Do we feel like we're in exile?
In the southeastern United States that's a strange question to ask. I live 5 minutes from Trinity, but it's the sixth church i see on my commute. But despite the proliferation of buildings Sidney Greidanus is right when he says the church in the states is undermined with materialism.
Even if we don't feel exiled culturally, we should feel exiled personally. Exiled from our home, not so much by individual sins, but by the constant coldness of our hearts towards our saviour. But the good news is that the Lord is a God who works in exile.
At the start of Genesis 29 we meet Jacob travelling to the people of the east. Just like Adam and Eve's sin drove them east of Eden, so Jacob's drives him east of the land God had promised. We're on the look out for a serpent crusher, on the look out for descendants who will fill the Earth, and even though God's promised from chapter 28 are ringing in Jacob's ears, we still have the right to be worried about the future as Jacob walks to Paddan-Aram.
First, we see God's providence. Abraham's servant was lead by angles and prayers, Jacob, grabbing the stone as he grabbed the heel is lead by providence. Both are lead by God. He sees Rachel, meets Laban, and falls in love. So much so that seven years seems like a few days to him. What a love story. To be sure soon he'll be on his way home with his wife, children shortly to follow.
But when he wakes up the morning after the wedding feast, behold, it's Leah! And here we see God working in deception. You can almost hear the irony in Laban's voice when he tells Jacob, in my house, we don't dishonour the firstborn. Jacob is hopelessly outmaneuvered, he wants Rachel, and he's promised to serve seven years for her, so he does.
But these seven years probably don't seem like a few days. Strife with his uncle, who to this point has acted much more like a master, and strife at home between the lovely loved Rachel, and her weak-eyed sister. It feels, again, like the Lord has forsaken Jacob doesn't it? The ladders and the vows on chapter 28 seem like a long time ago. And yet, we have four women who can give Jacob the offspring we so long to read about.
The first four children come from the unloved, unlovely one. Rachel was barren, but Leah gives birth to Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah.
Judah, the last born son of an unloved women, but the sceptre will never depart from between his feet.
Judah, the last born son of an unloved women, who goes up first to fight when Joshua is gone, and gives Israel her kings.
Judah, the last born son of an unloved women, from whom Christ comes.
And with Christ offspring who fill the world, as the water fills the oceans.
God's work goes deep into our seemingly hopeless situations, and keeps God's promised with a quiet, reliable power. Even in exile.
Showing posts with label Jesus in the Old Testament. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jesus in the Old Testament. Show all posts
Monday, 23 June 2014
Thursday, 16 January 2014
The Hero of Genesis
Any way you cut it, the story of Noah is odd.
A man who has never seen rain, much less a flood, spends decades building a boat, because God told him to. When it starts raining God shuts the door, and Noah and seven of his family are safe from the water. Then, when Noah arrives back on dry land, or maybe better, when dry land arrives back on Noah, he builds an altar, then plants a vineyard, get's drunk, gets naked.
I mean, what now? It's another part of Genesis that would never pass the censors as a tv miniseries, and if it did, would suffer the ire of noisy evangelicals.
So what's going on? Well, naked man sins with fruit, we've been here before right? In fact that's how the story started to go wrong. Adam and Eve took the fruit, it opened their eyes and they knew that they were naked. Blood was shed to cover them, and they were promised that one would come from their union who would crush the serpent, so it's with expectation we meet Cain and Abel...but no, and Seth...but it wasn't him. And then things get worse and worse, until the moment the LORD regrets making man. That's pretty serious.
But along comes Noah, a righteous man. Maybe Noah will crush the serpent, maybe he is crushing the serpent under the weight of the waters. But then we end up just where we started, the head of the human race sinning with fruit.
Why? Because Genesis isn't a story about Adam or Noah, or Abraham or Joseph, it's a story about Jesus. As we read of the misadventures of these men, it should make us look beyond them, beyond ourselves, to Jesus. He really is our only hope. The LORD started everything all over again, decreation, flood, one man. And look what happened, exactly the same thing.
The answer to the world's problems isn't in human leadership, it's not in human ideas, it's not in human strength. That's gets us sinning with fruit. But Jesus was faithful in the face of temptation, Jesus came out the water and obeyed God. Don't look at Noah, or Shem, Ham and Japheth to crush the serpent. Look at Jesus.
And also, when you look at each other, don't make room for judgement or jealousy. Adam's fruit sin caused him to put clothes on, Noah's caused him to take clothes off. Sin doesn't treat John the same as Jane, it doesn't look the same in everyone's life. Don't be jealous of the man with clothes, he's got his own struggles. Don't judge the naked man, you're no better.
A man who has never seen rain, much less a flood, spends decades building a boat, because God told him to. When it starts raining God shuts the door, and Noah and seven of his family are safe from the water. Then, when Noah arrives back on dry land, or maybe better, when dry land arrives back on Noah, he builds an altar, then plants a vineyard, get's drunk, gets naked.
I mean, what now? It's another part of Genesis that would never pass the censors as a tv miniseries, and if it did, would suffer the ire of noisy evangelicals.
So what's going on? Well, naked man sins with fruit, we've been here before right? In fact that's how the story started to go wrong. Adam and Eve took the fruit, it opened their eyes and they knew that they were naked. Blood was shed to cover them, and they were promised that one would come from their union who would crush the serpent, so it's with expectation we meet Cain and Abel...but no, and Seth...but it wasn't him. And then things get worse and worse, until the moment the LORD regrets making man. That's pretty serious.
But along comes Noah, a righteous man. Maybe Noah will crush the serpent, maybe he is crushing the serpent under the weight of the waters. But then we end up just where we started, the head of the human race sinning with fruit.
Why? Because Genesis isn't a story about Adam or Noah, or Abraham or Joseph, it's a story about Jesus. As we read of the misadventures of these men, it should make us look beyond them, beyond ourselves, to Jesus. He really is our only hope. The LORD started everything all over again, decreation, flood, one man. And look what happened, exactly the same thing.
The answer to the world's problems isn't in human leadership, it's not in human ideas, it's not in human strength. That's gets us sinning with fruit. But Jesus was faithful in the face of temptation, Jesus came out the water and obeyed God. Don't look at Noah, or Shem, Ham and Japheth to crush the serpent. Look at Jesus.
And also, when you look at each other, don't make room for judgement or jealousy. Adam's fruit sin caused him to put clothes on, Noah's caused him to take clothes off. Sin doesn't treat John the same as Jane, it doesn't look the same in everyone's life. Don't be jealous of the man with clothes, he's got his own struggles. Don't judge the naked man, you're no better.
Monday, 13 January 2014
Look at Leviticus
Leviticus has been called the 'widow maker' of Bible reading plans. You get through Genesis and Exodus with excitement and determination, and then, Leviticus. A huge chapter on skin diseases, old ceremonies that we don't perform any more, men being stoned to death. Can't we just skip it? I get much more out of James.
I think part of the answer is the read it quickly. I don't think it lends itself to twenty seven separate sittings, anything familiar seems a long way off after nearly a month. If you have thirty five to forty minutes each day you can read it in three chunks, which helps the flow, and helps you keep the big picture in view.
But whether we read Leviticus a chapter at a time, or ten chapters at a time, i think there are three things to look for that will help us as we make our way through.
Look for Separation
One of the main themes of this book is that man and God can't live side by side. It's not entirely safe for Israel to have the Tabernacle in their midst. It's not even safe for Aaron and the rest of the Levites. Something has to be done for man and God to have a relationship. Something has to happen for The LORD to stay amongst His people without wiping them out. And we have the same problem. You and I can't just stroll up to God and thump Him on the back. Our sins have separated us from Him.
Look for Substitution
Leviticus is the story of God making a way for sinful man. It's the story of blood, but not man's blood. Goats blood, sheep's blood, turtledoves blood, and failing all that, cups of flour. Sin has to be paid for either by us, or by a substitute. For unintentional sins, there is a way, God has made a way to cover His people in blood. And substitution is all of grace. You couldn't have made your way to worship holding a dove in your hand without realising how gracious God is. You and I can't, shouldn't go to worship, eat at the table, or read our Bibles without realising how gracious God is.
Look for Satisfaction
When blood is shed, God is pleased. When blood is shed men are safe. Leviticus then, holds our the heart of the Gospel. Men are separated from God, but can come near because of the blood shed by a substitute. God stays, men live in relationship with Him, they can feast and celebrate, and once a lifetime have the year of jubilee. Because God is satisfied with the blood that has been shed. He's satisfied not because a goat can pay for a man, but because that blood paints a picture of the blood His Son would shed, blood that faithful hebrews were looking towards.
So far from being irrelevant to we sophisticates living in 2014, Leviticus is as relevant as we can get. We, in 2014 are far from God, and we can only be brought back by a graciously provided substitute shedding His blood.
I think part of the answer is the read it quickly. I don't think it lends itself to twenty seven separate sittings, anything familiar seems a long way off after nearly a month. If you have thirty five to forty minutes each day you can read it in three chunks, which helps the flow, and helps you keep the big picture in view.
But whether we read Leviticus a chapter at a time, or ten chapters at a time, i think there are three things to look for that will help us as we make our way through.
Look for Separation
One of the main themes of this book is that man and God can't live side by side. It's not entirely safe for Israel to have the Tabernacle in their midst. It's not even safe for Aaron and the rest of the Levites. Something has to be done for man and God to have a relationship. Something has to happen for The LORD to stay amongst His people without wiping them out. And we have the same problem. You and I can't just stroll up to God and thump Him on the back. Our sins have separated us from Him.
