Gadfly's Muse

Acts 24-25-26: His Finest Hour!

Image: "Celebrating the Occasion", 2021, Severna Park, Md

Acts 24:5  For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

Acts 24:14  But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets.

Acts 24:24–25  And after some days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. 25 Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, “Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you.”

Acts 25:8 ...while he (Paul) answered for himself, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar, have I offended in anything at all.”

Acts 26:22–23 Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come—23 that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”

Acts 26:29  And Paul said, “I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me today, might become both almost and altogether such as I am, except for these chains.”

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In one of his finest speeches, Winston Churchill inspired his nation with these words: Let us, therefore, brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, "This was their finest hour."

It can reasonably be said that his words were prophetically true.  The UK has continued to be an important player on the world stage but its brilliance has dimmed considerably in contrast to those dark days when it stood, virtually alone, in pugnacious resistance to the demonic Nazi Reich.

It can also reasonably be said that chapters 24-26 record Paul's finest hour.  In these deliciously detailed chapters, Luke records for us enough of Paul's speeches and demeanor to allow us to know him as a man and a saint.  He truly is superb.  You can almost sense the "crackle" of the Holy Spirit's energy flowing through him.  His example and his words inspire us still.

As we glance through this reading notice how things have ratcheted up in the trials.  You know things are serious when they bring in the lawyers.  The NKJV says that the high priest brought down an "orator" named Tertullius.  The word "orator" is "rheotor" in the Greek language and it describes a man trained and experienced in rhetoric and law.  He was a lawyer, plain and simple.  He was also a good one.  His speech is a model of ancient rhetoric which I won't take time to describe but it has all the elements.  The Jews had learned a lesson:  Paul is a dangerous foe... argue against him at your own risk.  They brought in an expert.

What is beautifully apparent in the rest of the story is just how eloquent and learned Paul is.  He takes them on and surpasses them in their own game.  His orations are just as "professional" as was the lawyer's speech.  Notice how Luke describes Paul's critical speech before Festus and Agrippa: Acts 26:1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself.  This is classic Greek/Roman speech making... the raised hand (calling attention), the flattering exordium designed to win a favorable hearing... etc.  And then, to top it off, Paul's content in all these speeches is simply superb.  They are clear, compelling and of such power that Agrippa trembles before obvious implications.  Acts 26:28  Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”  This is Christian apologetics/proclamation at its human pinnacle.

Just a few things we ought to take away.  Notice that in spite of all his rhetorical excellence, Paul's power to convince was rooted in the clear truth He proclaimed and His zealous, self-sacrificing commitment to that truth.  There's a place for eloquence.  Sometimes "flowery" words accentuate a point.  But never, ever, must the rhetoric obscure the message.  When a congregation is more caught up in the preacher's or speaker's speech than they are in what he is saying, then we are no longer communicating the gospel we are entertaining an audience.  

But, on the other hand, we also ought to see how diligent training in rhetoric and argumentation (dialectic) can be used by God to bring about abundant fruit.  There is a strain of Americanism that simply distrusts intellectuals.  There are many good reasons why this is true because we have had our share of sophistical "academics" who had no idea of the realities of Christian life or the circumstances of the ordinary Christians to whom they spoke.  That being said and accepted, we ought to also realize that the Church of Jesus Christ in America has a long heritage of intellectual excellence and the appreciation of deep teaching by gifted preachers by the congregations they served.  I could give a long list of names.  It's not necessary.  Just reflect on the fact that many, if not all, of our most renowned universities, had their foundation as centers for training Christian preachers.

Paul, like Great Britain, stood alone before his inquisitors on those days.  It really was his finest hour.  We should all be prepared, like Paul, to stand at some point as did he.  We should not neglect to develop our skills and our knowledge of Scripture in that preparation.  And when we speak, let us cast away all fear, as did Paul, and in full reliance upon the Holy Spirit, let us clearly and with great skill, apply God's Gospel to the lives of all who hear us.  No matter how "big and important" they may be.

Daniel 1 & 2: Man's Frustration & The Will To Destroy

Image: "Steps In Time", 2020, Severna Park, Md.

Daniel 1:17  As for these four young men, God gave them knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

Daniel 2:10–11  The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

Daniel 2:21 And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding.

Daniel 2:28–29  But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. ...: 29 As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be.

Daniel 2:43–44 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

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Martin Buber (The Eclipse of God) tells of the time when a man said to him: "I have had the experience that I do not need this hypothesis 'God' in order to be quite at home in the world."  The man was probably quoting LaPlace who said it to Napoleon, but it is not unusual to encounter it today among atheists and so-called agnostics.  The idea of "God" to such people is a "crutch" for weaklings.  A person of sufficient character and intelligence can dispense with the idea of God and, along with it, the notion that history has some purpose or meaning.   Such people live in a world dominated by chance and "luck."  However, I believe that, more or less often, they have disturbing dreams.  And I believe, perhaps, as was the case with the man who spoke to Buber, that at some point such people might say: "I was wrong."

