Day 352: How to Honour the Lord (Proverbs 30:24-33, Revelation 9:13-10:11, Ezra 2:68-4:5)

Introduction

One billion people watched the rescue. On 13 October 2010 at 10pm (GMT) Jose Henriquez Gonzalez emerged from 2,300 feet underground after being trapped for sixty-nine days when the San Jose mine collapsed in northern Chile.

It was originally thought that no one had survived the collapse, or that the thirty-three trapped underground would starve to death before they were found.

Many of them had been atheists, agnostics, un-believers or semi-believers. Jose Henriquez Gonzalez was known as the ‘evangelist’ because he led so many of the others to faith in Jesus Christ. He formed and led a prayer group. With thirty-three tiny Bibles sent down by friends, he led devotions twice a day.

They testified to the presence of a thirty-fourth person. Nineteen-year-old miner, Jimmy Sanchez, said, ‘There are actually thirty-four of us, because God has never left us down here.’ Jesus was there with them. When they emerged out of the mine the rescued men were all wearing similar t-shirts. The shirts said on the front, ‘Thank you, Lord’, and on the back it said, ‘To him be the glory and honour’.

I had the privilege of interviewing Jose Henriquez at HTB. ‘The true hero is Jesus Christ,’ he said. ‘He is the only hero that should be mentioned. Apart from what man may have done both inside and outside that mine, he is the one who deserves the honour and the glory.’

Jesus taught us to pray that God’s name should be honoured (Matthew 6:9). My greatest fear is that I might do or say something that will bring dishonour to his name. My deepest longing is to see the name of the Lord honoured again in our society.

How should you act in order to see his name honoured?

Proverbs 30:24-33

  ²⁴ “Four things on earth are small,
   yet they are extremely wise:
  ²⁵ Ants are creatures of little strength,
   yet they store up their food in the summer;
  ²⁶ hyraxes are creatures of little power,
   yet they make their home in the crags;
  ²⁷ locusts have no king,
   yet they advance together in ranks;
  ²⁸ a lizard can be caught with the hand,
   yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

  ²⁹ “There are three things that are stately in their stride,
   four that move with stately bearing:
  ³⁰ a lion, mighty among beasts,
   who retreats before nothing;
  ³¹ a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
   and a king secure against revolt.

  ³² “If you play the fool and exalt yourself,
   or if you plan evil,
   clap your hand over your mouth!
  ³³ For as churning cream produces butter,
   and as twisting the nose produces blood,
   so stirring up anger produces strife.”

Commentary

Stir up good, not evil

Our whole lives should be devoted to exalting the name of Jesus and not ourselves. The writer of Proverbs says, ‘If you have played the fool and exalted yourself, or if you have planned evil, clap your hand over your mouth! For as churning the milk produces butter, and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife’ (vv.32–33). We call people ‘stirrers’ if they stir up arguments, conflict and anger.

The opposite is stirring up good things. Seek to be someone who never stirs up anger but, rather, good. Never seek to exalt yourself, but only Jesus. Always seek to honour the name of the Lord.

Prayer

‘Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people, that they, bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by you be richly rewarded: through Jesus Christ our Lord’ (Anglican Collect for the last Sunday before Advent).

Revelation 9:13-10:11

¹³ The sixth angel sounded his trumpet, and I heard a voice coming from the four horns of the golden altar that is before God. ¹⁴ It said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” ¹⁵ And the four angels who had been kept ready for this very hour and day and month and year were released to kill a third of mankind. ¹⁶ The number of the mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand. I heard their number.

¹⁷ The horses and riders I saw in my vision looked like this: Their breastplates were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow as sulfur. The heads of the horses resembled the heads of lions, and out of their mouths came fire, smoke and sulfur. ¹⁸ A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke and sulfur that came out of their mouths. ¹⁹ The power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails were like snakes, having heads with which they inflict injury.

²⁰ The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. ²¹ Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

The Angel and the Little Scroll

10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. ² He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, ³ and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke. ⁴ And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”

⁵ Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. ⁶ And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! ⁷ But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”

⁸ Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”

⁹ So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’” ¹⁰ I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. ¹¹ Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”

Commentary

Speak the message of Jesus

You honour the name of Jesus when you tell the world about him. Not everyone will be interested, but some will. To those who believe, the message will be ‘sweet as honey’ (10:9), and their lives will be transformed by Jesus.

The terrible warnings of judgment continued with the sixth angel sounding his trumpet. There was horrible warfare (‘The number of the mounted troops was two hundred million’, 9:16), violent death and injury.

The twentieth century was probably the most violent in history and the first in which those kinds of numbers were involved in warfare. Yet, there has been little repentance.

‘The remaining men and women who weren’t killed by these weapons went on their merry way – didn’t change their way of life… There wasn’t a sign of a change of heart. They plunged right on in their murderous, occult, promiscuous, and thieving ways’ (vv.20–21, MSG). You only have to watch the news to see that these words are also being fulfilled in our time.

Then John saw ‘another mighty angel coming down from heaven’ (10:1). This sounds like Jesus Christ himself. He is robed in a cloud, which symbolises the presence of God. There is a rainbow above his head symbolising the promise of God. ‘His face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars’ (v.1). This is very similar to the description of Jesus in the first chapter of Revelation (1:12–16).

