Why Did You Bring Trouble on us? (Joshua 7:25)

 Why Did You Bring Trouble on us? (Joshua 7:25)

How many times, in churches and families and other organizations, has this question been pertinent: “Why Did You Bring this Trouble on us?” Someone lost sight of the big picture. Someone thought only of him/her self. Someone succumbed to temptation. Someone thought that the rules did not apply in their own case.

The question is found in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua, just after the defeat of Jericho. God’s instructions had been clear: “raze the city and all the plunder was to be given to God.” In other words, don’t take anything for yourselves. There would be plenty of time and opportunity for that later.

The victory over Jericho was so easy that they thought the next town would be easier. “Let’s just send a portion of the fighting force against Ai.” And down they went, to defeat. How could this happen? How could God’s blessing, apparent at one moment, be gone the next? The answer was quite simple. There was sin in the camp. There was a troubler in Israel.

And so God directed how the guilty party was to be found. Achan was spotlighted, and he confessed. “I saw and I took,” that old pattern that still holds today. They found the loot under the floor of his tent, and then Achan and his family were buried under a pile of rocks. They called the place “Achor,” which is the Hebrew word for “trouble.” “Why did you bring this trouble on us?”

We’ve all seen it happen enough times that we must have talked to ourselves about it many times over: “Lord, don’t allow me to be the one to bring trouble to this place.” It’s not the most elevated of thoughts. It’s not aspirational. It is not the recipe for leading to greatness.

But since we are all sinners, we know that we each have the seeds in us for any number of sins. Many of those sins could be of a nature to ruin the trust that must exist for families to operate; or to ruin the public testimony of a local church; or, most importantly, to bring shame to the testimony of Christ (“look how those Christians say one thing and do another. They are no different than anyone else”).

So yes, there must be steps of faith that lead us forward, directed by God’s Spirit. And yet there are many warnings, “Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation.” And for all the mighty endeavors in the world that begin with fanfare and faith, it only takes one Achan, one trouble, to bring it all crashing down.

 A Kidney and a Pancreas walked into a Church

As you can tell, this is not a post in the “Critical Questions of the Bible” series. We’ll get back to that. But I was thinking …

We are learning a lot about parts of the body that we didn’t even want to know about. Namely, the kidney(s) and pancreas. 

Kidneys have many functions, and they are essential. If they don’t function, then you are going to have problems, big problems. The trouble is, poor kidney function is not readily apparent in a direct way. A person usually does not say, “Oh, my kidneys are out of sorts.” Rather, you might retain fluid and your blood pressure might go up. Filtering will decrease, and you will fill up with toxins.

So what happens when a kidney walks into a church? Well, a lot of good things happen. That person (part of the Body) will contribute in a whole lot of ways, but largely anonymously. We tend to take these people for granted, but we could not be a healthy church without them. We might notice them most when they become ill or are absent. Sometimes that’s a little too late. Let’s thank the Lord for kidneys among us.

When a pancreas walks into a church, it’s a slightly different story. We have been told that the pancreas is the most fragile organ. I thought, “Oh, so handle with care!” But then another medical person called it an “angry” organ. It doesn’t like to be handled. Then I thought, “Oh, let’s keep our distance.” When the pancreas gets “angry” because it has been handled, as happens in a transplant, it shows its displeasure sometimes by secreting digestive enzymes. Those are great in the digestive system, but not outside of it.  There are people who walk into a church fragile and angry, who when handled in a way they do not like, give off destructive enzymes. You’ve met people like that.

And so I had to think, am I more like a kidney or a pancreas? Now maybe you would say that you are neither. You probably think you are the brains of the operation. Well, good for you, but we know that Christ is the Head, so, actually, you are in a lower position. But evaluating myself, I have found that I’ve become more sensitive; more prone to react to criticism; less tolerant. These past couple of years have been very difficult for many people in several ways. Perhaps you can see some changes in yourself as well. And we need to move back to where we once were. We need to “guard our hearts.” We need to be humbled. We need to remember that we are not lords, but servants.

Two other points: one is that the church is a body of believers. The true church as a whole is the Body of Christ, and Christ has only one Body. But it seems that each local church is a local manifestation of that cross-generational and cross-cultural Body. Thus, even in the local church, we have many members who function in different ways. We therefore need one another. Kidneys, feet, eyes - they are all needed. And even an occasional pancreas. We need each other and we need to appreciate each other.

The other point is that we all, those saved by grace, are still sinners, and that we are in a process of becoming more like Jesus. We are not yet what we one day will be. And so we confess and receive forgiveness; and, as God is patient with us, we are patient with one another.

I was talking with a friend whose wife was seriously ill with a very sick liver. She needed a transplant, though doctors doubted that she would live until the transplant date. Then, her liver began to be renewed on its own. On its own? I don’t think so. I’m sure God was doing the renewing. And may we all, whatever parts we may be, experience that kind of renewal.

Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders? (Exodus 15:11 NAS95)

“Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?” (Exodus 15:11 NAS95)

There are notable songs in Scripture: Deborah’s song at the defeat of Siserah (Judges 5); Hannah’s song at the birth of Samuel (1 Sam 2); certainly the heavenly songs around the throne as the final defeat of the devil approaches and culminates (Revelation 4,5,15. But one of the greatest songs belongs to Moses after the defeat of Pharaoh at the Red Sea (the story is in Exodus 14; the song in Exodus 15). And in this song, he asks a critical question: “Who is like You among the gods, O LORD?"

Our brains seem to depend on comparisons in order to understand something or to attach appropriate value. So when we come to phrase like “one of a kind,” the first thing we tend to do is compare it with something else. But that’s a bit of a contradiction, because if it is truly “one of a kind,” then it is beyond comparison. It reminds me of when people say, “it’s kind of unique.” No, it’s either unique or it’s not. It’s either “one of a kind,” or it is not.

And so what Moses is saying when he sings this song and asks this question is that our God, the LORD, is one of a kind. He is unique. He is beyond comparison. He is not, then, bigger than …; or stronger than …; or wiser than …  No, His magnitude and strength and wisdom are of a whole different order, so much so that they cannot be compared to mere created monsters or men, galaxies or geniuses. In the Creator department, there is only God. In the created/creature department is all the rest, not to be compared with the Creator.

A person can sing a sweet song to a loved one who is more special in his heart than any other girl. That’s fine, and there are plenty of love songs. But they don’t match this hymn of praise, which includes words like “majestic” and “awesome” and “wonders.” These are the things that truly take our breath away; things that inspire a godly fear; things that truly get our attention and stick with us.

And these truths have practical application. Note this verse: Psa. 35:10 All my bones will say, “LORD, who is like You,Who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him, And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?” When we are up against those who, by comparison, out-match us, we look to our God who is out-match-able. And it makes a difference, deep down in our bones. A proper fear  and love of this God will drive out fear of earthly despots, whether they operate on the world stage or whether they live next door. This is the God who never disappoints, because He never suffers in comparison to anyone or anything that is better. He is worthy of our worship, and worthy of our songs.

Perhaps a closing verse will help sum up: Psa. 86:10 For You are great and do wondrous deeds; You alone are God.

Note regarding the picture at the top of page 1: In bicycle racing, the French use a term called “hors catégorie” which designates a mountain route as “beyond classification.” Perhaps we could think of God as “hors catégorie”

 

How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? (Exodus 10:3)

 “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me?” (Exodus 10:3)

In the latter stages of the plagues on Egypt, Moses asks the question, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me?” I believe that it is one of the critical questions of the Bible, and it is a question that was not only posed toward Pharaoh, but also must be asked of each one of us. We all have a tendency toward hardness of heart and toward stubbornness. 

But wait! Hadn’t Pharaoh already humbled his heart? In the previous plague, when hail had devastated the crops and servants and cattle who had been foolishly left in in the field were destroyed as well, hadn’t Pharaoh responded like this: “I have sinned this time; the LORD is the righteous one, and I and my people are the wicked ones” (9:27). The words were right. But, when it comes to humbling ourselves before God, it is more than just a matter of right words. It is a matter of the heart - heart humility. And Pharaoh’s soon-after conduct revealed that, though his words were good, his heart hadn’t changed: “But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his servants” (9:34). 

So humility before the Lord can prove to be a difficult thing, and it has proven to be a rare thing. There is noise about it. There is discussion about it. But there is relatively little of the actual doing of it - to be brought low before the Lord, and to realize deep down in our hearts that we cannot fool God; that there is an insurmountable distance between our lousy lowliness and His holy highness. And the question is, when has heart-humbling last happened to me, and when will it happen again, this humbling before the Lord. How long? When exactly?

In the midst of the locust devastation that follows Moses’ question, “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me?”, Pharaoh seemingly repents again: “I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you” (10:16). Or does he? How many times does he repeat this act, without his heart being changed? And how many times have we done the very same thing, only to return to the same old pattern of living in which self is honored above the Lord? No, he hasn’t really repented. Once again, it is just words. And once again, we also have made the same kinds of promises. “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me?”

For Pharaoh, the string runs out. After the locusts, there is darkness. After the darkness, there is death, the death of the firstborn. That’s the end. But it’s not. Pharaoh does indeed release the Israelite slaves, to go worship in the wilderness. But then he changes his mind, because his heart was never changed, and he chases after them. The people of Israel miraculously escape through the parted waters of the Red Sea, but God brings the waters back over the heads of Pharaoh and his army. What was that question? “How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me?” The answer is, for Pharaoh, “Forever.” He will refuse God forever and ever, confirmed by His death and continuing throughout eternity. And I don’t want that to be you, and I don’t want it to be me.

The problem of a hard heart vs. a humble heart is a tough one, in that our hearts are the source of our wills, not the objects. We do not fully have our hearts in hand, to change them as we see fit. Our hearts are “the real you,” and re-creating your identity is more than just re-branding. It requires real humbling and real repentance. But that is only preparatory for the real work of the Spirit of God to re-shape our hearts according to God’s will and ways. It’s the deep work of God in our lives that Pharaoh desperately did not want to happen, and that we continue to resist so much of the time.  

Stubbornness must give way to surrender; 

    Independence abandoned for submission; 

        Mighty pride melted by the weakness of humility. 

