Northern Style
NORTHERN STYLE
CREDO
`Then Moses and the Israelites sang this Song'
What a Song . . What a Cost!

The Book of Exodus is a good example of a seedbed for doctrinal expositions - the awesome Presence of God in `the flame of fire from within the bush', and the confrontations between God's chosen vessel, Moses, and Pharaoh contain such rich `shadows' that almost engulf the Substance to which they point. The narrative of the Passover, where each Israelite household was told to `take a lamb for his family and each household' has echoed down the centuries, and is still remembered at each Passover Meal in every Jewish home with reverence and awe - and even though the `Christianised' West has become largely secular, it still stops to consider this event in the name of `Easter'. The Ten Commandments was once the bedrock of Western social structure, and there is little need to mention the outstanding expositions on the Tabernacle of Moses. Wherever you chose to look, the Book of Exodus has rich revelation of the will and purposes of God vibrating through its pages, and those who look for further revelation in this Book will be encouraged to know that they are in good Scriptural and spiritual company for the Apostle Paul has been there before us: (1 Corinthians 10:1-2)

" For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our fore-
fathers were all under the cloud and they all passed through the sea.
They were all baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. "

This brings us to the place where we can open up this study. Although not strictly Scriptural, some translations of the Bible record Exodus 15 with this heading: `The Song of Moses'. This is taken from the opening words of verse 1: `Then Moses and the Israelites sang this Song to the LORD', and there follows a most glorious Song of praise and adoration from the Israelites, extolling the LORD for a mighty deliverance from the hands of their enemies. Even when read with `the eyes of understanding' rather than with `the tongue of triumph', the words resound with the triumphant power of a mighty and awesome God who has reached down from heaven to rescue and deliver: (Exodus 15 verses 1-18 in part)

" The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea . . . The LORD is a warrior; the LORD is His Name . . . Your right hand, O LORD, was majestic in power . . . You unleashed Your burning anger; it consumed them like stubble . . . But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them . . . Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You - majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders . . . By the power of Your arm they will be as still as stone . . . The LORD will reign for ever and ever. "

At this point Miriam could not contain herself: (verses 20-21)

" She took a tambourine in her hand, and all the women followed her, with tambourines and dancing. Miriam sang to them:

` Sing to the LORD for He is highly exalted.
The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea'. "

It is difficult to imagine the spontaneous burst of triumphant joy that burst out from the lips of those thousands of Israelites as they realised what a mighty deliverance they had received. There had been no singing whilst they were in Egypt, only groaning and sighing, but now the Israelites watched as the waters closed over the armies of Pharaoh who had enslaved them and kept them in such cruel bondage, and a loud spontaneous Song of Praise was lifted to the LORD! Although our Bible records an orderly setting out of verses, we doubt whether such spontaneity would have been so well-contained as it burst out of the mouths of so many. We have seen in a previous study that the word `song' comes from a Hebrew word `Anah', which has within it a meaning which the word `song' cannot convey. Their singing was a spontaneous response, an outburst, to something that had occurred. There are at least five different forms in which this word could be taken - as recorded in Scripture from Jeremiah's lament through to David's loving joy - and here in Exodus there is a tumultuous response from the Israelites because they had been delivered out of the hands of their enenies. Such a Song could not be kept earthbound! It was directed and sung to the LORD! This was a heart response of joy to a God who had delivered them! It was a Song to God for the national redemption:

" He has become my salvation.
He is my God and I will praise Him. "

And the Song finishes on a note of total glorification of God in the hearts and minds of the Israelites: `The LORD will reign for ever and ever'. What a Song . . What a Cost!

" Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has hurled into the sea. The best of
Pharaoh's officers are drowned in the Red Sea. The deep waters have
covered them, they sank to the depths like a stone. " (verses 4-5)

What a mighty redemption . . . but what a terrible cost to the people of Egypt! Earlier we read of the cream of the new generation of Egyptians being taken in death as the LORD passed over the land of Egypt: (Exodus 11:4-6)

" This is what the LORD says: `About midnight I will go throughout Egypt. Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the slave girl, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well. There will be loud wailing throughout Egypt - worse than there has ever been or ever will be again. "

But after the death of the firstborn sons we now read of the cream of Egypt's manhood being covered by the waters of the Red Sea and drowned: (verse 7)

" Then you will know that the LORD makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. "

We have no desire to plunge into the `waters of condolence' for those who sought to thwart the purposes of God; neither do we wish to comment on Egypt's economic exploitation of the Hebrew slaves, for we are mindful of Paul's words to the Romans: (Romans 9:22)

" What if God, choosing to show His wrath and make His power known, bore
with great patience the objects of His wrath - prepared for destruction. "

But even as the horror of what was happening to the Egyptian army burst upon them, the Israelites could still not quench the swell of a responding Song of Redemption spilling out towards God for whom He was! The mystery of the cost that resulted in such a responding cry of triumph must be left with God. Here we see God's mercy towards Israel, and we rejoice for we too have entered into that mercy through Christ Jesus our Lord!

Before we leave the Song of Moses we need to look at how this Song was really sung, for the structure of the words that Moses and the Israelites sang in the opening verse is set in the future tense in the Hebrew script, and a literal translation would read more correctly: `Then Moses and the children of Israel will sing this Song'. This understanding leads us on towards the true cost which caused this Song to be sung by the Israelites, for it points towards the future. There is no doubt that Moses led the people in a spontaneous Song of Praise on the shore of the Red Sea all those thousands of years ago, but under the guidance of the Holy Spirit Moses then wrote these words of Scripture down as a Song to be sung at a time still in the future - a responding Song of Redemption, sung by the people of Israel to God for delivering them out of the hands of their enemies! But as the setting of the Song of Moses is placed within an historical time of a national redemption of the nation of Israel (which we know as the Passover), when we look forward in time to a future event when `Moses and the children of the Israelites will sing this Song' we need to keep within the same pattern, for clearly there is a prophetic revelation in this Song which they sang with such joy on the shore of the Red Sea. This `Song of Thanksgiving' came about through a deliverance . . a deliverance which followed the Passover . . therefore before we can sing our Song of Thanksgiving we need to go back to the Passover.

The `shadow' of the Passover needs little comment for it has been set in the heart and traditions of the Jewish nation over the centuries since their deliverance out of Egypt. We therefore need to wrench our thoughts away from the foreshadowing to the fulfillment of that event. This happened two thousand years ago when God's Passover Lamb was crucified outside the city walls of Jerusalem! Here was the True Cost that will release the final Song of Redemption from the nation of Israel, for on that cross of Calvary the Cost and the responding Song of Joy were brought together in one Person! The true cost was not Pharaoh's, neither was the response for the completed redemption Israel's. Both were of God and both were from God:

Matthew 27:46
" About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice:
`Eloi, Eloi,lama sabachthani' - which means,
`My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? "

John 19:28-30 (in part)
" Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that Scripture
would be fulfilled, Jesus said, `I am thirsty . . .' When He had
received the drink, Jesus said, `It is finished'. With that He bowed
His head and gave up His Spirit. "

God's final act of redemption - His Cost and His responding Song to His Father - opened up the way for the prophetic outworking of the `Song of Moses' at a time in the future when `Moses and the children of Israel will sing this Song'! Over the long centuries the foremost Talmudic scholars, Rabbis of great learning, have grappled with the problem of the Song of Redemption, and the cost it entails. They have seen in Scripture the promise of a mighty Deliverer who is yet to come for Israel, One who is raised to a great height in order to bring deliverance for His brothers - this being clearly revealed in the story of Joseph at the court of Pharaoh. They also knew of the One to come, the One who would cry out:

Isaiah 53:1-5 (in part)
" Who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the LORD been
revealed . . . . He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows
and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He
was despised, and we esteemed Him not . . . . But He was pierced for our
transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that
brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. "

