What god is there who can deliver you out of my hands? (Daniel 3:15)

 What god is there who can deliver you out of my hands? (Daniel 3:15)

The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is well-known, found in Daniel 3. These three friends of Daniel are captives in Babylon, and the king, Nebuchadnezzar, has not yet been humbled  by God. He has built a statue in honor of himself and is commanding that everyone assemble and bow to it on signal. The three young men have refused, and now they are being given their last chance:

Dan. 3:15 “Now if you are ready, at the moment you hear the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery and bagpipe and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, very well. But if you do not worship, you will immediately be cast into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?”

The story is highly stylized and polished, and the repeated references to musical instruments and fiery furnace indicates that Nebuchadnezzar was conditioning the people to respond to his whims as though they were lab rats or Pavlov’s dogs. But not all the rats and dogs were complying.

We are all conditioned in certain ways, even to the point of being conditioned to resist being conditioned, or not. We live by patterns much of the time. But these boys were not having it. They stood against the authorities and the compliance of the masses, and they stood for their faith for their God.

Dan. 3:16 “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. ¹⁷ “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. ¹⁸ “But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

The one, living and true God is able to deliver. He does it in different ways and at different times, though He has done it chiefly in the gift of His Son to die on the cross and rescue us from ourselves and this world system that has only temporary blessings to offer. God’s deliverance may be temporal, evidenced over the centuries and around the world, but often His deliverance waits for eternity, in which death is vanquished and life is everlasting. Faith in this God allows us to “stand against,” and also to “stand for.”

Can a Man make for Himself gods? (Jeremiah 16:20)

 Can a Man make for Himself gods? (Jeremiah 16:20)

This question in Jeremiah’s prophecy comes at the end of a strong prediction of judgment on the people for their idolatry. Their forefathers pursued false gods, and now the current generation has immersed itself in idolatry even more fully.

But the question stands: Can a man make for himself gods? And the answer is yes, and no.

Of course humanity has delved into idolatry throughout history. The prophets have multiple illustrations of the foolishness of picking out a piece of wood, cutting it in half, burning half for warmth while he fashions the other half into an idol before which he will bow and worship. Over the one half, he roasts a rabbit. Out of the other half, he carves a rabbit and worships it. 

This is clearly a violation of the second commandment, which prohibits the making of a graven image for God. And yet these “craftsmen” would form a god from their own imaginations and depict it in physical form

And so today, we have our material gods formed from human hands, lavishing time and attention upon these objects and, in a real sense, worshipping them. But all of these things will rust, like a car; or leak, like a boat

But it is not only material gods that are a problem. There are also non-material gods, depicted in the first commandment: “Thou shall  have no other gods before Me.” These can be ideas or ideals that we prize above God; philosophies and principles - all of which may be dear to us.

Religious freedom and freedom of speech are among these. Democracy or capitalism might be high ideals. Limited government or fiscal restraint may be highly valued. And these things are not necessarily wrong, just as cars and boats are not necessarily wrong. But they are not to be worshipped. I don’t even like the word “enshrined,” as some of these concepts are described when found in our Founding documents. God is God alone, and He alone is to be worshipped.

Our little verse, Jeremiah 16:20, has been only half quoted. The first half is a critical question: “Can a man make himself gods?” The second half is the reply: “Yet they are not gods!” Contrary to expectation, they cannot deliver or save. They have no eternal value. They are subject to change. Unlike the living God whom we worship.

No More Pronouns!

 No More Pronouns!

I applied for a job recently and was asked if I would agree to only use the preferred pronouns of fellow workers. I said, “No, I’ll go you one better. I won’t use any pronouns at all, and I forbid anyone to use any pronoun to refer to me. And from this moment on, other persons may only refer to the person who is now speaking as Mr. Rabbi.

Now some people are more worked up about pronouns than others, and some people don’t know much about pronouns at all. In Mr. Rabbi’s case, all pronouns are abolished, including “I” and “me;” “we” and “us;” “he” and him;” “she” and “her;” “you,” “it,” “they,” and “them.”

The interviewer asked, “Why do you wish to be called Mr. Rabbi?” I exploded. “The person with whom Mr. Rabbi is conversing must refer to Mr. Rabbi only as Mr. Rabbi. “You” is a pronoun. The person speaking to Mr. Rabbi cannot call Mr. Rabbi “you” That person cannot ask “how are you doing?” It is now prohibited, and if the person speaking persists, the person speaking will soon be looking for another job.

Mr. Rabbi could tell the interviewer was a bit rattled, but the person speaking was a quick study. “Why does Mr. Rabbi wish to be called Mr. Rabbi. Is Mr. Rabbi Jewish? Mr. Rabbi replied, “No, Mr. Rabbi is not Jewish, whether biologically, religiously, or culturally.” But when it comes to how a person wishes to be addressed, does anything matter other than that person’s own personal preferences? It is who Mr. Rabbi feels Mr. Rabbi to be, and who is any other person in the world to object?

