Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
As we began studying last week, Revelation 8:1 reveals a short period of silence during the time of the Tribulation: “And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.” This dramatic pause before the unfolding of even greater judgment has spiritual application for us now. There is value in silence: “The Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him” (Habakkuk 2:20). The background of this statement is instructive. Against a sobering backdrop of drunkenness (verses 15-16), violence (a logical outcome of drinking – verse 17), and the illogic of idolatry (verses 18-19), the prophet Habakkuk reminds us that God is real, is really upset with such evil behaviors, and is really in charge. One appropriate and necessary response to this reality is to “keep silence.” In the original Hebrew, this is an exceedingly strong command, something like “Be quiet!” This heavenly hushing is an opportunity to reflect on the unchanging character of God and to repent. When we are silent, we can actually listen – to others and, especially, to God. Our Savior persists in calling out to us. Let us listen to Him.