Look for Substitution
Leviticus is the story of God making a way for sinful man. It's the story of blood, but not man's blood. Goats blood, sheep's blood, turtledoves blood, and failing all that, cups of flour. Sin has to be paid for either by us, or by a substitute. For unintentional sins, there is a way, God has made a way to cover His people in blood. And substitution is all of grace. You couldn't have made your way to worship holding a dove in your hand without realising how gracious God is. You and I can't, shouldn't go to worship, eat at the table, or read our Bibles without realising how gracious God is.
Look for Satisfaction
When blood is shed, God is pleased. When blood is shed men are safe. Leviticus then, holds our the heart of the Gospel. Men are separated from God, but can come near because of the blood shed by a substitute. God stays, men live in relationship with Him, they can feast and celebrate, and once a lifetime have the year of jubilee. Because God is satisfied with the blood that has been shed. He's satisfied not because a goat can pay for a man, but because that blood paints a picture of the blood His Son would shed, blood that faithful hebrews were looking towards.
So far from being irrelevant to we sophisticates living in 2014, Leviticus is as relevant as we can get. We, in 2014 are far from God, and we can only be brought back by a graciously provided substitute shedding His blood.
Thursday, 12 December 2013
Cover Me
A few weeks ago, some rogue motorist swerved down my street, and collected our mailbox on his way. He knocked the door off, and the handy yellow flag that told us if we had any mail that day. Eventually, i've got to go and buy a new mail box to replace the old one. It has to be a mailbox, i can't put a microwave there, or a bowl of soup. Mailbox for mailbox.
Likewise, if the lady driving the car who hit our mailbox showed up at my door to replace it, she'd need to give me a new one, or at least, a decent replacement. A picture of a mailbox won't do, neither will a new sweater or a pair of scissors. Mailbox for mail box.
We see this idea all the way though the Bible. God told Adam and Eve that a life would be taken if they ate the fruit of the tree, and so it was, although we like to think that God was making a coat to keep them warm, He was shedding blood to pay for sin. The Old Testament sacrificial system depended on and illustrated this idea every day. There had been sin, there must be death. On the Day of Atonement some estimate that over three hundred thousand animals died. The Brook Kidron ran red, the Priests were covered and the mercy seat stained with the blood that paid for sins.
Hebrews 9:22 puts it bluntly, 'without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.' Life for life, death for sin. It's always been this way, and we understand why. Mailbox for mailbox, life for life. But come on, we now that a goat can't pay for the sins of a man. So a man came, the lamb of God, the final lamb, making a satisfying sacrifice, finally giving God and man justice for sins, finally paying the price, finally cleaning our consciences.
We ask this man for mercy, we ask Him to cover us. That's what's going on at the end of Luke 18. The tax collector stands far off beating his chest, and says 'Lord, cover me, a sinner.' Cover me, have mercy on me. Cover me with the blood of a substitute. Just like Moses did in Exodus 24:5-6. An animal was killed, half it's blood poured in the basin, the other half sprinkled on the people. They were covered with the blood of the substitute. Sin brings death, life for life.
Have mercy on me, cover me with the blood of a substitute, pass over me.
The longer i'm a Christian, and the more i see the dark recesses of my own heart, the more precious this becomes. The world needs a God angered by sin, but the world also needs God. Jesus has dealt with that huge problem, He has died, a life for a life, and His blood covers us. If you try to live with Christ primarily as your example, not your substitute, it's like living in a house with no foundations, you're just not safe. Come to Christ instead, and be covered with His blood.
Likewise, if the lady driving the car who hit our mailbox showed up at my door to replace it, she'd need to give me a new one, or at least, a decent replacement. A picture of a mailbox won't do, neither will a new sweater or a pair of scissors. Mailbox for mail box.
We see this idea all the way though the Bible. God told Adam and Eve that a life would be taken if they ate the fruit of the tree, and so it was, although we like to think that God was making a coat to keep them warm, He was shedding blood to pay for sin. The Old Testament sacrificial system depended on and illustrated this idea every day. There had been sin, there must be death. On the Day of Atonement some estimate that over three hundred thousand animals died. The Brook Kidron ran red, the Priests were covered and the mercy seat stained with the blood that paid for sins.
Hebrews 9:22 puts it bluntly, 'without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.' Life for life, death for sin. It's always been this way, and we understand why. Mailbox for mailbox, life for life. But come on, we now that a goat can't pay for the sins of a man. So a man came, the lamb of God, the final lamb, making a satisfying sacrifice, finally giving God and man justice for sins, finally paying the price, finally cleaning our consciences.
We ask this man for mercy, we ask Him to cover us. That's what's going on at the end of Luke 18. The tax collector stands far off beating his chest, and says 'Lord, cover me, a sinner.' Cover me, have mercy on me. Cover me with the blood of a substitute. Just like Moses did in Exodus 24:5-6. An animal was killed, half it's blood poured in the basin, the other half sprinkled on the people. They were covered with the blood of the substitute. Sin brings death, life for life.
Have mercy on me, cover me with the blood of a substitute, pass over me.
The longer i'm a Christian, and the more i see the dark recesses of my own heart, the more precious this becomes. The world needs a God angered by sin, but the world also needs God. Jesus has dealt with that huge problem, He has died, a life for a life, and His blood covers us. If you try to live with Christ primarily as your example, not your substitute, it's like living in a house with no foundations, you're just not safe. Come to Christ instead, and be covered with His blood.
Wednesday, 27 November 2013
Single Superior Sacrifice
How can we be sure Jesus has paid for our sins? How can we know that the Father has accepted the sacrifice of His Son on our behalf, or, better, on my behalf? How can i know that the things i did yesterday won't (justly) condemn me forever? We can know. The solid logic of Hebrews 9:11-13 tells us that Jesus is the single, superior sacrifice who brings
forgiveness of sins and a cleansed conscience. Do you want to be free from
guilt? You can be! Do you want to feel free from condemnation? You can do. Let’s see how.
First of all, Jesus entered the real tent, the greater and
perfect tent as verse 11 tells us. He wasn’t entering an earthly copy with
bells around his clothes and a rope on His ankle. He was in Heaven, He was in
the real thing. It’s one thing to have a picture of the fake Eiffel tower at
Kings Dominion, how much better is it to have been to the real thing! Jesus can
clean our conscience because He entered the real sanctuary, not made with
hands, but made by God. The son of Levi ministered in the copy, and it gave the Hebrews some assurance, but Jesus is in the real sanctuary, not made with hands. Look and look until you see and are assured.
Secondly, Jesus can cleanse our conscience because He has
shed His own blood. If God took the blood of a goat as a covering, then there
is no way He will reject the blood of His own Son! No way. That animal blood was a picture, Jesus is the reality. That picture gave some assurance to the Hebrews. When the scapegoat ran off into the wilderness, they could see that God had a way of removing their sins, when the priest shed the blood of the lamb, they could see that God had a way of paying for their sins. When we sin, we’re
tempted to do something to pay for that sin aren’t we? I lied to my parents so
I’ll get up half an hour earlier tomorrow to read the Bible. We’re tempted to
do that. But we don’t need to. What covers our sin? What makes us whole again?
Nothing but the blood, and that blood has been shed for us. We have nothing to
fear, because we are covered by Him.
Finally, Jesus blood can cleanse our conscience because He
works on the inside, not the outside. Verse 13 teaches us the blood and ashes
of a heifer purified the flesh. But only the flesh. The old sacrifices never changed anyone’s
heart, never cleaned a conscience. The new one can, and does.
The application is right there in verse 14. We are now free
to serve God with all our hearts. There is nothing holding you back from giving
your life to God’s will, nothing stopping you from doing whatever He wants you
to do. Is there? Why should sin stop you, your sin has been dealt with. Why
should guilt stop you, Jesus has cleansed your conscience. Why should what you
did yesterday stop you from what God wants you to do tomorrow? It shouldn’t!
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
Jesus and Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:1-10)
The major theme in the middle of the book, where we are now
is that Jesus is our High Priest. He is our representative, the best
representative there is. He sits next to God the Father in Heaven and
represents us before Him. After last weeks interlude, where the author
encouraged his readers to grow and be mature Christians, tonight we’re back to
the main point, Jesus is our High Priest, our representative, in heaven.
And tonight, we meet one of the most mysterious, but helpful
people in the Old Testament. As we continue our study of Hebrews we are
constantly being reminded that Jesus is better. Jesus is a better King, a
better prophet, a better offering. Jesus is better than anything else anyone
else can offer. So we need to come to Him for salvation, for holiness and for
hope.
That person is Melchizedek, and the author is going to use
him to help us understand more about Jesus. Melchizedek is a ‘type.’ The OT is
filled with ceremonies, events and people that are pictures of Jesus, or types
of Jesus. King David is a picture of Jesus. So is the Passover, so are Abraham
and Isaac going up the hill to make a sacrifice. So, what we learn about
Melchizedek is what we learn about Jesus. what we see in Melchizedek, we’ll
also see in Jesus.
These verses of Hebrews 7 tell us more about Melchizedek than the rest
of the Bible. Melchizedek only appears in three places. Genesis 14, where Abraham meets
him, then in psalm 110, when David tells us that Jesus will be like him, and
here in Hebrews 7. This, incidentally is another great argument for the divine
inspiration of the Bible. There’s no way that Moses, writing Genesis, and
David, writing the Psalms and whoever wrote Hebrews thousands of years apart
could have all imagined this same man with this same role. But here is Melchizedek ready
to teach us about Jesus.