The two - the Cost and the Song - will, in God's good time, be brought together in the hearts and minds of the nation of Israel, for this Redemptive Song will one day be sung with the same heartfelt response as with `Moses and the children of Israel': (Jeremiah 23:7-8)

"`So then, the days are coming,' declares the LORD, `when people will no longer
say: `As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt'.
But they will say: `As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the descendants
of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of the countries where He had
banished them'. Then they will live in their own land'. "

One danger we all face is that after so many years of speaking of these great promises of God that are yet to come for His ancient people of Israel, we may fail to see that they are even now quietly taking place. And there is the even greater danger that we will not want to see these promises coming to pass at this time, preferring them to await an appointed time in the future of our choosing! But the signs of a quiet yet real awakening in the hearts of the people of Israel are there. As yet they are barely perceptible, yet the faint echoes of the Song the children of Israel will sing are heard by those who have ears to hear, and even today we hear of some Orthodox Rabbis cautiously reaching out and speaking of the Cost and the Pain revealed in the Person of Jesus! As the Holy Spirit moves amongst God's people there can be no doubt as to the outcome, and the final responsive Song of Joy to God will soon be heard. It will be sung by Jew and Gentile alike, for we next see this Song of Moses recorded in the Book of Revelation which was given to the Apostle John on the Isle of Patmos by the Lord Jesus Himself:

Revelation 1:19
" Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now
and what will take place later. "

Revelation 15:1-4
" I saw in heaven another great and marvellous sign; seven angels with the seven last plagues - last, because with them God's wrath is completed. And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name. They held harps given them by God and sang the Song of Moses the servant of God and the Song of the Lamb:

` Great and marvellous are Your deeds, Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are Your ways, King of the ages'. "

We see here at last the full outworking of the prophetic Song that Moses faithfully led the people into for their deliverance from Egypt - although they saw only the miracle of their deliverance from Pharaoh by the hand of the LORD. But the Holy Spirit took the words and turned them into a Song that `the children of Israel will sing' - and here in the Book of revelation it is `the Song of Moses the servant of God and the Song of the Lamb'! Satan's last effort in this Dispensation of Grace is to destroy the ancient people of Israel through the Great Tribulation will lead to a mighty deliverance which will cause `the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb' to be sung - a Song that has never been heard before:
" Great and marvellous are Your deeds, Lord God Almighty. "

The people of the Church of the Firstborn have been singing this Song in joyful response to God for the past two thousand years, for they know their spiritual redemption has been won through the finished work of Jesus! And for the disciples of Jesus? As they look back to the Cost of their deliverance out of their `Egypt', `the Song that Moses and the children of Israel sang' should always be on their lips and in their hearts for their Song is the Song of the Lamb - which surpasses the Song those early Israelites sang! If this is not the experience of the Church today, it can only be that complacency has set in and we once again need to journey back to repentance on `the shore of the Red Sea', which we have crossed, remembering once again our Deliverance which was won at such a Cost! Then we shall join together in the Song of the Lamb Who has paid the price!

At coming Passovers - and for as many Passovers as are left before the Lord comes back again - faithful Israel will be remembering the Cost and singing the Song of Deliverance, for in the midst of their liturgy, which is centered on the Passover meal, they will drink from the Cup of Redemption. And when remembering the plagues which struck Egypt at that first Passover, they will, when drinking from that cup, spill drops of wine, remembering that their redemption was won at a cost to others, for their liturgy says they will not drink the fulness of the cup of their redemption whilst others have suffered. Their eyes are still on Pharaoh's armies, but their hearts are still waiting and trusting for their Deliverer, their Messiah, and the day will come for them when the Cost and the Song will come together - for Passover has been fulfilled in Jesus their Messiah!

