Saturday, June 20, 2015

Touching Base - Part 279

21 June 15
Series: The Book
Part 8
Standing in the Breach


This is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

We continue our Spring and Summer series called The Book. Over the next several months we are going to be teaching out of all the sections of the Bible and seeing how it’s put together, seeing common threads that connect the books of the Bible to make up The Book.

I’m a psychiatrist, and sometimes in my clinic distressed patients will wonder why God is doing this to them, or say God doesn’t care. I might then ask how they imagine God and what He is up to. Invariably, the view of God is one-dimensional and quite nebulous – a receptacle to pour anger and bitterness and blame into, but nothing more. He is, then, a God who serves an immediate purpose but is otherwise not real or relevant.

The Big Idea in the sermon this Sunday is the opposite: God is real and relevant. And, perhaps paradoxically, we’re going to use some of the more unusual and obscure parts of the Bible – the prophets – to emphasize the relevance and reality of God.

The world of the Old Testament prophets is a different world from ours. Isaiah walked around Jerusalem naked and barefoot for 3 years to illustrate how the Assyrians would carry off the rebellious. Jeremiah strapped a wooden yoke on to represent Judah’s oppression by Babylon. Ezekiel burned and scattered his hair and lay 390 days on his left side and 40 days on his right to bear the guilt of the people.

Question: How do we make sense of this? Can this be relevant to the 21st century? Think of a time in history you have either lived through or know about that seems so foreign as to be seemingly irrelevant now.

Many of us might think of a prophet as someone who foretells the future. That isn’t much of the story here. Or we might think of an Old Testament prophet as someone who is given a message by God to give to the people at large – the prophet as intermediary between God and the people. Usually this message is one of warning and coming judgment because of the people’s behaviour. This view is accurate and certainly a major role of most prophets.

Question: Think of examples in the OT of prophets and their messages. The delivery system goes, God-prophet-people. (Think: Jonah)

The prophet has another major role, however; one that is often overlooked. It’s when the delivery system goes in reverse: people-prophet-God. The prophet delivers his message of warning to the people, but then turns to face his boss and, as an intermediary in the opposite direction, asks, prays, persuades, and urges God Himself to change His mind. The Jewish scholar and theologian, Yochanan Muffs, has written brilliantly about this in Love & Joy (1992).

Read Genesis 20:1-7 and 18:22-33.

Abraham was a prophet (Genesis 20:7) and prays in this way for Abimelech. He then boldly petitions God about destroying the city of Sodom, and gets God to say He’ll relent if there are 50, then 45, then 40…right down to 10 righteous people within its walls.

Read Exodus 32:7-14 and Numbers 12:1-13.

The prophet Moses’ whole life was seemingly one long series of prayers, petitions, cunning arguments, and pleadings for God’s wrath to be withheld. He’s quite good at it. Psalm 106:23 records, “Therefore he [God] said he would destroy them – had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the breach before him.” Samuel is another prophet who does this often.

Question: What do these concrete and gritty stories tell us about God? Is He a nebulous and amorphous being who is unknowable? Or is He only too real?
Question: How can a human seem to change the mind of God?

When we come to the “major” prophets, a slight change occurs. After a list of His people’s sins, God says to Jeremiah, “As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me…” (Jeremiah7:16). Don’t attempt the usual petitions, God says. In fact, abandon that prophetic role, don’t try it. “Do not pray for the welfare of this people” (Jeremiah 14:11). Poor Jeremiah.

Even later, in Ezekiel, God says, “And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none” (Ezekiel 22:30).

When defending an ancient city, when the wall had given way to the enemy’s onslaught and a hole – a breach – appeared, someone would stand in it to defend those inside from the attackers. The wall for Israel was their faithfulness in keeping God’s law. If that gave way, God’s wrath could be expected to pour through. The prophet stood in the breach and protected the people with his petitions. He did not argue their innocence; he argued their guilt, but asked for God’s mercy. See Thomas Leclerc, Introduction to the Prophets (2007), p45.

