Judges 8:27 Gideon made the gold into an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his town. All Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his family.

The Father delivers, provides, empowers and, for some reason, the stuff associated with His triumph takes the place of Him in worship.

After three girls I think my Dad was a bit anxious to start doing a few ‘man’ things with the boy that finally came along. When I was just a little fella, he decided to take me on my first hunting expedition, a little drive into the country with shooting something as the plan.  It was winter time, though, and the longer we remained on the Colorado country roads, the more snow began to come down, to the point that we became stuck without means of getting unstuck and back to warmth. Dad had to load me up on his back and set out on foot for help. After walking for some time in the dangerous and threatening conditions, we finally arrived at a house, where warmth and much needed help was found.

Ok, that was what happened, but from the perspective of a first-timer it was just a bit different. First of all, this was a coyote hunt that I was going on with my Dad and I fully expected to get one of those creatures, even as Dad was struggling to somehow get us to safety. I kept asking him if he saw a coyote yet, as he trudged through the snow- really only looking for the lights of a farmhouse. Then, there were these special socks with two stripes around the top of the tubes. I was wearing them for the first time on this hunt, and so they became my ‘coyote socks’. Whether or not we bagged anything, I took something from that adventure that was quite special from my little view. Dad and I had been out doing some manly coyote hunting, and I, for some time, would continue to proudly wear those special coyote hunting socks. Though I had no realization of our perilous circumstances, I had been there and I had something to show for it.

So often there is something quite different going on. God takes us on an adventure where He has to load us up on His back and carry us to safety from dangers that we never fully understand or appreciate. From an experience in which He has brought incredible provision and deliverance, we take from it that we never got the coyote we were after, but we sure do like the socks. He has been holding, protecting, preserving, and caring for us as only He can, and we take what He has provided and give it the attention He was after in giving it to us. Precious time is spent in cleaning, shining, maintaining and being entertained by the items of His provision, while the treasure of His presence and fellowship is set to the side and displaced. Though the blessing was never meant to get the glory He deserves as its provider, it is much easier to just focus on the stuff of the blessing over the way that stuff got to us and the One who made it possible.

We may not get into worshiping an ephod, but there is a similar threat to our relationship with the Father that comes when the pressing of material desires and gratification overtakes the passion that was once so strong for the blessing of His presence. Wearing the socks is most certainly His desire for us in providing them, but for the socks to gratify and identify over the consideration and honor of Him ultimately turns the blessing into a curse. He is so much better than anything He provides. It is to Him alone that all glory, adoration, honor, and attention should be given. So grateful for each blessed touch, there is yet only worship for and commitment to the One who gave it and will be faithful in His loving care and protection to the very end.

Luke 7: 2 Now a centurion had a bond servant who was held in honor and highly valued by him, who was sick and at the point of death.

9 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and He turned and said to the crowd that followed Him, I tell you, not even in [all] Israel have I found such great faith [as this].10 And when the messengers who had been sent returned to the house, they found the bond servant who had been ill quite well again. (Amp)

In this story the appreciation and understanding of authority is apparently part of what made the centurion’s faith so great. There is something else, though, that is pointed out, not just in his communication to Jesus, but also in the description of him regarding his relationship with his bond servant. An attitude in this man’s heart was displayed there that I believe was even more critical than his understanding of authority. He didn’t just tell others what to do, but he honored and highly valued them. In the openness of his heart to care for this treasured servant he displayed humility and great appreciation for the worth of even an otherwise lowly servant.

When he initially sent to have Jesus brought to heal his servant, there must have been anticipation of Jesus arrival into his home. There could have been consideration of how the novelty of this might bring attention to him and his own importance. He might have directed preparation for the handling of the details so that he himself might be well thought of. As Jesus drew close, however, there was a change of plans. Surely it wouldn’t have been all that big a difference for Jesus to come into his home, but there was something in the heart of the centurion that I believe was motivated first by honor that prompted him to propose that Jesus, in His elevated position, power and authority, just speak. Maybe He had originally been moved by an intense focus on the condition of his honored servant, but when Jesus was getting close, his focus was affected by an honor of that servant’s Healer. The more he considered Jesus, the more his heart was impacted by an appreciation and reverence for Him that would avoid any imposition when a spoken word alone would do.

In the heart of the one who would believe and receive according to the promises of God, there is a need for much more than just an appreciation of authority. That appreciation itself is in need of the greater element of honor that will provide the true power of any demonstrated authority. This is not something that can be conjured up at the time of need, either. This is something that will be displayed towards every other being that is honored as they should be, and from this heart motivated by love will come the working of a faith that will know no impossibility. The greater challenge to the resolution of dire circumstances is not just a mental acquisition of a legal principle, but rather a heart transformation to an exposure of love that sees the value, ability, and capability above any other characteristic. The servant could have been seen as just a lowly expendable servant, below what it would take to get Jesus there. Jesus could have been seen as just a carpenter from Nazareth. But, as both were valued the heart expanded with humility and honor, providing the atmosphere where faith was great and the sick was raised.

