The Beauty of the End-Time Bride: Brokenness

By Steve Atwood

Today, there is a lot of discussion in Christian circles about brokenness. Most of the discussion views it as a negative to be overcome through Christ.

The Beauty of the End-Time Bride: Brokenness takes a very different approach. Psalm 51:17 says there is a brokenness that God desires from you as a sacrifice, namely a broken heart and spirit. This is not damaging, but a voluntarily embraced humility. However, it is humility applied to a radical degree. It encompasses issues in your life that you might not have known required humility.

Through reading this book, you will examine in depth little-explored issues that affect how you live a God-pleasing life. When was the last time you questioned how the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil governs your life today? You will then see how this mostly overlooked spiritual truth empowers deeper exploration of well-known themes like dying to the flesh.

Right now, if this brokenness talk sounds like a downer, dont worry. You can discover how its the key to unlocking the full potential of the Bibles wonderful promises to us.Catch the vision of a much bigger reality to Christian life than we have previously known.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 7, 2015
• ISBN: 9781512708196

Steve Atwood

Steve Atwood obtained a BA in Bible and biblical languages. He has ministered voluntarily through teaching, preaching, leading groups, and personal ministry. His Heaven-Broken blog is found at www.steveatwoodauthor.com. He currently puts food on the table by delivering food to other people’s tables. He resides in St. Louis, Missouri.

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Copyright © 2015 Steve Atwood.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-0817-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-0818-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-0819-6 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015913196

WestBow Press rev. date: 09/17/2015

Contents

Preface

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part I

Paradigms of Brokenness

Chapter 1    Joseph, Broken in Preparation for Power

Chapter 2    David, Broken for a Spiritual Legacy

Chapter 3    David’s Songs of Brokenness

Chapter 4    Evidence Regarding the Brokenness of Jesus

Part II

The Foundational Understanding of Godly Brokenness

Chapter 5    Breaking Our Knowledge of Good and Evil

Chapter 6    Wisdom: The Broken Place Where Knowledge Is One with Obedience

Chapter 7    Origin of Brokenness: The Face of God

Chapter 8    King Saul: Changed, but Not Broken

Chapter 9    How King Saul Wasted a God-Given Change of Heart

Chapter 10    Broken from the Wrong Fight to Live the Right Fight

Chapter 11    Fighting for God’s Life in Our Mortal Bodies!

Chapter 12    Limping Away from a Fight

Chapter 13    The Rewards of Brokenness: Ease and Treasure

Afterword

Preface

Unbeknownst to me this book started over two decades ago. My religion turned into a relationship, and God started revealing things to me. I had an unquenchable hunger and thirst for God’s Word and prayer. Truths in the Bible popped off the page like never before. I then continued the conversation in prayer. In part I was listening to God speak, and in part I was asking God to speak as I meditated on His Word. The Bible started coming together in my understanding.

I desired to know God inside and out as much as I could. Surface explanations were not enough. Seeming enigmas or paradoxes would hook me until I got insight from God. Too often, I could see contradictions in the belief systems presented by books, sermons, conversations, or even just mine and others lifestyles. I was driven to see how all aspects of life harmonize in God’s Word.

A couple of years after this change, God led me into a Bible and Biblical Languages major. This helped me develop knowledge and skills to further my quest for truth. I was trained for a life of continuous learning to this day, and I pray it sticks for the rest of my life.

God knew all this would culminate in this book. I was just along for the ride until about three years ago. It was the middle of an average day, and I was living my average day: I meditate and converse with God about His Word around my day’s business. This day I was focused on Psalm 51:17. I was pondering the implication that God actually wants some kind of brokenness, and asking Him what defines a broken heart and spirit. To me it was just one more theme from the Bible that God would reveal to me, and that He would grace me to live. Some of these themes had been hashed out for teaching, and some were still in development. Psalm 51:17 was just in its fetal stage.

In a split second, God wrapped up about a dozen of these themes into one package describing what the brokenness of Psalm 51:17 is supposed to be. God then told me to write a book about this. The depth and breadth of this twenty year process of revelation requires a two part book series to adequately communicate it.

