In his powerful little book Safe in the Arms of God: Truth from heaven about the death of a child, John MacArthur unpacks the hard topics surrounding a child’s death. He tackles such questions as: Why did our child have to die? Will we see our child again? How can we cope with our overwhelming sorrow? What is the age of accountability? Do babies pay for the sins of their parents? Can infants and even the unborn experience salvation? What is heaven like for children?

What I love about this book is that MacArthur does not shy away from these hard questions, even the deep theological ones. In true MacArthur style, each argument is present with ample proof from scripture. I also love how the heart of a pastor can be felt as you read it. There is practical advice for those who have lost little ones, as well as, ideas for how others can help families who have lost children. Also, MacArthur provides touching real life stories of people he has known and even some who were in his congregation who suffered from the loss of a child. These stories prove to help the reader identify with each topic on a more emotional level.

I absolutely recommend this book. My wife and I have personally been blessed by the wisdom MacArthur shares and I have have given many copies to hurting families over the years. Many times these families share with me how much they needed this little book. So, if you are suffering from the loss of a child or know someone who has, I highly recommend this book. Maybe you are curious about theological ramifications of the death of children, again, let me recommend this book. MacArthur gives an excellent argument for the age of accountability from a reformed perspective. Go read Safe in the Arms of God.

Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son.” And he said, “Here I am.” – 1 Samuel 3:16 LSB

We come now 1 Samuel in our 316 series. For the context for today’s verse we find the old priest Eli wanting to know what message God had given young Samuel. It would prove to be a message that would not be too fun to share.

However, before we get to that, let’s back up and get a better picture of what all is going on. The book of 1 Samuel begins at the end of the Judges era of ancient Israel. At this time, the High Priest of the land was Eli, and his sons served as priest for the people. However, Eli’s sons were wicked and did shameful, blasphemous deeds in their role, and Eli did nothing to stop it. It was during this time that a woman named Hannah, who was childless, went to the tabernacle to pray. While praying quietly, but moving her lips, Eli mistakenly accused her of being drunk. But when Eli learned the truth, he blessed her and she went home. God did remember Hannah and she gave birth to a boy and named him Samuel. When the boy was old enough, Hannah brought him to the Tabernacle and entrusted him to Eli to be in service to the Lord.

It is some time later when we come to chapter 3 and Samuel has grown in his service at the tabernacle. One night when everyone in the service of the tabernacle had gone to bed, young Samuel was awakened to his name being called. The young boy ran to Eli and said “Here I am.” Yet the annoyed old man Eli sent him back to bed. This scene happed two more times. But on the third time, Eli realized that Yahweh was calling Samuel. So, he instructed young Samuel to lie back down and this time say, “Speak, Yahweh, for Your slave is listening” – 1 Sam. 3:9b LSB.

When the Lord stood by and called out for Samuel, one more time, young Samuel responded appropriately. It was to that response that God delivered this message: “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. ¹² In that day I will establish against Eli all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ And I have told him that I am about to judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knew because his sons have been bringing a curse on themselves, but he did not rebuke them. ¹⁴ Now therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.” – 1 Sam. 3:11-14 LSB.

Obviously, not a good message for Eli. Yet, here we come to 3:16. Eli calls for Samuel and he charges Samuel to tell him truthfully what the message of God was. It is at this point that young Samuel’s future role as a prophet of God was put to the test. Would he tell this old man that he has been serving for sometime now the full, hard truth that God had revealed to him, or would he hold back the truth? But Samuel did what was right and told Eli the whole truth and Eli responded with “It is Yahweh; let Him do what seems good in His eyes.” – 1 Sam. 3:18b LSB.

There is a lesson for us here today. When we are entrusted to share the truth of God to others around us, are we willing to share God’s whole truth or do we hold back? Do we even share at all? This is even more convicting when we think about whether or not we share the message of the gospel with those around us. How many times have we given into fear by not sharing God’s life saving truth with others? So, the next time you feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit to speak up, respond to Him like Samuel, “Here I am.”

Then she came to her mother-in-law, and she said, “How did it go, my daughter?” – Ruth 3:16 LSB

Have you ever been in a situation where you left to do something and when you returned, those who were waiting on you wanted to know how it all went? Well, that is the circumstances we find in our next verse of our 316 series. Those familiar with the book of Ruth, know that it is a book of tragedy and triumph. It is a book about brokenness and blessing, hurt and hope. It is a book that paints a beautiful picture of God’s providence.

