Heb13v4to6 OUR HELP(A) Introduction The few verses under consideration in this study are about supporting one another and the helping hand of God. (B) Marriage is honourable: husband and wife are helpmeets.
Husband is a very good word. Sadly it is falling into disuse. This is a sign of the times! It is a word still used to describe the work of a farmer who can be commended because of good husbandary. This use of the word may help us to understand the role of an husband. A good husbandman:
He keeps the soil sweet by aerating it. Nothing sours a soil quicker than compaction and water logging. A husband should keep his wife sweet. Nothing produces sweeter fruit than sunshine. A man can sweeten his wife by appreciation and approval. Encouragement brings admirable qualities to ripeness. When I was a small boy of about ten I spent a week with my grandparents in Ipswich. During the week I slept with my grandfather. Each night before he got into bed he kissed a photograph of his wife. The glass containing the photograph was covered with marks where he had kissed it in the past. I never saw my grandfather kiss his wife. Her life would have been sweeter for a few more kisses. The pressure of unrealistic expectations can sour a wife. Nothing is worse than living with someone who seems permanently disappointed and disapproving. It is hard to grow sweet if all our efforts are unrecognised and unrewarded.
(b) Protects the soil A good husband will protect and strengthen his wife. He will give her confidence, nurture and cherish her virtues. He will not exploit his wife's love or take her devotion for granted. A husband should be considerate and not over demanding. A wise farmer does not expect a perfect soil all at once. It has to be looked after and gradually improved over the years by wise management.
(c) Gets the best from the soil
It is a Christian husband's responsibility to the get best out of his wife. He should help her to grow. He should take an interest in his wife's good works, support her in them and rejoice in her virtues. I have just finished reading, 'Epitaph for a peach', by David Mas Masumoto. The writer is a peach grower in California. How proud he is of his peaches! He delights in their quality and exults in a good harvest. Here is a brief extract from his book that captures something of the joy of harvest: This does happen amongst the Christian husbands known to me. A lady attends my church who when she feels that I need some encouragement bakes me a cake. Her husband always delivers the cake and is pleased to do so. He is glad that his wife shows me kindness. Another woman runs the Ladies meeting and again her husband is very supportive. He will go and pick ladies up for the meeting. Ivy is a good visitor. She goes to hospital to see the sick and dying. Her husband always takes her on these errands of mercy and praises her for them. We are much more productive when our best efforts are recognised and appreciated (C) God is a better helper.
It is a wonderful thing to have a good husband but it is something to know that God his a better helper than the best of husbands. Why is this?
The best of husbands has limited wisdom and understanding. Sometimes he may not know how to help his wife. My mother's father, my grandfather Hughes, was a much loved Grace Baptist pastor in Richmond, London. The ladies of his church adored him and made a great fuss of him. My grandmother who was not nearly such an attractive personality tended to be overlooked. Now my grandfather needed to compensate for this and pay his wife a great deal of attention to foster her self esteem. He did not. As a consequence my grandmother was quite often ill. Doctors were frequently in the house with whom my grandmother promptly fell in love. This created in my mother an aversion to doctors that meant I suffered needlessly with asthma long after the development of inhalers that brought relief. God does know what is best for us. He has a plan for our spiritual development. If we co-operate with our Divine Trainer we shall make progress to spiritual maturity.
(b) God is always available. God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." Heb13v5. Yes, God is always there. I love verse 6 of the hymn, 'How firm a foundation ye saints of the Lord':
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(b) God is ever gracious. God is always available to help and bless his own. I like the story of Joshua's encounter near to Jericho with the shadowy figure whose sword was drawn. "Are you for us or against us?" Joshua asked. The reply came, "Neither..... but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Josh5v14. God does come to us in times of crisis. He is not for us or against us but comes to help us carry his purposes out. As I was brooding about my position in my church described in the preceding exposition, see Love in Practice, I was directed to a passage in W. Wiersbe's book on Acts, 'Be Dynamic', where he refers to 1 Cor7v17to24. I found v24: Brothers, each man, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation God called him to, especially helpful. (D) The Christian's response.
I would like to make three observations:
(2) We don't have to be wealthy to serve Jesus. A very well to do lady poured perfume worth £20,000 on Jesus head and feet and that was a lovely act. But the penniless prostitute who washed Christ's feet with her tears and dried those feet with her hair expressed the same level of devotion without spending a penny. The biggest gift my parents received during their ministry of nearly forty years was from one of the poorest men they knew. Mr Botwright lived in an old railway carriage in the Suffolk village of Grundisburgh. He was formerly a sailor and used to walk about the village barefoot. He gave my parents, by today's values, £3000, a substantial part of his life's savings. I have never forgotten my mother's joy at this gift and it has motivated me to encourage God's servants in similar, if less generous, fashion. (3) We know the best place to have our riches - with the heavenly banker. Jesus said: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Mt6v19to21.
(b) We shall be content with what we have. And be content with what you have. v5. It is so easy to become discontented if we think we deserve more. A few months before I was due to retire I phoned up my employer about my pension. I was told that there would be a reduction of 2% per annum because I was retiring 4 months early. I felt very disgruntled because I knew of so many teachers who had retired early without suffering any penalty, indeed, their pensions had been enhanced. Yet, I have enough! Jesus has told us to be content if we have food and clothing. We should not hanker for more! We shall find more time for Jesus if our lifestyle is simple. The more we have, the more distractions there are, the greater the danger of thorns and thistles growing up and stifling the new life within us.
We can be discontented in plenty! Poor Mr Micawber in Dicken's, 'David Copperfield', was very miserable in want but he had the capacity to rejoice and be glad in plenty. I love the description of Mr Micawber making punch:
(c) We shall be confident. 'The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.' v6. One of my favourite Old Testament stories is of God appearing to Moses in the burning bush and asking him to go back to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of slavery to the Promised Land. The proposition did not appeal to Moses. He had grave doubts about his ability to do anything on behalf of a people that had once rejected him. He feared that he was not up to the job. God kept telling Moses: "I will be with you". Ex3v12. "Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." Ex4v12. I have to say that I admire the temerity of Moses who was prepared to argue the toss with his Maker. In the end he went! God was his helper and as Moses grew into the role God had prepared him for, and called him to, so his confidence increased. The writer of the book of Deuteronomy says at the end of Moses' life: For no-one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel. With God as our helper we should be a buoyant, confident, people - up to any task He calls us to.
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