The context of the widow giving her all to the Lord

Mark 12:41-44 "And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people wereputting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

Introduction:

Mark and Luke's Gospel record for us this touching scene of the widow giving her last bit of money to the Lord's ministry. The picture above represents the type of coin the widow had when she gave everything she had. In reading this short account, much can be gleaned from the widow's actions. For one thing, Jesus is prompted to suddenly look up and take note of this widow in the midst of throngs of people. Luke 21:1 records - "And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury." Undeniably, Jesus' actions connected with the stinging indictment he makes against the temple system taking advantage of widows in Luke 20:47. As Jesus is making His final public pleas to his audiences to consider His claims to Messiahship, this small widow's actions causes the reader to slow down and watch a true follower of the Lord in action. As we think about Mark 12:41-44 and it's place in the wider context of Mark 12, I would like the reader to consider this context so as to understand why the widow's mite account is vital to our understanding. 

How Mark 12 features key ingredients in defining Jesus' identity and mission

In Mark 12:1-12, Jesus tells a parable featuring a master sending servants to check on the status of his vineyard. After repeated refusals of the servants and the eventual killing of the final servants and even the master's son, the master pronounces swift judgment. The master of course is God the Father, the servants are his prophets, the tenants is Israel and the son in the parable is none other than Jesus Himself. 

Other sections in Mark 12 appear that lead up to the account of the widow's giving of her entire livlihood. Jesus actually speaks about "rendering to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's in 12:13-17. Already we see the theme of "giving" developing in Mark 12 - with the master "giving his son" in 12:1-12 and "giving" to God in 12:13-17. In Mark 12:18-27 we see Jesus counteracting the Sadducees denial of the resurrection. Such a rebuttal makes sense in light of the context, since Jesus is trying to prepare his readers for His impending death. Arguments for the reality of resurrection are necessary, since in a span of two weeks Jesus Himself will be rising from the dead. 

The famous question raised to Jesus in Mark 12:28-34 as to what constitutes the greatest commandment occurs in the middle of this grand chapter. As we think about what Jesus is doing in this chapter, it appears he is making the final transition from public ministry to what will be His impending death. We have already witnessed the theme of "giving" in Mark 12:1-12 and 12:13-17. God gave Jesus to come and die. In Mark 12:18-27 we see Jesus arguing at length for the reality of the resurrection. The motive behind the giving of the Son and Jesus' voluntary death and powerful resurrection is that of love. 

The same love of God that led to the Son's death and resurrection is the same love that defines what it means to live out the reality of the law of God. The only way we can love with God's love is when we have received by grace through faith the credited righteousness of Jesus Christ. Such powerful love is what enables us to love God and our neighbor. 

So the question is: Who is this God that we are to love? In Mark 12:35-37 we see Jesus demonstrating by way of a rhetorical question that He is the Eternally Divine Son - One with the Father - who came to take upon himself a true humanity, descended from King David. 

It is in contrast to this marvelous message of Jesus' mission and true identity that He then warns his listeners to be aware of the Pharisees in Mark 12:38-40. Sadly, the traditions of the Pharisees, which in some cases contained such rich teaching of God's Word, ended up adding man-made thinking to Divine truth - resulting in the spiritual blindness of teachers and students alike. When one reads the parallel of Jesus' denouncement of the Pharisees in Matthew 23:13-36, it is clear how spiritually blind the Pharisees and multitudes were. The oppressive system of the Temple System of Jesus' day resulted in many people being oppressed financially and having little to no ability to identify the very God of glory in human flesh.

Summarizing Mark 12 - Jesus' final plea for people to embrace His identity and mission by faith

Jesus spells out the mission for why He came in Mark 12:1-12. Just as God gave His Son, such a motivation of giving ought to be behind our stewardship, as spelled out in Mark 12:13-17. As Jesus continues on making reference to His mission, the argument for the resurrection is necessarily connected to His allusion to His impending death in Mark 12:1-12. It is at this point in Mark 12 that we see a transition from Jesus' mission to motives. We are to love God and our neighbor, and can only do so, when the love of God is coursing through our hearts. Passages such as Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:7 and 5:1-3 link our love to God's love. According to 1 John 4:19, such love explains why we are able to love in the manner described by Jesus. Then Jesus shifts to His Messianic identity in Mark 12:35-37, warning his listeners in Mark 12:38-40 to avoid those who could obscure it through human traditions. 