`Then Moses and the children of Israel will sing this Song', and it will be the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb:

" Great and marvellous are Your deeds,
Lord God Almighty. "

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

`See, I am about to do something in Israel
that will make the ears of everyone who hears it tingle'
The story of the boy Samuel is well known, but in order to develop these thoughts it needs to be set out again in general terms. Samuel's birth came about through the heart-cries of faithful Hannah, who wished to give her husband that which she thought would please him most - a son to carry on the family line. Her barreness led her to cry out to God for His help, for she knew that after all those years of barreness only God could give her her heart's desire. Her despair led her to vow to God that if He would give her the son she so desperately longed for, she would give him back to the LORD in service: (1 Samuel 1:11)

" And she made a vow, saying: `O LORD of Hosts, if you will only look upon
Your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget Your servant, but
give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life
and no razor will ever be used on his head'. "

In the fulness of time her son was born and she named him Samuel (the name has a meaning of `heard of God'). Hannah, faithful to her vow, presented Samuel to the LORD in the Tabernacle at Shiloh and left him there in the care of a priest:

" Then Elkanah (Hannah's husband) went home to Ramah, but the boy
ministered before the LORD under Eli the priest . . . "

As we read on through the First Book of Samuel we see Samuel growing and maturing in wisdom and knowledge: (1 Samuel 3:19-21 in part)

" The LORD was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of His words fall
to the ground . . . . The LORD continued to appear at Shiloh, and there He
revealed Himself to Samuel through His Word . . . . "

There we will leave Samuel for a while for these notes are not primarily concerned with him. `The LORD was about to do something in Israel', but first He would have to prepare the people whom He could work through - part of the people of Israel, yet separated to God for His people - for these notes are more concerned with the nation of Israel at a time of great national apostacy. We know that all Scripture is profitable `and useful for teaching and rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work' (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Clearly, then, there is a message of principle laying in the opening chapters of the First Book of Samuel for in the midst of Samuel's maturing time steadily moved on.There is a paradoxical truth in the statement that the society in which we live no longer exists. The culture of the society we live in, and take for granted as reasonably permanent, subject only to the ebb and flow of economic pressures, was formed by others of our country who have since died. We live in `the fruit of their labour' - good or bad. In our lifespan other forces are at work, shaping and forging a new culture which will be different from the one which we think we are living in. Sociologically it is called `the process of change', and it inevitably creates instability in a society where the new is becoming more real than the old. This instability reveals itself in many ways, but primarily it will manifest within society as nostalgia, a looking back to what was thought to be a secure world.

So it was in the time of Samuel:

" And the LORD said to Samuel, `See, I am about to do something in Israel
that will make the ears of anyone who hears it tingle'. "

Eli was now well on in years, and no doubt in his dotage he saw his sons, Hophni and Phineas, as the natural successors to his position. Their genealogical qualifications may well have been sound but their hearts were far from the requirements demanded of priests ministering in the Tabernacle of the LORD at Shiloh, and their ministry at Shiloh brought the LORD's work into disrepute: (1 Samuel 2:17)

" This sin of the young men was very great in the LORD's sight,
for they were treating the LORD's offering with contempt. "

But Samuel was there, faithfully ministering the Word of the LORD, for we read in 1 Samuel 4:1a: `And Samuel's word came to all Israel', but it did not bring the people to repentance! Samuel's word to all Israel told them of God's presence with the nation, but their hearts were not able to receive spiritual life from his words as he tried to bring the nation back to a relationship with the God he spoke of. There was indeed a `process of change' taking place. The sacrifices at the Sanctuary had become symbolic rituals - the reality of what they meant had become secondary. They relied upon their unique calling as the chosen people of God, basing their lives as a nation upon that which had been shaped and forged by God who had called them into a special relationship with Him that no other nation had been offered. To them He was no longer the LORD who with wonders and miracles had led them and kept them! He had been replaced by Israel's trust in objects, symbols and sacrifices, and their religious life had become no better than that of the heathen nations around them. They lived a life as a nation based upon pride in whom they were - God's chosen people - and the naton's sin was personalised and seen in the sin of Eli's two sons `who treated the LORD's offering with contempt'. We now move on into the narrative surrounding the period of time when God was `about to do something in Israel': (1 Samuel 4:1b)