Everything else to be said belongs in the book proper and not in this preface. I pray that you are on some level hooked, and that you feel the tug in your spirit to delve deeper into this treatise. It has radically changed my outlook, my attitude, my passions, my motivation, my everything from what I was before, even as a Christian. I pray it continues to do so.

Acknowledgements

They say it takes a village to raise a child. A village can help, or it can hinder. The Bible puts this responsibility primarily on fathers. (Not minimizing a mother’s role, however, because they are naturally wired to nurture children. God gave responsibility to dads, in part, because they tend to overlook this.) I say with complete conviction that it takes a village to support an author. I might be the only parent of this book, apart from God, but many people helped the development of this material. This being so, any flaws are solely the fault of parental failings on my part.

I cannot acknowledge by name all the villagers who contributed to my understanding, or revealed an incompatibility within our understanding, of God’s Word. Whether your contribution was by written word, spoken word, or your lifestyle application of the Word, it was taken in, chewed on, and in very many instances was developed further by God. In some instances I know where the genus for an idea came from. In other cases your contribution is concealed by the fog of years of personal thinking, rethinking, questioning, correction, and confirmation. This book is written as the result of years of personal experience, not as a research project. Nonetheless, I recognize that others have fed into the revelation process.

The first person to lay eyes on the very rough manuscript of this book was Sharon Jones, my friend despite the changes in life. She truly was a cheerleader. Her encouragement stoked the fire of discipline. She gave encouragement that what I said needed to be said. Next, my sister and brother-in-law, Mary Beth and Kirk Sumpter, read some of the rough manuscript. They gave sorely needed feedback so what I said could be understood.

Thank you to Christine Loughman at WestBow Press, my Publishing Consultant. She was the gatekeeper who saw the potential and need of this message, and opened the gate for the services of WestBow Press. Also, from WestBow Press, I wish to personally thank Tyler Elliott, my Check-In-Coordinator. He has demonstrated superb patience helping this virgin author get a book ready for publication. He will undoubtedly do so many more times before your eyes have a chance to look at this page. Thanks to Teri Watkins and Adam Tinsley for assistance with proofing. I would also like to thank Peter Le, my marketing consultant. The fact that this book is in your hands is due to effort and advice on his part. There are many other villagers at West Bow Press I have not yet met, or may never meet, and I thank you anonymously for your contribution to this project.

Next I wish to give a BIG acknowledgement to my editorial volunteers. My sister, Donna Brown, a part-time teacher, volunteered first. She had a very beneficial impact on the first part of the book. Unfortunately, our mother’s health started declining rapidly, and she had to drop the editing to be her primary caregiver. After Mom’s passing, my sister-in-law, Kathy Atwood stepped up to the plate. She works in a proofreading role full time, hence my initial hesitation in burdening her with this project despite her obvious experience. She finished getting my writing as ready as it can be for publication.

Thanks to my brother, Dan Atwood, for the cover image. Not only was he the man behind the camera, but he gave advice that made for a far better image.

I opened the acknowledgments talking about parents, and I would not be who I am without great contributions from mine. They are both observing this moment from heaven.

Parents leave a legacy, and I believe I received the greatest legacy possible from my father. Marvin Atwood was a Gideon who loved the Bible. He did not just distribute it to others, but spent his life studying it. He was known as a prayer warrior long before that became something I commonly heard.

My mother, Elizabeth Atwood, left many indelible marks on who I am; more than can be mentioned in a book. Probably of least in importance, but most pertinent to this book, I thank her for her financial support. WestBow Press offers a publishing approach between traditional publishing and self-publishing. So I needed funds that I did not possess. She volunteered the total amount necessary to buy into the process, and I was able to upgrade later using some of the inheritance she left me. She also helped make ends meet during some of the writing process.

The greatest acknowledgement of all goes solely to my Heavenly Father. I wouldn’t be writing this apart from His faithfulness to His sovereign will. I wouldn’t be worth a thing apart from the sacrifice of His Son for me and His living through my life. I wouldn’t have a word worth saying apart from the guidance of His Holy Spirit bringing His Word to life in my mortal body and sin-shuttered mind. To You be all glory and dominion! Thank You!

Introduction

What is Brokenness?

Don’t you just love statements like the one I just made? I do. I just can’t resist a witty response. I’m that kind of a person. Ooohh… I gotta say it: Well, duh, it means something is broken!

