After the death of Abraham, the scripture says that Isaac settled in Gerar, which belonged to Abimelech king of the Philistines.  God blessed Isaac there and he became very wealthy.  As a result of this the Philistines envied Isaac and Abimelech told Isaac to leave their territory.  Isaac moved a short distance away from the city of Gerar and settled there.  In Gen. 26:18 the scripture says, “Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he gave them the same names which his father had given them.”

In the verses following this statement, the scripture tells us that the Philistines quarreled with Isaac about these newly restored wells, so he moved a little further away and dug another well.  They quarreled with him about this well also, so Isaac moved once again.  Finally, when he had moved far enough away to satisfy the Philistines, he dug another well and was able to settle there.

This process was necessitated because the Philistines had stopped up these wells after Abraham’s death.  There is no indication in scripture that the wells had gone dry, or that they had become polluted, or become otherwise unusable.  The wells were, in fact, still perfectly good, but the Philistines purposely made them unusable.  They did so as a sign of disrespect for Abraham and for his family.  Thus Isaac had to dig them again in order to benefit from the water hidden beneath them.

This series of events perfectly illustrates what happens when we neglect or distort the scriptures.  The scriptures are the source of the water of life, by which we are saved (Jas. 1:21).  God our Father dug this well, as it were, when He breathed out the scriptures to the inspired writers of the Old and New Testaments (2 Pet. 1:20-21).  The scriptures, as God revealed them, are pure in every respect.  They are everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3), and they equip us for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17).  If we come to the scriptures with an honest heart and a desire to know the truth, we will find the refreshing water of life that will sustain us all the way to our heavenly home.

Over time, however, the well of God’s word has become polluted and stopped up by various man-made attitudes and dogmas.  Like the Philistines who stopped up Abraham’s wells, men who have no respect for God have filled the well of His word with the rocks and debris of human philosophy, false teaching, and neglect.  When one comes to this stopped up well, he cannot find the water of life because man-made teachings are blocking access to it.  The only way to drink the water of life is to re-dig the old well by clearing away every bit of man-made doctrine and human philosophy that has stopped it up.

There is no question that this is hard work, but it is what must be done in order to reach the pure water of life that God has revealed in His word.  Re-digging the old wells means devoting oneself to consistent and systematic study of the scriptures.  Jesus told some believing Jews, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (Jn. 8:31-32).  To do so these Jews had to remove all the clutter of Jewish tradition in order to faithfully follow the Son of God.  We today must remove all the clutter of human traditions and search the scriptures daily, so we can know the truth (Acts 17:11).  To re-dig the old wells, we must have the same attitude that Paul had, who said, “Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar” (Rom. 3:4).

One of the most famous trademarks in modern advertising features a black and white dog sitting next to an old-fashioned gramophone, apparently listening as a disc plays.  The original painting, done by the dog’s owner, is entitled, “His Master’s Voice.”  The painting was sold to one of the early recording companies and over time this image became a logo for the RCA Company in the United States.  The image was marketed in such a way as to subtly suggest that RCA recordings were so lifelike that the dog could not distinguish between the sound of his master’s voice on the disc versus in real life.  Many years later, the Memorex cassette tape company tried to use this same idea with their, “Is it real or is it Memorex?” campaign.

The idea of recognizing and listening to one’s master’s voice is an important theme that has biblical application.  When God brought the people of Israel to Sinai to give them the law, He commanded Moses to consecrate the people so He could speak to them from the mountain.  In Ex. 19:18-19 the scripture says that God descended upon the mountain and spoke to Moses.  As God spoke, the people heard it as thunder.  In Ex. 20:18-19 the scripture says the people trembled when they heard the voice of God.  They begged Moses to ask God to speak to him, rather than to them, lest they die from hearing His voice.