The one person in Mark 12 that evidenced genuine faith - the widow with the mite

Against the backdrop of Jesus' various teachings in Mark 12 and against the backdrop of the Pharisees he denounces, we find this small but clear portrait of the the widow giving of her final bit of money to the temple treasury. The term "mite" used in describing the widow's amount is an English rendering from a Latin Roman term meaning "minute". Despite a system that Jesus said would go in the extreme of exploting people such as her, this widow gave willingly. The widow gave her all - which is fitting - being that the object of her faith was sitting across from her in human flesh. Whether her eyes met his, the text does not say. Tomorrow we will consider in closer detail this account of the widow who gave her all to the Lord. 

A wonderful poem on how the Word of God is God's Anvil

Here is a wonderful poem someone gave me the other week. May you, dear reader, find it to be a blessing as you begin your new week:

"Last Eve I passed beside a blacksmith's door
And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime
Then looking in I saw upon the floor
Old hammers worn with beating years of time"

'How many anvils have you had,' said I
'To wear and batter all these hammers so?'
'Just one', said he, and then with twinkling eye,
'The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.'

"And so, thought I, the anvil of God's Word.
For ages skeptic blows have beat upon;
Yet, though the noise of falling blows was heard,
The anvil is unharmed - the hammers are gone."

Outlining Galatians 2 - Avoiding the Gospel's Two Thieves

Galatians 2:1-2 "Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. 2 It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain."

These past couple of days we have been featuring posts from Galatians 2. I have found this chapter in Galatians to be vital to understanding the typical battles that rage over the Gospel in our day and age. Today's post simply offers an outline of this chapter that may be used in communicating this chapter of God's Word.

Avoiding the Gospel's two thieves

Galatians 2

I. Demonstrating the true Gospel and exposing the Gospel's two thieves. Galatians 2:1-10

a. Exposing the thief of legalism 2:1-9

b. Exposing the thief of lawlessness. 2:10

II. Defending the true Gospel against the thief of legalism.

Galatians 2:11-14

III. Defining the True Gospel that saves - Justification by faith alone. Galatians 2:15-21

The premise behind this chapter in Galatians is to assert the true Gospel of Justification by faith alone. By understanding the true Gospel of Jesus Christ, we will then see the two other thieves - legalism and lawlessness. Legalism or works righteousness tries to earn favor with God through some type of mixture of behavior with faith or prescribed ritual. The second thief, lawlessness, suggests that one can make a profession of faith and live anyway they want. Legalism and lawlessness are the two thieves that steal and leave no hope of salvation. 

The latter of these two perversions is dispensed with quickly by Paul in an indirect way in Galatians 2:10, since the first perversion - works righteousness, is the more subtle and dangerous of the two. The only way to combat and avoid the two thieves of the Gospel is to receive the Gospel by faith, know the true Gospel, live the Gospel and know the Jesus of the Gospel (hence Galatians 2:20-21). 

Avoid the two thieves of the Gospel - Galatians 2

Galatians 2:16 "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified."

Introduction:

Preachers of old have described the Gospel's relationship to two perversions of it in the imagery of Jesus' dying on the cross between two thieves (see Mark 15:27). The Gospel of course deals with how sinful man is reconciled and made right with Holy God of Eternity. The way the Gospel prescribes for this to occur is by grace alone (Ephesians 2:8) through faith alone (Ephesians 2:9; Romans 10:9-10) in Christ alone (Acts 4:12; John 14:6). 

When we consider the two thieves on either side of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are talking about the two extremes in which sinful man conceives of salvation. The first thief is that of license or lawlessness. Paul expresses the absurdity of this first thief in Romans 6:1-2 "What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?" There are some today who will teach that as long as someone says some type of prayer to Jesus, it doesn't matter how one lives after such a so-called profession of faith. Afterall, it is God's job to forgive. Such a thief mocks the true Gospel like the first thief did Jesus. The Gospel of lawlessness is no Gospel, but a perversion of it. Whenever Paul is recounting his preaching of the true Gospel in Galatians 2:9-10, he reminds his readers of the importance of good-works following after saving faith - "And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.10 They only asked us to remember the poor—the very thing I also was eager to do." The same James of whom Paul speaks in this verse warned of the first thief of a faith that has no works following in James 2:14-16  "What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for theirbody, what use is that?" So Paul laid to rest the charge that he was promoting some sort of salvation that required no change following saving faith. 