The first thing we see in verses 1 and 2 is that Melchizedek is
righteous and royal. Four times in these two verses Melchizedek is said to be the King of
something. He is King of Salem, mentioned twice, king of righteousness and king
of peace. M was a priest and a king, just like Jesus is. Zechariah 6:13 says
that ‘there shall be a priest on the throne,’ and M is a great picture of Jesus
the priest-king. Melchizedek is also righteous. This doesn’t mean that he has never
sinned, unless we think that Melchizedek was Christ Himself but it means that when he sinned he sought forgiveness before God, and
asked that God would help him to fight against his sin. He was righteous in
that he could be trusted, he could be respected, he could be looked up to.
M is a great picture of Jesus, who is the righteous and royal
priest and King. Just think about that for a moment. The one who you pray to is
the righteous and royal priest King. No one else get that. No other system of
religion or belief gets to have access to God though Jesus, and yet we so often
take it for granted. This knowledge should flood our heart with joy. We have
Jesus, who loves us, who represents us. He’s righteous, so He will never let us
down, and He’s royal, which gives Him every right to ask for things on our
behalf.
The next thing we’re shown in verse three is that Melchizedek is
personal, and perpetual. Read those verses with me. How did you get to be a
priest in the OT? You had to be a Levite, and then you had to be the right kind
of Levite. This is a problem for us, because Jesus wasn’t born into the tribe
of Levi, He was born into the tribe of Judah. And no priest comes from Judah.
But His priesthood is like Melchizedek s priesthood. Melchizedek wasn’t a priest because of his
parents, he was a priest because of who he was. His priesthood was personal,
just like Jesus’ is. Jesus is a priest because of who He is, not because He was
born in the right place at the right time. Jesus is a priest because He was
appointed by the Father, not because of who His parents were. Just like M.
And just like Melchizedek Jesus will be a priest forever. Melchizedek's
priesthood is perpetual, it never ends, just like Jesus’ priesthood is. He will
never stop being a High Priest. In the Old Testament, this must have been a constant
problem. You’d get a good High Priest, one who loved God, and was sympathetic to sins,
but then he’d die, and who knows what the next guy would be like. This is never
a problem with us. We know that Jesus has conquered death. As Jesus tells John
in Revelation 1:18, he died, and now he is alive forevermore. So repent, and
pray and share your faith, and read your Bible, and be faithful to church, and
grow, and mature, safe in the knowledge that Jesus, your priest, your
representative, will never die. He is always there for you.
Thursday, 3 October 2013
How To Deal With Sin
There
is one thing that you have in common with a man drowning in the ocean. There is
one thing you have in common with the student who hasn’t studied for his math
test. There is one thing you have in common with the explorer lost in the
desert. You need help. They all need help, they all need to be rescued from a
hopeless situation, and so do you and I. That’s what these verses are about,
remembering and finding grace to help us in our time of need.
But our
need is much more desperate than the drowning sailor, or the poorly prepared
student, or the wandering explorer. We need rescue from an eternal punishment,
we need help in dealing with our sins. We need help to not sin sure but we also
need help in the aftermath of our sin. What do I mean? I mean, we need help to
deal with what happened on Saturday night when it’s Sunday morning. How will we
deal with what we did at 10pm on Saturday at 10am on Sunday? How will we deal
with what we did on Wednesday morning on Wednesday evening?
The
answer to that question tells us a lot about our faith, it tells us a lot about
what we hope in, and what we think saves us. I think there are three options
before us when it comes to dealing with our sin the morning after.
The
first is to ignore our sin. To tell ourselves that it was no big deal, that we
didn’t mean it, that Jesus is ok with it really. We’re saved by grace through
faith right? So nothing I do or say or think makes any real difference. Sin is
no big deal we tell ourselves. That joke, that look, that smart off to the
teacher that made everyone laugh, they don’t matter. I’ll just ignore it and
carry on like normal. To not take sin seriously, to make light of it, to brush
it off and ignore it is a terrible place to be. This is the way to a hard heart;
this is the way to losing grip on Jesus and falling away from your faith. I’ve
said before, but it’s true, no one wakes up one morning and decides to fall
away, but over time, we sin and we sin and we sin, and we think it’s ok. And
then we stop caring. And then we fall away.
The
second option in dealing with sin has the same result, falling away, but it
gets there differently. When we sin, instead of making a small deal of it, we
make too big of a deal about it. We start thinking, ‘if I was really saved I’d
never do that.’ We sulk and hide, we quit reading the Bible, we quit going to
church, and we stop talking to God and to our Christian friends. We start
hiding, and we fall away. We think that, somehow, our sin is bigger than Jesus
death, we think that there’s no way we could be in a relationship with God now,
so we give up. This is the reason that so many Christians disappear. They fall
into sin and they have no way of dealing with it. So instead of ‘holding fast
to their confession,’ they give up on Jesus.
Verse
14 tells us that we have a high priest. The high priest was the figure in the
Old Testament who would represent the people before God. He was the one who made
sacrifices in the temple and once a year and stood before the presence of God Himself to shed blood for His people. He was the people’s hope, they knew
as long as he made his sacrifices every year that they would be able to have
their sins forgiven. But he was just a man…our High Priest is Jesus! The Son of God! Who
sits at God’s right hand! What a much greater hope we have in Him!
But,
this is only good news if He is on our side when He represents us. When we sin,
the last thing we want is Jesus sitting there pointing it out to the Father
right? Rolling His eyes at us. That’s why verse 15 is such good news, fresh air
and cool water to the sin troubled soul. ‘for we do not have a High Priest who is unable
to sympathize with us in our weakness, but one who in every respect has been
tempted as we are, yet without sin.’
Jesus
is a sympathetic High Priest. That is such good news. He knows our weaknesses,
He knows our struggles and our burdens, He knows we’re weak, because He’s been
there, so He sympathizes. When you come to Jesus for the 1000th time
over the same sin He doesn’t turn away, He helps.
How
good is it that we have a God, a High Priest, a Saviour who has been tempted like us in
every way, faced a greater temptation than you or I will ever know, and yet
came through it all. And now this Son, this High Priest sits next to God,
sympathizes with us, and represents us. His ear is turned towards you, and His
arms are open to receive you, no matter what you’ve done. Or how many times
you’ve done it.
How do we deal with sin? As Christians. We don't ignore it, but neither do we let it overwhelm us. Instead we let temptation drive us to Christ, and Christ drive us from temptation.
Wednesday, 24 April 2013
Ressurected and Returning
I'm been thinking a little bit about the way books of the Bible end recently. We're coming to the end of our series in Mark in teen church, Gethsemane on Wednesday, and then five weeks later chapter 16, which poses some problems. I guess everyone who preaches through Mark has to come to a decisions as to what to do about the double ending. Particularly when the last thing you want to do is rob young Christians of their confidence in Scripture.
It wasn't the end of Mark that grabbed by attention this week, but the ending of 2nd Kings. Second Kings is a terrible sad tale of immorality and decline, both personally and nationally with very few bright spots. Probably written at the time, maybe as the official historical record, and then collected some time during or after the captivity, it shows how the northern kingdom fell further and further into the sins of Jeroboam, and how the southern Kings looked more like Adam's sons that David's.
Josiah is a great bright spot. Cut to the heart by what he discovered in the law, he wasn't content to let his reformation by personal, but removed all the altars of false worship from the land. I like the imagine him riding around on a horse, with a sledge hammer in one hand and a map in the other. And maybe that's how it happened, but maybe not. After he's gone though, the decline is quick, and Judah, God's leaders of God's people, find themselves in Babylon.
Second Kings, and, to a greater extent, second Chronicles exist to remind the exiles, and the returners, that the LORD hasn't failed, in fact, it's because He is the one true God that they find themselves in this mess, and the ending of both these books go a long way to show us that.
How does 2nd Kings end? 'Evil-merodach (what a sen.sational name!) king of Babylon...graciously freed Jehoiachin, King of Judah from prison...and every day of his life he dined regularly at the kings table.' So what does King Evil do? He releases the King of Judah from prison, clothes him and feeds him, every day. He resurrects him, essentially. And the King of God's people eats in the presence of his enemies. Everyone in the Old Testament is either Adam or Jesus and here's Jesus. Resurrected after catastrophe, freely dining at the Kings table. 'Faithful Hebrews', says the writer of 2nd Kings, 'it's going to be ok. Look for the resurrected Son of David.'
Second Chronicles ends with an even bigger surprise. To fulfill what was spoken through Jeremiah the LORD stirred the heart of King Cyrus to let the people of Judah go home and build a house for God. Wait...what? Cyrus is going to let his exiles go, and rebuild a temple to a foreign God? That's extraordinary. Remember, faithful labourers at the walls, that you rebuild because God has pout you there, and it doesn't matter what Nehemiah's opponents or Ezra's intermarriers so, God will succeed, because He is the LORD, the only God.
But. The Temple is rebuilt and still the people sin. The people return, and Judah is an insignificant province. No one cowers before it, no one sends tribute, silver is not counted as stone. We need another resurrected King, and we need another returning temple.
Just as the end of the Kings, and the end of the Chronicles (which was organized to be the original end of the Old Testament) reminded Judah that the LORD was sovereign but that this wasn't the return to come, and this wasn't the King to come, so they remind us to look to Jesus. The resurrected King of God's people, the rebuilt meeting place, who brings us to the Father.
It wasn't the end of Mark that grabbed by attention this week, but the ending of 2nd Kings. Second Kings is a terrible sad tale of immorality and decline, both personally and nationally with very few bright spots. Probably written at the time, maybe as the official historical record, and then collected some time during or after the captivity, it shows how the northern kingdom fell further and further into the sins of Jeroboam, and how the southern Kings looked more like Adam's sons that David's.
