A Biblical Approach to Dealing with Grief

This past week as I attended the funeral of a member of our church, and watched as grief overtook his family (our dear friends and fellow church members), I was brought back to the day, almost exactly 4 years ago, when our family suffered similar circumstances in the death of my wife's mother.

As I looked around, I saw so many who had experienced grief at some point in their lives. Grief is part of this life. Solomon declares in Ecclesiastes chapter 3…


Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven:


He goes on to state in verse 4 that there is a time to weep and there is a time to mourn. As we live this life and experience the loss...either the loss of a loved one, the loss of good health, the loss of a job, some other tragedy, or are brought face to face with our sinfulness we will experience grief.


What is Grief?


Grief – intense, deep, and profound sorrow: great sadness, especially as a result of a death, divorce, or other tragic event.

Other words synonymous with grief include sorrow, heartache, anguish, angst, pain, misery, unhappiness…the list goes on and on.


In a desire to better understand grief, I turned to the Word of God to see instances of men and women of God submerged in grief and see biblically how they dealt with it. I used a Strong’s Concordance to look up in the original languages (Hebrew and Greek) words such as grief, grieved, vexed and vexation.

The Hebrew and Greek word meanings contained many different emotions such as anger; displeasure; sadness; sickness; longing; striving; distress; a feeling of being broken, fractured, crushed, shattered, ruined; enraged; bitter. All these emotions are tied to grief.


Grief is like an overpowering, overwhelming, emotional storm that devastates us as we go through it and leaves a trail of destruction in its wake. It leaves us feeling as though our lives have been shattered beyond any possibility of restoration. We feel like Humpty-Dumpty… all the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty together again.


In the years since I’ve joined my church, every family, every person has been affected by grief. Grief is an experience like no other. Scripture records many occasions where men and women have gone through these appointed times of grief in both the Old and New Testaments.


Examples noted in Scripture:

Hannah – 1 Samuel 1:1-16

Job - Job 1:1- 3:1

David – 1 Samuel 30:1-6

Peter – Luke 22:54-62

Jesus Christ - Isaiah 53:3


Here is a grief model the experts call the 7 Stages of Grief:

1. SHOCK & DENIAL- You will probably react to learning of the loss with numbed disbelief. You may deny the reality of the loss at some level, in order to avoid the pain. Shock provides emotional protection from being overwhelmed all at once. This may last for weeks.

2. PAIN & GUILT- As the shock wears off, it is replaced with the suffering of unbelievable pain. Although excruciating and almost unbearable, it is important that you experience the pain fully. Don’t hide it. Don’t avoid it or seek to escape from it.

Jesus Christ, our Lord and Messiah, in Matthew 26:37-42 and Luke 22:39-46, felt the heaviness of grief. He was greatly sorrowed in that He knew exactly what the payment for every sin of everyone of the people given to Him, before the foundation of the world, was…it was the full wrath of Almighty God being poured out on Him and crushing Him for their sins.

Being God, He alone knew what that entailed and He knew it would mean being forsaken of God the Father. Never before had God the Son and God the Father been separated. Jesus Christ said, "if it be Thy will, let this cup pass from me," yet, in prayer to God the Father, He said, “nevertheless, not my will be done.” That heaviness, that pain is part of grief.

Not only is pain a part of grief, but you may also experience guilty feelings, remorse or frustration over things you did or didn't do with your loved one. Life feels chaotic and scary during this phase. As you hurt, try to remember that according to Ephesians 1:11, our Lord worketh all things after the counsel of His own will…there’s nothing we could have done or can do right now that will change what God purposed.

3. ANGER & BARGAINING- Frustration gives way to anger, and you may lash out and lay unwarranted blame for your on someone else... even on God. Please try to remember Job’s reaction and like him, don’t foolishly accuse God (Job 1:20-22; 2:10-13). As we read this account in Job, too often, we read of the reaction of Job's wife and look upon her as weak person. We have to remember that she too lost every one of her children. She lost her source of income. She watched as her husband's health was taken away. We forget that she reacted exactly as we would have.

This stage of grief is a time for the release of raw bottled up emotion. It is possible that true believer may rail against God, questioning "Why is this happening to me…what have I done to deserve this?" If you do…if you say or think these things, and we are capable of doing so, remember that He knows how frail we are.

