Mark 10:42-45: "Jesus called them (the disciples) together and said, 'You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'"
In a day in which people measure greatness in terms of advancement, acumen, and affluency, we who have surrendered ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ would do well to be reminded that greatness in God's eyes has everything to do with love and servitude towards others.
In the above mentioned passage, the disciples had been bickering amongst themselves as to whom was the greatest; in fact, John and James had secretly petitioned Jesus to permit them the distinguished honor of sitting on either side of His glorious, exalted throne in heaven. They were rather brazen in their request in that they first asked Jesus to answer whatever they asked, without qualifying what the request was. One has to wonder if these sons of Zebedee were aware of the egregious arrogance of their petition even before they asked it of Jesus, for they seemed to use some deception to get Jesus to agree to their demand even before He knew what it was.
Of course, Jesus would not be fooled by their trickery, and He specifically asked what it was that they wanted Him to do for them. When their quest for personal veneration was exposed, Jesus questioned them if they could drink of the cup that He drank and if they would be baptized with the baptism He had received. Many have speculated as to what Jesus was referring when He used terms like "cup" and "baptism," but in light of Jesus' reference to the cup of suffering and crucifixion from which He would drink (see Mark 14:36), one convincingly can conclude that Jesus had in mind persecution for the cause of redeeming mankind. This certainly is the reference that Jesus uses for greatness in Mark 10:45; for we see that His purpose for coming into the world was not to be exalted by His creation, but to serve them by offering His life as a ransom for their sins.
What is amazing is the tension that James and John's request introduced among the disciples, for the rest of the twelve became rather indignant at such a pompous request. Of course, the other disciples were hoping for the very same blessing, and they were likely angered that they had not asked this of Jesus sooner. Jesus, knowing the arrogant disposition of His disciples, used this episode as an opportunity to teach His disciples that greatness to the Lord is not measured in personal accolades but in a spirit that is willing to put others first . . . loving and serving them with no expectation in return. Jesus informed His disciples that the places of honor in heaven were not being prepared for those who were exalting themselves on earth; rather, these places were being held for those who were willing to serve others before oneself.
Of course, the disciples did not learn the significance of Jesus' teaching here, for later in the Upper Room in Jerusalem they would continue their arguments as to whom was the greatest (see Luke 22:24). Rather than rebuking His disciples, Jesus took the opportunity to teach them of the importance of servitude by washing their feet. As the Messiah took off his outer garment and tied a towel around his waist to wash their feet, He told them, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand." After Jesus completed this incredible teaching illustration, He told them, "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, YOU also should wash one another's feet . . . you will be blessed if you do them" (John 13:14,17).
There is a tremendous word of direction from our Lord in these referenced passages. As true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, we need to forsake the world's quest for personal exaltation as the expense of others. We need to be counter cultural by seeking the benefit of others over our very selves, just as the Messiah demonstrated when He came into the world. Jesus has informed us that we will be blessed if we follow this command; let us not miss out on the Divine blessings that come from obedience to our Lord.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Monday, November 24, 2008
Another Look at the Curse
Genesis 3:16: "To the woman he (God) said, 'I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."
The recorded events of Genesis 3 describe the infamous rebellion of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, against the sovereign rule of the One True God. Whereas God had given the couple the abundance of blessing in the Garden of Eden, God had also communicated to Adam the prohibition of consuming the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (with death being the consequence). Now there have been many opinions as to why God would put such a "test" before mankind, but I believe that the best conclusion is that God wanted to give humanity the opportunity of freely demonstrating its love and loyalty to the Creator. It has been said that love is only true when it is demonstrated by one's free will; thus, God gave man the opportunity to love Him by choosing to follow Him obediently.
Tragically, both Adam and Eve were consumed with the quest for their own lordship, for they had been informed by the Evil One that the forbidden fruit would make them "like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5). After they defiantly ate of the forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened to their nakedness; and as a result, they hid from the Lord when He came to visit them in the cool of the day. God's holiness would not be mocked by the rebellion of His creation; therefore, He pronounced curses upon the serpent, Adam, and Eve for their disobedience.
Whereas the curses were retributive and punitive in nature, one can see divine remedy in the latter half of each of the judgment directives for Adam and Eve. For example, Adam had previously enjoyed the pleasure of working in a perfected Garden . . . one that produced an abundant harvest, free from the encumbrances of thorns, disease, and drought. Now, these detrimental ingredients would be introduced to the now accursed ground, which would result in Adam having to work in difficult toil to see a harvest. Work now would not necessarily be a delight but would be painful and arduous. In the end, Adam (and all of his descendants) would die and their bodies would return to the dust from whence they were created.
Still, this pronouncement of death would be a deliverance in that Adam (and his descendants after him) would be freed from the ever-declining physical condition of the physical body and the physical world, both now subject to the curse. This is why God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden and placed cherubim with flaming swords at its entrance . . . to prevent Adam and Eve from eating the fruit of the Tree of Life and thus living forever in this perpetual physical decline. One can only imagine living in a body that had spent its physical strength and yet did not die. In fact, some of us have had the difficult experience of visiting an incapacitated person in a nursing home. After our visits to those who linger in such a state, without much hope for recovery, we conclude that death would be the blessing of emancipation from such physical bondage. We are not nearly as saddened when we hear of that person "passing on" into eternity; in fact, for the believer, we celebrate the new life of vitality that the person is now experiencing. Therefore, we can see in the latter half of the pronounced curse upon Adam, there is a offering of remedy for his despicable state of sin.
So too, we find that the latter half of the curse communicated to Eve provides remedy from the consequences of her sin. God declared that the woman would experience "pain in childbearing." The very experience that should be a total delight to the woman, now would involve a painful process before the delight of birth. God then declared that the woman's husband would rule over her as her desire would be for her husband. Most scholars would conclude that this continued sentence for sin is punitive in nature, but as with the latter half of Adam's judgment, we may be able to see God's love in providing a strategy that may mitigate the severity of the curse.
We first find that the husband would rule over his wife. If we see the husband/wife paradigm as a God-orchestrated, tangible illustration of Himself (husband) in marital communion with His bride (the Church), then we can see that this spiritual leadership role of the husband would have been God's model even before the pronounced judgment for sin. This certainly seems to be suggested by the Apostle Paul in I Timothy 2:12-13 & Ephesians 5:22-23. Just as Christ is the spiritual head of his family, so too He has mandated that the husband is to be the spiritual head of his family (Ephesians 5:22-24). Now we must clarify that this "ruling" of the husband is to be modeled in the spirit of self-sacrificing love that Christ Himself has presented to us (the Church) as His bride. And of course we know that Christ offered His very life for His bride, which is the greatest expression of love (John 15:13).