May the Spirit of God accomplish this in us today.

Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? (Exodus 4:11)

Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?

Moses could be argued the first and greatest leader of Israel. He faced down Pharaoh. He led amid great opposition. He was the vehicle for many, many miracles. He was faithful to his charge.

But boy did he try and avoid the assignment at the beginning. “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh” (3:9); “what shall I say to them?” (3:13); “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice,” (4:1); “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent,” (4:10); “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” (4:13).

It was in the midst of this exchange that God asserted Himself right into the middle of the abilities and disabilities of mankind: “Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?” (4:11). What a wonderful, terrible description of the power and sovereignty of God. He is indeed the God to be feared.

As the psalmist says, “My times are in Your hand” (Psa 31:15). He has our lives and our health, our deaths and our diseases, in His hand. He does not work evil, but He can lay you low in a moment. He does it for purposes that He alone knows, to accomplish things that He alone understands. And, when we live our lives with this God (and, we all do, whether we admit it or not), we find ourselves to be helplessly over-matched.

This series of posts that has been going on for some time I call “Critical Questions in the Bible.” I’ve gone through my Bible and marked all the questions, and then have paged back through and written down a long list, subjectively, to be the questions especially worth pondering. There is no doubt that this question was chosen at least in part due to our family’s life-situation. It is distressing, and yet, it teaches me truths that I don’t think I wanted to know, but need to know.

Here are some applications: 1. Every ability that we have that brings usefulness or pleasure is a gift from God. Don’t take it for granted. 2. Every ability that we have that brings usefulness or pleasure is lent to us from God, and can be withdrawn at any time. Don’t worship it. 3. Every dis-ability teaches us to lean on God all the more, which we should have been doing in any case. 4. God shows special mercies to those who are marked by such dis-abilities. So should we. 5. We will find that loss in one area produces blessings in another, if we don’t grow bitter. Don’t grow bitter. 6. These disabilities - for those who are in Christ Jesus, they’re temporary. No such things are found in heaven.

Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just? (Genesis 18:25)

“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” 

God is not speaking here. This is Abraham, using God’s role and attributes against Him, against what He has proposed to do, in destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?”

It’s not a wrong question, though it almost seems to be a tautology. You see, what is justice? Who decides what is just? It must be some high authority, like a supreme court or something. No, it must be even higher than that, since the supreme court disagrees with its own self, as does every human authority structure. Opinions change.

But that’s part of the problem, isn’t it. Because when we ask about the source of “true justice,” then it must be based in something that does not change. It is based in God Himself. And here He is called “the Judge of all the earth.” He doesn’t give an opinion about what is truly just. He determines the very nature of justice. And that nature of justice cannot change because the character of God cannot change.

It seems abhorrent to Abraham that the wicked cities of the plain should be destroyed if there were even ten righteous people living there (and, there weren’t even ten). But what seems abhorrent to a particular person does not make it unjust. What is unjust is that which is contrary to the character of God.

We are in the middle of a fifty year firestorm in our country regarding the “justice” of abortion. It seems abhorrent to many that infants’ lives are snuffed out as though they have little value. It seems abhorrent to others that women are caught in a situation which compromises areas of life for the sake of the care of an infant. It is as though there are two parties listening to two different gods and deciding on two different justices, the one of which cripplingly damages the other.

God knows what is just. He knows what is right. The Bible reveals God as the Giver of life, and we are bound to defend life, especially in its weakest, indefensible forms. This would certainly apply to infants in the womb. Yes, God cares about the economic concerns of a woman pressed hard by another mouth to feed. God cares that other, older children may not eat because this mother cannot work. But God is just. He is judge. His good gift, the gift of life, must be protected. We must stand for justice, and, we must care.

If You, O LORD, Shout Mark Iniquities, O Lord, Who Could Stand? (Psalm 130:3)

If You, O LORD, Shout Mark Iniquities, O Lord, Who Could Stand? 

Who is really good at marking iniquities? Recalling conversations from some of my friends, it might be their ex-spouse. Or maybe it’s those people at church; or the pastor. The neighbors. Your co- workers. Why, we are surrounded by experts!

What our verse implies is that God, who knows all, and never forgets, is not such an expert at “marking iniquities.” People seem to think He is. One man described his view of God as holding a big hammer over his head. But this verse suggests another possibility.

Now there are a couple things to note. One is the repeated reference in this phrase, “O LORD,” and “O Lord.” In modern translations, there is a distinction made using the same English letters for names of God. One is “Lord” (Hebrew, Adonai, meaning “sovereign”); and the other is “LORD” (Hebrew, Yahweh, the covenant name given to Israel, I Am that I Am). We have both names used side by side here and throughout Psalm 130. Therefore, we find that this surprising “deficiency” in God’s character applies specifically to those who are in covenant relationship to Him. In New Covenant terms, we would say that God does not mark iniquities with those whose sins are forgiven. Note Psalm 32:1-2 - “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.”

The other note that we should make in this text is the ensuing phrase: “But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.” The “but,” as I have been pointing out in daily emails, is a disruption in the normal course of events, or, a disruption in what one might expect. We would expect to be held to account for our sins, “but” with You there is forgiveness.