From our perspective this may seem to be an odd reaction.  Many today glibly suggest that God speaks to them with revelations and messages for believers.  Others say they wish God would speak to them personally.  Yet, every time the scriptures speak of an occasion in which God spoke from heaven, it sounded like thunder and the audience was either terrified or left in awe by it.  The voice of God was not something they wished to hear.  Men like Moses, Joshua, and the prophets heard the voice of God and were not afraid, but they were extraordinary men serving in extraordinary roles.

Nevertheless, wise people wish to hear the voice of God still today.  They wish it because they know that the only way they can please Him is to hear His will so they can obey it.  The lives of godly people all around us demonstrate that God is still speaking to His people, but how is He doing it?  The answer is that He is speaking through His revealed word.  In 2 Tim. 3:16-17 Paul said, “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (English Standard Version).

The key in this passage is the phrase “breathed out” in v. 16.  This means that every word in scripture came from God Himself.  In 2 Pet. 1:21 Peter said, “For no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.”  Using the Holy Spirit as the medium to convey His will, God spoke to the inspired writers of both Old and New Testaments.  The things they wrote are the very words of God.  Therefore, when we read the scriptures, we are hearing our Master’s voice.  This is, by the way, the only way we can hear His voice until we stand before Him in judgment.  There is no need for God to actually speak to us today because the scriptures are “everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3).

The scriptures are breathed out by God.  They make us complete and equip us for every good work.  They are everything pertaining to life and godliness.  They are our Master’s voice telling us how to live on earth, so we can live with Him in heaven in eternity.  Therefore, read the Bible, and listen to your Master’s voice.

In many hotels and resorts patrons have the option of reserving a room that overlooks some part of the grounds that are especially beautiful.  In a seaside resort, the best rooms face the shoreline.  In mountain resorts, the best rooms are situated so patrons can see the snow-capped mountains in the distance.  A popular resort in the central valley of California sits amid fields and orchards which are bare at certain times of the year.  The best rooms in this resort face the inner grounds, which are spectacularly groomed.

We sometimes refer to these kinds of rooms as “a room with a view”.  Usually patrons pay a premium to occupy these rooms, and reservations for them can sometimes be hard to get.  Even so, many guests pay the extra cost and make their reservations well in advance in order to have one of these special rooms.  Sometimes, however, a guest arrives with reservation in hand only to find that the desired room is not available.  This is a tricky public relations problem for the resort, and can be a bitter disappointment for the guest.

What would the reaction be, though, if a resort were to advertise that all its rooms had a spectacular view?  Furthermore, what if that resort charged the same price for every room, and guaranteed that a room, once properly reserved, would be available for each guest?  Would this pique anyone’s curiosity about that resort?  Would the switchboard be flooded with calls?  Would the web site crash from so many people trying to access it?  Very likely so.

Many of us might be skeptical of such an ad if we saw it.  We would wonder what the catch is.  The old adage about something too good to be true probably is, would likely come to mind.  Yet, this is exactly the promise that our Lord made before He left this earth.  On the night of His betrayal the Lord told the disciples, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me.  In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.  If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

The Lord said that in His Father’s house there are many dwelling places.  The Greek word He used is the word for rooms.  There are many rooms in the Father’s house, and they are being prepared for those whose names are in the heavenly reservation book, which is the book of life.  All these rooms are premium rooms, paid for by the blood of Jesus Christ, and no one who has a reservation will be turned away.  All of these rooms have a view.  It is a view of the heavenly city and of the throne room of God the Father.

We make our reservations for our room with a view by obeying the gospel of Jesus Christ, and by living faithfully until death.  When the end of time comes, everyone who has ever lived will stand before the Lord at judgment (2 Cor. 5:10).  According to Rev. 20:11-15, books will be opened and each of us will be judged by what is written in the books.  Those whose names are in the book of life will be ushered into the heavenly city, to the rooms that have been prepared for them by the Lord.  Those whose names are not in the book of life will be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death (Rev. 20:14-15).

