Tribulation Faith - Exodus 16:2-3

Then the whole congregation of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
- Exodus 16:2-3

    The Israelites enslaved in Egypt never knew anything but subjection to their task masters and Pharaoh. For 430 years they had been in Egypt, with the largest part spent in slavery. And freedom suddenly dropped on any people leaves them in fear and trepidation. They simply didn’t know how to handle this new found freedom. At least, they reasoned, we had our bellies filled while we were slaves. But in reality who were the Israelites really grousing at?
    Obviously, their faith in God was the weakest of all faiths. When blessings were plentiful they were pious and thankful for the providence of God. Yet once the slightest discomfort or doubt came into play they complained. “Then they said to Moses, ‘Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians’? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.’” - Exodus 14:11-12.
    The reality of the situation was that it wasn’t Moses whom they were complaining about - “Also Moses said, ‘This shall be seen when the Lord gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the Lord hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the Lord.’” - Exodus 16:8.
    Aren’t we also familiar with this kind of rebellion? Are not our most enthusiastic praises reserved for when God is most gracious to us? Are we not commanded to praise (rejoice in, pray to, and give thanks to) God  even in tribulation? “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. The very crown we have been promised comes to us through our tests - “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” - James 1:12. “Temptation” in this Greek rendering (pĕriasmŏs) means “adversity.”
    Adversity, trials, tests, all of these the Israelites experienced once freed from the yoke of Egyptian slavery. They were freed to wander in the wilderness for the next forty years, a test in itself!  Oddly enough only two of the original “chosen people” (Joshua and Caleb) ever actually entered the Promised Land. Even Moses was refused entry. Our sojourn here is not unlike that of the Israelites. We too are seeking the Promised Land. Will our faith transcend the tribulation we will surely face in this wilderness?
    Let us always remember the promise of God that we will indeed enter the rest of Jesus Christ if we will just persevere in tribulation faith.

The Long Road - Hebrews 6:15

And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.  - Hebrew 6:15

    It’s not always the quickest way. It’s not always the easiest way. It may have its share of twists and turns. Sometimes we don’t even wind up where we planned to go but whether we follow the will of God or not  He will surely take us where He wants us to go. And where He sends us, we will certainly go.
    “Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.” So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent.” - Jonah 3:1-3. We all know the story of Jonah and how God first put His command in the prophet’s heart. We also know that Jonah tried to resist the Lord’s command and wound up in the belly of a fish. So much for the easy way of achieving God’s will for us. Jonah had no intention of going to Nineveh - but he wound up there just as God said he would.
    The Bible itself tells the often trying tale of the wait for a Savior. The journey was  long and arduous from Genesis 3:15 and the Protoevangelium - “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” - Genesis 3:15, to the birth of our Lord and Savior, “Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.” - Matthew 1:18. A long journey indeed but the will of God will never be derailed, usurped, or supplanted.
    God never tells us His way will be easy or the journey, pleasant - “Then He said to them all, ‘If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.’” - Luke 9:23. And we are told how to persevere - “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong.” - 1 Corinthians 16:13.
    Even Abraham, following God’s command was not guided directly to the land God had set before him. Nor were the people of Israel, wandering for forty years in the desert. But we know that God will see us in the place He has portioned for us because He has promised it to us as indicated in our title verse. And we have this assurance - “ . . .  being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ . . . .” - Philippians 1:6
    May we always have faith that the road, though long, will bring to our place at the foot of the cross and Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

Election - Hebrews 9:28

 “ . . . so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” - Hebrews 9:28

    This simple verse is so packed with soteriological doctrine that it is hard to break it all down in a few paragraphs. But try, I will.
    Our heavenly Savior, Jesus Christ, was offered once - once, to bear the sins of those of us who eagerly await salvation. And not the sins of all humanity, but the sins of those who eagerly await His coming for salvation!
    One would think that this verse alone would compel the Arminians to accept the Calvinist proposition of “Limited Atonement.” With only a sentence break between “the sins of many” and “To those who eagerly wait . . .” one would be hard-pressed to ignore the obvious implication. Clearly the use, as a noun, of the limiting adjective “many” is further qualified by the phrase, “to those who eagerly wait for Him. . . .” The verse doesn’t say that Christ was offered to bear the sins of everyone. It doesn’t even suggest it and the sentence which follows explicitly declares that He will return a second time “to those who eagerly wait for Him . . . .” If this verse alone doesn’t firmly establish the Doctrine of Election none do! But there are more. Scripture addresses the doctrine of “election” in Matthew 22:14, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” Mark 13:27, “And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.” John 6:44, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (see John, Chapter 17 in its entirety), and Romans 8:28-30, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
    Any clear reading of Scripture emphatically indicates that not everyone’s sins have been atoned for by the sacrificial death of Jesus, but only those whom His Father has “given” Him - “the elect.”
     “I have manifested Your name to the men whom You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. . . . I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours.” -  John 17:6,9. And I’ll bet you came in here thinking this was going to be all about politics.
    May our reading of God’s word always be seen in the clarity with which it was given to its divinely inspired authors by the Holy Spirit.