

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Jeremiah 7:24-26

Yes, We Will!

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
September 2, 2023

Jeremiah confronts the nation with their rebellion against God from the very beginning of their journey out of Egypt to the promised land to the day of their enslavement in Babylon. They went from slavery in Egypt to slavery in Babylon because they ignored God’s instructions. He explains that God saved Israel from their dire straights under the Egyptian Pharaoh, that intended to annihilate them. God destroyed Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea and brought the children of Israel into their promised land. He then provided them with a constitution that included laws to be observed in the land, which would establish a bright future for the nation if they followed them. But the prophet now charges them with this truth in Jeremiah 7:24-26. He says, “But they did not obey or incline their ear but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts and went backward and not forward. From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants, the prophets, to them, day after day. Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.” The ten commandments stand at the heart of God’s instructions for a successful life and a successful nation.

It’s not a popular precept today, but I still believe America was founded on the same principles that Israel was founded on. God established a new nation on the North American continent. It was founded on the moral principles established in the ten commandments. 52 of the 55 signers of our Constitution were strong believers in God and the Bible. They were of various denominations, but their common bond was the bible. “It is the same Congress that formed the American Bible Society. Immediately after creating the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress voted to purchase and import 20,000 copies of Scripture for the people of this nation.” Our children are still being taught about the American Revolution and the heroic figures that founded our country. But in many cases, they are not taught the whole story. “Patrick Henry, who is called the firebrand of the American Revolution, is still remembered for his words, ‘Give me liberty or give me death.’ But in current textbooks, the context of these words is deleted. Here is what he actually said: ‘An appeal to arms and the God of hosts is all that is left us. But we shall not fight our battle alone. There is a just God that presides over the destinies of nations. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone. Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death.’”[1]

As I reflect on my life from 1947 to 2023, I notice many changes. The moral decline is obvious to any objective observer. One might argue rightfully that we are advancing in knowledge, discoveries, technology, and conveniences, but that’s not what matters to the God that established Israel and the United States. I don’t agree with Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell, who suggested that the attack on America on 9/11/2001 was God’s punishment for the decline of America’s moral values. This sounds like the three friends of Job who blame him for the sufferings he endured at the hands of his enemies. I don’t like that approach, yet I think that America’s moral fabric has gone wrong. Just compare the situation comedies of the 1950s to those of the 2020s. There is a huge difference between “Father Knows Best” and “Leave to Beaver” compared to the sexually graphic sitcoms and TV shows of today. Furthermore, the movies are filled with graphic scenes of violence that were once unthinkable. It’s no wonder we are plagued today with mass shootings nearly every day somewhere in the United States. One blogger said, “The more time goes by, the worse TV and film content get with the rating companies becoming more and more lax. This is the content that we are being exposed to and that our children are being exposed to. It is a frightening concept. Will we sit idly by and watch these things get worse and worse as generation after generation becomes desensitized to extreme sex and violence?”[2] Yes! Yes, we will. The nation would not hear Jeremiah or the other prophets. Why should I expect them to hear me?

[1] America’s Christian Roots (gospelweb.net)

[2] https://www.theodysseyonline.com/the-moral-decline-in-american-entertainment

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Isaiah 1:7-8, Ecclesiastes 12:3

God Remains

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
September 1, 2023

Sin is like leprosy. It starts within and works its way out in various symptoms. Ryrie says, “Principally, leprosy illustrates the defilement of sin, which results in separation. Insidiousness, loathsomeness, uncleanness, separation, defilement, death, are all points of comparison between leprosy and sin.”[1] Most important here is that sin results in separation from God, just like leprosy did in the Old Testament. A leper was not allowed to enter the temple area. They were not allowed in the social gathering of the people either. It was something that had to be contained, and God’s people needed to be protected from. According to the book of Deuteronomy, sin would remove God’s protection from his people as they occupied the land that he had promised to give to them. As Moses promised, the nation turned away from God, and God turned away from the nation. Isaiah 1:7-8 reports the result, “Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence, foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.  And the daughter of Zion is left like a booth in a vineyard, like a lodge in a cucumber field, like a besieged city.” The once massive city of Jerusalem is like a small shed in the field.

