Scripture tells us that we were made in the image and likeness of God. Because we know this, we can determine certain attributes of God's character. Two of those attributes are the importance of value and meaning.
Consider this: why do you do what you do? Do you eat because you can't help it or is there something else driving you? Because you understand the link between eating and living, you eat. But why do something to continue living? That seems like an odd question, but take it seriously. We continue living because for some reason or another we value life. Why do you choose certain clothes over others, certain people over others, certain activities over others? Value. We do what we do because we value the process, the outcome, or both.
But how do we assign a value to things? What determines our values? I value my children because of what they mean to me. I could go deeper into that but suffice it to say that what they mean to me determines the value they have to me. We value highest what means the most to us.
So much of our existence is based in the reward that comes from the people, places, and things that mean so much to us. There is an almost constant struggle to either gain that which means something or defend it. Look at your life. Is there any place in your life where you are not either going after something of value or fighting to keep something of value? In that struggle is so much of the awesome stuff of life! Like an amazing football game, the struggle for the win is the whole thing! We eventually learn to value the struggle itself over the object we are trying to gain. I value my relationship with my children and my wife, not because I own them and will never lose them, but because the struggle of the relationship is so full of danger and bliss.
Anything we truly value above all things involves risk. Remember wanting to go to Prom with that certain someone? Or how about asking someone to marry you? What about the risks of child bearing? How about starting that amazing company you've always dreamed of? Risk, risk, risk. We will struggle for what means the most to us. We will risk for it; even die for it.
Now, imagine for a minute that you are God before time began. You have all the power. All of it. Total and complete control. If you can create whatever you want and do whatever you want with it, how are you supposed to value it? I mean, if you give your children everything they want whenever they want it, they end up spoiled. Why? Because they did not have to struggle to earn any of it. We do not value things that are granted, that cost us nothing. So, if for God everything at the beginning of time was already granted, how does He value anything? I mean, what gift can you give to the Man who has everything?
Ok, here comes the scripture....
Gen 1:28
28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
Here we see where God tells man that man is now in control of this earthly realm. The implications of it are not readily apparent. Luckily it is spelled out elsewhere:
Psa 8:4-6
4 What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet
So, God created value by His own integrity and self-restriction! He is sovereign, He is all powerful, but He set up this earthly existence in such a way that He could experience wins and losses by the choices of His own children!
So what has value for Him? What means something to God? What could a mortal possibly do for The Creator that would have any eternal meaning what-so-ever? That we give Him the one thing He denied Himself: our choice. It's that simple. For Him it is no different than it is for us. We want our children, our loved ones, to choose us.
Have you ever thought about how much it tickles His fancy that you think about Him? I mean, that you are even willing to consider an invisible God who loves you must just make Him sing. We cannot please Him apart from faith because choosing to believe Him is literally the only thing we have to offer. He wanted it that way.
Thursday, December 4, 2014
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Hearing God - Triangles and Dolphins
Recently, God showed me a vision of me doing a HALO jump. When you jump out of an airplane at night from 35,000 feet, you really can't see where you are going. Under normal circumstances, that's not good. While hurtling toward the earth at 120 mph, it's really really not good. Yet U.S. Special Forces do it all the time. If they panic, they die. So, how do they maintain composure under such circumstances? Well, just because they can't see where they are going doesn't mean they are lost.
Nobody performing a HALO does so without provision. They have oxygen, a special suit, an altimeter (tells you how high in the air you are), and best of all they have training. You see, it's completely unnatural for a human to know exactly where they are headed and maintain composure without the use of their senses. Without training, nobody could keep from panicking in a HALO jump. The oxygen may keep you awake and the altimeter may let you know when the ground is going to greet you but none of your equipment will give you the one thing you need to remain calm: trust. Training gives you understanding of the purpose of the provision so that you perceive no lack and are able to trust that you are safe. I cannot see, but the altimeter gives me all the information my eyes would normally provide. I cannot breath, but the oxygen and mask feed my airway. I cannot land safely on the earth at 120 mph, but my parachute was specifically designed to slow my descent. I am safe.
This whole vision came about because I was talking to God about not being able to see. He said, "What do you mean?" I said, "Uh, what do You mean 'What do I mean?'" He said, "You can see just fine." Then the vision hit me. I knew that God putting me into a HALO jump was good and not bad. It came from Him. I've settled the fact that He's good. So I simply enjoyed the HALO like some kind of maniac. But then He said, "Why doesn't this scare you?" I replied, "Because I know You're with me." Then He immediately showed me the altimeter, the oxygen and mask, the parachute, the helmet, and the training. I understood and said, "Yes, I trust You." He said, "So, you can see?" I said, "Yes, I suppose I can."
Just to drive the point home, He started to show me things in scripture that have to do with perception. And He began to talk to me about imagery and sound, echos and shadows. He said, "You only truly see with your heart. And your heart sees in a way that humans are not used to seeing. Yet you can be trained..." Then He said, "Echolocation and Triangulation". "Huh?", I replied.
He showed me how Jesus constantly used natural concepts and ideas, imagery of things found in nature, to convey truths about The Kingdom. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed..." He showed me that even as far back as the prophecy given to the serpent that God used natural imagery to convey His ideas and purpose. It's for this reason that Jesus forever carries the title "Abraham's Seed" and "The Lamb". Then He said, "The natural is an echo of the supernatural." "That's one heckofa echo, Father." He said, "Well, I AM." I said, "Word."
Consider it, the account of creation reveals that He spoke creation into existence. His Word being spoken resulted in our physical universe being created. His sound created our reality. That's the very textbook definition of an echo. The Bible says that His word shall not return to Him void. What's it called when a word returns to you? That's an echo. So I said to Him, "We've discussed the whole echo dynamic before, Father. Why is it important for sight?" He said, "Echolocation. Consider the dolphin. Though their eyes work just fine under water, they can see farther and with much greater clarity using SOUND." "Whoa!", I replied. "But not just any sound. They interpret the ECHO so they can perceive the landscape."
