1 Samuel 20: Jonathan’s loyalty

David’s friendship with Jonathan is set against the background of the hostility he had to face from Jonathan’s father, Saul.  It was following the defeat of the Philistines that Jonathan and David were drawn together as close friends.  The irony was that for David to succeed, Jonathan would miss out on following his father as king, something that was not lost on Saul, who regarded Jonathan’s loyalty to David as a betrayal and a disgrace to the family.

At first, Jonathan is unable to believe that Saul would be so hostile to David, but when he realises what is happening, he is left with the sad task of telling David (by means of a coded arrow-shoot) that he needs to move on: the Lord is sending him away.

Not only did Jonathan’s loyalty to David mean that Jonathan would not be king, it brought him into direct conflict with his father who tried to pin him with a spear in a fit of rage.

Chapter 20 tells of the emotional separation of the two friends, but they met again, in chapter 23.  It was a brief opportunity for Jonathan to encourage David in God and for the two men to make a covenant with each other.  At that point Jonathan believed that David would be king and that he would be second in command.

The second part never happened as Jonathan died, along with his father, at the hands of the Philistines, the occasion for David’s lament in 2 Samuel 1.

The story of David and Jonathan is a story of friendship.  It is about loyalty at a price.  It is about being ready to put the advancement of a friend first, at personal cost.

But in the broader picture that is developing in Scripture, the context is God’s anointed king waiting to take the throne from the old regime.  Jonathan chooses to line up with God’s anointed, even when it means being thought disloyal by his father, the focal point of the old regime.

As C.S. Lewis wrote in the Chronicles of Narnia: “They say Aslan is on the move.”

And to widen the picture further, David points ahead to his great descendent, Jesus Christ, whose kingdom will come and will remove the old regime.  In the waiting time, his friends are called to loyally seek his advancement.

A hot-headed goalkeeper?

Here is Tim Howard, with steam rising from his head.  Apparently it was in the pre-match warm-up.  Unfortunately Tim wasn’t able to prevent a poor winning goal as Everton missed a great chance to beat their red neighbours.

Sunday at Portstewart Baptist

Yesterday morning we continued our journey through the life and times of Moses with a look at the events that surrounded the giving of the law at Sinai.  What does it mean to encounter God and seek to live as his people?

• It means realising his holiness.  Chapter 19, with its frightening sights and sounds and its solemn warnings, remind us that we can only come to God on his terms.
• It means reflecting his character.  God’s law called his people to holiness and to love (as the New Testament makes clear). Both of these reflect God’s character and that is part of being his people.
• It means receiving his grace.  Chapter 24 has Moses and other leaders on the mountain in the presence of God.  God allows them to see him: he does not strike them, but they eat and drink in his presence.

You have to read Hebrews 12 along with these chapters.  It reminds us of the mountain to which Christ’s people come.  It is a different mountain.  Its claims are no less serious than Sinai, but we come to Jesus, the Mediator of the new covenant, and to sprinkled blood which speaks forgiveness instead of vengeance.

In our evening communion service, we looked at Psalm 23.  Just as Moses ate in God’s presence in Exodus 24, so David experienced God’s gracious provision like a meal at a table with an overflowing cup: so Jesus invites us to his table to remember his grace to us.

Psalm 19: Outdoor lessons

They would have done better to give Psalm 19 a title along the lines of The God who speaks. Out door lessons gets the first part of the Psalm, but not the second half.  What holds the Psalm together is the idea of God making himself known.

The first part of the Psalm celebrates how God makes himself known through what he has made.  The heavens declare his glory.  Here is a voiceless message that is available to everyone, though not everyone gets it.

From verse 7, the Psalm moves from the general revelation of God through the magnificence of what he has made to the special revelation of God to his people through his law.  What God has spoken and the goodness and value of his laws are expressed in different ways.

Perhaps it’s because he has realised the searching clarity of God’s laws that David ends with a prayer that God would keep him from sin.  His final word is that his words would be acceptable to God.

1 Samuel 17: Giant-Killer

From the best-known Psalm yesterday to one of the best known Old Testament stories today: David and Goliath.

While David’s faith is intended as an example to us (see Hebrews 11), some people have drawn attention to the fact that if we were to situate ourselves in the story, we are more likely to be cowering with Saul than marching out with David.  David, in fact, points to his greater Son who has stepped out to win a victory that we could never win.