Well, I feel much better having gotten that off my chest! Now that I’ve stated the obvious, what exactly, gets broken? That’s the $64,000 question. This is where we get serious and ponder deep thoughts. I’m that kind of a person, too. Yeah, I have a complex personality, but enough about me!

What Do You Mean by Broken?!

Having batted the word broken around now about half-a-dozen times, you’re probably beginning to think: Broken? Wait a minute! Who said anything about breaking something? I don’t want to be broken! Why in the world would you even think I want something broken?! That can’t be good for me, can it? It can’t, right!?!

Okay, before you get all lathered up, let’s deal with some of these questions. There are three questions in that rant that really matter, so let’s get the answers.

The first is: Who said anything about breaking something? The answer: God, and He said it in the Bible. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise (Psalm 51:17 NASB).

The second question is: Why in the world would you even think I want something broken? That answer: The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18 NASB). If you do not realize there is nothing in life better than the nearness of God and His salvation, then this book will not make any sense to you.

The third question is: That can’t be good for me, can it? Yes, it will be the absolute best thing not just for you, but for everyone around you and most importantly, exactly what God made you to be!

But What Exactly Is Breaking?

You might have trouble with my thesis stating God desires us to be broken. And I thoroughly understand. Breaking can mean many things.

Think about what we mean by a pet being housebroken. No one broke Fido’s back or lacerated the paws of Morris. All that happened was unacceptable behaviors, like discharging waste whenever and wherever they feel the urge, have been disciplined out of them. Have you ever heard about breaking in a baseball glove? After being broken-in it is easier to use and more comfortable. This is what David was talking about in Psalm 51:17.

We all know God wants to use us, but have we thought about how broken we are to His hand? When God works through our lives, is it comfortable to Him, or uncomfortable?

God desires unacceptable behaviors, ungodly thinking, and surface-only Christianity to be gone from our lives. We know this to a certain extent, but we might be surprised just how deeply God desires to heaven-break us.

There is, however, a brokenness God wishes to heal and bring restoration to those places in your life. This brokenness comes from the sin we commit, and sins others have inflicted upon us. Some of you might still have trouble with my book title and terminology because you can’t begin to imagine God desiring us to be broken this way. And you’re perfectly right in your thinking!

I am talking about brokenness as God’s process of conforming us to His blueprint for our identity. God desires we become so thoroughly broken toward our sin-marred state that we will willingly pay the price to war against it without ceasing.

What Does This Have to Do with the End-time Bride?

This book is for the bride for whom Jesus will return. It seems like we’re all sitting around and waiting for the date when He will come. (If you think there is some word play between bride and date, then you’re right on track!) I believe instead of sitting around that we need to do something to get the date. We need to make ourselves desirable and catch the eye of the One we love. It would be easy to dismiss my opinion, but let me take cover behind the Bible.

Paul wrote about husbands and wives while expounding his teaching of what the church is. He commanded husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church…

…that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she should be holy and blameless (Ephesians 5:26-27 NASB).

Christ doesn’t want to come back for a soiled, dirty, stinking, rotten, flesh-defiled, stiff-necked and hard-hearted bride! Would you want to be married for eternity to that?!? He wants to come for the glorious church. Well, maybe you think I overstate how bad things are. (See, you can’t just flat-out contradict me by saying the church is nothing like that!)

I know when God looks at us He sees Christ in us. But how much Christ can He see in us through all of the us in us? God knows exactly what no spot or wrinkle looks like, but do you think that is what He sees when He looks at us?

I will not try to prove what the bride is or is not. If you are unaware that what Jesus wants His bride (the church) to be is still potential for the future and not real in the present, I pray God will open your eyes. But if your heart yearns enough for the Bridegroom that you want to attract Him, then reading this can get you questing in the right direction, by God’s grace.

Right now, the connection between end-time beauty and brokenness may seem vague at best, and maybe even totally disconnected, but this book will make that connection. I can’t make my case in the introduction, so please, prayerfully engage in reading this and ask Holy Spirit ¹ to speak to you.