To some extent, Nebuchadnezzar was such a man.  He was "comfortably secure" in his position at the apex of Babylonian greatness.  He truly was "the head of gold" (2:38) because God had given him "a kingdom, power, strength, and glory.." (2:37)  But yet, as he lay on his bed at night his thoughts were directed toward "what would come to pass after this?"  (2:29)  The king was struck by the ultimate despair that settles in a man's soul when he contemplates the shortness of his own life and the high probability that everything he has ever striven to achieve in life would crumble and decay.  As the Preacher saw so clearly in Ecclesiastes, though powerful above all other humans on the earth, yet his life and his accomplishments were mere vanities.  

Such is the inevitable conclusion that follows every world view that denies meaning and purpose in life and therefore the necessity of believing in God who brings about such meaning and purpose.  Nebuchadnezzar was given a dream, Daniel told him later, to make known to him "what will be in the latter days." (2:28)  But the king was thrown into wild confusion by the dream.  He did not understand it.  He knew, vaguely, that the dream had to do with his fears and despair of his life and the future.  But who on earth could make sense of it?  Looking at it another way, the king saw indistinctly that no fallen human being, using only the tools of fallen humanity such as reason and science or philosophy, could in fact give him the answer.  Meaning and purpose for history have to come from outside of mankind.  This is what sets the king afire.

He rages against the "wise" men of his day. If man's wisdom cannot answer THE most basic question of life, "why am I here?", then it is useless.  The frustration that this recognition can bring was registered in the king's murderous intent.  This same frustration is present today when several recent generations of young people have been confronted with the teaching of so-called "wise men and women" who have taught them that "God" is not relevant to their lives or history in general.  Thus, these young people have no framework for understanding the world... the evils in it or the good.  The only thing that is left to them is passion.  They become driven by a barely perceived rage against "the system" and cities burn.  They have much in common with this ancient king.

But, Daniel tells the king, there is no foundation for rage.  The king and his kingdom are part of a grand narrative God is bringing about in space and time.  The king has meaning and purpose... in God's plan.  So will the kings and kingdoms which will follow him.  And ultimate all kings and all mortal men and women will find that their lives' purposes will be brought to fulfillment in a coming Kingdom that will never be destroyed and which will be constructed out of the works that God has done in and through people in history.

Every life has meaning and purpose.  Every life is directional and is headed somewhere.  Life is not about "chance" and "luck", that idea leads to nihilism and violence.  Life is about God and His eternal purposes.  This is what that old man came to see when he talked with Buber.  It is what we Christians need to be helping the world to see now.

 

 

Ezekiel 25 & 26: A Glowing Memory

Image:  "Golden Glow", 2020, Severna Park, Md

Ezekiel 25:17 I will execute great vengeance on them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I lay My vengeance upon them.” ’ ”

Ezekiel 26:14 14 I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the LORD have spoken,’ says the Lord GOD.

Ezekiel 26:20–21  then I will bring you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be inhabited; and I shall establish glory in the land of the living. 21 I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; though you are sought for, you will never be found again,’ says the Lord GOD.”

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The great ancient civilizations hold a certain fascination for me.  I love reading about their culture, military organization and tactics, politics, cities, and, well, their history as a whole.  At the top of the heap, of course, is Rome who bestrides ancient history like the colossus it was.  But the "lesser" civilizations, though world powers in their time, also are deeply interesting.  I think a study of history readily leads one to see that each had their own "personality".  Even when nations generally had the same ethnic foundation (e.g. Greece & Macedonia, Assyria & Babylon) something transpired to make them different.  

So, if we "go" with the idea of a nation having a certain "personality", we begin to approach the Biblical idea of "national angels."  In Revelations 1-3, the churches of Asia Minor are represented as having "angels" before Christ.  I think these "angels" are the spiritual essences of each church (in this case).  In Daniel, the angel Michael appears to be the "prince" overseeing the Jews.  

If such is the case we might think of God exercising judgment on the "angels" of the nations mentioned in these chapters.  In chapter 25 there is a litany of judgment against Ammon, Moab, Edom and Philistia.  God deals with each of them somewhat differently, and I would propose, according to their "personality."  Edom is singled out to be destroyed by "My people Israel", and unlike the judgment on the other three, it is not specifically stated that "they shall know that I am the LORD..."  Edom was related to Israel through their common ancestor Jacob.  As "kinfolk", Edom's treachery toward Israel was particularly egregious.  

Another special case is Tyre, the subject of all chapter 26.  Tyre was another fascinating culture.  Its main city, Tyre proper, was on an island in the Mediterranean a relatively short distance from the mainland.  It was (and is) one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world.  It literally was a rock in the ocean and when Ezekiel states that it will only be good for drying nets, he is most likely referring to it being brought back to its origins when local fishermen started living there in relative safety from the terrors of the mainland.  It became a tremendous maritime power.  It is credited with giving the name "Europe" to the larger continent.  From Tyre a people arose, called Phoenicians, who, ultimately founded Carthage. 

Here was wealth, power, and glory in the ancient world.  Tyre, by virtue of controlling the sea, was able to maintain its autonomy even against the great powers of Egypt and Assyria.  One can think of it as being somewhat like Elizabethan England, an island with its own ways, its own gods, and a somewhat smug, superior, dismissive view toward all the other nations.

