Psalm 40, 54; Zech. 7:8-8:8; Rev. 5:6-14; Matt. 25:14-30
"As I called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear," says the LORD of hosts. This is the explanation for the exile. The people would not hear the Lord so when they needed Him to hear them He would not, made a choice not to hear them. Parents sometimes have to make this decision concerning their children, not to bail them out when they have made choices that caused them to be in desperate straits. They had to lose it all in order to come back to the One who had given them everything. They lost the world but gained their souls. The good news is that the Lord now hears them, has returned to Jerusalem and will richly and abundantly bless His people. His love is a covenant love, a covenant that He will not break.
The master trusted these three men and it would certainly seem he was a good judge of character based on the level of trust he gave them. He was gone “a long time” and the first two men provided him with a 100% return on his investment with them and the one who was given little returned nothing. His “belief” about the master’s character are completely unfounded given the reaction of the master to the other servants. He not only praised the servants but also invited them to share in his joy and also to even greater trust. Often this describes Christians who do not know the master to be faithful and loving but only a hard man whose judgment they hope to avoid. If we do not know the One we serve in truth we will not enter His joy but will in fact be judged. There is nothing more liberating for the taking of risks for he kingdom than knowing His character.
Is there any better representation of God’s character than this picture? We left off yesterday with the words of the elder that the Lion of the tribe of Judah has come to take the scroll and the next thing John sees is a Lamb looking like it was slain. What a contrast! This lamb is indeed the lion but the lamb has laid down its life and now stands before the throne to take the scroll and all heaven proclaims Him as worthy in the same manner as the One on the throne. Like God, the praise is very specific, “for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth." Those created by the One on the throne have been ransomed by this Lamb. As I have said before the worship that is given to the Lamb is either the ultimate blasphemy to offer worship to another in the presence of God or it tells us everything we need to know about Jesus. That there is more to the book tells me option 2 is the right one.
O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
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