Before we begin, let’s have a quick summary of events prior to our verse. During the time of the judges in the Old Testament, an Israelite woman named Naomi lost her husband and her two grown sons in the foreign land of Moab. The sons left behind two Moabite widows. One went back to be with her people in Moab, but the other, Ruth, returned with Naomi back to Bethlehem. Ruth vowed to be loyal to Naomi and to God. She showed her loyalty by helping provide for them both, gleaning grain in the fields of a very kind man name Boaz. Boaz was very generous to Ruth and also provided her protection.

This brings us to the scene in chapter 3. Naomi recognizes that Boaz is a kinsman redeemer. A kinsman redeemer was a male relative who, according to Law, had the privilege or responsibility to act on behalf of a relative who was in trouble or in need. The details for the responsibilities of a kinsman redeemer are found in Genesis 48:16, Exodus 6:6, Leviticus 25:47-55, and Leviticus 27:9-25. With this in mind, Naomi devises an idea for Ruth to present herself to Boaz as a potential bride. One night while Boaz was working at the threshing floor harvesting grain, he laid down after a good meal and fell asleep. Naomi instructed Ruth to wash and anoint herself and put on her best clothes. Then under the cover of darkness Ruth found the place where Boaz was sleeping and uncovered his feet and laid down there.

As you can imagine, Boaz woke up to quite a surprise in the night. When he discovered it was Ruth, she stated “spread your wing over your maidservant, for you are a kinsman redeemer” (vs. 9b). This was not an immoral or sexual encounter, but a direct request for the favor of marriage. To this request, Boaz was over joyed; however, he had to inform her that there was a redeemer nearer in relation to them than he was. Boaz vowed to see if this other redeemer would want to serve in that role or not, and if not, then Boaz was ready to be the kinsman redeemer and marry Ruth.

This is where we come to verse 16. The next morning Ruth comes home before daylight and Naomi wants to know the details. Translators split on the proper rendering of verse 16. Instead of “How did it go, my daughter,” from the Hebrew one could translate this to read “who are you, my daughter?” The reason for this could be simply that it is still dark out and Naomi can’t make out who is coming to her or it could be Naomi’s way of asking if Ruth’s identity has changed, because Boaz wanted to marry her. Either way, Naomi wants to know what happened.

The chapter ends with Ruth telling Naomi about how Boaz reacted and giving her the barley he gave to them. Naomi reacts in true mother-in-law fashion by explaining that “the man will not remain quiet until he has finished the matter today” (vs. 18b). And with that we come to the end of chapter 3.

So, if you want to know how the story ends, go read chapter 4. I would also encourage you to do a deeper study about the connection of the kinsman redeemer and how it is a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ. Finally, notice God’s providential hand at work when you think about the lineage of Boaz. It truly is a story worth finding out “how did it go?”

“And Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak.” – Judges 3:16 LSB

We now come to the book of Judges in our 316 series. As one reads through the book of Judges, we find a circular habit of the Israelites. They would experience peace in the land for a season and then they would give themselves over to sin. After a time of living in sin, God would allow their enemies to be strengthened and oppress them. Through this oppression the Israelites would repent and cry out to God for deliverance. Then God would raise up a judge to deliver them and bring back peace to the land.

Unfortunately, this cycle would continue to happen over and over again as you read through the book. An insight for this is given to us toward the end of the book: “In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” – Judges 21:25 LSB.

This is the context in which we find our verse for Judges 3:16. In verse 15, we are introduced to the hero or judge in our context, Ehud. Ehud was a Benjamite and we are told that he was left-handed. Why was there a need for Ehud? We read why in verse 12: “Then the sons of Israel again did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh. So Yahweh strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel because they had done what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh” LSB. For 18 years Eglon oppressed the people of Israel, and finally the Israelites repent again and cry out to God for deliverance.

This is where Ehud comes into the picture. In verse 3:16, we read that he fashioned for himself a short two edged sword or dagger and strapped it to his right thigh. Why the right thigh? Remember the scripture says in verse 15 that Ehud was left handed. There is some interesting significance to this detail. Ehud was from the tribe of Benjamin which means “son of the right hand.” (It is also noted that later in Judges 20:15-16, that a large number of the men of Benjamin were left-handed, giving reason to believe that many in this tribe were left handed. It is also interesting to note that the Septuagint calls Ehud ambidextrous.)

