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daily devotional
"Afterward."
Hebrews 12:11
How happy are tried Christians, afterwards. No calm more deep than that which
succeeds a storm. Who has not rejoiced in clear shinings after rain? Victorious
banquets are for well-exercised soldiers. After killing the lion we eat the
honey; after climbing the Hill Difficulty, we sit down in the arbour to rest;
after traversing the Valley of Humiliation, after fighting with Apollyon, the
shining one appears, with the healing branch from the tree of life. Our
sorrows, like the passing keels of the vessels upon the sea, leave a silver
line of holy light behind them "afterwards." It is peace, sweet, deep peace,
which follows the horrible turmoil which once reigned in our tormented, guilty
souls. See, then, the happy estate of a Christian! He has his best things last,
and he therefore in this world receives his worst things first. But even his
worst things are "afterward" good things, harsh ploughings yielding joyful
harvests. Even now he grows rich by his losses, he rises by his falls, he lives
by dying, and becomes full by being emptied; if, then, his grievous afflictions
yield him so much peaceable fruit in this life, what shall be the full vintage
of joy "afterwards" in heaven? If his dark nights are as bright as the world's
days, what shall his days be? If even his starlight is more splendid than the
sun, what must his sunlight be? If he can sing in a dungeon, how sweetly will
he sing in heaven! If he can praise the Lord in the fires, how will he extol
him before the eternal throne! If evil be good to him now, what will the
overflowing goodness of God be to him then? Oh, blessed "afterward!" Who would
not be a Christian? Who would not bear the present cross for the crown which
cometh afterwards? But herein is work for patience, for the rest is not for
to-day, nor the triumph for the present, but "afterward." Wait, O soul, and let
patience have her perfect work.
Go To Evening Reading
"I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the
earth."
Ecclesiastes 10:7
Upstarts frequently usurp the highest places, while the truly great pine in
obscurity. This is a riddle in providence whose solution will one day gladden
the hearts of the upright; but it is so common a fact, that none of us should
murmur if it should fall to our own lot. When our Lord was upon earth, although
he is the Prince of the kings of the earth, yet he walked the footpath of
weariness and service as the Servant of servants: what wonder is it if his
followers, who are princes of the blood, should also be looked down upon as
inferior and contemptible persons? The world is upside down, and therefore, the
first are last and the last first. See how the servile sons of Satan lord it in
the earth! What a high horse they ride! How they lift up their horn on high!
Haman is in the court, while Mordecai sits in the gate; David wanders on the
mountains, while Saul reigns in state; Elijah is complaining in the cave while
Jezebel is boasting in the palace; yet who would wish to take the places of the
proud rebels? and who, on the other hand, might not envy the despised saints?
When the wheel turns, those who are lowest rise, and the highest sink.
Patience, then, believer, eternity will right the wrongs of time.
Let us not fall into the error of letting our passions and carnal appetites
ride in triumph, while our nobler powers walk in the dust. Grace must reign as
a prince, and make the members of the body instruments of righteousness. The
Holy Spirit loves order, and he therefore sets our powers and faculties in due
rank and place, giving the highest room to those spiritual faculties which link
us with the great King; let us not disturb the divine arrangement, but ask for
grace that we may keep under our body and bring it into subjection. We were not
new created to allow our passions to rule over us, but that we, as kings, may
reign in Christ Jesus over the triple kingdom of spirit, soul, and body, to the
glory of God the Father.
Leviticus 1:14
(14) And if the burnt sacrifice for his offering to the LORD be of
fowls, then he shall bring his offering of turtledoves, or of young pigeons.
Go to this verse on Bible Tools
The turtledove and pigeon represent mourning innocence, powerlessness,
meekness, and humility. No labor is symbolized here, nor is uncomplaining
submission, but rather harmlessness, a proclivity to make peace, and even
sadness. In Matthew 10:16, as Christ prepares to send the apostles out to
represent Him, He instructs them: "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst
of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves." Later, the
apostle Paul instructs the much-beloved Philippian congregation to "Do all
things without murmuring and disputing, that you may become blameless and
harmless..." (Philippians 2:14-16).
Isaiah draws on a turtledove's characteristic to describe Israel's
social situation:
We all growl like bears, and moan sadly like doves; we look for
justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us. For our
transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us; and
as for our iniquities, we know them: In transgressing and lying against the
Lord, and departing from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving
and uttering from the heart words of falsehood. Justice is turned back, and
righteousness stands afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity
cannot enter. So truth fails, and he who departs from evil makes himself a
prey. (Isaiah 59:11-15)
Overall, the turtledove's imagery is of humility mixed with sadness
caused by the overwhelming accumulation of the effects of sin and repentant
sorrow because we have been so much trouble to God. This quality is rewarding,
as Psalm 147:3 comforts, "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their
wounds." Psalm 34:17-19 adds, "The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and
delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to those who have a
broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the
afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all."
John W. Ritenbaugh
From The Offerings of Leviticus (Part Two): The Burnt Offering
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