When we think of healthy marital relationships, we find two specific ingredients: one is a husband that knows that his wife finds him desirable. This man knows that he is loved by his wife, for she makes it a point to demonstrate to her mate that he is her sacred treasure. This man is showered with the affections of love that make him feel treasured and important. Equally true, the wife of a healthy relationship is one who knows that her husband loves her by providing the Godly, consistent, spiritual leadership for her and her children. She basks in the stability and security that her loving husband provides to her family. This wife never has to worry if her husband will do the right thing, because she knows that this familial leader is driven by the principle of obedience to his Lord and the principle of love for his wife and children. She is comforted in knowing that she is the treasure of her husband, as he will take all measures necessary to see that she is esteemed. Therefore, the sentence of "ruling" and "desire" may in fact be a remedy to unhealthy familial relations that were introduced into the world with the advent of sin.
Even with the pronounced curse against the deceiving serpent, God implicitly communicates rescue for humanity. Specifically, God states that He would put "enmity between the offspring of humanity and Satan, culminating with the crushing of the serpent's head by Eve's offspring (namely the Messiah). Even from outset of the first rebellion by humanity, our Lord was seeking to provide salvation for His people.
Whereas we should be contrite for the sin that we have perpetrated against the Holy God, we can be assured from these scriptures that God has provided ways to escape the full impact of these acts of rebellion. For those of us who have responded to God's offering of grace through Jesus Christ, we are assured that death is our deliverance from the bondage that sin has been introduced in this life. We also know that in God's design of the first relational institution that He created (the family), we would do well to respect the ingredients of desire and submission that can provide relational and emotional fulfillment in a rather dysfunctional world.
The recorded events of Genesis 3 describe the infamous rebellion of the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, against the sovereign rule of the One True God. Whereas God had given the couple the abundance of blessing in the Garden of Eden, God had also communicated to Adam the prohibition of consuming the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (with death being the consequence). Now there have been many opinions as to why God would put such a "test" before mankind, but I believe that the best conclusion is that God wanted to give humanity the opportunity of freely demonstrating its love and loyalty to the Creator. It has been said that love is only true when it is demonstrated by one's free will; thus, God gave man the opportunity to love Him by choosing to follow Him obediently.
Tragically, both Adam and Eve were consumed with the quest for their own lordship, for they had been informed by the Evil One that the forbidden fruit would make them "like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5). After they defiantly ate of the forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened to their nakedness; and as a result, they hid from the Lord when He came to visit them in the cool of the day. God's holiness would not be mocked by the rebellion of His creation; therefore, He pronounced curses upon the serpent, Adam, and Eve for their disobedience.
Whereas the curses were retributive and punitive in nature, one can see divine remedy in the latter half of each of the judgment directives for Adam and Eve. For example, Adam had previously enjoyed the pleasure of working in a perfected Garden . . . one that produced an abundant harvest, free from the encumbrances of thorns, disease, and drought. Now, these detrimental ingredients would be introduced to the now accursed ground, which would result in Adam having to work in difficult toil to see a harvest. Work now would not necessarily be a delight but would be painful and arduous. In the end, Adam (and all of his descendants) would die and their bodies would return to the dust from whence they were created.
Still, this pronouncement of death would be a deliverance in that Adam (and his descendants after him) would be freed from the ever-declining physical condition of the physical body and the physical world, both now subject to the curse. This is why God banished Adam and Eve from the Garden and placed cherubim with flaming swords at its entrance . . . to prevent Adam and Eve from eating the fruit of the Tree of Life and thus living forever in this perpetual physical decline. One can only imagine living in a body that had spent its physical strength and yet did not die. In fact, some of us have had the difficult experience of visiting an incapacitated person in a nursing home. After our visits to those who linger in such a state, without much hope for recovery, we conclude that death would be the blessing of emancipation from such physical bondage. We are not nearly as saddened when we hear of that person "passing on" into eternity; in fact, for the believer, we celebrate the new life of vitality that the person is now experiencing. Therefore, we can see in the latter half of the pronounced curse upon Adam, there is a offering of remedy for his despicable state of sin.
So too, we find that the latter half of the curse communicated to Eve provides remedy from the consequences of her sin. God declared that the woman would experience "pain in childbearing." The very experience that should be a total delight to the woman, now would involve a painful process before the delight of birth. God then declared that the woman's husband would rule over her as her desire would be for her husband. Most scholars would conclude that this continued sentence for sin is punitive in nature, but as with the latter half of Adam's judgment, we may be able to see God's love in providing a strategy that may mitigate the severity of the curse.
We first find that the husband would rule over his wife. If we see the husband/wife paradigm as a God-orchestrated, tangible illustration of Himself (husband) in marital communion with His bride (the Church), then we can see that this spiritual leadership role of the husband would have been God's model even before the pronounced judgment for sin. This certainly seems to be suggested by the Apostle Paul in I Timothy 2:12-13 & Ephesians 5:22-23. Just as Christ is the spiritual head of his family, so too He has mandated that the husband is to be the spiritual head of his family (Ephesians 5:22-24). Now we must clarify that this "ruling" of the husband is to be modeled in the spirit of self-sacrificing love that Christ Himself has presented to us (the Church) as His bride. And of course we know that Christ offered His very life for His bride, which is the greatest expression of love (John 15:13).
When we think of healthy marital relationships, we find two specific ingredients: one is a husband that knows that his wife finds him desirable. This man knows that he is loved by his wife, for she makes it a point to demonstrate to her mate that he is her sacred treasure. This man is showered with the affections of love that make him feel treasured and important. Equally true, the wife of a healthy relationship is one who knows that her husband loves her by providing the Godly, consistent, spiritual leadership for her and her children. She basks in the stability and security that her loving husband provides to her family. This wife never has to worry if her husband will do the right thing, because she knows that this familial leader is driven by the principle of obedience to his Lord and the principle of love for his wife and children. She is comforted in knowing that she is the treasure of her husband, as he will take all measures necessary to see that she is esteemed. Therefore, the sentence of "ruling" and "desire" may in fact be a remedy to unhealthy familial relations that were introduced into the world with the advent of sin.
Even with the pronounced curse against the deceiving serpent, God implicitly communicates rescue for humanity. Specifically, God states that He would put "enmity between the offspring of humanity and Satan, culminating with the crushing of the serpent's head by Eve's offspring (namely the Messiah). Even from outset of the first rebellion by humanity, our Lord was seeking to provide salvation for His people.
Whereas we should be contrite for the sin that we have perpetrated against the Holy God, we can be assured from these scriptures that God has provided ways to escape the full impact of these acts of rebellion. For those of us who have responded to God's offering of grace through Jesus Christ, we are assured that death is our deliverance from the bondage that sin has been introduced in this life. We also know that in God's design of the first relational institution that He created (the family), we would do well to respect the ingredients of desire and submission that can provide relational and emotional fulfillment in a rather dysfunctional world.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Our Redeemer Lives!
Job 19:25-27: "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him . . . . How my heart yearns within me!"
