Divine Patience

In the last few weeks I have had to read through the books of Joshua and Judges for my Hebrew Prophets class. I must say that there are some crazy things that happen in theses books. To be honest, if I didn't know any better I would not think this stuff would be found in the Bible. Have you read these books lately? War, genocide, scandals, apostasy, etc... It is phenomenal just how raw and uncut the Bible really is.

The difficulty that I wrestle with is that some of what I read seems to contradict the words and teachings of Jesus. It is hard to make sense of the stories we read and the journey that God has the early Israelites on. In the end I guess we just have to realize that God's ways are beyond our understanding.

Another thing that just completely baffles me is how unfaithful the Israelites are. Time after time God gives them second chance after second chance, yet they still turn aside and worship "Baal" and "Asherah" who were gods of the Canaanites. Why? Why does God remain so faithful despite Israel's prostitution?

For class I am also reading a book called Deuteronomic History by Terence Fretheim. In it he shares some great insights into God's judgment of Israel and what Fretheim calls the divine patience of God. Here are some quotes:

"It becomes apparent quickly in this text [Judges] that God's purposes are not annihilation, but that on the far side of the experience of judgment there might be restoration of relationship which God intended."

"...what comes through is the divine patience: God continues to save them from the hands of their enemies in spite of continued apostasy."

"This makes it very clear that the divine judgment is not considered to be an end in itself, as if God had no concerns beyond judgment. Judgment there must be; evil must not be allowed to go unchecked in the world. But judgment is not the end of things for God. Once that judgment has been experienced, and indeed in the midst of the very experience of judgment, God is working graciously for deliverance. Deliverance is what God truly desires for the people. But, finally, it is only in and through the experience of oppression and death, that the experience of deliverance is possible. There can be no direct move from apostasy to deliverance, except through judgment. And so the judging activity og God is finally motivated by gracious purposes. And the degree to which one discerns repetition in these texts with regard to the sin-judgment-deliverance cycle is finally a witness to the incredible mercy of God in desiring life, and not death, for the people."

"God's people, again and again, exhibit patterns of life which threaten their existence. God's response is remarkable in its variety and flexibility, in order to accomplish salutary purposes. A highly personal divine response is revealed, which values mercy above retribution; we see a God who chooses to experience suffering rather than visit the people with the finality of death; we are surprised by a God who finds ways of working in, with, and under very compromising situations in which people have placed themselves in order to bring about good. In the midst of unfaithfulness, the faithfulness of God is revealed, a God who never breaks covenant. Only in such a God is hope to be found."

The Covenant of Yahweh

I'm taking a class right now on the Pentateuch [first five books of the Bible] and I came across something in my reading that was so profound. To me, it fully captures the beautiful relationship that God wants with His people. It comes from a book called Reading the Old Testament: An Introduction by Lawrence Boadt.

"Berit [covenant] is a term so rich it captures the heart of Israel's religous befliefs: (1) they are bound to an unbreakable covenant-union with their God; (2) he has made known his love and his mercy to them; (3) he has given them commandments to guide their daily life; (4) they owe him worship, fidelity and obedience; (5) they are marked by the sign of that covenant-bond. The covenant created the unity of the nation Israel, based not on blood relationship but on submission to the divine will and the confession that he alone is God. In turn, God pledges himself to be Israel's personal protector and helper, not only against foreign enemies, but against sickness, disease, and chaos as well. Most of all, he will be present whether it is a time of prosperity or of failure, for he has laid claim to his people as his own. Yahweh is a personal God who demands personal loyalty. He gives no guarantee that his protective love and help always involves victory in battle, wealth in possessions, or increase of territory; it may at times include such gifts, but more often it describes the blessing that trust in the Lord will bring: freedom from fear in the promised land, the fruitfulness of children and crops, permanent peace and the joy of knowing God is near."

The Call

I am 12 chapters in now in my study of Jeremiah. So much good stuff, but it's hard to blog because there is so much detail. However, lately I have been able to relate with Jeremiah's call from God. Through current circumstances in my life I've often found myself praying, "No God, not me..." Yet God has always guided and directed my path, even in directions I didn't want to go. My only responsibility is to humbly and obediently follow. It's not so easy though. At times it seems impossible. I am sure this is how Jeremiah or Moses felt.

In the verses above God calls Jeremiah to a massive task - to be God's ambassador to His people and to the nations. Jeremiah's response? "Not me God! I am too young! I don't speak well!" Have you been there? I sure have - many times. There is hope when I read these callings because I can see that even the heroes of the Bible struggled with confidence and faith. In Exodus 3, Moses is a flat out whinny wimp. I love that! Then you see the journey that God took him through. It's amazing! I can only have faith that the journey God has me on, no matter how treacherous it seems, will be well worthy it.