The person conducting the interview seemed to understand, though the person conducting the interview seemed unsure that the person conducting the interview would be able to secure the cooperation of other persons, especially those who had already chosen their own alternate personal pronouns, and would be somewhat shocked to find out that those designations were now forbidden.

I said it might be just as well. Pronouns are almost essential to communication, and to do without them makes any conversation terribly ponderous. Plus, in the Bible, there are some pretty cool pronouns, like “Thou” and “ye,” and if God is in favor of pronouns, then maybe we should be as well. And when God addresses Adam and Eve, He says, “of every tree in the garden you may freely eat;” - even God calls people “you,” or he or she, according to how He created them. And so maybe we shouldn’t abolish pronouns, or choose alternate ones, because God already chose some for us.

What Will You Do when the End Comes? (Jeremiah 5:31)

What Will You Do when the End Comes? (Jeremiah 5:31)

“For He will make a complete end, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth.” (Zephaniah 1:18 NAS95)

Jeremiah is a sad book written by “the crying prophet.” Hard times have come to Judah due to their disobedience, and the consequences will be widespread: “ An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?(Jer 5:30-31)

Is there an end coming? Strange characters used to stand on street corners with a sign that said, “The End is Near.” But that was a long time ago, and evidently, the end wasn’t as near as they thought. And since the end hasn’t come recently, our biases tell us that it is not then likely to come in the near future.

But yes, there is an end coming, though we know not when. Jesus says, “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come (Matt. 24:13-14). That is, Jesus is telling us that His kingdom in this world will have a slow, difficult growth that requires endurance, but will indeed come about, “and then the end will come.” Paul says, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ’s at His coming, then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death.” (1Cor. 15:22-26). These words tell us that Jesus is coming again, and that this coming will set up a contest for power in which all enemies will be defeated, cancelled, or abolished, even, finally, the enemy of death. Yes, the end is coming, though most prefer not to even consider it.

I’ve been hearing my whole life that “the big one” is coming for California, an earthquake that will wreak havoc. More recently, we have been warned about climate change that could end life in this world as we know it. Well, “the big one” has not yet come, and life as we know it is still going on. They may be right, or wrong, but it must be admitted that these are but the prognostications of men who are delving in matters much bigger than their own brains.

But when considering “The End,” we are not talking about the predictions of men, but rather the promises of God. He, unlike men, is never wrong, and He does not lie.” He says the end is coming. That means, the end is coming.

Maybe you read a book, a thick one, and you think, “this book will never end.” But, of course, this is only a figure of speech, because every book has a beginning and an ending. This world and its contents, including us, are part of a story, God’s story. We could call it “the drama of redemption.” And that story has a beginning, and it has an end. The critical question is, “What will you do when the end comes?”

Stricken for Me? (June 4, 2023)

 Stricken for Me? (June 4, 2023)

“Striken” is related to the verb “to strike,” the noun form being “stroke.” In our current culture, “stroke” makes us think first of traveling blood clots. But that would be the wrong use. Here it means to hit or beat, with the sense that if the stroke were heavy enough, it would be lethal. It was for Jesus. In His trial, He was beaten and abused, but the “striking” continued with nails in His hands and feet, and a sword in His side. He died.

Isaiah 53 and many references in the New Testament as well give us not only the historical detail that Jesus died, but also the purpose of His death: He died for me. He died in our place, in our stead. It was us that deserved the stroke, the penalty and punishment for our sin. But He stepped into our place. He did this “for us.”

Jesus shared these words in the upper room at the Last Supper, just before He was arrested and crucified: “this is My body which is given for you” (Lk 22:19); and repeated by Paul in 1 Cor 11:24. Also, “This cup which is poured out for you” (Lk 22:20). 

“For” is a funny little word, and the original language gives us a bit more depth. The Greek preposition communicates that what is done “for you” is done “in behalf of you,” or, “on behalf of you.” Which is it? Maybe both.

When Jesus does something “in our behalf,” it means that He is acting, not in His own interest, but in ours. And since in our case Jesus is dying on the cross, and it is clear that He did not deserve to die for His own sins, then He was acting in our interest. He died in our behalf; in behalf of you and in behalf of me.

But Jesus also died “on our behalf,” which is the sense when someone acts are our agent or representative. There is a line from the modern hymn “Before the Throne of God Above” that goes like this: “Before the throne of God above. I have a strong, a perfect plea; A great High Priest, whose Name is Love, Who ever lives and pleads for me.”

So we have a Savior who acted both “in our behalf” and “on our behalf.” We could not do it ourselves. The value and worth of His sacrifice as eternal Son of God is the only sacrifice that could bring about salvation. Our own punishment would have merely eaten us up, eternally. We could not and cannot save ourselves.

So what do we make of this Jesus, and what He has done for us? Here are words of another song: 

“No other King would stand the mockery; Be led to slaughter and refuse to speak; Take up a cross and choose to die with thieves; Take up a cross and give His life for me.” For me. Stricken for me. That’s Jesus.