Then He pointed me to Psalm 19. And then Romans 1:20:
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
The echolocation revelation also applies to my own utterance. I was made in His image so, like a dolphin, I can release my sound into the landscape and it will return with information. Likewise, I can also speak what He spoke and allow the echo of both our voices give me clarity. I see by both speaking and listening.
So I suddenly understood that the things that are seen should always point to the things that are not. They are an echo of a more clear sound; a shadow of a much larger figure. I recognize His voice in the echo. So then I asked Him, "What does this have to do with triangulation?" He said, "What is triangulation in the natural?" I explained, "It's when you determine the exact location of something based upon where it is in relation to 3 fixed points in space." We've all seen it on CSI or cop drama shows or action/adventure movies. In order to find a given cell phone, you can "triangulate" it's position by pinging it from 3 cell phone towers. Give me 3 points for comparison and I can always tell you exactly where I am.
He said, "You said before that you couldn't see where you were going. What if it's more important to see where you are?" "OK", I replied. Then He explained that I was capable of determining where I am in any context by using the following three points of reference: logos, rhema, echo. My position or location is always going to be relative to His. So I am only able to determine my position based on His position. In all cases I must ask myself the following questions in order to see where I am: What does the Word say about this (logos)? What is Holy Spirit saying about this(rhema)? What is going on in the natural right now(echo)? Based on the answer to those questions, I am fully aware of my own location AND His. In every instance I find that I'm always in one of two places: in Him, not in Him. If I'm in Him, who cares where I'm going? If I'm not, I know where I need to go for cover (hint: back to Him).
This is why the HALO vision was so important. In the natural you can't get a meaningful picture while you are in a free-fall. But if you add that piece of information to the Word and a conversation with Him, you have all the provision you need to perceive truth. Jesus, the prophets, the apostles, they all mixed information from the natural, scripture, and conversations with God in order to carry out their mission. They were all trained to see beyond sight. They used their heart as a sort of echo chamber to more accurately "see". All the places where scripture talks about your eye or your sight, it's referring to this kind of heart-sight. Keep your echo chamber filled with the sounds from above. Keep your echo chamber tuned to the frequency of light.
Now, as a small aside, God did not pick a highly-specialized military manoeuvre as a vision because it fit the "how do I see when I can't see" scenario so well. He picked it because The Body is being trained right now for Special Forces missions. Don't wait until you leave the plane at 35,000 feet to learn echo-location and triangulation. You may panic if you do.
Nobody performing a HALO does so without provision. They have oxygen, a special suit, an altimeter (tells you how high in the air you are), and best of all they have training. You see, it's completely unnatural for a human to know exactly where they are headed and maintain composure without the use of their senses. Without training, nobody could keep from panicking in a HALO jump. The oxygen may keep you awake and the altimeter may let you know when the ground is going to greet you but none of your equipment will give you the one thing you need to remain calm: trust. Training gives you understanding of the purpose of the provision so that you perceive no lack and are able to trust that you are safe. I cannot see, but the altimeter gives me all the information my eyes would normally provide. I cannot breath, but the oxygen and mask feed my airway. I cannot land safely on the earth at 120 mph, but my parachute was specifically designed to slow my descent. I am safe.
This whole vision came about because I was talking to God about not being able to see. He said, "What do you mean?" I said, "Uh, what do You mean 'What do I mean?'" He said, "You can see just fine." Then the vision hit me. I knew that God putting me into a HALO jump was good and not bad. It came from Him. I've settled the fact that He's good. So I simply enjoyed the HALO like some kind of maniac. But then He said, "Why doesn't this scare you?" I replied, "Because I know You're with me." Then He immediately showed me the altimeter, the oxygen and mask, the parachute, the helmet, and the training. I understood and said, "Yes, I trust You." He said, "So, you can see?" I said, "Yes, I suppose I can."
Just to drive the point home, He started to show me things in scripture that have to do with perception. And He began to talk to me about imagery and sound, echos and shadows. He said, "You only truly see with your heart. And your heart sees in a way that humans are not used to seeing. Yet you can be trained..." Then He said, "Echolocation and Triangulation". "Huh?", I replied.
He showed me how Jesus constantly used natural concepts and ideas, imagery of things found in nature, to convey truths about The Kingdom. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed..." He showed me that even as far back as the prophecy given to the serpent that God used natural imagery to convey His ideas and purpose. It's for this reason that Jesus forever carries the title "Abraham's Seed" and "The Lamb". Then He said, "The natural is an echo of the supernatural." "That's one heckofa echo, Father." He said, "Well, I AM." I said, "Word."
Consider it, the account of creation reveals that He spoke creation into existence. His Word being spoken resulted in our physical universe being created. His sound created our reality. That's the very textbook definition of an echo. The Bible says that His word shall not return to Him void. What's it called when a word returns to you? That's an echo. So I said to Him, "We've discussed the whole echo dynamic before, Father. Why is it important for sight?" He said, "Echolocation. Consider the dolphin. Though their eyes work just fine under water, they can see farther and with much greater clarity using SOUND." "Whoa!", I replied. "But not just any sound. They interpret the ECHO so they can perceive the landscape."
Then He pointed me to Psalm 19. And then Romans 1:20:
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
The echolocation revelation also applies to my own utterance. I was made in His image so, like a dolphin, I can release my sound into the landscape and it will return with information. Likewise, I can also speak what He spoke and allow the echo of both our voices give me clarity. I see by both speaking and listening.
So I suddenly understood that the things that are seen should always point to the things that are not. They are an echo of a more clear sound; a shadow of a much larger figure. I recognize His voice in the echo. So then I asked Him, "What does this have to do with triangulation?" He said, "What is triangulation in the natural?" I explained, "It's when you determine the exact location of something based upon where it is in relation to 3 fixed points in space." We've all seen it on CSI or cop drama shows or action/adventure movies. In order to find a given cell phone, you can "triangulate" it's position by pinging it from 3 cell phone towers. Give me 3 points for comparison and I can always tell you exactly where I am.