Finally, after so much failure and sin, in Ezekiel 22, God cries out, rhetorically, “Who will stand in the breach?” An answer is hardly expected. But then a hand goes up at the back of the class and quietly these words come in response: “Lo, I come to do your will, O God.” (Psalm 40:7-8/Hebrews 10:7).

Read the parable of the vineyard and the tenants in Luke 20:9-16.

The “heir,” the beloved son of the vineyard’s owner is finally sent, and He stands in the breach once for all. In the parable he is killed. In history, He is, too. He stood in the breach to protect the sinners from God’s punishing wrath. The petitions and arguments of the prophets were over. Judgment had been delayed over and over because of the prophets, but justice never served. So then Jesus stood in the breach.

Does the God of the prophets sound real? Yochanan Muffs writes this of Moses’ petitions on behalf of the Israelites: “Other gods would not have been moved by such…a human argument. But a God who turns toward man and is interested in man’s destiny and in man’s reaction to His commandments leaves Himself open…” (12-13).

Does the God who stood (and died) in the breach sound relevant? A God who is interested in the destiny of human beings did indeed leave Himself open – to the possibility that His own Son would willingly stand in the breach.

Eric Prost
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact our Director of Worship and Discipleship Amanda Van Halteren amandavh@kingston.net


CARMEN’S CORNER

While we don’t know a huge amount about Ezekiel, here is one way the venerable International Standard Bible Encyclopedia sums him up… Ezekiel was one Busy Man(!):
- Mystic and Visionary (his book opens with his “visions of God”; see also ch. 8-10. 37:1-10, Ch. 40-48)
- Member of the Elijah School – could Elijah have been carried away by a fiery chariot similar to the one described by Ezekiel (Ch.1)?
- Sound in body and mind: this was no recluse, but a man preaching in his time and place, among the exiles (Ch.1)
- Herald of individualism: this prophet not only calls for repentance, but repentance for personal sins (Ch. 18)
- Deuteronomic reformer: he emphasized the need for worship at the Jerusalem temple (Ch. 20) and denounced leaders for allowing the people to go astray on hilltops with occult shrines (Ch. 34)
- Priest: he condemned the nation for despising the “holy things” (Ch.22) but also spoke of a renewed temple and sacrifices (Ch. 40-48)
- Internationalist: why condemn your own people when you can also let ‘er rip again Tyre and Egypt as well, and remind Israel that aliens will have rights they are not being given now (Ch. 28, 29, 47)
- Herald of National Renewal: he proclaimed God’s gracious plan to bring back his dispersed people (Ch. 11, 34, 36)
- Poet and Dramatist: his vivid message was created using many literary forms, dramatic devices, allegories and poetry (Ch. 4, 5, 15, 17…)
- Prophet of the Word: he was told to “eat” the very words of lamentation and woe which he would speak to the people, absorbing them into his very being (Ch.2)

Not too shabby for a young man initially carried away to Babylon at the age of 25, just one in a crowd of thousands!

RESOURCES

NEW Leclerc, Thomas L. Introduction to the Prophets: Their Stories, Sayings, and Scrolls. (New York, 2007)

NEW Muffs,Yochanan. Love and Joy: Law, Language, and Religion in Ancient Israel. (New York, 1992)

Arthur, Kay. Teach Me Your Ways: The Pentateuch (New Inductive Bible Study Series) Harvest House Publishers, 2002. ISBN: 978-0736908054. Begin at the beginning - Creation, marriage, sin, civilization. Then learn about God's continuing lovingkindness and faithfulness to His covenant people, even when they let Him down.

Geisler, Norman L., and Thomas A. Howe. When Critics Ask : A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992.

Grudem, Wayne et al. Understanding the Big Picture of the Bible: A Guide to Reading the Bible Well (p. 40). Crossway. Kindle Edition.)

Koukl, Greg. How Does the Old Testament Law Apply to Christians today? Available at the Stand to Reason website at http://www.str.org/articles/how-does-the-old-testament-law-apply-to-christians-today#.VTpOJSFVikp

Longman III, Tremper. Making Sense of the Old Testament. Baker Books, 1998. Answers 3 questions: What are the keys to understanding the OT? Is the God of the OT also the God of the NT? How is the Christian to apply the OT to life?