Psalm 103:13-14
13 Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
14 For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.


That word “pitieth” is transalted from a Hebrew word that means to love…love deeply, have mercy on, be compassionate toward, and hold in tender affection.

Though we would never want to rail upon our God, we are frail and it is possible we may do so. He understands…He loves us.

You may not only experience anger, but may also try to bargain in vain with Him for a way out of your despair..."I will do anything you want if only you just bring him back." In 1 Samuel 1:11, we see Hannah bargaining with God to end her grief by giving her a son.

4. "DEPRESSION", REFLECTION, LONELINESS- Just when your friends, who have your best in mind, think you should be getting on with your life...a long period of sad reflection may overtake you. This is a normal stage of grief. Well-meaning friends and family may try to talk you out of this time of deep reflection. Encouragement from others may not be helpful to you during this stage of grieving. During this time, you finally realize the true magnitude of your loss, and it depresses you. You may isolate yourself on purpose, reflect on things you did or didn't do with your lost one, and focus on memories of the past. You may sense feelings of emptiness or despair. During this time you may cry until you can cry no more as David and his men did in 1 Samuel 30:4.

5. THE UPWARD TURN- As you start to adjust to life without your dear one, or to life with the understanding that you or someone close to you has an incurable disease, your life becomes a little calmer and more organized. Your physical symptoms lessen, and your "depression" begins to lift slightly. As you feel that you are able to breath again, turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

6. RECONSTRUCTION & WORKING THROUGH- As you become more functional, your mind starts working again, and you will find yourself seeking realistic solutions to problems posed by life without your loved one. You will start to work on practical and financial problems. Seek the Lord’s mercy and ask Him to rebuild your life as you carry on without your loved one.

7. ACCEPTANCE & HOPE- During this, the final stage in this grief model, you learn to accept and deal with the reality of your situation. Acceptance does not necessarily mean instant happiness. Given the pain and turmoil you have experienced, you may never return to the carefree, untroubled you that existed before this tragedy. Some have said that losing a loved one is like having to live with an amputated arm or leg…you do heal, but you are really never the same. However, by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will find a way forward. You will start to look forward to and actually plan for the future. Eventually, you will be able to think about your lost loved one, or loss without pain; sadness, yes, but the wrenching pain will be gone. You will once again anticipate some good times to come, and yes, even find joy again in the experience of living.


As we have been speaking about grief, and realizing that not a one of us is exempt from the experience of it, let us look to the inspired word of God for a Biblical approach to working through grief. In my estimation, there is no great thing a grieving soul can do than look to the word of God and see how He, as the Great Shepherd, has lead others through dark times of grief.


A Biblical Approach to working through grief would include…


1. Like Hannah, take your grief, feelings, emotions and pain to the Lord in prayer. (1 Samuel 1:15 She poured out her soul before the LORD.)


2. Remember Psalm 103:13-14… Just as a dad deeply loves, is merciful and compassionate toward, and has tender affection for his own children, so too does God the Father toward those who fear Him. He is compassionate toward us as He knows our frailty.


Hebrews 4:15-16
15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.


3. Encourage yourself in the Lord your God as David did in 1 Samuel 30:6… verse 6 begins with “And David was greatly distressed” and ends with “but David encouraged (grew strong) himself in the Lord his God.”


4. Finally…put your hope in God as David did when he wrote these words...


Psalm 42:6-11
6 O my God, my soul is cast down within me: therefore will I remember thee from the land of Jordan, and of the Hermonites, from the hill Mizar.
7 Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.
8 Yet the Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.
9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast Thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?
10 As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God?
11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted with in? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.


Brothers and Sisters…grief will come. When it does…and for some of you who are now experiencing it, know that our Messiah, our Kinsman Redeemer, our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to Isaiah 53:3, was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, is sitting at the right hand of God the Father interceding for you. He is touched by your grief. He shares your pain. He will lead you through it as the Good Shepherd always does. He will never leave you. You are never alone…even when you isolate yourself in quiet solitude. He will never forsake you. Find your peace and comfort in Him.


May our God, the God of all comfort (according to 2 Corinthians 1:3-6), over flow you with His grace that is sufficient for you in your time of need.


May He bless you and keep you. May He make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May He lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.