He said, "You said before that you couldn't see where you were going. What if it's more important to see where you are?" "OK", I replied. Then He explained that I was capable of determining where I am in any context by using the following three points of reference: logos, rhema, echo. My position or location is always going to be relative to His. So I am only able to determine my position based on His position. In all cases I must ask myself the following questions in order to see where I am: What does the Word say about this (logos)? What is Holy Spirit saying about this(rhema)? What is going on in the natural right now(echo)? Based on the answer to those questions, I am fully aware of my own location AND His. In every instance I find that I'm always in one of two places: in Him, not in Him. If I'm in Him, who cares where I'm going? If I'm not, I know where I need to go for cover (hint: back to Him).
This is why the HALO vision was so important. In the natural you can't get a meaningful picture while you are in a free-fall. But if you add that piece of information to the Word and a conversation with Him, you have all the provision you need to perceive truth. Jesus, the prophets, the apostles, they all mixed information from the natural, scripture, and conversations with God in order to carry out their mission. They were all trained to see beyond sight. They used their heart as a sort of echo chamber to more accurately "see". All the places where scripture talks about your eye or your sight, it's referring to this kind of heart-sight. Keep your echo chamber filled with the sounds from above. Keep your echo chamber tuned to the frequency of light.
Now, as a small aside, God did not pick a highly-specialized military manoeuvre as a vision because it fit the "how do I see when I can't see" scenario so well. He picked it because The Body is being trained right now for Special Forces missions. Don't wait until you leave the plane at 35,000 feet to learn echo-location and triangulation. You may panic if you do.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Containment - Old Testament Mercy
It was Jesus who defeated the enemy. So what was God up to prior to Jesus?
There are many purposes served by Israel, God's chosen people, but for the purpose of this post I want to look at localization. What I mean by that is that the Old Testament is centered around a single people or nation. God chose them above all other people. But why just one people? Why just a single Promised Land? Why did He give them The Law and Prophets and not, say, China?
We can't know fully what went on in the mind of God when He reached out to Abram. Were there perhaps others God considered who were slightly less faithful than Abram? Maybe. But God wanted to choose a single person out of whom to create a single nation to be His. Again, there are many reasons for this. I don't want to get into all the types and shadows and various purposes for Israel right now. What I want to focus on is the singularity of Israel and the localization of God's attention on the tiny plot of land called the land of Canaan (later to become Israel). Yes, I realize that scripture also tells us that God loved Egypt and Syria along with Israel but again they are adjacent to Israel both topographically and ethnically.
So, why choose a single nation? Consider the policy that the first Bush administration had on Sadaam Husein in the early '90's. They called it "containment". They realized that Sadaam represented a unique threat that was too costly to deal with head on and too costly to ignore. The idea behind containment was to allow Sadaam's regime to be however vicious and vile as they wanted provided it was within the borders of Iraq. As we've seen since we toppled Sadaam's regime, a direct confrontation results in the cancer of his corrupt regime spreading and finding footholds in other locations. While Sadaam was alive and in control, the cancer was....contained.
Now, consider Israel between the time they are given The Law at Mt. Sinai and the time that Jesus came. They seemed to be in near constant turmoil. They were locked in a constant ware/peace/genocide cycle in a single region of earth. It was Israel versus the world over and over. And time and again God commanded them, "Kill everything you find. Every man, woman, child, and animal." How seemingly cruel!! But what was really going on here?
To answer that question, we need to go back in time a bit further. Sin entered the world through Adam. Every man since, except Jesus, was born into Adam's blood line. We have a sin nature as soon as we enter this world. Cain was no exception. Cain was the world's first murderer yet how did God deal with him? He put a mark on him and sent him away. The reason for this is another topic for another time but suffice it to say that God has mercy on Cain.
Well, not long after Cain, Lamech comes along:
Gen 4:23-24
23 Then Lamech said to his wives:
" Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!
For I have killed a man for wounding me,
Even a young man for hurting me.
24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy- sevenfold."
Comparing ourselves to each other as a method of determining our worth, righteousness, or anything else instead of to God's holy standard leads to a moral decline. This is the very definition of the proverbial "slippery slope". It starts small with a single person like Cain who has the audacity to do something completely contrary to good sense (wisdom) and over time it becomes a societal norm.
Let me ask you a question: when did foul language on television become acceptable? Can you remember a time when it wasn't? That may seem like a lame example but it fits nicely. It also trended upward in time with television violence, sex, cynical story-lines, etc... How did it happen? Well, like murder, it started small and grew until it was a societal norm. The same trend can be seen with literally every societal ill or sin.
It was no different in the time of Noah (not to say we are in the time of Noah, though some would disagree). What started with Lamech, Cain, and ultimately Adam had spread like a cancer throughout all of humanity. God was only able to find a single family worth saving! It was so horrible, in fact, that God was hurt. The human race, save one family, was beyond redemption. So God obliterated them. There was no Jesus at that time to save them. They could not be born again and redeemed. In order to save the legacy of love God had started with Adam, He had to save Noah and destroy everyone else. Sin gave demonic forces a stronghold in sinful people so God wiped out the stronghold.
So things started over with Noah and his family. But there was still no Jesus yet and Noah was a child of Adam. Sin still reigned. Demons were not gone, just pushed back. It was only a matter of time before things got out of control and God would once again be forced to wipe out humanity in order to give a single worthy family a chance to continue the legacy of love. Due to the power sin had over us and our propensity to compare ourselves amongst ourselves, this cycle would seemingly have to continue forever. Demons working with the selfish hearts of men would threaten our species time and again. But God is smarter than that.