It’s worth noticing the sheep in the story.  Factually, David looked after his father’s sheep.  It was just an ordinary job.  From the point of view of his older brother, the sheep were a cause for scorn (‘those few sheep’).  When it came to tackling Goliath, what David had learned when looking after sheep became a source of confidence: he proved God with his sheep and he would trust God to deal with Goliath.

That’s a reminder not to overlook the importance of the ordinary: others may despise small, everyday things, but they can become a place to discover God.

Psalm 23: A Shepherd’s Song

It must be the best known, best loved of all the Psalms, whether read, recited or sung (Crimond or Townend).  It is a psalm of confident contentment.

There seem to be two predominant images in the psalm.  First is the image of the shepherd and the sheep.  It is the Lord who is David’s shepherd.  He is also the shepherd of the whole nation (see Psalm 28), but here the relationship is personal: he is my shepherd and not only our shepherd.

The shepherd image in turn has two main parts.  The first has to do with provision and the second has to do with protection.  As provider, the shepherd leads the sheep to green pastures (not brown, worn and dusty pastures) and still (not troubled) waters.  He leads the sheep on the right path.  As protector, his presence is comfort in the valley of the dark shadow.  Verse 4 may mean what many of our translations say – valley of the shadow of death – but it could be referring to any valley of dark shadow.  It’s hard for the sun to shine in dark valleys, as the high mountains block it out, casting their shadow.  Those shadows may conceal dangers and threats.  But David is confident in the presence and protection of the Lord.

Verse 5 seems to change the imagery, where the Lord is a host rather than a shepherd (it’s hard to imagine a sheep sitting at a dinner table with oil poured on its head and an overflowing cup!)  The Lord is a gracious and generous host and the guest is well-supplied.

David is confident.  Goodness and mercy will chase after him all his days.  The Lord’s house will be his dwelling place for all time.

A Tale of Two Kings: 1 Samuel 16

The  two kings are Saul and David.  Both were chosen by God to lead his people; both were anointed by Samuel.  Neither man was perfect (David’s flaws come under the spotlight in a future reading), but Saul’s disobedience caused him to lose the kingdom.

Verses 13 and 14 mark a watershed.  In verse 13, the Spirit of the Lord comes powerfully (“rushes”) upon David and in verse 14, the same Spirit of the Lord departs from Saul, to be replaced by a tormenting harmful spirit.

The chapter shows us a number of things:

1. God does not makes his choices based on obvious, external criteria.
2. The power of the Spirit of the Lord was key in serving God as king.
3. The plight of a man whom God has left and allows to be tormented.
4. (A different kind of lesson) The fascinating power of music.

1 Samuel 3: Transition Team

The life and ministry of Samuel mark a time of transition in the history of Israel.  Samuel was effectively the last of the judges (see 1 Samuel 7) and he was the man who anointed the first kings.

His birth (1 Samuel 1) is a story of God’s intervention in answer to the anguished prayers of Hannah, and his early years were spent under the care of Eli, the aging priest whose sons were bringing disgrace on the family and the priesthood.  As God is preparing to reject Eli’s house, Samuel is growing as God prepares to call him.

The story of his call (1 Samuel 3) is a classic.  The boy hears the voice of the Lord but thinks it’s the voice of Eli.  When he has gone to see Eli for the third time, the old man realises what is happening and instructs him on how to respond.

Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.

There is a contrast to notice between the start of chapter 3 and the end of the same chapter/start of chapter 4.

… the word of the Lord was rare (3:1)

… the Lord revealed himself to Samuel… by the word of the Lord (3:21)

And the word of Samuel came to all Israel (4:1)

It’s not just a time of transition in terms of how the nation will be led; they are moving from a time when the word of the Lord was rare and visions were few and far between to a time when the Lord was once more making himself known to a prophet whose words would then come to the nation.

Ruth 1: Tough Love

After the chaos and the flawed leaders of Judges comes the beautiful story of Ruth.  Her story is actually set at the time of the Judges and reminds us that, even when the prevailing spiritual tone was often dark, there were faithful people who honoured God in their daily lives.  In one sense, much of what happens in Ruth’s story is unremarkable: it’s a tale of everyday folk going about their business.  It is because of established laws of gleaning that Ruth found food.  It is because of the law of levirate marriage that Ruth found a husband.