God, through Ezekiel, said that was all going to change.  God says that Tyre will be totally destroyed... it will never be rebuilt (26:14).  The arrogance of the Phoenician people will fall.  Their great trading network will not save them.  Their island location will not prove inviolable.   God says "I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; though you are sought for, you will never be found again." (26:21)

It took Alexander the Great, somewhere in the 300 bc era to accomplish this feat.  Hundreds of years after Ezekiel recorded this prophecy, Alexander built a causeway from the beach out to the island-city.  That causeway essentially solidified over time and is now dry land.  The ancient site of Tyre is no longer an island but is just one sub-division in the modern city.

"Wait a minute", you might say, "if God destroyed the city, never to be built again, why is there a modern Tyre?" 

That's where that "angel" thing comes into play in my opinion.  The "personality" / "angel" of ancient Tyre was literally wiped out.  Alexander's rage at the Tyronians was so great (they held out so long) that he massacred the people, raped their possessions, and essentially the great "light" of Tyre was annihilated.  Never again would she be anything other than a subordinate, though sometimes prosperous, vassal city under other great powers.  The island city was rebuilt ashore (mostly I think for logistics reasons... there was no water or wood or stuff like that on the island... it had to be supplied from the mainland.)  Today, Tyre stands as being a site of archeological interest and an abiding historical study for people like me.  

But as far as God is concerned, the judgment was rendered and the "lamp" and the "angel" of ancient Tyre was no more.

God speaks of "angels" and "lamps" for peoples and there is no reason to not think, that our nation and the Christian Church within our nation, have their own "angel" and "lamp" before God now.  There is a distinct "personality" associated with these things.  As a people and as Christ's Church we need to be attentive to the example of Tyre and those of the seven churches in Revelations.  God is not Someone to disregard.  May He show mercy and give us more time to repent.  May He, through His Holy Spirit, so bring about repentance so that Tyre's fate does not happen again to us.

 

 

 

Jeremiah 52: Epilogue of Shame

Image: "Moody Marsh", 2016, Bombay Hook Wildlife Refuge, De

Jeremiah 52:28–30 These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred and thirty-two persons; 30 in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred and forty-five persons. All the persons were four thousand six hundred.j

Jeremiah 52:31–32  Now it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, that Evil-Merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in Babylon.

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And so the Biblical history of national Israel/Judah fizzles out.  As a people, their story continued.  The relatively few people in exile in Babylon will come trooping home.  The "lost" tribes of Northern Israel retained some ignominous presence in the area bordering Galilee.  In the New Testament, they are called Samaritans.  Jerusalem would be rebuilt and have a tumultuous history right down to the birth of Jesus.  After Cyrus restores the people to Palestine and gives the region some degree of regional self-government, there would come Alexander the Great and with him the Greek language and culture.  

After Alexander died, his empire was divided into four parts and Judah was part of the Seleucid division.  Around 150 BC the massive infusion of Greek culture and influence had so degraded the Israelite heritage that a revolt was staged under the Maccabees, a group of rebel warriors who wanted to reclaim the Jewish heritage.  They set up the Hasmonean dynasty, ruled by members of the Maccabean family, which was subordinate to the Seleucids but allowed a fair amount of autonomy.  It was during this period that several new sects were formed inside Judaism.  Prominent among them were the Pharisees and the Essenes.  The Pharisees, in particular, were convinced that only when Israel returned to strict observance of the Mosaic law that God would bring them out of a form of "exile."  They looked for the restoration of Israel and its ascent to prominence as a light to the world and an example of righteousness as it would enjoy the special protection and blessing of its Covenant God.

Thus, as Jeremiah's written text sputters to a close we see Babylon undertaking its rape of Jerusalem in stages.  There were several incursions accompanied by the looting of the temple and the removal of more people to Babylon.  The sordid story of Zedekiah ends with the horror of watching his sons die before his eyes and then having those eyes ripped out of his skull.  He spends the rest of his days rotting in a dungeon... a just punishment for a treasonous fool.  The story of Jehoiachin is a bit surprising.  The king who followed Nebuchadnezzar brings him out of the dungeon, provides him a measure of comfort and clothing, and allows him to eat at the king's table for the rest of his life.  No doubt he was a victory prize that the king showed off to visiting ambassadors to reinforce the glory of his power... but, at that point, I imagine Jehoiachin wasn't complaining too much.  There was also the witness of blind Zedekiah to remind him of the fragile favor he was being shown.

And thus the era ends.  

The Glory of David/Solomon is only a memory.  For centuries the people of God would be left in relative revelational darkness.  All kinds of speculation would arise about when and if God would send a Messiah.  Many eschatological, fanciful writings would be promulgated and a sense of urgency/imminence would pervade the people, especially the poor.  Rome would arise and build roads that God would use, along with the Greek language introduced by Alexander, to spread the Good News that Israel's Messiah had indeed come in due season.

The people of God were reduced to a pitiful shell of their former self.  They were powerless, strife-ridden, and held in contempt by their more powerful neighbors.  But their God was not powerless and they were not forgotten.