The second thief on the other side of the Gospel is perhaps even more subtle and more dangerous than the first. It is the so-called Gospel of law or legalism that attempts to preach salvation by works. This thief is the more seductive, more cunning of the two, since it is dressed in the garments of religion and ritual. Whenever Paul was writing Galatians 2, he was dealing with this second thief of the Gospel. A group of Jews called the "Judiaizers" were attempting to convince Paul's readers that in order to be justified or made right with God, one had to be circumcised. This particularly heresy of works righteousness proved to be so seductive that otherwise strong preachers of the true Gospel like Peter and Barnabas were beginning to compomise (see Galatians 2:13).

In our own day and age, this second thief of the Gospel, works righteousness, attempts to snake its way into our pulpits and churches. Secretly mankind, even after salvation, finds the seductive power of the so-called gospel of works righteousness appealing. Whether we add faith plus baptism or faith plus some type of ritual to the mix, the result is still the same - no salvation. Paul plainly asserts in Galatians 2:16 "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." As you read on down through Paul's main point regarding the true Gospel of the cross, he states in Galatians 2:17-21 "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. 18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."

We as Christians must avoid these two thieves of the Gospel. Their efforts attempt to work their way into our hearts, our doctrine and our pulpits. Only the true Gospel of the cross: salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone can save. We are saved by grace through faith apart from works in order to live a faith that works. We are saved by grace through faith alone and are as Christians being saved by grace through faith that is never to be alone apart from works. The Apostle John states concerning our Lord Jesus Christ in John 1:14 that He alone was "full of grace and truth" and that in John 1:18 that "grace and truth are realized" in Jesus Christ. The two thieves attempt to emphasize one or the other, hence stealing away the Gospel. May we avoid the two thieves of the Gospel: lawlessness and works rightousness or legalism.  We must embrace the only Gospel that saves from the wrath to come - salvation by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone.  

God's Divine "T"-square of Justification by faith alone in Christ alone

Galatians 2:16  "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified."

Introduction:

When I would aid my father in various building projects around the home, he would often carry with him a straight edge "T" square. The device looked like a ruler connected to a cross piece running perpendicular to the ruler. Whenever my father needed to cut boards, he would grab his "T" square and mark off a perfectly straight line. I recall in one project, all of the boards that he had ordered were slightly crooked. In order to make them usable, my dad had to take the "T" square and draw a straight-line down the entire length of each board and then saw-off the material that didn't belong. My dad did all of this to make the boards "justified" or "right" with the purposes of his project and with the standard of his "T" square. 

The bad-news: We are all born crooked or "unjustified"

Every person born into this world, including you and me, arrived just like the boards above in the illustration - crooked and unusable. Romans 3:10-11 states - "as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; 11 There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God". To extend the comparison, we are not only crooked, but rotton to the core, full of knots and ridden with bugs. Romans 3:12 reminds us:  "All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.” In Philippians 2:15 Paul writes regarding unbelieving humanity - "so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world." The boards of human nature need to be justified or made right in God's sight for people to be deemed acceptable in His sight. The principle set forth by Solomon in Ecclesisates 1:14-15 is pretty bleak - "I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind. 15 What iscrooked cannot be straightened and what is lacking cannot be counted."

At issue is the fact that man by himself cannot make himself morally and spiritually right before God. Mankind has been affected by the fall of sin through and through. The question is raised in Job 25:4 “How then can a man be just with God?
Or how can he be clean who is born of woman?" 

The only One who can justify or make you right with God is Jesus Christ alone

When it comes to God's standards of what is right and wrong, such standards are located within His own being. In effect, God is His own "T" square. When Jesus the Son came to this world, He being very God in terms of His Divine essence took upon himself a very true and real sinless humanity. As God-incarnate, Jesus Christ walked as the Living standard of what constituted "rightness" (see 1 Corinthians 1:30). Romans 3:23-24 states - "even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus." 

The only necessary and sufficient means to receive Jesus Christ's righteousness is by faith alone

When Paul writes in Galatians 2 about the battle he was waging over how a person is made right with God, his message was emphatic: justification (being made right with God) has one basis: Jesus Christ's life and finished work. Additionally, justification has one means of reception: faith alone. Galatians 2:16 "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified." Romans 3:22-24 states in even more vivid detail - "even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus." Hence the Divine-human "T" square of living righteousness, Jesus Christ, is the only way in which our other-wise crooked and unacceptable humanity can be made acceptable. By faith alone can the Divinely-drawn straight line of Christ's life and finished work be received, credited and applied. 