The cry for mercy will be heard.

I suppose a majority of the unregenerate souls in this world are under the impression that once a person comes to faith in Christ, they sin no more.  That’s not what the Bible teaches. Just read Romans 7:14-25. The Apostle Paul states he did what he didn’t allow himself to do. The things he wanted to do, he didn’t. The things he hated were the things he did.  Why? He did so because of sin.  When he wanted to do good, evil was present with him. It’s no different for any person who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ today.

We don’t want to sin, and yet we do.  The question is what do we do once we have sinned? Do we stay there, or do we repent? The Bible says in Proverbs 24:16…

Proverbs 24:16  For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

What does that mean? Simply this…a true Christian will sin, but will repent, get right with God and rise up again.  Not so with the wicked. A person with an unregenerate heart, even one professing to know Christ, will sin (fall into mischief) and stay there making excuses and blaming others in an attempt to remove the responsibility for sin from himself and shifting it to others.

Something else we need to realize is that there are consequences to our sin and they don’t only affect us.  Sin is far reaching. David, king of Israel, sinned and tried to cover it up. He found out the hard way that a man’s sins will find him out.

Numbers 32:23  …behold, ye have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out.

What did David do after his sin found him out? He repented of his sin and rose up again. Read Psalm 51. It is here we read of his repentance before Holy God.  A broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart is what God is looking for.  When that happens in the life of the Christian, God will be pleased with his sacrifices.

Though David repented of his sin and the LORD forgave him; though he was restored to right fellowship with God, yet there were consequences that he and his family had to live with the rest of his life. David had given the enemies of God occasion to blaspheme His Holy name. His youngest son died and the sword never departed from David’s house, meaning there was always strife and envy between the members of his family.

Understand that sin deserves the full wrath of God. According to the word of God, sin must be dealt with.  God is a just God and He is neither unfair, nor unjust to exact upon a man that which he rightly deserves. However, God is a God of mercy as well. It is not wrong for Him to extend His mercy as He pleases. His justice and His mercy are not at odds with one another. They do not war against one another. Rather they are in perfect harmony as are all His attributes.  

Titus 3:5  Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.

In reference to the true believer who has sinned, is God wrong to forgive him of his sin? No!  Here’s why not. His sin was justly dealt with on the Cross of Calvary. He didn’t get a free pass for his sins. Jesus Christ paid the full price for that sin, and now the believer is no longer a servant to sin, nor is he the master of his own ship…he was bought with a price and is a servant to Christ…a child of God. As such, God will chasten those who are His when they sin.

Hebrews 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

Yes, as Christians, we will be chastened for our sin, yet in repentance, there is nothing wrong with asking for mercy. The people of Israel, God’s chosen nation, had sinned against God in worshipping idols and false gods. God sent His prophets to warn the people that failure to repent would result in the severe chastening of the Lord.

They rejected the prophets and in so doing, rejected God. He chastened them hard. Habakkuk, one of God’s prophets, prayed this prayer as the chastening hand of God came upon Israel…

Habakkuk 3:2  O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy.

God is a merciful God. He hears the penitent prayers of His people. He will show mercy upon whom He will show mercy and compassion upon whom He will show compassion. Concerning God’s mercy, A.W. Tozer wrote, “To receive mercy we must first know that God is merciful. And it is not enough to believe that He once showed mercy to Noah or Abraham or David and will again show mercy in some happy future day. We must believe that God’s mercy is boundless, free and, through Jesus Christ our Lord, available to us now in our present situation.”

The publican in Luke 18:13-14 recognized he was a sinner in need of a Savior and he cried out for the mercy of God. God was merciful and he went to his house justified or in right standing with God.  

If you are saved and presently struggling with sin, go to Christ in repentance and faith and seek His mercy. Otherwise, you will suffer the consequences of your sin and it won’t be only you who suffers. Your family, as well as your friends, will suffer along with you.  

If you have an unregenerate heart, yet realize you are a sinner and your sin is against a Holy God, whose wrath is abiding on you right now, seek Christ while he may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Forsake your own wicked way and unrighteous thoughts and turn unto the Lord. Cry out to Him for mercy…and He will have mercy on you and will abundantly pardon you.  He will take out that stony heart and replace it with a heart of flesh. He will quicken your spirit, give you the gifts of repentance and faith and save your soul.  Whoever comes to Christ will not be cast out.