Among the highlights of this short tale are Ruth’s wonderful devotion to her mother-in-law (see 1:16,17); there is her conversion to the Lord – Naomi’s God becomes her God; the apparent coincidence by which she ends up in Boaz’ section of the field – this not only leads her to her kinsman-redeemer, but it was also a place where she could be protected in what, presumably, was a dangerous way to make a living; Boaz’ sense of principle seen in how he refuses to bypass the closer relative; the way in which God allows Ruth, an outsider, to become part of the line of Messiah.

It’s worth looking at events through Naomi’s eyes.  At the end of the first paragraph (1:1-5), she has lost everything.  She is in a foreign country, her husband has gone and her sons have gone.  In her own words (1:21), she has been emptied.  By the end of the story, there has been a reversal.  She is once again in the spotlight.  The penultimate paragraph actually puts more emphasis on Naomi than on Ruth.  She now has a child on her lap.  We know from the genealogical note in the final five verses what lies ahead in God’s plan for the nation; but personally, this woman who was emptied at the start of the story is blessed at the end.

Boaz’ redemption of Ruth has brought restoration to Naomi.  The redemption accomplished by Ruth and Boaz’ Great Son brings a greater restoration.

Judges 16: Superman’s Flaws

It would be hard to view Samson, the best known of the Judges, as much of a role model.  His strength is legendary, but, as today’s title reminds us, his character was deeply flawed.

In the four chapters devoted to his story we learn that the presence of spiritual power is not always an indicator of spiritual character.  The Spirit of God was very active in Samson’s life, yet he was a man driven primarily by his appetites.

Soberingly we also learn that the absence of spiritual character can eventually bring an end to useful work.  Samson never tried to guard against his weaknesses.

There is no surprise when Delilah brings him down.  You get a clue about what’s likely to happen in the story of his Philistine wife.  He sets a riddle for some of the guests at the wedding.  They can’t solve it.  Eventually they threaten his wife and she starts to put pressure on him.  “You don’t love me,” she says.  The text says that she pressed him hard.  Until he gave in and told her.

What happens with Delilah?  ”Tell me the secret of your strength.”  When he doesn’t tell her, she says, “How can you say ‘I love you’?”  And the text says that she pressed him hard with her words day after day until he gave in and told her his secret.  It was almost like watching a replay.  If you want something from Samson, find a woman he likes and get her to work on him until he gives in.

He never dealt with his weakness and he didn’t safeguard the secret of his strength.  Not cutting his hair was just one part of the special vow that he was meant to keep through his life: the Nazirite vow.  He was also to stay away from the fruit of the vine and he was not to touch a dead body.  By the time Delilah got to him he had clearly violated the part of the vow about the dead body and by implication had broken the part about the fruit of the vine.

His long hair was all that was left: and he let it go.  In his own words from chapter 16, he knew that this was all that was left setting him apart as different from any other man (an expression he uses several times in his dialogue with Delilah).

Perhaps the saddest verse in his story is Judges 16:20 (final part).

But he did not know that the Lord had left him.

And the most hopeful, grace-filled verse is verse 22:

But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

It was a deeply chastened Samson who prayed to God for new strength as he stood between the two middle pillars of a Philistine temple.  He pulled down the pillars and as he died, thousands of Philistines, including their leaders, perished with him.

Although his prayer was laced with a degree of selfishness (avenge my eyes), he now acknowledged that it was the Lord who made him what he was, and he goes down in history (Hebrews 11) as a man of faith.

Everton have started their season…

Great photo of Cahill at Wigan…

Judges 7: Military Upset

Once Gideon had accepted that God was going to use him to deliver the people from oppression, it was time for battle.  Two points to note about the defeat of Midian:

1. There were too many soldiers in the army.  God wanted the numbers pared back to a minimum so that no one would get it into their head that they had won because of their own power.  So he gave Gideon two filters.  The nervous were allowed home and then there was the drinking test.  It’s hard to know exactly what to make of the drinking test as the text doesn’t say which of the methods was better than the other.  Did God choose the wisest soldiers, those who wouldn’t waste too much time or make themselves vulnerable by their drinking method?  Perhaps.  Some suggest that the overall context of the story indicates that God was not really looking for the best soldiers because victory had to be clearly his (just as in choosing Gideon he did not choose an obviously brave man).  On the other hand, it was the nervous he sent home, keeping those who had some appetite for the fight.  At any rate the key point is getting the numbers low.
2. God allows Gideon to have a confidence-boosting visit to the camp where he hears about one man’s dream.  All along God has been gracious to this nervous leader, meeting him at his point of need, providing him with the assurance that his work would succeed.