On earth, not everyone gets a room with a view.  In heaven, however, every room is guaranteed to be a room with an out of this world view.  Every person whose name is in the book of life will receive a room with a view in heaven.  This being true, doesn’t it make sense to make your reservations now?

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is described in many ways in scripture.  One of the most beautiful is found in Isa. 9:6, where the scripture says, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government shall rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”  Our Lord is also called, “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn. 1:29).  It would be difficult to choose a name that best describes the Lord because each name by which He is identified in scripture speaks to some aspect of His role in God’s eternal plan to save mankind.

The name that perhaps fits Him best after His resurrection and ascension is the one used by Paul to describe Him in 1 Tim. 6:15.  Here Paul called the Lord, “the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.”  The phrase “King of Kings and Lord of lords” is used only three times in the New Testament.  Each time it is used exclusively in reference to Jesus.  In Rev. 17:14 John used this phrase to describe the Lamb who overcomes the beast.  He did so because the Lamb is “Lord of lords and King of kings”.  Later, in Rev. 19:16, when John saw the Lord coming, riding on a white horse, he said that on His robe and on His thigh was written, “King of kings and Lord of lords”.

The power of this designation for our Lord is that He is the supreme authority in heaven and on earth.  There may be kings and lords on earth, but our Lord is the King over all the kings.  He is the Lord over all lords, whoever they may be, or however powerful they may be.  This, of course, is a biblical truth to which our Lord Himself testified.  When the Lord appeared to the apostles for one of the last times before His ascension to heaven, He told them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Mt. 28:18).

This truth coincides perfectly with the fact that Jesus Christ is now reigning over His kingdom.  The climax of Peter’s sermon on the first Pentecost after the Lord’s resurrection was that God had raised Jesus from the dead and made Him “both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36).  Paul also testified to this truth in Col. 1:13, where he told Christians in Colossae that God “rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son”.  Paul also showed that Christ is now reigning in 1 Cor. 15:20-28.  There he said that at the end of time the Lord would “hand over the kingdom to the God and Father”.  The Lord, Paul said, must reign until all His enemies had been put under His feet.  The last enemy to be subdued will be death, at which time God the Father will resume supreme authority.

The implication of this truth is simple and powerful.  We now live in the reign of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.  We live in the time when Jesus Christ is the supreme authority in heaven and on earth.  Only God the Father is not subject to Him (1 Cor. 15:28).  As a result, we owe our allegiance and obedience to Jesus Christ and to no other.

Because Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords, we must respond to Him in a way that is appropriate to what He is. He is not the baby in the manger.  He is not the passive, almost feminine figure that so many portray Him as being.  He is “the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords”.  Therefore we must bow the knee before Him, and make confession with our lips and with our lives, that He is THE Lord.  We must do so because He has the name that is above every name (Phi. 2:9-11), and one day we will stand before Him in judgment (2 Cor. 5:10).

Recent events have drawn attention to one of the baser elements of human nature.  From the halls of Congress to the Oval Office to State Houses and the streets of our cities there seems to be an unending stream of vitriol that is fanning the flames of hatred in our country.  This harsh and generally unfair criticism has stirred up the emotions of so many people that reasonable discussion of the legitimate issues facing us is nearly impossible.  In response to these tensions many well-meaning people are simply calling for an end to the hate.  This is certainly a worthy goal, and greatly to be desired, but it is clear that most people have no idea how to achieve it.

On the one hand, many professed believers suggest that we can only end the hate if we begin to love our neighbors as ourselves, just as the Lord commanded.  In Mt. 22:37-40, in response to a question from a lawyer as to which commandment was the greatest, the Lord said that the foremost commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind.  The second, He said, is to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Certainly if all of us obeyed these two commands all the hatred would end.

On the other hand, there is another aspect of biblical teaching that applies to this discussion.  It is something that in large measure has been overlooked, and which many people might dismiss without a second thought.  This biblical truth is that there are some things that we must hate.  The reason we must hate them is because God Himself hates them.

