The Joy of Glory

Zechariah 8:20-23 (click here)
Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD. (Zechariah 8:22)

Reflection
As God’s people live in exile, a day of salvation is promised…a day of return.

Yet, these promises extend beyond the Jews to all the nations of the world. When God gathers together his people there will now be some from every nation, tribe and tongue.

At the conclusion of the Old Testament, the Jewish nation would experience a small return from exile, but nothing about it would match the great restoration foretold by the prophets. Even the rebuilt temple would fall utterly short of Ezekiel’s grand vision of the temple restored (Ezekiel 40-43)!

Would God actually keep his promises? Could their fulfillment actually look a little different than what people were expecting?

All too often that is exactly the case…God’s fulfillment looks incredibly different than our expectations.

Jesus Christ looked so different from every Messianic expectation…and he would lead a return from exile different from everything that had been anticipated. The temple of his body would be destroyed, rebuilt in three days (John 2:19-22) to become the cornerstone upon which the church would be built (Acts 4:11).

The people of the church would be built together as a temple unto the Lord (Ephesians 2:20-22), and these people would come from every tribe, every nation, and praise Jesus in every tongue!

God always keeps his promises…his word never fails…all too often it simply doesn’t look like anything we would have expected. We can count on God, but that doesn’t mean we can count on him to do things the way we anticipate.

He is the expected-unexpected God.

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Zephaniah 2:1-3 (click here)
Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD. (Zephaniah 2:3)

Reflection
The day of the LORD.

This is a common theme in the prophets, and it can be somewhat confusing. Sometimes the day of the LORD is spoken of as a day of judgment to be feared…while at other times it is a day of salvation to be hoped for…

So which is it?

It’s both!

The day of the LORD is that day in which God will bring all things to a conclusion. For those who have rejected God, this is not good news…but for those who have taken refuge in God…the is the best news, it’s the culmination of their salvation.

The current, present good news of the Gospel is that even those who have rejected God (which is the way all of us are born into this world… Ephesians 2:1-3) may humble ourselves, repent, and find refuge in God… perhaps.

We don’t normally put “perhaps” on the end of a sentence like that, but it is right there in the text of Zephaniah 2:3… “perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD.” Why “perhaps?”

“Perhaps” highlights grace!

None of us can demand forgiveness and salvation from the Lord. None of us deserve it. All we can do is throw ourselves on the mercy of God. He may forgive if he so chooses…and the good news of the Gospel is that in Jesus Christ he DOES so choose!

He freely, graciously, and lavishly forgives…making “the day of the LORD” good news for all who trust in him!

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.

Jeremiah 50:1-4 (click here)
Declare among the nations and proclaim, set up a banner and proclaim, conceal it not, and say: “Babylon is taken, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is dismayed. Her images are put to shame, her idols are dismayed.” (Jeremiah 50:2)

Reflection
Jeremiah prophesied amidst the height of the Babylonian empire. As the supreme world power, Babylon ruled with an iron fist. None who opposed her could stand.

I imagine that to be alive at the time, it would seem that Babylon would last forever. Yet, at that very point in history, God spoke through the prophet declaring the destruction of Babylon with all its gods as if it were taking place at that very moment.

On God’s timeline, Babylon was a blip, and all it’s power a barely noticeable mark.

This is true of all earthly kingdoms.

“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?… He who sits in the heavens laughs…” (Psalm 2:1, 4)

Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Greece, Rome… these empires form the backdrop of Biblical history…each seemingly as permanent as the one before it…yet not a single one of these empires exists today. Their remains are merely tourist destinations. They lie in ruins.

Yet, God’s throne has not moved.

Such truth is a rod iron for our spine amidst troubled and dark days (which all have been since the fall of mankind). We look at current kingdoms, governments, and nations, as if they will last forever and their trajectory will determine the outcome of history.

“He who sits in the heavens laughs…”

There is only one who is in control… only one whose kingdom is forever… only one… Jesus.

Trust not, hope not in any kingdom of this world… and do not despair because of any kingdom in this world.

You are a citizen of the only kingdom that will last forever and your king holds every moment past, every second of the present, and all of eternity that lies ahead.

Trust in the King of kings…Jesus.

*All previous devotionals may be found at www.thejoyofglory.com

*The complete SVCC Lenten reading guide is available here.