Where are the Watchmen?

                I know I shouldn’t be surprised at anything I see in the days in which we live, but I often am amazed at the thinking of the average professing Christian in our nation. For most, church attendance on Sunday is social event in which to make contacts that will help them increase their business, or a social club to go to when there is nothing more exciting lined up on the calendar.

                For others, attending church is a good religious deed that, when weighed in the balance, will tip the scales in their favor as far as making it to heaven is concerned. Are we ever living in the days of Laodicea! The organizations known as “churches” are lukewarm at best. They are more concerned about making it home in time for kick-off than they are about what the preacher is saying. If you don’t believe me, let the preacher go past noon next Sunday and get ready for the comments.

                The main problem in our churches today is that the vast majority of people who are on the membership rolls are lost. They have not been born again. They are unregenerate. I don’t know how else to say it. Because of the modern day easy believism  approach to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, many people have been talked into walking down an aisle and repeating a sentence and if they were sincere when they say it, then they were pronounced “saved” by the preacher and returned to their seats. They go through the rest of their lives living like world, yet thinking they are going to heaven.

                Ask the average church member what he or she looks forward to when he or she gets to heaven. Most likely it will go something like this… “I look forward to walking on the streets of gold, living in my mansion and hanging out with my friends.”  I remember one professing Christian who posted this… (not an exact quote) “I can’t wait to get to heaven so I can see my mom and Sam Houston, Jim Bowie, and all those other @#%#$$*$ who didn’t let the government of their day push them around.”  What a sad statement!

                The average church member is not looking forward to seeing Jesus Christ when he gets to heaven because the average church member is lost and at enmity with Christ. I have been reading through the book of Ezekiel and have been held up in Chapters 33 through 36. As I read Chapter 33, I saw that Ezekiel was called to be a watchman to the house of Israel. I wondered how the truths found there could apply to us in our day. After all, all Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable to us spiritually and it was written for our learning.

                When I look at our churches today, I see people who have followed in Israel’s footsteps. We are religious, yet the gods we serve are not the God of the Bible. The gods that most church members serve are gods of their own imaginations.  Not long ago I watched an interview with a prominent TV talk show host who said that she grew up a Baptist, but one Sunday when the preacher said God was a jealous God…

“Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;” (Exodus 20:5).

                … she knew that wasn’t her God. She was right. The God of the Bible was not her god. Her god wasn’t jealous and wrathful. Her god is a god who loves everyone. She has spent the rest of her life following after a god of her own imagination. Our churches are full of people like her. So who will warn them? Think about it…If God did not spare His own people, the nation of Israel, but chastened them for their idolatry and worship of false gods, do we think He will not do the same with us today?

                We need watchmen in our churches today. We need men who will stand up and proclaim the judgment of God on our churches unless we repent. We need men who will warn the wicked, lost, unregenerate church member to repent and turn from his wicked ways and believe on Jesus Christ, as well as warn the righteous of the importance of continuing to follow Christ.

                Ladies and Gentlemen…members of our churches today, Ezekiel 33 applies to you. Through the Old Testament prophets, we have been shown much about what is going to take place especially during the Great Tribulation. As we see events take place in our world, we clearly understand that the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to take His bride, the Church, to heaven for the wedding of the Messiah, is very soon. The storm clouds of the Great Tribulation are on the horizon.            

Exodus 33:8-20

⁸ When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.

⁹ Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.

¹⁰ Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?

                If our sins and penalty of our sins are upon us (and they are), and we continue to live in them, how will we be able to live in the presence of God?

               

                Lost church member, you must understand the serious nature of your sin and God’s hatred for it. You must understand the consequence of your sins…eternal death…a separation from the peace of God, suffering the wrath of the Holy God forever in hell.

Romans 3:23 (part A)   For the wages of sin is death;

                Also know that God does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked.               

¹¹ Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

                Here is a general call for repentance. This call is to be put out to all men and women, boys and girls. However, we know that a person in his natural, sinful condition cannot of his own free will repent of his sins and turn to Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

                The will of man is a slave to his heart and the heart of the natural man is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. True repentance…repentance unto salvation is a gift from God…

Romans 6:23 (part B)  but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

… to those whom He chose before the foundation of the world as seen in Ephesians 1:4.