We should leave Jeremiah with this image in our minds.  We should see Judah lying desolate, Jerusalem in ruins, and the people as lost sheep without a shepherd.  This picture will define the scenario in which the Son of God would be provided.  He came to heal wounds, call His sheep, and claim His throne in Jerusalem.  Another sad image will be painted then as the very ones He came to save and to restore, refuse Him on His terms and rebellious reject the Wisdom of God which He embodied.

For that egregious sin, Jerusalem would again be destroyed and the Jewish people themselves rejected as the Covenant people of God.  The New Israel would be made up of sinners saved by grace, whether Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female.  This New People would be the Church of Jesus Christ and the gates of Hell itself will not withstand the war they wage on its dominion.

 

 

 

 

Jeremiah 7-9: Has Truth Perished in the Land?

Image: "Relics in Time", 2020, Severn River, Annapolis, Md

Jeremiah 7:5–7  “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbor, 6 if you do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, or walk after other gods to your hurt, 7 then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

Jeremiah 8:22  Is there no balm in Gilead, Is there no physician there? Why then is there no recovery For the health of the daughter of my people?

Jeremiah 9:23–24  Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; 24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.

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Jeremiah is an uncomfortable read.  That's not a new insight, ... virtually everyone who studies the book in anything other than a superficial manner, gets a bit antsy.  It's just so vivid in its descriptions and it is just so easily recognized as reflecting our own time.

Take, for example, Jeremiah 7:28:  “So you shall say to them, ‘This is a nation that does not obey the voice of the LORD their God nor receive correction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.

"Truth has perished!"  Do we not recognize the prevalence of that judgment all about us?  

What does this mean?  Basically, when truth departs from a society the people do not recognize or embrace any proposition or judgment that is higher than mere "opinion."  The idea of convincing others of a position or statement based on some considered perspective such that it becomes morally imperative for them to believe it... because it is the truth... is rejected.  In its place is colorful, emotional, passionate rhetoric that is almost entirely subjective.  Some person declares: "This is right!" and "That is wrong!" on no other basis than their own authority and desires and demands agreement by rousing up similar passions in their audience.

Counter arguments are shouted down because no opposing passions or positions are to be considered.  "Truth", understood as ultimately able to withstand all counterarguments because it is, in fact, true, is rejected.  It is no longer about seeking truth but rather manipulating an audience.  

The Scriptures teach us that we reap what we sow and this is happening now.  Decades of corrupting rhetoric passing for "education" in our colleges and universities have indoctrinated almost an entire generation with self-referential ideas and policies.  The most discouraging aspect of this is that it almost eliminates the possibility of dialog even as "dialog" appears at the top of the list of every demand.

The Church of Jesus Christ is supposed to be the "pillar and ground of the truth" in every society (1 Tim. 3:14-15).  Our current circumstance in this country, just as it was in Jeremiah's day and society, is a blazing indictment against the Church.  God did not point Jeremiah's finger at those nasty pagans in other countries and declare that they were what brought on this sordid situation.  Rather (9:3) God clearly pointed at His own people and those over them and declared: "They are not valiant for the truth on the earth."  He goes on to say "they do not know ME."  This is the severest indictment that can ever be registered against God's people.  To not "know" the living God is to be cut off from the whole idea of "truth" itself.

There is no "truth" unless that "truth" is absolute, eternally valid, and ultimately victorious.  Of course, we may have to resort to "provisional" truths on occasion in areas where no certain authority can be established.  But even then, we, by that very method, assume that acting in accordance with "provisional truth" will lead us to see it more clearly and establish its truth content more certainly or reject it entirely.  

The bottom line is this.  When God's people think of "faith" as more akin to "opinion" than embracing "truth", then we no longer are salt and light, a city set on a hill, or prophets of the living God.  We must be convicted of truth, convinced of truth, enthralled with truth, and inspired by truth.  The living presence of a separate people manifesting this character will make a difference in the world around us.  Such a people can be hated, despised, and ridiculed but they cannot be ignored.

Jeremiah spoke to his people of his day but in doing so he spoke to every generation of professing God followers that followed him.  And through him, God is speaking to us today.  

 

 

 

 

Proverbs 22-23: Perspective.... Balance.... Life

Image: "Backyard Beauty", 2020, Severna Park, Md

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 23:17–18 Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day; 18 For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off.

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It is inevitable that, sooner or later, as a father's sons progress toward man-hood, "the" talk has to happen.  It might be, as in my experience, more of a continuum of talks prompted by some situation or concern or question that occupies our minds.  Young men need guidance even if it is not always overt and obvious.  The primary duty of a father, in my opinion, is to instill values... cultivate character... and give the young man a solid perspective, a recognized balance in his views, such that the life he experiences will be fuller and more meaningful.