If there is one person recorded in Scripture who experienced tragedy and heartache, it was Job. His sons and daughters had perished in an torrential windstorm. His impressive possessions either were stolen by Sabean and Chaldean marauders or were lost to fire. Job then was afflicted with painful sores all over his body and was in constant agony from his affliction. So overwhelming was the observable pain of Job's physical malady that three of his supposed friends sat with him for a week without saying a word.
Eventually Job's friends concluded that Job must have perpetrated some heinous sin for the wrath of God to be poured out upon him and his family. Job had lost family, fortune, and fame. Many of Job's friends abandoned him in his time of need; presumably, they did not want to be associated with such a loathsome person who was the recipient of such misfortune. These "friends" feared that Job's fate might visit them as well. As Job called out for his friends in his time of need, they would not respond.
Even Job's wife found his physical disposition offensive to her and encouraged him to give up on his integrity by cursing God. Job had become the recipient of corporate derision and rejection. No one was willing to minister to him in his time of need, and little boys would jeer him in the street. No one was there for Job; even God seemed to be noticeably absent.
Yet with all of this, Job found strength in these truths:
1. GOD lives!
2. GOD is Job's redeemer
3. GOD is in control [He will stand in the end]
4. GOD is good to those who are obedient to Him as Lord
5. GOD would receive Job into His eternal fellowship
And from these truths, Job's heart yearned for the day of his deliverance. His hope in God sustained him through this perilous time. Job concluded that his earthly purpose was not to experience happiness or success, but to glorify God . . . . even if that glorification meant his personal suffering and pain.
Of course Job did not have to wait for death to see the blessing of the Lord, for the end of the book of Job records that God rescued his servant from his misery and blessed him with a long life, a large family, and material prosperity twice as vast as he had owned before.
Although we will never experience the degree of misfortune that Job himself experienced, we all will be visited with disappointment and tragedy. This tragedy will be packaged differently for each of us, but it will nonetheless be very real and very painful. What we must reinforce in our lives today in preparation of the difficulties of life are the truths of God affirmed by Job. No matter what comes our way, we must remind ourselves that Our Redeemer lives, that He is in control, and that He ultimately will reward us with His eternal presence. We MUST hold on to these truths, so that we may weather the storms of life. Our hope must be anchored in the goodness and mercy of a loving Lord, whose love is even better than life itself (Psalm 63:3).
If there is one person recorded in Scripture who experienced tragedy and heartache, it was Job. His sons and daughters had perished in an torrential windstorm. His impressive possessions either were stolen by Sabean and Chaldean marauders or were lost to fire. Job then was afflicted with painful sores all over his body and was in constant agony from his affliction. So overwhelming was the observable pain of Job's physical malady that three of his supposed friends sat with him for a week without saying a word.
Eventually Job's friends concluded that Job must have perpetrated some heinous sin for the wrath of God to be poured out upon him and his family. Job had lost family, fortune, and fame. Many of Job's friends abandoned him in his time of need; presumably, they did not want to be associated with such a loathsome person who was the recipient of such misfortune. These "friends" feared that Job's fate might visit them as well. As Job called out for his friends in his time of need, they would not respond.
Even Job's wife found his physical disposition offensive to her and encouraged him to give up on his integrity by cursing God. Job had become the recipient of corporate derision and rejection. No one was willing to minister to him in his time of need, and little boys would jeer him in the street. No one was there for Job; even God seemed to be noticeably absent.
Yet with all of this, Job found strength in these truths:
1. GOD lives!
2. GOD is Job's redeemer
3. GOD is in control [He will stand in the end]
4. GOD is good to those who are obedient to Him as Lord
5. GOD would receive Job into His eternal fellowship
And from these truths, Job's heart yearned for the day of his deliverance. His hope in God sustained him through this perilous time. Job concluded that his earthly purpose was not to experience happiness or success, but to glorify God . . . . even if that glorification meant his personal suffering and pain.
Of course Job did not have to wait for death to see the blessing of the Lord, for the end of the book of Job records that God rescued his servant from his misery and blessed him with a long life, a large family, and material prosperity twice as vast as he had owned before.
Although we will never experience the degree of misfortune that Job himself experienced, we all will be visited with disappointment and tragedy. This tragedy will be packaged differently for each of us, but it will nonetheless be very real and very painful. What we must reinforce in our lives today in preparation of the difficulties of life are the truths of God affirmed by Job. No matter what comes our way, we must remind ourselves that Our Redeemer lives, that He is in control, and that He ultimately will reward us with His eternal presence. We MUST hold on to these truths, so that we may weather the storms of life. Our hope must be anchored in the goodness and mercy of a loving Lord, whose love is even better than life itself (Psalm 63:3).
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
In What Does God Find Pleasure?
Psalm 147:10-11: "His (God's) pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love."
This brief excerpt from the book of Psalms is a good reminder for those of us who find ourselves ensnared by the wrong assumption that greatness is measured with human accomplishment. Whereas we may may be tempted to think that God is pleased most when we as the Church build large worship centers or design impressive worship services or develop expansive organizational programming, God in fact delights in those who put their faith in Him as their Lord and follow Him obediently. God does not look at the outward appearance of man; He instead sees the heart of man and can therefore judge his true motivations (see I Samuel 16:7).
The Church would do well to remember that inward transformation of the person (that is, one surrendering to the One True God as personal Lord and Savior), brings delight to the Lord. Buildings, services, and programming can be a means by which the Holy Spirit draws the soul into intimate fellowship, but these "things" are not ends in and of themselves.
If we ever fall prey to the fallacious notion that our own accomplishments as a Church are meritorious per se, we have crafted an idol out of our personal strengths and abilities. The focus then will have been redirected away from the Lord and upon ourselves as the source of worship, and God will not be pleased. Conversely, when we see that the Lord alone is the recipient of our faith, obedience, and worship, then our worship strategies can be catalytic in ushering us into the blessing of God's presence, and God truly will be pleased.
We must remember that God alone is to be praised, and He desires for His Church to revere Him and to put their hope in His unfailing love.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Ministry To Your Enemies
Exodus 23:4-5: "If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it."
The Word of the Lord tells us that we are not to wish evil or to withhold assistance to those who are not kind to us. We are not to stand idly by, when we have the opportunity to amend our enemy's misfortune by our intervention. This is love at its finest; it is the willingness to bless those who do not have our best interests at heart.
Solomon echoes this dictate, when he writes "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you" (Proverbs 25:21-22). Notice that the Lord rewards those who respond to the evil intent of their enemies with kindness and blessing. Nothing goes beyond the eyes of the Lord; He sees all things and is able to reward those who endure the hardships of their enemies by reciprocating love to them (see Hebrews 4:13).
Notice also that by bestowing blessing to one's enemy, one is "heaping burning coals on his enemy's head." Whereas one might think that this means that the enemy is even more enraged by this act of love, in reality, the responsive kindness will bring intense, burning pangs of conscience to the enemy for his wickedness. As he observes the generosity of the one to whom he has harmed, he himself will be overcome with contrition and regret for his debased behavior. In the end, this "enemy" may in fact repent of his waywardness and return to fellowship with the one he has once violated.