In Prov. 6:16-19 Solomon wrote, “There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.”  These seven sins are at the root of virtually every problem we face as individuals and as a nation.  The magnitude of these sins is seen in the Lord’s response to them.  Solomon says that God hates them, and they are an abomination to Him.  This means these are things we cannot tolerate if we want to be right with Him.

We generally recoil from the idea of hatred, but in the context of Solomon’s wisdom, surely we can see that there are times when it is appropriate, and necessary, to hate.  The consequences of not doing so are evident in the scriptures.  Part of the reason for the condemnation of Judah was because their spiritual leaders were prophesying falsely (sinning) and the people loved it instead of opposing it (Jer. 5:31).  In a similar way, we have tacitly given our approval to the things God hates by our silence about them.  These things have been on display in our land for far too long without any serious challenge from godly people.  As a result, we are reaping the fruit of our silence.

We must understand, however, that while it is appropriate to hate certain things, hating these sins does not mean we hate the ones who commit them.  God the Father hates these things, but He so loved the ones committing them that He sent His only Son to die on the cross in order to forgive their sins.  This is the model that we must follow.  We must condemn sin in every instance that we encounter it.  But we must do so with the ultimate goal of saving the sinner by means of the blood of Jesus Christ.  This is why we call people to repent of sin in whatever form it may be manifested.  This is the highest form of loving one’s neighbor as oneself, and it is the only way the sinner can be saved.

Clearly, if more of us hated the things that God hates, we would no longer tolerate the sins that have created the evil environment in which we live.  If we all hated the things God hates, the other kind of hatred would absolutely cease.

A Pew Research Center survey in 2014 found that 72% of Americans believe in heaven.  The same survey found that only 58% of Americans believe in hell.  When surveyed according to denominational affiliation, the percentages were significantly higher among evangelicals and mainstream Protestants.  The highest percentages were registered by Mormons.  Surprisingly, only about 40% of Jews surveyed said they believe in heaven, and only about 20% said they believe in hell.

It is not surprising that such a large majority of Americans believe in heaven.  From the things they say it seems that nearly everyone expects to go there when they die.  It is surprising, however, that such a large number of people choose not to believe in a corresponding place of eternal punishment.  Even more surprising are the concepts that some have concerning hell.  Some act as though hell is just an extension of life on earth, and if they go there they expect to just “tough it out.”  Others make jokes about it as though it will be little more than an inconvenience.  In an old Twilight Zone episode hell was portrayed as a place where a petty criminal was driven crazy because he could steal with impunity and have everything his heart desired without any threat of being caught or prosecuted.  Of course the truth of scripture refutes such views.

Most people would be surprised to discover that our Lord Jesus spoke more about hell than anyone else in the New Testament record.  Of the twelve times the word “hell” is used in the New Testament, Jesus spoke it eleven times.  His brother James used it the other time.  In some of our English translations the word appears one more time, in 2 Pet. 2:4.  However the Greek word in this verse is tartaros, which is actually the place where the unrighteous dead await final judgment.

When the Lord spoke about hell, He conveyed several truths about this place.  First, He confirmed that it does indeed exist.  He warned His disciples that they should put out their eye, or cut off their hand rather than to enter hell with their body intact (Mt. 5:29-30; 18:9; Mk. 9:45, 47).  Second, He warned that some will indeed be sent there by God the Father.  He told His disciples not to fear those who could kill the body, but rather they should fear the one who could send both body and soul into hell (Mt. 10:28; Lk. 12:5).  Third, He depicted hell as a place of fire.  In Mt. 18:9 He warned about being cast into “the fiery hell”.

In addition to these warnings, the Lord taught the reality of hell when he spoke of the judgment that will occur when He returns.  In Mt. 25:31-46 the Lord said He will divide the sheep from the goats at that time.  The sheep will be welcomed into the heavenly kingdom, but the goats will be turned away.  They will be sent “into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mt. 25:41).  In the parable of the talents, the Lord referred to the place of eternal punishment as “the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Mt. 25:30).