This is what we see happening in these parables today.  The father speaks so personally, so intimately, to his son in  23:15–16 My son, if your heart is wise, My heart will rejoice—indeed, I myself; 16 Yes, my inmost being will rejoice When your lips speak right things.  Can't you just imagine the sincere expression on his face?  Without hypocrisy he only wants what is best for his beloved son.  His greatest joy will come when he sees his son mature and walk confidently in the world, showing forth a wise heart and hearing him speak "right things."  This is the most lasting contribution a man can make to the world I suppose: to rear up someone to take his place, who builds on what he has constructed and to go further than he has gone.  That's a life worth living.

Notice how this father points his son's eyes to higher ground.  Proverbs 22:29 Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men.  "Short cuts" do not arrive at the same destination as "pursuit of excellence."  It is usually pretty clear when you hire out work to be done if the workers take pride in their labor.  "Short cuts" get the job done quicker and pay in your pocket sooner but afterwards, when the defects are discovered, people are less inclined to pay for new work.  Yet a man who "excels in his work" usually gets recognized... he may even be able to require higher prices for his services.  Such a man "will stand before kings" because in his field of expertise the rich and powerful want to hear his thoughts.

Young people are usually "in a hurry."   It takes particular attention to orient them toward "taking their time so as to do it right the first time."  However this lesson teaches more than utility... it breeds a recognition of "quality."  That is a valuable component of a life worth living.

Then there is Proverbs 23:4–5 Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease! 5 Will you set your eyes on that which is not? For riches certainly make themselves wings; They fly away like an eagle toward heaven.  Boy do we all need to reminded of this in our soft and affluent society (pandemic aside).  Here the fundamental teaching is to look through the surface presentations of wealth, prosperity, fame, success, etc. and see the flimsy foundation on which they are built.  "What the stock market gives the stock market can take away!"  This truism is very apparent in our current reduced economic situation.  Wealth, security and plans for the future based on those things, can evaporate over night.

A balanced perspective on life will not only survive such crises it may even discover new ways to serve.  The father calls his son to depend on his "understanding," the "big picture" of such things as wealth and poverty, good times and tough times, etc.  A person possessing Biblical balance on these things will not despair... they will see opportunities... and, they will not succumb to terror.  Such a person will be respected and his words shall gain a hearing.  Isn't that more important than riches anyway?

So these parables are about training up a child in the way that he shall go.  This famous parable has been an enigma to many because very diligent parents have, in fact, seen their children "depart" from their teachings.  Yet, I maintain, that when parents are not hypocrites... when the son or daughter sees the fruit of their wisdom evident in the parents' own lives... that such a teaching will not ever depart.  The child may rebel but he will know what he is rebelling against and, in the long run, he will turn out to be more like his parents than he might think.

The encompassing aspect of wise parenting though is summed up in 23:17.  "be zealous for the fear of the LORD... surely there is a hereafter and your hope will not be cut off."  Talk about perspective... balance... life! These things are part and parcel of a life zealously lived in the fear of the LORD!  A true and vital faith in God orients one toward the past as a guide to understand the present.  It focuses on the present in terms of the future.  There is balance in all things because the person is convicted that "there is a hereafter and hope will not be cut off."  

Truly these few attributes, cultivated in the lives of youngsters, will not fail to bring fruit in their season.  If our Lord has commanded us to "make disciples," and He has, then endeavoring to cultivate a Christ centered sense of moral virtue is, or should be, a prime goal of our parenting.

 

 

Psalm 138-143: Precious Thoughts

Image: "Glowing Colors", 2020, Severna Park, Md

Psalm 138:6 Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar. 

Psalm 139:1–2 O LORD, You have searched me and known me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.

Psalm 139:6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it.

Psalm 139:17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!

Psalm 143:8 Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You.

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Many things separate us (mankind) from the animal kingdom I suppose, but at the top or among the top of these is the desire to know.  We are not "at home" in the presence of mystery or hidden threats.  "Security" for us is attained when we have a somewhat comfortable life: where the status quo is generally understood, where our limits are well defined and accepted and where tomorrow doesn't pose any recognizable threats.

When things disturb our complacency the first thing we ask is "What in the.... is going on???"  We don't like the unexpected unless we immediately perceive it as joy.  Now, at its root, this means that what we really want to know, deep down, is that there is meaning and order in our life experience and that these things are at least dimly comprehensible to us.

In other words, as a famous philosopher once said, "all men desire to know."

Now a corollary to this is that we really admire that attainment of knowledge of "what's real and what's not real."  We even have a word for it: "wisdom."  And if we find someone who seems to have a grasp on the larger realities of life we think of them as "wise."  Wisdom is a very practical thing... it is not fundamentally esoteric at all... it is understanding of this universe and ourselves in it in such a way as to make sense of it all.  To a greater or lesser degree, the desire to seek after wisdom belongs to mankind alone and is deeply rooted in the image of God in which he was created.

At various points in these psalms the psalmist stands in awe of the wisdom and knowledge of God.  In 139:17 he makes it explicitly clear: "How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!  How great is the sum of them!"  He stands before the God of Wisdom Who alone is the fount of wisdom from which men may drink and is caught up in admiration of Him.  God's wisdom encompasses all things, all of our lives, from the time when we were yet "unformed" in the womb (vs. 16) to the end of the "days fashioned for me."   Everything in our lives reflects not only the sovereignty of God but His incredible wisdom.  It is He who guarantees that the seeming chaos that sometimes threatens to overwhelm us is not chaos at all.  In its own way it is the orderly outworking of God's wisdom, filling its time and place and then moving on, like everything else.