" Now the Israelites went to fight against the Philistines. "

Clearly the Philistines were living as an established nation of people within the land of Israel at that time, yet there are no historical records of any invading forces which led to this settlement. The Philistines held possession of part of the land and had steadily increased their power and influence, extending their occupation of the land to the point where, `The Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines'. But as we continue to read on in chapter 4 we find that the battle ended in a resounding victory for the Philistines `who killed about four thousand of them (the Israelites) on the battle field'. Truly the LORD was doing something in Israel that day! This defeat certainly led the elders of Israel to ask: `Why did the LORD bring defeat upon us today before the Philistines?'. We now see the depth of Israel's apostacy, for they now turned to the object of their trust which reminded them they were the chosen people of God: (4:3a)

" Let us bring the Ark of the LORD's Covenant from Shiloh, so that
it may go with us and save us from the hands of our enemies. "

It was not the hand of the LORD they turned to but the physical Ark of the LORD's Covenant! They took the Ark from the Sanctuary as a heathen `fetish' rather than ask the priests to enter into His Presence to `enquire of the LORD'! Just as surely as the Philistines had steadily encroached upon the land of the Israelites, quietly establishing their nation and steadily advancing and extending their influence and power, so too had the spiritual life of Israel gone into a steady decline!

Land itself is passive in nature, and peoples and nations pass over it from time to time. Land that is not defended will eventually be overrun - not always as dramatically as in an aggressive war, but by a `process of change' which engulfs the weaker people through compromise and a decline in morals. Here, in the nation of Israel, under the leadership of Eli the priest, national apostacy was going into a `process of change' because their `God' had become a religious object rather than a Living Person! The words of Samuel therefore came to all Israel as an `historical' testimony to the power and nature of the Living God, although they did not bring repentance leading to a renewing of spiritual life in the nation. The Philistines had encroached too far into the Land of Promise and `the LORD was about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of anyne who hears it tingle'! Without going into full detail of the events following the Israelites' defeat, we know that not only was the Ark of the Covenant captured by the Philistines but judgement also came upon the nation of Israel - seen in the deaths of Hophni and Phineas and followed by the sudden death of the old priest Eli who had ministered before the LORD for fourty years. The disasters continued: The daughter-in-law of Eli, upon hearing the news of her husband's death, died in giving birth to her son - but not before she had named the boy Ichabod, saying, `the Glory has departed from Israel'! Truly, the ears of those who heard the news of what God had done tingle . . they tingled with terror!

Very often prophecies have within them a `double word' - an ongoing, progressive outworking - so if we leave the words of the LORD at this point we shall miss the fulness of what the LORD of Israel was `about to do in Israel'. Samuel was called into service at a point of watershed in the life of the nation. The old Theocratic order which had led and guided the nation through the priesthood was about to give way to leadership through a kingly line. In turn the office of Priest and King would eventually be combined as David ministered before the Ark of Covenant in the Tent which he built for the LORD. Samuel was now ready to enter more fully into the life of the nation, and responding to the people's cry (and the LORD's confirmation of that cry) he anointed Saul as king over Israel. Saul was the people's choice: (1 Samuel 9:1-2)

" There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of
Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.
He had a son named Saul, an impressive young man without equal among
the Israelites - a head taller than any of the others. "

All we know of Saul's family is that it was not famous . . . it was not wealthy . . . it had little influence . . . but it was noted for the fighting qualities of the men. Not only Saul but Jonathon and Abner also came from this family line, and its men were known as `heroes of might'. They were strong, proud men, and it was fitting indeed that the people of Israel chose Saul as their king! But they had learnt nothing from their defeat, for Saul embodied their national pride as the chosen people of God. Truly the people had lost interest in God, concerned only with what He had promised to give them. Their hearts, hardened by defeats at the hands of the Philistines, gave birth to national pride - seen in Saul - and that national pride would lead the nation along a very dark path under Saul's kingship! God's promises would still be outworked amongst His people, but first had to come the humiliating life of Saul, ending in his death, before God's choice could emerge. We read in 1 Samuel chapter 15 of the result of Saul's pride in himself. Little had been learnt from the past, and God's word finally came through Samuel: (1 Samuel 15:28)

