Ladies Bible Study - Biblical ABC’s: B is for – Behold!

For many years my wife has been conducting a Ladies Bible Study and I have been after her to let me post some of the messages she has given. Here is the second in a series she is conducting. Lord willing this will be a regular feature of this blog. - Rick Jackson

PRAYER

This month was quite a challenge for me to settle on where I felt the Lord was leading me to have us go with the letter “B.” As I was praying, you may find this odd, but I began to settle on a memory – a very pleasant one, of Dr. J.R. Faulkner, the assistant to Dr. Lee Roberson at Highland Park Baptist Church. He was also the song leader and I have very fond memories of our time at that church in Chattanooga. What you have to understand is that Highland Park was not a small church – at the time it was a very large church, and the auditorium where I have the best memories would hold about 3500 people. One of the songs that Dr. Faulkner would direct the congregation in singing, with much animation and joy, was, “Behold, He Comes!” This is the vision that came to mind in my prayers that directed my study for tonight’s lesson – to lead a multi-thousand congregation in the 4-part climax of “Behold He comes! Behold He comes! Behold He comes! Behold He comes! And every eye shall see Him! Friend, will you be ready, when Jesus comes? Pastor has been preaching on the second coming lately, and the Bible is full of over 1200 admonitions of Behold!!! Friend, will you be ready? Let’s look at what our Bibles have to say tonight!

1. He’s the Behold of all Creation

Deuteronomy 10:14 says, “Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD'S thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is.” I said it last month, but it bears repeating again, it is the foundation of our faith to know and understand that the worlds were created by God. The more I study the Scriptures, the more I see in every book of the Bible how often it is repeated: God is the Creator of heaven and earth. We cannot walk away from this truth. We cannot emphasize it enough. Genesis 1:31 -- “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” This is a favorite one for my Sunday School students to memorize, “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee.” – Jeremiah 32:17.

2. He’s the Behold of the Weeping Babe

There’s a passage in Exodus that always catches me whenever I read it. When Moses’ parents had hidden their precious baby for as long as they possibly could, when keeping him quiet was probably beyond their ability to prevent notice, the Bible tells us his mother prepared an ark of bulrushes and slime and pitch (tar), put the baby inside, took him to the river (probably the Nile), and him among the reeds while his sister stood afar off to watch. Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to the river to wash herself (do you suppose this was her usual spot at her usual time?), happened to see this crude little boat and sent a maid to fetch it. Then the Bible says in Exodus 2:6 -- “And when she had opened it, she saw the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, This is one of the Hebrews children.” Is it possible that baby cried just then for a reason? Pharaoh’s daughter couldn’t help but have compassion, could she? And do you remember what happened next? Isn’t God good? When do we see the God of the Weeping Babe next? That’s right -- at the birth of Christ, when Herod had all the children ages two and under killed. In Matthew 2:18 we read, “In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.” What a comfort to know we have a God who cares about tears! When your heart is breaking, remember God knows and He cares!

3. He’s the Behold of Chastening

On the flip side, we must remember that there is joy even in our mistakes. Job 5:17 says, “Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:” and Jeremiah 9:25, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised.” It seems somewhat of a contradiction, doesn’t it, to be joyous about chastening? But I think that the Book of Hebrews sheds a bit more light on what this passage is trying to tell us. In Hebrews 12:3-15, we find the verse from Job expounded further:

(3)For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. (4)Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. (5)And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: (6) For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. (7) If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? (8) But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. (9) Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? (10) For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. (11) Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. (12) Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; (13) And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. (14) Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: (15) Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.”

4. He’s the Behold of All Help

“Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.” This passage is found in Psalm 54:4, but we can see almost the same thing in Hebrews 13:6, “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Aren’t you glad we can rest BOLDLY on a God who can and will help us? Are you like me, do you sometimes forget that? Let’s boldly remember, BEHOLD, God is mine helper!!!

5. He’s the Behold that Doesn’t Sleep

We touched upon this a little last month, too. There are times when we get wrapped up in our own woes, deeply troubled with the pressures and cares of this world, that we sometimes get burdened to the point of thinking that we are carrying our load all alone, that no one knows or cares what we have to bear. We need to memorize this short verse and let it become a part of our being, so in our darkness, Satan cannot trick us into our old ways. Look with me, will you, at Psalm 121:4. It’s a simple but profound truth, “Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” He’s the BEHOLD that doesn’t sleep! Have you ever had a night when sleep wouldn’t come? Did you think you were all alone in your worries? Did you spend time on your knees, asking the Lord to guide you through the trouble? Or did you try to carry your burden alone? God does not sleep! He’s always there! How often have we forgotten this simple, simple truth?

6. He’s the Behold of My Salvation

Isaiah 12:2 tells us, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.” A simple truth, but one not to forget, “He is become my salvation!” We should always remember the day we were saved and thank the Lord for becoming our salvation! Isn’t it remarkable that just this past week God led first Brother Wayne to preach to us about “The Gift” and then in then it was Brother Chris who was preaching the same message? Do you think we needed that? We DO need that reminder, don’t we? Isaiah 59:1 – “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:” and Isaiah 62:11 – “Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.”

7. He’s the Behold of ALL!

Jeremiah 32:27 poses an interesting question, “Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?” If we understand the “beholds” we have presented thus far, the answer to the question is simple. But do we live like we understand and believe the answer? How often do we read our Bibles without taking the time to truly understand what’s presented? Do you believe that there is anything too hard for God? Do I? Does my prayer life reflect that?

8. He’s the Behold of the Virgin Birth!

Matthew 1:23 -- “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” This is the foundation of our Christianity. God with us! “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” – 1 John 3:1

9. He’s the Behold of the Endurers

Earlier we spoke of there being joy in chastening. Now James 5:11 tells us a reason to be Happy: “Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.” When we are patient, like Job, now, that’s patience! Then, James says, we can be counted happy. When we have endured the trials such as Job, we have a God who is very pitiful and of tender mercy. Can we say that we have suffered under circumstances as severe as Job? Then, we have far to go, farther still to endure! BEHOLD!!

And, finally, the one that I was saving for last. The Behold of my prayer vision.

10. He’s the Behold that Comes!

Revelation 1:7 says, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” Again, in Revelation 3:11, “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” And, finally, Revelation 22:7 – “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.”

Behold He comes! Behold He comes! Behold He comes! Behold He comes!

And every eye shall see Him! Friend, will you be ready, when Jesus comes?