Whatever the left-handed facts may be for Ehud, he intentionally strapped his dagger to his right thigh, under his cloak. Since most men were right-handed they would have strapped it to their left thigh, thus making the detection of the weapon less noticeable when Ehud approached King Eglon later.

As you read on into Judges 3, you will find the graphic and gory details of Ehud’s deliverance. Ehud came to the Eglon to pay tribute but to also deliver a message from God. The message was a dagger thrust into the fat king’s belly. After this, Ehud mustarded up the sons of Israel to fight off the Moabites and 10,000 Moabites were killed. Once again, peace came back to the land for 80 years.

What we as Christians can take away from Ehud and the other judges is an understanding of God’s judgment and deliverance. When the people sinned, God brought consequences. On purpose, God would strengthen Israel’s enemies to not only bring about judgement, but to spur them to repentance. When the people sincerely turned from the sin and cried out to God, He would provide them a deliverer. Today, we have the greatest Deliverer of all, Jesus Christ. The consequence of sin in this life is the greatest enemy, death. Yet if we turn from our sin and cry out to God with faith in Jesus Christ, He will and does deliver us for the wages of our sin. So we are left with a choice today: we can go through this live like Israel did and do what is right in our own eyes or we can turn to Jesus, who is truly the real King of freedom.

Throughout the many years that I have been helping others and walking through grief myself I have observed one consistent reality; we all grieve differently. There are a lot of similarities, but no two people will grieve exactly the same way.

I just finished a very good book by Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor called The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and loss. Dr. O’Connor is an associate professor of psychology at the university of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss, and Social Stress (GLASS) Lab. Through this she investigates the effects of grief on the brain and the body.

In her book, she details scientific insights about how the brain functions and reacts to the loss of loved ones. There are fascinating details given from the field of neuroscience that took years of research to discover. Findings that have proven to be quite helpful to understanding the human response to grief.

Yet, there is a quote at the end of her book that stood out to me as quite telling. After all the science and all to reasoning done to come to her conclusion, she give an honest assessment that even layman can understand. O’Connor writes: “Other people cannot tell us what grief will feel like to us. In fact, I think advice is exactly what makes grieving people hold at arm’s length those who would like to help them. People are experts on their own grief, their own life, their own relationships.” ¹

She is quite right. When it comes to our own personal grief, with the exception of God, we really are the only ones who know what we are feeling. That being said, we must give ourselves a measure of grace. We can not compare ourselves to others who are grieving, we can only be real about the raw reality we are living in with our loss. At the same time, if we are trying to help others who are grieving, we must remember not to compare as well. The grief experiences we have faced are not the same as what others are going through. For example, in my case, grieving the passing of my father, I cannot compare my grief with someone else who has lost his father. There are a number of factors that make our experiences different; therefore, no matter how similar, they are still different.

How can we show care for someone in the midst of their loss? We don’t offer advice, we offer love, presence, and a listening ear. We point them to hope in Christ and we only answer questions we are asked. But most of all, if we truly want to be helpful, we show them that we truly care with no strings attached.

1. Mary-Frances O’Connor, The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss (New York, NY: HarperOne, 2022) 215. ︎

“the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho.” – Joshua 3:16 LSB

Now that we come at the book of Joshua in our 316 series, we arrive at another reminder of God’s power and faithfulness. In this verse, we find the Israelites ready to cross over the Jordan River to enter, for the first time as a nation, the promised land. We see God’s mighty work on display when we come to verse 16. They are about to cross a river that was flooded beyond its banks (see verse 15) and as God had commanded Joshua earlier in the chapter, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant were to go first. God told them what He was about to do to the river, and by faith they obeyed.

The scene in verse 16 reveals to us the details of this great miracle. This flooded river divided with the water up stream, piling up like an invisible dam, and the water down stream washed out of site. This scene must have been a marvelous sight to see and it had to dawn on the people of God’s past faithfulness to them. Some 40 years earlier, God had rescued the people from the Egyptians by parting the Red Sea and now His mighty power was on display for them again. It served as a reminder that the same God who was with them in the past was with them now. It proved that He kept His promises and they were to believe Him as trustworthy.