" The LORD has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and given it to
one of your neighbours - to one better than you. "

We read on into chapter 16 and find the LORD still speaking to Samuel: (v1)

" How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over
Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to
Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king. "

We shall now leave the narrative concerning the events of Samuel's day at this point. We know that Samuel was used to anoint David as king over Israel. It would be this shepherd boy who would lead Israel into the fulness of God's promises for His beloved people - on and through into the reign of David's son Solomon, when the splendour of the nation would be centered in the Temple in the City of David. Here the Glory, the Presence of God, would be revealed in the Most Holy Place, showing that God was faithful to His Word. At last the apostacy had been burned away . . . at last the nation worshipped the LORD God of Israel . . . at last they were a people who had returned to that relationship God intended (and still intends) for all His Covenanted people. There we must stop, for these things we still see through a dark glass dimly! At the time of Samuel they were to be foreshadows pointing to a time to come (and yet to come) when, as Paul said: `We shall see face to face. Now I know in part, even as I am fully known'.

We now turn our thoughts back to what we set out earlier before we move into our contemporary setting, and we see that amongst the Israelites there was a slow and steady deterioration in their relationship with God. As a result the Philistines had `crept' into the land and taken a firm hold upon the Land of Promise. The `occupation' had not occurred through force of arms but through indifference to the things of God. The nation had begun to think of God as an object to worship rather than a Person with whom they had been called into a relationship. As they gave over the `land' of their affection the enemy entered and established such a hold that they were practically undefeatable, and it took God's Hand, outworking through His Word that He was `about to do somthing in Israel . . that would make the ears of anyone who heard it tingle' - which was finally outworked in David, king of Israel!

We are now in a position to turn our thoughts to God's other Covenanted people, the `nation' of the Church . . a people gathered out of every tribe and nation to be a people holy to the Lord . . a `nation' of kings and priests, called to serve Him as surely as was the nation of Israel. Is God once again speaking to His `Samuels': `See, I am about to do something . . . that will make the ears of anyone who hears it tingle'? It must be said that we can only speak of what we see and know is happening in our own society - and of course these thoughts are concerned primarily with the Church in the West, and in particular with the Church in England. Of course there will be `families of Jesse' within the Church, good, God-fearing and God-loving people, totally committed to Him in every aspect of their lives, but we are looking and speaking of a general drift of the total `nation' of the Church in England. Have the `Philistines' already encroached upon the `land' of our inheritance, to the point where we cannot see the `loss of interest' in our relationship with God? If indeed we are living in the times of `the Coming of the Lord', then the Scriptures reveal there will be a loss of interest (in God). If we do not have spiritual eyes and hearts we too may be caught up in `national pride' of our achievements (as did Israel) and begin to enjoy the blessings that are ours as His redeemed people.

With this time-scale in mind let us look first at Paul's Second Letter to Timothy and see what is meant by saying the `Philistines' have occupied our land of promise. Chapter 3 verses 1-5 records what we can expect to see in these `last days':

" But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be
lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, arrogant,
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving,
slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous,
rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a
form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. "

If you care to look back and read Paul's words to Timothy in the earlier chapter of this Letter, you will find Paul exhorting Timothy to be faithful to what he has been taught:

2 Timothy 1:13-14
" What you have heard from me, keep as the pattern for sound teaching,
with faith and love in Christ Jesus. Guard the good deposit that has been
entrusted to you. "


2 Timothy 2:2
" And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses
entrust to reliable men who will be qualified to teach others. "