                Consider how repentance is given to individuals.

Acts 5:31 Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

                Remember, God told Ezekiel that Israel would not repent. Why not? They could not repent until God gave them repentance. The same is true of every person born into this world.

Acts 11:18  When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

2 Timothy 2:24-25 

24  And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,

25  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give to them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

                Just as God through the Apostle Paul, in the sermon he preached to the Athenians, instructed all men everywhere to repent, we too are to instruct all men (even church members) to repent and warn them of the consequences if they don’t.

Acts 17:30

30  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent.

31  Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.       

                We preach repentance and faith in Jesus Christ knowing that only the elect of God will have their eyes opened, their ears opened, their stony heart removed and replaced with a heart of flesh, and be given repentance and faith unto life. We do not know who the elect of God are. That is why we are to preach the Gospel of repentance and faith in Jesus Christ to all men.

¹² Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth.

                Here it is made clear that a person’s self-righteousness and religion will not save him. Understand from Isaiah 64 that all your righteousnesses are as filthy rags. It is impossible for you to please God in your own power, in the flesh.

¹³ When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.

¹⁴ Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;

¹⁵ If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.

¹⁶ None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.

                True repentance and faith, when granted to an individual by God, will result in salvation and that person living a life pleasing to God, a life in which the fruit of the Spirit will be displayed.

¹⁷ Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.

¹⁸ When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.

¹⁹ But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.

²⁰ Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.

                Isn’t that just like us? Many, especially those who don’t understand the Doctrines of Grace, say, “The way of the Lord is not fair.” …when actually our ways are not fair.

                No matter how righteous a person looks or acts, if it is done in self-righteousness it is sin and the person in a lost state or natural condition who dies in his sins will suffer the wrath of God unless God acts in his behalf. Though he may appear righteous, in all actuality he is wicked.

                Now if that wicked person is granted true repentance and faith in Jesus Christ and he turns from his wickedness and is given a new nature and lives a life following Christ, he shall live.

                Though this is true and God is right to do so, men accuse God of being unequal or unfair. Yet God will judge every one of us according to our ways. Are we acting on our own or are we living out something that God has worked in our lives for His honor and His glory?

                People today need to know the vileness of their sin and the consequence of remaining in their sin. They also need to understand they are commanded to repent and believe the gospel and that failure to do so will result in eternal damnation in hell suffering the wrath of Almighty God.

                Again, God does not find pleasure in the death of the wicked, so I urge you to come to Christ. Those who hear and respond are those to whom it has been given to do so. Though God does not need anyone to save a soul, He uses men and we are responsible to send out the general call to repentance.

                Church members be warned:

2 Corinthians 13:5  Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves, Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?

                Stop playing “church” and get serious about the LORD.

God will not share His glory with another…

Isaiah 48:1-2

1   Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.

2   For they call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is his name.

Here Jehovah, the One true God, is speaking through His prophet, Isaiah, to those of the southern kingdom of Judah, particularly those who dwelt in the city of Jerusalem. They were of the children of Israel and particularly of the tribe of Judah, the very tribe which the Messiah was promised to come through. 

They swore by Jehovah’s name… by that is meant they invoked His name in their religious exercises. They sang praises to Him. They honored Him with their lips. They professed to remember His works of old as they observed their solemn feasts, yet their hearts were far from Him. All those religious things they did were not done in truth or in righteousness. To them, at this time, Jehovah was one God among many, for they practiced idolatry. 

In verse 2 we understand those Jehovah is speaking to are from Jerusalem because they called themselves “of the holy city.” Jerusalem was known as the holy city because that was where the temple was and that was where God met with His people. Though they called upon the name of Jehovah and considered themselves to be right in His sight because of who they were and where they lived, yet they were strangers to God and His saints. 

They professed to trust in Jehovah and to lean upon Him, rely on His power, His providence, His mercy and goodness; yet they were simply religious hypocrites. As I mentioned, their hearts were far from Him… 

Isaiah 29:13   Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men.

How else do we know their hearts were far from Jehovah?

Micah 3:9-11

  9   Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity.

10   They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.

11   The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? None evil can come upon us.

As I read and studied these first 11 verses of Jeremiah chapter 48, I found myself wondering if I was reading about Judah or the United States of America in 2013. 