So, just as the people crossed over seeing God’s faithfulness on display; likewise, we need to look around and see all the mighty things God does for us in His faithfulness. For the same God who parted the Red Sea and the Jordan River, is the same God we Christians serve today. This same God would send His Son to not only divide history, but more importantly, to display His faithfulness by saving those who trust in Him. Let us never lose sight of the wonderful God that we should love and obey.

“And to the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead even as far as the valley of Arnon, the middle of the valley as a border and as far as the river Jabbok, the border of the sons of Ammon” – Deuteronomy 3:16 LSB.

For our next installment of the 316 series we come to Moses giving a discourse to the children of Israel in the book of Deuteronomy. Here Moses is reviewing with them the history of the Israelites travels prior to crossing the Jordan. In Chapter 3, he is detailing the conquest of King Og of Bashan and the Amorites in the Transjordan area. These evens can be found in Numbers 21. It is in this region that the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh settled, because the land was suitable for their large herds. This is where verse 16 gives us geographical details of the land given to the Rubenites and the Gadites. These tribes were allowed to settle in this territory, upon the agreement that their fighting men would cross the Jordan with the rest of Israel to help them take possession of the Promised Land.

In all of these details Moses was reminding them of the faithfulness of God. He reminded them that it was God who gave them the victory. In verse 2 of chapter 3, Moses declares: “But Yahweh said to me, ‘Do not fear him, for I have given him and all his people and his land over into your hand; and you shall do to him just as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon” – LSB. And, at the time of this declaration of Moses, he was reminding these tribes of their promise to go on and help their fellow Israelites in the Promised Land.

The lesson for us today as Christians: we too should remember God’s faithfulness in our lives. At the time that I am writing this, we are about to celebrate the Thanksgiving season. How appropriate it is for us to look back at this time (and at all times) at the faithfulness of God in our past. When we think about the saving work of Christ on the Cross, it should cause us to be thankful for God’s faithfulness. When we look over the multitude of blessings in our live, it should cause us to be thankful for God’s faithfulness. When life get’s tough and struggles are real, we often loose sight of the reality of God’s faithfulness; but when we take time like Moses and review the past, we can’t help but see the faithfulness of God written all over our story. When we do this we can echo the words Moses when we pray to God: “O Lord Yahweh, You have begun to show Your slave Your greatness and Your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do such works and mighty acts as Yours?” – Deuteronomy 3:24 LSB

“So Moses numbered them according to the word of Yahweh, just as he had been commanded.” – Numbers 3:16

As we pick back up in our 316 series we find Moses numbering the Levites. When taking this verse 16 in light of what is detailed in verse 4, we find quite a contrast. At the beginning of chapter 3 the names of Aaron’s sons are given. In verse 4 we read these words: “But Nadab and Abihu died before Yahweh when they offered strange fire before Yahweh in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar ministered as priests in the lifetime of their father Aaron” – 3:4 LSB. From this we have a brief discussion of the events found in Leviticus 10:1-7, in which the oldest sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, offered strange or profane fire in the censer (a gold vessel used by priests to carry burning coals into the sanctuary of the Tabernacle) before the Lord. They used fire not kindled from the altar of burnt offering and thus disobeyed God. As a result, God brought judgment upon them and they died.

Now , when we come to verse 16, we read Moses reacting to God in a way that is in contrast with Nadab and Abihu. Instead of doing things his own way or contradictory to God’s command, we read these words, “So Moses numbered them according to the word of Yahweh, just as he had been commanded.” – 3:16 LSB. Moses acted in obedience in two ways: he did what God said and he did it just as he was told to.

There is a lesson here for us today. If we are going to practice true obedience to God, we too must follow these two steps. First, we must be committed to do what God tells us. We do not have to look hard to find what God is telling us to do; we are given His clear instructions in the Bible. We must be obedient to the word of God. Secondly, we must not just be committed to obey, we must be faithful to bring about our obedience according to what God says and how God want’s it to be accomplished. Too many times we are looking for quick results, but there are no short cuts to our obedience to God. Either we obey Him completely or we are not obeying Him at all. In conclusion, we must each strive to be people who do what God tells us to do.

