Purity and Power
Introduction
Christmas at HTB is usually one of the biggest events in the church calendar. There are usually around fifty musicians in the orchestra and ninety in the choir – all members of the congregation volunteering their time and gifts. I’m not at all musical. In fact, I’m virtually tone deaf. However, I am always stunned by the beauty of the marvellous music and singing. It is a foretaste of heaven.
The apostle John writes, ‘And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. And they sang a new song before the throne’ (Revelation 14:2–3). The heavenly orchestra and choir will sing a new song before a heavenly audience.
John goes on to describe the completed church in heaven – their purity and their power. The two are connected. As Pastor Rick Warren has tweeted, ‘In ministry, private purity is the source of public power.’
Proverbs 31:1–9
Sayings of King Lemuel
31 The sayings of King Lemuel—an inspired utterance his mother taught him.
2 Listen, my son! Listen, son of my womb!
Listen, my son, the answer to my prayers!
3 Do not spend your strength on women,
your vigor on those who ruin kings.
4 It is not for kings, Lemuel—
it is not for kings to drink wine,
not for rulers to crave beer,
5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed,
and deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
6 Let beer be for those who are perishing,
wine for those who are in anguish!
7 Let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Commentary
Purity and the powerless
‘Leaders can’t afford to make fools of themselves’ (v.4, MSG). King Lemuel was a leader who had been given wise teaching by his mother. She had warned him against impurity (v.3) and intoxication (vv.4–7).
These can ruin (v.3) your life. They can leave you forgetting what you should be doing (v.5a) and deprive the powerless of their rights (v.5b).
Instead of using your power to indulge in self-gratification, use it for good: ‘Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy’ (vv.8–9).
Who are the voiceless in our society who ‘cannot speak for themselves’? Who are the people that you and I should be speaking up for? They will surely include the following:
The poor
About 10% of the world’s population go to bed hungry every night. Every few seconds, poverty takes a child’s life. Today, and every day until we act, thousands of children die of avoidable diseases or because they live in poverty. Millions under the age of five die every year. Over half of these early child deaths are due to conditions that could be prevented or treated with access to simple, affordable interventions. They are the ‘poor and destitute’ (v.9, MSG).
The enslaved
There are probably now more slaves globally than at the height of the transatlantic slave trade. Human trafficking enslaves millions of people around the globe, many of them under the age of eighteen. Slavery is a terrible injustice. ‘Speak up for justice’ (v.9a, MSG).
The unborn
Those in the womb have no voice of their own. The journalist, Nigella Lawson, who describes herself as ‘pro-abortion’, has written, ‘If anecdotal evidence is anything to go by (and I suspect it is), [abortion] is becoming more and more a value-free, post-facto alternative to contraception.’ Yet few people have the courage to speak up for the unborn today – who have ‘no voice’ (v.8a, MSG).
The prisoners
Many around the world are in prison unjustly and even those who are in prison justly are often treated inhumanely. But the vast majority are in no position to ‘speak for themselves’ (v.8a).
Prayer
Lord, help me to speak up for the voiceless, judge fairly and defend the rights of the destitute, the poor and the needy.
Revelation 14:1–13
The Lamb and the 144,000
14 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.
The Three Angels
6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth —to every nation, tribe, language and people. 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
8 A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labour, for their deeds will follow them.”
Commentary
Purity and proclamation
‘It took my breath away!’ (v.1, MSG). Jesus (the Lamb of God) stands on Mount Zion with his 144,000 followers ‘with him, his Name and the Name of his Father inscribed on their foreheads’ (v.1, MSG). They represent the completed church worshipping together. The five-fold description is one of complete purity. They:
- are redeemed from the earth by the blood of the Lamb (v.3)
- have kept themselves pure and undefiled – ‘lived without compromise’ (v.4a, MSG)
- follow Jesus wherever he goes (v.4b)
- are purchased and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb (v.4c). As St Paul writes, ‘We were bought at a price’ (1 Corinthians 6:20)
- are people of integrity: ‘No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless’ (Revelation 14:5)
It is not coincidental that the vision of the pure church is followed by a vision of the proclamation of the eternal gospel: ‘to those who live on the earth – to every nation, tribe, language and people’ (v.6). This is the calling of the church – to proclaim the good news of Jesus. This is represented by the first angel.
