NORTHSHORE CHURCH OF CHRIST

What does it mean to be poor in spirit? Jesus said I am blessed if I am poor in spirit, and, in addition, I have (present tense) the kingdom of heaven, so it sounds important to be poor in spirit.

Jesus started His list of “blessed” statements (what we typically call the “Beatitudes”) with this one. Notice, by the way, the how many Ts are in “beatitude” and how many are in “attitude.” They are not related words. A beatitude is not an attitude we are supposed to be. “Beatitude” means “a supremely blessed state.” Jesus said I am supremely blessed if I am poor in spirit.

In fact, all citizens of Jesus’ kingdom must be poor in spirit, because if we are not poor in spirit, we do not have the kingdom of heaven!

The first and last of the eight beatitudes hold the same promise—“for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”—so this short list defines citizens of Jesus’ kingdom. This is not some random list of proverbs; this is a definition of who is in the kingdom of heaven. Every Christ-follower is poor in spirit, mourns, is meek, hungers and thirsts for righteousness, is merciful, is pure in heart, is a peacemaker, and rejoices in persecution.

But return to the first one—what does it mean to be poor in spirit?

Poor means lacking, not having, being empty. But what do we lack? Jesus taught that it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, and He told the rich ruler to sell all he had, give to the poor, and go follow Jesus. Is that what this is talking about? Does Jesus demand all His followers sell everything they have and give to the poor?

A man can be worldly poor and still not be poor in spirit. These are not equal.

Poor in spirit is like humility. We realize our low place in reference to God and others. Yet it is more than simple humility. We stand before God spiritually destitute, having nothing to bring to Him. Like Adam and Eve, we have sinned and stand naked before God, without even the ability to properly cover ourselves.

Nothing in my hand I bring; Simply to the cross I cling;
Naked come to Thee for dress; Helpless look to Thee for grace;
Vile, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die.
(from “Rock of Ages” by Augustus M. Toplady)

Every citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven comes to Jesus with empty hands, on his knees, asking for Jesus’ blood to cover his sins. And after Jesus wondrously, graciously, lovingly applies the blood and forgives the sins, the kingdom citizen remains perpetually conscious of his never-ending need for grace and strength from the Lord. Never will he boast of anything before God except the work of Christ!

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for there is the kingdom of heaven.

Today—Thursday, April 6, 2023—marks Passover, which, for the Jews, began last night as the sun went down. This day commemorates the freedom God created for the Israelite people through the Ten Plagues. Specifically, that last plague—the death of the firstborn in Egypt—was the occasion for the first Passover feast.

God told the Israelites to eat with their travel clothes on, belts around their waist, sandals on their feet, and staves in hand—as if they were about to embark on a long journey…which was exactly what they were about to do.

They were to kill a year-old lamb at twilight on the 14^th day of their 1^st month (Abib), and they were to roast and eat the whole thing as a family. If any part of the lamb was not eaten, it was to be burned before morning so that nothing remained to the next day. They were not to break any of its bones, and they were to paint the doorposts and lintels of their houses with the lamb’s blood.

The blood would be a sign to God that in this house were His faithful people, so He would pass over that house with His terrible tenth plague.

That night, God entered every Egyptian house and killed all their firstborn sons, including the firstborn animals. The firstborn belong to God, and if they are not freely given, God will take them. This was both a judgment on Egypt as well as a teaching moment for Israel (and all the earth). God gets the first fruit.

Following Passover evening, the Jews were to celebrate an entire week of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which represents affliction (Deut. 16.3). On the first and seventh days of this feast they were to have a holy convocation and do no ordinary work (a special Sabbath).  

Once God brought Israel into the promised land and they had an established place for the Tabernacle (and later the Temple), the Jews were only allowed to celebrate the Passover at the Temple, which is why the Jews streamed to Jerusalem every year for this grand event. What an awesome time that must have been for those who celebrated it according to the Lord’s direction!

But all of that pointed to something God had planned in the future. Jesus Christ ate the Passover with His disciples the evening of Abib the 14^th, and later that evening was captured by group of Jews, mocked all night long in a Jewish monkey court, convicted of crimes He had never done, and presented to Pilate early the next morning on the 15^th day of Abib.

He was crucified that very day. The blood of the true Passover Lamb (1 Cor. 5.7) dripped onto the ground below His cross, and He died and was quickly buried before evening. We commemorate the crucifixion day by calling it “Good Friday.” God had taken His own firstborn Son.

Jesus was in the grave Friday…Saturday (the Sabbath day of rest)…and rose on Sunday, the first day of the week.

Passover was an awesome memorial time each year for the Jews, but it foreshadowed a greater liberation than even the Exodus. It pointed to the great salvation of the Lord to all nations through Jesus Christ! It is no accident that Jesus was killed on Passover Day. It was God’s plan before the foundation of the earth (Acts 2.22–24).

