I’m Going to Need to Borrow a Ladder

I’ve been stuck in the Kings the last few weeks. I’ve tried to move on, but he won’t let me. I wouldn’t have thought these books of the Bible would have that much to say to us, but I tell you, I’ve heard him so clearly as I’ve read and reread through these pages.

There’s a quote by Winston Churchill that says, “The farther backward you can look, the father forward you are likely to see.” I thought, “How prophetic.” So often as I’m reading through the Word does it feel like I’m looking in the mirror, or out into today’s society and culture.

As I read, I started noticing a pattern. Every time a new king was introduced, it either says he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, or he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Let’s just say there was more evil happening than good in those days! And I’ve pondered if that’s really how it’s always been. What struck me though, was even the kings who did what was right in the eyes of God, didn’t take down the high places. They weren’t removed.

Over and over, I read it. And this is where I got stuck.

It felt like I was staring at a parallel universe. I thought, “kind of looks like our world.” The verse that got me though, was 2 Kings 17:41. “Even while these people were worshipping the Lord, they were serving idols.”

They did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, BUT they didn’t take down the high places!

In Tim Keller’s book Counterfeit Gods, he defines an idol as, “anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, and anything that you seek to give you what only God can give.”

As I’ve been meditating on this, an image came to me. We each have ropes tied all around us. Each appendage is bound. They are pulling us in all different directions, vying for our attention, an internal tug of war. At times some are pulling stronger than others. Here’s the thing though, they aren’t all necessarily bad things. They can represent our jobs, our kids, significant others, friends, hobbies, even our ministries.

I’ve always thought of an idol as something sinful or evil, but friends, the enemy is so much smarter than that. 1 Peter 5:8. He also takes good things and uses them to consume our time, energy, passions, and attention, and before we know it, we’ve turned our eyes from Jesus.

As I’ve been wrestling with this image, God brought me to something. The Belt of Truth. We’re to have it girded tightly around our waists. I imagine a thick rope tied tightly around our waistlines, and secured to the other end is an anchor. It’s what keeps us rooted, steadfast, immovable! It’s the first thing Paul instructs us to put on of the Armor of God in Ephesians 6.

Repeatedly the Bible tells us, “You will have success if you are careful to observe the decrees and laws that the Lord gave Moses.” Continually we’re pointed back to Joshua 1. But how can we observe and follow the law, his Word, if we don’t read it?

In Matthew 14 it says, “He (Jesus) withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place (v 13). He went up on a mountainside by himself to pray (v 23). Even Jesus needed time alone with the father. How much more do we?

More than ever, I hear him calling me back to his Word, his truth, and his presence. But I’m going to be honest, it’s increasingly more difficult to stay focused, not to become distracted. We’re a society either looking down at our phones or running to the next thing. We wear busy like a badge of honor.

What I’ve heard him speaking to me over the last few weeks is, “Cut the rope!” Where in our lives have we allowed other things to become priority, our focus, a distraction?

I feel the pull that he’s trying to get our attention.

As I continued to read, this is where I paused next.

2 Kings 22:19 “Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people, that they would become accursed and laid waste, and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord. Therefore, I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.

Disaster is coming my friends. The Bible tells us. Almost 30% of it is prophetic, eschatologically warning us what’s to come. You need to read Revelations. Read Daniel.

Paul warns us in Romans 13:11-14, “And do this understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.”

We each have a choice. Are we going to listen to his voice, his leading? Can we even hear him over the “noise” of our lives? It’s time to cut the ropes, turn our eyes back to him. To get our homes in order.  

He’s coming back! Will he find us occupying, with oil in our lamps. Will he even know your name?

Joshua 1: 7-9 “Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; mediate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Hebrews 12:25 “See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken- that is, created things- so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”