Jesus also teaches us how we are to relate to our enemies who would wish evil for us: "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven . . . . Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:43-45,48). One of the evidences of spiritual transformation for the believer is his ability through the power of the Holy Spirit to love and pray for his enemies. Jesus tells us that this disposition of love is one of the fruits of perfection that is demonstrated by the children of God. They do not permit the evil deeds perpetrated against them to cause a vehement hatred to well up within them so that they would wish evil for their enemies or even enact evil in return. And of course, the willingness to love others is made manifest in one's determination to help his enemies when they are in need. This is what the Exodus 23 passage above suggests.
As followers of Jesus Christ, let's live lives of love towards those around us, including our enemies. We know that this is the will of God for us; and He will bless us for loving our enemies and seeking to minister to them when they are in need.
The Word of the Lord tells us that we are not to wish evil or to withhold assistance to those who are not kind to us. We are not to stand idly by, when we have the opportunity to amend our enemy's misfortune by our intervention. This is love at its finest; it is the willingness to bless those who do not have our best interests at heart.
Solomon echoes this dictate, when he writes "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you" (Proverbs 25:21-22). Notice that the Lord rewards those who respond to the evil intent of their enemies with kindness and blessing. Nothing goes beyond the eyes of the Lord; He sees all things and is able to reward those who endure the hardships of their enemies by reciprocating love to them (see Hebrews 4:13).
Notice also that by bestowing blessing to one's enemy, one is "heaping burning coals on his enemy's head." Whereas one might think that this means that the enemy is even more enraged by this act of love, in reality, the responsive kindness will bring intense, burning pangs of conscience to the enemy for his wickedness. As he observes the generosity of the one to whom he has harmed, he himself will be overcome with contrition and regret for his debased behavior. In the end, this "enemy" may in fact repent of his waywardness and return to fellowship with the one he has once violated.
Jesus also teaches us how we are to relate to our enemies who would wish evil for us: "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven . . . . Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:43-45,48). One of the evidences of spiritual transformation for the believer is his ability through the power of the Holy Spirit to love and pray for his enemies. Jesus tells us that this disposition of love is one of the fruits of perfection that is demonstrated by the children of God. They do not permit the evil deeds perpetrated against them to cause a vehement hatred to well up within them so that they would wish evil for their enemies or even enact evil in return. And of course, the willingness to love others is made manifest in one's determination to help his enemies when they are in need. This is what the Exodus 23 passage above suggests.
As followers of Jesus Christ, let's live lives of love towards those around us, including our enemies. We know that this is the will of God for us; and He will bless us for loving our enemies and seeking to minister to them when they are in need.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
What Again Is the Purpose of Those Trials in Life?
I Peter 1:3-9; 2:7-8: "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade-kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of you souls. . . . But to those who do not believe . . . . they stumble because they disobey the message-which is also what they were destined for."
The purpose for Peter's first writing was to provide a word of encouragement to the Church in the midst of suffering. Persecution seemed to be a consistent theme in the lives of the first century believers, and Peter advised them not to be surprised, but to "rejoice that (they) participate in the sufferings of Christ" (4:12-13).
In the passage cited above, Peter communicated to his audience that trials would be a continuous part of their lives. God in His Providence would permit such struggles in life in order that faith (which is of greater value that gold) would be "proved genuine" and would bring even greater expression of glory and praise to the Lord in His eternal blessedness.
God in His infinite wisdom, understands that we grow most in our faith in Him as our Lord when we are faced with tribulation; our perceived need for God's strength and grace is heightened when we reach the valleys of difficulty and disappointment, for we are reminded that we are unable to find deliverance except by the mighty hand of God. When our trials take us to the depths of despair, we see the majesty of God and His ability to provide us with the strength to persevere.
What is reassuring is that the Lord provides us with His banner of protection, and He shields us from the onslaught of fear and discouragement that can arise when we are attacked by painful trials. Still, we must remember Peter's words that it is our faith in Jesus Christ that opens the floodgates of God's power in our lives to weather the storms of difficulty. As we reflect upon the assurance of our eternal inheritance that will never "spoil, perish, or fade," we reorient our focus upon the hope of our future with the Lord, and we are strengthened in our resolve to press on, no matter what painful experience befalls us.
Never forget that we must anchor our trust in the Lord alone. When misfortune comes our way, we must recommit ourselves to the hope to which we profess . . . namely the Lord Jesus Christ and His promise of our salvation. It is then that our faith will accomplish its ultimate purpose, which is the praise and glorification of the One True Lord of Hosts. And we in turn will reap the harvest of inexpressible joy, no matter what perilous state in which we find ourselves.
The purpose for Peter's first writing was to provide a word of encouragement to the Church in the midst of suffering. Persecution seemed to be a consistent theme in the lives of the first century believers, and Peter advised them not to be surprised, but to "rejoice that (they) participate in the sufferings of Christ" (4:12-13).
In the passage cited above, Peter communicated to his audience that trials would be a continuous part of their lives. God in His Providence would permit such struggles in life in order that faith (which is of greater value that gold) would be "proved genuine" and would bring even greater expression of glory and praise to the Lord in His eternal blessedness.
God in His infinite wisdom, understands that we grow most in our faith in Him as our Lord when we are faced with tribulation; our perceived need for God's strength and grace is heightened when we reach the valleys of difficulty and disappointment, for we are reminded that we are unable to find deliverance except by the mighty hand of God. When our trials take us to the depths of despair, we see the majesty of God and His ability to provide us with the strength to persevere.
What is reassuring is that the Lord provides us with His banner of protection, and He shields us from the onslaught of fear and discouragement that can arise when we are attacked by painful trials. Still, we must remember Peter's words that it is our faith in Jesus Christ that opens the floodgates of God's power in our lives to weather the storms of difficulty. As we reflect upon the assurance of our eternal inheritance that will never "spoil, perish, or fade," we reorient our focus upon the hope of our future with the Lord, and we are strengthened in our resolve to press on, no matter what painful experience befalls us.
Never forget that we must anchor our trust in the Lord alone. When misfortune comes our way, we must recommit ourselves to the hope to which we profess . . . namely the Lord Jesus Christ and His promise of our salvation. It is then that our faith will accomplish its ultimate purpose, which is the praise and glorification of the One True Lord of Hosts. And we in turn will reap the harvest of inexpressible joy, no matter what perilous state in which we find ourselves.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
So Close Yet So Far (2)
Numbers 25:1-3: "While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the LORD's anger burned against them. The LORD said to Moses, 'Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the LORD's fierce anger may turn away from Israel.'"
So close and yet so far . . . Numbers 25 records that the children of Israel were encamped in a village named Shittim. The Jewish historian, Josephus, tells us that Shittim was only about 7 miles from the Jordan River, which was the threshold for entering God's Promised Land of blessing for His covenant people. Whereas the Israelites practically could see the blessing of the Lord on the horizon, they turned away from the Lord and began to worship their own carnal lusts and desire for personal preeminence. In their despicable, debased behavior, these people were defying God's right to supremacy in their lives. They in effect wanted to be gods themselves.