Christians are not called to celebrate the yearly Passover any more, but we celebrate our great Passover Lamb. We don’t know the exact day of the year that Jesus was born, but we do know Easter Sunday is the exact anniversary of the day Jesus came out of the tomb—the central event which drives our faith:

“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. (Rom. 10.8–9)

References:

1. Exodus 12
2. Leviticus 23.4–8
3. Deuteronomy 16.1–8

The first four of the Decalogue (“ten words”) have to do with man’s relationship with God:

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.

The last five concern man’s relationship with his fellow man:

5. Honor thy father and thy mother.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house or thy neighbor’s wife...or anything that is thy neighbor’s.

Many call these the “two tables of the Law.” The first table falls under the greatest commandment: “Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6.5). The second table falls under the second greatest commandment: “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19.18).

Interestingly, the Fifth Commandment is stated positively, while the rest that follow are negative. Paul also points out it is the first commandment with a promise attached: “That it may be will with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth” (Ephesians 6.2–3).

The first table of the Law begins with God’s authority. The second table begins with authority in family structures. If authority is not recognized and respected, families disintegrate, and if families fall apart so does society. If children do not first learn to obey their parents in their parents’ house, they most likely will not honor their parents after they leave home. If they don’t honor their parents, they will likely not honor the aged. They will tend to exhibit what C. S. Lewis called “generational snobbery,” in which the children think they know more and have more wisdom than their parents and grandparents. They will have a misguided notion that their generation is the wisest of all generations. In truth, they may be the dumbest and most foolish of all.

Worst of all, they will not honor God. Those who put no other gods before Yahweh God also honor their parents, and those who honor their parents also honor Yahweh God.

After honoring God, honoring our parents is critically important. That does not necessarily mean fawning over them and adoring them in overly-emotional ways. It does not mean you necessarily have to like your parents all the time, because sometimes parents are not gracious, kind, or loving towards their children. But you must still honor your father and your mother because they came before you and God saw fit to bring you into existence through them.

Praise God for godly-minded parents who work hard to train their kids and grandkids, who show grace, and who cherish their children.

But whether your parents fit that mold or not, you are called to honor them. Honor them by providing for them in their old age and taking care of their physical needs. Do not speak evil to them or about them. Pray for them. Share the gospel with them in a respectful way.

The Fifth Commandment is a primary foundation for a stable family, church, and society. No wonder God ended His words to Israel in the Old Covenant with this promise:

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” (Malachi 4.5–6)

Our families need healing! The gospel includes family structures working the way God created them to function. Healthy families is not just a beautiful side consequence of turning back to the Lord—it’s a main mission of families who turn to the Lord.

Do your kids honor you? If not, next ask yourself if you honor your parents. Have you shown your kids what it looks like to honor your parents, or do they hear you griping, mocking, and voicing your displeasure about them?

Do I honor my parents? God promises me that if I honor my parents, I will live long upon the land He gives me!

Have you noticed the spiritual armor in Ephesians 6 includes a breastplate but no backplate? We do not turn our backs on the enemy; we advance forward swinging the sword of the word of God. The weapons of our warfare are powerful to destroy the strongholds of the enemy (1 Cor. 10.4-5). God calls all Christians, both men and women, to the fight, but He tasks us men with leading the charge.

Switching our thoughts to the physical plane, men should also be ready to fight for their loved ones to protect them. This is controversial because Jesus did say, after all, to turn the other cheek and love our enemies. But Jesus also said there was a time to take up the sword (Luke 22.36), and Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3.1–8 there is “a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up . . . a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”

There is a time to fight.

Godly wisdom teaches us when we should fight, how we should fight, and how far we should go in the fight. Often, we want to fight when we shouldn’t, and when we are in a fight, we tend to go too far. Defending yourself against a bully doesn’t mean you should pulverize the bully’s face.

We should never start a fight, for that would violate the principle of living at peace with all men (Heb. 12.14; Rom. 12.18), and we should “repay no one evil for evil” (Rom. 12.17). But if a man strikes or shoots a robber who has broken into his house in the dead of night, he has not started the fight. The robber proved he intended violence when he invaded an inhabited house, and only a fool would flip the lights on and kindly ask the robber if he were just planning on a peaceful visit.

To train in a martial art or in weaponry (gun, knife, staff, etc.) is to train for battle. The word “martial” in martial art means battle—it’s literally a battle art. I love martials arts, in part, because I can train to be more in control in the event of an attack on my family, friends, or person. The more you understand about the battle arts, the more ability you have to decide in your level of response. You don’t necessarily have to break a man’s bones to stop him. You could choke him out or pin him to the ground on his face with a knee in his back while you wait for the police. However, if he is crazy high on drugs and doesn’t respond to pain, you might have to incapacitate him in a more painful way.