As the nation of Israel turned away from God, God turned away from them, and they were left at the mercy of the pagan nations around them. Assyria became the instrument that wreaked havoc on the nation. Isaiah informs Israel that it will be done “in your very presence.” While the Israelites look on, Assyria is “devouring” their land. The idea of devouring captures the image of having all my good things taken from me right in front of me. Then having to watch my enemy eat and enjoy everything that was once mine! It’s like a madman criminal tying you up and making you watch the rape of your wife and murder of your children. Could there be anything more horrific? “When ancient cities fell to attacking armies, the survivors generally suffered cruelly at the hands of their captors. Jeremiah mentions some of the indignities face by the people of Judah after the fall of Jerusalem. He tells us that King Zedekiah was made to watch his sons being put to death before he was blinded and led away in chains to Babylon. However, cruel as the Babylonians were, they were probably more lenient than their predecessors, the Assyrians. Surviving records of the Assyrian Military victories tell of several atrocities. Captives were often beheaded or had their arms, legs, or hands cut off. Some were staked to the ground while their tormentors disemboweled them. Others were impaled on sharply pointed poles erected outside the walls of the conquered cities. The main point of these detestable cruelties was to humiliate the conquered and to deter other enemies from resisting Assyrian demands.”[2]

When Jeremiah writes the book of Lamentations, he tells his readers about the destruction of Israel and the great weeping and lament of the people. But, when the humiliation is over, the Lord is still there. The city is no more, but God remains. After the great flood, the earth has been wiped clean, but God is still there. Job suffers dramatically, but in the end, God is still there. An entire generation of Israelites waste away in the wilderness, but God is still there. Actually we see civilization after civilization rise and fall, but God remains. The world itself will be destroyed according to the book of Revelation, but God is still there. This is a truth we all must face. Families, businesses, cities, seminaries, universities, colleges, and whole nations will all come and go, but God remains. It brings to light the wisdom Solomon preached in the book of Ecclesiastes, “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all” (Ecclesiastes 12:3).

[1] Ryrie, Charles C. 1956. “The Cleansing of the Leper.” Bibliotheca Sacra 113: 264.

[2] Word in Life Study Bible. 1996. Electronic ed. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.

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Song of Solomon 1:5-6, Various

The Eyes of Love

Filed Under: Devotions by Chuck
August 31, 2023

After extolling all the lovable characteristics of the man she loves, Solomon’s lover appears to apologize for things about herself that might seem unattractive. In Song of Solomon 1:5, she says, “I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem,

like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.  Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me.” It appears that her “darkness” is more a product of the sun than it is of her race. In contrast to the city girls of Jerusalem who live lives shielded from the sun, this girl is a country girl who is familiar with hard work and spends a lot of time outside. Palace princesses don’t spend a lot of time in the sun. She is a commoner. Maybe she is apologizing for her social status. Obviously, she’s not apologizing for her looks because she calls herself lovely. I think that she sees herself as “lovely” because her lover tells her that she is. Love is indeed blind. But love can change the way we see others and even the world. Hubbard writes, “The lover’s final delight in the one he has chosen matches the woman’s initial delight in being desired by him, despite her swarthy complexion. The joy of being cherished sparks an inner beauty that no cosmetic can imitate. That joy lends radiance to both persons in the Song.”[1]

Although it is surely a reference to human love for men and women for each other, one cannot miss the allusion to God’s love for sinners the same way. Many of the older commentators want to make the Song of Solomon strictly an allegory referring to God’s love for the church. I’m not sure you can do that, yet the comparisons are obvious. I wonder if Paul’s use of the idea can’t be found in his letters. Consider Ephesians 1:4 concerning God’s choosing us; he writes, “Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love. Some might argue that the last two words “in love” belong to what follows in verse 5, I can’t help but see it referring to God’s looking at us through the eyes of love and proclaiming we are blameless. The Bible makes it clear that we are sinners. We are not righteous or blameless, yet God bestows his love on us anyway. The last phrase, “in love,” might be translated as “by love” or “even “through love.” So God sees us as Saints. That’s a title given to all believers in the New Testament. The only possible way he can refer to us like that is that He is looking through the eyes of love when He looks at us. He loves us because we are “In Christ!.”

In our case, our “darkness” has to do with sin. I remember the wordless book that was used to teach children the gospel message at Martin Road Gospel Chapel when I first became a Christian. We would take our young boys to church, and they would learn a song based on the wordless book. It had different color pages. The colors were black, red, white, and gold. The song went like this:

Once my heart was black as sin,

Until the Savior came in.

His precious blood, I know.

Has washed it whiter than snow;

And in this world, I’m told

I’ll walk the streets of gold.

Oh, wonderful, wonderful day;

He washed my sins away.

 Living in this world under the sun, as Solomon writes about in the book of Ecclesiastes,  will indeed bring blackness to our hearts and souls. But God looks at us through the eyes of love. God “so loved” the world that He sent His son to pay the penalty for our sins and to reserve for us a place in heaven which he offers to each of us as a free gift. It’s a gift of God and received by faith alone.

[1] Hubbard, David A., and Lloyd J. Ogilvie. 1991. Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon. Vol. 16. The Preacher’s Commentary Series. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.

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