Josiah is a great bright spot. Cut to the heart by what he discovered in the law, he wasn't content to let his reformation by personal, but removed all the altars of false worship from the land. I like the imagine him riding around on a horse, with a sledge hammer in one hand and a map in the other. And maybe that's how it happened, but maybe not. After he's gone though, the decline is quick, and Judah, God's leaders of God's people, find themselves in Babylon.
Second Kings, and, to a greater extent, second Chronicles exist to remind the exiles, and the returners, that the LORD hasn't failed, in fact, it's because He is the one true God that they find themselves in this mess, and the ending of both these books go a long way to show us that.
How does 2nd Kings end? 'Evil-merodach (what a sen.sational name!) king of Babylon...graciously freed Jehoiachin, King of Judah from prison...and every day of his life he dined regularly at the kings table.' So what does King Evil do? He releases the King of Judah from prison, clothes him and feeds him, every day. He resurrects him, essentially. And the King of God's people eats in the presence of his enemies. Everyone in the Old Testament is either Adam or Jesus and here's Jesus. Resurrected after catastrophe, freely dining at the Kings table. 'Faithful Hebrews', says the writer of 2nd Kings, 'it's going to be ok. Look for the resurrected Son of David.'
Second Chronicles ends with an even bigger surprise. To fulfill what was spoken through Jeremiah the LORD stirred the heart of King Cyrus to let the people of Judah go home and build a house for God. Wait...what? Cyrus is going to let his exiles go, and rebuild a temple to a foreign God? That's extraordinary. Remember, faithful labourers at the walls, that you rebuild because God has pout you there, and it doesn't matter what Nehemiah's opponents or Ezra's intermarriers so, God will succeed, because He is the LORD, the only God.
But. The Temple is rebuilt and still the people sin. The people return, and Judah is an insignificant province. No one cowers before it, no one sends tribute, silver is not counted as stone. We need another resurrected King, and we need another returning temple.
Just as the end of the Kings, and the end of the Chronicles (which was organized to be the original end of the Old Testament) reminded Judah that the LORD was sovereign but that this wasn't the return to come, and this wasn't the King to come, so they remind us to look to Jesus. The resurrected King of God's people, the rebuilt meeting place, who brings us to the Father.
Thursday, 4 April 2013
This is not the Son you're Looking For
The Bible is a book of promises. Or, perhaps better, the Bible is a book that fulfills a promise. The promise is that there would be a son, born to a woman, who would defeat the serpent. The Bible is the story of a search for this offspring who will crush the serpent's head.
Everyone we meet in the Bible is either a type of this hero (the good Kings, Noah, Moses, Joshua, Nehemiah, the bridegroom) or an antitype of this hero (the bad kings, Eli and Phineas, Cain). The story of Absalom is a particularly good and particularly painful example of this.
David wanted to build a house for God. This was a reasonable and Godly thought. Why should I live in a palace of cedar when God lives in a tent. God turns this desire around and tells David that He's the house-builder, and that someone from David's house will sit on the throne forever. If David was a good student of Moses, his mind would have gone to the promise to Eve of the serpent crusher, and then to the promise to Judah of a son with the scepter always beneath his feet.
Along comes Absalom. Is he the son? The early signs are not good, and frankly they only get worse. Absalom is actually an anti-type of the Son of David, and as the antitype not only does he look a bit like us, he also teaches us, by contrast, a little bit more about who to look for in the real Son of David.
Absalom fells the city following the incident with his sister and half brother. David graciously brings him home, and what does Absalom do? Immediately sets up shop by the city gate to undermine the authority of his father. David holds out his hand in forgiveness, but as soon as this forgiveness is enjoyed, Absalom takes advantage of it.
Is this not how we operate so often? We blaspheme grace by treating it as license. We come to God in contrition, and then turn from God in sin. We enjoy forgiveness, and then we sin again. And when I say 'we', understand that I mostly mean 'i.' Absalom shines alight into our hearts like the law, and we don't like what we find there.
Then, a few chapters later, we find the Son of David hanging in a tree. All sort so flashing lights should be going off here. Absalom is killed, against the commands of his father, and his father mourns, and division is wrought. Centuries later, the real Son of David will hang on a tree, and die at His Father's command. This death will not bring division between the Father and His people, but peace.
Absalom teaches us about Christ though contrast, he shows us what we are, and what we need. In the words of Nathan, 'we are the man' who defies and spoils the good King's offer of forgiveness. But Absalom is not the son we're looking for. He adds to the picture with darker shades that make the light shine brighter. As we turn the page on Absalom, we turn our hearts to Jesus, who gives us hope with His grace, and peace in His death.
Everyone we meet in the Bible is either a type of this hero (the good Kings, Noah, Moses, Joshua, Nehemiah, the bridegroom) or an antitype of this hero (the bad kings, Eli and Phineas, Cain). The story of Absalom is a particularly good and particularly painful example of this.
David wanted to build a house for God. This was a reasonable and Godly thought. Why should I live in a palace of cedar when God lives in a tent. God turns this desire around and tells David that He's the house-builder, and that someone from David's house will sit on the throne forever. If David was a good student of Moses, his mind would have gone to the promise to Eve of the serpent crusher, and then to the promise to Judah of a son with the scepter always beneath his feet.
Along comes Absalom. Is he the son? The early signs are not good, and frankly they only get worse. Absalom is actually an anti-type of the Son of David, and as the antitype not only does he look a bit like us, he also teaches us, by contrast, a little bit more about who to look for in the real Son of David.
Absalom fells the city following the incident with his sister and half brother. David graciously brings him home, and what does Absalom do? Immediately sets up shop by the city gate to undermine the authority of his father. David holds out his hand in forgiveness, but as soon as this forgiveness is enjoyed, Absalom takes advantage of it.
Is this not how we operate so often? We blaspheme grace by treating it as license. We come to God in contrition, and then turn from God in sin. We enjoy forgiveness, and then we sin again. And when I say 'we', understand that I mostly mean 'i.' Absalom shines alight into our hearts like the law, and we don't like what we find there.
Then, a few chapters later, we find the Son of David hanging in a tree. All sort so flashing lights should be going off here. Absalom is killed, against the commands of his father, and his father mourns, and division is wrought. Centuries later, the real Son of David will hang on a tree, and die at His Father's command. This death will not bring division between the Father and His people, but peace.
Absalom teaches us about Christ though contrast, he shows us what we are, and what we need. In the words of Nathan, 'we are the man' who defies and spoils the good King's offer of forgiveness. But Absalom is not the son we're looking for. He adds to the picture with darker shades that make the light shine brighter. As we turn the page on Absalom, we turn our hearts to Jesus, who gives us hope with His grace, and peace in His death.
Monday, 25 March 2013
Here's Your King
Probably the best way to read Judges is quickly. Move through it at pace, and then the awful themes become clearer. The repeated refrain that there was no king in those days, that everyone did what was right in their own eyes, the systematic moving through of the tribes of Israel, none of them left untouched by rebellion and poor leadership. Even the best of them are pretty rotten.
There are many things that these dark days of Israel's history teach us, but the desire of the author, probably Samuel, is to help us understand that without a King, the people perish. A Heavenly King of course, we need Jesus to be the King of our lives and passions and desires, but an earthly King as well.
And not the one that Samuel was serving under at the moment. If the sceptre was never to depart from between Judah's feet, why was there a Benjaminite on the throne! A Benjaminite, from the tribe spoken of in such despicable tones at the end of Judges. Samuel says no, he says that Kings don't come from Benjamin, they come from Judah. And then, as he dips his quill in his ink, and asks again for help, he turns the page, and tells us about Ruth. And he says, this Israel, this is where Kings come from.
I love the story of Ruth. It's a beautiful short story all on it's won. Love and romance, death and tragedy, intrigue and unexpected plot twists, it's got it all. It also has the coolest guy in the Old Testament for a hero. Boaz. Say it slowly and in a deep voice. Bo-az. So how is it about Kingship? Well has the end of the story ever confused you? It has me. Where do Ruth and Boaz go? Our two starcrossed lovers just disappear, and we're left with Naomi, sweetly bouncing her grandson on her knee. And a genealogy. One that takes us from Perez, though Boaz, to David. King David. This where your Kings come from Israel, Judah, not Benjamin. Where do Ruth and Boaz go? It doesn't matter, they've served their purpose in this tract on the benefits of a Davidic King.
So Israel, that's where your King should come from, but what should he do? He clearly shouldn't be like a King od the other nations, to ask for a King like that was a sin, and Saul wasn't doing a great job in teaching his people the law. Israel, your king should be like YHWH, like Boaz in fact.
What does Boaz do? He greets his bride as she comes in from the wilderness. He provides for her and protects her. He spreads his wings over her, even though he has no cause to. He loves her. They are betrothed, and he goes outside the city (Outside. The. City!) to fight off other suitors. Then they marry, and they can look at each other and say, I am my beloved, and my beloved is mine. Israel, choose a King who will do these things, who will take, and love, and sacrifice and fight for you.
Israel had to choose a King like that, and so do we. We need a King who accepts us from the wilderness, hairy, sweaty and unattractive. A king who will spread His wings over us. Who will nourish and protect us. Who will take us to Himself, who will leave the comforts of the city to win us. Who will be married to us forever.
It's no wonder Spurgeon called Jesus 'our glorious Boaz.'
There are many things that these dark days of Israel's history teach us, but the desire of the author, probably Samuel, is to help us understand that without a King, the people perish. A Heavenly King of course, we need Jesus to be the King of our lives and passions and desires, but an earthly King as well.
And not the one that Samuel was serving under at the moment. If the sceptre was never to depart from between Judah's feet, why was there a Benjaminite on the throne! A Benjaminite, from the tribe spoken of in such despicable tones at the end of Judges. Samuel says no, he says that Kings don't come from Benjamin, they come from Judah. And then, as he dips his quill in his ink, and asks again for help, he turns the page, and tells us about Ruth. And he says, this Israel, this is where Kings come from.