Judges 6: Unlikely Leader

The book of Judges covers a period of around 300 years between the time of Joshua and the time of Samuel and the first of the kings.  It was a fairly disastrous time for Israel.  There was a lack of good, overall leadership and people tended to do their own thing and live by their own rules.   Instead of strengthening their place in the Promised Land of Canaan, there were pockets of resistance that were never dealt with.  Spiritually the people turned away from the Lord and worshiped idols.

The book goes in cycles.  There are six main cycles that talk about the people’s spiritual unfaithfulness, leading to a time when God allowed them to be oppressed by some of the local nations, which in turn led to a time when the people cried out to God for help and he answered by raising up a leader (a judge) who rescued them.  This would be followed by a period of rest and then it all started again.

Gideon was one of the judges whom God used to bring an element of rescue: in Gideon’s case the threat was coming from the Midianites.  He is probably the second best known of the judges, after Samson.

At the start of his story he is just as fearful as everyone else.  Life has to go on, but he is working his crops. hidden in a wine-press.  His life takes three surprising turns.

1. An angel appears to him whom he identifies as the Angel of the Lord.
2. The angel refers to him as a mighty man of strength.  That was a strange thing to say to a man who was in hiding.
3. The angel tells him that God is with him.  This seems odd to Gideon because God’s presence doesn’t seem to tally with the facts of the difficult situation that he and his people found themselves in.

But his faith starts to grow.  He is fearful and hesitant, but chooses to obey, starting out with the destruction of his father’s Baal altar.

God does not need to use the strong and powerful.  But he does look for people who will trust him and obey: some of them become unlikely leaders.

Joshua 24: Home at Last

Joshua is one of those Bible characters who has very little reproach.  He was not perfect, of course.  He made mistakes, not least in allowing the Gibeonites (chapter 9) to pull the wool over his eyes when he did not consult with the Lord about their situation.  But he completed the work that was given to him.  Having grown as a young assistant to Moses, learning along the way, he led the people to the land that had been promised to them.

Chapter 24 touches some high points:

• Joshua recalls the history of what God has done for the people.
• He gives them a very clear challenge about their spiritual commitment.
• His own example leads the way: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
• The people recognise what God has done for them and pledge their allegiance to him.
• Joshua ends his life with his work completed.

Two caveats, however.

• The title of the reading, “Home at last” is only partly true.  Sadly, the events of Joshua’s leadership did not mark the end of the story for the people.  Their obedience lasted a few more years after he left them, but the next part of their story begins a descent into chaos.  As Hebrews says, “There remains a rest…”
• In contrast to Moses, who prepared Joshua to follow him, there is no record of Joshua, or the elders who had served with him, leaving behind a new generation of leaders: that, in turn, became a source of problems.

Joshua 7: Slow Learners

The next city challenge for Israel was Ai.  Once again Joshua sends spies to size up the task.  The spies reckon it’s a piece of cake: there aren’t many people in Ai so Israel will not need to bother with their whole army.  But it all went wrong.  Superficially we could fault Israel for being over-confident and failing to consult the Lord about how to approach this city.  But there was a deeper problem.  They had failed to fully obey God in the destruction of Jericho and now he was no longer fighting for them.

One man – Achan – had decided, instead of destroying all of the spoils, which was how Israel was to devote the spoils to the Lord, to keep some things for himself.  His disobedience jeopardized the whole enterprise because Israel was being unfaithful to the covenant.

Achan met a terrible end.  His family was identified and executed.

The reflections for us are sobering.  We cannot assume God’s presence on our side if we are disobedient; one person can trouble a community; God looks for radical, whole-hearted obedience.

Joshua 6: Strange Tactics

Years ago I came across the story of a young couple who went to see a pastor for counselling for their marriage problems.  After about half an hour of listening, the pastor asked them why they had got married in the first place: they were so far apart.  It turned out that they had got married because of a sermon they heard on the story of Jericho.  Just as God’s people claimed the city, marched round it seven (actually I make it thirteen) times, and the walls fell down, so a young man could claim a prospective bride, if he believed God was leading him, march around her seven times and the walls of her heart would fall down.  Apparently other couples had got married off the back of the same sermon.

Why did the walls of Jericho fall down?  Is marching around any object seven times enough to make it yours?

