Day 11/26 – Law and Request II

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
Law and Request II
Day Three Hundred Thirty

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; more to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.” Psalm 19:7, 10

Law differs from request in that the former has consequences frequently lacking in the latter. The force of law is accountability; if there is no consequence to breaking the law, then the law is superfluous. For example, say that I am sitting at the breakfast table having a cup of coffee, and when my wife gets up I ask her if she would pour me another cup of coffee. She looks at me and says, “Is that a law or a request?” I can respond in two ways: I can say, “Yes, it is a law. I am head of the home; bring me the cup of coffee.” Or more wisely I can say, “Of course you do not have to,” and get the cup of coffee myself.

In either case, her asking the question alerts me to the fact that something is terribly wrong in our relationship. When you love another the difference between law and request should be moot. You need to know what a person wants in order to give it to him, and you should view the commandments of God from this perspective.

For this reason the distinction between law and request should be blurred in the mind of the dedicated follower of Christ. You sense this attitude in the Psalms of David. Because He had a heart to please God, he did not feel as though he rested under the weight of God’s decrees. Rather he saw God’s Law as an opportunity to know what delights the Lover of his soul. David wanted to keep the Law, simply because He loved God and wanted to please Him.

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Ezekiel 27-29 1 Peter 3 (New King James Version)