Let's skip ahead to God's next plan to stem the tide of corruption: The Law. The Law is amazing. God came to Israel in power and love to convince them that HE IS and that they can depend on Him. He established His authority over them and then gave them what The Apostle Paul called "a tutor" or "a guide": The Law of Moses. God's intention with the law was to cancel man's habit of comparing himself against his neighbor. The law clearly states right and wrong and punishes wrong unilaterally. If you break one statute, you are guilty. The Law made Israel afraid of God. It made them listen to Him and regard His councel above their own. He dealt with them severely to keep them mindful of right and wrong, good and bad, health and sickness. It's purpose was literally to keep the human race from going off the rails and devolving into another global Soddom.
After many rough starts with the law, Israel found themselves in the region of Canaan. Suddenly God is telling them to just massacre whole ethnic groups in the region! Ghastly! But wait, didn't these people all descend from Noah? And who were these people groups? Did any of them end up with demonic blood mixed with Noah's blood? Yikes. That sounds scary. What about their culture? Did they sacrifice newborn babies to demon gods? That doesn't sound healthy at all. Ok, I can see why you'd want to stem the tide of baby-killing culture. That seems like it will eventually result in the species self-destructing. But isn't genocide a little harsh? Couldn't Israel have saved them? Ultimately Israel did save the pagan cultures through Jesus. But as I've said before, He wasn't on earth yet. Why not? That's another topic for another time. Let's just say that God could not violate His own word in order to save mankind or the very universe would unravel.
So, like a scalpel God used Israel to excise infected tissue from the region. This set up a future dynamic of attraction and containment. Yes, finally containment! The mixture of the region of Canaan, The Law, and Israelites created what could be considered a demon honey-pot. Remember that demons are fallen angels who are very angry with God and very jealous of humanity. They are naturally attracted to whatever God is doing on the earth so that they can try to corrupt it. God decided what better way to keep the world safe from another age of Noah than to attract the vast majority of demonic activity to a single place on earth and against a single enemy on earth: Israel.
Demons got into the Somethingites and forged a culture. Israel slaughtered them. Time and again a nation would rise up and Israel would slap them down. Yes, there were plenty of instances where Israel was enslaved, worshipped idols, etc... The overall effect of God's Law, Judgement, and Wrath was to keep the human race viable for Jesus. In the fulness of time we see that God kept the enemy busy with Israel long enough for Jesus to pop into the mix and defeat him once and for all.
There are many purposes served by Israel, God's chosen people, but for the purpose of this post I want to look at localization. What I mean by that is that the Old Testament is centered around a single people or nation. God chose them above all other people. But why just one people? Why just a single Promised Land? Why did He give them The Law and Prophets and not, say, China?
We can't know fully what went on in the mind of God when He reached out to Abram. Were there perhaps others God considered who were slightly less faithful than Abram? Maybe. But God wanted to choose a single person out of whom to create a single nation to be His. Again, there are many reasons for this. I don't want to get into all the types and shadows and various purposes for Israel right now. What I want to focus on is the singularity of Israel and the localization of God's attention on the tiny plot of land called the land of Canaan (later to become Israel). Yes, I realize that scripture also tells us that God loved Egypt and Syria along with Israel but again they are adjacent to Israel both topographically and ethnically.
So, why choose a single nation? Consider the policy that the first Bush administration had on Sadaam Husein in the early '90's. They called it "containment". They realized that Sadaam represented a unique threat that was too costly to deal with head on and too costly to ignore. The idea behind containment was to allow Sadaam's regime to be however vicious and vile as they wanted provided it was within the borders of Iraq. As we've seen since we toppled Sadaam's regime, a direct confrontation results in the cancer of his corrupt regime spreading and finding footholds in other locations. While Sadaam was alive and in control, the cancer was....contained.
Now, consider Israel between the time they are given The Law at Mt. Sinai and the time that Jesus came. They seemed to be in near constant turmoil. They were locked in a constant ware/peace/genocide cycle in a single region of earth. It was Israel versus the world over and over. And time and again God commanded them, "Kill everything you find. Every man, woman, child, and animal." How seemingly cruel!! But what was really going on here?
To answer that question, we need to go back in time a bit further. Sin entered the world through Adam. Every man since, except Jesus, was born into Adam's blood line. We have a sin nature as soon as we enter this world. Cain was no exception. Cain was the world's first murderer yet how did God deal with him? He put a mark on him and sent him away. The reason for this is another topic for another time but suffice it to say that God has mercy on Cain.
Well, not long after Cain, Lamech comes along:
Gen 4:23-24
23 Then Lamech said to his wives:
" Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
Wives of Lamech, listen to my speech!
For I have killed a man for wounding me,
Even a young man for hurting me.
24 If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold,
Then Lamech seventy- sevenfold."
Notice that in verse 24 Lamech is speaking, not God. Lamech compared himself to Cain: "If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold..." Not only did he judge himself worthy of protection for having killed someone, as God did with Cain, he upped the ante and judged that since it was a murder motivated by self-defense it was far more worthy of protection than Can's--seventy-sevenfold to be exact. This is the first example of morality as determined by man and not God. This is how that dynamic is most clearly stated in the New Testament:
2Co 10:12
12 For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
12 For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
Comparing ourselves to each other as a method of determining our worth, righteousness, or anything else instead of to God's holy standard leads to a moral decline. This is the very definition of the proverbial "slippery slope". It starts small with a single person like Cain who has the audacity to do something completely contrary to good sense (wisdom) and over time it becomes a societal norm.
Let me ask you a question: when did foul language on television become acceptable? Can you remember a time when it wasn't? That may seem like a lame example but it fits nicely. It also trended upward in time with television violence, sex, cynical story-lines, etc... How did it happen? Well, like murder, it started small and grew until it was a societal norm. The same trend can be seen with literally every societal ill or sin.