Clearly, from what Paul is saying, defects in doctrine lead to a deterioration (a decline) in Scriptural standards of moral behaviour, and without wishing to repeat the verses of Scripture just recorded we pick out some of the downward steps that Paul records:

  Love of self
      Love of money
          Spirit of pride
              Disobedience to parents
                  Lack of holiness
                      Unforgiveness
                          Lack of self-control
                              Treachery

Some would say these verses refer to the unregenerate people of the world. Chapter 3 however records them as `having a form of godliness but denying its power' - pointing to the fact that Paul is referring to people who have at least made a confession of the knowledge of God. From what we see of the rising violence and general behaviour patterns of unregenerate people we would say that they are not particularly interested in God, in any form, but an honest look at our `Church life' will reveal much of what Paul is talking about!

Let us move a little closer to home - not to condemn, but, hopefully, to open our eyes as to how close we have come to seeing Paul's words to Timothy coming about in our lifetime, and then see that what happened to the Israelites in the days of Samuel is still very much with us today. As the Church in the West has grown `comfortable' with God through the many outpourings of the Holy Spirit (and the blessings that come with them), so it, too, has to face the danger of `losing interest' in a relationship with God in favour of a relationship with His blessings! Have the `Philistines' encroached upon the Christians' Land of Promise without us realising it? Has a deterioration come about over the past few years through the many unbalanced religious techniques put out into the Body of Christ:

  Deliverance
      Spiritual Warfare
          Power of Praise
              Proclamation
                  Study of the Word
                      Rema Revelation
                          Signs and Wonders
                              Dynamic Prayer
                                  Visualisation

and, more recently, many so-called `Blessings'! No doubt all those we have listed (and there are many more) have a certain truth in them, but they are not in any way a substitution for a relationship with God. Have religious rituals replaced a relationship with God, to the point where the `Philistines' are encamped and entrenched in our Land of Promise? These `Philistines' will not be routed by any religious rituals - as we have seen in the Scriptures recorded in the First Book of Samuel - and `Ichabod' could well be written over much of what we purport to be our Kingdom life!

Paul continues his Letter to Timothy with clear and positive instructions, telling him to stand firm against the deterioration in doctrine that he saw coming: (2 Timothy 4:1-2)

" In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who will judge the living and
the dead, and in view of His appearing and His Kingdom, I give you this
charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct,
rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. "

Paul had only one answer to the apostacy he saw coming: `Preach the Word . . . be prepared . . . correct, rebuke . . . with great patience! We are now seeing God raising up men under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to outwork Paul's words to the Church in this age, and we have little doubt that we shall see words of latter-day `Samuels' going to all `Israel'! Yet we know that Samuel was called and prepared for far more than the `words that came to all Israel'. Through all the apostacy of those days, and Israel's ensuing clamour for a king, the LORD was about `to do something in Israel that will make the ears of anyone who hears it tingle' - and the day came when the Word of the LORD came to Samuel again:

" Fill your horn with oil and be on your way. I am sending you to Jesse
of Bethlehem; I have chosen one of his sons to be king. "

If there is a parallel principle in the Scriptures surrounding the time of Samuel and the present age, we would expect to see a greater deterioration of spiritual life in the Church, for Paul wrote to Timothy: `Preach the Word . . be prepared in season and out of season, with great patience'! The Lord of the Church has yet to `do a new thing in Israel'. He needs the ground well prepared for His time when He will again send `Samuel to David' -when He will anoint the hearts of the believers in the Church to enable them once again to see the King! May we close with the words of Paul: (2 Timothy 4:8)

" Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous Judge will award me on that Day - and not only to me but
also to all who have longed for His appearing.
"
It is that new move of the Holy Spirit which we all long for! He alone will break through our religious rituals and bring us back into the relationship with God that He is longing for. So as we wait with increasing longing for the Son to appear, may we too do our part to expel the `Philistines' from our land. `In view of His appearing and His Kingdom' may we too receive the charge:

" Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct,
rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. "

What a Song . . . What a Cost

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