“And the priest shall offer them up in smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire for a soothing aroma; all fat is Yahweh’s.” – Leviticus 3:16

As we approach our next installment of the 316 series, we find ourselves at the end of the third chapter of Leviticus and in the middle of laws being given about sacrifices. In verse 16, we have the closing remarks about offering peace offerings. Peace offerings are also known as fellowship offerings and are discussed again in Leviticus chapter 7.

In today’s world we think of peace offerings as something to mend a relationship or to propitiate. For instance, if a husband brings home a gift to his wife after he has made her upset, that gift is considered a “peace offering.” Yet, that is not what these offerings were for in the Old Testament. These offerings were not meant to make peace with God, but as an offering to enjoy peace with God.

According to the Law there were three specific instances where peace offerings were to be administered. First, they could be done as a freewill offering, given as an act of worship and praise for God’s blessings. In 1 Kings 8, we find that Solomon dedicated the temple in this way by offering 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep as a peace offering. The second instance involved making a peace offering in connection to a vow or oath. When an Israelite made an vow unto the Lord to do something, they were to bring a peace offering when the vow was complete. A good example if this is Hannah offering a peace offering after fulfilling her vow to God to bring Samuel to be in service to the temple (See 1 Samuel 1:24-28). The third way peace offerings were given were in the from of giving thanks unto God when He had delivered them in time of terrible distress. We find David doing just that after the Ark of the Covenant was returned after being captured by the Philistines (See 2 Samuel 6:17).

For those of us who live under the New Covenant, we are no longer under obligation under the Law to give peace offerings, or any offering for that matter. Our ultimate offering to God is through Jesus Christ. He is the propitiation for our sins and has made those that trust in Him, in right standing with God. Our ultimate peace with God comes through Jesus. “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” – Romans 5:1 LSB. I do believe that the attitude of the peace offering should still rest within the Christian’s heart. We should still come to God in worship and in prayer when we are seeking God’s blessings and when we are celebrating blessings received. Most of all we should never get tired of celebrating Jesus who truly is our great Peace Offering. For He truly is the “soothing aroma” that pleased the heart of God on our behalf.

“Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I indeed care about you and what has been done to you in Egypt” – Exodus 3:16 LSB.

As we come to the second 3:16 from the Old Testament, we find ourselves in the middle of the events of Moses standing before God at the burning bush. In a few verses earlier, God had revealed to Moses that He was calling him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. A great task that seems far too big for lowly Moses to do, and indeed it was, without God’s intervention. When Moses asks in verse 13 what is the name of the God who is telling the Israelites to leave, God tells Moses His proper name, “I AM WHO I AM.” This is the name of the God of his ancestors, the name to be known as Yahweh.

It is interesting to note that God’s name of Yahweh is not first used in Exodus 3. As a matter of fact when reading through Genesis you can find Yahweh in reference to God in chapters 2, 4, 15, 18, 22, 24, and 27. Thus, Moses was talking to the the LORD of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This was the God of the patriarchs. The God who is completely independent, eternal, and unchanging. It was by the power of the One true God that Moses was going to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt.

So, when we come to verse 16, we find God giving Moses instructions to deliver this message to the people and he was to start with the elders. Elders here means literally “bearded ones” and it signifies that Moses was to speak with the leaders or the head of each tribe. These leaders were to understand that the God of their ancestors had not forgotten about them.

Which brings us to the wonderful statement at the end of verse 16: “I indeed care about you and what has been done to you in Egypt.” All the hardships that the Israelites had endured had not gone unnoticed. Other translations give us a little different insight to the Hebrew phrase. King James Version renders it: “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt” and the New International Version renders it: “I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt.” From this we can draw the conclusion that the Israelites were never out of God’s observation. He had seen their hardship and their suffering. He was personally aware of all that they were going through. And I personally like how the Legacy Standard Bible draws out that He wasn’t just watching, but that He truly cared about their situation and was now about to act.

For us as Christians today, we can still take great hope that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob sees us in all of our circumstances. He personally knows all that we go through and that He still cares even when we are in great hardships. This brings to mind the comforting words from the Apostle Peter: “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you” – 1 Peter 5:6-7 LSB. So, take courage my fellow believers in whatever you may be facing, because our God truly cares for you!