Where honor reigns all it takes is a word.

Psalms 23:6 MKJV  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of Jehovah forever.

What a comfort it is to consider the leading of the most High, that He is continually providing for all our necessities with regard to food, protection, peace, and rest. Before He can be any of these things, however, He must first be what He is declared to be in the very first verse- a Shepherd that is embraced, possessed, looked up to and eternally possessed in submission. All the subsequent scenes of sweet communion will have no place in reality until the One that is leading there is seen as way more than just a companion, but as the only hope for life at all. A single step cannot be made towards His provision and place of quiet bliss until He is considered to be the great God of not only wonderful blessed provision, but also the One with the rod and the staff, the One who is completely and uncompromisingly Holy. No claim on the provision has any validity until there has been total surrender and submission to the One from whom all blessings flow. The goodness and mercy that is anticipated is more than just a wish in the heart of the One who understands the faithfulness of the great God of judgment. An awareness of His faithfulness in correction and consequence brings incredible confidence to the one who merely yields to His will in every aspect of life. Rather than being concerned in the least about any area of need, there is an abundant assurance that all is well with the One who is equally faithful to provide for all who comply to His will.

To dwell in the house of provision has everything to do with giving honor to the one who has secured the dwelling, stocked it with essentials, and protected it from threats. There is no passion for hanging out in the abode of one whose rules and standards are dishonored and ignored. When there is no respect for the power and integrity of the owner there will be an expectation of something quite opposite to goodness and mercy- rebellion and destructive judgment. The stories of David’s own sons are clear examples of this. Though Absalom and Solomon had the same relationship to David, there was great contrast in their perception of their father, and ultimately great contrast in what would follow their actions. Absalom, in failing to see the divinely given power and might of his father, chose instead to undermine and rebel. Though gifted as a leader, his dishonor and disrespect for his father prohibited his residence in a palace that was his every right to occupy. His failure to possess his inheritance in submission to his father brought an inevitable consequence of total loss and death.

His brother, though, maybe impacted by the example played out before him, held onto a passionate possession of not only his father’s relationship, but his position of authority and power in his life. Beyond the obvious human failures, he saw in his father a man who had been faithful to the God who had blessed him with protection and provision. Rather than resisting and rebelling for his own ambitions, he found in humility and submission a great opportunity for extended residence in the house of his honored father. In seeking wisdom over material blessings, he demonstrated complete and total deference to the One that would make all that other stuff just follow behind him as a wake.

For this day, there is a path that is lit and leading to restful provision. Its destination, though, is the dwelling place of the Almighty, Holy, and uncompromising Shepherd whose provision of goodness and mercy requires humble and fearful submission to the superiority of His will. To dwell is to first possess total honor for the Shepherd.

14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.Psalms 19:14 (KJV)

Especially since 9/11 there is a stringent security process through which you must pass in order to be a passenger on a commercial flight. Special scanning machines look through cases, clothes, and even mettle to determine the nature of the content within. Why is this so necessary? Because the criminal intent of a passenger can be subverted if what he has concealed in his luggage can be seen. My brother-in-law works for Homeland Security in the Tulsa airport, and he said that color codes represent various densities and shapes as objects pass through the scanner. He showed me a picture of one bag that had contained a loaded pistol of a woman that claimed she had just forgotten to remove it upon arrival at the airport. You could clearly see the pistol’s shape outlined in a color that set it apart from the other objects in her carry-on.

For every unrighteous activity there is an available screening process that is guaranteed to subvert its action. For those whose desire it is to be free of destructive and unholy behaviors there is an option to have all that is concealed within our luggage revealed in the sight of our Father. Although He already sees all and knows each of our hearts, when this is realized and brought to light in the wonder of His presence, there is an opportunity for His security to remove and destroy all those things that are deemed dangerous. Even those things we might have overlooked or just forgotten will be readily brought to light in His sight and made to be unacceptable not only to Him, but to us. While every flight taken without screening has great risk of evil actions, the one that has gone through the screening and removal procedure has very little potential for danger. Where the heart no longer conceals any dangerous substance, and where it has been allowed to undergo the Master’s acceptance or rejection, there will be a safe, joyful, and peaceful passage to our place of productivity in the Kingdom.

The continual place of worship, where an awareness of the Father’s screening is a passionate choice for every moment, is the way to holiness and righteousness for this day. Actions originate in the heart and where their substance is revealed in its shapes and colors, the Father’s acceptance will impact and greatly affect them. May His seeing expose all potential danger in the heart and may our passage be one without mishap to the place of righteousness where the fruit is all good.

Judges 13:20-21 KJV  For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground.  (21)  But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD.