I think that many times the only obstacle in following God's call is ourselves. Both Moses and Jeremiah wanted to make it about themselves, choosing to focus on their shortcomings. God's emphatic response was that it wasn't about them - it was about Him working through them. How many times has God told me, "Don't be afraid. I am with you!"? Probably too many.

One of my professors in college used to always say a quote that I have kept near to me and used as a constant reminder:

"God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called."

AMEN!

Incredible Resource

I stumbled across www.worldwide-classroom.com today and it is an incredible resource for anyone who wants some in depth teaching on theology, ministry, and biblical studies. These are literally seminary classes that are made available to anyone who is interested. And best of all, it's absolutely FREE! It doesn't get much better than this.

My favorite thing about college were my Bible classes. I had some amazing professors that would challenge the typical gun-ho, "know-it-all" Christian college student. Their wisdom of the Bible and their hands-on experience in ministry provided me a well balanced biblical worldview. Oftentimes I have missed the classroom environment and learning in this way, which is why worldwide-classroom.com is such a gem. Well, actually it has the potential to be a gem. I guess I can't speak too soon as I haven't actually listened to any of the lectures yet, but it seems to be top notch.

I love learning about the past. My favorite areas of interest are Old Testament history and Church history. I'm excited because there are courses for both of those. I am going to start with the OT History course and see how it goes. It will make for great commuting material! Check out what they have to offer. Maybe you'll find something that really interests you.

Doom and Gloom

I recently finished studying the book of Matthew and wanted to turn next to the part of the Bible I least understand - The Hebrew Prophets. When I have read books like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Habakkuk etc. I find myself lost. This is manly due to the fact that these are mostly filled with prophetic speeches (sermons basically) to a specific group of people long ago in a land far, far away. It is impossible to read these prophets and understand them unless you look into the history of what was going on at the time. I have only ever barely scratch the surface of this history and never taken the time to really know the context. With that said, I have decided that it is finally time to do that and I am going to start with study the book of Jeremiah. And oh, I am excited!

One of the most famous verses people memorize from the Bible is Jeremiah 29:11.

"'For I know the plans I have for you', declares the LORD. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'"

Not only is this one of the most famous, it's also a verse that is usually taken way out of context. Yes, I am sure that God has plans and a purpose for you and me, but this verse was not written to us individually. It was actually written in a very dark time to a nation, Israel, who was God's nation. That nation happened to be in exile, taken captive because of their massive disobedience. Jeremiah spoke these words to encourage God's people that there was still hope even though the judgement had came. Oh, and you know that hope and prosperous future that he talks about? Yeah, that will come after 70 years in Babylonian captivity, so hold on Israel. I bet they didn't tell you that in Sunday school when you memorized that one.

There are some pretty crazy things that happened in Israel's history during the time of Jeremiah. In the midst of this, God calls Jeremiah while he's still a youth to be his mouth piece to the people. The only problem is that God's message is not a pretty one. It's a warning of doom, gloom, destruction, and judgement. How's that for a purpose and plan for your life? Sucks to be that guy.

I could go on and on, for there is a ton of detail to Jeremiah and the times he was living in, but if you are interested I have a few quotes from some of my preliminary reading that I found to be rather insightful. Enjoy some history if you choose. There will be many more posts to come about Jeremiah and the history of Israel.

From John Bright's History of Israel

"The persecution that such words earned Jeremiah, and the agony it cost him to utter them form one of the most moving chapters in the history of religion. Jeremiah was hated, jeered at, ostracized (chs.15:10f, 17; 18:18; 20:10), continuually harassed, and more than once almost killed (chs.11:18 to 12:6; 26; 36). In thus dooming state and Temple, he had, as the official theology saw it, committed both treason and blasphemy: he had accused Yahweh of faithlessness to his covenant with David (ch. 26:7-11)! Jeremiah's spirit almost broke under it. He gave way to fits of angry recrimination, depression, and even suicidal despair (chs. 15:15-18; 18:19-23; 20:7-12, 14-18). He hated his office and longed to quit (chs. 9:2-6; 17:14-18), but the compulsion of Yahweh's word forbade him to be silent (ch.20:9); always he found strength to go on (ch15:19-21) - pronouncing Yahweh's judgment. Yet when that judgment came, it brought him the deepest agony (chs.4:19-21; 8:18 to 9:1; 10:19f)."