When the Lord gave the Revelation to John on the island of Patmos, He showed him a vision of what final judgment will be.  In Rev. 20:11-15 John wrote that all the dead will be judged by what is written in the books.  Those whose names are found in the book of life will enter heaven.  The rest will be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death (vs. 14-15).  In the lake of fire they will be tormented day and night forever and ever, along with the devil himself (Rev. 20:10).

Hell is a real place.  It, like heaven, is a prepared place (Mt. 25:41).  It is prepared for those who chose to disobey God in life.  It is a place of unspeakable anguish from which there is no escape, and in which there is no relief.  Knowing the truth about hell, why would anyone choose to live in such a way that they will go there at judgment?  Let us therefore resolve to always obey God’s will so we will not go to that horrible place.

On July 4, 1776 our forefathers published a document that they called a Declaration of Independence.  It represented the collective dreams and aspirations of a loosely confederated group of English colonies stretched along the eastern seaboard of North America.  The signatories of this document could not have envisioned how great this new nation would one day become.  In fact, at the time it was signed there was considerable doubt if this new nation would indeed become independent of Great Britain.

Independence is an idea that is almost revered in our country.  As a child grows up he is taught to be independent, that is, to learn how to subsist on his own and to care for himself in every aspect of life.  Those who refuse to do so are typically looked down upon with scorn for their refusal.  Those who are physically or mentally unable to be independent are looked upon with genuine pity.  Generally speaking, we want to be independent, especially with regard to the decisions we make about our lives.

This spirit of independence pervades virtually every area of our thinking, including our spiritual pursuits.  We sometimes hear professed believers refer to themselves as “free men and women in Christ.”  Typically, this  declaration is made as a justification for proposed changes to the faith and practice of the church.  Such men and women use this statement to declare their independence from spiritual leaders who do not share their views on some matter of faith.  Interestingly, the phrase “free men and women in Christ” appears nowhere in scripture.  This omission is significant.

The closest reference to such an idea is found in Gal. 5:1, where Paul said, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free”.  If this is where the idea of “free men and women in Christ” originates, it is interesting to see that in the context Paul was not talking about the kind of freedom that many assert today.  He was instead speaking of freedom from the slavery of the Mosaic Law.  The Christians of Galatia were not subject to that law, and no one could make them subject to it without severing them from Christ (Gal. 5:4).

When we consider the biblical concept of freedom in Christ, we discover that it is freedom from slavery to sin.  Paul spoke of this in Rom. 6:16-18.  He said that we are slaves of the one we obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness.  He also said that when the Romans had become obedient from the heart to the gospel, they then became freed from slavery to sin.  They did not, however, become free and independent of any moral or spiritual constraints.

In v. 22 Paul said, “But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.”  Here is the fundamental truth of our relationship to God through Jesus Christ.  All Christians are slaves God.  They are also slaves of Christ (Eph. 6:6) and slaves of righteousness (Rom. 6:18).  They are, therefore, bound to the dictates of their Lord and Master, Jesus Christ.  The bottom line is that we are not “free men and women in Christ” as some use this phrase today.  Instead, our freedom is a very specific thing.

Those who are Christians have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Col. 1:13).  We have been set free from the power of the evil one.  Our independence day is the day we obeyed the gospel.  This is the day we were set free from the consequences of our sins.  This is the independence that we should celebrate and honor each day, even as we daily bow the knee as slaves to the Lord of lords and King of kings.

When a round object is dropped into a pool of water, a fascinating effect occurs.  As the water which is displaced by the object returns to its former place it pushes mini waves across the surface of the water.  These waves spread out from the point of impact in ever-growing circles to the farthest reaches of that body of water.  We call these waves ripples, and we call the cumulative process the ripple effect.