It seems to me that we can go wrong with regard to this point in two different directions. First, for the one living by faith in the promises of God, we can fail to grasp the wonder and miracle of forgiveness. This is to fail to integrate faith in the promise with our acceptance with God in Christ. The other mistake is for those not in covenant fellowship with God to go around assuming that God forgives everybody for everything. This person, not made right with God through faith in Christ, has not learned what the phrase means when it says, “that You may be feared.”

Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? (Mark 4:38)

“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 

This question from the disciples to Jesus, which I’ve labeled as a critical question in the Bible, is found in Mark 4:38. The disciples and Jesus are crossing the Sea of Galilee in a boat, and a fierce storm comes up. Jesus is asleep in the boat, and the disciples are losing their minds. “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

You might remember a somewhat similar setting with Jonah in a boat with pagan sailors, also in a storm, also with Jonah asleep in the boat. Jonah is awakened to pray to his god, who he identifies as “the God of heaven, who created the sea and the dry land.” They were all the more frightened, since this is the God who made this mess that we are in. Their thought was, what must we do to appease him? 

But there is really no way for a man to appease a god. There is certainly no way for a creature to appease the Creator. What do we have that we could offer Him? It is we who seek gifts from Him, and if they are gifts, then they cannot be bought. So the poor sailors in the Jonah story have it all wrong, as do the sailors/disciples in the  Jesus story.

What’s wrong with their question: “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Let me ask you a question: Why was Jesus even in that boat? Why was the eternal Son of God even on this earth? Was it not because He cared? Was it not because He loved us so much and was so committed to the mission of providing redemption, that He was willing to leave the glories of heaven and sacrifice Himself for people such as these disciples? 

Their question is rather preposterous. It is insolent. It is self-centered and completely lacking in understanding of the character of God and of His Son, Jesus. And yet, we understand, don’t we, because we have done the very same thing, questioning whether Jesus cares when we are in the midst of a storm; in one of those pressure points of life, when we don’t know which way is forward, and we feel as though we are sinking.

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained Too deeply for mirth or song,
As the burdens press, and the cares distress, And the way grows weary and long?

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares, His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares.

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? (Matthew 16:26 ESV)

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26 ESV)

Sunday, April 24, 2022

At the beginning of 2022 I did a fast read-through of the Bible, marking all the questions. When that was completed, I went back through and made a list of what I subjectively considered to be “critical questions” in the Bible. I wrote these down in the back of my 2022 calendar, 16 hand-written pages. I’ve been writing about different ones of these “critical questions” for several weeks now.

When I do one of these studies, I try and decide what might be the foundational text for the whole series. Again, this is subjective. But this post is my suggestion: Matthew 16:26, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” These verses are also found in Mark 8:36 and Luke 9:25.

I’m not exactly sure what it means to “gain the whole world.” Has anyone ever done this? Oh, I know there have been a string of business titans and military champions. But have they really  “gained the whole world?” Alexander the Great was said to have wept when there were no more lands to conquer, though he died in his 30’s and was soon replaced by others. I think men may aspire to “gain the whole world,” though none are truly successful. I do believe, however, that many have “forfeited (their) soul.” Either they mistakenly lived as though they had no soul; or they sought to feed their souls with all the wrong things.

With regard to the second question, “Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?”, we come to a second dead-end. Just as we cannot “gain the whole world,” we also cannot redeem our own souls (and that is how I understand the phrase “give in exchange for his soul”). If the devil has your soul, or, as the phrase goes, if you’ve sold your soul to the devil, what will you give in exchange? How will you buy it back? The truth is, you don’t have the resources to do so, even if you think you’ve “gained the whole world.” 

Perhaps the reason we can’t “redeem” our souls is that they aren’t really ours. They are lent to us by God, the Source of life, and we owe them to Him, and if we do not give our souls back to Him, then we won’t have them either. What does it mean to give our souls to God? The answer is found in the earlier verses: “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). 

Why Do You Seek the Living among the Dead? (Luke 24:5)

 Why Do You Seek the Living among the Dead?

Sunday, April 17, 2022

Many times on Easter Sunday I go early to the cemetery, looking past the grave stones and out over the river, reflecting on death and life. It’s a good place to think about death; maybe a bit strange to think about life.

This critical question from the Bible is asked by the angel in the empty tomb on the first Resurrection Day morning: Why do you seek the living among the dead? The women who had come to anoint the dead body of Jesus had not had the opportunity to do so before the beginning of Sabbath (dusk of Friday evening, when Jesus was taken down from the cross and buried). And they could not do their task on Saturday, being the Jewish Sabbath. And so here they were Sunday morning, seeking the dead among, well, the dead. 

Except there were no dead ones here. There were angels, very much alive. The soldiers guarding the tomb who had fainted like dead men had come to themselves and run off. The body of  Jesus that had been crucified and had indeed been dead was now missing. There were no dead persons present! The women are instructed to go and tell the disciples that Jesus is alive, and Mary actually meets Jesus face to face - alive, not dead!