From Elmer Marten's JEREMIAH: Believers Church Bible Commentary

"We read a book like Jeremiah for its message and insights. This book has a weighty message. It may shock us into reassessments and realignments; it will almost certainly change our values. The story in this book may strike us as dark and dismal. We shall hear about Israel's failures, her fascination with substitute deities, her disregard for just dealings. We will hear passionate appeals for change, admonitions, laments, exhortations, and threats. We will also hear promises. The underlying message has two faces: God disciplines people and punishes them; yet there is also forgiveness - the promise of new covenant. The gospel of Jeremiah reads: 'I have loved you with an everlasting love' (31:3)."

"For all its difficulty, the book of Jeremiah has great charm and power. 'No Old Testament prophet used a wider variety of literary forms or showed more artistic skill than Jeremiah' (LaSor: 418). The book touches issues of life and death. It depicts the love of God in the face of the sin of the people; it shows the sin of a people in the face of the love of their God. It is a book of exclamation marks. Like a Picasso painting, it yields its contents slowly - but with what force!"

Matthew - The Record of Jesus the Messiah

If you read my previous post you are aware that I have been thinking a lot about the Bible lately. I have realized that it's been too long since I have really dug into the Bible and studied it in depth. Furthermore, through recent discussions I have also came to the conclusion that I need to touch up on my knowledge of Jesus and the gospels. So that is what I'm going to do. I started studying the book of Matthew, verse by verse, a couple of days ago. It has already proven to be a huge refreshment for my soul. If any of you are feeling the same way I am then I invite you to join me as I look in depth at the "record of Jesus the Messiah." I will be posting my thoughts on the gospel weekly and I welcome any comments or insights that I may have missed. Below is my reading plan.



I wanted to get some some context for Matthew so I did a little bit of research first. One of my favorite commentary series for personal Bible reading is "The New Daily Bible Series" by William Barclay. His commentary is both pastoral and scholarly, yet he writes in a way that anyone can understand. If you are interested in any of these just search his name at www.amazon.com and you can find his commentary for every book of the New Testament.

The book of Matthew along with Mark and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospels, which simply means "seen together." They get this title because they are very similar in their content and structure
while each of them have some unique additions and omissions. Even though they are similar they each have a different audience. For Matthew, his audience is the Jewish community. Barclay says, "It is Matthew’s primary and deliberate purpose to show how the Old Testament prophecies received their fulfillment in Jesus; how every detail of Jesus’ life was foreshadowed in the prophets; and thus to compel the Jews to admit that Jesus was the Messiah."

Throughout Matthew's gospel the Old Testament Law is held in high esteem. This would be huge for a Jew because the Law was everything to them. Jesus says that he did not come to destroy the Law but to fulfill it (Mat. 5:17-20).

Matthew is also very interested in the Church. It is the only Synoptic gospel that even uses the word Church at all! Only Matthew says that disputes are to be settled by the Church (18:17). By the time Matthew was written, the Church would have been a very important part of the life of a Christian.

Barclay says that Matthew's dominating idea is that Jesus is King. We see that from the very beginning of the gospel that he demonstrates the royalty of Jesus. In fact the genealogy is simply to prove that Jesus is the Son of David. You have probably heard that title of Jesus before and Matthew uses that name for Jesus more than any other gospel. Matthew's picture of Jesus is of the man born to be King!

Like Honey on my Lips

Psalm 119:97,103,105

97 Oh, how I love your law!
I meditate on it all day long.

103 How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!

105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light for my path.


I absolutely love the Bible. It is the most beautiful and confusing book of all time. I believe wholeheartedly that it is God's Word that He inspired through individuals to be a testimony of two things: 1) Who God is, and 2) How to have relationship with Him.

I say it's confusing because there is a lot more to the Bible than we tend to think. It's simply not as cut and dry as many people believe. In fact, it is nearly impossible to just pick up the Bible with the assumption that it will be clearly understandable. Why is this? Why would God not make His word clear? Perhaps it is because God wants us to look to Him, and not only His Word. Maybe just maybe the Bible has the potential of becoming an idol if we aren't careful to handle it properly. Maybe God doesn't want us to have it all figured out, and so somehow not to have any need for Him in our daily lives. I know I am guilty of going straight to the Bible for things instead of praying to the living God who promises to be dwelling in me. I don't know. Just a thought...

The problem I see is that we can twist and skew the Bible to make it say whatever we want it to say - within reason of course. Ultimately, the Bible has caused more divisions, more church splints, and created more denominations and religions than anything else. Wait? Did I say the Bible has done this? Maybe what I mean to say is that people's understanding of the Bible have created these things. It is not the actual Bible that creates any division, but rather it is what people claim the Bible actual says that is the author of such division. It is this fact that makes my heart heavy.