God gave the city into the hands of his people.  He gave them a process to follow.  They did so because they believed God (Hebrews 11 says that it was by faith that the walls fell).  As they obeyed in faith, the walls fell down.  Two chapters later, when they successfully captured Ai (after an abortive attempt which we will look at tomorrow), it had nothing to do with walking around the city.  They took Ai as they obeyed God and set an ambush against it.  There is no reason to think its walls would have fallen if they had walked around it.

The practical lesson is that we are called to obedient faith in God, and not reliance on a formula or a method.

Jamie Buckingham, an American preacher who died almost 20 years ago, told this story about a Sunday morning in his church.

Though I was not scheduled to preach at the early service, I was directing the worship time. Jimmy Smith, our soloist, was singing from the piano. It was powerful, moving. “I will pour water on him who is thirsty . . .”

As he finished, I whispered to the guest preacher seated beside me, “I’m going to minister a bit before you preach.” He nodded. I walked to the pulpit just as the music finished.

“Please bow your heads and close your eyes,” I said. Jimmy caught the mood of the moment and continued to play softly. I talked about the water of the Holy Spirit that softens the parched earth of our lives. I asked the people to let him come into their lives. Jimmy sang another stanza. Some people slipped to their knees. I closed by asking them to receive the seed of the Word the preacher was about to sow in their lives.

After the service, the guest preacher said, “That was great. Could you repeat it at the second service?” I swelled a little. It was a good word. Fresh. Spontaneous. I nodded. If a thing is good for one group, why not for the next?

In the second service, before a much larger crowd, Jimmy sang the same song. But something was different. The people were not as responsive. My course, however, was set. Again, with solemn drama, I called the people to prayer.

My own eyes were closed. My head bowed. I waited, piously. Instead of the expected silence, however, I heard laughter. It started on the side where my wife and grown children were sitting. It rippled across the congregation, like dry leaves before the wind. I stood there, puffed-up and dumb, wondering what was happening. People were laughing louder and louder.

I opened my eyes and immediately squeezed them shut. In that horrifying way, I knew they were laughing at me. Only then did my mind replay what I had just said: “Please bow your eyes and close your heads.”

…

Gradually I realized what had happened. What God had done in the early service, I had tried to replicate in my own strength. God, who enjoys a good laugh, too, figured since I was going to take the credit, he would let me do it my way. And my way is to stick my foot in my mouth.

It’s an amusing illustration of how our trust shifts.

Another question that the story of Jericho raises is the issue of the destruction of the city and its inhabitants.  Removed from its biblical context, it causes 21st century people to shudder.  While consideration of the wider context may not answer everyone’s questions, it’s important to remember that Israel taking the land included an element of judgment on the wicked practices of the previous inhabitants.  These nations has stacked up years of dreadful practices in the sight of God and now was time for their judgment.

It’s also important to bear in mind the strategy detailed in Deuteronomy 20 where there seem to have been three approaches to a city.  First was an offer of peace to distant cities, in which case the people would become slaves to Israel; second, if there was resistance, but the city was far from where Israel would settle, the men would be put to the sword and women and children spared.  The third stage was the total destruction of cities which had been given to Israel.  Co-existence with those already there was not allowed because of the potential for Israel to be enticed by the wicked practices of these people.

But there was Rahab, just as God later spared the city of Nineveh.  There is mercy for those who repent.

Jericho is not an example of how Christians should treat unbelievers.  But it is a reminder that God judges people, even nations.  We also need to think of Jesus’ radical teaching about dealing with causes of temptation in our own lives.  God still wants the pure devotion of his people.

Ray Ortlund on accepting Jesus

Ray Ortlund has written a piece about two ways someone can accept Jesus:

One way is to invite him onto the committee. Give him a vote too. But then he becomes just one more complication. The other way to “accept Jesus” is to say to him, “My life isn’t working. Please come in and fire my committee, every last one of them. I hand myself over to you. Please run my whole life for me.”  That is not complication; that is salvation.

Read the whole article at Ray’s blog.

Joshua 2: New Spies, New Spirit

Forty years have passed since the earlier generation of spies had been sent by Moses to look at the land of promise.  The fearful, faithless majority report won the day and the people said no to their future.  Moses has gone and Joshua is the new leader.  Chapter one sees the Lord commission and encourage him, God will be with him, Joshua can be bold and the people will inherit the land.