This is a tremendous story of great reversals, but it has application to us today as well. Do we seek the living among the dead? Do we seek to have life, expecting that life to come from dead sources? Could not the angel ask us, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?"

Let’s illustrate it this way. You don’t go to the devil in order to receive righteousness. You don’t climb down into the mud pit in order to get clean. You don’t bring yourself into the company of miserable characters in order to build character. And you don’t follow the lead of those who are spiritually dead to learn how one should live in this world spiritually alive.

It is from Jesus that we receive righteousness, and that from no other source. It is from His shed blood that we receive cleansing. It is by following Him, and imitating Him, and obeying Him that we become like Him, and thus have godly character. It is from Jesus and from God’s Word and from the fellowship of believers that we learn and encourage one another to walk the path of those “who have passed from death to life."

What Do You Want Me to Do for You? (Mark 10:50; Luke 18:41)

 What Do You Want Me to Do for You?

Sunday, April 10, 2022

This question occurs twice in two different settings in the Gospels. It is asked by Jesus, and in the first case (Mark 10:36) the disciples  ask an inappropriate request which Jesus rejects and offers a strong correction. In the second case (Luke 18:41), a blind beggar responds to Jesus question, “What do you want Me to do for you?”, with a simple, but humanly impossible request. And Jesus heals his blindness immediately. Why, when we are told to ask anything, are some requests answered, and others rejected?

Two disciples, James and John, have an agenda. They want the good seats in the kingdom, the high seats. They come to Jesus secretly and attempt to prepare Jesus by saying, “We want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” Jesus invites them to spell it out, and then says, “You do not know what you are asking.” And I suppose that is the case a good deal of the time in a great many of our prayers. We don’t know the implications of what we are asking. We don’t know the broader contours of the will of God. We don’t know the hidden motivations of our sinful hearts. Jesus then goes on in this most important passage to contrast the difference between the disciples’ desires: lordship; with the calling of Jesus and His followers: servanthood. The arrogant, selfish request presents an opportunity for Jesus to teach His slow-learning disciples a needed lesson.

In the second case, Jesus and His disciples are journeying in Jericho. A crowd lines the road, and from the back row, a blind beggar is hollering to attract Jesus’ attention. He is told to be quiet by those with better, closer spots. But he will not be silent, and Jesus hears. He stops and commands the blind man be brought to him. “‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He said, ‘Lord, let me recover my sight.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.’ And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God.”

Why the difference between the two cases? Because we’ve prayed the second prayer hundreds of times. Is it lack of faith? Not praying loud enough, or long enough? Is it because, like the disciples in case #1, there is an arrogant, selfish agenda? Is it because there is too much “lording” and not enough “serving”? Do we ask for a favor (like the disciples) instead of for mercy (like the blind man)?

Solomon was asked the similar question, and he asked God for understanding. Perhaps that is what we need as we wrestle with these things.

Who Can Forgive Sins but God Alone? (Mark 2:7)

 Who Can Forgive Sins but God Alone?

Sunday, April 3, 2022

Leading up to Easter (April 17) I’m reading a chapter a day from Mark’s Gospel, and so I thought I would look at my homemade list of “critical questions in the Bible” and see what I had marked. One of these questions come from this morning’s chapter: “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (2:7)

You might remember the first “critical question” in the Bible is voiced not by God or man but by the serpent, or Satan. This question in Mark’s Gospel also comes from those who have enmity against God and His Son: “some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts” (2:6). They had an attentive attitude toward the text of the Scriptures, but they did not have an attentive attitude toward God. They were critical experts, intent on keeping out the riffraff (Jesus) and cementing their own position. Unfortunately, they seem to have cemented their own hearts. 

This is not the main point of this post, but it is important for you and me: does this apply to us? We carry and study and teach our Bibles, but do we love Jesus as we should? Do we allow Him to stand in judgment over us, directing us and changing us, or do we tend to stand in judgment over Him, or others who follow Jesus?

Now back to the major point of the question, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?”, are we clear on this? Sometimes we hear people say, “You need to forgive yourself.” It is God (and the Son of God) who forgives, not you. Now someone could think that if God forgives us, then who are we not to accept this forgiveness and forgive ourselves. Fair enough. Though the Bible doesn’t use the “forgive yourself” language. It is God who forgives. And the larger problem is that many in our culture are continually giving themselves a pass, saying things like, “I’m only human,” or “everybody does it,” essentially, forgiving themselves, as though they have the authority to do so.

At least the scribes still acknowledged that God had the prerogative to judge sin, and therefore to forgive sin. But once we occupy the seat of judging for God, we can easily slide into the seat of excusing actions (forgiving) for God. And we don’t have that authority. And again, a personal application, are we remembering day by day that we are accountable to this God who has provided forgiveness through His Son, and that He will forgive, but only on His terms, which is by faith in Jesus, accepting what He has done for us?

“Who Made You a Prince and Judge Over Us?” (Exodus 2:14 - cf Acts 7:27,35)

Who Made You a Prince and Judge Over Us?

