It all started as I continued my wonderful journey in the Gospel of Luke. I have been in it now for well over a week and I'm just entering into the sixth chapter. In verse 30, while teaching the same content as the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus calls His listeners to "give to everyone who asks of you". It is my practice to underline all Scriptures that reveal the nature of God with a blue highlighter, and suddenly I felt the need to underline this particular command in blue. What was Holy Spirit revealing to me? I began to ponder the implications of this command and how it revealed who God is.
Suddenly 1 Peter was coming to mind again; "be Holy, as I am Holy". I am to do the very things that God does. God only asks me to do what He does, and like Jesus, I am to only do what I see my Father doing.
As I pondered this for a while my heart began to get stirred up. If I am commanded to do as He would do, and be as He would be, and He has asked me to give to anyone who asks, then I am also right to conclude that He too will "give to everyone who asks"! For God will not ask me to do something that He has is not willing to do Himself. He leads by example, for Hebrews says that He is both the Author and Perfecter of our faith. That means that He wrote it and then fulfilled it so that we would have an example to follow after.
Now my heart was excited as I began to grow in my knowledge of the Holy. A revelation found within the very commands of Scripture. So what else could I learn about God through looking at His commands?
Obviously, the command "give to everyone who asks" is a little easier to make connect with God's heart because we have other Scriptures that explicitly declare the same aspect of His nature. Matthew 7:7-12, 21:22, and 1 John 3:22 all tell us that God will give to those who ask. But what about the other commands? Does the same hold true for them as well? The answer to that question is a resounding "YES"! It is true of all of God's precepts; anything that God asks us to do has within itself the promise that He will do, and has already done, the very same thing for us (only to it's perfection). In fact, after teaching us in Matthew 7 to "ask, seek and knock", Jesus concludes His excerpt on the art of giving to everyone who asks by saying these words:
"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets."
If 'do unto others' is how Jesus concludes His teaching regarding how the Father will respond to those who ask, and we know that we too are to give to those who ask. What should we conclude about His statement that this very principle sums up the Law and the Prophets? What does that tell us about God's heart as revealed through the Law?
So I began to ask myself the question. What does it look like to read the Law through the lens of that principle of doing unto others? If He only asks me to do what He does, and He declares that it sums up the Law, then what will He do for me through my obedience to His commands?
I took a few moments to meditate on some well known commands written in the Law of Moses, focusing on God's aspect of the command - His promised response attached to my obedience, and what it reveals about His nature. I also took some time to search out and attach other Scriptural references to ensure that I was not merely making up my own revelation, but that it actually agreed with the revelation given to us by the Prophets and most importantly, Jesus.
Here are my meditations:
"You shall have no other God before Me":...if you will depend upon Me alone, then I will be your entire Source and will supply all your needs in and of Myself. I know what you have need of before you ask. Pagans run after food and drink, but don't worry about it because you are no longer foreign to me. As you have chosen Me, so will I chose you as the object of My blessing. (Phil 4:19, Matt 12:29-31)
"You shall not commit adultery" : ...as you have chosen to be faithful to Me, so also will I be Faithful to you. I will never leave you nor forsake you. As a Bridegroom marries His bride, so will I marry you and be faithful to you forever, for I will put an end to death and then nothing shall separate our love, both now and forever! (Romans 8:38-39, Isaiah 62:5, 1 Corinthians 15:26, Rev 19:9)
"You shall not steal": ...do not take what is not yours, and in return, I too covenant that I will not violate your free will by taking anything of your own that has not been freely given to Me, including your transgressions! (Matt 11:28, Matt 6:12, 1 John 1:9, Exodus 34:7, Deut 7:10)
Those are just a few examples that I chose to meditate upon while writing this post, but the Bible is full of these promises (because it is full of God's commands!) So the next time you come across a command, why not take some time and ask Holy Spirit to reveal to you the glory of His promises hidden within each of His commands. His commands were never meant to be burdensome, but are the means by which we enter into His rest, while demonstrating our love towards Him. Yet even more amazingly, they are the means by which He chooses to lavish His blessing upon those who have ears to hear and who hunger and thirst after His righteousness.
I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. I pray that you have a great day of revelation as you gaze upon Jesus through the lens of God's perfect law!
Blessings,
Jon
"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.
The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.
The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes." - Psalm 19:7-8
For these two bear witness to the righteousness of Jesus - the Law and the Prophets. And do not suppose that He came to throw down the law or the prophets - He did not come to throw down, but to fulfill them. For we have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote - Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. (Romans 3:21, Matt 5:17, John 1:45)
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