I love the story of Ruth. It's a beautiful short story all on it's won. Love and romance, death and tragedy, intrigue and unexpected plot twists, it's got it all. It also has the coolest guy in the Old Testament for a hero. Boaz. Say it slowly and in a deep voice. Bo-az. So how is it about Kingship? Well has the end of the story ever confused you? It has me. Where do Ruth and Boaz go? Our two starcrossed lovers just disappear, and we're left with Naomi, sweetly bouncing her grandson on her knee. And a genealogy. One that takes us from Perez, though Boaz, to David. King David. This where your Kings come from Israel, Judah, not Benjamin. Where do Ruth and Boaz go? It doesn't matter, they've served their purpose in this tract on the benefits of a Davidic King.
So Israel, that's where your King should come from, but what should he do? He clearly shouldn't be like a King od the other nations, to ask for a King like that was a sin, and Saul wasn't doing a great job in teaching his people the law. Israel, your king should be like YHWH, like Boaz in fact.
What does Boaz do? He greets his bride as she comes in from the wilderness. He provides for her and protects her. He spreads his wings over her, even though he has no cause to. He loves her. They are betrothed, and he goes outside the city (Outside. The. City!) to fight off other suitors. Then they marry, and they can look at each other and say, I am my beloved, and my beloved is mine. Israel, choose a King who will do these things, who will take, and love, and sacrifice and fight for you.
Israel had to choose a King like that, and so do we. We need a King who accepts us from the wilderness, hairy, sweaty and unattractive. A king who will spread His wings over us. Who will nourish and protect us. Who will take us to Himself, who will leave the comforts of the city to win us. Who will be married to us forever.
It's no wonder Spurgeon called Jesus 'our glorious Boaz.'
Monday, 18 February 2013
Reading Esther Like Christians
We've been looking at Esther together in Children's Church over the last couple of weeks, and, as we've done so, i've done my best to teach the 5 through 11 year olds in the class how to read Esther as if it were a book of the Bible.
There are a lot of problems with this, not least that no one ever seems to pray and wait on the LORD in Esther, people just do things (unless, of course, that is the Christian way of doing things, but more of that another time perhaps). The biggest issue with Esther i've tried to teach though, is chapter one, specifically, encouraging us to read Esther 1 as Christians, not as feminists.
A popular understanding of Esther 1 goes like this. The King has a party, get's drunk and wants his wife to entertain his friends. Poor Vashti, we think, and we applaud her bold and brave stand against this appalling misogynist.
but what if we were to read the book like Christians? What if we were to read this slightly odd book as if it were part of the Bible? What if we were to look for the same themes in Esther that we see in the rest of the Bible?
Let's move from the least important to the most. First of all, imagine if i held a dinner party for my closest friends, but Rachel is nowhere to be seen. We've obviously eating take out. Wouldn't i be weird if at some point i didn't want my friends to see my wife? To enjoy her company with me? It would be very strange if every time we had people over to our house i hid Rachel away. No! She is, literally, my better half, go get Rachel, and let's enjoy our marriage and our friends. There's no hint of misogyny there is there?
Second, Jeremiah Burroughs, by way of Dave Bish says, 'the lives of those who are married, ought to resemble the blessedness, as far as possible, the condition of a people reconciled to God...Married people should live so that all who behold the sweetness, the happiness of their lives, may be reminded by this of the sweetness and happiness which is in the church's communion with Jesus Christ.'
Which leads us to point number three. Look at the language and images used in Esther 1. Ahasuerus is the King of the known world, and he loves to share his abundance with his people. There is a 180 day feast, followed by a 7 day feast in the garden. What else do we find in the garden? White cotton curtains, violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rods. The feast, the great communion with the great king takes place in the citadel, in the inner sanctuary, which looks like a garden-temple.
And what happens on the seventh day in the garden temple? The queen rejects her king! The king wants to walk with his bride in the cool of the day, but she's hiding in the bushes and won't come out. She, like Adam and Eve before her, and you and I after her, rebels against the king, and is exiled from the garden.
If we really believe the Bible is one coherent book, telling one coherent story, then we shouldn't let whispers of that story in any individual book escape our notice. We should look at Esther 1 as a retelling of Genesis 1. We should look at Vashti and see our refusal to delight in the Lord's goodness. We should see the abundance of our King, our Maker, our Redeemer and our Husband, and not let anything stop us placing our delight in Him.
We should read Esther 1 like Christians.
There are a lot of problems with this, not least that no one ever seems to pray and wait on the LORD in Esther, people just do things (unless, of course, that is the Christian way of doing things, but more of that another time perhaps). The biggest issue with Esther i've tried to teach though, is chapter one, specifically, encouraging us to read Esther 1 as Christians, not as feminists.
A popular understanding of Esther 1 goes like this. The King has a party, get's drunk and wants his wife to entertain his friends. Poor Vashti, we think, and we applaud her bold and brave stand against this appalling misogynist.
but what if we were to read the book like Christians? What if we were to read this slightly odd book as if it were part of the Bible? What if we were to look for the same themes in Esther that we see in the rest of the Bible?
Let's move from the least important to the most. First of all, imagine if i held a dinner party for my closest friends, but Rachel is nowhere to be seen. We've obviously eating take out. Wouldn't i be weird if at some point i didn't want my friends to see my wife? To enjoy her company with me? It would be very strange if every time we had people over to our house i hid Rachel away. No! She is, literally, my better half, go get Rachel, and let's enjoy our marriage and our friends. There's no hint of misogyny there is there?
Second, Jeremiah Burroughs, by way of Dave Bish says, 'the lives of those who are married, ought to resemble the blessedness, as far as possible, the condition of a people reconciled to God...Married people should live so that all who behold the sweetness, the happiness of their lives, may be reminded by this of the sweetness and happiness which is in the church's communion with Jesus Christ.'
Which leads us to point number three. Look at the language and images used in Esther 1. Ahasuerus is the King of the known world, and he loves to share his abundance with his people. There is a 180 day feast, followed by a 7 day feast in the garden. What else do we find in the garden? White cotton curtains, violet hangings fastened with cords of fine linen and purple to silver rods. The feast, the great communion with the great king takes place in the citadel, in the inner sanctuary, which looks like a garden-temple.
And what happens on the seventh day in the garden temple? The queen rejects her king! The king wants to walk with his bride in the cool of the day, but she's hiding in the bushes and won't come out. She, like Adam and Eve before her, and you and I after her, rebels against the king, and is exiled from the garden.
If we really believe the Bible is one coherent book, telling one coherent story, then we shouldn't let whispers of that story in any individual book escape our notice. We should look at Esther 1 as a retelling of Genesis 1. We should look at Vashti and see our refusal to delight in the Lord's goodness. We should see the abundance of our King, our Maker, our Redeemer and our Husband, and not let anything stop us placing our delight in Him.
We should read Esther 1 like Christians.
Friday, 15 February 2013
The Preacher Says 'come with us...'
Warren Wiersbe said that ministry is the overflow of our relationship with God. Simply, that if 'ministers' in particular, and Christians on the whole, are in the business of offering Christ to others, they can not offer what they do not have. Someone else, i forget who, said that the problem with so much preaching is that preachers are like starving chefs who barely lick their own fingers. No heart warming ministry will flow out of a heart that has not been warmed.
On Thursday morning i read Numbers 9 and 10, Psalm 45 and Acts 17, and i saw some of this in action. The opening verse of Psalm 45 is 'my heart overflows with a pleasing theme...' What is that pleasing theme? The Handsome, God-blessed victorious King, who reigns forever and whose bride enters his presence with joy and gladness. This instructional love song was written and sung for the new son of David sitting on the throne of Judah, and is fulfilled the final Son of David, sitting on the throne of the universe.
This is a 'pleasing theme.' It's good to think about Jesus! It's good to stop and look at the sunrise on a cold, clear winter morning, good to stop and watch a cardinal pick about in your garden, good to slowly wallow in the truth of the Gospel. And this theme overflows. The Psalmist can't keep it in any more, praise is cascading from his lips for the king, and for The King. He invites others to sing with him, as they consider the beauty of this great King.
Moses does much the same in Numbers 10. It's nearly time for the camp to set out, and he wants his brother-in-law to go with them. Partly because he knows the lay of the land, he's a wilderness expert, and can help them on the way. But Moses is far more concerned about Hobab, at least at first. He says 'come with us, and we will do good for you...' Come to Israel, come to the LORD, come to Canaan. Abandon your false gods. Yes, for objective reasons of truth and helpful reasons of guidance, but more, come with us because we will do good to you. It will be good for you to be in relationship with the LORD and His people. It will be good for you to enjoy the promised blessings of Canaan, it will be good for you to rejoice in the atoning blood of the lamb as we celebrate Passover.
The LORD's goodness is a pleasing theme that overflows from Moses lips. He's tasted and seen, and now he says come and see. Is our preaching, our evangelism, the same? Do we offer a 'get out of Hell free' card, or do we offer a love stronger than death? Do we offer a new set of rules, or a king that will ruin our hearts for other lovers? Do you offer the Gospel to law-breakers, or to adulterers?
Paul's Mars Hill address in Acts 17 is the cornerstone for people who think that unless we offer a Gospel wearing a nose stud and laden with expletives we're doing it wrong. Look, Paul goes to Athens and meets them on their own terms. He doesn't really though does he? Hey, Athenians! God doesn't live in these temples you've built, God doesn't need your service, God is not unknown. If he was trying to be culturally sensitive at the cost of Biblical faithfulness he didn't do a very good job!