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Our critical question from the Bible for this week comes from the opening chapters of Exodus. Like the telling of the Jesus’ story, Moses’ birth story and has a note about growing up, but almost immediately we find Moses, like Jesus, involved in public ministry. Moses, an outsider, like Jesus, tries to stand up for his people, and he is rebuffed with this question: “Who made you a prince and judge over us?” (Exodus 2:14). It’s almost as though they could have quoted the yet unwritten verse from John: “He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him” (John 1:11 ESV), speaking, of course, not of Moses, but of Jesus. The same pattern has been repeated against many people called to be instruments of God, and rejected by people they sought to serve.

The same line was experienced by the character of last week’s post, Joseph. In telling the dreams to his brothers, they said, “Are you indeed to reign over us?” (Gen 37:8). There seems to be a consistent tendency throughout human history to resist those who would be instruments of salvation.

The key application, though, is not our response to Joseph in Genesis, or Moses in Exodus, but to Jesus, revealed to us in the Gospels and preached to us in the Epistles. Many have heard; some have believed into this Jesus, but the issue of our submission to this Jesus is a constant question and battle for each of us.

Jesus is, to be sure, our “never failing friend,” as the old chorus goes. But do you relate to Jesus as your Prince, your King, and submit to His rule? He is your Judge, the text says, and therefore we are accountable to Him for every thought and action. To Him. Not to the neighbors or the tribe, or the party. “Are you really going to reign over us?”, the text says. Yes,” Jesus shall reign” (from the hymn), and He will indeed reign over you and me, if not now, then later; if not willingly, then unwillingly. Are we taking this seriously?

We are now approaching Resurrection Day. We will pass through pondering on the betrayal of Jesus, and then His suffering, and then His death. This is not just a tragic story like so many others tragic stories. This is the pivot point of all history. It is the defeat of darkness and the introduction of light. It is the defeat of death and the introduction of life. Jesus is the fulcrum at which our lives are changed, by which we are saved. And it cannot be a mere, polite acknowledgment. It must be an absolute submission and allegiance. Can we honestly sing “Take the world, but give me Jesus,” as the chorus goes? 

“How Can I Do this Great Wickedness against God?” (Genesis 39:9)

 How Can  I Do this Great Wickedness against God?

Sunday, March 20, 2022

This critical question is familiar to us, though when I once told the story of Joseph at American House, a sweet, little old lady asked, “Is there a book where I could read that story?” Why yes, there is a book, it’s called the Bible, and the story of Joseph is found starting in Genesis 37.

Joseph had been disabused by his brothers and sold into slavery, a strange kind of mercy, given that they initially plotted to kill him. But God’s mercy followed him into the slave market, and he landed in Potiphar’s house, where he was elevated to a position of trust: “(Potiphar) left everything he owned in Joseph’s charge; and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate” (Gen 39:6). Oh, and his wife.

It was not that Joseph pursued Potiphar’s wife. The problem was, Potiphar’s wife pursued Joseph. He respectfully put her off, saying these famous words: “How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?”  She caught him by the garment and then falsely accused him after he escaped. Joseph ended up in prison, and the story goes on from there.

It’s the question we should ask ourselves time and again, at all the critical times of temptation in our lives. The problem is, when our minds are clouded by passion, we operate according to our fleshly feelings instead of a “renewed mind,” and thus we don’t end of thinking and pondering the critical question, “How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?” 

And don’t think that this applies only to sexual temptation. It applies also when we are consumed by greed in other areas, such as the temptation to steal or falsify reports or records. It applies to the temptation to lie to make ourselves look better or “less worse.” It applies when we are filled with rage and are about to blurt out something mean and awful. “How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?”

The critical question reminds us of another important truth, that when we sin, we certainly sin against the person that we are stealing from or lying to. But we ultimately are sinning against God. David, following his sin with Bathsheba, in which he sent Bathsheba’s wife, Uriah, to death on the battlefield, said, “Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight.” He, and you and I, sin against the God to whom we will give an account. Let’s repeat the critical question to ourselves one more time: “How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?”

“Of Whom Shall I Be Afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)

“Of Whom Shall I Be Afraid?”

Sunday, March 13, 2022

Our critical question is found in the first verse of Psalm 27, but note this verse in light of the assault on Ukraine:

Psa. 27:3   Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.

We pray that many, many of those Ukrainian citizens and soldiers will be those who know the Lord, or will come to know the Lord, that they might have this kind of courage.

But the critical question is for all of us as we face different situations in life. If we examine the first verse, we are confronted with situations of darkness and destruction. Counter to this, we find our Lord to be, not just the giver of Light in the face of darkness, but He is our Light. And likewise, He doesn’t just give salvation, but He is our Salvation.

This is not to lessen the danger or threat. Verse 2 of this great psalm talks about evil-doers, adversaries, and foes. Whether these are actual physical entities, or whether they are spiritual, or mental - it matters not. What matters is that God is more than able to defeat them, and to continue to be our Light and Salvation.

Verse 4 paints a picture of being able to gaze in wonder at the beauty of the Lord, even if the rest of our vision be clouded or darkened. Think of Jonah in the “great fish.” It had to be the darkest hole in the world in which to be “hidden,” or imprisoned. And yet, as we read Jonah 2, the poem from the gullet of the great fish, we find that Jonah’s ability to see was actually greater in that darkness than when he was on dry land. Why? Perhaps sometimes we see God better when we can’t see anything else.