Two spies are sent this time with instructions to look at the land, with particular attention to Jericho.  It is here that they meet Rahab, a prostitute who seems to have run an inn.  Her future is about to change dramatically.  She and he family will be spared the destruction of their city: she will eventually be part of the line of Messiah (one of the women who are highlighted in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus), she is listed as one of the people of faith in Hebrews 11, and James uses her story as a test case in his argument for faith that works.  Obviously there are questions for ethicists about her deception, but Scripture does not attempt to comment on this.  Instead, we see a Gentile woman who recognises the sovereignty of God and who decides to get herself on his side.

When the spies get back to Joshua the message is different from the majority message from forty years previously: it is much more in line with the spirit of Joshua and Caleb.  They have been encouraged by what they have seen and heard.

Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands.

Deuteronomy 28: Loud and Clear

The choice before the people as Moses prepared to leave them was stark.  Blessing or cursing.  The two distinct paths were announced from two mountains: blessing from Gerizim and curses from Ebal.  Chapter 28 sets out the blessings for obedience and the curse for disobedience.

There is wonderful blessing when God is for them.  There is prosperity in all areas of life.  But the disobedience that sets God against them will have terrible consequences.  How futile to try to live life in defiance of God.

For the follower of Jesus, the context has changed.  It is no longer a physical land.  But it is still foolish to set oneself against the Lord.

Thankfully the gospel tells us that Christ, by hanging on a cross, has born the curse of broken law and has redeemed those who trust him.

Deuteronomy 8: Dangers of Success

Too much of a good thing can be bad for you.  As Moses gave his final addresses to the people in advance of them taking their place in the land of promise, he knew that a real wealth of provision awaited them.  The land was a good land where they would have an abundance of everything they needed.  But he knew that there was an awful possibility that they would forget the Lord and everything he had done for them in bringing them into this place.  Prosperity could dull their memory and they could end up thinking that they had brought all this about in their own strength.

It is an intriguing warning to us.  It’s easy to imagine that the greatest danger to our faithfulness is hardship; success is potentially far more dangerous.  We start to think less of God and we allow our ideas about ourselves to take his place.

We – like Israel – need constantly to remember that God is the source of our life (1-5), he is the source of our blessings (6-10) and he is the source of our strength (11-20).

Deuteronomy 4: Never Forget

On Day 23 of the 180 day tour of the Bible, we reach Deuteronomy, which means ’second law’: the book gives us the content of Moses’ final appeals to the people whom he has led for forty years.

Chapter 4 recalls the circumstances of the giving of the Law (the Ten Words) and underlines the prohibition of any attempt to visually portray the invisible God who has spoken and whose works have been seen.  The fact that no form was seen at Sinai means that no form is to be imagined.  Once in the land of promise, if they give way to idolatry, they will be judged in exile, though mercy remains and restoration is possible if they seek the Lord with all their heart.

Moses emphasises the uniqueness of the Lord and how his uniqueness is reflected in what he has done for his people.  The revelation of his righteous law is unique, and so is his presence.  Verse 7 expresses his nearness in these words:

For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?

What a wonderful promise that remains today for those who have come to know God in Jesus.  He is near whenever we call upon him.

Numbers 14: Open Mutiny

Today’s reading sits just after the report of the spies who were sent to scout out the Land of Promise.  A strong majority has brought back a hopelessly negative report of what awaits the people.  It is indeed a wonderful land, but its people and cities cannot be beaten.  Only Caleb and Joshua saw things differently and their voices are drowned out as the people respond in unbelief and despair.

Chapter 14 tells the story of their rebellion and its immediate consequences.

Several things to highlight:

1. The people do not believe that God’s purposes for them are good.  All they can see is that God is bringing them to a place where they will die by the sword.  Since they can’t trust God, they would be better back in Egypt.
2. For Joshua and Caleb, the Lord’s favour changes everything.  If God is for them, no one can stand against them.
3. Moses turns down the opportunity to see himself lifted up as the source of a great nation because of his concern to see God honoured.  This is one of the places where we see Moses at his best.
4. The people miss their moment.  After the Lord delivers his verdict and the unfaithful spies are struck down, the people try to turn back the clock and move towards the land.  But God is no longer with them in this, so they fail.
5. The New Testament book of Hebrews, via Psalm 95, looks back at the unbelief of the exodus generation as part of its encouragement to early Christian believers not to abandon their commitment to Christ.