It is God's amazing wisdom to which the psalmist appeals when he asks God to "search me... and know my heart... and know my anxieties... and see if there is any wicked way in me."  He knows that God already knows all these things perfectly.  What He is saying is "use Your sovereign power to show for these things so that I see them as You do."  This is a scary prayer but the psalmist knows that this is the foundation on which God will then "lead me in the way everlasting." (139:23-24)

Continuing this theme in an equally scary manner, the psalmist submits to God's instruments for revealing his own sin to him.  In 141:5 he actually calls on God to use other people to confront him with his sin.  "Let the righteous strike me... it will be a kindness." (and other similar statements)  God's wisdom does not just encompass understanding the substance of our lives, He also understands the means by which we can be brought to participate in that wisdom... to know our universe, at least in someway, as does He.

It is the taste of this knowledge that we find so sweet.  It reveals God's "lovingkindness to us" and becomes the ground of our trust.  It breeds a submissive spirit in us so that we yield ourselves up to Him and beg Him to "cause (us) to know the way in which (we) should walk." (143:8)  Wisdom is attained by strenuous exercise at the hand of God.  It may stem from the practical reinforcement of every day decisions informed and subordinated to God's word.  It may be the fruit of long and penetrating meditation that, in turn, finds its way into other every day choices.  God's wisdom becomes our wisdom when we strain upward toward His sun and learn to shine with His reflected glory.

It is the stuff of contentment, no matter what comes, because we know it is His precious thoughts that determine all things.

 

1 Samuel 1: The Lord Who Hears.....

Image:  Focused on Task, 2019, Winterthur Gardens, De

1 Samuel 1:11 (NKJV) ¹¹ Then she made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a male child, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall come upon his head.”

1 Samuel 1:16 (NKJV) ¹⁶ Do not consider your maidservant a wicked woman, for out of the abundance of my complaint and grief I have spoken until now.”

1 Samuel 1:19–20 (NKJV) ¹⁹ Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned and came to their house at Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord remembered her. ²⁰ So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked for him from the Lord.”

1 Samuel 1:27–28 (NKJV) ²⁷ For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of Him. ²⁸ Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there.

It is passages like this that give us a glimpse into the "ordinary lives" of people who lived lives so different from us.  Our tendency when reading ancient history/scripture is to project our current attitudes, sympathies, perceptions and thought processes back onto the characters of that time.  It always amuses me to see late medieval art depicting scriptural stories and see how they painted them in costumes and armor of the artist's own day.  We all tend to do that more or less and it is a significant hindrance to our understanding.

Then we encounter a story like this one.  Hannah and Elkanah are presented to us in concise but clear prose.  We can enter into their lives if you will.  We understand what it means for a woman to be in despair.  What shakes us up is why this is the case.  Hannah is the "first" of two wives in the household.  As the "first" she ordinarily would have priority in respect and honor.  But the "second" wife, Peninnah has children and in that culture children represented the future.  In one sense it was how a man gained a type of immortality.  If he left children behind then his name would not be lost in the future.  His inheritance would not be divided up among relatives.  What this meant for the women was their positional status in the culture was intricately tied up in their ability to bring children to the man.  

Peninnah was jealous of Hannah because she was "second" and Elkanah clearly loved Hannah more than her (1:5).  Like far too many of us, Peninnah used every opportunity to make Hannah miserable and Hannah wept and prayed for "deliverance" from her "shame."  Elkanah, as husbands are prone to do, didn't quite get it.  In verse 8 he reproaches Hannah for grieving.  He thinks his obvious preference for her (giving her a "double portion" - vs. 5) was not sufficiently appreciated.  Then rising to the very heights of male logic he puts it plainly: "Am I not better to you than ten sons?"  I can't help but think that Hannah probably just looked at him in exasperation, shook her head at his ignorance, and walked away.  Elkanah probably went to the pub and had a beer and complained that he would never understand "that woman."

But the beauty of the story and its importance in the history of all that follows lies in Hannah's subsequent actions.  She is presented to us as a model of faith and submission.  She knows that her only hope is in the LORD.  She knows that if it is His will that she remains barren then that is the way it will be.  But she also knows that God loves His people... not only corporately but individually.  She knew that she, by covenant privilege, had the right to petition him directly... to lay her heart at His feet confident that He would understand her far more than did her husband.  If God willed, He could provide her with offspring... and specifically a son.  This was the desire of her heart and she did what countless men and women have done over the centuries:  she took her petitions to the Lord and she poured out her soul to Him in passionate but trusting pleading.

In verse 11 she submits her future to God.  She prays specifically for a son.  But notice that she vows that if God gives her a son that she will not hoard him to herself.  She will not insist that he stay with her and take care of her in her old age.  She gives up that claim, so important in that culture, and says:  "It will be enough if I have a son... I will dedicate him entirely to you.... all the days of his life."