Isaiah 48:3  I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went forth out of my mouth, and I shewed them; I did them suddenly, and they came to pass.

Here in verse 3, Jehovah shows His omnipotence and His sovereignty. Why is He declaring these things to those in Jerusalem? Jehovah is proving to the household of Judah that He alone is worthy of glory…He alone is omnipotent and sovereign. There is no other God beside Him! In this verse He shows how from the time of Abraham, their father, He declared what would happen to his descendants; that they would live in Egypt, be afflicted there, and come out with great wealth. Also that He would bring them into  the land of Canaan and drive out the inhabitants before them.

Genesis 15:13-18

13   And he said to Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

14   And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterward shall they come our with great substance.

15   And thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.

16   But in the fourth generation they shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full.

17   And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.

18   In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates. 

Jehovah told these things to Abraham by the very word of His mouth. He showed Abraham all that would take place and even in Abraham’s time they began to take place…for Abraham had a son named Isaac who had a son named Jacob whose name God changed to Israel. He had 12 sons and they went down to Egypt as you well remember. Everything Jehovah spoke came to pass precisely as it was foretold.  Not one thing spoken of the LORD failed to happen.

Joshua 21:45   There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

Again, the LORD did this to prove that He alone was Jehovah or the One true God and that He alone was deserving of glory. Why would Jehovah need to show this to Judah?

Isaiah 48:4-5

4   Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy brow brass;

5   I have even from the beginning declared it to thee; before it came to pass I shewed it thee: lest thou shouldest say, Mine idol hath done them, and my graven image, and my molten image, hath commanded them.

The LORD knew the kingdom of Judah was heart hearted and rebellious, stiff necked and not at all compliant with the will of God. They were impudent and not ashamed of their sin and refused to hear the warnings of the prophets. Jehovah foreknew this and that is why from the times of Abraham He declared all that would happen before it came to pass. The LORD knew they would attribute those things that came to pass to their idols. In effect, He has stopped them before they could start giving credit to their false gods. 

Isaiah 48:6  Thou hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it? I have shewed thee new things from this time, even hidden things, and thou didst not know them.

In this verse, the LORD tells Judah, You have heard all these things and knew they were told to you long before they ever happened. In your life you have seen them come to pass exactly as they were predicted. He said, look at those prophecies again and compare them with the events…pay close attention as to how they were perfectly, exactly fulfilled. When you have done so, can you be so arrogant and hard hearted that you will not admit it?

Here the Lord also reminds them of a more recent prophecy that He had just declared to them through Isaiah in chapter 45 and that is the prophecy of the rise of Cyrus, king of Persia who would deliver the Jews in the future. As of chapter 48 it had not happened yet. Their deliverance was hidden by the LORD and unknown to Judah until it was prophesied. At the time of the prophecy about Cyrus, Judah was still 100 years away from seeing it take place. 

In a similar way, the deliverance from sin seen in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is hidden to men until it is made know to them by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Isaiah 48:7-8

7   They are created now, and not from the beginning; even before the day when thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew them.

8   Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and was called a transgressor from the womb.

Jehovah is saying, the prophecies of Cyrus delivering Israel from captivity, were new and not told to Abraham. They were created or decreed now and not from the beginning. God reserved them in secret before Judah heard about them, but in His time He revealed them to Judah, so they could not ascribe their knowledge of these prophecies to their own abilities to figure things out. 

In verse 8, Jehovah reproves Judah showing them that they were far from knowing the events that would take place before He gave them the prophecy. He said He gave them the prophecy when they did not want to listen, when they didn’t understand, receive or embrace it. Rather, Judah turned a deaf ear to the prophecies of Jehovah. 

The LORD knew they would deal very treacherously and were transgressors from the womb…that’s even before birth.  Does this not a perfect of picture of every single one of us? We were all conceived in sin and formed in iniquity inside our mother’s wombs. We went astray from God as soon as we were born. The imagination of our hearts was evil from our youth and we are continually breaking the righteous law of God and therefore justly deserve to be called a transgressor. Just as Judah needed a deliverer, we needed a deliverer…His name is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

In verse 9, Jehovah declares a truth that mortal men do not like and that is why God saves or delivers His people. Men like to think it is because God looked down from heaven and saw some good deed they would do or some good choice they would make to follow Him or invite Him into their hearts…not so!

