https://odb.org/2023/09/12/be-still-5
Before we go into the topic of the day, allow me to just digress and mention the comment made by Bill Crowder in today’s ODB. The concept of progressive revelation teaches that Scripture doesn’t move from error to truth but from incompleteness to completeness. So, people in the Old Testament didn’t understand many things because of their limited knowledge then. They didn’t understand very much about life after death, and thus, the Old Testament looks at God more in their present lives, with blessings and punishments experienced while they are still living. But in the New Testament, Jesus opened up the concept of eternal life, and through Paul’s writings, we learn about present sufferings being part of our life as believers and we endure and persevere through because we trust that the end will nevertheless be good and perfect. We have, among other things, Revelation 21 to look forward to and the glorified resurrected body of Christ as a clear example of our hope of glory.
I think that if we are going through tough patches in our present life, in addition to the hope at the end, we have the presence of God, Christ, and the Holy Spirit in our midst and within us. The still small voice that Elijah experienced at the opening of the cave at the mountain top is something real and tangible that we can seek out and cling on to in times of trials and tribulations, and sufferings. Seek out the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will indeed give us rest and calm our troubled hearts. Ask the Lord to strengthen our inner man that we will have the courage and boldness to face the world as it is, and as it presents itself in our lives. Look out for that still small voice as we face the rigours of life.
I would like to end today’s commentary by encouraging us that we must always read the Old Testament in the context of what they then knew of God, at a time before Jesus came to earth to die for our sins and at a time when they didn’t have the progressive revelations of the truth given to the Apostles like Paul, Peter and John. Our lives are not lived just on earth, but how we live now determines our destiny for eternity. As much as our salvation is assured by the blood of the Lamb, we still need to store up treasures in heaven, love God with all our heart, soul and mind, and love our neighbours as we love ourselves (Matthew 6:19-21, 22:37-39). Jesus’s teachings are not just sayings but truth that have a real impact on our afterlife.
Ronnie's Thoughts 