Of course, the Lord would not be mocked by such recalcitrance. He instructed Moses, the leader of the Israelites, to put to death those men who joined in the worship of the pagan deities of the Canaanites and participated in the grossly licentious acts of sexual immorality. Even as Moses was communicating this dictate of the Lord to the people, an Israelite man by the name of Zimri brazenly paraded a pagan woman in front of Moses and the people and escorted her to his tent to have sex with her. I can only imagine the shock on Moses' face to see the emboldened demonstration of defiance of Zimri; this wicked man from a prominent Simeonite family thumbed His nose at the Lord and wanted to flaunt His rebellion publicly.
It seems that Zimri's act of rebellion was the catalyst that triggered God's wrath; for soon after this incident, God sent a fierce plague among the Israelite camp, resulting in the death of 24,000 people. It was not until the sons of Aaron, the High Priest, put to death the brazen Zimri and his pagan prostitute that the carnage subsided. The righteous indignation of these priests in defending the honor of the Lord, seemed to be accepted as atonement by the Lord for the collective sins of the people, for God ended His judgment upon the people after the sin of Zimri and his cohort was judged.
The tragedy in this account was the nearness of the blessings of the Lord (the Promised Land) . . . blessings which would be shunned through the reckless acts of rebellion by the Israelites against the One True God. They were on the verge of entering God's rest in the "land flowing with milk and honey"; yet they were determined to turn their backs on the Lord in favor of their own wanton lusts.
We must be ever mindful that the Lord has blessings that He desires to lavish upon us . . . they lie on the horizon, but only the path of obedience will take us to them. For those who would choose to follow their own path of self-veneration, they can expect to be led away from the blessings of the Lord to the horizon of God's judgment.
So close and yet so far . . . Numbers 25 records that the children of Israel were encamped in a village named Shittim. The Jewish historian, Josephus, tells us that Shittim was only about 7 miles from the Jordan River, which was the threshold for entering God's Promised Land of blessing for His covenant people. Whereas the Israelites practically could see the blessing of the Lord on the horizon, they turned away from the Lord and began to worship their own carnal lusts and desire for personal preeminence. In their despicable, debased behavior, these people were defying God's right to supremacy in their lives. They in effect wanted to be gods themselves.
Of course, the Lord would not be mocked by such recalcitrance. He instructed Moses, the leader of the Israelites, to put to death those men who joined in the worship of the pagan deities of the Canaanites and participated in the grossly licentious acts of sexual immorality. Even as Moses was communicating this dictate of the Lord to the people, an Israelite man by the name of Zimri brazenly paraded a pagan woman in front of Moses and the people and escorted her to his tent to have sex with her. I can only imagine the shock on Moses' face to see the emboldened demonstration of defiance of Zimri; this wicked man from a prominent Simeonite family thumbed His nose at the Lord and wanted to flaunt His rebellion publicly.
It seems that Zimri's act of rebellion was the catalyst that triggered God's wrath; for soon after this incident, God sent a fierce plague among the Israelite camp, resulting in the death of 24,000 people. It was not until the sons of Aaron, the High Priest, put to death the brazen Zimri and his pagan prostitute that the carnage subsided. The righteous indignation of these priests in defending the honor of the Lord, seemed to be accepted as atonement by the Lord for the collective sins of the people, for God ended His judgment upon the people after the sin of Zimri and his cohort was judged.
The tragedy in this account was the nearness of the blessings of the Lord (the Promised Land) . . . blessings which would be shunned through the reckless acts of rebellion by the Israelites against the One True God. They were on the verge of entering God's rest in the "land flowing with milk and honey"; yet they were determined to turn their backs on the Lord in favor of their own wanton lusts.
We must be ever mindful that the Lord has blessings that He desires to lavish upon us . . . they lie on the horizon, but only the path of obedience will take us to them. For those who would choose to follow their own path of self-veneration, they can expect to be led away from the blessings of the Lord to the horizon of God's judgment.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Want to Know What You Should Be Doing? Here It Is!
Psalm 105:1: "Give thanks to he LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always."
People regularly ask me, "What do you think is God's will for my life?" Whereas many times they are looking for specific guidance for their lives (an occupational path, a dating opportunity, etc.) I like to reorient their thinking to know that God's will is communicated directly to them through His Word. Although they may not find the level of specificity that they wanted when they inquired of me for their answer, I attempt to reassure them that their obedience to these prescribed commands will result in God's pouring forth His abundant wisdom for their specific questions.
Let's look at God's will for us:
Give thanks to the Lord: As true believers in Jesus Christ, we are to have a spirit of thankfulness to Him for His countless blessings that include (but are not limited to) His eternal life, His protection from the Evil One, His constant communion with us, His abundant wisdom (that He gives lavishly without reproach), His supernatural response to prayer, et al. These tremendous benefits are the reason why we can be thankful in everything (Philippians 4:6-7). Although we may not rejoice in some of our circumstances (for some are truly abysmal), we can maintain a spirit of thankfulness knowing that our loving Lord has blessed us already with more than we could ever comprehend.
Call on His name: God has given us the tremendous privilege of having opportunity to commune with Him. Whereas we may have heard this truth since infancy (and should be in a spirit of utter rejoicing that the Lord of Hosts grants us permission to approach His throne with confidence [Hebrews 4:15-16]), we are apt to minimize prayer's importance in our lives. Some in fact have relegated prayer to a brief, ritualistic formulation at the start of a meal or just prior to bedtime. The great 19th-century Baptist missionary, William Carey, once said, "prayer-secret, fervent, believing prayer-lies at the root of all personal godliness." If we want to experience the blessings of God . . . the power of God . . . the intimacy with God, then we would do well not to forsake out focused communion with our Lord in prayer. I'm sure that we would be overwhelmed if an earthly king were to contact us and grant us permission to meet him in his palace; how much more should we appreciate the perpetual invitation that the King of Kings has offered to us to approach His glorious throne of grace!
Make known among the nations what He has done: When the believer has been so impacted by His Lord, which has brought a spirit of thanksgiving to his soul and a desire to fellowship with His Lord in prayer, he cannot help but want to share what God has done (and is doing) in his life. Jesus in His infinite wisdom knew that for a person to experience the abundance of life, both on the earth and in eternity, then he would need to be in a personal relationship with the Lord. This must be why Jesus shared with His disciples the urgency of sharing the gospel with others; in fact, Jesus' last words on the earth just prior to His ascension were for the disciples to share His precious gospel with the world (Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:16f). The gospel is the "good news" that God is redeeming those who would respond to His offering of grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whereas our sin of rebellion against the Lord brought alienation from the Lord, God in His infinite mercy has offered us the gift of forgiveness for our sins and the hope of being adopted into His royal family (Romans 8:23).