Isaiah 48:9  For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off.

Everything that Jehovah does is for no other reason than for His name’s sake and for the praise of His glory. Though Judah was wicked and steeped in idolatry, God would not cut them off because they were called by His name and said to be His people. He did not want His name to be a reproach among the heathen or to have His glory diminished. 

Because He alone is Jehovah God and because He is holy and just and righteous, He could not allow the sin of Judah to go without correction. His name was at stake. 

Isaiah 48:10  Behold I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.

Therefore, the LORD refined them, in the furnace of poverty and captivity. He brought the Chaldeans from Babylon to take many away from Israel and those left in Judah and Jerusalem were left in poverty and affliction. Are we not refined through the affliction and conviction of our souls? Isn’t that how the LORD draws us to Himself? Do we not see ourselves in these verses?

Isaiah 48:11  For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for  how should my name be polluted? And I will not give my glory to another.

It was for His name’s sake that he deferred His anger and did not cut off or destroy the Jews of Judah living in Jerusalem. How should the name of the only true, holy, just and righteous God be polluted?  How should it be spoken evil of among the nations of this world? If Jehovah did not deliver His people, the nations of the earth could say that He didn’t really love His people or He was not able to deliver them and the gods of the Babylonians and Persians were stronger than He was. 

There are many places in the scriptures that tell us the LORD does as He pleases for His name’s sake. In Ezekiel 36, which we looked in a previous study, the LORD is dealing with those Israelites who had been taken captive to Babylon. He says plainly that He was not going to deliver them for any reason other than for His name’s sake…they too had fallen into idolatry. 

Jehovah, again through Isaiah, had previously told them…

Isaiah 42:8   I am the LORD: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.

He told them He was the self-existing One; eternal and immutable and He would not give His glory to another god or His praise to idols or graven images. For God to give His glory to another god would be idolatry on His part. That can and will never happen for the attributes of His holiness, justice, righteousness, all flow from within Himself. He cannot sin. Idolatry is sin. If we give glory to anyone or anything other than to Jehovah God, we are guilty of idolatry…guilty of robbing God of His glory. 

This is dangerous ground to walk on and yet we as mere mortal men often tread it just as the children of Israel did before us. I imagine most here would say, “I do not practice idolatry!” I’m sure it’s safe to say that none here have a statue or image that we bow down to and worship. We are not a nation that worships other gods! …Or are we? Do we unwittingly practice idolatry and ascribe glory to another other than Jehovah?

Consider the gods that men worship today and that have been worshipped in our country over the past 80 years or so. The reason we can say these “gods” are “worshipped” today is because anything for which a man will live, give his time, his energy, his money to is a god to him. If it excites him, enthuses him, if he lives for it, is controlled by it and is prepared to sacrifice all for it, then it is his god. 

What gods do we serve here in the United States of America?  How about Patriotism? Just look at the hero worship of soldiers that goes on in our country. Or the “American Dream”…money and wealth, and the things these can buy such as acreage, homes, cars, boats, social status and position. Then there is the god of “power”…climbing the corporate ladder or political office to assert one’s authority over others.  There are parents who worship their children. I know of those who this very day worship the body and physical fitness. 

What is the one of the most widely worshipped god in the state of Texas…they just started practicing for it this past Monday. I am speaking of the god of the gridiron…Texas High school football. Not just to pick on football you can name any sport you like. Americans worship sports it is a god to them. How can I say that? In the vast majority of churches across our land, let the preacher preach past noon and cause his church members to miss the pre-game show or the kick-off or tip-off and see the reaction…even if it is in a sarcastic joking tone (there is truth in sarcasm), sports mean much.

We are masters at justifying the worship of our gods at the expense of serving the one true God. Hunting, fishing, our hobbies, you name it…there are many gods worshipped across our nation. 

In and of themselves these things are not evil, but when a person becomes willing to forego reading the word of God, praying, or attending church in order to participate in these things, they have become his god…and men will justify it in their minds.

In my opinion, greater than any of these gods which are served in America, by even professing Christians, is the god of “man” himself. The belief in man and his powers is almost endless. There is nothing man can’t do if he sets his mind to it.  Some would call it humanism. We see it in Romans 1.