The second and third angels show what humanity needs to be rescued from. Everyone needs to be rescued from the corrupting influence of ‘Babylon the Great’, ‘which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries’ (v.8). They also need to be rescued from ‘the beast’, who wants to put his mark on the forehead (v.11) and see them tormented.
The good news is that no one needs to have this mark on their forehead. We, the people of God, need to proclaim the good news that every person can have the name of Jesus and the Father’s name written on their forehead (v.1). You are called to patient endurance, obedience to God’s commandments and faithfulness to Jesus (v.12).
Get the message out. So many people lack peace. There is ‘no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image’ (v.11). On the other hand, there is no greater blessing than following the Lamb: ‘Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labour, for their deeds will follow them”’ (v.13).
Prayer
Lord Jesus, help us to be pure and undefiled followers of you, people of integrity, who know that we have been redeemed and bought at a price. Help us to proclaim the eternal gospel to every nation, tribe, language and people.
Ezra 8:15–9:15
The Return to Jerusalem
15 I assembled them at the canal that flows toward Ahava, and we camped there three days. When I checked among the people and the priests, I found no Levites there. 16 So I summoned Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah and Meshullam, who were leaders, and Joiarib and Elnathan, who were men of learning, 17 and I ordered them to go to Iddo, the leader in Kasiphia. I told them what to say to Iddo and his fellow Levites, the temple servants in Kasiphia, so that they might bring attendants to us for the house of our God. 18 Because the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah, a capable man, from the descendants of Mahli son of Levi, the son of Israel, and Sherebiah’s sons and brothers, 18 in all; 19 and Hashabiah, together with Jeshaiah from the descendants of Merari, and his brothers and nephews, 20 in all. 20 They also brought 220 of the temple servants —a body that David and the officials had established to assist the Levites. All were registered by name.
21 There, by the Ahava Canal, I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. 22 I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him. ” 23 So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer.
24 Then I set apart twelve of the leading priests, namely, Sherebiah, Hashabiah and ten of their brothers, 25 and I weighed out to them the offering of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his advisers, his officials and all Israel present there had donated for the house of our God. 26 I weighed out to them 650 talents of silver, silver articles weighing 100 talents, 100 talents of gold, 27 20 bowls of gold valued at 1,000 darics, and two fine articles of polished bronze, as precious as gold.
28 I said to them, “You as well as these articles are consecrated to the Lord. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the Lord, the God of your ancestors. 29 Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in the chambers of the house of the Lord in Jerusalem before the leading priests and the Levites and the family heads of Israel.” 30 Then the priests and Levites received the silver and gold and sacred articles that had been weighed out to be taken to the house of our God in Jerusalem.
31 On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way. 32 So we arrived in Jerusalem, where we rested three days.
33 On the fourth day, in the house of our God, we weighed out the silver and gold and the sacred articles into the hands of Meremoth son of Uriah, the priest. Eleazar son of Phinehas was with him, and so were the Levites Jozabad son of Jeshua and Noadiah son of Binnui. 34 Everything was accounted for by number and weight, and the entire weight was recorded at that time.
35 Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed burnt offerings to the God of Israel: twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven male lambs and, as a sin offering, twelve male goats. All this was a burnt offering to the Lord. 36 They also delivered the king’s orders to the royal satraps and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, who then gave assistance to the people and to the house of God.
Ezra’s Prayer About Intermarriage
9 After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighbouring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites. 2 They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.”
3 When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. 4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice.
5 Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the Lord my God 6 and prayed:
“I am too ashamed and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. 7 From the days of our ancestors until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we and our kings and our priests have been subjected to the sword and captivity, to pillage and humiliation at the hand of foreign kings, as it is today.