Redford, Douglas. The Pentateuch. (Vol. 1, Standard Reference Library: Old Testament). Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing, 2008.

Schreiner, Thomas. 40 Questions about Christians and Biblical Law. Kregel Publications, 2010. (ISBN 978-0825438912) – all that Law… what still applies to us? What doesn’t? Why or why not?

Zacharias, Ravi and Vince Vitale. Why Suffering?: Finding Meaning and Comfort When Life Doesn't Make Sense. FaithWords, 2014.

Sunday, June 14, 2015

Touching Base - Part 278

14 June 15
Series: The Book
Part 7
4 Guys and a Text!


This is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

We continue our Spring and Summer series called The Book. Over the next several months we are going to be teaching out of all the sections of the Bible and seeing how it’s put together, seeing common threads that connect the books of the Bible to make up The Book.

Today we move into the section of Scripture called the Prophets. There are “major” and “minor” prophets, making up 17 books in all. We are looking today and next week at the Major Prophets. You can see the book shelf below to see what material we have covered and where we are going.

NOTE:
In the Hebrew Bible these books are known as the Latter Prophets. The term ‘latter’ speaks primarily of their place in the Canon rather than their chronological position. These prophets are sometimes called the “writing prophets” because their authors wrote or recorded their utterances. There were other oral prophets like Nathan, Ahijah, Iddo, Jehu, Elijah, Elisha, Oded, Shemaiah, Azariah, Hanani, Jahaziel, and Huldah who left no records of their utterances. Mostly because of their size, the Latter Prophets are subdivided into the Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, Daniel), and the twelve Minor Prophets. These prophets ministered during the History section of the Old Testament. Regarding the Major Prophets, Isaiah ministered from about 740-700 BC. Israel was taken into captivity by Assyria in 722BC. Jeremiah ministered from 627-585 BC. He witnessed the capturing of Judah by Babylon in 605 BC. Ezekiel lived in the superpower Babylon and ministered from 590s-570s BC. Finally Daniel lived in Babylon from 605–538 BC.



What do four Major Prophets have to do with us? Perhaps quite a bit. When you look at one of the Hebrew names for prophet, “nabi’ “ you see that it means to declare or announce. That is exactly what the four Major Prophets did. Prophets were to proclaim the Mosaic Law to the nation. Sometimes this involved judgment, warning, words of comfort and peace. Sometimes their words were predictive (they foretold the future).

The prophets declared God’s instructions in two basic ways: word and symbol. Usually the prophets presented God’s word orally (e.g., Jer. 7:1–8:3) or in written form (e.g., Jer. 36:1–32) to varying types and sizes of audiences. Jesus was the ultimate prophet (check out Hebrews 1:1-4).

So how do we relate to the prophets? What do we have in common? When you read the New Testament you quickly discover that we, as Christ followers, are to be proclaimers and presenters, announcing God’s truth. No, we are not prophets in the same way as in the Old Testament. God chose specific ways in those days to communicate. Hebrews 1 demonstrates that that was then and this is now! (See more on this in Carmen’s Corner.) However, we are to announce and speak out God’s word. Check out 1 Peter 3:14-17, 2 Timothy 3:14-17. Note Peter’s clear instruction in how we are to give an answer.

Big Idea: We are to proclaim the word.

What is it like for you to speak out God’s truth in the marketplace, in your family, in a close relationship? Some would say it is HARD! Highly Antagonistic Resistant Dialogue. Read the following references for the four Major Prophets and see if their context was HARD!
- Isaiah - Read Isaiah 6:1-6 - How is God described? If you read the context - the first 5 chapters - you will discover that the Israelites are Unholy, Unholy, Unholy. The exact opposite of the character of God and His message. Isaiah had his work cut out for him.
- Jeremiah - Read Jeremiah 38:1-6- Why is he in the mud?
- Ezekiel - Read Ezekiel 2:1-7, about his call to ministry. How are the people described? HARD?
- Daniel - Read Daniel 6, but note v.5. Note how antagonistic the people were to the law of God!