The Big Picture Aspect of Brokenness

I believe brokenness underlies everything the Bible teaches. The Bible is a very big book with an even bigger subject: God. To understand a complex subject we tend to break it down into smaller pieces. It’s like we are looking at the different facets of a diamond piece by piece. We do this every time we read the Bible or hear a sermon.

I have noticed, however, we don’t do a good job at putting the pieces back together. So we view God through different one-dimensional perspectives, instead of knowing a multi-faceted Divine Individual. Ask yourself, please: Do you relate to God like He’s schizophrenic? Do you revel in His love one minute just to fear going to hell the next minute because of His justice?

God sovereignly placed in me a desire to see Him in truth. I have a slobbering-wet, lifelong love affair with Truth! I have seen the futility of my own shallow beliefs. They were like boxes I used to put God in. I have been humiliated when God broke through the nicely packaged understandings I have of Him. I have gotten thoroughly sick and tired of sweeping up the mess from a box God just blew into more pieces than I could count even if I made it my lifelong goal to do just that!

This is a description of just one of the ways God has brought me to the place of being broken before Him. We all need to see Him in a truer manner than we have thus far.

Journeys and Destinations in Brokenness

There are different paths and journeys to brokenness. Brokenness can be as simple as humbling yourself with truth, and allowing God to live through you, as opposed to you living through you. (If that last bit made no sense, we’ll get there. I’ll explain everything.)

Deeper brokenness requires long, dark nights of the soul. I don’t know what level of brokenness God requires of you, but He said it is the sacrifice He desires from you.

Why Do I Want to Consider Being Broken?

For everyone like Joseph or David who underwent long, confusing seasons of being broken, there is a Samson or Saul who seemingly didn’t suffer anything; anything except the lack of their brokenness. Ouch! Think of Samson’s humiliation and death before the Philistines because of his wanton lifestyle (Judges 14-16). We will look thoroughly at Saul’s example in chapters eight and nine.

There is a saying in the world I think sums up perfectly the choice between allowing yourself to be God-broken and remaining unbroken in your sin nature. Ya get what ya pay for! Although brokenness doesn’t sound like anything you want to volunteer for, everything you desire just might be the reward for brokenness. I will make the biblical case that brokenness is its own reward in chapter thirteen. So, please keep an open mind, especially when it comes to hearing the still small voice of our Good Shepherd, and let Him guide as you take a look at this with me. We will have a discussion: your thoughts, my words, and Holy Spirit’s guidance, revelation, and inspiration.

By the grace of God, I will give a defensible definition of brokenness, an interpretation of how it is foundational to other biblical concepts, and release a clarion-clear call for all to embrace this gift and become broken. (Don’t say I don’t live by faith!)

PART I

Paradigms of Brokenness

CHAPTER 1

Joseph, Broken in Preparation for Power

We will start our discussion about godly brokenness by looking at three men from the Bible who exemplified it very well: Joseph, David, and Jesus. They immediately came to my mind while formulating the idea for how to show biblical examples of being broken.

My intention in this first part of the book is merely to introduce the sacrifice-of-God brokenness found in each one of these men’s lives. In the second part of the book, as we discover how brokenness is an absolute requirement to live life by God’s design, we will delve even deeper into the words and actions of these men.

I recommend you look over the biblical material regarding Joseph’s life prior to reading my commentary. You can find it in Genesis 37–50. I will make reference to specific Scriptures as we work through what we need to see from Joseph’s life story.

Joseph’s Family Background

All families are said to be dysfunctional, and if you believe in the depravity of man this belief shouldn’t cause dispute. Joseph’s family definitely fit the description of dysfunctional!

Joseph was the eleventh male child of Jacob - the first birth by one of two concurrent wives. This wife was the only one Jacob desired to marry. As a result, these two wives were locked in a competition for Jacob’s heart by trying to bear the most children for him. Joseph had eleven brothers, the offspring of the two wives, plus each wife’s maidservant was acting as a surrogate womb in their mistress’s childbearing competition. (I said dysfunctional!) So without any choice in it, Joseph was forced into some real issues literally from his birth! (Genesis 29:15-30:24; 35:16-20)

Because he was Rachel’s first son and she the desired wife, Joseph was Jacob’s favorite. You are probably familiar with the multi-colored tunic (or the coat from