Faith knows, even though it may not fully understand - a short study on Job's faith

Job 13:15 “Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him."

God was developing in Job a stronger reliance upon the words of God and prayer. Undoubtedly Job was recognizing he did not understand some of the ways of God as much as he thought He did. Nevertheless, in the midst of Job's grief and pain we find two statements in Job 23:10 and 12. In Job 23:10 Job states - "But He knows the way that I take, when He has tried me I shall come forth as gold." Then we see a second statement in Job 23:12 - "I have not departed from the command of His lips, I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food." The contents of these two verses represent what Job knew at that moment and time in his life. 

What was it that Job knew? Everything else: his family, his health, his possessions, his comfort and his friends were like shifting sand in the storm of his suffering. Job was learning to fear God. Job was learning to trust in God whom He did not completely understand. 

Faith that is true faith knows that it knows God, even though it may not fully comprehend about God. When I was a child, I would watch my dad construct different projects out of wood. In my little young mind, I did not understand the purpose of the particular projects nor was I able to grasp their intended end. Yet, I knew the character of my dad. I knew that whatever he was making (whether it be a chair, a window or a shelf), he was doing the work to the ultimate benefit of another. A lot of times I would gather the left over pieces of wood on the ground or make little roads in the saw dust around his tools. To me, the comfort I had in those memories derived from the fact that though I did not always understand as a childf all the work he did, I knew my dad, loved my dad and knew that he felt the same about me. God's grace frames faith, which in turn points us to Jesus Christ. Let us persevere in the grace of God by faith, since in these trying times, God aims to bring His people forth as gold for His glory.

Spiritual Boldness - A Character Study on the Prophet Nathan

2 Samuel 7:1-3 "Now it came about when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, 2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of Goddwells within tent curtains.” 3 Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you.”

Introduction: The prophetic office in the Old Testament

According to Dr. Gleason Archer in his book: "A Survey of the Old Testament Introduction", three main words are used to define a prophet in the Bible. The first term of course is the Hebrew word (Na-bi) translated "prophet", meaning a bearer of God's news, one who announces, summons or calls God's people to follow after God. The second term mentioned by Archer is the phrase "man of God". If the purpose of the prophet's office is defined by the title "prophet", then the one occupying the office itself is indeed a "man of God" or one who is devoted to God and personal fellowship with Him. The third term typically used to describe the prophetic office is that of "Seer". This term refers to the activity of the prophet. 

Prophets do not see things like most people see. A good example that comes to my mind is 2 Kings 6, where the prophet Elisha "saw" the armies of angels protecting he and his servant who could only see what was before him. According to Bible scholar Harold Wilmington, there are roughly 40 prophets, both writing prophets and non-writing prophets. 

The prophet Nathan - a spiritually bold prophet
As we just observed, there are roughly 40 prophets mentioned in the Bible. One of those prophets, Nathan, is used of God to bring forth the prophetic Word to two of Israel's greatest kings: David and Solomon. Nathan's name literally means: "He gives". Without a doubt, Nathan demonstrates courage and boldness in specific moments where such things were in short supply. Nathan was also priveleged by God to be the mouthpiece to deliver one of the the most important prophecies in all of the Bible - the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:8-16). When we look at Nathan's career and ministry, we find 2 main episodes in 2 Samuel (parallel accounts are also found in 1 Chronicles) and one main episode in 1 Kings:

1. Nathan's prophecy of the humanity of the ultimate King, the Lord Jesus Christ, coming through David's bloodline (i.e The Davidic Covenant). 
2 Samuel 7:1-17; 1 Chronicles 17:1-15

2. Nathan's confrontation of David over his sin with Bathsheba. 2 Samuel 12:1-25; Psalm 51

3. Nathan, along with other court officials, boldy anointed Solomon as King in opposition to a well publicized attempt by a rival brother of Solomon, Adonijah, to ascend to Israel's throne. 
1 Kings 1:1-45. 

There are some valuable lessons to learn about spiritual boldness from these three episodes of Nathan's life. Let's briefly list them...