Discuss the various contexts where you have opportunity to speak out the Word of God. Can you relate at all to the four Major Prophets? If so, in what way? Do you find the Canadian context becoming “HARDer”?

Listen to how a pastor from Australia describes the changing spiritual landscape of his country. See any parallels?

“…the ministry remains interesting in a changing world. I have been reading and thinking lately that the climate for Australian Christians is changing quite a lot. The catch phrase is that it is no longer Athens but Babylon, and that we are now in a hostile culture that doesn't tolerate or interact with Christians, but detests them. We are now seen as misogynistic and homophobic and intolerant and therefore a social evil to be eradicated. The uncovering of massive child abuse by the Catholic Church in the royal commission doesn't help the perception either. This all makes for interesting days for the preacher, pastor and church leader. How do you navigate church when Christendom is most definitely dead? All of a sudden Daniel and 1 Peter and the language of Exile is all the more poignant.”

With the encouragement from Scripture to proclaim the word, yet with a HARD spiritual landscape, we can experience great tension.

What are you learning in that tension as you attempt to speak out God’s truth with gentleness and respect?

Here is one thing I am learning in speaking up in the public arena:

I wrestle at times with fear, and with pride - not wanting to be labeled as “misogynistic and homophobic and intolerant and therefore a social evil to be eradicated”. I need to get used to the new labels, the new pushback, the new categorization of being a Christ follower. On top of that, my pride sometimes makes me hesitant to speak up as readily as I should. I am not ashamed of Jesus, but sometimes ashamed of those who follow Jesus. Sometimes the labels that Christians get stuck with are well deserved. However, I realize that at other times, those labels are coming from people who truly despise the words of Jesus and all the message of Christianity represents.

That’s my journey. How about yours?

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact our Director of Worship and Discipleship Amanda Van Halteren amandavh@kingston.net

CARMEN’S CORNER

There is some controversy in the Church today about the whole notion of prophets and prophetic gifts. Some, called “Cessationists”, believe that certain spiritual gifts (such as prophecy and prophets in the Old Testament sense) have come to an end, for the following reasons:
 As Mark mentioned above – “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…” (Hebrews 1:1)
 We now have the complete Bible with all His teachings (as well as those of the apostles He Himself trained)
 Jude (Jesus’s half-brother) also reminds his readers that the faith we believe “was once for all delivered to the saints”, i.e. in the case of doctrine, there is nothing new under the sun – we have it all.

So for those reasons (and more which space here doesn’t allow), they argue that there is no reason at all for God to have to speak through an Old Testament-type prophet anymore. 2 Timothy 3:16 confirms this, telling us about the sufficiency of Scripture for teaching, for reproof, and so forth.

Now, on the other hand are those who believe that those spiritual gifts still exist (“Continualists”) for the following reasons:
 There are people in Scripture who clearly weren’t Jesus’ twelve apostles, but who demonstrated these various spiritual gifts (the Seventy in Luke 10, Philip the Evangelist’s four daughters in Acts 21:8-9, and many more)
 In a few places (1 Cor. 13:8-12, Eph 4:11-13) Paul indicates that the gifts will not pass away until the “perfect” has come. He is ostensibly referring to the return of Christ and the fulfilment of everything.

So since the early church experienced the fullness of God’s spiritual gifts, and everything is not yet complete, they reason, we have no reason to think God’s gifts don’t continue today, and will until Christ returns.

So which is correct? You decide! :-) This, like some other biblical issues such as eschatology, is a secondary issue. Good Christians can debate it, but must not divide over it, okay?

Here’s one thing we can ALL agree on though: there are some today who suggest that prophecy can be “learned”, and that because you’re “learning” how to listen to God, it’s okay to make mistakes. This is a truly unbiblical position since Deuteronomy clearly tells us that the prophet, since he or she is speaking GOD’S words, will never make a mistake (because our omnipotent God who gives that word is incapable of making mistakes!) In fact, people were warned not to be afraid of those who prophesied falsely, and even to put them death at the time. I think what Moses was saying there is that this is Serious Business, and I guarantee that if it does still exist, God won’t make mistakes. Amen?!