Sing to Him, sing praise to Him . . . Glory in His holy name: We are called to worship the Lord exclusively and passionately. When our souls are filled with the joy of intimacy with the Almighty, we cannot help but praise Him for His awesome holiness and His abundant grace that He has lavished upon us through the Lord Jesus Christ. People who do not have the joy of the Lord in their lives and who do not find the overwhelming desire to worship Him personally and passionately would do well to re-examine their alleged profession of Him as their Lord. Although worship may take many different forms, what the worshipper will find irresistible is his longing to praise the Savior and marvel at the wonderful works He has done for His creation.
Look to the Lord and His Strength: We must never forget that our Lord is a "refuge for the oppressed . . . He is a stronghold in times of trouble" (Psalms 9:9; 46:1). When we are in trouble, we should pray for the Lord's strength and deliverance (James 5:13). When we are tempted to sin, we should petition the Lord for strength to rise above the lure of the temptation (Mark 14:38). When we seek the Lord in a spirit of contrition and humility, we should not fear that we will not hear from the Lord. He WILL answer us and illumine us with words of truth and strength that will carry us through any ordeal (Psalm 50:15).
Seek His face always: Our consumption should be in the Lord alone. We should meditate upon Him in every moment of our lives. The Psalmist has this disposition when he wrote Psalm 119:147-148: “I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.” Whether early morning or late in the evening, we would do well to meditate upon the Lord and His Word of Truth to us, and we should fellowship with Him in a spirit of unadulterated devotion. We will never later regret such a path of communion with the One True God!
Well, here we have it . . . the very will of God for our lives. May we never attempt to excuse our wayward behavior by claiming that we had no idea what God desires for our lives. May we surrender our wills to His glorious will and be transformed by our intimate fellowship with our glorious and loving Lord!
People regularly ask me, "What do you think is God's will for my life?" Whereas many times they are looking for specific guidance for their lives (an occupational path, a dating opportunity, etc.) I like to reorient their thinking to know that God's will is communicated directly to them through His Word. Although they may not find the level of specificity that they wanted when they inquired of me for their answer, I attempt to reassure them that their obedience to these prescribed commands will result in God's pouring forth His abundant wisdom for their specific questions.
Let's look at God's will for us:
Give thanks to the Lord: As true believers in Jesus Christ, we are to have a spirit of thankfulness to Him for His countless blessings that include (but are not limited to) His eternal life, His protection from the Evil One, His constant communion with us, His abundant wisdom (that He gives lavishly without reproach), His supernatural response to prayer, et al. These tremendous benefits are the reason why we can be thankful in everything (Philippians 4:6-7). Although we may not rejoice in some of our circumstances (for some are truly abysmal), we can maintain a spirit of thankfulness knowing that our loving Lord has blessed us already with more than we could ever comprehend.
Call on His name: God has given us the tremendous privilege of having opportunity to commune with Him. Whereas we may have heard this truth since infancy (and should be in a spirit of utter rejoicing that the Lord of Hosts grants us permission to approach His throne with confidence [Hebrews 4:15-16]), we are apt to minimize prayer's importance in our lives. Some in fact have relegated prayer to a brief, ritualistic formulation at the start of a meal or just prior to bedtime. The great 19th-century Baptist missionary, William Carey, once said, "prayer-secret, fervent, believing prayer-lies at the root of all personal godliness." If we want to experience the blessings of God . . . the power of God . . . the intimacy with God, then we would do well not to forsake out focused communion with our Lord in prayer. I'm sure that we would be overwhelmed if an earthly king were to contact us and grant us permission to meet him in his palace; how much more should we appreciate the perpetual invitation that the King of Kings has offered to us to approach His glorious throne of grace!
Make known among the nations what He has done: When the believer has been so impacted by His Lord, which has brought a spirit of thanksgiving to his soul and a desire to fellowship with His Lord in prayer, he cannot help but want to share what God has done (and is doing) in his life. Jesus in His infinite wisdom knew that for a person to experience the abundance of life, both on the earth and in eternity, then he would need to be in a personal relationship with the Lord. This must be why Jesus shared with His disciples the urgency of sharing the gospel with others; in fact, Jesus' last words on the earth just prior to His ascension were for the disciples to share His precious gospel with the world (Acts 1:8; Matthew 28:16f). The gospel is the "good news" that God is redeeming those who would respond to His offering of grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Whereas our sin of rebellion against the Lord brought alienation from the Lord, God in His infinite mercy has offered us the gift of forgiveness for our sins and the hope of being adopted into His royal family (Romans 8:23).
Sing to Him, sing praise to Him . . . Glory in His holy name: We are called to worship the Lord exclusively and passionately. When our souls are filled with the joy of intimacy with the Almighty, we cannot help but praise Him for His awesome holiness and His abundant grace that He has lavished upon us through the Lord Jesus Christ. People who do not have the joy of the Lord in their lives and who do not find the overwhelming desire to worship Him personally and passionately would do well to re-examine their alleged profession of Him as their Lord. Although worship may take many different forms, what the worshipper will find irresistible is his longing to praise the Savior and marvel at the wonderful works He has done for His creation.
Look to the Lord and His Strength: We must never forget that our Lord is a "refuge for the oppressed . . . He is a stronghold in times of trouble" (Psalms 9:9; 46:1). When we are in trouble, we should pray for the Lord's strength and deliverance (James 5:13). When we are tempted to sin, we should petition the Lord for strength to rise above the lure of the temptation (Mark 14:38). When we seek the Lord in a spirit of contrition and humility, we should not fear that we will not hear from the Lord. He WILL answer us and illumine us with words of truth and strength that will carry us through any ordeal (Psalm 50:15).
Seek His face always: Our consumption should be in the Lord alone. We should meditate upon Him in every moment of our lives. The Psalmist has this disposition when he wrote Psalm 119:147-148: “I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.” Whether early morning or late in the evening, we would do well to meditate upon the Lord and His Word of Truth to us, and we should fellowship with Him in a spirit of unadulterated devotion. We will never later regret such a path of communion with the One True God!
Well, here we have it . . . the very will of God for our lives. May we never attempt to excuse our wayward behavior by claiming that we had no idea what God desires for our lives. May we surrender our wills to His glorious will and be transformed by our intimate fellowship with our glorious and loving Lord!
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
What Were You Thinking?