What a beautiful picture of submission.  It was not entirely "self-less".  No prayer is.  Whenever we pray for something there is always some reason, important to us, for what we ask.  But Hannah's prayer was framed in a Kingdom perspective.  "Oh God, if you give me a miracle... a son... then I know that such a son, conceived in this way, would serve You powerfully and gloriously.  My heart would be content and I would bask in his career.  Please God... hear my prayer."

This is the heart attitude which God loves to foster in His children.  It is a prayer that fits the criterion Jesus Himself gave us.  "Whatsoever you ask, in My name, believing, you will receive."  He is not giving us some magic incantation.  He is saying that when we pray, according to His name which means according to His objectives and will for this world, in submission to what may be required of us, that prayer will be answered.

Hannah knew this!  Hannah rose from her prayer and (vs. 18) she was "no longer sad."  She knew God was going to do it.  When the son was born he was named "Samuel" which means "I was heard by God."  That tells us all we need to know about her and about her and our God.  He is a God who hears the prayers of faith.

 

Deuteronomy 25-27: From There To Here, History - It's Who We Are

Image: From There To Here, 2009, Vicinity of Harper's Ferry, Va.

Deuteronomy 26:5–10 (NKJV) ⁵ And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was a Syrian, about to perish, and he went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous. ⁶ But the Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. ⁷ Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. ⁸ So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. ⁹ He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey”; ¹⁰ and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’  “Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God.

The famous passage reprinted above should stop us in our tracks and require us to reassess a lot of things that previously we may have just taken for granted.

What God requires of His people in these verses is that the individual Israelite and the people as a whole should ground themselves in a definite history.  God wanted them, in each of their subsequent generations, to say with a sincere heart that the "Egyptians mistreated US, afflicted US, etc."  Certainly after decades and even centuries it would have been hard for young Israelites to self-identify with their forefathers in this: difficult yes - but not impossible.  Not only was it not impossible, it was highly to be desired.  God wanted His people to center their own self-awareness firmly in a historical context, to see themselves as individuals and a people, who have traveled or been brought, "from there to here."

The farther removed a person is from their historical context the more hazy it becomes.  The past can seem shrouded with fog, blurry, indistinct.  It is the duty of a family, a church, a culture to combat this.  History must be kept alive and nowhere is this more important than in our Christian faith. As with the ancient Israelites, modern Christians should view the events of the Old Testament and the New as "their" history.  The Acts of the Apostles does not have a conclusion.  The written text just ends with the cliff hanger image of Paul in a Roman prison.  This is intentional.  The history of the New Testament Church, which is the subject of the book of Acts, is still being written.

If we really take hold of this then we will understand more fully what Paul meant when he said: "know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham." (Gal. 1:7).  Through the wisdom of God which has opened up membership in God's covenant community by the instrument of "faith", all people today who have the "faith of Abraham" (Gal. 3:6) are thereby united into one world encompassing family.  We are the descendants of Abraham and the fulfillment of God's promise to him that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed.

God's Visible Church is like a powerful locomotive thundering across the tracks of time.  It is going "somewhere", a particular destination that is our certain hope, the "hope of Israel" (Acts 28:20), but it has also come from "somewhere", a particular history that encompasses the tracks that stretch out behind the train.

Now this becomes highly important to us because it is this historical perspective which must essentially define us as individual Christians and corporately in our Churches.  Certainly there will be, along our individual tracks, a certain history that is tied to our geographic and cultural heritage.  We all come from specific parents, grand-parents and historical context.  We cannot ignore how those things have influenced us.  But what we must recognize is that in the light of Christ and God's work in history, we must see all other influences on us as potential threats.  Paul, upon his conversion, had to go and rethink every thing he ever took for granted.  He had to sift through his previous thoughts and heritage and seek to preserve that which was 'true' but had to excise huge chunks of that heritage as having been false.

Paul became a new man with a new heritage in that experience.  Much of the doctrine of being "born again" consists in this same thing.  When Paul speaks of a "new creation" he is speaking of a "new" social grouping, the NT people of God, who now are to be viewed as a separate people, distinct from all other races, with their own cultural distinctives and most importantly, their own historical awareness.

The ancient Israelite was to affirm that "My father was a Syrian" along with all the rest and then he was to live in such a manner as to honor that heritage.  Certainly Christians are to affirm that "My Father is the Lord God Almighty, who has arranged all things in space and time, to bring me to this place where I can claim Him and all of the events of space and time, as my family heritage."  In doing so, like the ancient Israelite, this should move us to worship... to express gratitude for what our God has done... in all things but most especially in the salvation wrought by Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God.

How different it would be if the modern Christian church, in the United States of America, would embrace this self-consciousness.  We are the people of God who have not only a future with God but a history with Him.  Everything that has happened to us, is happening to us and will happen to us, must be understood through that lens.

Rich Man, Poor Man....

[image: Spring Flowers, 2014, JA Van Devender]

 1 Chronicles 29:12 (NKJV)

¹² Both riches and honor come from You, And You reign over all.  In Your hand is power and might;  In Your hand it is to make great And to give strength to all.  

