He Wants To Rejoice Over Us
Not In My Own Righteousness
He (Jesus) wants to rejoice over us
…For the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good (Deut. 30:9, KJV)
As God’s living Epistles, we all want our heavenly Father’s approval. It is such a pleasant thought to think that our very own Creator can find joy in us!
Ponder that thought. How can He find joy in us, when looking into His mirror, we begin to unearth the depths of our soul’s unrighteousness? You might ask, “How can the Lord ever be pleased with my sacrifice?” He has not left us hopeless! Like a father tenderly caring for His own, He established laws for His chosen people to follow. He then fulfilled His promised plan for the whole world to have salvation through His Son. Still, there is much work to be done on our part, because the distractions of a Christian are constant!
It is such a pleasant thought to think that our very own Creator can find joy in us!
The right motives
Of course, we know that it does not make God rejoice when we do things that are contradictory to His Word, nor is it pleasing to Him when we obey with a sinful motive. Take the sacrifice of Cain, for instance. If Cain was just as much God’s child as Abel was, then why wasn’t God pleased with Cain’s offering? There has been speculation as to why God didn’t honor Cain’s offering, but all I can say is that God knew the intent of Cain’s heart and the motives behind his good deed (Gen. 4:3-7). When doing good works, is it possible to have Cain’s same rationale? God wants to use us in His Kingdom, yet at that last day it is written: Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter-into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity (Matt. 7:21-23, KJV). We see that even those who did great and godly works were not recognized as righteous before God.
There has been speculation as to why God didn’t honor Cain’s offering, but all I can say is that God knew the intent of Cain’s heart and the motives behind his good deed (Gen. 4:3-7). When doing good works, is it possible to have Cain’s same rationale?
How, then, can we become a holy people? How can we ever make the Lord rejoice over us for good? I have excerpted scriptures from Deuteronomy 29-30 that supply insight of the faithful relationship God desires to have with us.
God’s Call
Deuteronmy chapter 29 opens with God speaking through Moses to the children of Israel about the all the blessings He had bestowed on them throughout the forty years in the wilderness. God had already established His Covenant to the nation of Israel, laying a foundation of truth for His people to follow. Now the Lord was preparing this next generation of Israelites to go into the Promised Land. But before this great feat, He wanted them to enter-into a covenant with Him for their own safekeeping: that he [God] may establish [Israel] today for a people unto himself (Deut. 29:13, KJV).
He wanted Israel to see that the outward works He had set in stone for them to follow, meant nothing if they didn’t obey with all their heart. The whole point of keeping the Law was to show the children of Israel how to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might (Deut. 6:5, KJV). God is calling us to focus inwardly.
Walking in our own imagination
For ye know how…we came through the nations which ye have passed by; and have seen their abominations, and their idols…which were among them (Deut. 29:16-17). Can any more be said? We, too, in this present day have seen the world’s abominations and idols while passing through this sinful land. Because of the luring distractions faced on all sides, God reminds His people of what will happen if they become tempted to serve other gods: Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turn(eth) away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there be among you a root that bear(eth) gall and wormwood; and it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, to add drunkenness to thirst…and the Lord shall blot out His name from under heaven (Deut.29:19-20, KJV). Yikes! This is serious. How often have we played around in our own folly, adding drunkenness to thirst; subtly ignoring the way of truth? If we deceive ourselves into believing that we will have peace, along with a more pleasant life by walking in our own wants (or even in our own moral ethics) we will still be judged as unrighteous by God.
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness(es) are as filthy rags… (Isa. 64:6, KJV). Let that sink in for a moment. You cannot be a child of the King if you do not allow Him to purify your mind, to purify your motives, and to cleanse you from your own “righteousness.”
The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law (Deut. 29:29, KJV). In other words, the things revealed to us by God is what we are accountable for. Micah 6:8 states, He has shown thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? His Word is what has been revealed to us, therefore, it must be continuously in our mouth and in our heart. For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off…but the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it (Deut. 30:11;14, KJV.)
It is when we serve Him in truth that He promises to have compassion on us! The promises found in Deuteronomy 30:3-9 abide to this day. Our Heavenly Father will fetch us from the outermost part of heaven, if necessary; He will circumcise our hearts to love Him, He will make us plenteous in every work of our hand, and finally, He will rejoice over us! So, you see? He longs to have mercy on us, for He is slow to anger and plenteous in mercy.
Our Heavenly Father will fetch us from the outermost part of heaven, if necessary; He will circumcise our hearts to love Him, He will make us plenteous in every work of our hand, and finally, He will rejoice over us!
The Ultimatum
But it is up to us. We must choose good or evil, life or death: I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you, life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore, choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live (Deut. 30:19, KJV). And what is life? Life is to love the Lord thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep his commandments and His statutes and His judgements, that thou mayest live… (Deut. 30:16, KJV).
Our heart can so easily refuse to hear the Shepherd’s voice! He has pleaded and wept for mankind to obey His voice since the fall. He pleads with mankind today to turn from their ways. Do not think that He will waste His time with a lukewarm relationship – no – God desires a heart of fire for Himself! We, also, must desire a heart of fire for Him.
He is our life and the length of our days
The King of kings wants to make you like him; He longs to rejoice over you! Set before you is life or death. That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life and the length of thy days (Deut. 30:20).
Imagine this well-used scenario: A peddler, carrying a sack packed with precious goods, falls down a ravine and cannot find a way up. A strong and capable man, who had been traversing the same path, hears the victim’s cries. Immediately, the man drops down and stretches out his long arm over the side of the cliff. The peddler, his own arms filled with the sack of treasures that could bring him a good profit, must choose whether to drop everything so that he may take hold of the man’s hand, or to keep everything and stay in the ravine. If the peddler is a sensible man, you might assume that he would drop his belongings to be saved.
It is a simple decision to make, but still this is the same decision we, ourselves have difficulty making when it comes to spiritual matters. So often the choice is put before us to serve the Lord, but we choose to hold on to our “treasures”. Are we willing to abandon the temporary pleasures of sin to be saved from certain death? In order to cling to Jesus, we must drop everything that prevents us from taking hold. He’s reaching out His hand as a lifeline for your soul. The King of kings wants to make you like him; He longs to rejoice over you! Set before you is life or death.
Which will you choose?
As a saved Christian, as a follower of Jesus, as His living epistle, my yearning desire is to choose life from Above every single day. Oh! – there are so many times when I have been blinded by my own righteousness, times I have turned from completely obeying the very voice that would set me free! In every case, I found myself empty-handed and helpless. Yet, Jesus was always there, patiently holding out His everlasting arms, showing me that His way is life abundantly. Jesus has proven to me that He is my life and the length of my days!
He longs for us to walk in His righteousness. Truly, our Lord wants to rejoice over us for good!