Psalm119:97-120; Isa. 59:15b-21; 2 Tim. 1:15-2:13; Mark 10:1-16
The Lord sees no truth, justice or righteousness and further that no one cares enough about those things to intercede, to ask Him to establish them and announces His coming in judgment. He will reveal these things to the world in judgment of the world, but to those who turn from their sins He will make an everlasting covenant. The new covenant announced here is that no longer will the will of God be something we only read in a book, it will be sealed by the Spirit of God within us, His words will not only be written, they will be on our lips. We will have understanding of the law and the desire to do it. Further this covenant is with many generations, our offspring and our childrens’ offspring. His promise was always that if we keep faith with Him the blessing would extend through generations, "The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin…” and it has always been contingent on repentance of sins.
Jesus is asked for his opinion on divorce. All the questions Jesus is asked in His teaching related to points of the law about which there was disagreement among the rabbis. There were and are a great many things about which the law is perfectly clear and no need for opinion or interpretation and on these matters Jesus doesn’t speak except to raise the standard of law keeping (see the Sermon on the Mount). Here, they ask what he thinks about the Mosaic allowance for divorce and His answer is to appeal to the clear word of God on the matter from Genesis 2, right from the start, the first thing He had to say about human relationships between a man and a woman. Divorce is one of those things that has become so common in our society that we hardly give it a second thought but we need to remember Jesus took marriage very seriously. The righteous standards have not changed and marriage is not an estate to be entered into lightly nor should it be broken lightly.
Paul seems to have believed that suffering might be a normal and expected situation for those who are in Christ Jesus. He believed it because he experienced it and also because Jesus promised it. We have come to believe in something else, that the world will applaud us and that God will protect us from suffering and harm. Are we prepared for the real Christian life or are we prepared for to be nice people? We must always keep our eyes on the prize and remember that when the world got its first and only glimpse of real righteousness it put Him on a cross.
I will not forget Your love for me and yet
My heart forever is wandering
Please be my guide and hold me to Your side
And I will love You to the end
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path
Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet
And a light unto my path
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