One of the realities of a physical ripple effect is that we cannot always tell what the full effect of those ripples will be.  In a large body of water the ripples may disappear from sight before they reach the opposite shoreline.  The tsunamis of 2004 are the most horrible example of this fact.  The earthquake which spawned these tsunamis occurred near the island of Sumatra, but the tsunamis traveled nearly 3,000 miles to the west, bringing death and destruction with them all the way.

This same truth is evident in spiritual matters.  The ripple effect caused by certain spiritual decisions generally spreads far beyond the ability of anyone to foresee.  This was the case when Jeroboam the son of Nebat erected idols in Dan and in Bethel to keep the northern tribes from worshiping God at the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kgs. 12:25-33).  The ripple effect of this action was that the nation of Israel became more and more wicked in each generation.  Finally, after nearly 200 years of this rebellion, God brought His wrath upon Israel in the form of the Assyrians, who carried the ten tribes into captivity.

Although Jeroboam did not live to see the destruction of his nation, the guilt for what happened to Israel is laid squarely upon him.  In more than a dozen instances in the history of Israel, the wicked kings of that nation were said to have continued in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat (2 Kgs. 3:3, et al).  The ripple effect of Jeroboam’s sin was that it condemned future generations of his people because he led them away from God.

This is a lesson that should make us stop and think about the actions we take each day.  We may think that what we are contemplating is just a small thing.  We may think it will only affect ourselves, but we would be wrong to think so.  It may seem a small thing to choose to be absent from the assembly when we could otherwise be present, but can we foresee the ripples that action will create?  It may seem a personal thing to indulge in some questionable activity, but can we foresee what the end result of that action will be?  The truth is that we cannot foresee these things.  We cannot tell what effects our sinful actions may cause.

The same can be said for the good we may do.  When the Lord commissioned His apostles to take the gospel to the whole world, He said it would start in Jerusalem, spread through Judea and Samaria, and finally reach the remotest parts of the earth (Acts 1:8).  The ripple effect of the gospel being dropped into Jerusalem on the first Pentecost after the Lord’s resurrection is still being felt today as Christians preach the good news all over the world.

Therefore, we should give careful consideration to every decision we make.  We should take the time to consider what the ripple effect will be, and what the spiritual outcome may be for ourselves and for others who look to us for an example.  Let us not be like Jeroboam the son of Nebat, whose ripple effect caused the destruction of a nation.  Instead, let us always make wise and godly decisions in our lives so the ripples our actions create will be ripples of good that will lead others to eternal life.

Many years ago, I came across a short poem that every father should take to heart.  It is entitled, “A Little Fellow Follows Me.”  The words of the poem are:

A careful man I want to be, a little fellow follows me.

I do not dare to go astray, for fear he’ll go the selfsame way.

I cannot once escape his eyes, whate’er he sees me do, he tries.

Like me he says he’s going to be, the little fellow who follows me.

He thinks that I am good and fine, believes in every word of mine.

The base in me he must not see, the little fellow who follows me.

I must remember as I go, through summer’s sun and winter’s snow,

I am building for the years that be, for that little chap who follows me.

The unknown author of these words understood and appreciated the nature of how we teach our children, especially in the case of fathers and sons.  His words should strike deep within our hearts so we will consider the things we do each day.  While we may not give a second thought to many of the things we do, our children and grandchildren are watching and taking note of it all.  We may tell them not to do as we do, but deep down inside we know that our words are useless in this regard.  Our children idolize us as fathers, and even if they do not like certain aspects of our character, they will very likely copy them as they grow to maturity.  This thought should sober us all.

As fathers we have an awesome responsibility, even if our only interest were in worldly matters.  It takes wisdom and tenacity to raise children to be good citizens and hard-working contributors to the good of society.  If it were easy, there would be no slackers in the world.  But the responsibility, and the challenge, is even greater when we take a spiritual perspective on life.  When we think spiritually, we are not just preparing our children for life.  We are, in fact, preparing them for eternity.