It was no different in the time of Noah (not to say we are in the time of Noah, though some would disagree). What started with Lamech, Cain, and ultimately Adam had spread like a cancer throughout all of humanity. God was only able to find a single family worth saving! It was so horrible, in fact, that God was hurt. The human race, save one family, was beyond redemption. So God obliterated them. There was no Jesus at that time to save them. They could not be born again and redeemed. In order to save the legacy of love God had started with Adam, He had to save Noah and destroy everyone else. Sin gave demonic forces a stronghold in sinful people so God wiped out the stronghold.
So things started over with Noah and his family. But there was still no Jesus yet and Noah was a child of Adam. Sin still reigned. Demons were not gone, just pushed back. It was only a matter of time before things got out of control and God would once again be forced to wipe out humanity in order to give a single worthy family a chance to continue the legacy of love. Due to the power sin had over us and our propensity to compare ourselves amongst ourselves, this cycle would seemingly have to continue forever. Demons working with the selfish hearts of men would threaten our species time and again. But God is smarter than that.
Let's skip ahead to God's next plan to stem the tide of corruption: The Law. The Law is amazing. God came to Israel in power and love to convince them that HE IS and that they can depend on Him. He established His authority over them and then gave them what The Apostle Paul called "a tutor" or "a guide": The Law of Moses. God's intention with the law was to cancel man's habit of comparing himself against his neighbor. The law clearly states right and wrong and punishes wrong unilaterally. If you break one statute, you are guilty. The Law made Israel afraid of God. It made them listen to Him and regard His councel above their own. He dealt with them severely to keep them mindful of right and wrong, good and bad, health and sickness. It's purpose was literally to keep the human race from going off the rails and devolving into another global Soddom.
After many rough starts with the law, Israel found themselves in the region of Canaan. Suddenly God is telling them to just massacre whole ethnic groups in the region! Ghastly! But wait, didn't these people all descend from Noah? And who were these people groups? Did any of them end up with demonic blood mixed with Noah's blood? Yikes. That sounds scary. What about their culture? Did they sacrifice newborn babies to demon gods? That doesn't sound healthy at all. Ok, I can see why you'd want to stem the tide of baby-killing culture. That seems like it will eventually result in the species self-destructing. But isn't genocide a little harsh? Couldn't Israel have saved them? Ultimately Israel did save the pagan cultures through Jesus. But as I've said before, He wasn't on earth yet. Why not? That's another topic for another time. Let's just say that God could not violate His own word in order to save mankind or the very universe would unravel.
So, like a scalpel God used Israel to excise infected tissue from the region. This set up a future dynamic of attraction and containment. Yes, finally containment! The mixture of the region of Canaan, The Law, and Israelites created what could be considered a demon honey-pot. Remember that demons are fallen angels who are very angry with God and very jealous of humanity. They are naturally attracted to whatever God is doing on the earth so that they can try to corrupt it. God decided what better way to keep the world safe from another age of Noah than to attract the vast majority of demonic activity to a single place on earth and against a single enemy on earth: Israel.
Demons got into the Somethingites and forged a culture. Israel slaughtered them. Time and again a nation would rise up and Israel would slap them down. Yes, there were plenty of instances where Israel was enslaved, worshipped idols, etc... The overall effect of God's Law, Judgement, and Wrath was to keep the human race viable for Jesus. In the fulness of time we see that God kept the enemy busy with Israel long enough for Jesus to pop into the mix and defeat him once and for all.
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Value and Worth
The church has made a mistake in the days since the apostles. Take this portion of the definition of covenant as seen at BibleStudyTools dot Com:
He is a God of covenant. But why even introduce the idea of a bond if love is not to be served by it? And what love can there be without freedom of choice? Would you want someone to be forced to love you? What fun would that be?
I would have to disagree with the quoted paragraph above. A covenant only has worth if it is based on an agreement. Agreement requires choice. Choice implies equality between the parties. Am I saying that I am equal with God? No. I'm saying God came down to my level in order to grace me with the choice to love Him.
Phi 2:5-8
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
It is one thing for me to claim I am equal with God because I am great. It's quite another to say I have been granted equality with God because He is so incredibly full of mercy and grace. Still don't agree? Look at this then:
Rom 8:15-17
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, " Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Again, I'm not saying I'm God. I'm not saying He and I are the same entity. I'm saying we are sufficiently equal for Him to deal with me as a person and not as a slave. Reread that last scripture. I am God's child. Holy Spirit tells me this all the time. I am an heir to the Kingdom of The Creator. Not only that, I'm a JOINT heir with Jesus, who is God! Jesus and I are equal partners in the inheritance! All that Jesus has is mine!!!! Dude...
Gen 25:5
5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.
The pattern established in the Bible is that a father gives EVERYTHING to his son. All that He has is ours. It boggles the mind.
But why? Why did He do this? Why lower Himself? Why, God, why?
Isa 53:10
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;...
Luk 12:32
32 " Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
This seems to suggest that it pleased God to beat Jesus until He was unrecognizable. It pleases Him, our Father, to give us the kingdom. What an extreme way to deal with something. Why go through all that? Well, He had to give His all.
When Jesus was on the earth, He gave us His all. He went all in on establishing the covenant with us. He left no stone unturned. Every i was dotted and every t was crossed (no pun intended). He gave and He gave and He gave, like that book The Giving Tree, until there was literally nothing left of Him. He gave His wisdom to the disciples and the crowds. He gave them His healing, His companionship, His love. When He had given all of that, He gave still more. He gave His body over to be beaten, His flesh to be ripped apart. He gave His dignity and His privacy. He gave His peace and received our torment. Finally, He gave His life. He was all in. He quite literally poured Himself out.
The Bible speaks of His doing all this because of the joy set before Him. Wow. It would have to be something really really extraordinary to warrant Him giving, literally, His all in order to obtain it. What could possibly be worth that? I mean, it's like that old saying, "What do you buy for the person who has everything?"
Your heart. Remember, it can't be bought or sold. Your heart must be given freely or not at all. There is something about you and I that He values so incredibly much that He'd hand Himself over as a ransom for us. We are not His equals yet He regards us as such and therefore we are.