Verse 5 paints another picture, when we are being hunted down like a dog. It is the day of trouble, and we don’t know how many of those days are going to be strung together. But standing as outposts all around that day of trouble are the safe places of God, described as “His shelter,” in which we are hidden; “the cover of His tent,” under which we are provided and cared for; and “high upon a rock,” where we are given a firm and safe place to stand, out of reach of the enemies arrows or safely above the raging storm. 

Our God is our Light and our Salvation. Don’t be afraid!

 “Why do the Nations Rage?”

Sunday, March 6, 2022

The kings of the earth desire to be deified. They demand to be regarded as gods, requiring obedience and, if not worship, then fear. With regard to this, a critical question in the Bible occurs in the second Psalm 2, where it says “Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot in vain?”

I’m so glad for those last two words, “in vain.” They preen and they pout; they demand and they threaten. They bring together tremendous forces to exert their will. But all these things that they do, they do “in vain.”

Why? Because of the Father and the Son - the LORD and His Anointed. Here in this Old Testament text, we have both together, working together, to frustrate the plans of the wicked. There is no real problem here. These “great men of the earth” are as nothing to God. In their faces, God laughs: “He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision” (v.4). 

These wicked leaders can hurt us. They can hurt a lot of people, ruining lives, ending lives - except for the fact that the Father and the Son give eternal life and abundant life with the promise that the former hurts will be so far removed that it will be as though they never happened. These wicked leaders are a real problem - to us. But ultimately, they are no problem for God.

Think of these rulers standing before God on judgment day. We are given pictures in Scripture of the end of these men - small pictures, like Joshua with his men with their feet on the necks of the kings who rose up against the plan of God as God’s people came to inherit their land (Joshua 10); of Agag’s beheading by the prophet Samuel (1 Samuel 15:32-33); of Haman’s hanging on the gallows that he himself built, intended for the hanging of righteous Mordecai (Esther 7:9-10); and who can forget wicked Herod who, without human help, was destroyed by God for his arrogance (Acts 12:21-23) - small pictures of a much great scene to come.

All of this makes the phrase “Christ crucified” all the more shocking. Here is Jesus, the Anointed, sentenced by a Roman governor for the pleasure of a Roman emperor and with the agreement of the “fake” king of the Jews, Herod. On that day, it seemed as though the bad guys won, just as it seems so many times today. But each of those “bad guys,” every single one, will stand before that same Lord in judgment one day. God will have the last laugh. 

“Who Is Able to Stand?” (Revelation 6:16)

Who Is Able to Stand?

Sunday, February 27, 2022

At the beginning of this year I decided to do a “fast” read-through of the Bible, marking all the questions. Having completed this, I’ve paged back through, noting what I call “Critical Questions in the Bible.” The very first question in the Bible, in the book of Genesis, I included in my subjective list of critical questions. It was a question asked, surprisingly, by the serpent, or, the devil. “Has God really said …?” I wrote about this a few weeks ago.

I’ve got several pages of handwritten questions. The plan is to continue to write about a number of these, though I’m not sure how to order the list. Since I’ve written about the first, maybe it would be good to note the last critical question in the Bible: Revelation 6:16, “Who is able to stand?"

The scene from Revelation is the “revealing” of God’s wrath upon godless humanity. The definition of “godless” can be framed by morality (or, a lack thereof). Or it can be defined as a rejection of God, or, more specifically, a rejection of God’s Son. The Son is presented as the leading agent for the “pouring forth” of judgment throughout the chapters of Revelation. This onslaught of judgment produces as response from mankind, from the leaders of mankind, who are regarded as mighty and fearsome in the world. But now they are cowering. They would rather die than face this kind of judgment. And so the question, “Who is able to stand?”

There are situations in life that we think we can manage. We have an “eternal” optimism that we can avoid the worst, and often make things better. We can weather the weather. We can survive economic downturns. We’ll find a way to defy external threats, from nations, and maybe from climate itself. But who gives a thought to how we manage the unmanageable - the wrath of God? Now that’s a critical question.

The only answer to the dilemma of avoiding God’s unavoidable wrath is through the escape that God Himself has intentionally and graciously provided. It involves our recognition of God’s Anointed One, Jesus, and a submission to Him as Savior and King. We receive the gift of salvation, which is purchased for us by Jesus Himself, a gift that we could never earn or purchase ourselves. It requires a confession that we are not the kings of the universe or the lords of our lives, but that we owe our lives, and our future lives, to Him. We humble ourselves before Him, something that the men of our (uni)verse would rather die than do. 

“and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”” (Revelation 6:16–17 NAS95)

“O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

 “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall possess it?”

Sunday, February 20, 2022

Abraham asks a good question, if, in fact, it is good to ask God such questions. God had made a promise three chapters earlier, and three chapters is a long time to wait. God was reiterating the promise, even showing Abraham the stars of the nighttime sky, comparing their number to the number of Abraham’s descendants. Except that Abraham didn’t have any - not even one. “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it (the promise).”