RESOURCES

Arthur, Kay. Teach Me Your Ways: The Pentateuch (New Inductive Bible Study Series) Harvest House Publishers, 2002. ISBN: 978-0736908054. Begin at the beginning - Creation, marriage, sin, civilization. Then learn about God's continuing lovingkindness and faithfulness to His covenant people, even when they let Him down.

Geisler, Norman L., and Thomas A. Howe. When Critics Ask : A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992.

Grudem, Wayne et al. Understanding the Big Picture of the Bible: A Guide to Reading the Bible Well (p. 40). Crossway. Kindle Edition.)

Koukl, Greg. How Does the Old Testament Law Apply to Christians today? Available at the Stand to Reason website at http://www.str.org/articles/how-does-the-old-testament-law-apply-to-christians-today#.VTpOJSFVikp

Longman III, Tremper. Making Sense of the Old Testament. Baker Books, 1998. Answers 3 questions: What are the keys to understanding the OT? Is the God of the OT also the God of the NT? How is the Christian to apply the OT to life?

Redford, Douglas. The Pentateuch. (Vol. 1, Standard Reference Library: Old Testament). Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing, 2008.

Schreiner, Thomas. 40 Questions about Christians and Biblical Law. Kregel Publications, 2010. (ISBN 978-0825438912) – all that Law… what still applies to us? What doesn’t? Why or why not?

Zacharias, Ravi and Vince Vitale. Why Suffering?: Finding Meaning and Comfort When Life Doesn't Make Sense. FaithWords, 2014.

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Touching Base - Part 277

Series: The Book - Part 6
“28:28”
(Job 28)


This is a useful tool for small group discussion, personal reflection or in a one-on-one conversation. We believe that if the Sunday teaching is discussed outside the morning services, it will be an opportunity to go deeper and build community because God's Word needs to be discussed in community.

We continue our Spring and Summer series called The Book. Over the next several months we are going to be teaching out of all the sections of the Bible and seeing how it’s put together, seeing common threads that connect the books of the Bible to make up The Book.

Last week Amanda introduced us to the Wisdom/Poetical books. Please see her Touching Base as she explained the different genre and themes we find in this section of Scripture. One thing you will note is that in this section the heart, emotion, and experiences rise to the surface. Combine that with the rich imagery of this section and you have a very engaging, relevant section of Scripture that enriches our theology. The individual seeking God is equipped with some great tools to cultivate the innermost sanctuary of the human heart.

Our text this morning is Job 28. Job probably does not need much in way of introduction but just in case read Job 1:1-12.

Before we jump in, think about the following.

To be human means to know what it is like to desire, crave, and thirst.

What desires are often at the forefront of our culture?
What does our culture say about desire?

Our big idea this morning is, Awe God, Not Stuff! Awe means to revere, value, uphold. Now think of the opposite, Awe Stuff, Not God! What is more true in our culture and why?

Text: Job 28

V.1-11 Read this section and answer the following questions.
- Is this a picture of people awing God or awing stuff?
- What is the stuff of this chapter? ( read 12-19 for the complete list)
- What imagery is the writer (Job) developing?
- Describe the effort and energy being expended?
- What image resonates with you?

Job is using the material (i.e. gold, copper) to illustrate stuff. No doubt you can make a quick list of stuff our culture goes after. But think about the stuff that is not material yet people crave. Here is my list, add to it.
• love
• acceptance
• validation
• revenge
• approval
• recognition
• success
• control
• pleasing someone

Some of what I have listed and all of what Job lists is not bad in and of itself. However, there is a problem that Job wants to point out.

V12- Note that at the summit of collecting stuff, man is left without wisdom. What is wisdom?

In the OT it involves both knowledge and the ability to direct the mind toward a full understanding of human life and toward its moral fulfillment. Wisdom is thus a special capacity, and necessary for full human living.

Do you understand the problem? People can have stuff, attain stuff, be buried in stuff but be wisdom poor.

Note where the writer leads the reader to discover the answer.

V.12-22
What do we learn about wisdom?