What does Paul actually say? Consider the God who loves you enough to give you the rain in it's season, who loves you enough to reveal Himself to you, who loves you enough to go to the grave and defeat death on your behalf. Not like the Greek gods, who were just bigger and more powerful people, with their jealousies and sins writ large, but a God who is fundamentally not like us. Paul says 'come to Jesus, and He will do you good.'
The Psalmist's heart, and Moses's heart and Paul's Gospel warmed heart overflowed with a pleasing theme, do our hearts do the same? As our hearts overflow, do our voices say, 'come with me, taste what i've tasted, see what i've seen, and it will do you good.'
On Thursday morning i read Numbers 9 and 10, Psalm 45 and Acts 17, and i saw some of this in action. The opening verse of Psalm 45 is 'my heart overflows with a pleasing theme...' What is that pleasing theme? The Handsome, God-blessed victorious King, who reigns forever and whose bride enters his presence with joy and gladness. This instructional love song was written and sung for the new son of David sitting on the throne of Judah, and is fulfilled the final Son of David, sitting on the throne of the universe.
This is a 'pleasing theme.' It's good to think about Jesus! It's good to stop and look at the sunrise on a cold, clear winter morning, good to stop and watch a cardinal pick about in your garden, good to slowly wallow in the truth of the Gospel. And this theme overflows. The Psalmist can't keep it in any more, praise is cascading from his lips for the king, and for The King. He invites others to sing with him, as they consider the beauty of this great King.
Moses does much the same in Numbers 10. It's nearly time for the camp to set out, and he wants his brother-in-law to go with them. Partly because he knows the lay of the land, he's a wilderness expert, and can help them on the way. But Moses is far more concerned about Hobab, at least at first. He says 'come with us, and we will do good for you...' Come to Israel, come to the LORD, come to Canaan. Abandon your false gods. Yes, for objective reasons of truth and helpful reasons of guidance, but more, come with us because we will do good to you. It will be good for you to be in relationship with the LORD and His people. It will be good for you to enjoy the promised blessings of Canaan, it will be good for you to rejoice in the atoning blood of the lamb as we celebrate Passover.
The LORD's goodness is a pleasing theme that overflows from Moses lips. He's tasted and seen, and now he says come and see. Is our preaching, our evangelism, the same? Do we offer a 'get out of Hell free' card, or do we offer a love stronger than death? Do we offer a new set of rules, or a king that will ruin our hearts for other lovers? Do you offer the Gospel to law-breakers, or to adulterers?
Paul's Mars Hill address in Acts 17 is the cornerstone for people who think that unless we offer a Gospel wearing a nose stud and laden with expletives we're doing it wrong. Look, Paul goes to Athens and meets them on their own terms. He doesn't really though does he? Hey, Athenians! God doesn't live in these temples you've built, God doesn't need your service, God is not unknown. If he was trying to be culturally sensitive at the cost of Biblical faithfulness he didn't do a very good job!
What does Paul actually say? Consider the God who loves you enough to give you the rain in it's season, who loves you enough to reveal Himself to you, who loves you enough to go to the grave and defeat death on your behalf. Not like the Greek gods, who were just bigger and more powerful people, with their jealousies and sins writ large, but a God who is fundamentally not like us. Paul says 'come to Jesus, and He will do you good.'
The Psalmist's heart, and Moses's heart and Paul's Gospel warmed heart overflowed with a pleasing theme, do our hearts do the same? As our hearts overflow, do our voices say, 'come with me, taste what i've tasted, see what i've seen, and it will do you good.'
Friday, 21 December 2012
God in the Storm
As a youth pastor, a lot of what i do is aimed at Wednesday night's teen church service. Monday's are spent in staff meetings, and then in a daze trying to remember that great idea i had as i was eating lunch the day before, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are sermon prep time for Wednesday evening, before attention turns to Sunday on Thursday and Friday.
So this Tuesday morning, i was reading and thinking through Mark 6:45-56. In the aftermath of the feeding of the five thousand, the disciples get into the boat, and (yet again) get into trouble on the tranquil waters of the Sea of Galilee. And of course, as you know, Jesus saves them. He meant to 'pass by,' but when they cried out He told them 'it is I.' He'd just provided bread from nowhere, and now He's controlling the waters for the benefit of His people.
John gives us a detailed account of the day after in chapter 6. The crowds return, but there's no free food and no revolution on offer, so they all leave. All apart from the 12. Whatever happened that night on the boat made them stick around when the easiest thing in the world would be to leave with the crowds.
So what happened on that boat? Matthew and Mark seem to disagree at this time. Matthew tells us that the 12 cried out 'surely this man is the Son of God!' Mark tells us their hearts were hardened because they did not understand about the bread.
What do we make of this, and what's the bread got to do with it?
Well we can piece it together this way. When they first saw Jesus, they didn't understand, but quickly after that, when they understood about the bread, they got it, and reacted as Matthew recorded. If Mark was writing in Rome it would make sense that he would want the first confession of Jesus as the Son of God to come out the mouth of a Roman solider wouldn't it? And Peter, Mark's source seems to go out of his way to shine the light on Jesus, and leave him the the rest of the disciples in the darkness.
But we still have to ask, what's the bread got to do with it? Well these guys grew up in Saturday School, they went to Junior Synagogue, or whatever, they were supposed to know their Old Testament. Maybe they started thinking, 'who provides bread from nowhere? Who controls the waves? Who passes by? Who says don't be afraid, it is I?'
Who provides bread from nowhere? The LORD in Exodus 16, and Jesus in Mark 6.
Who controls the waves so His people have safe passage? The LORD in Exodus 14, and Jesus in Mark 6.
Who would pass by? The LORD in Exodus 33, and Jesus in Mark 6.
Who dismisses fear on the basis of being who He is? The LORD in Exodus 3 and Jesus in Mark 6.
No wonder, when the 12 understood about the bread, their hearts exploded in faith! Who else were they going to trust in the storm except Jesus, who lead His people out of Egypt? Who were they going to trust the next day, in the stormy loss of faith, except Jesus.
Jesus didn't come from nowhere, His track record is second to none. In the storms, we can trust in Him, just look at what He's already done.
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
Jesus Tabernacled Among Us
And the word became flesh and dwelt among us
John 1:14
Martin Luther said this: 'we must both think and meditate on the Nativity. If the meditation does not reach the heart, we shall sense no sweetness, nor shall we know what solace for humankind lies in such contemplation. The heart will not laugh nor be merry. As spray does not touch the deep, so mere meditation will no quiet the heart. There is such richness and goodness in this nativity that if we should see it and deeply understand, we should be dissolved in perpetual joy.'
Think about Jesus as the tabernacle.
The Tabernacle was for use in the wilderness. Jesus was lead up by the Spirit into the wilderness. Matthew 4:1
The Tabernacle was outwardly humble and unattractive. (Jesus) has not stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. Isaiah 53:2
The Tabernacle was where God met with men. I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6
The Tabernacle was the centre of God's camp a gathering place for God's people. And I, if i be lifted up from the earth will draw all men to myself. John 12:32
The Tabernacle was where the sacrifices for the sins of God's people were made. But He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God. Hebrews 10:12
The Tabernacle was a place of worship. My Lord and My God. (John 20:28)
We do not understand the teaching of the Old Testament in all it's fullness unless we read it through Jesus Christ- His incarnation, life death and resurrection. The Tabernacle has absolutely no meaning apart from Jesus.
Taken from 'Come Thou Long Expected Jesus' Pages 18-19, 26.
Monday, 3 December 2012
The Sun of Righteousness
Of the many things that would surprise the 17 year old me about my life today (uses a mac, enjoys lasagna, makes a living from standing up in front of people and talking) perhaps the one that stands out the most is that i married a teacher.
The American day starts early, very early. In fact kids have to be at school fully an hour before i did when i was their age. That means at this time of year we see a lot of sunrises! A lot of blacks turning dark blue, then pink then light blue, a lot of frost being melted. I think Malachi would regard this as an advantage of marrying a teacher. Daily reminders of what Christ's coming will be like.
Towards the end of the final book in the Old Testament, Malachi tells us that 'the sun of righteousness will rise.' The Son is a sun. Why this word picture? Well because Israel were about to head off into 400 years of darkness with no word from the LORD, until John The Baptist showed up, but also because the sun does many things that the Son does.
The sun chases away darkness, and so does the Son. Daylight gradually moves from east to west, rising over my family in Australia, then my family in England, and finally here. It gets rid of darkness totally. Just like Jesus. He comes, and darkness flees, darkness screams and begs to be dismissed into a herd of pigs. We don't stand in our gardens at 3am trying to chase away the darkness, the sun rises and does it for us.
The sun frees us from fear, and so does the Son. I'm not really scared of the dark, and we live in a safe neighbourhood, as evidenced by the fact that we've occasionally left the doors unlocked all night, but sometimes a strange noise at 2am can be unsettling. How often our lives are like a strange noise at 2am! But with Jesus comes light, and with light comes the casting out of fear. We can see that noise was a squirrel running into a tree, we don't need to fear what;s just ahead of us. The Son is here, we can see and we can understand.
The sun brings growth, and so does the Son. This summer we had a mixture of ridiculously hot weather and tropical rain. And that meant the grass, plants, and sadly the weeds grew like crazy! As we're exposed to the Son, we grow. It can be argued that Christian growth is simply loving Jesus more and more. As the Son rises we naturally are drawn towards Him, as the sun draws plants towards itself.
The sun bring song, as so does the Son. Why do the birds sing? Because they are warmed by the sun. Should we not sing when our hearts have been warmed by by the Son? Christians sing because they can't help it. The wonderful things Christ has done for us bring us leaping out the stall like a calve, full of joy. Birds in darkness don't sing, maybe the same is true for Christians.