The reality is that we all have certain lenses in which we view the Bible. Each person that picks up the Bible and reads it, interprets it through their own worldview. It has been said that once the Bible is read it ceases to be God's Word and becomes the reader's interpretation of God's Word according to their own values and convictions.

So what's the point? Should we not even attempt to read the Bible because it's impossible to understand? I don't think that's the case at all. I think the important factor to helping us understand the Bible is historical and cultural context. The Bible must be read with the knowledge of who the original audience was. For example, when we read the book of Colossians, we are reading a letter from the Apostle Paul to the Colossian church. This letter and others like it were written to a specific group of people, in a specific point in time. To ignore audience and the historical/cultural context would be pointless. Too often we read it and think it is talking directly to us within our 21st century world. I do believe that God uses the Bible to teach us and guide us, but we must be open to what it is actually saying and who it is saying it to.

There is mystery to the Bible and there is mystery to God - something that our minds can't fully comprehend. But thank God that He doesn't require us to have it all figured out. To me that is the beauty of the journey. Let us jump in and continue to strive towards more understanding of God and His Word. After all, it is honey to our lips.

John

I just finished reading the Gospel of John and I found this Wordle (a word gallery) of John.
This is pretty cool! Click the image to make it bigger.

Two Encounters

I've been participating in the 3F Daily Bible Readers group, which is a group that is going through the New Testament in 90 days. Right now, I am reading in the book of John. I have enjoyed John so far, as it is different from Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John tells some unique stories, two of which grabbed my attention:

Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus (John 3:1-21)
Jesus' encounter with a Samaritian woman (John 4:1-45)

There are some extremely interesting contrasts to these two stories that I think are intentionally put there by John. These are fascinating!

1] GENDER
Nicodemus was male
Samaritan woman was obviously female

2] ETHNICITY
Nicodemus was a Jew
Samaritan woman was obviously Samaritan

3] MORALITY
Nicodemus was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin - aka He was "blameless" & Law abiding
Samaritan woman was an adulterous woman who had 5 husbands and was sleeping with another

4] TIME
Nicodemus came seeking Jesus at night
Samaritan woman met Jesus during the middle of the day (the sixth hour, which would be noon)

5] EDUCATION
Nicodemus was an expert in the Law
Samaritan woman was uneducated

6] ISSUE
Nicodemus needed to be born from above
Samaritan woman needed the Living Water

7] PLACE OF WORSHIP
Nicodemus worshipped at the Temple (Jerusalem) - to the Jews this is the only place to worship
Samaritan woman worshipped on Mt. Gerizim where all Samaritans worshiped

8] RESPONSE
Nicodemus' response was meditative with no immediate action
Samaritan woman's response was energetic and she immediately began sharing the Good news

9] CONFESSION
Nicodemus called Jesus Rabbi
Samaritan woman proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah

What do we learn from these encounters? For me, it shows that Jesus meets each individual where they are at and speaks to them on their level according to their own issues. Nicodemus misunderstood what Jesus was saying by being reborn, but in reality he was simply just having a hard time accepting what Jesus was saying. He was a Pharisee, an expert in the Law so the concept of a spiritual rebirth would not be foreign to him (OT prophets speak a lot about that).

Jesus broke all the rules in talking to the Samaritan woman, but he didn't care. I think he sent his disciples away so that he could speak to the woman alone. John tells us that Jews didn't associate with Samaritans - strike 1. On top of that, women were not to speak to men in public - strike 2. When the disciples came back they were shocked that he was talking to a Samaritan woman. However, Jesus found it too important to dismiss her for some lame cultural rules. Because of their conversation the whole town came to know Jesus as the Messiah. Pretty cool if you ask me!

NOOMA She | 21 Rob Bell

I don't know if you know what NOOMA videos are, but the newest one is now out. You can watch it until tomorrow at 9am for free on facebook. NOOMA videos are 10-13 minute teaching videos by Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Michigan. He is one of my favorite preachers/authors.

To watch it, click here

This one is dedicated to all the mothers out there. What would we do with out their compassion, their love and their deep care? Thanks Mom! :-) And how much more is the love of our God who cares for us like a mother to her children? What an awesome God we have!

I hope you enjoy this video. Hurry and watch it before tomorrow!

God of Wrath

So I definitely waited in line last Friday morning at 6am for the new iPhone and it was well worth it. Along with the amazing GPS tracking and other really cool 3rd party applications, lifechurch.tv developed a Bible application that gives me 15 different translations at the touch of my fingertips. In the program there are three random chapters selected per day for daily reading. Today as I was waiting for a meeting I decided to read one of them. It was Jeremiah 4 which doesn't happened to be a very positive and uplifting passage. Here is how it starts off:

1 "If you will return, O Israel,
return to me,"
declares the LORD.
"If you put your detestable idols out of my sight
and no longer go astray,

2 and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
you swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives,'
then the nations will be blessed by him
and in him they will glory."

