Inside His House

1 Timothy 2:1-5

I know this may sound funny coming on the heels of a chapter that speaks of keeping the women silent in church, but I received two words from the Lord. The first, focuses on two women's stories that are told around the crucifixion of Christ. One woman, in Mark 14:3-9, came unbidden to a feast and brought with her anointing oils used to embalm him for burial. Without his permission, she proceeded to touch him and bathe him in these. The disciples told her to stop. But he said, 'let her alone; she anoints my body for burial.' This woman was an offering, not a sacrifice. The second story is of the wife of Pilate who tried Jesus in Matthew 27:19. She was called by God; she wrote in response to her husband to have nothing to do with Christ for he was innocent. She told him that she had suffered much in a dream because of him. We see here she is drawn to Christ by God himself. This point is borne out when Jesus was tempted to the point of shedding blood as in Hebrews 12:4; later on the cross he uttered the words, "I thirst," which was unrelieved by subsequent drink offerings as seen in John 19:28. This woman was a sacrifice, not the offering that the first one was. The first woman was preparing for the Father's will which was his death for the salvation of the world. The second woman was for another purpose altogether. There is a contrast here between the old and the new covenants. God intended certain things to glorify himself and in contrast there is a story which will not be shared here.

The second word is of the rich man, in Mark 10:21-22, who came to Jesus to say that he wanted to follow him. Jesus told him to sell all he had and give to the poor before doing such. The rich man went away grieved for he had many possessions. See, he was very rich in a lot of things that matter to some people. But yet in Matthew 19:24, Jesus turns to the disciples and says that even camels have an easier task to go through the eye of needles than for rich men to enter God's house. 2 Peter 1:3 says that God has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness. So, where do we go, we look here in the house that God built.

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

1 Timothy 2 also talks about the difference between the old and the new. It begins with an unusual prayer request "for kings and all" that are in authority. You may wonder why this should this be a prayer request. We ask for prayer for these because of the rebellion of man. See, before man rebelled there was only God. What many do not see is there is still only God; for awhile there are these other people that he has put in places of authority. Remember in Daniel 7:4-5, there was a dream of other rulers who were allowed to live but for a limited time when God arrived. The important thing to notice is that in God's absence, he has entrusted the care of man to kings, beasts, and other rulers. In the end, there will be only God; the nation of kings and priests unto himself in Revelation 1:6 will remain. Some people have taken the Ten Commandments and made them a law unto themselves. This was not his law either; otherwise, it would not be termed Moses' law. It was given man to show their need for God and what we were capable of without him according to Galatians 3:24. Otherwise, Matthew 5:17 would say that Christ came to keep the law and the prophets rather than fulfill them. But he did not say that did he? God always means what he says. The word fulfill means a doing away, a keeping of the requirement so it may be no more. Otherwise, the veil in the temple which separated man from God under the law would not have been torn down in Matthew 27:51.

Like Jesus who paid tribute to Ceasar in Mark 12:17, we submit to the first but desire the second. Like those two women who had dealings with Jesus, one is desired and the other endured. These verses finish with our relationship with God in focus which is yet to be discussed. This is a real twister. No, I do not mean a tornado. These verses are like a fold. Folds can be found inside of book covers like this one. Folds can even be like a mirror which is a self-reflection until it is broken at which point it becomes a window. A fold is also a safe place to keep sheep unless the sheep charge the gate whereat the shepherd sits. The fold can also be made unsafe if the shepherd neglects to watch the gate so something else enters. These verses start with the chosen cornerstone set at the head of the building according to Ephesians 2:19-22. Not just any cornerstone was used, but the one rejected by the builders in Matthew 21:42. The one they saw unfit has been chosen. See, if the kingdom is a house and the house is where the family is, the center of the house must be solid or else the house will not stand as in Matthew 12:25.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

There are a couple things about this that make it feel like home. See, God is a refuge. The leaders have been chosen by God and not by man according to Romans 13:1. The leaders are near the corner stone. They also have fallen across it or looked to it for how to move. The center stone looks familiar to them because they like it have been chosen. This choosing is not by man but rather by God as in Acts 5:29. This is why leadership obedience is always as unto the Lord and not unto men in Colossians 3:23. Then, you see the people, the priesthood, and the nation flourishing. There was darkness but now there is light as in 1 Peter 2:9. There was not anything there, but a bookshelf of history littered with the graves of the people.

Now, the library is full of light, laughter, and it is spilling over the house. The candles were lit and set in the windows so the streets could see what went on in the house in Matthew 5:14-15. This is not a house hunkered in fear for itself but the light of a city on the hill that cannot be hid. It was just you who had been chosen and had run to God for refuge from the rest. Now there are many others joining you that make the nation. This is why these stories must not be unheard. This is why these voices must not go unanswered. For what would people say if they found out the house slave had been made the mistress and bore the master children? What would they say if the maid or the butler one day ruled the house? What would they say if the child, the orphan, or the widowed began one day to do great things which they had not previously done? What would they say if they knew what God had done? When the people obey the leaders, God brings them into the house. When they do not, he pushes them out. When the leaders do not, he pushes them out and sets up another according to Daniel 2:21. The pages of history echo with the hands of God.