Ezekiel 27-29
Lamentation for Tyre
27 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 2 “Now, son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyre, 3 and say to Tyre, ‘You who [a]are situated at the entrance of the sea, merchant of the peoples on many coastlands, thus says the Lord God:
“O Tyre, you have said,
‘I am perfect in beauty.’
4
Your borders are in the midst of the seas.
Your builders have perfected your beauty.
5
They [b]made all your planks of fir trees from Senir;
They took a cedar from Lebanon to make you a mast.
6
Of oaks from Bashan they made your oars;
The company of Ashurites have inlaid your planks
With ivory from the coasts of [c]Cyprus.
7
Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was what you spread for your sail;
Blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah was what covered you.
8
“Inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen;
Your wise men, O Tyre, were in you;
They became your pilots.
9
Elders of Gebal and its wise men
Were in you to caulk your seams;
All the ships of the sea
And their oarsmen were in you
To market your merchandise.
10
“Those from Persia, [d]Lydia, and [e]Libya
Were in your army as men of war;
They hung shield and helmet in you;
They gave splendor to you.
11
Men of Arvad with your army were on your walls all around,
And the men of Gammad were in your towers;
They hung their shields on your walls all around;
They made your beauty perfect.
12 “Tarshish was your merchant because of your many luxury goods. They gave you silver, iron, tin, and lead for your goods. 13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech were your traders. They bartered human lives and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. 14 Those from the house of Togarmah traded for your wares with horses, steeds, and mules. 15 The men of Dedan were your traders; many isles were the market of your hand. They brought you ivory tusks and ebony as payment. 16 Syria was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made. They gave you for your wares emeralds, purple, embroidery, fine linen, corals, and rubies. 17 Judah and the land of Israel were your traders. They traded for your merchandise wheat of Minnith, millet, honey, oil, and balm. 18 Damascus was your merchant because of the abundance of goods you made, because of your many luxury items, with the wine of Helbon and with white wool. 19 Dan and Javan paid for your wares, [f]traversing back and forth. Wrought iron, cassia, and cane were among your merchandise. 20 Dedan was your merchant in saddlecloths for riding. 21 Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your regular merchants. They traded with you in lambs, rams, and goats. 22 The merchants of Sheba and Raamah were your merchants. They traded for your wares the choicest spices, all kinds of precious stones, and gold. 23 Haran, Canneh, Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Assyria, and Chilmad were your merchants. 24 These were your merchants in choice items—in purple clothes, in embroidered garments, in chests of multicolored apparel, in sturdy woven cords, which were in your marketplace.
25
“The ships of Tarshish were carriers of your merchandise.
You were filled and very glorious in the midst of the seas.
26
Your oarsmen brought you into many waters,
But the east wind broke you in the midst of the seas.
27
“Your riches, wares, and merchandise,
Your mariners and pilots,
Your caulkers and merchandisers,
All your men of war who are in you,
And the entire company which is in your midst,
Will fall into the midst of the seas on the day of your ruin.
28
The common-land[g] will shake at the sound of the cry of your pilots.
29
“All who handle the oar,
The mariners,
All the pilots of the sea
Will come down from their ships and stand on the [h]shore.
30
They will make their voice heard because of you;
They will cry bitterly and cast dust on their heads;
They will roll about in ashes;
31
They will shave themselves completely bald because of you,
Gird themselves with sackcloth,
And weep for you
With bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.
32
In their wailing for you
They will take up a lamentation,
And lament for you:
‘What city is like Tyre,
Destroyed in the midst of the sea?
33
‘When your wares went out by sea,
You satisfied many people;
You enriched the kings of the earth
With your many luxury goods and your merchandise.
34
But you are broken by the seas in the depths of the waters;
Your merchandise and the entire company will fall in your midst.
35
All the inhabitants of the isles will be astonished at you;
Their kings will be greatly afraid,
And their countenance will be troubled.
36
The merchants among the peoples will hiss at you;
You will become a horror, and be no more forever.’ ” ’ ”
Proclamation Against the King of Tyre
28 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Because your heart is lifted[i] up,
And you say, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of gods,
In the midst of the seas,’
Yet you are a man, and not a god,
Though you set your heart as the heart of a god
3
(Behold, you are wiser than Daniel!
There is no secret that can be hidden from you!
4
With your wisdom and your understanding
You have gained riches for yourself,
And gathered gold and silver into your treasuries;
5
By your great wisdom in trade you have increased your riches,
And your heart is lifted up because of your riches),”
6 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god,
7
Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you,
The most terrible of the nations;
And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom,
And defile your splendor.
8
They shall throw you down into the Pit,
And you shall die the death of the slain
In the midst of the seas.
9
“Will you still say before him who slays you,
‘I am a god’?
But you shall be a man, and not a god,
In the hand of him who slays you.
10
You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
By the hand of aliens;
For I have spoken,” says the Lord God.’ ”
Lamentation for the King of Tyre
11 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“You were the seal of perfection,
Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13
You were in Eden, the garden of God;
Every precious stone was your covering:
The sardius, topaz, and diamond,
Beryl, onyx, and jasper,
Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold.
The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes
Was prepared for you on the day you were created.
14
“You were the anointed cherub who covers;
I established you;
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.
15
You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created,
Till iniquity was found in you.
16
“By the abundance of your trading
You became filled with violence within,
And you sinned;
Therefore I cast you as a profane thing
Out of the mountain of God;
And I destroyed you, O covering cherub,
From the midst of the fiery stones.
17
“Your heart was [j]lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor;