Perhaps the one advantage of being up early on dark mornings is to see the sun rise. The greatest advantage of Christmas is that the Son has come, chasing away darkness and fear, and bringing growth and joy.
The American day starts early, very early. In fact kids have to be at school fully an hour before i did when i was their age. That means at this time of year we see a lot of sunrises! A lot of blacks turning dark blue, then pink then light blue, a lot of frost being melted. I think Malachi would regard this as an advantage of marrying a teacher. Daily reminders of what Christ's coming will be like.
Towards the end of the final book in the Old Testament, Malachi tells us that 'the sun of righteousness will rise.' The Son is a sun. Why this word picture? Well because Israel were about to head off into 400 years of darkness with no word from the LORD, until John The Baptist showed up, but also because the sun does many things that the Son does.
The sun chases away darkness, and so does the Son. Daylight gradually moves from east to west, rising over my family in Australia, then my family in England, and finally here. It gets rid of darkness totally. Just like Jesus. He comes, and darkness flees, darkness screams and begs to be dismissed into a herd of pigs. We don't stand in our gardens at 3am trying to chase away the darkness, the sun rises and does it for us.
The sun frees us from fear, and so does the Son. I'm not really scared of the dark, and we live in a safe neighbourhood, as evidenced by the fact that we've occasionally left the doors unlocked all night, but sometimes a strange noise at 2am can be unsettling. How often our lives are like a strange noise at 2am! But with Jesus comes light, and with light comes the casting out of fear. We can see that noise was a squirrel running into a tree, we don't need to fear what;s just ahead of us. The Son is here, we can see and we can understand.
The sun brings growth, and so does the Son. This summer we had a mixture of ridiculously hot weather and tropical rain. And that meant the grass, plants, and sadly the weeds grew like crazy! As we're exposed to the Son, we grow. It can be argued that Christian growth is simply loving Jesus more and more. As the Son rises we naturally are drawn towards Him, as the sun draws plants towards itself.
The sun bring song, as so does the Son. Why do the birds sing? Because they are warmed by the sun. Should we not sing when our hearts have been warmed by by the Son? Christians sing because they can't help it. The wonderful things Christ has done for us bring us leaping out the stall like a calve, full of joy. Birds in darkness don't sing, maybe the same is true for Christians.
Perhaps the one advantage of being up early on dark mornings is to see the sun rise. The greatest advantage of Christmas is that the Son has come, chasing away darkness and fear, and bringing growth and joy.
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
The Bible Question is 'Who?'
We've been studying Revelation together for the past few weeks in Teen Sunday school. Last weekend we covered chapter 4, sort of leaving port and pushing off into the great unknown of the main body of the book. The stuff that i think my teens were thinking of when they asked to study this book, the many headed beasts, the woman clothed with the sun, the dead prophets in the street.
Something in us, and i think it's a good thing, wants to spend time puzzling these things out doesn't it? Something wants to tie down once and for all who the 144,000 are and whether the millennium is a literal thousand years, and what exactly happens during that time anyway. I'm no different. I was reading A Fire Kindled From Heaven again this weekend, and found myself wondering why i think the Puritan's have the Song right but Revelation wrong. It's ok to mix and match from history though isn't it. I don't even agree with Piper on everything (that's what i tell people anyway!)
I guess there are two equal and opposite errors we can make reading Revelation. We can either take it too literally, or not literally enough. If we make the first error we end up reading Revelation like Acts, trying to ascribe meaning to every detail, and missing the big picture. If we make the second, we forget that John really did see these things, and they really do have something concrete to tell us, and we end up missing the big picture.
And what's the big picture? Wrong question, who is the big picture? Jesus. Who is always the Bible question. Who does Abel tell us about? Or Joseph? Or Ahasuerus? It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It's not a text book for the end of the world.
This is clear in chapter 4. When you read it, the word throne stands out above anything else. So you can get caught up in the colours of His appearance, or who four things the living creatures signify. Or you can get your eyes on the throne, and bask, and join in with the worship of the creatures and elders. We can look around us and be discouraged whether in the first century or the twenty first, or we can look to the throne and see Jesus. See Jesus who holds everything in the palm of His hand. See Jesus who rules for His people.
This is the big picture isn't it? Not only of Revelation, but of the whole Bible. The question is who, not what. Who sits on the throne? Who is worthy of worship? Who is your beloved? Who is this man who commands the wind and the sea.
Jesus. He is the big picture, He is the answer to the puzzle, He is the key to the lock, He is the highest point of any superlative you care to name. And He is the point of Revelation. Let's get our eyes on Him.
Something in us, and i think it's a good thing, wants to spend time puzzling these things out doesn't it? Something wants to tie down once and for all who the 144,000 are and whether the millennium is a literal thousand years, and what exactly happens during that time anyway. I'm no different. I was reading A Fire Kindled From Heaven again this weekend, and found myself wondering why i think the Puritan's have the Song right but Revelation wrong. It's ok to mix and match from history though isn't it. I don't even agree with Piper on everything (that's what i tell people anyway!)
I guess there are two equal and opposite errors we can make reading Revelation. We can either take it too literally, or not literally enough. If we make the first error we end up reading Revelation like Acts, trying to ascribe meaning to every detail, and missing the big picture. If we make the second, we forget that John really did see these things, and they really do have something concrete to tell us, and we end up missing the big picture.
And what's the big picture? Wrong question, who is the big picture? Jesus. Who is always the Bible question. Who does Abel tell us about? Or Joseph? Or Ahasuerus? It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It's not a text book for the end of the world.
This is clear in chapter 4. When you read it, the word throne stands out above anything else. So you can get caught up in the colours of His appearance, or who four things the living creatures signify. Or you can get your eyes on the throne, and bask, and join in with the worship of the creatures and elders. We can look around us and be discouraged whether in the first century or the twenty first, or we can look to the throne and see Jesus. See Jesus who holds everything in the palm of His hand. See Jesus who rules for His people.
This is the big picture isn't it? Not only of Revelation, but of the whole Bible. The question is who, not what. Who sits on the throne? Who is worthy of worship? Who is your beloved? Who is this man who commands the wind and the sea.
Jesus. He is the big picture, He is the answer to the puzzle, He is the key to the lock, He is the highest point of any superlative you care to name. And He is the point of Revelation. Let's get our eyes on Him.
Monday, 19 November 2012
Jesus is the God who carries
Do you ever feel, perhaps in gray Mondays in November, that carrying on is about all you can do. Maintaining the status quo until you get to go back to bed is the best you can hope for? That in some situations, or a combination thereof, you've simply reached the end of yourself? Well then, my friend, Jesus is the God for you.
Isaiah 46 is written to the Jews in exile. Far from home, surrounded by pagan gods, their city, and with it their hopes, in ruins. They've been judged and sent far from home. How can YHWH be God? How can He be more powerful than Bel or Nebo? We're here in Babylon, and there's precious little hope. Hope hangs by a thread for the people Isaiah wrote to, maybe it does for you too. Chapter 46 brings us back to reality with a lovely bump.
Who are Bel and Nebo, asks the LORD? They're statues carried by beasts and livestock. Nothing special, or fearsome there. They need to be carried, they are a burden, they are the problem, they add to the problem. People of Israel, don't worry about a god who rides a beast to get around, don't worry about a god that can be picked up in someone's hand. Don't worry about a god who needs carrying.
Instead, verses 3 and 4 remind us, trust in the One who carried you. House of Jacob, people of God, you've been carried by the God from before your birth, from the womb. You've been looked after by Him since before you can remember. God has loved His people from the beginning. It's a holy, jealous, purifying love, which explains why you're in Babylon, but it's not a love that has left you. Nor will it ever leave you. 'even to your old age I am He, and to your gray hairs i will carry you.' House of Jacob, people of God, don't be misled by circumstance, i've loved you from the beginning, i'll love you until the end.
I'll carry you home again, Jesus promises. This section of Isaiah, 40-51, is full of reminders about the exodus. God will feed and water you in the wilderness, and God will bring you home. How? Well first He'll raise up Cyrus, who will change your location, and then He'll send Jesus, the true and better Cyrus, the One who rescues us from our real exile, who'll change our hearts.
Who has heard or seen a God like this, who works for those who wait for Him? So people of God, be comforted this morning, as you sit in exile, be comforted when it seems like all hope is gone. The twists and turns of your life end up somewhere good, not off the edge of a cliff. The Saviour is coming, the exile is ending.
Isaiah 46 is written to the Jews in exile. Far from home, surrounded by pagan gods, their city, and with it their hopes, in ruins. They've been judged and sent far from home. How can YHWH be God? How can He be more powerful than Bel or Nebo? We're here in Babylon, and there's precious little hope. Hope hangs by a thread for the people Isaiah wrote to, maybe it does for you too. Chapter 46 brings us back to reality with a lovely bump.
Who are Bel and Nebo, asks the LORD? They're statues carried by beasts and livestock. Nothing special, or fearsome there. They need to be carried, they are a burden, they are the problem, they add to the problem. People of Israel, don't worry about a god who rides a beast to get around, don't worry about a god that can be picked up in someone's hand. Don't worry about a god who needs carrying.
Instead, verses 3 and 4 remind us, trust in the One who carried you. House of Jacob, people of God, you've been carried by the God from before your birth, from the womb. You've been looked after by Him since before you can remember. God has loved His people from the beginning. It's a holy, jealous, purifying love, which explains why you're in Babylon, but it's not a love that has left you. Nor will it ever leave you. 'even to your old age I am He, and to your gray hairs i will carry you.' House of Jacob, people of God, don't be misled by circumstance, i've loved you from the beginning, i'll love you until the end.