Abraham, David, and Moses knew there was a time to fight, and they stepped forward when the time came. They fought for their loved ones and their people. When David ran to kill Goliath, he was finishing the fight that depraved, bully Goliath had started. When the four kings (Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Ela, and Tidal king of Goiim) defeated the five kings of the plains (Bera king of Sodom, Birsha kind of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the unnamed king of Zoar), Abraham grabbed 318 trained men (all born in his house), tracked those kings down, and defeated them in order to save the captives, including his nephew Lot (Gen. 14).

Societies remain safe because men willingly stand against enemies.

Our constant battle is with Satan and the forces of darkness, but from time to time we must physically protect our families and loved ones. It’s a duty we should embrace, and we should ready our minds for potential action. Praise God we currently live in such a peaceful society, but even still there are bad actors.

Obviously, we should fight only when we have no other option, but there is a time to fight. Physical altercations interact and intersect with our spiritual battles—they are connected. Again, how will we defend ourselves? Will we hate our enemy in our hearts, or will we fight in such a way as to love them as far as we can? Do we intend to annihilate anyone who would sin against us, or do we temper our responses with mercy? In the moment, we fire at center mass until the target is neutralized, and that might or might not kill the attacker. We do that to protect the family. But if we find him still alive, groaning on the floor, do we put another bullet into his head because of the seething hatred in our heart?

God has called us to live in a sinful world, and we sometimes must make difficult choices. May we learn self-control, may we have the strength to stand against the enemy, and may God save us from situations we cannot handle.

For who is God, but the LORD?
   And who is a rock, except our God?—
the God who equipped me with strength
   and made my way blameless.
He made my feet like the feet of a deer
   and set me secure on the heights.
He trains my hands for war,
   so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
You have given me the shield of your salvation,
   and your right hand supported me,
   and your gentleness made me great.
You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
   and my feet did not slip.
I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
   and did not turn back till they were consumed.
I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
   they fell under my feet.
For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
   you made those who rise against me sink under me.
You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
   and those who hated me I destroyed.
They cried for help, but there was none to save;
   they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.
I beat them fine as dust before the wind;
   I cast them out like the mire of the streets. (Psalm 18.31–42)

The woman depicted at the end of Proverbs 31 is fictitious. That is not to say she cannot be found or does not exist in many hard-working women across the centuries, but the wisdom writer wrote of the ideal woman.

Solomon wrote most of Proverbs, and his stated intent was to help his reader know wisdom and instruction and to understand words of insight (Prov. 1.2). He wrote as a father to a son, and much of the wisdom found in the book guides a young man away from the pitfalls and traps of the adulterous woman of folly and towards lady wisdom. The first nine chapters instruct with a unified voice, “Listen to Wisdom; she desires your good! Flee the adulterous woman; the path to her house is the path to hell.”

The book begins with Lady Wisdom (Prov. 1.20–23; 3.13–18; 4.5–9; 8.1–9.12) who wants to care for young men and provide them healthy living, and it closes with a marvelous description of a woman who would make an excellent wife. The Proverbs 31 woman is Lady Wisdom incarnate.

Her husband trusts her with everything. He knows she will not squander their money. Instead of wasting wealth, she contributes to the household income streams.

She skillfully makes things for her household: plenteous food, fine garments, lovely bed coverings. Not only does she make them for her household, she also sells them and gives to the poor. She manages a house which provides—largely because she works hard to make sure these things happen. She purchases land and cultivates a vineyard. In a word, she is fruitful.

What can we say of her character? She diligently rises before the sun to accomplish her daily work and works into the night by lamplight. She “dresses herself with strength…strength and dignity are her clothing.” She “laughs at the time to come,” which expresses not only her sense of well-being but also her joyfulness in the face of uncertainty. Because she is prepared, she can laugh.

In the center of the poem we find, “Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.” Taking nothing away from his character and work-ethic, we understand this note is not about him—it’s about how his excellent wife has been a great force behind his respected status. As husband and wife are one flesh, we observe in this couple a mutual, harmonious, synergetic relationship where each blesses the other, and God works powerfully between them.

The poem begins with the heart of the husband trusting in her and ends with the husband praising her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.”

But the key to everything lies in one of the last statements: “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.” The secret to all is in the fear of the LORD! Indeed, what an excellent way to end the book of Proverbs…much as it was begun, for we read in Proverbs 1.7, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.”

May my sons each find a woman who they can trust their hearts to. May my daughter become one of these excellent women. God has blessed me to be married to an excellent wife who is worth more to me than any amount of wealth.

These women aren’t found under every rock; they are uncommon. You will not find an excellent woman among people who do not fear the LORD, so only look there! Realize, also, that women grow into this kind of strength and dignity. Proverbs 31 shows a woman who has been diligently working, building, and growing for many years, a picture of long-term walking with God. Again, this is an ideal woman—no one will look exactly like this—but find you a woman (or be a woman) who wants to look like this.

Praise God for excellent wives!