I cast you to the ground,
I laid you before kings,
That they might gaze at you.
18
“You defiled your sanctuaries
By the multitude of your iniquities,
By the iniquity of your trading;
Therefore I brought fire from your midst;
It devoured you,
And I turned you to ashes upon the earth
In the sight of all who saw you.
19
All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you;
You have become a horror,
And shall be no more forever.” ’ ”
Proclamation Against Sidon
20 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 21 “Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her, 22 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon;
I will be glorified in your midst;
And they shall know that I am the Lord,
When I execute judgments in her and am hallowed in her.
23
For I will send pestilence upon her,
And blood in her streets;
The wounded shall be judged in her midst
By the sword against her on every side;
Then they shall know that I am the Lord.
24 “And there shall no longer be a pricking brier or a painful thorn for the house of Israel from among all who are around them, who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.”
Israel’s Future Blessing
25 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. 26 And they will dwell [k]safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God.” ’ ”
Proclamation Against Egypt
29 In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the twelfth day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him, and against all Egypt. 3 Speak, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I am against you,
O Pharaoh king of Egypt,
O great monster who lies in the midst of his rivers,
Who has said, ‘My [l]River is my own;
I have made it for myself.’
4
But I will put hooks in your jaws,
And cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales;
I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers,
And all the fish in your rivers will stick to your scales.
5
I will leave you in the wilderness,
You and all the fish of your rivers;
You shall fall on the [m]open field;
You shall not be picked up or [n]gathered.
I have given you as food
To the beasts of the field
And to the birds of the heavens.
6
“Then all the inhabitants of Egypt
Shall know that I am the Lord,
Because they have been a staff of reed to the house of Israel.
7
When they took hold of you with the hand,
You broke and tore all their [o]shoulders;
When they leaned on you,
You broke and made all their backs quiver.”
8 ‘Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will bring a sword upon you and cut off from you man and beast. 9 And the land of Egypt shall become desolate and waste; then they will know that I am the Lord, because he said, ‘The River is mine, and I have made it.’ 10 Indeed, therefore, I am against you and against your rivers, and I will make the land of Egypt utterly waste and desolate, from [p]Migdol to Syene, as far as the border of Ethiopia. 11 Neither foot of man shall pass through it nor foot of beast pass through it, and it shall be uninhabited forty years. 12 I will make the land of Egypt desolate in the midst of the countries that are desolate; and among the cities that are laid waste, her cities shall be desolate forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them throughout the countries.”
13 ‘Yet, thus says the Lord God: “At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered. 14 I will bring back the captives of Egypt and cause them to return to the land of Pathros, to the land of their origin, and there they shall be a lowly kingdom. 15 It shall be the lowliest of kingdoms; it shall never again exalt itself above the nations, for I will diminish them so that they will not rule over the nations anymore. 16 No longer shall it be the confidence of the house of Israel, but will remind them of their iniquity when they turned to follow them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord God.” ’ ”
Babylonia Will Plunder Egypt
17 And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 18 “Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre; every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw; yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre, for the labor which they expended on it. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord God: ‘Surely I will give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; he shall take away her wealth, carry off her spoil, and remove her pillage; and that will be the wages for his army. 20 I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor, because they worked for Me,’ says the Lord God.
21 ‘In that day I will cause the [q]horn of the house of Israel to spring forth, and I will open your mouth to speak in their midst. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.’ ”
Footnotes:
• Ezekiel 27:3 Lit. sit or dwell
• Ezekiel 27:5 built
• Ezekiel 27:6 Heb. Kittim, western lands, especially Cyprus
• Ezekiel 27:10 Heb. Lud
• Ezekiel 27:10 Heb. Put
• Ezekiel 27:19 LXX, Syr. from Uzal
• Ezekiel 27:28 open lands or pasturelands
• Ezekiel 27:29 Lit. land
• Ezekiel 28:2 Proud
• Ezekiel 28:17 Proud
• Ezekiel 28:26 securely
• Ezekiel 29:3 The Nile
• Ezekiel 29:5 Lit. face of the field
• Ezekiel 29:5 So with MT, LXX, Vg.; some Heb. mss., Tg. buried
• Ezekiel 29:7 So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Syr. hand
• Ezekiel 29:10 Or the tower
• Ezekiel 29:21 Strength

1 Peter 3
Submission to Husbands
3 Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. 3 Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— 4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the [a]incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. 5 For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.
A Word to Husbands
7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
Called to Blessing
8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be [b]courteous; 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For
“He who would love life
And see good days,
Let him [c]refrain his tongue from evil,
And his lips from speaking deceit.
11 Let him turn away from evil and do good;
Let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
And His ears are open to their prayers;
But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Suffering for Right and Wrong
13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” 15 But [d]sanctify [e]the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. 17 For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
Christ’s Suffering and Ours
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring [f]us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who formerly were disobedient, [g]when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. 21 There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.
Footnotes:
• 1 Peter 3:4 imperishable
• 1 Peter 3:8 NU humble
• 1 Peter 3:10 restrain
• 1 Peter 3:15 set apart
• 1 Peter 3:15 NU Christ as Lord
• 1 Peter 3:18 NU, M you
• 1 Peter 3:20 NU, M when the longsuffering of God waited patiently