What we need today are more fathers like the patriarch Job.  Of all the earthly fathers mentioned in scripture, he is perhaps the greatest, and the reasons are pretty clear.  In Job 1:1 the scripture says that Job was “blameless and upright, fearing God and turning away from evil”.  In v. 8 God Himself testified to this truth.  So as a father, Job gave his children the best possible example of what it means to be a godly man.

Secondly, Job was conscientious about his children’s conduct, and led them in proper devotion to God.  In Job 1:5 the scripture says that after Job’s children had completed their days of feasting, he would offer burnt offerings for them before God, in case one of them had sinned against God in some way.  The scripture says, “Thus Job did continually.”  So not only did Job’s children see the godly conduct of their father, they also saw, and were led by him, in continual expressions of worship to God.

Third, when Job was mercilessly attacked by Satan, and suffered many afflictions by his hand, the scripture says that in all of this, “Job did not sin nor did he blame God” (Job 1:22).  Job’s first children did not live to see this example, but his later children were surely aware of it.  In these ways Job presented the best possible human example of what a father should be.

Let all of us who are fathers do our best each day to be like the patriarch Job.  Let us strive to be blameless and upright before God, so our children will see the best possible example in our lives.  Let us also continually lead our children in devotion to God so they will see what it means to properly love and honor Him.

In the book of Revelation when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, John saw the souls of the martyrs underneath the altar in the throne room of God.  In Rev. 6:10 the scripture says, “And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?'”  This plea for God to execute His judgment on the wicked may surprise some of us.  It may even offend some.  God, however, did not condemn this plea.  Instead, He comforted these martyrs and told them that they must rest a while longer until the number of martyrs would be completed (v. 11).  The implication is that God will at some point do as these martyrs requested.

The sentiment of the martyrs in Rev. 6 was primarily the result of the persecution Christians were then suffering at the hands of the Roman Empire.  For many generations, especially here in the United States, the idea of persecution and a resultant plea for God to execute judgment on the wicked were only theoretical exercises.  We have lived in relative peace and security as believers because our system of government recognized the value of the Christian religion and generally avoided any intrusion into the exercise of our faith.  That time appears to be over.  Not only are Christians under assault from the generally recognized forces of evil, but we are now also beginning to see overt persecution from our government.  As these things accelerate, we worry about what will ultimately befall us.

Some Christians remain aloof and seemingly unconcerned about the current state of affairs in our country.  There is no adequate explanation for such blindness.  As surprising as this is, however, there are other professed believers who seem to be aiding and abetting the enemy in this struggle.  They do so by accepting the notion that certain kinds of behavior no longer fall under condemnation as sin.  They do so also by supporting and endorsing candidates for public office whose stated agendas are contrary to biblical truth.  They seem oblivious to the fact that they are by their actions letting the wolf into the sheepfold.

On the other hand, faithful Christians recognize the dangers that we face today from ungodly influences.  Like the martyrs in Rev. 6, they cry out, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”  Faithful Christians wonder how long God will allow the world to further debase itself.  When they view the situation in the world today, they can see that we must be as close as any previous generation has been to the conditions that prompted the great flood of Noah’s day.  In Gen. 6:5 the scripture says that at that time every intent of the thoughts of mankind were only evil continually.  This certainly seems to be the case today.

The sentiment of Rev. 6 is understandable.  Christians are salt and light in the world (Mt. 5:13-16).  Their desire, like that of their Father in heaven, is that all people would be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4).  They want only to live in peace and to influence as many as possible for good.  The actions of the wicked in every segment of society make these goals more difficult to attain, and so we wonder how long the Lord will wait to make things right.

Even so, Christians have a hope that no others possess.  We are promised that the suffering of life will not compare to the glory of heaven (Rom. 8:18).  We are promised that when we enter heaven God will wipe away all tears (Rev. 21:4).  We are also promised that the wicked will not go unpunished (2 Th. 1:7-8).  Therefore, like the martyrs in Rev. 6, we must remain faithful and wait a while longer for God to make things right.  And we know that He will.