December 5, Day 339 – No Essence or Substance

Psalm 138; Daniel 11:2-35;

1 John 4:7-21

"Yarn With Knitting Needles" © by Terri L. Stricker - Original Pencil Sketch on Paper

Psalm 138 begins with David’s heartfelt declaration of praise to the LORD for His “unfailing love, for His faithfulness, and for His solemn decree” (verses 1-2).  To emphasize its importance, David repeats this declaration four times in this Psalm (verses 1, 2, and 4).  Our God, says David, is unlike all “the gods” of this world (verse 1).  Although people worship "other gods," in reality, other so-called gods have no essence or substance – they possess no ability, no authority, no capacity, no divinity, no entity, no sensibility, and no veracity. They are nothings – merely mindless fabrications and wannabe imitations of deceived, overstretched imaginations.  How utterly foolish that people should give their allegiance and worship to non-existent impossibilities!  Things that are not cannot emulate or imitate things that are.  "Other gods" cannot manifest any of the “glorious” attributes of the “exalted and great glory of our LORD” (verses 2-5).  Only our God “sees us, preserves our lives, saves and vindicates us, endures forever, receives and responds to our praise, and answers our call” (verses 3-8).  On the basis of this solid evidence then, David rightly summons “all the [other] kings of the earth to respond accordingly and “praise the LORD” properly when they “hear what God has decreed” (verse 4).  These truths cannot justifiably be proclaimed for any “other god” in the universe.

In Daniel 11, we see the continuation of God’s revelation to Daniel in chapter 10.  This revelation was prophecy for Daniel, but now most of it is history for us, and it relates to the kings of the Persian empire, then the Greek empire, and up to the coming of Antiochus Epiphanes IV.  This time frame spans almost 400 years before the coming of Christ, and its long-term fulfillment concerns the future end times regarding the Antichrist in the tribulation.  From this chapter, we see not only “what God is about to do” (cf., Genesis 18:17-19; Luke 8:17), but also God’s sovereign control over history.  Here, we see His divine love and concern for His people, as well as His supernatural preservation of them through the future events that He reveals.

To be genuine, love can only be extended freely.  No one can be forced or coerced against his will to love someone else – that is simply not possible.  Nevertheless, Jesus commanded His followers to “love one another” (John 13:34-35).  If it’s not possible, how could He command it, and how can we do it?  Here, in 1 John 4:7-21, we are told once again to “love one another” because “love comes from our God,” Who is love Himself (verses 7-8).  We understand this to mean that God is the Source of genuine love.  God’s love is sacrificial, and it focuses exclusively on the beloved one.  Such love sets aside all interests in and concerns for self, and it defers to the comforts and cares for the one so loved.  “This is the love that God” demonstrates toward us (verse 10).  To love others this way is an evidence that we truly “know God” (verse 7).  This kind of love is unique to Christianity – no other belief system or worldview – is based on love.  Jesus knew that this command would be impossible to follow without special, external enablement.  For this reason, God “has given us His Spirit” (verse 13).  Thus, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we are able to follow Christ’s command and love one another – like God loves us – a true testimony that we “know God” (verse 16).