3 This is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem:
"Break up your unplowed ground
and do not sow among thorns.

4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD,
circumcise your hearts,
you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire
because of the evil you have done—
burn with no one to quench it.


This is a plea to RE-TURN. Return to what is true. Return to what is good. Return to the source of love and joy. "Return to me," says the LORD. God is giving Israel a chance to turn around and leave their idols. He is pleading for them to come back to Him. My favorite part of God's plea is for them to circumcise their hearts. Circumcision was a physical sign that Israel belonged to God. Yet, on the inside these people were completely unfaithful to Him. This just reiterates that God is interested in our hearts not our outward appearance.

It is easy to look at Israel and think they were a bunch of idiots, which they were. Time and time again they were unfaithful to their God despite all His patience and forgiveness. Yet, we are just like Israel whether we will admit it or not. Sure we don't have statues of idols displayed in our living room, but we do have idols - things we chose to value over God at times.

We find out that Jeremiah's warning is not heeded by Israel and that God does indeed bring wrath on His people. In 586 b.c. Israel loses everything. God uses a pagan nation, Babylon, to humble His people greatly. It is the consequence of their actions and their lack of trust in Him.

Many people write-off stories like these because it is soooo "Old Testament." I mean, we are living in the New Covenant now right? Jesus has come and conquered sin and death. The cross has given us forgiveness from our sins, so there is no more wrath of God right!? Somehow I don't think it is quite that simple. Jesus says, "small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." He also says, "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." That sort of sounds like what happened to Israel when they didn't trust God and follow Him. Maybe we too are still held accountable for our actions. Maybe we need to try and understand what Proverbs means when it says that we need to have "The fear of the Lord" in us.

Yes Jesus died for us. Yes He has washed our sins away. However, that does not free us from the responsibility of trusting and obeying Him. That is why Philippians urges us to 'continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.' This is not an easy road to travel, but it is well worth it!

Following Jesus

I recently read a book by NT Wright (a fantastic author and theologian) called Following Jesus: Biblical Reflections on Discipleship. I am constantly challenged by the concept of discipleship. For some reason I can easily understand my faith in terms of a teacher/student relationship. If there is anyone who I relate with in the Bible it would be the disciples. Though they were slow and didn’t get it most of the time, Jesus still poured His heart and soul into them with confidence that they could be like Him. And they turned out alright. They completely changed and revolutionized the world. There is still hope for you and me after all. :-)

Wright writes this book to help bring a clearer picture of the real biblical Jesus. He admits that many people inside and outside of the church have made up a ‘Jesus’ for themselves, inventing Him to be whatever they wish. Jesus to many Christians makes them feel warm and happy inside, but doesn’t challenge them or suggest them to do something about the plight of the world. However, the real Jesus cared more about the world than our comfortable little feelings. The call of discipleship for us is to do the same.

Something that was incredibly insightful was a chapter about who Jesus is according to the book of Hebrews:

- He is the true Son of God that is higher than the angels (Hebrews 1)
- He was 100% human that ‘lived our life and died our death’ (Hebrews 2)
- He is the true Joshua who leads His people to the promise land (Hebrews 3-4)
- He is the true high priest (mediator between us and God) forever (Hebrews 5-7)
- He is the final sacrifice and the new covenant (Hebrews 8-10)

This leads to the great heroes of the faith in chapter 11. Then chapters 12 and 13 sum everything up. Wright says,

“...it is the Jesus who will guide us through life, the Jesus who meets us today as we feast at His table, the Jesus who summons us gently but clearly to follow Him. And at the heart of this picture we find the cross: the cross which Jesus endured on our behalf, which was the climax of his life of suffering and rejection, which was, as we shall see, the final sacrifice.”


What an amazing and refreshing picture of Jesus!

Wright also wrote about the kingdom of heaven and what that meant to Jesus. He, like many others today, insists that God wants to bring heaven to earth. He points out how so many Christians are sitting around waiting to die and go to heaven. But Jesus wants heaven to be here in this world, NOW! And we, His disciples, are the ones charged to bring it here. This is a scary thought. That is what the disciples must have felt when Jesus gave them the great commission, putting the responsibility of His kingdom in the hands of His students.

If this seems like too daunting of a task, the writer of Hebrews encourages with this:

Hebrews 12:1-3
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."