I wonder if the entire Bible is about winning our affection. I wonder if maybe we are being romanced into holiness even now. Could it possibly be that simple?
The covenants referred to above were between two equal parties; this means that the covenant relationship was bilateral. The bond was sealed by both parties vowing, often by oath, that each, having equal privileges and responsibilities, would carry out their assigned roles. Because a covenant confirmed between two human parties was bilateral, some scholars have concluded that the covenant Yahweh established with human beings is also bilateral. This is not the case. God initiated, determined the elements, and confirmed his covenant with humanity. It is unilateral. Persons are recipients, not contributors; they are not expected to offer elements to the bond; they are called to accept it as offered, to keep it as demanded, and to receive the results that God, by oath, assures will not be withheld.I would never presume to believe myself equal with God. The fact that I was created by Him resolves that question for all time. I am the clay. However, we are dealing with a God who is humble, full of mercy, kindness, and can only be described as Love.
He is a God of covenant. But why even introduce the idea of a bond if love is not to be served by it? And what love can there be without freedom of choice? Would you want someone to be forced to love you? What fun would that be?
I would have to disagree with the quoted paragraph above. A covenant only has worth if it is based on an agreement. Agreement requires choice. Choice implies equality between the parties. Am I saying that I am equal with God? No. I'm saying God came down to my level in order to grace me with the choice to love Him.
Phi 2:5-8
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
It is one thing for me to claim I am equal with God because I am great. It's quite another to say I have been granted equality with God because He is so incredibly full of mercy and grace. Still don't agree? Look at this then:
Rom 8:15-17
15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, " Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Again, I'm not saying I'm God. I'm not saying He and I are the same entity. I'm saying we are sufficiently equal for Him to deal with me as a person and not as a slave. Reread that last scripture. I am God's child. Holy Spirit tells me this all the time. I am an heir to the Kingdom of The Creator. Not only that, I'm a JOINT heir with Jesus, who is God! Jesus and I are equal partners in the inheritance! All that Jesus has is mine!!!! Dude...
Gen 25:5
5 And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.
The pattern established in the Bible is that a father gives EVERYTHING to his son. All that He has is ours. It boggles the mind.
But why? Why did He do this? Why lower Himself? Why, God, why?
Isa 53:10
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;...
Luk 12:32
32 " Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
This seems to suggest that it pleased God to beat Jesus until He was unrecognizable. It pleases Him, our Father, to give us the kingdom. What an extreme way to deal with something. Why go through all that? Well, He had to give His all.
When Jesus was on the earth, He gave us His all. He went all in on establishing the covenant with us. He left no stone unturned. Every i was dotted and every t was crossed (no pun intended). He gave and He gave and He gave, like that book The Giving Tree, until there was literally nothing left of Him. He gave His wisdom to the disciples and the crowds. He gave them His healing, His companionship, His love. When He had given all of that, He gave still more. He gave His body over to be beaten, His flesh to be ripped apart. He gave His dignity and His privacy. He gave His peace and received our torment. Finally, He gave His life. He was all in. He quite literally poured Himself out.
The Bible speaks of His doing all this because of the joy set before Him. Wow. It would have to be something really really extraordinary to warrant Him giving, literally, His all in order to obtain it. What could possibly be worth that? I mean, it's like that old saying, "What do you buy for the person who has everything?"
Your heart. Remember, it can't be bought or sold. Your heart must be given freely or not at all. There is something about you and I that He values so incredibly much that He'd hand Himself over as a ransom for us. We are not His equals yet He regards us as such and therefore we are.
I wonder if the entire Bible is about winning our affection. I wonder if maybe we are being romanced into holiness even now. Could it possibly be that simple?
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Homosexuals
Some of this will sound harsh but please stick with it until the end. I want to try to reveal something that I believe God has shown me. Prayerfully consider what I've written here.
There has been much talk lately about Vicky Beeching coming out as gay. Homosexuality one of the most polarizing topics in all the western world. Sadly, it's also one of if not THE MOST polarizing topic in the church.
Let me get this over with right off the bat: sex outside of marriage is a sin. God defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman for all time. Are homosexuals living in sin? Let me answer that question with another question. Is it a sin to worry that you won't be able to pay your bills? Now, if that happens every pay period, are you living in sin?
Many would answer, "Oh but brother, that's different." Well, since we are using the written word of God as our measuring stick, let's see what it says about sin:
James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
Do you understand that according to God's standard of righteousness you are as a homosexual to Him when you worry? When you lust. When you lie. When you do not believe. In His eyes, you are equal. Let's go one verse back and see what James was writing about in the first place:
James 2:8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well; 9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
Do you allow those who self-identify as gay into your church? Do you approach them as "gay" people when you encounter them in public or online? That's partiality. Here's how I define being non-partial:
2 Cor 5:14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus:that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
When I approach someone as any identity they've given themselves or any identity the world has given them (drunk, athiest, porn addict, drug addict, lawyer), I have unwittingly regarded them according to the flesh. To speak to a person as a homosexual is to disregard that person as God's dear child. You are saying that their highest identity is defined by their sexual habits instead of the reason and purpose for which God created them. Look at what Paul wrote! We are "compelled by love" to "regard no one according to the flesh" because Christ is "reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses against them". Jesus died once for all. All means all. We are defined by the value God placed on our lives: the life of Jesus.
He gave us the ministry of reconciliation. It's up to us. If we turn people away because they call themselves drunks or budhists or porn stars or gay, they will remain turned away. That's the deal. This whole thing isn't about protecting ourselves from their icky sin, it's about being compelled by love to reconcile the lost back to their Father.
I can hear some still saying, "But brother, it's a sin and there's just no way around that." Those who are NOT lost do not need to be reconciled. And as long as you are on a hunt for sin, you'll never get to the harvest. This is how Jesus put it:
Matt 23:13 " But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in."
