The Discipline of Drawing Near

Last evening as we gathered around the Word of God we considered Hebrews 7:11-19. I have no doubt that there are many men who could have handled the text much better than I did. I have no doubt that I could have – should have – handled the text much better. I have been painfully aware of my own inadequacies as we have attempted to work our way through that wonderful epistle to the Hebrews. I must confess that it is a source of considerable comfort to see godly men taking various positions regarding the difficult passages in Hebrews. It is similar to the feeling when I struggle to understand the original language of a certain passage and then see a great divergence in the translations. While the reality of the difficulties is ever before us, may we never believe that their presence is an excuse for sloppy study or teaching.

Back to Hebrews 7:19. In that passage we read “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.” It is that last phrase that is of interest this morning as I write. “we draw nigh unto God.” What wonderful access we have, what unfathomable privilege belongs to the Christian, to every Christian.

When I first think of that phrase my mind runs to my own conversion. From the human perspective we may think of it as drawing nigh unto God. Two problems exist with such careless thinking. First, there is the simple reality that it was God who was drawing me not the other way around. (That’s an issue for another blog!) Second, I notice in the Greek text of Hebrews 11:19 that “draw nigh” is not a past tense verb but a present indicative. Perhaps we could translate it “we are drawing nigh”. The point of the passage is not to turn the eyes of the reader to their salvation, nor is it to focus their eyes upon the future hope of glorification. Both are wonderful truths that every believer should meditate upon consistently. However, the emphasis in this passage is on the present access available for the readers.

S. Lewis Johnson is helpful here. He writes;

“Now, I am a Christian and I regularly read God’s word.
That is a good thing to do. Do you know why?
Because in this book you discover how wealthy you are for
not only are your sins forgiven, but you have access to God.
In fact, the Word of God says that now I can dwell in the holiest
by the blood of Jesus, just as if I walked into the very holy of holies
with Aaron and sat down where God was.
The High Priest of the Old Testament could only do it once a year.
The people themselves could not enter and two veils kept them out.
Now all the veils are gone. In the morning, in the midday, in the evening you
can now DRAW NEAR TO GOD. This is Christianity – drawing near to God.
May God help you to honor him by believing His word – not to do something but to believe His word because He is faithful.

When I think of that phrase “we draw nigh unto God” I ask the question DO WE?
May almighty God grant us the ability to more fully grasp the significance of this privilege. May He grant great blessings, blessings beyond imagination, as we practice our privilege.

Unearthly Hours

Friday morning was an extra early one in our household. We had reason to rise at 4:00 a.m. When the alarm clock sounded it seemed as though we had just retired. Nevertheless, there were responsibilities to be met so movement began. After a few minutes I stepped into my our son’s bedroom to make sure he was up and getting ready for the day. He was getting ready. I am still not sure he was awake. After greeting him with a “good morning buddy” I heard a soft mumbling about the oddity of people who are cheerful at that time of the day.

Those events reminded me of an e-mail I received a number of years ago from my friend, Glen Miller. Glen is one of those men who makes you tired just by looking at the time on the e-mails he sends. It is not at all unusual to see 3:30 a.m. on the top of an e-mail. That’s after he has awakened and gone about the other more pressing duties. Someone wrote to Glen and accused him of keeping some “unearthly hours.” I think our son would contend that 4:00 a.m. is an “unearthly hour” (unless we are getting up at that time to go deer hunting!)

All of that prompts me to blog about the need for God’s children to spend some “unearthly hours.” I’m not terribly concerned whether it is early morning or mid afternoon. I cannot find anything in Scripture that tells me 4 in the morning is more spiritual than 8 at night. What I would argue is that time spent in communion with our Lord is far more valuable than any earthly activity.

As I read through the Psalms it seems evident that David learned the value of such “unearthly hours”. In Psalm 6:6 he writes about his personal anguish which caused sleepless nights as he struggled with the trials he was experiencing. In Psalm 63:1 he speaks of a desire to commune with the Lord which causes him to seek the Lord early and the fact that remembering God upon his bed and meditating upon Him in the night watches. In Psalm 119:147-148 we see David recording the fact that which once was prompted by despair had become the joyful discipline of his life. We see, it seems evident, a deliberate practice of keeping some “unearthly hours.”

May God grant sweet communion with Him as we keep those hours.