Then he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and those who dwelt with them from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon, for they came over to him in great numbers from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. So they gathered together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. And they offered to the Lord at that time seven hundred bulls and seven thousand sheep from the spoil they had brought. Then they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; and whoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. Then they took an oath before the Lord with a loud voice, with shouting and trumpets and rams' horns. And all Judah rejoiced at the oath, for they had sworn with all their heart and sought Him with all their soul; and He was found by them, and the Lord gave them rest all around.

Ezra

Ezra was a Levite of the lineage of Aaron. We find he was prepared to serve God just as other noteworthy ones that have been mentioned. Ezra 7:8-10 records:

And Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.

Early Church Seekers

In the church from early times we find those who want to have a doctrine, a fixed standard to set and keep the church in line with what is considered to be acceptable teaching. In New Testament times it was the Jews with circumcision. They had a precedent in Abraham and strong feeling for the physical demonstration of who was truly a Jew, but this was not the right way. Paul faced his toughest opposition in the churches from those bent on the tradition being carried forward into the church. John in the late days before the fall of Jerusalem speaks of Diotrephes, as one who,

"loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. 10 Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church - III John, verses 9-10.

The teaching and concern of John was that they walk in truth. He says in III John, verses 1-4:

THE ELDER, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth: Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Jesus' teaching about the kingdom rings out in those words and continues to ring out now to those who love truth. The pearl of great value or the treasure hidden in the field, Matthew 13:44 and 45, both come to mind as we think about the seekers of truth. In order to have the Pearl or hidden treasure it was worth selling all other possessions. Another well known and often quoted scripture which comes to mind is:

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." - Matthew 6:33

In the second century, there were those who would align the church with the beliefs of the times and those who wanted to be the rulers and leaders who were not qualified. Clement writes to the Church at Corinth:

Every kind of honor and happiness was bestowed upon you, and then was fulfilled that which is written, "My beloved did eat and drink, and was enlarged and became fat, and kicked." Hence flowed emulation and envy, strife and sedition, persecution and disorder, war and captivity. So the worthless rose up against the honored, those of no reputation against such as were renowned, the foolish against the wise, the young against those advanced in years. For this reason righteousness and peace are now far departed from you, inasmuch as every one abandons the fear of God, and is become blind in His faith, neither walks in the ordinances of His appointment, nor acts a part becoming a Christian, but walks after his own wicked lusts, resuming the practice of an unrighteous and ungodly envy, by which death itself entered into the world.

Clement goes on to mention Peter and Paul

Let us take the noble examples furnished in our own generation. Through envy and jealousy, the greatest and most righteous pillars of the Church have been persecuted and put to death. Let us set before our eyes the illustrious apostles. Peter, through unrighteous envy, endured not one or two, but numerous labors, and when he had at length suffered martyrdom, departed to the place of glory due to him. Owing to envy, Paul also obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown into captivity, compelled to flee, and stoned. After preaching both in the east and west, he gained the illustrious reputation due to his faith, having taught righteousness to the whole world, and come to the extreme limit of the west, and suffered martyrdom under the prefects. Thus was he removed from the world, and went into the holy place, having proved himself a striking example of patience.

Present Seekers

When we seek God and his truth we stand with the faithful of all ages - David, Asa, Josiah, Ezra, Paul, Peter and many others. That is where I want to stand.

In the church now there are those who want to have doctrine by which to govern the church. They want to set the standards of fellowship and dogma by which to judge other members. It is by their truth - not God's truth. It is pseudo truth, not real truth. They would have you believe that all the arguments have been answered, the truth found and set in stone but it is by their own standards of reasoning. They set themselves up as guardians and defy any who challenge them and their understanding. We see the results of their evil ways. Good men are slandered, ridiculed and cast aside so that their knowledge in seeking truth is lost because of prejudice built up against them by malicious brethren who seek to control and protect what they conceive to be the only correct understanding. The eyes of their understanding are blinded by the traditions they have adopted as doctrine. Good men, knowledgeable men, studious men have had their reputations tarnished so that their understanding and wisdom have been lost.

I might not agree with any or all that any of them taught, but they are seekers of truth and I must appreciate that. I want to stand with those who seek, not because I agree with them but because they seek truth. I can work with seekers of truth to find truth. I cannot work with those who have blinded eyes, hardened hearts and tongues that slander the innocent.

I was watching the Gaither Homecoming on TV yesterday. This was the gathering of gospel singing groups to spend an afternoon singing together. I stand amazed at the happiness these people show. A discussion of this followed with wife Linda, who pointed out that they are professional performers. This is true, but still they generate enthusiasm. Many of these people believe in the direct operation of the Spirit in today's times. They call themselves apostolic and Pentecostal and believe if they had it in the Bible, we have it now. Many are well versed in the scriptures and have knowledge of biblical history and languages; yet, every time they read a passage that might teach otherwise, they see it through their tinted glasses. Every passage about having the Spirit is read with the bias that it can happen now. I don't agree with them. I must question if they seek truth. They seek their truth, a pseudo truth on which to base their doctrinal teaching. I cannot stand with them.

Neither can I stand with those who read about marriage and divorce with their tinted glasses on. I do not stand with those who read the gospels and see only universal application. I do not stand with those who read all of the "coming of Jesus" passages as pertaining to a yet future coming. They need to take those glasses off. Such teachers have set their own rules concerning marriage. Others have invented false concerns regarding the resurrection and judgment. They misunderstand the situation of the whole period in which the apostles taught. They seek a doctrine, a dogma, but not truth. They have proclaimed their pseudo truth, their church dogma, to protect their church from error; and then claim righteousness because they stand on the traditions they have learned and pass on. Members who trust men rather than God, believe what they say because they neither love truth nor seek it. They prefer to be spoon fed from the canned doctrine, the pseudo truth of those who stand in control by their influence and power. No doubt there are some who have power which has been gained by their self-appointment as guardians and protectors wrought by their evil desires for preeminence. Others have justly obtained influence but do not use it correctly. These lack the basic element, love of truth. I do not stand with these. These people might as well be Pentecostals; their approach to the scriptures is exactly the same. They study with bias. They differ only in doctrine, not in heart or attitude about the scriptures.

I know that we do not stand alone. A few have not grown tired or become discouraged. But look around, there aren't many people standing at the door looking and wanting in to search the scriptures with us. Most are in the feeding line with their mouths open waiting for the spoon with more standardized dogma that they can take in abundance and then sleep soundly until the next feeding..

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