Jesus did not ask for a group of Separated Ones whose job it is to keep the church clean of all sin. How dare you. The gospel is not about sin. It's about grace. When you see a person for their sin, you tread under foot what Jesus did for you and the other person. When you speak against a person, you murder them. What if this isn't about homosexuality at all? What if this is about seeing clearly?
What if you can't see past the flesh of others because you've never seen yourself apart from your physical nature? What if you can't give grace to some people because you never received it for yourself? "For you neither go in yourselves..."
Consider what Paul said after talking about those who practice all kinds of imorality:
Romans 2:3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who "will render to each one according to his deeds": 7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but to those who are self- seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness — indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.
Guys, we are free from fighting sin both in ourselves and in others. Do you not know that it's the goodness of God that leads you to repentance? If you have it on your heart to save those who revel in their sin, then magnify HIS goodness to them. If you don't have it on your heart to do that, then magnify His goodness to yourself!
We did not earn salvation and The Kingdom is never in danger. Remember that there is a very real enemy out there and it's not flesh and blood. It operates in deception so that it can steal, kill, and destroy. I refuse to empower the deception by even acknowledging it. I'd rather speak things that are not as though they are. I'd rather show tenderness, mercy, kindness, and patience to those who do not yet see how valuable they are. We are better than we have been in the past and we are getting even better. Please, love one another as He has loved us.
There has been much talk lately about Vicky Beeching coming out as gay. Homosexuality one of the most polarizing topics in all the western world. Sadly, it's also one of if not THE MOST polarizing topic in the church.
Let me get this over with right off the bat: sex outside of marriage is a sin. God defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman for all time. Are homosexuals living in sin? Let me answer that question with another question. Is it a sin to worry that you won't be able to pay your bills? Now, if that happens every pay period, are you living in sin?
Many would answer, "Oh but brother, that's different." Well, since we are using the written word of God as our measuring stick, let's see what it says about sin:
James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.
Do you understand that according to God's standard of righteousness you are as a homosexual to Him when you worry? When you lust. When you lie. When you do not believe. In His eyes, you are equal. Let's go one verse back and see what James was writing about in the first place:
James 2:8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well; 9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
Do you allow those who self-identify as gay into your church? Do you approach them as "gay" people when you encounter them in public or online? That's partiality. Here's how I define being non-partial:
2 Cor 5:14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus:that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.
16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
When I approach someone as any identity they've given themselves or any identity the world has given them (drunk, athiest, porn addict, drug addict, lawyer), I have unwittingly regarded them according to the flesh. To speak to a person as a homosexual is to disregard that person as God's dear child. You are saying that their highest identity is defined by their sexual habits instead of the reason and purpose for which God created them. Look at what Paul wrote! We are "compelled by love" to "regard no one according to the flesh" because Christ is "reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses against them". Jesus died once for all. All means all. We are defined by the value God placed on our lives: the life of Jesus.
He gave us the ministry of reconciliation. It's up to us. If we turn people away because they call themselves drunks or budhists or porn stars or gay, they will remain turned away. That's the deal. This whole thing isn't about protecting ourselves from their icky sin, it's about being compelled by love to reconcile the lost back to their Father.
I can hear some still saying, "But brother, it's a sin and there's just no way around that." Those who are NOT lost do not need to be reconciled. And as long as you are on a hunt for sin, you'll never get to the harvest. This is how Jesus put it:
Matt 23:13 " But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in."
Jesus did not ask for a group of Separated Ones whose job it is to keep the church clean of all sin. How dare you. The gospel is not about sin. It's about grace. When you see a person for their sin, you tread under foot what Jesus did for you and the other person. When you speak against a person, you murder them. What if this isn't about homosexuality at all? What if this is about seeing clearly?
What if you can't see past the flesh of others because you've never seen yourself apart from your physical nature? What if you can't give grace to some people because you never received it for yourself? "For you neither go in yourselves..."
Consider what Paul said after talking about those who practice all kinds of imorality:
Romans 2:3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who "will render to each one according to his deeds": 7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but to those who are self- seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness — indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.
Guys, we are free from fighting sin both in ourselves and in others. Do you not know that it's the goodness of God that leads you to repentance? If you have it on your heart to save those who revel in their sin, then magnify HIS goodness to them. If you don't have it on your heart to do that, then magnify His goodness to yourself!
We did not earn salvation and The Kingdom is never in danger. Remember that there is a very real enemy out there and it's not flesh and blood. It operates in deception so that it can steal, kill, and destroy. I refuse to empower the deception by even acknowledging it. I'd rather speak things that are not as though they are. I'd rather show tenderness, mercy, kindness, and patience to those who do not yet see how valuable they are. We are better than we have been in the past and we are getting even better. Please, love one another as He has loved us.
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Friday, May 9, 2014
Hear or Obey?
Something significant happened in the time period represented between Exodus 19:5 and Exodus 19:9. Here's the New King James Version of that portion of scripture:
Exodus 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. ' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."
7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do." So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. 9 And the Lord said to Moses, " Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever."
Notice in verse 5 that God tells Moses to relay a message to Israel. We are all familiar with the promise He lays out: "you shall be a special treasure to Me". We are even more familiar with the promise He makes in verse 6. We totally grasp the whole "kingdom of priests and holy nation" concept. But do we understand what God was actually saying in verse 5? It's a conditional covenant. God lays it out like this: "If you do this, I will do this." It's been translated as "if you will indeed obey My voice". That's His condition, as translated by King Jimmy. But the two words "indeed" and "obey" are actually the same exact Hebrew word: shema.
I have highlighted the parts of the scripture that stand out to me. Notice how God presents this covenant as pertaining to how Israel responds to His voice in verse 5 but then in verse 9 He seems to change it to how Israel responds to the voice of Moses. Why the switch? Why did it go from Israel "shema" the voice of God to Israel believing what God tells Moses? Why did God suddenly make Moses the intermediary "forever"?