1. Boldness to hear God. 2 Samuel 7:1-17
When David told Nathan of his desire to build a temple for Yahweh, Nathan responded with the natural assumption that it would be no problem for the King to pursue such a project. However, God later told Nathan that it would not be David, but his son who would build the temple. Moreover, God had greater plans for David that included the bringing about of the humanity of the ultimate King. 

Imagine what it must had been like the next time Nathan saw the king. The day before he told the king it was o.k to build the temple. Now he was going to tell David that God said "no", and that God had a far greater plan. We know of course David's response of praise from hearing Nathan's prophecy (2 Samuel 7:18-29). 

Nathan had the Holy Spirit-given boldness to hear God and speak for God. When we see his boldness, we need to remember that it is God we must aim to bring pleasure, not men (1 Thessalonians 2:4). Nathan was willing to forego the fear of the moment for what God in faith was showing him concerning the Divine destiny of the King. Thus we see the first lesson in being bold for God, namely the spiritual boldness to hear God. But now let us notice a second lesson about spiritual boldness from Nathan the prophet....

2. Boldness to hate sin. 2 Samuel 12
Imagine if you will being not only the King's prophet, but one of his closest friends. Word has reached your ears concerning God's planned judgment on the King. As you begin to understand what took place, it is discovered that King David has been emeshed in a conspiracy that entailed murder and forced impropriety on the wife of the man he had murdered! If you were Nathan, how would you respond? In 2 Samuel 12:1-7, we see Nathan tell a parable to King David, with David's response: "Then the Lord sent Nathan to David. And he came to him and said,
“There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 “The rich man had a great many flocks and herds. 3 “But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb which he bought and nourished; And it grew up together with him and his children.
It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, And was like a daughter to him. 4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man,
And he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd, To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him;
Rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this deserves to die. 6 He must make restitution for the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.” 

As you see the tension mounting, the ring of inevitability is about to strike. The hammer will soon fall on David's heart. Nathan's terse response to David is one of the most penetrating sentences in all of sacred scripture, notice 2 Samuel 12:7 "Nathan then said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul." 

The Prophet risked his life to deliver God's stinging indictment to King David. It took spiritual boldness to deliver God's Word. Hatred of sin is necessary if we expect to be spiritually bold for God and boldness to hear God is a requirement. Jude 1:20-23 states - But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23 save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear,hating even the garment polluted by the flesh." In spiritual matters, only when we know what we love more than anything will equip us to despise and put away from ourselves those things that get between ourselves and the object of our affections. Now let's consider one more trait of spiritual boldness from Nathan's life...


3. Boldness to full obey. 1 Kings 1
We have learned from Nathan the need to boldly hear God and hate sin in the quest for spiritual boldness. But what about full obedience? In 1 Kings 1, the proverbial sun is sinking into the horizon of David's reign. For over 30 years the prophet Nathan had stuck by his master's side. We saw him near thebeginning of David's reign in Jerusalem in 2 Samuel 7 - boldly hearing God. Then somewhere approaching the middle of David's reign, perhaps near the zenith of his power, we see Nathan boldly hate sin and confront his erring King. 

However in this final scene, we find the same King David on his bed of affliction. The throne of Jerusalem was in the cross-hairs of David's overly-ambitious son - Adonijah. David's other son - Solomon, was to be the rightful heir. Adonijah had presumed upon the moment and set up a public coronation of himself. The sound of crowds gathering could be heard. Nathan and a few of David's closest family and friends were in a dangerous position. 

To oppose Adonijah's meteoric rise to power would mean possible death. However, Nathan recalls God's Word to David that he spoke to Solomon as recorded in 1 Chronicles 22:6-12. In that passage, David promised Solomon that he would be his heir. Nathan took that to be the Word of the Lord and thus he knew he had to heed the Word and fulfill his responsibilities, along with the remainder of David's court. As you read on down through 1 Kings 1, Nathan and the rest of David's court hasten to put together a public coronation of Solomon, with shouts of "Long Live the King". The ceremony is accompanied by a Divine quaking, causing the rival Adonijah to quake in fear.  

What would you and I had done? Is full obedience to God only popular when it seems to benefit our cause. What happens when circumstances are less than ideal and the prospect of failure, ridicule or even death looms overhead? Then what? Will following through in obedience to God be so eagerly embraced? Nathan finished well. He saw Israel's next - true king - crowned. What a life of spiritual boldness! To hear God, hate sin and fully obey! Would it be that each of us, dear readers, be a spiritually bold generation for God.