Numbers 11: Trials in the desert

The travels of the Israelites were often marked by complaints and the complaints were often related to food and drink.  The story of Numbers 11 has the people, under the influence of a “rabble” – presumably the same mixed multitude that is mentioned in Exodus 12 – longing for the tasty food of Egypt in place of the regular diet of manna.  God’s displeasure at the people’s complaints brings Moses to an end of himself as a leader: he would rather have God kill him than continue to carry the people alone.  God responds to the situation by putting his Spirit on seventy of the elders, thus spreading the weight of responsibility, and by sending quail for the people to eat, though he still judges the people for their rejection of his provision.

It’s worth noting that God did not tolerate the people’s complaints, yet he seems to have given Moses an amazing amount of leeway in terms of what he allowed him to say.  Moses has a very frank relationship with God as a leader.

The complaints about circumstances are a questioning of God’s providence.  There is a very short step between complaining about the external circumstances of our lives and effectively rejecting God’s rule in our lives.  We end up telling him that we don’t like what he has chosen for us.  Israel’s harping on about Egypt was a rejection of God’s redemptive work.  They were saying that they would prefer to have been left alone.

On the other hand Moses shows us that there is a place for faith to wrestle with God.  Psalmists were not afraid to ask “How long?”  Moses was not afraid to say, “I cannot do this, it is too much for me.”

More on Exodus 32, the Golden Calf

I saw this picture on Ray Ortlund’s blog.

Leviticus 26: Legal Matters

The 180 day tour makes just a short stop in the book of Leviticus: it’s hard to justice to the book with just one chapter.  Overall, Leviticus takes the covenant between the Lord and Israel into further detail.  God is holy and the people must be holy for God to live among them.  The sacrificial system that is prescribed in the book is a reminder of God’s holiness, but also describes the provision that is made so that flawed people may approach a holy God.

Today’s chapter – 26 – comes more or less at the end of the lists of regulations.  It presents the people with a dramatic choice.  Obedience will result in wonderful blessings.  They will prosper, they will be at peace, God will be among them.  His redemption will enable them to stand tall, free from the bars of their slavery.

On the other hand there are sobering warnings of what awaits if the people will not listen to the Lord.  God promises five stages of judgment against them.  They will know destruction, desolation and fear.  Instead of putting their enemies to flight, they will run at the sound of a leaf blowing in the wind.  If they choose to walk contrary to the Lord, he will walk contrary to them.

There is still hope.  There is still an invitation to confess and repent.  While they are scattered, the land will get its rest, but God will again be their God.

It’s a solemn chapter and as the story of the Old Testament unfolds, it proves to be prophetic.

As for us, do we choose to walk in his ways, or do we walk contrary to him?

Exodus 32: The Dream Dies

It does not take long for us to discover how easily the people will drift from what God wants.  In what is almost a parody of the Lord’s statement that he is their God and he has brought them out of Egypt, the people apply these words to the golden calf that has emerged from the gold they have given Aaron.

Already they have tried to portray deity in an image and they have ended up adding other gods beside the Lord.  Their impatient, idolatrous hearts have been unable to deal with either delay or the invisible.  Romans 1 underlines the fact that idolatry exchanges the invisible for the visible, and that it exchanges the created for the Creator.

It’s worth noting Moses’ responses in the chapter.

• He pleads with God not to destroy the people, but to remember his covenant – even though Moses himself would have stood to gain from God’s plan B.
• In contrast to inexperienced Joshua who thinks the noise in the camp has to do with war, Moses knows what he is hearing.
• His anger re-emerges (not far from the surface when he was a younger man), though it is righteous.
• He calls for a clear stand to be taken.
• When the dust settles, he pleads for the people.

Exodus 20: The Ten Commandments

There is a story about a professor of astronomy who was talking to a colleague in the religion department.  All of religion, he suggested, can really be boiled down to a very simple point: treat your neighbour as yourself, the Golden Rule.  Fair enough, agreed his colleague, in the same way that astronomy boils down to a simple point: Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

There are great complexities and mysteries in theology.  Who knows how many forests of trees, oceans of ink and years of debate have gone into these mysteries?  While we would be wrong to try to oversimplify, there is a sense in which the astronomer was not too far off the mark.  Jesus himself (Matthew 7:12) taught that this principle sums up the law and the prophets.  And he taught that the greatest commandments were those to love God and love neighbour.  All of the law and the prophets, he said, depend on these two.

That idea is developed in other parts of the New Testament that teach that love for neighbour is the best summary of the law.