Exodus 32: "When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said, 'Come, make us gods who will go before us.' . . . . Aaron answered them, 'Take off the gold earrings that your wives, your sons and your daughters are wearing' . . . He took what they handed him and made it into an idol cast in the shape of a calf, fashioning it with a tool. Then they said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up our of Egypt.' When Aaron saw this, he built an altar in front of the calf and announced, 'Tomorrow there will be a festival to the LORD.' So the next day the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings. Afterward they sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in revelry . . . . When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. And he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire; then he ground it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink it. He said to Aaron, 'What did these people do to you, that you led them into such great sin?' 'Do not be angry, my lord,' Aaron answered, 'You know how prone these people are to evil. They said to me, 'Make us gods who will go before us' . . . . Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!' Moses saw that the people were running wild and that Aaron had let them get out of control . . . . So he stood at the entrance to the camp and said, 'Whoever is for the LORD, come to me. . . . This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other, each killing his brother and friend and neighbor' ' . . . . The next day Moses said to the people, 'You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin.' "
If there has ever been a chapter that has demonstrated the spiritual depravity of mankind (a people who aspire to assert their own quest for lordship over the One True Lord), it would have to be Exodus 32. In this chapter, we find the Israelites, who had been delivered from the bondage of Egypt by the supernatural intervention of God Almighty. These Israelites had seen repeatedly the demonstration of the power of the Sovereign Lord, who performed truly miraculous acts in bringing deliverance to His chosen people: the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the turning of the bitter water to drinkable water at Marah, the provision of manna and quail for food, and many others.
Three months after the Israelites had been rescued from Egypt, God summoned Moses to the mountaintop and told him to convey to the Israelites that God had called them out of all nations to be His holy nation . . . His treasured possession . . . provided that they were willing to submit to His sovereign (and exclusive) reign as Lord. God then demonstrated His mighty power through thunder and lightning, trumpet blasts, earthquakes, and clouds of billowing smoke on the mountain. The sight was so impressive that the people, who were encamped some distance from the mountain, trembled at the demonstration of power by the Lord. Moses encouraged the people not to be afraid, as God's demonstration of His sovereign power was to instill reverential fear in the people to keep them from sinning.
The Lord then told Moses to get Aaron and bring him up to the top of the mountain in order that He might communicate His laws for His people. The Lord knew that it was important for Aaron, who would act as the priest (intercessor) for the people, to see the magnificence of God's presence and be motivated to obedience. One specific thing that God communicated to Moses (with Aaron nearby) was to "not make any other gods (to be worshipped) alongside the Lord" (Exod. 20:23). God was to be feared and worshipped exclusively as the One True Lord of Hosts. God would not tolerate any syncretism in their worship; He was to be worshipped exclusively, for He in fact was (and is) the only true God!
Still, God was not finished with teaching the leaders of the Israelites the importance of their faithful commitment to Him as Lord; thus, He again summoned Moses to the mountaintop and he told Moses to bring Aaron and the 70 elders with him. The further stipulation this time was that only Moses was to approach the Lord; Aaron and the rest of the leaders would have to "worship at a distance" (Exod. 24:1b). Moses spoke with the Lord and wrote down everything that the Lord communicated to Him; he then returned to share this information with the people. It was a ceremonious occasion, as Moses read to the people the Word of the Lord (from the Book of the Covenant) and the people offered burnt offerings to the Lord. During this worshipful experience, the people repeatedly exclaimed, "everything the LORD has said we will do."
Moses, Aaron, Aaron's sons, and the 70 elders returned again to the mountain, and they saw an incredible theophany of the Lord. Although they did not see the Lord in His glorious splendor (for no one can see God and live [Exodus 33:18-20], these leaders were able to see under the Lord's feet a magnificent display of beautiful sapphire. God was communicating to His chosen elders that He is exclusively majestic in His holiness (see Exod. 15:11)! All of the leaders were impacted by the sight and celebrated the covenant meal in the presence of the Lord.
Some time later, God again summoned Moses to the mountain in order that He might give His commandments to His people. This time, Moses left Aaron and the elders behind to settle any disputes that may arise in Moses' absence, and Moses departed with Joshua as his aide. Tragically, as Moses was gone for 40 days on the mountain to commune with the Lord, the people determined to forsake their submission to the Lord, and they crafted for themselves false gods that they could worship instead of the Lord. In reality, because these golden objects of worship were inanimate and thus non-responsive, the people could manipulate these objects to proclaim what they in their hearts really desired. In other words, these rebellious people asserted their own lordship over their own lives, and they simply crafted false objects of worship to legitimize their despicable behavior against the One True Lord.
Probably the biggest shock was from Aaron and the leaders. They previously had seen the magnificent display under the feet of God, and one would think that they would have rebuked the people when they approached them to craft false gods to worship. Instead, Aaron and these leaders joined in the evil revelry, and they not only crafted a golden calf to worship but built an altar for the people to worship it. Then as an act of cosmic treason against the Lord and His goodness to the Israelites, Aaron attributed to the golden calf the credit of delivering the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. These wicked Israelites determined to forsake any remembrance of the goodness of the Lord in their lives, and they instead attributed all previous blessings of the Lord to objects other than God Himself.
The people truly were committed to their new pagan deity, for they rose early in the morning to offer sacrifices to it; of course they still incorporated some ceremonial rituals that they previously observed when they served the Lord. They probably did this to attempt to legitimize their new abhorrent ways, for as soon as the religious ceremony was over, they went out and indulged in their grossly licentious behavior. Now they felt as if they could do whatever their depraved hearts desired, for they had "divine sanction" to do whatever they wanted to do. Scriptures record that the people were "running wild . . . getting out of control." Their behavior was so repulsive that even their enemies thought them to be a laughingstock (32:25).
God told Moses on the mountain to go down and address the people, for they had "become corrupt, quickly turning away from the Lord's commands" (32:7-8). God's anger burned to the point of desiring to annihilate completely these lawless people, but the petitions of Moses subsided the wrath of the Lord.
When Moses saw the people in their wickedness, his anger burned within him. He threw the tablets of the law down the mountain in a symbolic display that the law of the Lord had been broken even before the tablets arrived in the camp. Moses then took the golden calf and burned it to powder; Moses mixed it in the water supply and forced the people to drink the bitter mixture so that they might taste the bitterness of their sinful behavior.
Moses then went to his brother, Aaron, and in effect asked, "What were you thinking . . . that you would let these people lead you into such great sin?" Aaron started pointing fingers at everyone and everything else other than himself. He said, "Moses, you know how these people are so prone to sin . . . they gave me their jewelry and I threw it into the fire and amazingly out popped this golden calf." Aaron had gotten caught participating in this idolatry, but he was not willing to take ownership for his part in it.
God relented from His total annihilation of the people, but He would bring judgment against those who perpetrated such rebellion against Him as Lord. The time would come when the Lord would bring a devastating plague upon His people, and many of the people who were instrumental in organizing the recalcitrance against God would meet their demise.
There is a tremendous word for us in this most powerful passage of Scripture. Whereas the people of Israel knew that God was the ONLY TRUE GOD, Who alone was to be worshipped and obeyed, they determined within their hearts to go their own way and assert their own wills over the Lord's will. They wanted to be their own gods; and they wanted to do whatever their depraved hearts desired. God would not be mocked at such rebellion, and His Holiness would be vindicated in His judgment against such wickedness.