The key is in the meaning of the word shema. One of it's meanings is indeed "to obey". But check out the significance of the word in Hebrew tradition as explained here. The Shema is a specific and highly important hebrew prayer that goes like this:
"One Lord Our God The Lord O Israel Hear!"
Shema also means "to hear" or "to listen intently". It also means "to understand" or "to hear for understanding". If we approach Exodus 19 from the perspective that God wants us to follow His rules, then the word "shema" would certainly mean "obey". But if we approach Exodus 19 from the perspective that He wants "a special treasure", as He said was His intent, perhaps "shema" means "to hear". Since both "indeed" and "obey" were both the word "shema", perhaps what God was really saying was "hear me and understand".
Consider the passage re translated with "hear" and "understand":
Now therefore, if you will hear and understand My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. ' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."
That changes things quite a bit, doesn't it? So, why did God then tell Moses, "that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever"? Look at verse 8 in light of my re translation:
"...All that the Lord has spoken, we will do..."
He didn't ask them to DO anything. He wanted their ear. He told them in the previous verses how He lead them out of Egypt "on eagles wings", i.e. with NO EFFORT of their own. And yet instead of listening the very voice of the One who had saved them, they said they will simply do what He says to do. He presents Himself as a lover and they responded to Him like a taskmaster. He called them a special treasure and they responded to Him like a tool (literally and figuratively).
From that very moment, Exodus seems to just go down hill. God showed them that He will do it all for them. He didn't want to give them a set of rules and regulations but it was the only thing they were willing to accept. They wanted to relate to God, not as a treasure, but as peers. They wanted to be righteous of their own accord. God just wanted a people of His own. He just wanted a partner, a lover, a bride.
The Law came as a result of the delusion that Israel could justify itself. This is true of all men. God wants us to sit and listen, captivated by every word. We tend to gravitate toward methods and formulas. We will not take His word for the safety and prosperity He promises us. We tend to want the ability to measure and govern. He wants us to just trust Him.
A war began in the time between Exodus 19:5 and Exodus 19:9. The war between man and God. That war ended when Jesus was born. The angels proclaimed it: "Peace on earth. Good will toward men." We are no longer under law but grace. What if we are still mistranslating the "shema" in our life? What if our eyes are on "obeying God" when we should have had our eyes on "listening" to God. What if when we hear Him and desire to understand Him we can't help but also "obey" Him?
Exodus 19:5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. ' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."
7 So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the Lord commanded him. 8 Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the Lord has spoken we will do." So Moses brought back the words of the people to the Lord. 9 And the Lord said to Moses, " Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever."
Notice in verse 5 that God tells Moses to relay a message to Israel. We are all familiar with the promise He lays out: "you shall be a special treasure to Me". We are even more familiar with the promise He makes in verse 6. We totally grasp the whole "kingdom of priests and holy nation" concept. But do we understand what God was actually saying in verse 5? It's a conditional covenant. God lays it out like this: "If you do this, I will do this." It's been translated as "if you will indeed obey My voice". That's His condition, as translated by King Jimmy. But the two words "indeed" and "obey" are actually the same exact Hebrew word: shema.
I have highlighted the parts of the scripture that stand out to me. Notice how God presents this covenant as pertaining to how Israel responds to His voice in verse 5 but then in verse 9 He seems to change it to how Israel responds to the voice of Moses. Why the switch? Why did it go from Israel "shema" the voice of God to Israel believing what God tells Moses? Why did God suddenly make Moses the intermediary "forever"?
The key is in the meaning of the word shema. One of it's meanings is indeed "to obey". But check out the significance of the word in Hebrew tradition as explained here. The Shema is a specific and highly important hebrew prayer that goes like this:
"One Lord Our God The Lord O Israel Hear!"
Shema also means "to hear" or "to listen intently". It also means "to understand" or "to hear for understanding". If we approach Exodus 19 from the perspective that God wants us to follow His rules, then the word "shema" would certainly mean "obey". But if we approach Exodus 19 from the perspective that He wants "a special treasure", as He said was His intent, perhaps "shema" means "to hear". Since both "indeed" and "obey" were both the word "shema", perhaps what God was really saying was "hear me and understand".
Consider the passage re translated with "hear" and "understand":
Now therefore, if you will hear and understand My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. 6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. ' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel."
That changes things quite a bit, doesn't it? So, why did God then tell Moses, "that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever"? Look at verse 8 in light of my re translation:
"...All that the Lord has spoken, we will do..."
He didn't ask them to DO anything. He wanted their ear. He told them in the previous verses how He lead them out of Egypt "on eagles wings", i.e. with NO EFFORT of their own. And yet instead of listening the very voice of the One who had saved them, they said they will simply do what He says to do. He presents Himself as a lover and they responded to Him like a taskmaster. He called them a special treasure and they responded to Him like a tool (literally and figuratively).
From that very moment, Exodus seems to just go down hill. God showed them that He will do it all for them. He didn't want to give them a set of rules and regulations but it was the only thing they were willing to accept. They wanted to relate to God, not as a treasure, but as peers. They wanted to be righteous of their own accord. God just wanted a people of His own. He just wanted a partner, a lover, a bride.
The Law came as a result of the delusion that Israel could justify itself. This is true of all men. God wants us to sit and listen, captivated by every word. We tend to gravitate toward methods and formulas. We will not take His word for the safety and prosperity He promises us. We tend to want the ability to measure and govern. He wants us to just trust Him.
A war began in the time between Exodus 19:5 and Exodus 19:9. The war between man and God. That war ended when Jesus was born. The angels proclaimed it: "Peace on earth. Good will toward men." We are no longer under law but grace. What if we are still mistranslating the "shema" in our life? What if our eyes are on "obeying God" when we should have had our eyes on "listening" to God. What if when we hear Him and desire to understand Him we can't help but also "obey" Him?
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