I'll carry you home again, Jesus promises. This section of Isaiah, 40-51, is full of reminders about the exodus. God will feed and water you in the wilderness, and God will bring you home. How? Well first He'll raise up Cyrus, who will change your location, and then He'll send Jesus, the true and better Cyrus, the One who rescues us from our real exile, who'll change our hearts.
Who has heard or seen a God like this, who works for those who wait for Him? So people of God, be comforted this morning, as you sit in exile, be comforted when it seems like all hope is gone. The twists and turns of your life end up somewhere good, not off the edge of a cliff. The Saviour is coming, the exile is ending.
Friday, 16 November 2012
My Song Is Love Unknown
I don't know that there's a better way to spend fifteen minutes today than to listen to Toby Sumpter speak on 'my song is love unknown.'
Here's a sample:
It's ostensibly a message on 1 John 4:8-10, and is simply breathtaking in it's scope, and presentation of Jesus. Don't just have it on in the background, listen, read along, and ask God that He would help us know the love of Christ that passes knowing.
Listen here, and read here.
Here's a sample:
He told us that He would always come for us, always defend us, always protect us. And then we asked if He would mind if we married another husband. Would it be OK with you, if we had another King besides you, we asked, one day while looking out the window. You know, like the other nations? You aren’t like the other lords, the other kings, the other husbands in the world. We can’t see you, and the other nations, they can’t see you either.
When the knock came, we were nervous. But when we opened the door, we were surprised. We had never seen Him before, but He wasn’t how we had expected Him, how we imagined Him. He looked too young for starters, barely grown. He wasn’t handsome like we thought. And when we asked Him who He was, He ran out into the Jordan River and stood in the middle of the stream and smiled. John piled the water up over him, and a dove came down and for a moment we heard His song, like a low rumble. Remember? He called to us. The other men inside laughed at Him, but then He went on. Watch, He said, as He made His magic. He played with a brood of vipers, and He turned water into blood-red wine. Remember? He asked. And He went walking across the sea like it was nothing, like it was dry ground, and later, with a flick of His wrist, He pushed a legion of demons into the sea. He sang us His song on a mountain, and gave us bread in the wilderness, bread for thousands. Remember? He asked. Remember, how I love you?
It's ostensibly a message on 1 John 4:8-10, and is simply breathtaking in it's scope, and presentation of Jesus. Don't just have it on in the background, listen, read along, and ask God that He would help us know the love of Christ that passes knowing.
Listen here, and read here.
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
Jesus is Better Than Jonah
Typology is one of the ways we behold the glory of the Gospel of Christ in all of the Scriptures. The Old Testament is full of 'types' of Christ and His work. Most notably King David and the Exodus. Jesus Himself tells us that we can learn about Him from Jonah. He tells the people challenging Him for a sign that no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah. He warned His listeners that the men of Nineveh repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now someone better than Jonah is here.
So is Jonah a 'type' of Christ? Sort of. Jonah might be better understood as an 'anti-type,' and it's against his dark backdrop that Christ shines all the brighter. If Jesus is the sweetest, brightest character in Scripture, and obviously, He is, then Jonah is certainly the opposite of that.
Jonah comes across as an inveterate racist. He hides his faith from the pagan sailors and stamps his foot when Nineveh is saved. Jesus comes to bring the gentiles in. In Christ there is no race or creed or colour.
Jonah refused to go to Nineveh. God called him east and he tried to run west. He is determined that Israel will keep the blessing of knowing the living God to themselves. Jesus comes to give life to any who will have Him.
Jonah disobeyed, and complained and pouted. Jesus brings us the heart of His Father. Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of His nature. Jonah couldn't have been further from the Father's outgoing heartbeat, Jesus is that heartbeat.
Jonah is more concerned about his plant than about those who don't know God. Jesus is so concerned that He, the Son of God, was born in a stable to bring them in.
Jonah was angry enough to die because things didn't go his way. Jesus did die, laying down His life for the glory of God, and the benefit of His people.
Jesus is better than Jonah, thank God!
So is Jonah a 'type' of Christ? Sort of. Jonah might be better understood as an 'anti-type,' and it's against his dark backdrop that Christ shines all the brighter. If Jesus is the sweetest, brightest character in Scripture, and obviously, He is, then Jonah is certainly the opposite of that.
Jonah comes across as an inveterate racist. He hides his faith from the pagan sailors and stamps his foot when Nineveh is saved. Jesus comes to bring the gentiles in. In Christ there is no race or creed or colour.
Jonah refused to go to Nineveh. God called him east and he tried to run west. He is determined that Israel will keep the blessing of knowing the living God to themselves. Jesus comes to give life to any who will have Him.
Jonah disobeyed, and complained and pouted. Jesus brings us the heart of His Father. Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of His nature. Jonah couldn't have been further from the Father's outgoing heartbeat, Jesus is that heartbeat.
Jonah is more concerned about his plant than about those who don't know God. Jesus is so concerned that He, the Son of God, was born in a stable to bring them in.
Jonah was angry enough to die because things didn't go his way. Jesus did die, laying down His life for the glory of God, and the benefit of His people.
Jesus is better than Jonah, thank God!
Monday, 6 August 2012
Jonah 3
We've already seen in the first two chapters that the book of Jonah is about so much more than a man and a big fish. We've seen God chase Jonah as he ran away in chapter one, we've seen God answer when Jonah prays in chapter two, now we're about to see what happens when we repent.
Jonah is recommissioned in v1-2. Jonah is called again and is sent again to Nineveh, this time he goes. God tells him that Ninevah is a ‘great city,’ suggesting that He cares for it. The message looked like judgement in ch1, now it looks like grace. We see that God cares about Nineveh.
Verses 3-4 are the only lines of actually prophecy in this prophetic book. 40 days and the city will be destroyed. Jonah walked around for three days preaching. What would you do with a message like this? If you heard the call to repent, what would you do? How would you respond to being told that in a certain amount of time judgement, disaster, overthrow, was coming?
Nineveh repents in v5-9. They believe God and they repent. The message reaches the king, and he orders his people to put on the official clothes of mourning and repentance, and they wait, and they hope. Who knows? They say, maybe God will relent/ Jonah knew about God’s mercy, but didn’t repent quickly, Israel knew, but barely repented at all, Nineveh didn’t know, but repented. What do we know of God that helps us repent?
God relents in v10. When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster… Isn’t that a beautiful verse. God relented when the people repented. Jonah had won a whole city to the Lord with just one recorded verse of preaching. Nineveh repented, and God relented. The city turned away from their idols and towards the living God of the Bible.
So what would you do in Nineveh’s position? Would you hear the crazy preacher man and repent? If you’re not saved, then you are in Nineveh’s position, and this crazy preacher man needs for you to come to Christ and be saved. What did Jesus preach? Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. We need to hear Jesus just as the Ninevites needed to hear Jonah. We must hear, and we must repent. And when we do repent? God will relent. Jesus Christ is for all who will have Him. Turn from your sin, just like the Ninevites and have Christ instead.
As Jesus says in Luke 11:30 Jesus tells us that as Jonah was a sign to Nineveh, so will Jesus be to us. Jesus is a better sign than Jonah. Jonah was a miserable racist, Jesus shines from the pages of history with beauty and love. He calls us away from the things we love that would kill us to Himself, to ultimate satisfaction and fulfillment. He calls us away from judgement to life, He calls us away from death and away from sin. All of us are terminally curved in upon ourselves until Jesus calls us.
Jesus is better than Jonah, will we have Him today?
Jonah is recommissioned in v1-2. Jonah is called again and is sent again to Nineveh, this time he goes. God tells him that Ninevah is a ‘great city,’ suggesting that He cares for it. The message looked like judgement in ch1, now it looks like grace. We see that God cares about Nineveh.
Verses 3-4 are the only lines of actually prophecy in this prophetic book. 40 days and the city will be destroyed. Jonah walked around for three days preaching. What would you do with a message like this? If you heard the call to repent, what would you do? How would you respond to being told that in a certain amount of time judgement, disaster, overthrow, was coming?
Nineveh repents in v5-9. They believe God and they repent. The message reaches the king, and he orders his people to put on the official clothes of mourning and repentance, and they wait, and they hope. Who knows? They say, maybe God will relent/ Jonah knew about God’s mercy, but didn’t repent quickly, Israel knew, but barely repented at all, Nineveh didn’t know, but repented. What do we know of God that helps us repent?
God relents in v10. When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster… Isn’t that a beautiful verse. God relented when the people repented. Jonah had won a whole city to the Lord with just one recorded verse of preaching. Nineveh repented, and God relented. The city turned away from their idols and towards the living God of the Bible.
So what would you do in Nineveh’s position? Would you hear the crazy preacher man and repent? If you’re not saved, then you are in Nineveh’s position, and this crazy preacher man needs for you to come to Christ and be saved. What did Jesus preach? Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand. We need to hear Jesus just as the Ninevites needed to hear Jonah. We must hear, and we must repent. And when we do repent? God will relent. Jesus Christ is for all who will have Him. Turn from your sin, just like the Ninevites and have Christ instead.
As Jesus says in Luke 11:30 Jesus tells us that as Jonah was a sign to Nineveh, so will Jesus be to us. Jesus is a better sign than Jonah. Jonah was a miserable racist, Jesus shines from the pages of history with beauty and love. He calls us away from the things we love that would kill us to Himself, to ultimate satisfaction and fulfillment. He calls us away from judgement to life, He calls us away from death and away from sin. All of us are terminally curved in upon ourselves until Jesus calls us.
Jesus is better than Jonah, will we have Him today?
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