‘He gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion’ (10:3) – Jesus is ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah’ (5:5). (In our passage for today from Proverbs, the lion is described as ‘king of the beasts, deferring to none’, Proverbs 30:30, MSG).

Jesus gave the little scroll to John and told him to take it and eat it: ‘It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey’ (Revelation 10:9). The message of the gospel will have a sour taste for some who reject it, but to all who accept it, it is ‘as sweet as honey’ (v.9).

Then, John was told to take this message out: ‘Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings”’ (v.11).

Prayer

Lord, in the midst of all the troubles around us, help us to proclaim the gospel faithfully and to see the name of Jesus honoured again.

Ezra 2:68-4:5

⁶⁸ When they arrived at the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings toward the rebuilding of the house of God on its site. ⁶⁹ According to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver and 100 priestly garments.

⁷⁰ The priests, the Levites, the musicians, the gatekeepers and the temple servants settled in their own towns, along with some of the other people, and the rest of the Israelites settled in their towns.

Rebuilding the Altar

3 When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled together as one in Jerusalem. ² Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God. ³ Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices. ⁴ Then in accordance with what is written, they celebrated the Festival of Tabernacles with the required number of burnt offerings prescribed for each day. ⁵ After that, they presented the regular burnt offerings, the New Moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the appointed sacred festivals of the Lord, as well as those brought as freewill offerings to the Lord. ⁶ On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid.

Rebuilding the Temple

⁷ Then they gave money to the masons and carpenters, and gave food and drink and olive oil to the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar logs by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by Cyrus king of Persia.

⁸ In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Joshua son of Jozadak and the rest of the people (the priests and the Levites and all who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work. They appointed Levites twenty years old and older to supervise the building of the house of the Lord. ⁹ Joshua and his sons and brothers and Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Hodaviah) and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers—all Levites—joined together in supervising those working on the house of God.

¹⁰ When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the Lord, as prescribed by David king of Israel. ¹¹ With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord:

“He is good;
his love toward Israel endures forever.”

And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. ¹² But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. ¹³ No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away.

Opposition to the Rebuilding

4 When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin heard that the exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel, ² they came to Zerubbabel and to the heads of the families and said, “Let us help you build because, like you, we seek your God and have been sacrificing to him since the time of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us here.”

³ But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered, “You have no part with us in building a temple to our God. We alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, commanded us.”

⁴ Then the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. ⁵ They bribed officials to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Commentary

Sacrifice for the Lord’s honour

We should not expect a trouble-free life. Jesus warned us that in this life we would experience trouble (John 16:33). Faith does not keep you from trouble but it helps you get through trouble. Don’t focus on your troubles but focus on the one who carries you through them, and be willing to sacrifice in order to bring honour to his name.

The people of God had been longing to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. God’s name was dishonoured when the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians. Now it was their opportunity to rebuild and see God’s name honoured again.

They appointed Levites twenty years old and older to supervise the building of the house of the Lord (Ezra 3:8) – a good example of appointing young leaders. They were willing to sacrifice their money and possessions. 'According to their ability they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 drachmas of gold, 5,000 minas of silver and 100 priestly garments’ (Ezra 2:68–69).

Giving is an essential part of your worship and service to God. Your gifts should not be grudging or forced, but generous ‘freewill offerings’. Do not compare your giving to that of others, but give what you can afford. The wonderful thing about this offering was that as each gave according to their ability, they raised all the money that was needed.

If everyone in the church gives sacrificially, generously, each according to their ability, God’s kingdom will advance rapidly and his name will be honoured.

In spite of all the opposition around (‘despite their fear of the peoples around them’, 3:3a), they began to worship the Lord again and offer him sacrifices. Today, worship God by offering him your body as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:2) – that is, offer everything you have, and everything you are, to be used to bring honour to his name.

They did not wait for the temple to be completed before they began their worship. As soon as the foundations were laid, ‘with praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: “He is good; his love to Israel endures for ever.” And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid’ (Ezra 3:11).

Exuberant worship is not only a contemporary phenomenon! ‘The people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away’ (vv.12b–13). And yet, while many shouted for joy, the older members of the community ‘wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid’ (v.12a).

This was possibly because the stones used were smaller than for the original temple and it was not as grand. It is a reminder that this temple was not the answer but only a foreshadowing of the temple of the Holy Spirit – the people of God, with Jesus as the chief cornerstone (Ephesians 2:19–22).

The building of the temple was not unopposed: ‘… the peoples around them set out to discourage the people of Judah and make them afraid to go on building. They hired counsellors to work against them and frustrate their plans during the entire reign of Cyrus king of Persia and down to the reign of Darius king of Persia’ (Ezra 4:4–5).

When you set out to bring honour to the Lord, you may be opposed. Whether it is the rebuilding of churches today, or any other work of the kingdom of God, there is bound to be opposition. The opposition succeeded in delaying them, but not defeating them altogether.

Prayer

Lord, may the temple of your Holy Spirit, the church – the people of God – be rebuilt in our generation. May we see the church buildings that are empty and derelict today filled again with people worshipping you. May your name be honoured again in our generation.

Pippa adds

Revelation 10:1 says:

‘Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs like fiery pillars… He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion…’ (vv.1-3).

We may feel as if the world is out of control, but our God is an all-powerful God.

Verse of the Day

Revelation 10:1

‘… his face was like the sun'

References

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.