There was a time a few months ago when a man or woman showing up on the porch was not a welcome sight for the owner of most homes. A severe storm had passed through and following that storm had been a barrage of repair salesmen, intent on profiting from the storm’s damage. Unless this person was expected as the result of a request made on the phone, there wasn’t a willingness to accept another sales pitch from someone who would not take ‘no’ for an answer. No matter how flashy the flyer and how flowery the promise, there was just an expression of suspicion rather than acceptance on the face of the would-be customer. If, however, enough conversation could be made and a foot could get through the front door, an opportunity would be made for the owner to find out if their needs could really be met. The longer the stay with the owner actually offering water or some food, the greater the reception and more sure was the probability of a sale. Until the door was opened, though, and an invitation made, it wouldn’t really matter how great the company or their offer of restoration, their representative would just be taking a walk to the next house on the street.

Something really quite incredible had been presented to Manoah’s wife. She would bear a child that would be a Nazarite, someone who God would use to deliver Israel from their enemies. Though this person that showed up on the porch appeared to be a man of God, the couple was unsure of who he really was until they invited him into their home, asked to prepare a meal for him, and then offered a burnt sacrifice to the Lord. It was then that something happened that would displace their doubt. The man ascended up into the sky with the smoke from the sacrifice. Where there had been doubt and skepticism, there now was fear and consternation about their own position and the seriousness and severity of their messenger’s charge.

It is understandable how an expression of suspicion may cloud the face of one being presented with the promise of restoration, abundance, and unimaginable upgrades from yet another person showing up on the porch. While there may have been disappointments and discouragements in the past, however, with the true messenger of God there will be an opportunity to discover legitimacy and validity if there will just be an opening of the door and an offering of sacrifice made before God in the presence of the messenger. Where words of truth have been spoken and there is need to follow the direction given, the image of the messenger himself will be lost in the offering of the sacrifice as God Himself receives the focus and it is His glory that remains when the messenger has departed. God will ensure that He is well represented with validating demonstration of His power if there will just be a heart opened and a sacrifice of worship given up to Him in an honorable reception.

Isaiah 26:4-5 KJV  Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:  (5)  For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.

It always amazes me to drive through wealthy neighborhoods and realize that each of those houses, though incredibly expensive is also occupied by someone of ‘high’ stature. We lived for a while in an area of California that was very close to one of the wealthiest communities in the nation with virtual estates completely covering hilltops. Parts of Austin likewise are full of homes that must have price tags in the millions of dollars. So many of those living there have apparently ‘arrived’, having obviously gained great success and wealth.

So many people living in these exotic homes and occupying positions of prominence and power would seem to be ‘above’ our level and apparently worthy of adoration, emulation and trust. While motivation and inspiration may be gained from their examples, placement of trust can never be on them, for every one of them will one day be brought low from their self made place of prominence. To trust in them and their strength is to trust in a failing and limited resource. Though leaders, governments, businessmen, and personalities may be exalted for the moment, their ’high’ is temporal, especially where their own trust is self rather than God centered. Better it would be to let all praise and adoration be given to the Highest and the only exalted and worthy King. He will reign forever and His glory will know no end.

While it may appear that some have risen to elevated and higher places, each one of us have actually been made to be kings and priest in Christ, (Rev. 1:6) and we’ve also been seated together with Him in heavenly places. (Eph. 2:6) Rather than look with worship and praise towards ungodly persons of failing strength, there is an opportunity in every moment to not only admire, but to trust in the One who is exalted far above all these other entities, and also lifts us up together with Him. Some day those celebrities will be brought low along with all those who have misplaced their trust in them, while all those who have given their hearts and service to the King will never regret it.

Philippians 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

Psa 26:8 KJV
(8)  LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.

One of the first things that goes with an attitude or heart that is turned away from a relationship is honor, or simple etiquette. Just the mere respect given to someone with an understanding of their position or place is lost when they are no longer considered to be worthy of it. Living and abiding in a world where everything was provided for them, Adam and Eve chose to avoid their Host and partake of something He had forbidden them, things that wouldn’t even be considered by a heart that held Him in the regard of which He was worthy. As soon as the created was given more honor than the Creator, His treatment became an example of rudeness and disrespect. On the other hand, for those that chose to make Him the subject of their joy and celebration, even in the middle of trying times, there was direct access to the faithful abundance in His presence.

Today there seems to be a significant loss of simple etiquette that actually puts the one who is honoring in a place of elevated significance. Many are commonly avoided that by their age and position should be given honor and at least a little respect and preference. For those in particular who have come into the family of God, there can be a significant challenge with letting this same dishonor into a relationship that should never be touched by it. How often is God dishonored by those who come into His presence but don’t ever truly acknowledge Him with the honor that is due His name? While there may be great excitement over the things that adorn His home and the list of gifts and provisions He has promised to provide, there often is little regard for the Giver of every good gift. Thoughts of Him are passed up for daydreams of distant places and events, while response in worship is given up for a criticism or desire for things to be different. There is a way, though, of simple and honest honor adjustment, where there is never an attempt to steal away and be separated from Him for any other passion or desire in life. His heart and favor will always be towards those who give Him the honor He is due. May this day be one of acknowledgement and honor. He’s worthy.