8 “But now, for a brief moment, the Lord our God has been gracious in leaving us a remnant and giving us a firm place in his sanctuary, and so our God gives light to our eyes and a little relief in our bondage. 9 Though we are slaves, our God has not forsaken us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.
10 “But now, our God, what can we say after this? For we have forsaken the commands 11 you gave through your servants the prophets when you said: ‘The land you are entering to possess is a land polluted by the corruption of its peoples. By their detestable practices they have filled it with their impurity from one end to the other. 12 Therefore, do not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters for your sons. Do not seek a treaty of friendship with them at any time, that you may be strong and eat the good things of the land and leave it to your children as an everlasting inheritance.’
13 “What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins deserved and have given us a remnant like this. 14 Shall we then break your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit such detestable practices? Would you not be angry enough with us to destroy us, leaving us no remnant or survivor? 15 Lord, the God of Israel, you are righteous! We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence. ”
Commentary
Purity and prayer
Are you facing challenges ahead in your life? Ezra was facing the huge challenge of leading the return journey to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the temple.
He had to lead a company of 5,000 people, including women and children, on a four-month hazardous trek through uninhabited regions – while carrying vast quantities of money and precious objects (8:15–27).
Ezra wisely began with the leaders: ‘So I summoned... leaders and... men of learning’ (v.16). Leadership was a key to the fulfilment of Ezra’s vision for return and rebuilding.
The fulfilment of almost every God-given vision requires these three things:
Everyone praying
Ezra was a man of prayer. Before he set out on the journey he proclaimed a fast. They all humbled themselves and asked God for a safe journey (v.21). God heard their prayer: ‘So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer’ (v.23).
Everyone giving
‘I weighed out to them the offering of silver and gold and the articles that the king, his advisers, his officials and all Israel present there had donated for the house of our God’ (v.25).
Everyone serving
‘Then the exiles who had returned from captivity sacrificed... They also delivered the king’s orders to the royal satraps and to the governors of Trans-Euphrates who then gave assistance to the people and to the house of God’ (vv.35–36).
God blessed them in every way in the rebuilding of the house of God. But in spite of God’s faithfulness to them, the people were not faithful to God. They did not keep themselves pure. It was not so much the fact that they had intermarried, but the fact that they had ‘polluted’ themselves (9:11) with the ‘detestable practices’ (v.1) of the nations around. The leaders and officials had led the way in their unfaithfulness (v.2).
Ezra, by contrast, gives us a great example of not taking sin lightly. He is absolutely devastated: ‘When I heard all this, I ripped my clothes and my cape... I slumped to the ground, appalled’ (v.3, MSG).
He fell on his knees with his hands spread out to the Lord and prayed a prayer, which it may be good to pray for ourselves and for the church today: ‘O my God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to you, my God, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens. From the days of our ancestors until now, our guilt has been great. Because of our sins, we… have been subjected to… humiliation’ (vv.6–7).
Yet, as with the people in Ezra’s time, so it is for the church today: ‘… our God has not deserted us’ (v.9).
Prayer
Lord, help us to be pure, cleansed by the blood of Jesus, to speak up for the voiceless, proclaim the eternal gospel to the nations, and rebuild the church in our cities and nations.
Pippa adds
Ezra 9:1–2
In Ezra 9, we see that there is quite a strong reaction to marrying people from other countries! It can’t be only because they are foreigners, as Ruth was a Moabite. She is an example of faithfulness. And King David was one eighth Moabite. It must be because of their ‘detestable practices’ (v.1). As Solomon was corrupted by his wives, Ezra must have seen that the influence of these women would destroy the faith of God’s people completely.
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References
Nigella Lawson, The Times, 28 May 1997.
The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel (commentary formerly known as Bible in One Year) ©Alpha International 2009. All Rights Reserved.
Compilation of daily Bible readings © Hodder & Stoughton Limited 1988. Published by Hodder & Stoughton Limited as the Bible in One Year.
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 quotations marked (AMP) taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.