V.23-28
Who knows where it is?
Who embodies wisdom?
How I summarize 28:28 is, Awe God, Not Stuff!
Fear is defined as genuine faith expressed in, and animated by, a reverential awe, this is the basic meaning of the biblical idea of the fear of God.

The fear of the Lord provides a pervasive orientation throughout the Psalms and Wisdom Books. It is one of the major themes of the Poetical Books. God Himself is the true treasure.

Note that Job has been stripped down to his socks! But, he realizes that he is the richest man in the world because He has God. He doesn’t have God as a means of getting stuff. He doesn’t fear God so that God will somehow grant him a bank account full of what He desires. God Himself, by Himself, is the Treasure. And like Job points out in v.23-27, His qualifications far surpass anything we can dig out of the earth!

Take some time to reflect:

Has stuff gotten in your way of seeking the true treasure?
How do you help your kids keep stuff from becoming the ultimate treasure?
How do you know in your heart when you have crossed the line? How do you know when stuff has become an improper priority in your life?
If you were stripped down to your socks, would you feel rich?

Take some time to thank God that He Himself is the Treasure! Choose to be a 28:28 follower!

Oh ya… one more thing- If God embodies wisdom, then guess what Jesus represents? Check out 1 Corinthians 1:18-31.

Mark
If interested in joining or starting a small group contact our Director of Worship and Discipleship Amanda Van Halteren amandavh@kingston.net

CARMEN’S CORNER

Did you know that Job is considered the oldest book in the Bible, for a few reasons? For one, there are no priests present yet, only Job himself making sacrifices on behalf of his sons. For another, we can look at the nature of the Hebrew language it was written in. Some call it “Paleo-Hebrew”, a type of Hebrew predating that which we see in the rest of the Old Testament. In fact, some have suggested that Job might have been the first book written ever.

One controversial issue surrounding this book in recent years is whether or not Job is the story of a man who actually lived, or simply an allegory meant to help us understand the sovereignty of God (a bit like Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress).

Personally, I think he lived, and the reason for it is because of another Bible text, Ezekiel 14.14. In it, God tells Ezekiel that the peoples’ sin is so bad, that even if Noah, Daniel and Job themselves were there, their combined righteousness would be unable to save Judah and Israel! Obviously, God wouldn’t use the non-existent righteousness of a fictional character to talk about how the people could be saved.

So here, then, is another important principle to remember: Scripture always interprets Scripture! In order to best apply Scripture to our lives, we must have knowledge of its whole sweep, not just the gospels or the parts we like. Amen?

RESOURCES

Arthur, Kay. Teach Me Your Ways: The Pentateuch (New Inductive Bible Study Series) Harvest House Publishers, 2002. ISBN: 978-0736908054. Begin at the beginning - Creation, marriage, sin, civilization. Then learn about God's continuing lovingkindness and faithfulness to His covenant people, even when they let Him down.

Geisler, Norman L., and Thomas A. Howe. When Critics Ask : A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties. Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1992.

Grudem, Wayne et al. Understanding the Big Picture of the Bible: A Guide to Reading the Bible Well (p. 40). Crossway. Kindle Edition.)

Koukl, Greg. How Does the Old Testament Law Apply to Christians today? Available at the Stand to Reason website at http://www.str.org/articles/how-does-the-old-testament-law-apply-to-christians-today#.VTpOJSFVikp

Longman III, Tremper. Making Sense of the Old Testament. Baker Books, 1998. Answers 3 questions: What are the keys to understanding the OT? Is the God of the OT also the God of the NT? How is the Christian to apply the OT to life?

Redford, Douglas. The Pentateuch. (Vol. 1, Standard Reference Library: Old Testament). Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing, 2008.

Schreiner, Thomas. 40 Questions about Christians and Biblical Law. Kregel Publications, 2010. (ISBN 978-0825438912) – all that Law… what still applies to us? What doesn’t? Why or why not?

Zacharias, Ravi and Vince Vitale. Why Suffering?: Finding Meaning and Comfort When Life Doesn't Make Sense. FaithWords, 2014.