Blessed Hope Bible-Presbyterian Church
500 Upper Bukit Timah Rd, Singapore 678106
Matthew 27:50-56 (KJV)
50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.
The Apostle Paul quotes the prophet Hosea who was called by God to declare His Word to Judah concerning her unfaithfulness in departing from her God. At the time of Hosea’s ministry to the south, the North Kingdom has already been destroyed in 722 B.C. by the Assyrian invaders 12 years earlier. God’s judgment to the Southern Kingdom will come later in 586 B.C.
Joy Amidst Trial (1 Peter 1:3-9)
Christians are to expect trials and tribulations. The Bible tells us in no uncertain terms that suffering is a normal part of a true Christian life (Behind a Frowning Providence, Murray, 12). It is the Christians’ response to trial and tribulation that authenticate the Christian’s faith.
When Christians exercise faith in God during trials, there is a joy which can subsist in the midst of sorrow (Leighton).
True Christians are called of God to be vessels of mercy reflecting the glory of God. When God warned Noah of an impending global flood, He instructed Noah to build a great boat that will house the living when death will come over the entire earth by a global flood. Noah hearkened to God and experienced God’s mercy. There is an impending flood of fire coming upon the entire earth. The only escape is “up”, to be caught up to heaven to meet Jesus at the rapture.
Christians are named by the Apostle Paul as vessels of mercy to underscore their great privilege to reflect the glory of God. By our faith in God through Christ, we experienced God’s power to overcome sin to reflect the beauty of holiness in our lives. Indeed, it is a blessed life that God’s wants His people to cherish! Amen.
The power to create is the prerogative of God. He created the universe. In 6 literal days out of nothing, God completed His creation of the universe. In the first three days, God forms His creation, transforming it from a state “without form” (Gen. 1:2) to where it can support animal life on Earth. He created light and darkness, day and night (day 1), sea (waters below) and the sky (waters above – clouds) (day 2), land and vegetation (day 3). Then God created in the last three days sun, moon and stars (day 4), birds and sea creatures (day 5) and land animals and finally man (day 6)!
2 Kings 4:38-44 And Elisha came again to Gilgal: and there was a dearth in the land; and the sons of the prophets were sitting before him: and he said unto his servant, Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. 39 And one went out into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine, and gathered thereof wild gourds his lap full, and came and shred them into the pot of pottage: for they knew them not.
The Apostle Paul is seeking to quell the spirit of unrest, that discontented spirit to question the justice of God. Out of the imperfections of sin and unbelief came the fulfilling of God’s promises to bring forth the Saviour Jesus Christ from the loins of Israel. Although the Jews have largely rejected their Messiah, God’s promise of salvation through the seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15) is fulfilled in the fullness of time. God allows within the Jewish people those who would reject their Christ, perishing in sin and unbelief.
The man Pharaoh who resisted God’s command to release His people from slavery did so because God has willed it. It is God who sovereignly chooses Pharaoh to be His instrument of wrath against His people and also the recipient of His wrath. It is God who causes the heart of Pharaoh to be made stubborn that he might disobey His command to release His people. And yet we know that it was Pharaoh who freely chooses to harden his heart to resist the will of God. We marvel at the truth of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility at work simultaneously.
Apostle Paul cited Exodus 9:16, how Pharaoh was raised by God as Egypt’s supreme ruler to declare His glory during the time of Israel’s Exodus. Pharaoh was subdued by the Almighty power of God, demonstrating that the LORD (Jehovah); He is God, the Creator of all things. God shows all the earth that He is greater than great Pharaoh, the self-proclaimed representative of Ra, the sun god.