Romans 1:25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

We in America have changed the truth of God into a lie…we have imagined Him to be like we are.

Romans 1:23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

We have taken the incorruptible God in all His glory and in our minds have changed Him to be like a corruptible man. Men’s ideas of God today are pathetic even among professing Christians. The “God” that so many serve today is the god of their evil imagination and not the Jehovah of the Bible. He is more like a feeble, gentle, old grandpa who reminds us of Santa Claus. He is known as the “man upstairs” and not Jehovah God. 

Today, in our country, men worship the creature (man) rather than the Creator (God). This has even crept into our churches. You may say we don’t have idols or tiny statues in our homes or our churches. American Christians may not have golden images they bow down to, but the sinfulness of idolatry comes from ascribing value, worth, greatness and praise (that belongs only to God) to someone or something other than God. We, in our churches have done just that. How?

Many Christians today believe that the free will of man is sovereign over God’s perfect, eternal will. They often tell me that it is God’s will that all men, women and children be saved and they point me to 2 Peter 3:9, yet God is powerless to save them until they make a decision to open the door of their hearts and let God come in. They believe this based on their understanding of Revelation 3:20. 

Read the Scriptures!  First, 2 Peter 3:9 is written to “us-ward” the beloved or the elect of God. Second, Revelation 3:20 is written to the church, not lost men, women, and children. Let me ask you a question. When was the last time man gave God permission to do something? Did Job give God permission to take his herds, his flocks, his children and eventually his health? Did God ask Job for his permission? Absolutely not! 

In my humble opinion, the greatest robbery of God’s glory is done by Christians in regard to the salvation of man. Too many do not give God 100% of the glory for their salvation. They reserve a little glory for themselves. Jehovah alone deserves all the glory for our salvation because He alone has caused us to be saved. The only reason any of us have any hope of forgiveness of sins and eternal life is because He alone chose to act on our behalf, and we contributed nothing. Repentance and faith are gifts granted or given to us, not offered if we want them. 

2 Timothy 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.    

Acts 11:18  When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. 

In our day, across this nation, many pastors will stand and tell their congregations that God provided the way of salvation in Jesus Christ, but it is up to you to exercise your free will and choose to repent and believe the Gospel. If you do so, then God will respond to your faith and save you. They say God offers the gift of salvation and will save whosoever will stretch out their hand in faith to receive it. 

That is not the Gospel. The Gospel is not, “Jesus has done all He can do, and now He stands at the door of your heart knocking, hoping and praying you will open the door and let Him in.” If that was the case, the Jehovah God would be sharing His glory with men. Since the final decision regarding salvation is presumably dependent upon man, he would be able to boast, “I opened the door of my heart. I let Him in. I accepted Christ. I chose to be saved. I closed the deal. I was seeking God. I found Him. I repented of my own free will and for all practical purposes, I saved myself because I was wise enough to see it.” 

Those thoughts fly in the face of the Scriptures…

Psalm 14:2-3

2  The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 

3  They are all gone aside, they are all together come filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 

Psalm 10:4  The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

Isaiah 64:6-7

6   But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

7   And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.

Salvation is a gift granted, not a gift offered. He is God and He gives His gift to whomsoever He will.  Many unwittingly rob God of His glory because they do not really believe He alone is Sovereign, as they say they do. Many Christians say that God, in His sovereignty, left man with a free will and basically left his salvation up to himself. If God did so then, again, He would have to share the glory of man’s salvation with man…and God said, “My glory will I not give to another.”

Had God, in His sovereignty, not chose us, called us, given us the gifts of repentance and faith and caused us to come willingly in the day of His power, we would never have done it. Because He has done all those things for His elect, we have been saved by His grace and He alone receives all the glory for it. 

Search your heart. Search your soul. Is there anything you love more than God? Jesus Christ is worth everything, even your life. Even if you must die to follow Him, He is of such infinite value that if you are not willing to give up your life for Him, you are not worthy to be among those who call Him Savior.

Who deserves glory, honor and praise more than the LORD? If He is not worth everything to us, we are idolaters even as those of Jerusalem in our text in Isaiah 48. If anything is of greater value to us than God Himself, whatever it is, that is our god. 

Never forget…the LORD will not give His glory to another, neither will He share it with another!