My hosting web site has been on the blink again so I have not been able to post any blog entries, but a couple of days ago journalist Charles M. Blow published THIS opinion piece in the New York Times. 

Mr. Blow presents a couple of interesting statistics there (note bene - he presents only a portion of the total Pew Survey so the problem of selectivity as well as the problem of question phrasing has to be taken into account) that does highlight the radical difference existing between the liberal left (under the heading of Democrats) and the conservative right (Republicans) in this country regarding the general "sources" of poverty.

In these statistics conservatives (Republicans?) by a large percentage margin are more prone to link domestic "poverty" in individual cases to bad choices or moral framework (unwillingness to work) than independents and Democrats.  Conversely independents and Democrats, by almost identical margins, attribute the cause of "poverty" to structural issues outside the control of the individual and the presence or lack of "advantages" in pursuing wealth.

Statistics are numbers... that's it.  I do not dispute these numbers, I have not done anything other than a cursory check on this particular Pew Research study, but this I know:  the statistics do not validate either position.  The general framework and perceptions of either side may be completely right in contrast to the other or they may overlap in accuracy or whatever.  The statistics themselves cannot be used to validate either side.

First:  Either side could be right or wrong based on the prevailing context.  I do not believe, as a conservative, that massive unemployment and poverty in the 1930's was primarily because people didn't want to work.  That does not mean that the same statement can be made about the present economic divisions.  About the only thing that I would acknowledge as being consistent between the two eras, 1930's and now, is wrong-headed government economic policies that are ultimately stifling economic progress.  That being said, I do not see a "moral" equivalence at the working level at all.

Second:  I think it is foolish to believe that the two perspectives represent an "either/or" situation.  In other words, the economic disparity (which is a better use of terms in my estimation since the usual category of "poverty" in the US differs rather markedly from "poverty" in New Delhi or Zimbabwe) is rooted somewhat in institutional circumstances.  I do not believe any conservative would deny that wealth enables a parent to pay for prestigious schools that are viewed as giving their child a "step up" in comparison to other students who cannot do so.

BUT  .... isn't that one of the incentives to gain wealth???? So as to give your child a certain advantage they otherwise would not possess?  

So, a distinction has to be made in the analysis of "advantages" which contribute to economic disparity.  There are some "advantages" / "disadvantages" (such as race) which ought not to be so construed at all.  It is entirely legitimate to rail against such moral injustices.  That doesn't mean it is de facto justified to rail against a rich kid having opportunities that a poor kid may not possess.  There are different level of challenges and some are greater than others, but in a large perspective, recognizing exceptions exist, over a finite period of time, individual talent, work ethic and pure providence (opportunity) tend to mitigate those earlier advantages.

I got my under-graduate degree in Physics at the University of Southern Miss.  That is not up there with MIT, Rennselaer Polytechnic or any of those other "big" names.  Seven years after graduation I attended the Naval Post-Graduate school at Monterrey and some of my classmates came from schools of that caliber.  I was initially apprehensive but discovered fairly soon that we were all basically at the same level... what distinguished our ultimate standing at graduation was not our prior educational history but our individual native talents and the work we did (I did not finish first in my class by the way).  

After 7 years of Naval service we were all basically more shaped by our recent experiences than by our prior education.  Exactly the same can be said about people in the work force.  Early advantages may get you in the door but sooner or later (in the broadest sense) those advantages are not what keep you there.

So it is foolish to draw too sharp a distinction between these two views.  There are elements of truth in both.  It is the height of folly for a Democrat to think, that all else being equal, people will automatically choose hard work and delayed gratification (frugality) over slothfulness and instant acquistion of worldly goods.  There are more reasons for credit card abuse than simply the absolute need to put a few groceries in the fridge so that the starving children will have something to eat.  

So... as Christians... I think that we need to look at income disparity in this country from a more Biblical perspective rather than a knee-jerk, bumper sticker mentality.  I think that we need to remember that economic disparity is a result of God's sovereign ordering of history and that it is an indicator, a measure if you will, of His purposes at a given time.  Income disparity should not be taken lightly by Republicans and it should not be idolized by Democrats.  Income disparity cannot ultimately be handled only in the macro sense such that the ill effects of it are viewed as being subject to massive controls that produce positive trends.  Neither should the injustices that are in fact present in the culture be skipped over by just assuming that every person struggling to make a buck is a useless neer-do-well.  

Sooner or later, we have to see that God's purposes in giving or with-holding wealth is both corporate and individual and we need to approach the problem at both levels.  

All that being said, it is my opinion that the government is the least equipped body to address the issue.  It should address itself to the punishment of true moral offenders but the fundamental positive actions should be taken by those who possess the means to do so.  My favorite example is the Guiness family in Ireland and the positive role they played in addressing income disparity, gin addiction, slum living and spiritual malaise in Dublin.  

If and when wealth ever becomes viewed properly, as providing the means by which true help and wise measures can be instituted at both the individual and macro level, by the person who has pursued wealth with that intent in mind, then we can have some hope that the present circumstances will change.  And it would not be a difference between Republicans and Democrats but of common ground between the two.

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