We must learn from this story that we must never seek to assert our own lordship over the One True God. We must surrender ourselves to His lordship in our lives, and joyfully seek to obey Him as our Great God and Savior. The blessing for us is that our surrender to Him is not burdensome (see I John 5:3), for God grants us His favor and blessing to us when we seek Him first above all other persons and things (including ourselves).
If there has ever been a chapter that has demonstrated the spiritual depravity of mankind (a people who aspire to assert their own quest for lordship over the One True Lord), it would have to be Exodus 32. In this chapter, we find the Israelites, who had been delivered from the bondage of Egypt by the supernatural intervention of God Almighty. These Israelites had seen repeatedly the demonstration of the power of the Sovereign Lord, who performed truly miraculous acts in bringing deliverance to His chosen people: the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, the turning of the bitter water to drinkable water at Marah, the provision of manna and quail for food, and many others.
Three months after the Israelites had been rescued from Egypt, God summoned Moses to the mountaintop and told him to convey to the Israelites that God had called them out of all nations to be His holy nation . . . His treasured possession . . . provided that they were willing to submit to His sovereign (and exclusive) reign as Lord. God then demonstrated His mighty power through thunder and lightning, trumpet blasts, earthquakes, and clouds of billowing smoke on the mountain. The sight was so impressive that the people, who were encamped some distance from the mountain, trembled at the demonstration of power by the Lord. Moses encouraged the people not to be afraid, as God's demonstration of His sovereign power was to instill reverential fear in the people to keep them from sinning.
The Lord then told Moses to get Aaron and bring him up to the top of the mountain in order that He might communicate His laws for His people. The Lord knew that it was important for Aaron, who would act as the priest (intercessor) for the people, to see the magnificence of God's presence and be motivated to obedience. One specific thing that God communicated to Moses (with Aaron nearby) was to "not make any other gods (to be worshipped) alongside the Lord" (Exod. 20:23). God was to be feared and worshipped exclusively as the One True Lord of Hosts. God would not tolerate any syncretism in their worship; He was to be worshipped exclusively, for He in fact was (and is) the only true God!
Still, God was not finished with teaching the leaders of the Israelites the importance of their faithful commitment to Him as Lord; thus, He again summoned Moses to the mountaintop and he told Moses to bring Aaron and the 70 elders with him. The further stipulation this time was that only Moses was to approach the Lord; Aaron and the rest of the leaders would have to "worship at a distance" (Exod. 24:1b). Moses spoke with the Lord and wrote down everything that the Lord communicated to Him; he then returned to share this information with the people. It was a ceremonious occasion, as Moses read to the people the Word of the Lord (from the Book of the Covenant) and the people offered burnt offerings to the Lord. During this worshipful experience, the people repeatedly exclaimed, "everything the LORD has said we will do."
Moses, Aaron, Aaron's sons, and the 70 elders returned again to the mountain, and they saw an incredible theophany of the Lord. Although they did not see the Lord in His glorious splendor (for no one can see God and live [Exodus 33:18-20], these leaders were able to see under the Lord's feet a magnificent display of beautiful sapphire. God was communicating to His chosen elders that He is exclusively majestic in His holiness (see Exod. 15:11)! All of the leaders were impacted by the sight and celebrated the covenant meal in the presence of the Lord.
Some time later, God again summoned Moses to the mountain in order that He might give His commandments to His people. This time, Moses left Aaron and the elders behind to settle any disputes that may arise in Moses' absence, and Moses departed with Joshua as his aide. Tragically, as Moses was gone for 40 days on the mountain to commune with the Lord, the people determined to forsake their submission to the Lord, and they crafted for themselves false gods that they could worship instead of the Lord. In reality, because these golden objects of worship were inanimate and thus non-responsive, the people could manipulate these objects to proclaim what they in their hearts really desired. In other words, these rebellious people asserted their own lordship over their own lives, and they simply crafted false objects of worship to legitimize their despicable behavior against the One True Lord.
Probably the biggest shock was from Aaron and the leaders. They previously had seen the magnificent display under the feet of God, and one would think that they would have rebuked the people when they approached them to craft false gods to worship. Instead, Aaron and these leaders joined in the evil revelry, and they not only crafted a golden calf to worship but built an altar for the people to worship it. Then as an act of cosmic treason against the Lord and His goodness to the Israelites, Aaron attributed to the golden calf the credit of delivering the Israelites from bondage in Egypt. These wicked Israelites determined to forsake any remembrance of the goodness of the Lord in their lives, and they instead attributed all previous blessings of the Lord to objects other than God Himself.
The people truly were committed to their new pagan deity, for they rose early in the morning to offer sacrifices to it; of course they still incorporated some ceremonial rituals that they previously observed when they served the Lord. They probably did this to attempt to legitimize their new abhorrent ways, for as soon as the religious ceremony was over, they went out and indulged in their grossly licentious behavior. Now they felt as if they could do whatever their depraved hearts desired, for they had "divine sanction" to do whatever they wanted to do. Scriptures record that the people were "running wild . . . getting out of control." Their behavior was so repulsive that even their enemies thought them to be a laughingstock (32:25).
God told Moses on the mountain to go down and address the people, for they had "become corrupt, quickly turning away from the Lord's commands" (32:7-8). God's anger burned to the point of desiring to annihilate completely these lawless people, but the petitions of Moses subsided the wrath of the Lord.
When Moses saw the people in their wickedness, his anger burned within him. He threw the tablets of the law down the mountain in a symbolic display that the law of the Lord had been broken even before the tablets arrived in the camp. Moses then took the golden calf and burned it to powder; Moses mixed it in the water supply and forced the people to drink the bitter mixture so that they might taste the bitterness of their sinful behavior.
Moses then went to his brother, Aaron, and in effect asked, "What were you thinking . . . that you would let these people lead you into such great sin?" Aaron started pointing fingers at everyone and everything else other than himself. He said, "Moses, you know how these people are so prone to sin . . . they gave me their jewelry and I threw it into the fire and amazingly out popped this golden calf." Aaron had gotten caught participating in this idolatry, but he was not willing to take ownership for his part in it.
God relented from His total annihilation of the people, but He would bring judgment against those who perpetrated such rebellion against Him as Lord. The time would come when the Lord would bring a devastating plague upon His people, and many of the people who were instrumental in organizing the recalcitrance against God would meet their demise.
There is a tremendous word for us in this most powerful passage of Scripture. Whereas the people of Israel knew that God was the ONLY TRUE GOD, Who alone was to be worshipped and obeyed, they determined within their hearts to go their own way and assert their own wills over the Lord's will. They wanted to be their own gods; and they wanted to do whatever their depraved hearts desired. God would not be mocked at such rebellion, and His Holiness would be vindicated in His judgment against such wickedness.
We must learn from this story that we must never seek to assert our own lordship over the One True God. We must surrender ourselves to His lordship in our lives, and joyfully seek to obey Him as our Great God and Savior. The blessing for us is that our surrender to Him is not burdensome (see I John 5:3), for God grants us His favor and blessing to us when we seek Him first above all other persons and things (including ourselves).
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