I suppose the short answer would be, because God had promised it. There’s the old saying, “God said it; I believe it; that settles it.” But it’s not always that easy. When the situation seems impossible, well, it seems impossible. When the promise is delayed (according to our expectation, not God’s), we easily think it might never happen.

God has promised that Jesus is coming again. That kind of thing doesn’t happen every day. It almost seems impossible that Jesus would “break through the blue” and interject Himself (again) into human history. Also, Christians for many, many generations have been awaiting this event for a long, long time. “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?"

In Genesis 15, God responded to Abraham’s question with a ceremony - a covenant ceremony. It was a little like a wedding, other than the split-open animals. But God was showing that He was serious about His promise, and bound Himself with an oath. Some have suggested that the meaning of this ceremony was: “and so may it be done to Me if I fail to honor My promise.” So may God be split in half?

The covenant ceremony by which the Lord has affirmed the potency of His promises to us is somewhat different than Abraham’s, but in a strange way, somewhat the same. You see, when God promised us forgiveness of sins and eternal life, including a home in heaven, it seemed impossible, and far away. “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?"

God enacted another ceremony, on Golgotha, confirming His seriousness about the promise. But this time, it was not a threat of being split apart, but a reality: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” And that’s how we know. If God takes His promise that seriously, then we should trust it that sincerely.

 Who Warned You to Flee from the Wrath to Come?

Sunday, February 13, 2022

John the Baptist was just slightly older than Jesus, related to him. But John was different from Jesus. John was different from most people, what with his leather belt and the locusts and and honey. He wandered the land, living off the land, and had little to do with the niceties of life. He was concerned about something else. People’s eternal destiny.

Prophetic figures are often quite different. They don’t fit well in this world. They have a view of another world. Further, they don’t say what’s on their mind. Rather, they say what is on God’s mind. And it most often does not match what is being spoken on the street.

It’s easy to ignore a prophet. It was easy to ignore John. He was strange. And yet, there was something compelling; something urgent about his message that rang true. And many people responded, and believed, and were baptized.

The religious leaders were curious in a critical sort of way. They were listening to see what John got wrong, and were not considering that he could be right. And so it was to them that John posed this important question: “Who Warned You to Flee from the Wrath to Come?”

Now let’s leave the 1st century and come to the 21st century. “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Maybe no one. Maybe you have only heard the silly mantras of the world, like “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you die;” or “follow your passion” or “if you only believe, it will happen.” You are not aware of a warning of a coming wrath. If not, you’ve not read the Bible or heard someone actual tell what the Bible says. Or, you’ve read and listened with your ears closed, like John’s religious leaders.

In the Old Testament, God warned Lot to flee from the coming wrath. Lot responded with a lot of “not so fast” and “not so far.” His wife hesitated, and the coming wrath caught up to her. That story, true as it is, is just a small picture of what John the Baptist spoke of at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, which culminated in His death, which in itself was a pouring out of the wrath of God, sparing those who would believe in Jesus.

Who warned you? Did you listen? Have you responded by trusting the salvation that God has provided in Christ, and in Christ alone? Because the Bible says, it’s coming. God’s wrath is still coming.

“how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.” (1 Thessalonians 1:9–10 ESV)

Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?

Is Anything Too Hard for the Lord?

Sunday, February 6, 2022

This is the question, verbatim, from Genesis 18:14 - “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” The story occurs long after the promise to Abraham had been given that he and Sarah would have a son. But years have passed, and they have gotten old. The couple, ten years apart, are now 99 and 89. The Lord appears and promises at this time next year, they would have a son. Sarah laughed out loud.

The truth is, nothing is hard at all for the Lord. We think of things being hard when it requires great might. But God is - wait for it - the Almighty. Things are hard when they require great coordination of many moving parts. But God has in mind at once all coordinates and permutations. We find things to be next to impossible when we are opposed by powerful figures or forces who are set against us. But God has no true rivals. He is un-rivaled. When the doctors say it can’t happen, well then, who in their right mind would argue? But God isn’t limited by medical experience.

God promised a son. God does not lie. And He promised. Abraham and Sarah wondered. No, they doubted. And then God said, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

The Hebrew word for “hard” can also be translated “wonderful.” What are the limits on the wonders (hard things) that God can perform? The hymn, written by early American pastor Samuel Davies, goes “Great God of wonders! All Thy ways are matchless, godlike and divine.” It is put to a tune by John Newton called “Wonders (Sovereignty).” And then Davies takes this wonderful matchlessness of God and applies it to grace and forgiveness: “Who is a pardoning God like Thee? Or who has grace so rich and free?” 

We don’t often think of God stooping in tenderness and compassion down to the level of self-willed, rebellious sinners as a “too hard” thing. But if God is holy, the easiest thing for Him to do would have been to mete out the punishment that we deserve. Instead, He did the hard thing and the holy thing. That is, He sent His Son to bear our sin (a hard thing) so that we could be holy (a wonderful thing).

Once again, an angel appeared to a man, Zecharias, and said that his old, barren wife, Elizabeth, would have a child. When the New Testament angel quotes the Old Testament angel to Mary, he says, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Elizabeth’s baby, John the Baptist, says of Mary’s baby, Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”