Messiah: Known for Righteousness

“You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever…Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom. You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set You above your companions by anointing You with the oil of joy.” (Psalm 45, 2, 6-7. NIV) “He went to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day He went into the synagogue, as was His custom, And He stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it is written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’…Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:16-19, 20b. NIV). “But about the Son He says, ‘Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above Your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.” (Hebrews 1:8-9, NIV).

Psalm 45 is believed to be a song of celebration at the wedding of one of Israel’s kings (whose name is not given). However, because of its Messianic prophecy, it has been applied to the concept as the church as the bride of Christ. The theme is that of the righteous ruler, one above reproach and chosen by God. As Jesus worshiped in the synagogue at Nazareth, He read from the prophet Isaiah which gave details about his mission and ministry and declared: “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” The Son of Righteousness had indeed come, and was standing in their midst! Later, the writer of Hebrews would quote in his epistle the passage from Psalms 45:6-7 which reveals the everlasting nature of His kingdom, His righteous reign, and his anointing with ‘the oil of joy.’ This ‘oil of joy’ indicated a very festive occasion, as the joining eternally of the Bridegroom (the Messiah) with his bride (the church). The language in the Psalm is of such a transcendent nature that it could only be used of the future Messiah and His reign of righteousness.

Why the emphasis upon the righteous Messiah? We all have sinned and need a way to be justified in God’s sight, a way to become righteous again The Righteous Messiah offers His own righteousness so that we, by faith, can be made right. Paul made this very clear in Romans 3:22-24: “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ.” This Christmas let us celebrate the coming of the Christ Child. But let us not forget that in His plan for imputing the righteousness of Christ to us, God made a way which is above every way whereby we might be reconciled to Him. Thanks to God!

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Saturday, December 4, 2010

Discipline Required in Sundry Relationships

“To learn, you must love discipline; it is stupid to hate correction. The Lord approves of those who are good, but He condemns those who plan wickedness. Wickedness never brings stability; only the godly have deep roots. A worthy wife is her husband’s joy and crown; a shameful wife saps his strength.” (Proverbs 12:1-4, NLT). [Read Proverbs 12]

As we move through Proverbs, if you’re reading the entire chapter each day as suggested, you will note that we are now in a section (chapters 10 – 22) that contain sage teachings on many subjects. The statements are in the usual Hebrew poetic parallelism (as I have mentioned), and the subjects change almost verse by verse. It is difficult, therefore, to select verses on which to concentrate for a brief devotional, or even to give a subject to the passage being considered. The subject I select day by day is just from my own observation and not necessarily a cover-all for the chapter at hand. But as I read and reread as carefully as possible the exemplary advice in Proverbs 12, it seemed that discipline was involved in all the relationships mentioned. A Christian, of all persons, should lead a disciplined life. Jesus spoke of it when He taught: “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30, KJV). In this inviting passage, Jesus spoke of His yoke (discipline to help us be “in harness” for Him) as being “easy”. Another way of terming Jesus’s discipline is to say His yoke fits the Christian and does not chafe or cause discomfort while we work with, for and alongside Him. The New Living Translation gives Proverbs 12:1 in rather blunt terms: “it is stupid to hate correction.”

I have, to date, five wonderful great grandchildren. Let me use them as an example of discipline administered to very young children of this generation. I am grateful that their parents (my grandchildren and their spouses) are teamed up to give positive and nurturing discipline. The results I see are little ones who recognize parameters of allowable and non-permitted behavior. Parents are consistent in requirements and make good use of setting rules and requiring “time out” for untoward behavior. Discipline is always important. Without discipline, there is a question of whether children are truly loved. In all of the 28 verses of Proverbs 12, discipline is evidenced in each relationship or action cited. It would take too long to list strong synonyms for discipline; a few are self-control, self-restraint, diligence, correction, training, order, chastisement. The writer of Hebrews, likewise, knew the value of discipline: “My child, don’t ignore it when the Lord disciplines you, and don’t be discouraged when He corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes those He accepts as his children” (Hebrews 12:5-6, NLV). Discipline is required in all human relationships: marriage, family, child-rearing, learning, work and social interaction. Otherwise, chaos exists.

c Ethelene Dyer Jones; Saturday, July 10, 2010