When you read this back into the Ten Commandments, you realise two things.  In the first place, if someone loves God and loves their neighbour, they will keep the commandments.  If you love God, you don’t misuse his name.  If you love neighbour, you don’t steal from him.  But the second observation is that it is possible to keep the letter of the commandments without loving.  Just because you have never stolen your neighbour’s wife, does not mean that you love your neighbour as yourself.  The Ten Commandments are a boundary, but not a final destination.

And it all starts with getting God in his rightful place.

Several decades ago the theologian Karl Barth met Walter Ulbricht.  Ulbricht was talking to Barth about the new society that was being built in East Germany.  He told him that the Communists would be teaching the Ten Commandments in schools and their precepts would provide the moral foundation for the new society.

Barth listened to him and then said:

“I have only one question, Herr Minister.  Will you also be teaching the first commandment?”

Sunday at Portstewart Baptist

This morning we moved to the story of the final plague against Egypt and the institution of the Passover.  We thought about whether God passing over meant passing over in the sense of leaving out – he left out the blood-sheltered homes in the judgment, or whether it meant passing over in the sense of hovering in protection – it’s worth a look at Isaiah 31:5 in relation to this (NIV).

The lamb prefigures Jesus, not least in that it was spotless, it was sacrificed (there is no gospel without the cross) and it was sufficient (the blood was all that God needed to see).

This evening we took a look at the story of the Good Samaritan.  We started with the old Augustinian allegorical interpretation that has fallen humanity on the road from the heavenly city being rescued by Jesus and entrusted to the care of the church (the inn) and the two great commandments (two coins), and recognised that while there may be truth in the picture, there is a danger of missing the original point.  Jesus’ encounter with this lawyer, and the famous story that he tells remind us that:

• It is easier to discuss God than to obey him.
• It is easier to keep rules than to love people.
• It is easier to avoid neighbours than to be one.

While the force of the story is that we should “go and do likewise”, we recognise, with Augustine, that the ultimate “Good Samaritan” is Jesus.  Flawless law-keeping from the heart leaves us all broken at the side of the road: eternal life is God’s gift through Jesus.

Exodus 14: Miracle at the Red Sea

The final plague brought the themes of judgment and salvation together.  As the Lord brought judgment on Egyptian homes, he spared and protected the blood-marked homes of his own people, saving them from his own judgment.  Judgment and salvation met together.

In that way, the Passover points to Jesus: his cross is a place where judgment and salvation meet.

And the two themes come together once again in chapter 14.  In another powerful act, God simultaneously rescues Israel and destroys their enemies.  Through God’s power, Israel walks through the river on dry land while the Egyptian armies, trying to pursue, are destroyed.

Four points to highlight:

1. Limbo: they are out of Egypt, but not free from the Egyptians.
2. Already there is evidence that when things go wrong, the people are liable to turn on Moses.
3. Their salvation depends on the Lord working on their behalf.  For sure it must have taken faith to step out into the riverbed, but they were to be silent as God acted for them.
4. God’s powerful actions on their behalf feed their faith in him and establish Moses as their leader.

Exodus 10-11: the Ten Plagues

The 180 day tour has just about caught up with my preaching series on the life of Moses.  I preached and blogged about the plagues at the start of this week.

The plagues represent a power struggle between Pharaoh and the Lord.  The ten events, beginning with the previously life-giving waters of the Nile turning blood red and becoming undrinkable, and ending with the devastating blow against the firstborn of all the Egyptian families, brought Egypt to its knees and opened the doors for Israel’s freedom.

Several things were happening through these plagues.

1. God was demonstrating his power over Pharaoh.  Throughout the episode, Pharaoh sought to be in control.  A superficial repentance turned out to be a way of getting relief from the plagues, but there was no desire to humble his hardening heart.
2. God used the confrontation to demonstrate who he was.  The more Pharaoh resisted, the more God’s power was displayed.  God could have chosen to destroy Pharaoh with one strike at the start.  The longer the resistance went on, the more fully was God’s power displayed.
3. God was judging the gods of Egypt.  Whether striking the Nile, a sacred source of life, or inflicting three days of darkness, and so blotting out the power of the sun god, Ra, God was demonstrating his power over these Egyptian deities.  For any pantheists, a strike against the natural elements would be felt as a strike against their gods.
4. God was rescuing his own people.  ”With a strong hand” he would bring them out.